英语美文24篇.docVIP

1. The English Character [00:07.960]To other Europeans, the best known quality of the British, [00:13.500]and in particular of the English, is “reserved”. [00:17.090]A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, [00:22.580]does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. [00:26.800]It is difficult to get to know a reserved person: [00:30.870]he never tells you anything about himself, [00:33.490]and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, [00:38.640]how many children he has, and what his interests are. [00:42.470]English people tend to be like that. [00:46.080]Closely related to English reserve is English modesty. [00:51.870]Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, [00:58.110]but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. [01:03.250]Self－praise is felt to be impolite. [01:07.180]If a person is, let us say, [01:10.250]very good at tennis and someone asks him if he is a good player, [01:14.510]he will seldom reply “Yes,” [01:17.470]because people will think him conceited. [01:20.420]He will probably give an answer like, [01:23.100]“I’m not bad,” or “I think I’m very good,” or “Well, I’m very keen on tennis.” [01:30.340]Even if he had managed to reach the finals in last year’s local championships, [01:37.200]he would say it in such a way as to suggest that it was only due to a piece of good luck. [01:42.930]Since reserve and modesty are part of his own nature, [01:47.540]the typical English tends to expect them in others. [01:51.570]He secretly looks down on more excitable nations, [01:55.500]and likes to think of himself as more reliable than they are. [01:59.510]He doesn’t trust big promises and open shows of feelings, [02:03.880]especially if they are expressed in flowery language. [02:08.150]He doesn’t trust self－praise of any kind. [02:12.000]This applies not only to what other people may tell him about themselves orally, [02:17.980]but to the l