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阅读理解
The other day I heard an American say to a Chinese student in English“You speak very good English”．But the student answered,“No, no．My English is very poor．”The foreigner was quite surprised at the answer．Thinking he had not made himself understand or the student had not heard him clearly, he said,“Yes, indeed, you speak very well．”But the Chinese student still kept saying“No”．In the end the foreigner gave up and didn't know what to say．
What is wrong with the student's answer?It is because he didn't accept a compliment as the English people do．He should have said“Thank you”instead of“No”He actually understood what the American had said．But he thought he should be modest．If he said“Thank you”, that would mean he was too proud．According to the Western culture, if someone says the dishes, you have cooked are very delicious, you should say“Thank you”．If someone says to a woman“You look so beautiful with the new clothes on”, she should be very happy and answer“Thank you”．In our country we think being modest is a virtue and showing off is a bad thing．But in the West, if you are modest and say“No, I'm afraid I can't do it well”, then the others will take it for granted that you really can-not do it．If you often say“No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by others．If asking for a job, one says something like“Yes, I can certainly do it”instead of“Let me have a try on the job”, he or she will expect to get it．So in the West, one should always be confident．Without self-confidence, he cannot go anywhere．Confidence is of great importance to one in a country where competitions is quite keen．
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