Passage Two
Questions 26 t030 are based on the following passage．
A gesture which means one thing in one country may well mean something quite different to those living in another．The ring gesture，where you form an “O” by holding me tip of your forefinger to the tip of your thumb，means in Britain that you think something is good．Take a trip to France，and you may fail to impress your French host when you use it to tell him your opinion of his new car， for in France it means zero or worthless．Travel further south and you are in even greater trouble，for in Tunisia it means “I’ll kill you!” Similar problems occur on the other side of the Atlantic．Although in the US the ring gesture has the same meaning as in Britain，it is used as an insult in Latin America．Unfortunately former US President Richard Nixon was unaware of this．Landing on a visit to one South American country he came out of the aircraft with both hands held high showing the ring gesture．Having just been told to go to hell by their visitor，his hosts gave the puzzled President a somewhat frosty reception．Had he used the same gesture in Japan，his hosts would have been puzzled，for it means money there．
Try to avoid these misunderstandings by using another gesture to indicate that you think something is good and you may still find yourself in trouble．In Britain and the US the thumbs—up sign is used when you think something is good， but elsewhere，as in Sardinia，it is an insult．In Britain the gesture is also used for hitch—hiking．But if you attempt using it to request a lift from a passing motorist in Greece or Italy，you had better stand well back from the edge of the road．It is quite likely that he will knock you down，for in Greece it is an insult．
Pulling down the lower lid of your eye with one finger is usually used to indicate alertness．In France and Greece it means much the same as“My eye!” in England，meaning “Don’t you think I can see it?”In Spain and Italy it is also related to being alert，but there it is used as a warning：“Keep your eyes open．"In South America，it means you think that a woman is “eyeful，”very attractive．
26．The passage mainly discusses_____．
A．the benefits of using gestures B．how gestures came into being
C．the problems in using gestures D．how to avoid using gestures
27．If an Englishman uses the ring gesture，he will be correctly understood in_____.
A．France B．Tunisia C．the US D．Japan
28．Richard Nixon used the ring gesture in the South American country as a sign of_____．
A．insult B．criticism C．hospitality D．appreciation
29．You can ask for a lift by using the thumbs-up sign in_____.
A．Britain B．Sardinia C．Greece D．Italy
30．If you want to express your appreciation of a woman，you can_____．
A．use the ring gesture in Italy
B．use the ring gesture in France
C．pull down your lower eye lid in Greece
D．pull down your lower eye lid in South America
