A great deal of nonsense is written about the character of a nation, chiefly because many

observers, influenced by national pride and prejudices, feel irresistibly tempted to generalize about everything. In a nation of many millions of people, there are bound to be many different kinds: rich and poor, clever and stupid, good and bad, modest and conceited, patient and impatient, honest and dishonest. Moreover, a nation may develop a sort of collective character in its polities and literature which is not recognizable in individual people. Generalizations therefore tend to be unrealistic, and should be made, and accepted, with caution. One word of warning is necessary. The British people who take up appointments in Asia and Africa are not fully typical of their nation. For one thing, they are usually specialists in one field or another. The average British people is not a specialist, and although he can read and write he is not particularly cultured in the intellectual sense. "Highbrow" is a word very often used by the common people of Britain to describe and condemn any form. of intellectual culture. Moreover, the great technical achievements of Europeans do not mean that a European is basically more intelligent than an African or Asian. The achievements are due to the handing down and sharing of knowledge and to organized training and research rather than m mental superiority; and of course the mere possession of, say, a motor-car or washing-machine and the ability m operate it, does not require any understanding of how it works.

To know the character of a nation, one should ______.

A．observe the behavior. of the leaders

B．read the literature of that nation

C．never accept any generalizations

D．form. a sound judgment of everything