"How far is it to the next village?" the American asks a man sitting by the side of the ro
Had conditions been turned over, the American would have felt he was "cheating" the driver if he had said the next town was dose when he knew it was really 15 miles further on. Though, he, too, would be sympathetic(同情的)to the weary driver, he would say "You have a good way to go yet; it is at least 15 miles. "The driver might be disappointed, but he would know what to expect.
Whether to be correct or polite leads to many misunderstandings between people of different cultures. If you are aware of the situation in advance, it is sometimes easier to recognize the problem.
The man at the roadside tells the American it is close to the next village because
A.he is playing a trick on him
B.the American expects the answer
C.he doesn't know the exact distance at ail
D.he wants to encourage him to go further