BAD weather, bad food and grumpy people – that’s what some people think of first when they think about Britain. Many online commentators even joke that Britons are so grumpy precisely because it constantly rains and they are always hungry.
In fact, many believe that Britons are inherently negative, in contrast to their neighbors across the Atlantic Ocean.
“Americans are more optimistic, due to the fact that they are told they can become the next president of the United States,” Ricky Gervais, a British comedian, told online forum Big Think. “British people are told, it won’t happen to you. And they carry that. They carry that with them. We champion the underdog .”
It’s no wonder that Britons hold the reputation of having a “stiff upper lip” – being cold and not showing any emotion.
Britain’s reputation as a grumpy country may, however, simply be the result of a cultural misunderstanding. According to the BBC, British actor Michael Caine once said: “I think what is British about me is my feelings and awareness of others and their situations. English people are always known to be well-mannered and cold, but we are not cold – we don’t interfere in your situation. If we are heartbroken, we don’t scream in your face with tears – we go home and cry on our own. It’s completely to do with your comfort – we don’t intrude on your space. That’s very English.”
A BBC reader noted that the perceived coldness of British people is actually their way of dealing with hardship. Remembering the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, Stuart Colley, who lived in the capital at the time, said: “It seemed to me that most people’s response was a ‘cruel’ determination to carry on and not to ‘fall’ into an over-emotional outpouring of grief or anger – despite what many of us felt inside. Our stiff upper lip seems to be something that gives us strength as a society when we most need it.”
What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To list common stereotypes about the UK.

B．To fight common misunderstandings about the UK.

C．To analyze what makes British people grumpy and negative.

D．To list some differences between Americans and British people.

Which of the following statements might Ricky Gervais agree with?

A．Britons like challenging the underdog more than Americans do.

B．Americans are more optimistic and realistic than British people.

C．Britons are more comfortable with life’s losers than Americans.

D．Bad weather in the UK is the main thing that makes Britons grumpy.

The underlined phrase “interfere in” in the second-to-last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.

A．think about	B．benefit from
C．get in the way of	D．have a positive effect on

Why does Michael Caine think British people are not cold?

A．They can be heartbroken, and they cry too.

B．They are well-mannered and unwilling to disturb others.

C．They care a lot about what other people think of them.

D．They are taught to face hardships by themselves.

With the example of the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, the author intends to ____.

A．explain why British people tend to be cold

B．reveal that Britons don’t intrude on others’ space

C．present an example in which British people hide their emotions and feelings

D．show how not giving in to emotions can help one to get through a tough time

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