Everyone knows that the French are romantic, the Italian are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Or do they? Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs (实业家) in the UK found that 70 percent felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public .
Britain is hostile to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy (嫉妒) . As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood”. Jealousy is sometimes known as the “green-eyed monster” and the UK is its home. Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money. Some were given a little, others a great deal. Those given a little money were given the chance to destroy the large amounts of money given to others—but at the cost of losing their own. Two thirds of the people tested agreed to do this.
This seems to prove the entrepreneurs were right to complain. But there is also conflicting evidence. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently reported that the UK was now the world’s fourth largest economy .That is not bad for people who are supposed to hate success. People in the UK also work longer hours than anyone else in Europe. So the British people are not lazy, either.
“It’s not really success that the British dislike,” says Carey Cooper, a Professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. “It’s people using their success in a way that seems arrogant (傲慢) or unfair or which separates them from their roots .”
Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. They set out to do things in their way. They work long hours. By their own efforts they become millionaires. But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. It hardly seems worth following their example. If they were more friendly, people would like them more. And more people want to be like them.
55. What does the underlined “it” in the second paragraph refer to?
A. A great survey B. One group of people
C. A nation D. National character
56. Most entrepreneurs surveyed believe that .
A. the British public are hardworking
B. they are not popular simply because they are successful
C. they are considered as “green-eyed monsters”
D. love of success is Britain’s national character
57. What does the result of the Warwich University test show?
A. Most people would rather fail than see others succeed
B. Two thirds of the people tested didn’t love money
C. Most people are willing to enjoy success with others
D. An imaginary amount of money does not attract people
58. The writer of the passage seems to suggest that .
A. British entrepreneurs are not fairly treated
B. jealousy is Britain’s national character
C. the British dislike the entrepreneurs because they do not behave properly
D. the scientists are Warwich University did a successful test