Question

Everyone knows that the Frenchmen are romantic, the Italians are fashionable and the Germans are serious．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 （企業(yè)家） in the UK found that 70% felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public．Britain is hostile （敵意的） to success, they said．It has a culture of jealousy（嫉妒）．1. 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． 2. Those given a little were given the chance to destroy the large amount of money given to others – but at the cost of losing their own．Two thirds of the people tested agreed to do this．

3. ．But there is also opposite evidence．The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently reported that the UK is 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 is 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 proud or unfair or which separates them from their roots．”

4. They set out to do things in their way．They work long hours．By their own efforts they become millionaires．5. ．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．

A．This seems to prove that the entrepreneurs were right to complain．

B．The one who owns most money in the end is the winner．

C．As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood．”

D．It is not true that British people are born jealous of others` success．

E．Some were given a little, others a great deal．

F．But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them．

G．Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem．

Answer 1