In most discussions of cultural diversity, attention has focused on visible, explicit aspects of culture, such as language, dress, food, religion, music, and social rituals. Although they are important, these visible expressions of culture, which are taught deliberately and learned consciously, are only the tip of the iceberg of culture. Much of culture is taught and learned implicitly, or outside awareness. Thus, neither cultural insiders nor cultural outsiders are aware that certain “invisible” aspects of their culture exist.
Invisible elements of culture are important to us. For example, how long we can be late before being impolite, what topics we should avoid in a conversation, how we show interest or attention through listening behaviour, what we consider beautiful or ugly- these are all aspects of culture that we learn and use without being aware of it. When we meet other people whose invisible cultural assumptions differ from those we have learned implicitly, we usually do not recognize their behaviour as cultural in origin.
Differences in invisible culture can cause problems in cross-cultural relations. Conflicts may arise when we are unable to recognize others’ behavioural differences as cultural rather than personal. We tend to misinterpret other people’s behaviour, blame them, or judge their intentions or competence without realizing that we are experiencing cultural rather than individual differences.
Formal organizations and institutions, such as schools, hospitals, workplaces, governments, and the legal system are collection sites for invisible cultural differences. If the differences were more visible, we might have less misunderstanding. For example, if we met a man in a courthouse who was wearing exotic clothes, speaking a language other than ours, and carrying food that looked strange, we would not assume that we understood his thoughts and feelings or that he understood ours. Yet when such a man is dressed similarly to us, speaks our language, and does not differ from us in other obvious ways, we may fail to recognize the invisible cultural differences between us. As a result, mutual misunderstanding may arise. "> In most discussions of cultural diversity, attention has focused on visible, explicit aspects of culture, such as language, dress, food, religion, music, and social rituals. Although they are important, these visible expressions of culture, which are taught deliberately and learned consciously, are only the tip of the iceberg of culture. Much of culture is taught and learned implicitly, or outside awareness. Thus, neither cultural insiders nor cultural outsiders are aware that certain “invisible” aspects of their culture exist.
Invisible elements of culture are important to us. For example, how long we can be late before being impolite, what topics we should avoid in a conversation, how we show interest or attention through listening behaviour, what we consider beautiful or ugly- these are all aspects of culture that we learn and use without being aware of it. When we meet other people whose invisible cultural assumptions differ from those we have learned implicitly, we usually do not recognize their behaviour as cultural in origin.
Differences in invisible culture can cause problems in cross-cultural relations. Conflicts may arise when we are unable to recognize others’ behavioural differences as cultural rather than personal. We tend to misinterpret other people’s behaviour, blame them, or judge their intentions or competence without realizing that we are experiencing cultural rather than individual differences.
Formal organizations and institutions, such as schools, hospitals, workplaces, governments, and the legal system are collection sites for invisible cultural differences. If the differences were more visible, we might have less misunderstanding. For example, if we met a man in a courthouse who was wearing exotic clothes, speaking a language other than ours, and carrying food that looked strange, we would not assume that we understood his thoughts and feelings or that he understood ours. Yet when such a man is dressed similarly to us, speaks our language, and does not differ from us in other obvious ways, we may fail to recognize the invisible cultural differences between us. As a result, mutual misunderstanding may arise. "> Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In most discussions of cultural diversity, attention has focused on visible, explicit aspects of culture, such as language, dress, food, religion, music, and social rituals. Although they are important, these visible expressions of culture, which are taught deliberately and learned consciously, are only the tip of the iceberg of culture. Much of culture is taught and learned implicitly, or outside awareness. Thus, neither cultural insiders nor cultural outsiders are aware that certain “invisible” aspects of their culture exist.
Invisible elements of culture are important to us. For example, how long we can be late before being impolite, what topics we should avoid in a conversation, how we show interest or attention through listening behaviour, what we consider beautiful or ugly- these are all aspects of culture that we learn and use without being aware of it. When we meet other people whose invisible cultural assumptions differ from those we have learned implicitly, we usually do not recognize their behaviour as cultural in origin.
Differences in invisible culture can cause problems in cross-cultural relations. Conflicts may arise when we are unable to recognize others’ behavioural differences as cultural rather than personal. We tend to misinterpret other people’s behaviour, blame them, or judge their intentions or competence without realizing that we are experiencing cultural rather than individual differences.
Formal organizations and institutions, such as schools, hospitals, workplaces, governments, and the legal system are collection sites for invisible cultural differences. If the differences were more visible, we might have less misunderstanding. For example, if we met a man in a courthouse who was wearing exotic clothes, speaking a language other than ours, and carrying food that looked strange, we would not assume that we understood his thoughts and feelings or that he understood ours. Yet when such a man is dressed similarly to us, speaks our language, and does not differ from us in other obvious ways, we may fail to recognize the invisible cultural differences between us. As a result, mutual misunderstanding may arise.

Dịch bài
Ở phần lớn các buổi hội thảo về đa dạng văn hoá, người ta chỉ chú trọng bề nổi văn hoá, như ngôn ngữ, trang phục, ẩm thực, tôn giáo, âm nhạc, và các nghi lễ. Tuy chúng quan trọng, nhưng những dấu hiệu văn hoá rõ ràng này, được chủ tâm truyền thụ và tiếp thu, chỉ là bề nổi của văn hoá. Phần đa văn hoá hoàn toàn được truyền thụ và tiếp thu một cách vô thức. Như vậy, dù thuộc nền văn hoá đó hay không, người ta cũng không nhận thức được những khía cạnh văn hoá vô hình này tồn tại.
Những thành tố vô hình của nền văn hoá rất quan trọng. Ví dụ, muộn bao lâu là có thể chấp nhận được mà không bị đánh giá là bất lịch sự, chủ đề nào nên tránh trong các cuộc trò chuyện, chúng ta thể hiện sự hứng thú ra sao qua cách lắng nghe, thế nào được xem là đẹp hay xấu – tất cả đều là những khía cạnh văn hoá chúng ta tiếp thu và sử dụng trong vô thức. Khi gặp ai đó có quan niệm khác về những nét văn hoá vô hình này, chúng ta thường không xem hành vi của họ như một đặc tính thuộc về văn hoá.
Sự khác biệt về văn hoá vô hình có thể gây nên vấn đề cho các mối quan hệ đa văn hoá. Mẫu thuẫn xảy ra khi chúng ta không coi hành vi của người khác là khác biệt văn hoá mà là vấn đề quan điểm cá nhân. Chúng ta dễ hiểu nhầm cách hành xử và đổ lỗi cho họ, hay phán xét ý định và khả năng của họ mà không nhận ra đó là do khác biệt văn hoá chứ không phải cá nhân.
Các cơ quan tổ chức chính quy, như trường học, bệnh viện, nơi làm việc, chính phủ và hệ thống pháp lý là những nơi quy tụ những nét khác biệt vô hình về văn hoá. Những khác biệt này càng dễ nhận thấy, hiểu nhầm càng ít. Ví dụ, nếu tại toà án ta gặp một người mặc đồ kì quái, nói ngôn ngữ khác và đem theo đồ ăn lạ, chúng ta sẽ không cho là mình hiểu được cảm xúc và suy nghĩ của anh ta hay ngược lại. Nhưng nếu thấy một người ăn mặc giống mình, nói chung ngôn ngữ, và trông có vẻ không khác người, chúng ta sẽ không nhìn ra được sự khác biệt vô hình trong văn hoá. Từ đó, hiểu nhầm có thể xảy ra.

What is the main purpose of the passage?

Đáp án đúng: C

The word “deliberately” in bold in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______.

Đáp án đúng: C

The phrase “the tip of the iceberg” in paragraph 1 means that ___________.

Đáp án đúng: A

Which of the following was NOT mentioned as an example of invisible culture?

Đáp án đúng: D

The word “those” in paragraph 2 refers to__________.

Đáp án đúng: A

It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that conflict results when ___________.

Đáp án đúng: D

The author implies that institutions such as schools and workplaces ________.

Đáp án đúng: A

Which of the following would most likely result in misunderstanding?

Đáp án đúng: C