The result of these attitudes and behaviors is sometimes viewed by foreigners as an “ inability to be friends ” . Other times it is seen as a normal way to retain personal happiness in a mobile ， ever-changing society.

People normally have in their minds stereotypes about people who are different from themselves. Stereotypes are based on limited and incomplete experience and information ， but they shape people ’ s thoughts and expectations. Americans have many stereotypes about foreign students in general （ for example ， that they are very hard working intelligent ， and rich that they do speak English well ） and about particular categories of foreign students （ Chinese are polite and good at mathematics ， for example ， or Italians are emotional ） . And foreign students have their own stereotypes of Americans ， for example ， that they are arrogant ， rude ， and generous.

There are two stereotypes that often affect male-female relationships involving U.S. and foreign students. The first is the idea ， held by some foreign males ， that American females are invariably willing ， if not anxious to have sex. The second common stereotype ， held by some American females ， is that male foreign students have no interest in American females other than having with them. The existence of these and other stereotypes can give rise to considerable misunderstanding and can block the development of a mutually satisfactory relationship between particular individuals. Stereotypes seem unavoidable given the way the human mind seeks to categorize and classify information ， so it is not realistic to suppose people can “ forget their stereotypes ” . But they can be aware of their stereotypes ， and be ready to find exceptions to them.

36. Consuming friendship ， Americans .

A. look for a deeper relationship in a close circle

B. avoid deep relationship with other people

C. are friendly at first but do not remain so later on

D. do not make good friends

37. The word“compartmentalize”in the first paragraph means“ ”.

A. separate in categories B. treat differently

C. evaluate accordingly D. judge fairly

38. The author’s attitude toward the American type of friendship seems to be .

A. approving B. critical C. biased D. objective

39. According to the author ， stereotypes concerning male-female relationships involving U.S. and foreign students are .

A. helpful B. meaningless C. harmful D. useless

40. According to the author ， stereotypes seem unavoidable because .

A. it is natural to have them B. it is not easy to find exceptions

C. they provide better understanding D. they contribute to friendship

Passage Three

In The Birth Order Book ： Why You Are the Way You Are （ 2004 ）， Dr. Kevin Leman notes that 21 of the first 23 Americans in space were first-born males or only children. More than half of United States presidents have been first-borns or first-born boys. It ’ s a pretty significant finding historically ， because families used to be bigger than they are today.