D Would you rather be an impressive employee in an ordinary firm, or land a role at the most well-known company in your industry? The answer to that question might seem highly personal, based on factors like whether or not you are a competitive person and how much you enjoy a challenge. In fact, there’s another strong factor at play: People from different cultures react very differently to that question. The psychologists from the University of Michigan asked people theoretical questions about the decisions they take. Specifically, the researchers compared people with East Asian backgrounds and European American backgrounds. They found that Americans are much more likely to favor being a big fish in a small pond. East Asians, and specifically Chinese people, are much more likely than Americans to lean towards being a smaller fish in a bigger pond. Researchers first asked 270 students at a large American university whether they would rather be a “big fish in a small pond” or the opposite. Of the students with East Asian American backgrounds, three quarters said they’d rather be a small fish, compared with just under 60% of students with European American backgrounds who said the same. The researchers then compared American and Chinese adults. They asked the participants whether they would rather attend a top university but perform below average, and whether they would rather work for a top global company but do less well in comparison to their peers. Over half the Chinese adults chose the famous university, compared with just a third of Americans. In the case of the firms, well over half of people from both groups chose to do better at a less well-known firm, but Chinese people were still more likely to choose being a “small fish” than were Americans. The final experiment sought to discover how American and Chinese people made judgments about whether they were succeeding. They found that Chinese people were more likely to compare their performance to the performance of people in other groups. Americans, meanwhile, were more likely to compare themselves to people within the same group, to judge whether or not they were doing well. In East Asian cultures, it’s “not enough that you know you’re doing well in your school,” said Kaidi Wu, a PhD student in psychology who led the research. “It is much more important that other people—an outsider, a family relative, a future employer who has five seconds to glance through your resume—also recognize your academic excellence.” America is the opposite: “Think about how many times themes like ‘You are your own person’ or ‘Stop worrying about what other people think’ course through song lyrics and self-help books,” Wu said, concluding: “The choices we make are the products of our culture.” 32. What do the psychologists from the University of Michigan find? A. Americans tend to achieve success in a big company B. Chinese are likely to perform better in a big company C. Americans prefer to shine in a relatively small company D. Chinese are comfortable with working in a small company 33. What does the final experiment aims to do? A. compare different attitudes towards competition. B. find different views about personal success. C. judge performances of different groups. D. confirm which culture is better. 34. Whose recognition is most likely to make a Chinese student satisfied? A. his neighbors . B. his classmates. C. his teachers. D. his parents. 35. According to Kaidi Wu, what is the function of culture? A. It plays a key role in people’s choice making. B. It shows who we grow up to be in the future. C. It is the most important factor behind success. D. It determines students’ academic performance.