Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section．Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．You should decide on the best choice.
Major cultural differences in selling techniques include the relationship between the salesperson and the customer．'Cold calling', which is the relatively unannounced call or visit to a prospective customer, is virtually non existent in any countries in which there is a close and long term relationship between a salesperson and a based on mutual trust．As one insider (内行) advises his colleagues: 'In many foreign countries, personal relationships are more important than company regulations and products．Developing relationships takes time, but it is crucial (至关重要的) to the selling process.'
International trade fairs have become extremely important venues for conducting business, yet very few domestically based sales organizations have an understanding of how to take advantage of the opportunities that these shows present．Unlike U.S．trade shows, at which there is an open display of one's goods and services and a lot of looking but no buying, a European trade show is relatively closed and only open those who are there to conduct business．The U.S．company often will spend a lot of money to set up an open display with personable sales people with little seniority or authority．The exhibit is saying, in effect, everyone and anyone is welcome but do not ask too many questions or expect to conduct any serious business．A comparable German exhibit will be more like a fortress (要塞) where savvy gatekeepers will quickly weed out all but the most important s who, once allowed into the inner sanctum (内室), will meet directly with senior managers．The message that this exhibit is sending out is that only very special people are welcome and that it is privilege to be allowed to stay.
In some societies, the first thing people care about is quality ('Is it the best?'); in other societies, the first thing on a customer's mind is the cost ('How cheap is it?'); and in other countries, the concern is style．('How does it look?')．The color, size, and quantity of items need to be considered in the packaging of any product．The color blue is for funerals in some countries, smaller items are preferred over large items, and the number of items in a package can be critical．For example, a golf ball manufacturer unknowingly packaged their golf balls in groups of four and then sent 50,000 units to their Asian distributor who promptly sent them all back, advising the manufacturer to repackage the golf balls in packages of three．In many of the countries where the golf balls were to be distributed, the number '4' was equated with death whereas the number '3' is symbolic of long life．For golfers who are known to be superstitious, the number of golf balls in each package was more important to the distributor than the quality of the product.
The relationship between the salesman and the customer is ______.