Write an outline: Read the following passage carefully and compose a “topic outline” for it.Smell
Smell, as a means of nonverbal communication, is important. Odor communicates not only when we are face to face with another person, but also when the other person is not present. People from different cultures may have different attitudes toward body odors.
Most people in the West respond negatively to what they consider bad odors such as body odor, breath odor, or clothes that emit unpleasant smells such as sweat. They work hard to cover up their body odor and view those with body odor as dirty and unsanitary. However, people usually are not comfortable in discussing the topic, and generally will not tell another that his or her body odor is offensive. They will simply avoid being close to the person and will end the conversation as quickly as possible.
Other cultures have quite different concepts of natural odors; they consider them as normal and believe that it is an act of friendship to “breathe the breath” of the person with whom they converse and to feel their presence by smelling. For example, Arabs don’t seem to feel comfortable unless they can smell each other. When Arabs talk, they virtually envelop each other in their breath. Smelling the natural body odors of one’s friend is desirable; denying him or her this privilege is to act ashamedly. In other cultures smell also plays an important role. In Japan, young girls will often play a game involving the placing of five fragrances in tiny boxes. The girl who identifies the most aromas wins the game. In Bali, Indonesia, when lovers greet one another, they often breathe deeply in a kind of friendly sniffing. It is not uncommon for young lovers in the Philippines to trade small pieces of clothing on parting so that the smell of the other person will evoke their affection for each other.
Not knowing cultural variations in attitude toward smell can create uncertainty and even ill feeling. For example, a medical doctor from Saudi Arabia once worked in a hospital in the southern United States. Problems arose when patients refused to have the Saudi doctor examine them. Interviews with patients revealed two problems: He “smelled bad” and he breathed on the patients. The doctor’s training had apparently failed to include the difference between Arabic and American attitudes and practices relating to smell. Clearly, encounters between people with such widely differing attitudes could lead to serious miscommunication. To maintain harmonious intercultural business relationships, one should remember these diverse attitudes toward smell.
【正确答案】：
Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION: SMELL AND PEOPLE'S ATTITUDES TOWARD IT
     A. SMELL BEING AN IMPORTANT MEANS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
     B. THESIS: PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES MAY HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES TOWARD BODY ODORS.
Ⅱ. NEGATIVE REACTION TO BODY ODORS IN THE WEST 
     A. ATTEMPTING TO COVER THEM UP
     B. AVOIDING BEING CLOSE TO PEOPLE WITH BODY ODORS
Ⅲ. POSITIVE ATTITUDES TO BODY ODORS IN SOME OTHER CULTURES
     A. ARABS WILLING TO SMELL EACH OTHER'S BODY ORDORS
     B. GIRLS IN JAPAN PLAYING A GAME OF FRAGRANCE IDENTIFICATION
     C. LOVERS IN BALI SNIFFING EACH OTHER AS A WAY OF GREETING
     D. LOVERS IN THE PHILIPPINES TRADING PIECES OF CLOTHING TO KEEP EACH OTHER'S SMELL
Ⅳ. CONCLUSION: IMPORTANCE OF AWARENESS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES RELATING TO SMELL
     A. AVOIDING MISCOMMUNICATION 
     B. MAINTAINING HARMONIOUS BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
【题目解析】：论点式提纲的步骤：
第一步：确定文章主题（题目多是主题）
第二步：确定中心论点（多在首段出现）
第三步：总结各段段落大意
第四步：整理全文提纲本文为一篇说明文，介绍了人们对于“体味”这一交流媒介的不同态度和看法。第一段最后一句话为本文的主旨句。Ⅰ. Introduction: smell and people's attitudes toward it
A. Smell being an important means of nonverbal communication
B. Thesis: People from different cultures may have different attitudes toward body odors.第二段介绍了西方人对于体味的反应。Ⅱ. Negative reaction to body odors in the West A. Attempting to cover them up
B. Avoiding being close to people with body odors第三段介绍了在其他文化（阿拉伯、日本、巴厘岛、菲律宾）中人们对于体味的反应。Ⅲ. Positive attitudes to body odors in some other cultures
A. Arabs willing to smell each other's body ordors
B. Girls in Japan playing a game of fragrance identification
C. Lovers in Bali sniffing each other as a way of greeting D. Lovers in the Philippines trading pieces of clothing to keep each other's smell最后一段为本文的总结，强调了认识与体味有关的文化差异的重要性。Ⅳ. Conclusion: importance of awareness of cultural differences relating to smell
A. Avoiding miscommunication B. Maintaining harmonious business relationship
