Why do the Spanish dislike voicemail?

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.

What do you do if your cell phone rings while you are with a group of people? If you are French, you will probably ignore the call. If you are English, you may walk away from the group to answer it. If you are Spanish, you are likely to answer it there in the middle of the group and invite everyone around you to join the conversation. As many travelers have noticed, there are considerable differences from one country to another in the way people use their cell phones. This has been confirmed by a recent study of cell phone use in three European cities-Madrid, London, and Paris.

According to Amparo Lasen, the Spanish sociologist who conducted the study, there were no real surprises for anyone who is familiar with the customs in these cities. Lasen interviewed people and observed their behavior in three different settings: a major train station, a commercial area, and a business district in each city. She found that Londoners use their cell phones the least in public. If they are with others, they prefer to let calls be answered by voice mail (a recorded message) and then they check for messages later. If the English do answer a call on the street, they seem to dislike talking with others around. They tend to move away from a crowded sidewalk and seek out a place where they cannot be heard, such as the far side of a subway entrance or even the edge of a street. They seem to feel that the danger of the traffic is preferable to the risk of having their conversation be overheard. This has led to a behavior that Laser) has called "clustering." At a busy time of day on the streets of London, you may find small crowds of cell phone users grouped together, each one talking into a cell phone. Even when it is raining-as it often is in London-people still prefer not to hold their conversations where others could hear. They talk under their umbrellas or in a doorway.

In Madrid, on the other hand, few people use voice mail because the Spanish dislike talking with machines rather than real voices. If there is no answer, they don't leave a message. They prefer to try again later or wait for a return call. And since the Spanish are not shy about answering their calls in public, the call may come sooner than it would in London or Paris. In fact, in Madrid it is common to hear loud and lively phone conversations on the street, accompanied by shouts, laughter and the waving of hands. In fact, sometimes it happens that a group of friends may be walking down the street together, each talking on their own phone, but smiling and nodding as though it were one large conversation that everyone could hear. Even when they are not using their phones, the Spanish often hold them in their hands as they walk down the steet or put them on the table at a restaurant, so they will not miss any incoming calls. In a movie theater, not only do cell phones occasionally ring, but people sometimes answer them and have brief conversations. In Paris, however, there are stricter rules about how and when to use cell phones. It is not considered polite to use a phone in a restaurant, for instance, though it might be acceptable in the more informal setting of a café. One special custom that has developed in cafés seems unique to Paris. Young women often place their cell phones on the table beside them to signal that they are expecting someone. When the friend arrives, the phone is put away. In fact, the French are generally very disapproving of phone use in public and are quick to express that disapproval, even to strangers.

Câu 20372: Why do the Spanish dislike voicemail?

A. Because they like reading messages.

B. Because they are too lazy to leave a voicemail.

C. Because they prefer to talk to a person.

D. Because voicemail is expensive.

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