Abstract:The modern English teaching theory says, reading is a communicative activity. It is a means for writer and reader to communicate. Having gained a certain number of vocabulary and phrases doesn’t mean one has the ability to communicate with the writer, because reading is not an easy translation work, but a complicated ability. Reading ability is restricted by languages and cultures. If a reader wants to understand the writers’ ideas, he/she must know the cultures clearly. So learning foreign cultures is an aid for reading and it is necessary for reading. The thesis takes the English language as an example to discuss how to reduce the impact of cultural differences on reading comprehension in English teaching process. 

Key words: cultural difference; English teaching; reading comprehension; impact

中文摘要:现代英语教学理论认为，阅读是一种交际活动，它是作者与读者之间进行心灵沟通的手段。掌握了一定的词汇和语法知识，并不代表读者就具有了能用这门语言去和作者进行心灵交流和沟通的能力，因为阅读不是简单的译码工作，而是一项很复杂的技能。学生的理解能力除受到掌握语言的熟练程度和民族文化差异的制约外，要想实现观其文、知其意，还必须对中西方文化具有一定的了解。因此，学习、了解外国文化，既是阅读的目的，也是阅读的必要基础。本文以英语语言为例，探讨了如何在英语教学中减少中西方文化差异对阅读理解的影响

关键词：文化差异；英语教学；阅读理解；影响