Question

If you meet a British person in the street，it is very likely that he or she will apologize whether it is his or her fault(過錯) or not.

It seems that Britain is becoming a nation where everyone is saying sorry.Almost each person says sorry about eight times each day—and one in eight people apologize as many as 20 times a day.

As you may have seen，the British apologize more often than members of other cultures.A research shows that in many cases，people's love of saying sorry in Britain goes a little further than it does for Americans.For example，about 15 British people would say “sorry” while only 10 from the US would do this if they sneezed，if they corrected someone's mistake or if someone knocked into them.

In the old days，“sorry” was used to express regret and sadness for having done something wrong.But now British people use the word as a way of showing good manners.For example，they might say “sorry” instead of “excuse me”，“pardon”，“what” or “whatever”．

People in Britain also use “sorry” when they share the same feeling with others—so they might say “sorry about the rain”．

However，British people's use of “sorry” may make things very confusing(不清楚的) and difficult for foreigners who are not familiar with their ways.But actually，people in Britain pay much attention to the feelings of others.This is the reason why they apologize every day.

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. What daily expressions British people often use.

B. How people in Britain keep in touch with foreigners.

C. The different meanings of “sorry” in and out of Britain.

D. Why British people say sorry many times every day.

2.In the old days，people said sorry when they ________.

A. did something wrong

B. asked the way

C. wanted to repeat something

D. made a choice

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Americans say sorry more than British people.

B. Even British people get confused when they say sorry.

C. Almost every person in Britain says sorry 20 times a day.

D. The British also say sorry to share the same feeling with others.

4.From the passage we can learn that British people ________.

A. like to talk about the weather

B. care a lot about others

C. are difficult to get along with

D. love to correct mistakes

Answer 1