"How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the USA greet each other. But
"How are you?" is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't need an answer. The
person who asks "How are you?" hopes to hear the answer "Fine", even if the person's friend isn't fine. The reason is that "How are you" isn't really a question and " Fine" isn't really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying "Hello" or "Hi".
      Sometimes, people also don't say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks "Do you agree?" the other person might think, "No, I disagree. I think you're wrong…But it isn't very polite to
disagree so strongly, so the other person might say "I'm not sure. " It's a nicer way to say that you don't
agree with someone.
      People also don't say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For
example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says "I have to go now. " Often, the person
who wants to hang up gives an excuse: " Someone's at the door. ""Something is burning on the stove." The excuses might be real, or not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any
more, but it isn't polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't hurt the other person.
      Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people don't say exactly what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's part of the
game of language

1. When a person in America asks "How are you?", he or she wants to hear " _____".    

A. How are you?          
B. Hello!            
C. Fine

2. When a person disagrees with someone, it is polite to say "_____".    

A. You are wrong, l disagree.      
B. I'm not sure.
C. I'm sure I disagree

3. A polite way to finish a talk is to say "_    "    

A. You have to go now.      
B. I want to hang up.    
C.  I have to go now

4. When a person says "I have to go now. Someone's at the door." the person may be       .    

A. giving an excuse        
B. hurting someone's feeling    
C. ill

5. The rule of the game of language is probably _______    

A. "Always say what you mean"  
B. "Don't disagree with people"  
C. "Be polite"

     In many western schools, sports day is a big event. Children take part in competitive (競(jìng)爭(zhēng)性的)
sports, trying to break school records and take the first place.
     Sports days, or sports meets, are usually held in the warmer seasons, either at the beginning or the
end of the school year. They are also called field days.
     Primary school sports days are fun. They usually have activities such as the egg and the spoon race
and the sack race. Other events include the skipping race (跳繩) and the three-legged race. In middle
and high schools, sports days include many of the common track and field events (田徑項(xiàng)目).  They
are more serious and competitive than primary school ones.
     Students' parents and other relatives also come to the  school on sports days. They watch children
play. Many schools in the West have "mothers and fathers" races for parents to take part in!
     Although sports days are exciting, they also have some problems. According to some reports in the
USA, sports days have become too competitive to be good for students. Some parents put too much
pressure(壓力) on the children. Some schools don't have "mothers and fathers" races any more as there
is much fighting and cheating.

短讀閱文，回答下列問題。
1. What do children try to do when they take part in sports meets?
___________________________________________________
2. When are sports days usually held in the school year?
___________________________________________________
3. What are primary school and middle school sports days like?
___________________________________________________
4. Who would come to the school to watch children play on sports days?
______________________________________________________
5. What does the writer think about sports days?
______________________________________________________

     When we don't understand each other's language, we talk with the help of signs.
     A Frenchman was once traveling in England. He could not speak English at all. One day he went into
a restaurant and sat down at a table. When the waitress came, he opened his mouth, put his fingers into
it and took them out again. The waitress soon brought him a cup of tea. The man moved his head from
side to side. The waitress understood him and took away the tea. In a moment, she brought a cup of
coffeeand put it on the table. The man again moved his head from side to side. He moved his head from
side to side whenever the waitress brought him something to drink. She brought him a lot of different
drinks, but drinks are not food of course.
     When the man was going away, another man came in. This man saw the waitress, and put his hand
on the stomach. That was enough. In a few minutes there was a large plate of meat and vegetables on the
table in front of him.
     So you see, we can't understand the language of signs so well as the language of words.
1. The Frenchman opened his mouth, put his fingers into it and took them out again. He wanted to tell
    __________.
A. he was hungry      
B. he was thirsty    
C. he liked to suck his fingers
2. Another man got what he wanted because _          ____ .
A. the waitress like him
B. the Frenchman went away
C. he gave correct signs to the waitress
3. The Frenchman moved his head from side to side because _        _____.
A. he was very hot    
B. he was very excited  
C. he didn't get what he wanted
4. The example of the Frenchman mainly tell us __________
A. no one can understand the signs
B. the signs can be misunderstood
C. we can understand all the signs well
5. What's the best title for the passage?
A. The waitress    
B. The language of signs    
C. The language of words

      It was September 30th. When Tom   1  (wake) up, it was 8:00. He got up as   2  (quick) as possible. He   3  (have) no time to eat breakfast, so he went to school   4   (with) breakfast.  When he got to the
school gate, the gate was   5  (close). He realized that it was Sunday. What a careless boy!

     American  eating  is  funny. People  in  America  eat  almost everything with a  fork. And it seems that
holding a knife in one's right hand longer than a few seconds is thought to be against good table manners.
     The system is that if it is necessary to use a knife, people take the fork in their left hands, and cut off a
piece of meat or others. Then  they  put  the knife down, transfer the fork to  their  right  hands, and then
transfer the food to their mouths with  the fork.  This is clearly funny, but it is considered  good  manners.
     There are several results of this system. First,if it is not necessary to use a knife, Americans don't  use
one, because this greatly complicates（使復(fù)雜化）things. Therefore, sometimes they will try to cut things like potatoes and even bacon with a fork. Second, since only one implement（器具）is being used, food has to be chased around the plate with the fork. Third, tables are usually laid with one knife and two forks. The outside fork is for the salad. There is no  need for foreign  visitors to follow the  American system and
try to eat the salad with only a fork, but if you do use your knife, remember to save it for the meat.

1. The word "transfer" most probably means “________”.

A. move something from one place to another    
B. make up and down
C．take away

2. From this passage we can know that _______.

A. Americans never use knives with their right hands
B. Americans eat everything with a knife
C. Americans use a fork to put food into their mouths
   

3. According to the passage, Americans eat potatoes with a fork probably because ______.   

A. they are too busy to use a knife    
B. there is no knife
C. they think it is complicated to use a knife

4. Which of the following about American eating is NOT true?

A. Holding a knife in one's right hand longer is not good table manners.
B. Americans will not use a knife if they don't need.
C. Foreign visitors are not allowed to use knives.

5. The best title for this passage is _______.

A. Right Hand or Left Hand    
B. Knife or Fork
C. Eating Customs in America

     Bill was going to visit Wang Dawei in Chongqing for several days.  Before he left America, Bill tried
to learn about Chinese food and Chinese ways of doing things. He wanted to be polite. He learned that
most people in China eat rice, drink tea, and take off their shoes when they go into a friend's apartment.
Bill even learned to use chopsticks.
     At the same time, Wang Dawei learned about American food and American ways of doing things.
He wanted to be friendly. When Bill came to Wang's house, Dawei told him to keep his shoes on. Later
they went out for dinner. They ate pizza and drank Coke. The next few days, they had breakfast in a
coffee shop and ate hamburgers in a fast food restaurant.
     On his way back to America, Bill was thinking about why he never ate rice or drank tea or ate with
chopsticks. He never took off his shoes when he visited Wang's family. He thought that living in China
was just like living in America.
(     ) l. Bill learned about Chinese food and other things before coming to China.
(     ) 2. Bill knew most Chinese eat rice, drink tea and wear their shoes in their houses.
(     ) 3. Wang Dawei was friendly to Bill, so they went to the restaurant to eat Chinese food.
(     ) 4. Finally Bill didn't have Chinese food at all.
(     ) 5. Wang Dawei made Bill feel at home at last.