It would be just _______ to call and tell them we might be late.

A．on purpose             B．a(chǎn)s well            C．or so         D．a(chǎn)s usual

The English are famous for their manners． The phrase, “Manners maketh the man” was coined by Englishman William of Wykeham back in 1324, but they’re just as important today． Books are written on the subject, advice columns in magazines tell people how to behave, and “finishing schools” still exist to ensure that young girls become young “l(fā)adies”．

   The best example of English manners is in their mastery of the art of forming a queue． It is a popular joke in England （the land of sporting failures） to say, “if only queuing was an Olympic sport, we’d win hands down．” No one knows exactly how and when it started, but queuing plays an important role in the English social make-up． School children are taught to queue for roll-call, assembly and lunch, and English people across the land form orderly queues at shops, banks, cinemas and bus-stops every day． The English obviously aren’t the only people who queue, but they seem to do it better than anyone else． As one visitor said, “I have travelled across Europe, the Middle and Far East and nowhere have I seen the single-file queues which are formed in England．”

   The English are also famously polite when it comes to language． Whereas many other notions are more direct in their communication, the English prefer a more indirect form of asking for things． For example, an American who wants to talk to a colleague might say, “Got a minute?”; however an English person will often use a more indirect means might of requesting the chat, “Sorry to bother you, but would you possibly have a minute or so to have a quick chat if you don’t mind, please?”

   The English also love to apologize for things． When squeezing past someone, people say “sorry”． And they will apologize if you bump into them, “whoops! Sorry! My fault．” In fact, no one seems to say “sorry” as much as the English: “sorry I’m late． /Sorry I forgot to call you last night．/I’m sorry you didn’t get the e-mail．” And so on． They also like to use “please” and “thank you” a lot． In a shop, they will say, “I’d like a packet of crisp, please． Thanks．” British students thank their lectures, and bosses often thank their employees for doing their jobs．

Why does “finishing schools” still exist to help young girls become “l(fā)adies”?

   A． Because the English mind their manners very much．

   B． Because the English parents want to marry their daughters to the royal family．

   C． Because the English girls are so rude that they need to be taught to be polite．

   D． Because the English government ensures their existence．

The underlined sentence in paragraph2 implies ________________．

   A． The English love the Olympics very much．

   B． The English spend nothing winning an Olympic medal．

   C． The English are best at queuing．

   D． The English prefer to queue with their hands down．

According to the passage, if Americans say “Waiter! Could I have another fork, please?” how will the English express such a meaning?

    A． Excuse me! Give me another fork, please!

    B． Excuse me! I have to be a bother, but would you mind awfully changing this fork, please?

    C． Hi! Would you mind giving me another fork?

    D． Waiter! Come here and change the fork!

According to the passage, why do the employers often thank their employees for doing their jobs?

    A． The employees can bring them a lot of benefits．

    B． The employees finish their jobs perfectly．

    C． The English employers’ good manners lead them to do so．

    D． The employers do it as a result of the company’s regulation．

The English are famous for their manners． The phrase, “Manners maketh the man” was coined by Englishman William of Wykeham back in 1324, but they’re just as important today． Books are written on the subject, advice columns in magazines tell people how to behave, and “finishing schools” still exist to ensure that young girls become young “l(fā)adies”．
The best example of English manners is in their mastery of the art of forming a queue． It is a popular joke in England （the land of sporting failures） to say, “if only queuing was an Olympic sport, we’d win hands down．” No one knows exactly how and when it started, but queuing plays an important role in the English social make-up． School children are taught to queue for roll-call, assembly and lunch, and English people across the land form orderly queues at shops, banks, cinemas and bus-stops every day． The English obviously aren’t the only people who queue, but they seem to do it better than anyone else． As one visitor said, “I have travelled across Europe, the Middle and Far East and nowhere have I seen the single-file queues which are formed in England．”
The English are also famously polite when it comes to language． Whereas many other notions are more direct in their communication, the English prefer a more indirect form of asking for things． For example, an American who wants to talk to a colleague might say, “Got a minute?”; however an English person will often use a more indirect means might of requesting the chat, “Sorry to bother you, but would you possibly have a minute or so to have a quick chat if you don’t mind, please?”
The English also love to apologize for things． When squeezing past someone, people say “sorry”． And they will apologize if you bump into them, “whoops! Sorry! My fault．” In fact, no one seems to say “sorry” as much as the English: “sorry I’m late． /Sorry I forgot to call you last night．/I’m sorry you didn’t get the e-mail．” And so on． They also like to use “please” and “thank you” a lot． In a shop, they will say, “I’d like a packet of crisp, please． Thanks．” British students thank their lectures, and bosses often thank their employees for doing their jobs．
【小題1】 Why does “finishing schools” still exist to help young girls become “l(fā)adies”?

A．Because the English mind their manners very much．

B．Because the English parents want to marry their daughters to the royal family．

C．Because the English girls are so rude that they need to be taught to be polite．

D．Because the English government ensures their existence．

【小題2】The underlined sentence in paragraph2 implies ________________．

A．The English love the Olympics very much．

B．The English spend nothing winning an Olympic medal．

C．The English are best at queuing．

D．The English prefer to queue with their hands down．

【小題3】 According to the passage, if Americans say “Waiter! Could I have another fork, please?” how will the English express such a meaning?

A．Excuse me! Give me another fork, please!

B．Excuse me! I have to be a bother, but would you mind awfully changing this fork, please?

C．Hi! Would you mind giving me another fork?

D．Waiter! Come here and change the fork!

【小題4】According to the passage, why do the employers often thank their employees for doing their jobs?

A．The employees can bring them a lot of benefits．

B．The employees finish their jobs perfectly．

C．The English employers’ good manners lead them to do so．

D．The employers do it as a result of the company’s regulation．

The English are famous for their manners． The phrase, “Manners maketh the man” was coined by Englishman William of Wykeham back in 1324, but they’re just as important today． Books are written on the subject, advice columns in magazines tell people how to behave, and “finishing schools” still exist to ensure that young girls become young “l(fā)adies”．

   The best example of English manners is in their mastery of the art of forming a queue． It is a popular joke in England （the land of sporting failures） to say, “if only queuing was an Olympic sport, we’d win hands down．” No one knows exactly how and when it started, but queuing plays an important role in the English social make-up． School children are taught to queue for roll-call, assembly and lunch, and English people across the land form orderly queues at shops, banks, cinemas and bus-stops every day． The English obviously aren’t the only people who queue, but they seem to do it better than anyone else． As one visitor said, “I have travelled across Europe, the Middle and Far East and nowhere have I seen the single-file queues which are formed in England．”

   The English are also famously polite when it comes to language． Whereas many other notions are more direct in their communication, the English prefer a more indirect form of asking for things． For example, an American who wants to talk to a colleague might say, “Got a minute?”; however an English person will often use a more indirect means might of requesting the chat, “Sorry to bother you, but would you possibly have a minute or so to have a quick chat if you don’t mind, please?”

   The English also love to apologize for things． When squeezing past someone, people say “sorry”． And they will apologize if you bump into them, “whoops! Sorry! My fault．” In fact, no one seems to say “sorry” as much as the English: “sorry I’m late． /Sorry I forgot to call you last night．/I’m sorry you didn’t get the e-mail．” And so on． They also like to use “please” and “thank you” a lot． In a shop, they will say, “I’d like a packet of crisp, please． Thanks．” British students thank their lectures, and bosses often thank their employees for doing their jobs．

1. Why does “finishing schools” still exist to help young girls become “l(fā)adies”?

   A． Because the English mind their manners very much．

   B． Because the English parents want to marry their daughters to the royal family．

   C． Because the English girls are so rude that they need to be taught to be polite．

   D． Because the English government ensures their existence．

2.The underlined sentence in paragraph2 implies ________________．

   A． The English love the Olympics very much．

   B． The English spend nothing winning an Olympic medal．

   C． The English are best at queuing．

    D． The English prefer to queue with their hands down．

3. According to the passage, if Americans say “Waiter! Could I have another fork, please?” how will the English express such a meaning?

    A． Excuse me! Give me another fork, please!

    B． Excuse me! I have to be a bother, but would you mind awfully changing this fork, please?

    C． Hi! Would you mind giving me another fork?

    D． Waiter! Come here and change the fork!

4.According to the passage, why do the employers often thank their employees for doing their jobs?

    A． The employees can bring them a lot of benefits．

    B． The employees finish their jobs perfectly．

    C． The English employers’ good manners lead them to do so．

    D． The employers do it as a result of the company’s regulation．

 

It was late in the afternoon, and I was putting the final touch on a piece of writing that I was feeling pretty good about. I wanted to save it, but my cursor(光標(biāo)) had frozen. I tried to shut the computer down, and it seized up altogether. Unsure of what else to do, I yanked (用力猛拉) the battery out.

Unfortunately, Windows had been in the midst of a crucial（緊要關(guān)頭） undertaking. The next morning, when I turned my computer back on, it informed me that a file had been corrupted and Windows would not load. Then, it offered to repair itself by using the Windows Setup CD.

I opened the special drawer where I keep CDs. But no Windows CD in there. I was forced to call the computer company's Global Support Centre. My call was answered by a woman in some unnamed, far-off land. I find it annoying to make small talk with someone when I don't know what continent they're standing on. Suppose I were to comment on the beautiful weather we've been having when there was a monsoon(季風(fēng)) at the other end of the phone? So I got right to the point.

"My computer is telling me a file is corrupted and it wants to fix itself, but I don't have the Windows Setup CD."

"So you're having a problem with your Windows Setup CD." She has apparently been dozing and, having come to just as the sentence ended, was attempting to cover for her inattention.

It quickly became clear that the woman was not a computer technician. Her job was to serve as a gatekeeper. Her only duty, as far as I could tell, was to raise global stress levels.

To make me disappear, the woman gave me the phone number for Windows' creator, Microsoft. This is like giving someone the phone number for, I don't know, North America. Besides, the CD worked; I just didn't have it. No matter how many times I repeated my story, we came back to the same place. She was calm and polite.

When my voice hit a certain decibel (分貝), I was passed along, like a hot, irritable potato, to a technician.

"You don't have the Windows Setup CD, ma'am, because you don't need it," he explained cheerfully.

"Windows came preinstalled on your computer!"

"But I do need it."

"Yes, but you don't have it." We went on like this for a while. Finally, he offered to walk me through the use of a different CD, one that would erase my entire system. "Of course, you'd lose all your e-mail, your documents, your photos." It was like offering to drop a safe on my head to cure my headache. "You might be able to recover them, but it would be expensive." He sounded delighted. "And it's not covered by the warranty (產(chǎn)品保證書(shū))!"  The safe began to seem like a good idea, provided it was full.

I hung up the phone and drove my computer to a small, friendly repair place I'd heard about. A smart, helpful man dug out a Windows CD and told me it wouldn't be a problem. An hour later, he called to let me know it was ready. I thanked him, and we chatted about the weather, which was the same outside my window as it was outside his.

1.Why did the author shut down her computer abruptly?

A．She had saved what she had written.

B．She couldn't move the cursor.

C．The computer refused to work.

D．The computer offered to repair itself.

2.Which of the following is the author's opinion about the woman at the Global Support Centre?

A．She sounded helpful and knowledgeable.

B．She was there to make callers frustrated.

C．She was able to solve her computer problem.

D．She was quick to pass her along to a technician.

3.According to the passage, the solution offered by the technician was_________________.

A．effective          B．economical        C．unpractical        D．unsatisfied

4. "It was like offering to drop a safe on my head to cure my headache" in the last but one paragraph means that_____________________.

A．the technician's proposal would make things even worse

B．the technician's proposal could eventually solve the problem

C．files stored on her computer were like a safe

D．erasing the entire system was like curing a headache

5.It can be inferred from the passage that the differences between the Global Support Centre and the local repair shop lie in all the followings except ________________.

A．efficiency         B．location           C．setup CDs         D．a(chǎn)ttitude