Question

Millions of British people have ditched the traditional “thank you” and replaced it with the less formal “cheers”, according to a survey.

Although the average person will say “thank you” nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a “cheers” or “ta” where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.

One in 20 now say “nice one” instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a “cool” than a “thank you”. “Merci”, “fab” and even “gracias” were also listed as common phrases to use, as was “much appreciated”.

One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal “thank you” was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly wouldn’t say “thank you” if they were in a bad mood.

Most people declared that saying “thank you” was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say “thank you” to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.

It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them — many justifying (为……辩解) the lack of thanks because their family “already know I’m grateful”.

When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people. A thank you email is also popular, while a quarter turn to social networks to express gratitude. A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake. A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note — but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.

It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude they feel they should receive. 

1.Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” _____.

A．when they are in good mood              B．completely out of habit

C．when they feel truly grateful               D．purely out of politeness

2.The underlined word “ditched” in Paragraph 1 means “_____”.

A．abandoned        B．used             C．shared            D．grasped

3.It can be learned from the passage that _____.

A．different ways of expressing gratitude are all fashionable

B．people should avoid saying “thank you” nowadays

C．a thank-you note is still appreciated by most people

D．people in a bad mood never say “thank you”

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

A．Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them.

B．About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should.

C．Most people may feel natural when they fail to receive others’ gratitude.

D．Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍了美国人现在表示感谢的方式在改变，人们会说“cheers”代替“thank you”或写感谢信，也有人认为没有必要向家人说谢谢。

1.推理题：从第四段的句子：Most people declared that saying thank you was something drilled into them by their parents. 可以推断出，大多数人说：Thank you是出于习惯。选B

2.猜词题：从后面的句子：replaced it with the less formal ‘cheers’, according to a survey.可知这里指的是放弃说“thank you”。选A

3.推理题：从倒数第三段的句子：When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people. A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note —可知大部分人还是喜欢用感谢信的。选C

4.推理题：从第五段的句子：many justifying (为…辩解) the lack of thanks because their family ‘already know I’m grateful’可知很多人认为没必要向家人表示感谢。选D

考点：考查社会现象类短文

点评：文章介绍了美国人现在表示感谢的方式在改变，人们会说“cheers”代替“thank you”或写感谢信，也有人认为没有必要向家人说谢谢。这篇文章观点明确，通过举例更易于理解，推理题要求考生仔细阅读文本，耐心审题，结合题目到文章中找到关键的句子做出准确的判断。猜词题可以在前后文找出答案。