More than a hundred years ago, an American produced a game. He called it indoor tennis. The Americans were not interested in it at first so he sent it to his London friends and it became very popular in Britain.The game was then played across the dining room table, or on the floor with the net hung between two chairs. The balls were made of cork or rubber.The bats were made of wood.
A few years later a hollow ball like the one we use today was invented. The game then quickly spread all over the world. An Englishman once made a bat covered with rubber. He first played the game in England and called it “ping-pong”. “Ping”was the sound of the bat when it hit the ball. and “pong” was the sound of the ball when it hit the table.
【小题1】Who invented the game of ping-pong?
A  A Chinese  B An Englishman  C An American  D We don’t know
【小题2】The game was first known as_________.
A ping-pong tennis   B  table tennis
C outdoor tennis     D indoor tennis
【小题3】What did the British think of the game?
A Moving  B Interesting  C Terrible  D Well
【小题4】In the early days the ball was ______________.
A hollow       B covered with rubber
C made of cork and rubber  D made of plastics
【小题5】The name of ping-pong has something to do with_______.
A sound  B size  C history  D  place

“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly way that people in the U.S.A 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 say “I’ve to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives and 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, of finishing a talk, people don’t say exactly that 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.
【小题1】“How are you?”is another way of saying"Hello."or"Hi."
【小题2】 It is polite lo say"No.I disagree I think you are wrong, "if you don’t agree with others.
【小题3】When someone says"I have to go now "On the phone.it means he wants to go on talking.
【小题4】"Someone is at the door."may be an excuse for finishing a plume can.
【小题5】Sometimes people don't say exactly what they are thinking about just became they try to be nice to each other.

More than a hundred years ago, an American produced (创造) a game. He called it indoor tennis. The Americans were not interested in it at first so he sent it to his London friends and it became very popular (流行) in Britain. The game was then played across the dining-room table or on the floor with the net hung between two chairs. In the early days ，the balls were made of cork (软木) or rubber. The bats(球拍) were made of wood.

A few years later a hollow (空心) ball like the one we use today was invented. The game then quickly spread all over the world. An Englishman once made a bat covered with rubber. He first played the game in England and called it "ping - pong". "Ping" was the sound of the bat when it hit the ball, and "pong" was the sound of the ball when it hit the table.

1.Who invented the game of ping-pong?

2.The game was first called ________ by its producer(创造者).

3.What did the British think of the game?

4.In the early days，the ball was________.

5.The name of ping-pong has something to do with __________.