Here I must put in a few words about my experience here in China. If I have ___36__ with a Chinese host, he always presses(硬塞给)___37__ food onto my plate as soon as I have emptied the previous helping(份额). That often makes me ___38___awkward(尴尬). I have to eat the food even if I don’t ___39___ it, because it is ___40___ manners in the  West to _41__ one’s food on the plate. I have also ___42__ that when a Chinese sits at an American’s dinner party, he  often ___43___ the offer of food or drink though he is in fact still hungry or  ___44___.  This might be good manners in China,  but it is

certainly__45___ in the West. In the United States,  it is___46___ to keep asking someone again and again or press something on him. Americans are very ___47___.  If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, “__48__” Here’s an example:  When an American is offered ___49_ by the host, and he doesn’t feel like beer, he will probably say, “No, thanks. I just don’t feel like it. I’ll  ___50___  some Pepsi-Cola （百事可乐）if you have it.” That is ___51__ an American will do. ___52___are taught that  “Honesty is the best policy”. But in some countries, courtesy(谦虚) might be more important than ___53___. So when I am here in China, I have to observe（遵循） the __54__ here. But when you go to ___55___, you had better “Do as the Romans do.”

One evening, Mr. Green was driving his car along a lonely country road. He had __36__$10,000 from the bank in town. Suddenly a man in rags（衣衫褴褛） stopped him and asked for __37___. Mr. Green told him to get on and continued his way. __38___ he talked to the man, he _39___ that he had just broken out of prison. Mr. Green was very afraid at the __40__ of the money. Suddenly he saw a police-car and had a __41__ idea. He __42__ on speed and drove as quikly as possible. Then he found the police-car running _43___ him. After a mile the police-car passed him and ordered him to _44____. A policeman came up. Mr. Green hoped to tell him about the trouble but the man put a gun to Mr. Green’s __45___.

The policeman said he wanted Mr. Green’s name and _46__ amd Mr. Green obeyed. The policeman wrote it down in his notebook and put it in his __47___. “You _48___ appear at the police station,” he said, Then he talked to Mr. Green about _49____ driving.

Mr. Green started up his car again. He had given _50___ all hope of his $10,000, but as he reached a more lonely part, the robber said he wanted to __51___, Mr. Green stopped and the man said , “_52____, You’ve been _53___ to me. This is what I can do in __54___.” And he handed Mr. Green the policeman’s __55__, which was stolen while the policeman was talking to Mr. Green.

 — I don’t think this TV set is of good quality. Can you replace it with a new one?

— ___________. But I have to talk to my manager first.

Making an apology is not the same as making amends. Sometimes we apologize just because it’s the easiest thing to do. What’s actually important is to identify where we go wrong, take full responsibility for our mistakes and , if possible, try to make up for them.

A recent case involving Hewlett-Packed, the US computer giant, shows the importance of presenting a sincere apology. The Chinese consumers who had bought notebook computers of certain models, which have been put on Chinese market since 2007, suffered a massive flash screen failures and overheating problems. Through investigation, Chinese AQSIQ(国家质检总局) identified these HP computers had quality problems and HP admitted this. HP made a proposal that they would extend the warranty period of such computers, but this could not satisfied the consumers. What they needed was a thorough description of the truth. HP has “sincerely” apologized. But the consumers remain angry, and say that only a product recall—as HP has done in the past—will prove that the apology is sincere.

Another apology that fell flat on its face was that of Thierry Henry, the famous French footballer. His deliberate handball in November 2009 created the goal which knocked Ireland out of the 2010 World Cup. The incident caused great anger in the football world, and eventually Henry issued and apology. Two days later, he wrote, “I’m not the referee…but if I hurt someone I’m sorry.” Better late than never, perhaps, but even then he passed the blame onto the referee!

Such high-profile cases, which attract a lot of publicity often under the spotlight, but similar incidents occur in our everyday lives. Stress caused by schoolwork and tiredness can sometimes result in outbursts of anger against friends and family. Have you ever lost your temper for minor reasons? After calming down, most people are quick to realize their mistake and apologize. But it’s just as important to identify what caused the error in the first place and take action to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

No one should hold a negative attitude to making a sincere apology. Empty words are easy to say, but they are as useless as they sound. A real show of remorse demands hard work and commitment to put error right. 

46. What does the author intend to tell us in the case of HP?

A. A true apology needs sincere actions.

B. HP should recall all the faulty computers.

C. Good quality makes a good company.

D. A company should apologize and pay for their mistakes.

47. According to the author, when we do anything wrong we firstly __________ .

A. make an apology face to face honestly

B. admit we were wrong and try to make the wrong right

C. take the responsibility for apologizing to others

D. choose the easiest thing to do

48. We can infer from the case of Thierry Henry that ______________ .

A. It’s never too late to say “I’m sorry.”

B. Writing an apology is not a good idea.

C. Henry didn’t identify his fault.

D. The football fans were mad with Henry.

49. Which of the following can best explain the word “commitment” in the last paragraph?

A. decision                B. promise             C. agreement                D. responsibility

50. What’s the best title of this passage?

A. What really puts things right                     

B. Don’t apologize easily

C. Making an apology—no one is out of exception

D. How to judge an apology—sincere enough?

--What if I can’t finish my task today?

--______.You still have another week left.

A．I’m sorry.        B．It depends.        C．Don’t mention it.   D．take it easy