The English, as a race, are very different from ail other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, Belgians and Dutch. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities.

Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems inhibited, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a comer; no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to an overseas visitor, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage shake hands with all the passengers.” Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately suspect.

In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc, often accompanied by appropriate gestures. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than any other nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a men commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. Whereas a more emotional men might describe her as “an excellent jewel”, “extremely beautiful”, “precious”, the Englishman will taffy state “Um, she's all right”. An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, “It's not bad, you know,” or on seeing very unusual scenery he might convey his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, very nice.” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed  by this apparent lack of interest and involvement; he must realize that “all right”, “not bad”, and "nice", very often  have the sense of “first-class”, “excellent”, “beautiful”. This special use of language, particularly common in England, is known as restrained statement.

　　  1. If one doesn't want to be suspected in public, he had better

　　　　  A. behave relaxed　　　　　　　　 B. shake hands with all people he meets

　　　　  C. talk with others　　　　　　  D. keep quiet

　　  2. The word “inhibited” (Para. 2) most nearly means——.

　　　　  A. friendly　　　　　　　　　　  B. polite

　　　　  C. afraid　　　　　　　　　　    D. restrained (拘谨的)

　　  3. According to the passage, the Englishman——.

　　　　  A. has less feeling than other nationalities

　　　　  B. has emotions as deep as any other nationalities

　　　　  C. expresses emotion by use of his language

　　　　  D. likes to have a joke with foreign visitors

　　  4. An Englishman's saying “all right” usually has the sense of——.

　　　　  A. not bad　　　　　　　　 　　 B. quite right

　　　　  C. fairly good　　　　　　　　  D. very good

Henry found work in a bookstore after he finished middle school. He wouldn’t do anything but wanted to get rich. Mr King thought he was too lazy and was going to send him away. Henry was afraid and had to work hard.

　 It was a cold morning. It was snowing and there was thin ice on the streets. Few people went to buy the books and the young man had nothing to do. He hated to read, so he watched the traffic. Suddenly he saw a bag fall off a truck and it landed by the other side of the street.

　 “It must be full of expensive things, ”Henry said to himself. “I have to get it, or others will take it away. ”

　 He went out of the shop and ran across the street. A driver saw him and began to whistle（鸣笛）, but he didn’t hear it and went on running. The man drove aside, hit a big tree and was hurt in the accident. Two weeks later Henry was taken to court（法庭）. A judge asked if he heard the whistle when he was running across the street. He said that something was wrong with his ears and he could hear nothing.

　 “But you’ve heard me this time.”said the judge.

　 “Oh, I’m sorry. Now I can hear with one ear.”

　 “Cover the ear with your hand and listen to me with your deaf（聋的）one. Well, can you hear me? ”

　 “No, I can’t. sir. ”

1. What was Mr. King?

　 A. a driver　　　　 B. a doctor　　 　　C. a policeman　 D. a shopkeeper

2. Why did Mr. King want to send Henry away?

　 A. Because Henry was too lazy.

　 B. Because Henry hoped to be rich.

　 C. Because Henry finished middle school.

　 D. Because Henry sold few books.

3. The driver was afraid to _______, so he drove aside.

　 A. hit Henry　　　　 B. hurt himself　　　 C. fall behind　　　　 D. lose the bag

4. What does the underlined word“judge”mean in Chinese?

　 A. 裁判　 　 　 B. 律师　　　　　　 C. 法官　　　　 　D. 原告

5. Why did Henry say that he was deaf?

　 A. He wanted to have a joke with the judge.

　 B. He wanted to get the judge’s help

　 C. He wanted to find another piece of work

D. He didn’t want to pay for the accident.

Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems inhibited, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a comer; no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to an overseas visitor, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage shake hands with all the passengers.” Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately suspect.

In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc, often accompanied by appropriate gestures. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than any other nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a men commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. Whereas a more emotional men might describe her as “an excellent jewel”, “extremely beautiful”, “precious”, the Englishman will taffy state “Um, she's all right”. An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, “It's not bad, you know,” or on seeing very unusual scenery he might convey his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, very nice.” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed  by this apparent lack of interest and involvement; he must realize that “all right”, “not bad”, and "nice", very often  have the sense of “first-class”, “excellent”, “beautiful”. This special use of language, particularly common in England, is known as restrained statement.

　　  1. If one doesn't want to be suspected in public, he had better

　　　　  A. behave relaxed　　　　　　　　 B. shake hands with all people he meets

　　　　  C. talk with others　　　　　　  D. keep quiet

　　  2. The word “inhibited” (Para. 2) most nearly means——.

　　　　  A. friendly　　　　　　　　　　  B. polite

　　　　  C. afraid　　　　　　　　　　    D. restrained (拘谨的)

　　  3. According to the passage, the Englishman——.

　　　　  A. has less feeling than other nationalities

　　　　  B. has emotions as deep as any other nationalities

　　　　  C. expresses emotion by use of his language

　　　　  D. likes to have a joke with foreign visitors

　　  4. An Englishman's saying “all right” usually has the sense of——.

　　　　  A. not bad　　　　　　　　 　　 B. quite right

　　　　  C. fairly good　　　　　　　　  D. very good

阅读理解

　　Some think that people are not so polite as they used to be．Of course customs change, but the most important thing about politeness is that you should do nothing to make other people uncomfortable．

　　Here is a story about two soldiers and a boy．

　　The two soldiers who had just finished a long journey were on the way to their village．They decided to have a few drinks in the bar near a market-place．Having drunk enough, they came out into the street to look for something funny to do．But it was a very quiet place．Nothing interesting ever happened there．But at last, while standing in the market-place, they saw a village boy coming slowly with a donkey(驴) by a rope(绳子), so the two soldiers decided to play a joke on him．

　　“Hello,” one of the soldiers said to the boy,“Why does your brother have to rope round his neck when he goes for a walk with you?”

　　“To stop him joining the nave(海军)．” the boy answered at once．

　　What do you think of the story?Ｗｈｅｎsomeone does something impolite to you, do you think it correct to treat(对待) him in the same way? Can two wrongs make a right?

1．The writer says that______．

[　　]

A．people are less polite now because custom have changed

B．politeness in more important than anything else

C．the change of custom makes people uncomfortable

D．to be polite, one shouldn't make others uncomfortable

2．When they had drunk enough, the two soldiers______．

[　　]

A．went on their journey

B．wanted to find something to enjoy themselves

C．looked for a place to have a rest

D．left the market for their village

3．The two soldiers saw a village boy______．

[　　]

A．walking slowly on his donkey's back

B．walking together with his donkey

C．coming to the bar with his donkey

D．and wanted to know if he was clever or not

4．The writer ends the article with a question“Can two wrongs make a right?” This means that______．

[　　]

A．one should be polite even if he is treated impolitely

B．the two soldiers were wrong and they made the boy do them right

C．the boy's answer served the two soldiers right

D．one should be polite to others when they are polite to him

5．The best title for this article is______．

[　　]

A．What is Politeness　　　　B．Was the Boy Right?

C．A Clever Village Boy　　　D．The Two Impolite Soldiers