In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining(请客) at home. They often invites friends for a meal, a party or just for coffee and conversation.
Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their homes: “Would you like to come over for dinner this Saturday night?” “Hey, we’re having a party on Friday. Can you come?”
To answer an invitation, either say thank you and accept or say you are sorry and give an excuse. “Thanks, I’d love to. What time would you like me to come?” or “ Oh, sorry. I’ve tickets for a movie.”
Sometimes, however, people in the west use expressions(语句) that sound like invitation but which are not real invitation. For example, “Please come over for a drink sometime.” “Why not get together for a party sometime?” or “Why don’t you come over and see us sometime soon?” They are really polite ways of ending a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don’t mention(提到、涉及) a certain time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be friendly. To answer expressions like this, people just say, “Sure, that would be great!” or “OK! Thanks.”
So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?
【小题1】Why do Canadians and Americans often invite friends for meals at home?

　　Mr. Smith liked travelling. One day, at noon, he came to a small town. He was too tired and hungry to go on. So he went to a restaurant and tie his horse to a tree outside. There were so many people in it that he couldn't find a seat for himself. Mr. Smith thought for a moment and then he looked at one of the servants near the door. He shouted at him.“My horse is in the street. Give it some meat.”

　　All the people in the restaurant looked surprised. The servant asked,“Did you say 'meat', sir?”

　　“Yes, I did,”said Mr. Smith.“The horse is hungry. Give it some meat.”

　　The servant went to the kitchen and took some meat. Then he brought it to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith looked at the meat and said,“Take it to my horse.”

　　The servant went into the street. All the other people in the room went out, too, and they said,“A horse is going to eat meat. Come and have a look at it.”Now the restaurant was empty.

　　After a few minutes, the servant came into the restaurant again, and all the other people came back, too. The servant went to Mr Smith and said,“Your horse didn't want to eat the meat.”

　　Mr. Smith smiled and said,“Really? Oh, perhaps…er…well, well, take it to the kitchen and cook it, then bring it to me. I'll eat it. All right? But, please take some oats to my horse. Will you?”

[　　]

[　　]

A．his horse was very hungry

B．his horse liked meat

C．he wanted to take a seat

D．he wanted the servant to do something for him

[　　]

A．to leave Mr. Smith alone

B．because they thought it wasn't strange for a horse to eat meat

C．as they believe a horse could eat meat

D．all the answers above are wrong

[　　]

A．hurried to take a seat and drank his beer happily

B．went to get a big glass of water, put it on a table and began to drink

C．went out after them to see his horse

D．closed the door, got a cup of tea and sat down

[　　]

A．the people in the restaurant were very kind

B．Mr. Smith's horse was very strange

C．the servants of the restaurant were very interesting

D．Mr. Smith was clever but not good

In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining at home. They often invite friends over for a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.

    Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their home:

    "Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night?"

    "Hey, we're having a party on Friday. Can you come?"

    To reply to an invitation, either say thank you and accept, or say you're sorry and give an excuse:

"Thanks. I′d love to. What time would you like me to come?" or "Oh sorry,

I′ve tickets for a movie."

    Sometimes, however, people use expressions that sound like invitations but which are not real invitations. For example:

    "Please come over for a drink sometime."

    "Why not get together for a party sometime?"

    "Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?"

    They are really just polite ways of ending a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't mention a specific time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be friendly. To reply to expressions like these, people just say "Sure, that would be great!" or "OK. Yes, thanks."

     So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?

1. Why do Canadians and Americans often invite friends for meals at home?

    A. Because they can save time.    B. Because they can spend less money.

    C. Because they enjoy entertaining at home.

    D. Because they have modern and beautiful houses.

2. Which of the following is a real invitation?

    A. "lf you′re free, let′s go for a drink sometime."

    B. "Please go to the cinema with me someday."

    C. "Would you like to have a cup of tea with us sometime?"

    D. "I′ve two tickets here. Can you go to the concert with me?"

3. If people say "Let's get together for lunch some day." You just say, "     ″

    A. That would be nice.               B. How about this weekend?

    C. Oh, sorry. I′m very busy.          D. That′s great. I′ll be there on time.

4. People use "an unreal invitation" in order to show that                 .

    A. they′re trying to be friendly          B. they′re trying to be helpful

C. they′re trying to make friends with others 

D. they haven′t got ready for a party yet

5. The passage is mainly about                     .

    A. entertainment at home                  B. real invitations or not

    C. expressions of starting a conversation D. ways of ending a conversation