Social customs and ways of behaving changes. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behavior for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in a room. Customs also change from country to country. Does a man walk on the left or on the right in your company? Or does it matter? Should you have one hand in your lap(衣兜) or on the table? The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs. For example, in both countries people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time. Also most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman and so will most Americans. Promptness is important both in England and America. That is, if a dinner is for seven o’clock, the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay（拖延）. The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make people feel uncomfortable especially if they are your guests. There is an old story about a man who gave a very formal party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to cut his peas with a knife. The other guests were surprised or shocked, but the host calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guests feel foolish and uncomfortable.

1. 1.

   If a man smoked in the room where a lady stayed, he would be considered as_____.

   1. A.
      a gentleman      B , a boss      C. a fool      D. a worker
2. 2.

   Which of the following is true?

   1. A.
      A respected man usually behaves properly
   2. B.
      social customs in some countries never change
   3. C.
      English people open the door for women while Americans don’t
   4. D.
      To eat peas with a knife is good manners
3. 3.

   The underlined word “promptness” means _____.

   1. A.
      to show respect for a lady    
   2. B.
      to apologize when you are late
   3. C.
      to invite sb to dinner        
   4. D.
      to do things without delay
4. 4.

   The writer tells us a story just to ______.

   1. A.
      amuse the readers      
   2. B.
      tell us how to avoid making others uncomfortable
   3. C.
      tell us how to eat peas  
   4. D.
      show that social customs and ways change
5. 5.

   Which might be the title of the passage ?

   1. A.
      American and British culture      
   2. B.
      Table manners
   3. C.
      Change old customs             
   4. D.
      Social customs    

　　Social customs and ways of behaving change．Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable．Just a few years ago，it was considered impolite behavior for a man to smoke on the street．No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in a room．

　　Customs also differ from country to country．Does a man walk on the left or the right of a woman in your country？Or doesn't it matter？What about table manners？ Should you use both hands when you are eating？ Should you leave one on your lap，or on the table？

　　The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs．For example，in both America and England people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time．Also，most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman，and so will most Americans．Promptness （敏捷）is important both in England and in America．That is，if a dinner invitation is for 7 o'clock，the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay．

　　The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable—specially if they are your guests．There is an old story about a man who gave a formal dinner party．When the food was served，one of the guests started to eat his peas with a knife．The other guests were amused（逗乐） or shocked，but the host calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way．It would have been bad manners to make his guests feel foolish or uncomfortable．

1．If one has accepted a dinner invitation，what should he do if he is to be late for the dinner？

A．He should find an excuse．

B．He should ask for excuse．

C．He should telephone to explain his being late．

D．He should say “Sorry”．

2．In the sentence “It would have been bad manners to make his guests feel foolish or uncomfortable”，“bad manners” means________．

A．ugly

B．dishonest

C．impolite

D．shameful

3．According to the text，the best host________．

A．tries his best to make his guests feel comfortable

B．makes his guests feel excited

C．tries to avoid being foolish to his guests

D．tries to avoid being uncomfortable

4．The author of this article may agree with which of the following？

A．The guest who ate his peas with a knife．

B．The other guests who were amused or shocked．

C．The host who picked up his knife and began eating in the same way．

D．None of the above．

第三部分  阅读理解 （共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中，选出最佳选项。

Social customs and ways of behaving changes. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behavior for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in a room. Customs also change from country to country. Does a man walk on the left or on the right in your company? Or does it matter? Should you have one hand in your lap(衣兜) or on the table? The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs. For example, in both countries people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time. Also most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman and so will most Americans. Promptness is important both in England and America. That is, if a dinner is for seven o’clock, the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay（拖延）. The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make people feel uncomfortable especially if they are your guests. There is an old story about a man who gave a very formal party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to cut his peas with a knife. The other guests were surprised or shocked, but the host calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guests feel foolish and uncomfortable.

56. If a man smoked in the room where a lady stayed, he would be considered as_____.

A. a gentleman      B , a boss      C. a fool      D. a worker

57. Which of the following is true?

A. A respected man usually behaves properly

B. social customs in some countries never change

C. English people open the door for women while Americans don’t

D. To eat peas with a knife is good manners

58. The underlined word “promptness” means _____.

A. to show respect for a lady     B. to apologize when you are late

C. to invite sb to dinner         D. to do things without delay

59. The writer tells us a story just to ______.

A. amuse the readers       B. tell us how to avoid making others uncomfortable

C. tell us how to eat peas   D. show that social customs and ways change

60. Which might be the title of the passage ?

A. American and British culture       B. Table manners

C. Change old customs              D. Social customs