Millions of British people have ditched the traditional “thank you” and replaced it with the less formal “cheers”, according to a survey.

Although the average person will say “thank you” nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a “cheers” or “ta” where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.

One in 20 now say “nice one” instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a “cool” than a “thank you”. “Merci”, “fab” and even “gracias” were also listed as common phrases to use, as was “much appreciated”.

One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal “thank you” was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly wouldn’t say “thank you” if they were in a bad mood.

Most people declared that saying “thank you” was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say “thank you” to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.

It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them — many justifying (为……辩解) the lack of thanks because their family “already know I’m grateful”.

When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people. A thank you email is also popular, while a quarter turn to social networks to express gratitude. A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake. A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note — but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.

It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude they feel they should receive. 

1.Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” _____.

A．when they are in good mood              B．completely out of habit

C．when they feel truly grateful               D．purely out of politeness

2.The underlined word “ditched” in Paragraph 1 means “_____”.

A．abandoned        B．used             C．shared            D．grasped

3.It can be learned from the passage that _____.

A．different ways of expressing gratitude are all fashionable

B．people should avoid saying “thank you” nowadays

C．a thank-you note is still appreciated by most people

D．people in a bad mood never say “thank you”

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them.

B．About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should.

C．Most people may feel natural when they fail to receive others’ gratitude.

D．Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members.

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。

 注意：每空一词。

Most people who travel from China to the US find that，despite having studied English for years，they have to “re—learn” it upon arriving．

    Words that we learned in English classes are not pronounced the same way here．To truly be part of the “melting pot”，fluency（流利）in English is not enough．You need an accent to stand out．

    When I first came to the US for graduate school，1 was a nervous foreigner．I felt so out of place that I wanted to hide everything about me that was “different”．To talk like an American became one of my goals．

    During my first term as a teaching assistant(TA)，my students complained（抱怨） they could not understand me．I learned later from a study that this complaint was common among US students with an international TA．It is called the “Oh, no!” syndrome (情绪、举动)：“Oh，no! Not another international TA，and not that accent again!’’

   So I imitated（模仿）the way native speakers talk and，over time，I made such good progress that American friends started to praise my English as having “almost no accent’’．I took this as a sign of my success．Ever since．people have often mistaken me for someone from many places：the Midwest，the West Coast，China，Japan，South Korea．Most frequently，people think I am from California．

    Suddenly，conformity (一致) was no longer a praise：If I talk like an American，am I still Chinese? If I lose my Chinese accent，do I also lose my cultural identity? Am I denying（否认）my past by being absorbed into（沉浸于）a new culture?

    Now I realize that a person’s accent is a permanent（永久的）record of their past cultural experience and it is a mark of one’s experience and exposure to different cultures．

As a fourth-year student in the US，I am no longer a nervous foreigner．My nervousness has been replaced by a desire to hold on to my cultural origins．Now I consciously（有意识地）add some Chinese “accent” when I speak．I do not wish to speak “perfect” English because I am proud of who I am．

Millions of British people have ditched the traditional ‘thank you’ and replaced it with the less formal ‘cheers’, according to a survey.
Although the average person will say ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’ where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.
One in 20 now say ‘nice one’ instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a ‘cool’ than a ‘thank you’.‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and even ‘gracias’ were also listed as common phrases to use, as was ‘much appreciated’.
One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal ‘thank you’ was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood. Most people declared that saying thank you was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.
It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them — many justifying (为…辩解) the lack of thanks because their family ‘already know I’m grateful’.
When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people. A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note — but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.
A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.
It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude (感激) they feel they should receive.
【小题1】Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” _____.

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。

 注意：每空一词。

Most people who travel from China to the US find that，despite having studied English for years，they have to “re—learn” it upon arriving．

    Words that we learned in English classes are not pronounced the same way here．To truly be part of the “melting pot”，fluency（流利）in English is not enough．You need an accent to stand out．

    When I first came to the US for graduate school，1 was a nervous foreigner．I felt so out of place that I wanted to hide everything about me that was “different”．To talk like an American became one of my goals．

    During my first term as a teaching assistant(TA)，my students complained（抱怨） they could not understand me．I learned later from a study that this complaint was common among US students with an international TA．It is called the “Oh, no!” syndrome (情绪、举动)：“Oh，no! Not another international TA，and not that accent again!’’

   So I imitated（模仿）the way native speakers talk and，over time，I made such good progress that American friends started to praise my English as having “almost no accent’’．I took this as a sign of my success．Ever since．people have often mistaken me for someone from many places：the Midwest，the West Coast，China，Japan，South Korea．Most frequently，people think I am from California．

    Suddenly，conformity (一致) was no longer a praise：If I talk like an American，am I still Chinese? If I lose my Chinese accent，do I also lose my cultural identity? Am I denying（否认）my past by being absorbed into（沉浸于）a new culture?

    Now I realize that a person’s accent is a permanent（永久的）record of their past cultural experience and it is a mark of one’s experience and exposure to different cultures．

As a fourth-year student in the US，I am no longer a nervous foreigner．My nervousness has been replaced by a desire to hold on to my cultural origins．Now I consciously（有意识地）add some Chinese “accent” when I speak．I do not wish to speak “perfect” English because I am proud of who I am．

Does technology pose a threat to the purity of Chinese language?

Many Chinese use instant messenger tools such as MSN or QQ, listen to music on MP3 players and log on the Internet using ADSL—most without knowing the literal Chinese translation of the abbreviations(缩略词). But they don’t have to, as many English letters have become part of the local vocabulary.

A dozen abbreviations including GDP, NBA, IT, MP3, QQ, DVD and CEO are among the 5,000 most-frequently used words in the Chinese media last year, according to a report on the 2006 Language Situation in China.

The report said some parents are so keen on English letters that a couple tried to name their baby “@”, claiming the character used in email addresses reflects their love for the child. While the “@”is obviously familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word “at” to pronounce it “ai ta”,or “love him”.

The study collected more than 1 billion language samples from newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and websites. The annual report is jointly compiled by the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission.

“Nowadays, more and more English abbreviations are being used in Chinese, making them an important part of modern language,” said Hou Min, a professor at Communication University of China.

“The abbreviations have gained popularity because of the ease of usage,” Hou said. For example, DNA is much simpler to use than its Chinese version. “As more Chinese people learn foreign languages, especially English, in recent years, using abbreviations has become a trend among educated people,” she added.

Some language scholars fear such usage will contaminate(污染)the purity of Chinese and cause confusion in communication.

Which of the following is TRUE about the report on the 2006 Language Situation in China?

A．The report is compiled by the Ministry of Education alone.

B．The report is compiled every year.

C．The report is compiled every two years.

D．The report is based on over 1 billion language samples from websites.

Why does the author use the example of a couple who tried to name their baby “@”?

A．To show Chinese is badly polluted by English.

B．To express the couple’s love for the child.

C．To indicate “@”is a very common sign among the e-mail users.

D．To show some people are very enthusiastic over English letters.

Why are the English abbreviations becoming more and more popular according to the passage?

A．Because English is the most common language in the world.

B．Because using English abbreviations is a fashion.

C．Because English abbreviations are easy and simple to use.

D．Because English abbreviations are easy to pronounce.

What can we infer from the passage?

A．People should know clearly the exact Chinese translation of English abbreviations.

B．More and more Chinese people will use English abbreviations in the future.

C．Most parents like to give their child English names now.

D．Language scholars hate to use English abbreviations.