B
　　What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information. It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently. They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard saw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly." But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They're English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it. They should put communication first.　
【小题1】Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself　　　        B. practice grammar rules
B. talk with foreigners only    D. learn lists of words
【小题2】Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.

                            B

　　What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information. It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently. They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard saw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly." But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They're English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it. They should put communication first.　

1.Language is used to ________.

A. express oneself　　　        B. practice grammar rules

B. talk with foreigners only    D. learn lists of words

2.Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.

A. never makes mistakes　　         B. often makes mistakes

C. can't avoid making mistakes      D. always makes mistakes

3."Foreigners often speak English too correctly. "This sentence means that ________.

A. foreigners speak correct English

B. foreigners speak incorrect English

C. foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules

D. foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English

4.If too many native speakers break a rule, ________.

A. what they use will become right  B. they are against the law

C. they should say sorry to others  D. they will become heroes

5.When we speak a foreign language, we should ________.

A. speak in Chinese way       B. speak by the rules

C. speak to native speakers   D. not be afraid of making mistakes

It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing past someone in a narrow aisle, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others sometimes can’t be avoided, and the bus driver is merely doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started travelling to the British Isles and came to appreciate some more polite ways of communicating with people.

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and retail assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposed to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers stressed several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is shown in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.

1.What is the author’s attitude towards English politeness?

A. He thinks it is artificial                B. He gives no personal opinion

C. He appreciates it                   D. He thinks it goes too far.

2.What can we learn about customers and retail assistants in Germany?

     A. A customer never says thank you to a retail assistant.

     B. It’s always a retail assistant who says thank you.

     C. They may say thank you only once.

     D. they always say thank you to each other.

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men ___________.

     A. are more likely to be involved in a fighting.   

B. are more polite than English men.

     C. treat women in a polite way.         

D. are not so willing to spend money for women.

4.The author develops the text through the method of ____________.

   A. making comparisons            B. telling stories

   C. giving comments               D. giving reasons

It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere．When squeezing past someone in a narrow aisle, people say "sorry"．When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver．In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things．
After all, squeezing past others sometimes can't be avoided．and the bus driver is merely doing his job．I used lo think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles and came to appreciate some more polite ways of communicating with people．
People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time．When people buy something in a shop, customer and retail assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more．In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation．British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room．English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs as opposed to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough．
Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others．Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me．my employers stressed several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism．It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable．This also is shown in other ways．British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men．However, 1 do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men' Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted．
【小题1】What is the author's attitude towards English politeness?

A．It's always a retail assistant who says thank you．

B．A customer never says thank you to a retail assistant．

C．They always say thank you to each other．

D．They may say thank you only once．

It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere．When squeezing past someone in a narrow aisle, people say "sorry"．When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver．In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things．

After all, squeezing past others sometimes can't be avoided．and the bus driver is merely doing his job．I used lo think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles and came to appreciate some more polite ways of communicating with people．

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time．When people buy something in a shop, customer and retail assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more．In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation．British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room．English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs as opposed to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough．

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others．Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me．my employers stressed several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism．It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable．This also is shown in other ways．British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men．However, 1 do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men' Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted．

1.What is the author's attitude towards English politeness?

    A．He appreciates it                    B．He gives no personal opinion

    C．He thinks it is artificial             D．He thinks it goes too far．

2.What can we learn about customers and retail assistants in Germany?

    A．It's always a retail assistant who says thank you．

    B．A customer never says thank you to a retail assistant．

    C．They always say thank you to each other．

    D．They may say thank you only once．

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men _____．

    A．are more likely to be involved in a fighting．

    B．are not so willing to spend money for women．

    C．are more polite than English men.

    D．treat women in a polite way.

4.The author develops the text through the method of         .

    A．giving comments                      B．telling stories

    C．making comparisons       D．giving reasons