The British love to think of
themselves as polite, and everyone knows how fond they are of their “pleases”
and “thank yous”. Even the simplest business such as
buying a train ticket requires _1_ seven or eight of these. Another _2_ of our
good manners is the queue. New-comers to Britain could be forgiven for
thinking that queuing rather than football was the _3_ national sport. Finally,
of course, motorists generally stop at crossings. But odes all this mean that
the British should consider themselves more polite than their European
neighbors? I think not.
Take forms of address(称呼) for example. The average English person-_4_ he happens to work in a hotel or
department store-would rather die than call a
stranger “Sir” or “Madam”. Yet in some European countries this is the most
basic of common address. Our _5_ “you” for everyone may appear more democratic,
but it means that we are forced to seek out complicated ways to express_6_. I
am all for returning to the use of “thee” and “thou”(Thee and thou are
old-fashioned poetic words for “you”); “you” would be _7_ for strangers and
professional relationships.
And of course, the English find touching
and other shows of friendship truly terrifying. Have you noticed how the
British _8_ ever touch? Personally, I find the Latin habits of shaking hands or
a friendly kiss quite charming. Try kissing the average English person, and
they will either take two steps backwards in horror; or, if their escape is
_9_, you will find your lips touching the back of their head. Now what could be
_10_ than that?
1. A. at least B.
at most C.
less than D.
not more than
2. A. signal B.
scene C.
sigh D.
sight
3. A. true B.
original C.
superior D.
advanced
4. A. if B.
whether C.
when D.
unless
5. A. universal B.
unique C.
regular D.
normal
6. A. politeness B. gratitude C.
democracy D.
consideration
7. A. ordered B.
reserved C.
offered D.
stocked
8. A. highly B.
mostly C.
hardly D.
nearly
9. A. confirmed B. assured C.
jammed D.
blocked
10. A. better B.
ruder C.
more polite D.
more frightening
