“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual questin. It’s a question that often doesn’t have an answer. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine.”, even if the person’s friend isn’t fine. The reason is that “How are you?” isn’t really a question and “Fine.” isn’t really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello!” or “Hi!”.

Sometimes, people also don’t say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks, “Do you agree?”, the other person might be thinking, “No, I disagree. I think you’re wrong …” But it isn’t very polite to disagree strongly, so the other person might say “I’m not sure …”. It’s a nice way to say that you don’t agree with someone.

People also don’t say exactly what they are thingking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says “I’ve to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse, “Someone is at the door.” “Something is burning on the stove.” The excuses might be real, or it might not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn’t want to talk any more, but it isn’t polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn’t hurt the other person.

When they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people often don’t say exactly what they are thinking. It’s an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's also a part of the game of language.

1. When a person in the United States asks “How are you?”, he or she wants to hear “___________”

　 A. How are you?　　 B. Hello!　　　 C. I don’t know.　　　 D. Fine.

2. When a person wants to disagree with someone, it is poite to say “___________”

　 A. You’re wrong. I disagree.　　　　　 B. I’m not sure.

C. I’m sure I disagree.　　　　　　　 D. No, I disagree.

3. A polite way to finish a talk is to say “______________”

　 A. You have to go now.　　　　　　　 B. I want to hang up now.

C. I have to go now .　　　　　　　　 D. I don’t want to talk any more.

4. When a person says “I’ve to go now. Someone is at the door.”, he or she may be __________.

　 A. giving an excuse　　　　　　　　 B. hurting someone’s feeling

C. talking to a person at the door　　　 D. going to another place

5. One of the rules of the game of language is probably “__________”

　 A. Always say what you mean.　　　　　　 B. Don’t disagree with people.

C. Never say exactly what you're thinking.　　 D. Be polite.

“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual questin. It’s a question that often doesn’t have an answer. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine.”, even if the person’s friend isn’t fine. The reason is that “How are you?” isn’t really a question and “Fine.” isn’t really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello!” or “Hi!”.

Sometimes, people also don’t say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks, “Do you agree?”, the other person might be thinking, “No, I disagree. I think you’re wrong …” But it isn’t very polite to disagree strongly, so the other person might say “I’m not sure …”. It’s a nice way to say that you don’t agree with someone.

People also don’t say exactly what they are thingking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says “I’ve to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse, “Someone is at the door.” “Something is burning on the stove.” The excuses might be real, or it might not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn’t want to talk any more, but it isn’t polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn’t hurt the other person.

When they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people often don’t say exactly what they are thinking. It’s an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's also a part of the game of language.

1 When a person in the United States asks “How are you?”, he or she wants to hear “___________”

　 A. How are you?　　 B. Hello!　　　 C. I don’t know.　　　 D. Fine.

2 When a person wants to disagree with someone, it is polite to say “___________”

　 A. You’re wrong. I disagree.　　　　　 B. I’m not sure.

C. I’m sure I disagree.　　　　　　　 D. No, I disagree.

3 When a person says “I’ve to go now. Someone is at the door.”, he or she may be __________.

　 A. giving an excuse　　　　　　　　 B. hurting someone’s feeling

C. talking to a person at the door　　　 D. going to another place

4. One of the rules of the game of language is probably “__________”

　 A. Always say what you mean.　　　　　　 B. Don’t disagree with people.

C. Never say exactly what you're thinking.　　 D. Be polite.

　　“How are you?” is a nice question. It's a ___1___ way that people in the United States ___2__ each other. But “How are you?” is also a very _ ___3___ question. It's a question that often ___4___ have an answer. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer“___5___”,even though the person's friend isn't fine, ___6___ “How are you?” isn't really a question, and “Fine” isn't really an answer. They are ___7__ other way of saying “Hello” and“___8___”.

　　Sometimes, people also don't say just what they ___9___ For example, when someone asks “Do you agree?” the other person ___10____ be thinking, “No, I don't agree. I think you're wrong. ” But it isn't very ___11___ to say so, so the other person might say, “I'm not so ___12___” It's a nice way to say that you don't agree with someone.

　　People ___13___ don't say just what they are thinking when they ___14___ talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone ___15___ when one person says,“I've got to go now.” Often, the person who wants to ___16__ gives an excuse：“Someone is at the door.” “I've got to put the things ___17__.” “Something is burning on the fire.” The excuse might be real, or it might not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk ____18___, but it isn't very polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't ___19___ the other person's feelings.

　　When they meet each other, talk about an idea, or end a talk, people often don't ___20___ just what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's all part of the game of language!

　　“How are you?” is a nice question. It's a ___1___ way that people in the United States ___2__ each other. But “How are you?” is also a very _ ___3___ question. It's a question that often ___4___ have an answer. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer“___5___”,even though the person's friend isn't fine, ___6___ “How are you?” isn't really a question, and “Fine” isn't really an answer. They are ___7__ other way of saying “Hello” and“___8___”.

　　Sometimes, people also don't say just what they ___9___ For example, when someone asks “Do you agree?” the other person ___10____ be thinking, “No, I don't agree. I think you're wrong. ” But it isn't very ___11___ to say so, so the other person might say, “I'm not so ___12___” It's a nice way to say that you don't agree with someone.

　　People ___13___ don't say just what they are thinking when they ___14___ talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone ___15___ when one person says,“I've got to go now.” Often, the person who wants to ___16__ gives an excuse：“Someone is at the door.” “I've got to put the things ___17__.” “Something is burning on the fire.” The excuse might be real, or it might not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk ____18___, but it isn't very polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't ___19___ the other person's feelings.

　　When they meet each other, talk about an idea, or end a talk, people often don't ___20___ just what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's all part of the game of language!