B
新素养 语言意识 "How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the USA greet each other. But when a person says "How are you?", he hopes to hear the answer "Fine.", even if(即使) 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. It's a common way of saying "Hello" and "Hi".
Sometimes people also don't say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks, "Do you agree?", the other person may be thinking, "No, I don't agree. I think you are wrong." But it isn't very polite, so they may say, "I'm not so sure." It's a nice way to say that you don't agree with someone.
It's interesting when people want to finish talking. For example, when a person wants to finish talking with other people on the phone, he may say, "I have to go now." Sometimes he gives an excuse(借口), for example, "Someone is knocking at the door". The excuse may be real, or it may not be. It's a polite way to finish talking and it doesn't hurt the other person's feelings. People don't always say exactly what they are thinking. And it's a part of the game of language.
(
B
)5. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
A. It's not a friendly way to say "Hello" or "Hi".
B. "How are you?" is another way to say "Hello".
C. "Fine." is the only answer to the question "How are you?".
D. Only people in the USA say "How are you?" to greet each other.
(
D
)6. Why do people say "I'm not so sure" when they don't agree with someone?
A. They don't understand the question.
B. They don't want to answer the question.
C. They are not sure about how to answer the question.
D. They don't think it's polite to say "I don't agree with you".
(
A
)7. Which of the following sentences is NOT true?
A. All the excuses are not real.
B. People often use excuses to finish talking.
C. People sometimes use another way to say what they mean.
D. People in the USA often use "How are you?" to greet each other.
(
A
)8. What's the best title for the passage?
A. A kind of language game
B. A style of making excuses
C. A polite way to finish talking
D. Different ways of greeting each other
