Two days ago, I had taken a test in Biology, and I knew that I would get my scores in the same class today.

After the bell rang, every student sat in his or her seat impatiently. Then, one by one, the teacher called our names.

As each paper was given back to the correct student, the front of the answer paper would always be turned to face the ground and the paper itself would be slightly folded (折叠) to prevent anyone from seeing.

In fact, folding each test paper is a way to make sure that each student sees only his or her own scores. The scores are seen as private information not to be announced or shown to others. As a way to keep the students' score records secret, each student is given an online account (帐号) with which to check his or her grades posted on the official school website.

Protecting students' private information always comes first in US schools that want to free students from unnecessary pressure. School reports are guarded closely to prevent poor grades from damaging a student's dignity and reputation (尊严和声誉), which are for himself or herself only.

However, some insist that although students' feelings and self-dignity are easily hurt, they cannot be forever protected. They say that school also teach their students to make themselves stronger in mind, and the classroom should show the reality of competition in society. Scores that everyone can see might better encourage students to work harder to be better than others.

In western countries, such as the United States, England and Canada, people often invite their friends over for a meal, a party, or just coffee.

When people want to ask their friends to their homes, 1 ? Here are some examples：“Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” “ Hey，we are having a party on Friday. Can you come?” To answer this kind of invitation, say “Thank you” if you can go； 2 .

Sometimes, however, what people say is like an invitation, 3 Here are some examples：“Please come over for a drink sometime.’’ “Let’s get together for lunch soon.” 4 ,because they don’t talk about the date or time. (5) They just show that they are trying to be friendly. To reply to this kind of invitation, just say“Sure, that would be great.” or “OK，thank you.”

If you have the chance to visit Britain yourself, you can see at every bus stop the British people form a queue. You may have read about it, but you will still feel amazed to see it with your own eyes.

It’s an amazing social behavior; it brings the British to a higher level of civilization(文明). At least that is what one professor from Germany thinks. The professor named Joseph Heinrich and his   workmates say that standing in line is the “highest form of cooperative(协作的) group behavior”.

The social rules of standing in line are also interesting. For example, you need to be able to decide the correct distance to the person in front of you. Get too close and there is a danger of entering other people’s personal space. This is a serious mistake and often makes other people angry. However, when you leave too much space, the next person is likely to ask: “Are you in the queue?” This may sound polite but in fact it means: “Can’t you stand in line properly?”

In no other countries can you see the one-man queue except in Britain. If a British person arrives at a bus stop and no one else is there, he will not simply wait. Instead, he stands at the head of the queue.

Tourists are often unfamiliar with local customs(习俗), and if they do not get in line behind the British person, he or she will tell them strictly: “This is a queue.”

Though it might seem that the British people take their queues too seriously, one thing is certain: queues can save lives. In dangerous situations, standing in line has prevented them from getting very frightened.

In the serious train accident in 1999, people who were hurt formed a queue as they escaped from their trains. One writer later wrote about a polite man who let her pass with a quiet “after you”.