Few words are often spoken every day on the streets of Britain than “Sorry”. This word has become such an ordinary response(回应) that it has taken on a lot of meanings.

Sorry means to apologize. This is easy to understand. We learn it a lot as a native speaker or as a student of foreign languages.

But in Britain, it takes on another meaning. It is a cultural expression. Imagine this: a man walks down the street, looking down at his phone. A woman is walking in the opposite direction(反方向) to the man. She sees him, but she cant get out of the way in time. The man bumps into the woman. Who should say sorry? Naturally, the man should say sorry, because it was he who wasn’t looking. Yet in Britain, it is ordinary for both to apologize.

It is known that British people, like most people, do not enjoy conflict (冲突). So, to quickly make people less angry, British people will apologize to each other.

Other times it may sound funny to hear “sorry”. Some of my friends say it at restaurants, as they ask the waiter: “Sorry, but can I order another drink?” It is not to apologize, but just to say that we need the waiter. In Britain, sorry doesn’t always mean exactly what you think.

English is spoken as the first language by most people in the U.S.A., Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. However, English is spoken all over the world. It is the main language in over 60 countries, including India, Singapore and many of the Caribbean and Pacific islands. In these places, English is often spoken as the second language.

English is also an international language in many other countries, like China and Japan. People in these countries use it for business, and travelers to these countries use English to communicate when they get there. Other people may learn English because they enjoy reading books in English, listening to British or American music or watching American films.

English has changed a lot over the years and still goes on changing. It is no longer right to talk about British English or American English if the speakers come or don’t come from those countries. People in Japan and Korea, for example, may use the American spelling but may not sound like American.

English has been the most widely used language in the world by the end of the 20th century. This language no longer belongs to British, American or Australian speakers. It belongs to anyone in the world. So, as a middle school student today, you should think about how you can use this language. After you leave school, you will almost certainly need it.

Have you ever wondered why we say maidongxi instead of mainanbei, and shangcesuo rather than xiacesuo? These directional words in Chinese are very interesting. They are not only about giving directions but also carry a wealth of history and culture.

East/west or south/north

One theory says that in the Tang Dynasty, when shopping, people in Chang’an usually went to the East Market first, and then the West Market and these markets became more and more popular as time went by. Gradually, people started to describe shopping as maidongxi.

Left or right

In Chinese, we say yijian xiangzuo when we have different opinions. Why is it not yijian xiangyou?

Up or down

We use shangcesuo to mean “go to the bathroom” and xiachufang to mean “go to the kitchen”. Why? In ancient times, houses were laid out in a certain way. The gate of the house would face south, with the bathroom in the northeast of the house and the kitchen in the southeastern part. On map, north is usually at the top while south is at the bottom. In Chinese, we talk about north as shang and the south as xia. Therefore, people would say they were going “up” to the bathroom and “down” to the kitchen.

These directional words help us find our way and get a glimpse into the interesting history and culture of ancient China as well. Next time you use them, maybe you can think about the special meanings behind them and make your conversations much more fun.

A．

B．

C．

D．