“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But when someone says to his friend “How are you?”, he likes the answer “fine” even when his friend isn’t fine. It’s because that “How are you?” isn’t really a question, and “fine” isn’t really an answer. They are common（常见的）ways of saying “Hello” and “Hi”.
Sometimes people also don’t say just what they think. For example, when someone asks, “Do you think so?” the other one may be thinking, “No, I don’t think so. I think you are wrong.” But it doesn’t sound very friendly, so they may say, “I’m not so sure.” It’s a nice way to say that you don’t think the same as your friend.
It’s fun when people want to finish talking. For example, when a man wants to finish talking he may say “I have to go now.” Sometimes he often gives an excuse, “Someone is at the door”, “Something is burning” and so on. The excuse may be real, or it may not. It’s a nice way to stop a conversation（对话）and it doesn’t hurt your friend’s feelings. People don’t always say just what they are thinking. And it’s a part of the game of speaking.
【小题1】The underlined word “
greet” means “________ to someone”.
| A．say “hello” or “hi” | B．make a phone call | C．put a nice question |
【小题2】According to Paragraph 1, you’d better answer “________” to “How are you” even when you’re not feeling well.
【小题3】When you don’t think the same as your friend, you should say “________” to his idea.
| A．You think so? | B．You are wrong. | C．I’m not sure. |
【小题4】When a man says “Someone is at the door” on the phone, he will ________.
| A．finish the talk | B．see someone | C．hurt your feelings |
