Speaking English is not only about using proper grammar, but also about understanding the culture. Here is some important advice to remember when speaking English in the United States.
◆Americans have difficulties understanding foreign accents. Many Americans are not used to foreign accents. This requires patience from both of you.
◆Talk about places: Americans love to talk about places. When speaking to a stranger, ask them where they come from and then say something about that place. For example: “Oh, I have a friend who worked in Los Angeles. He says it’s a beautiful place to live in.” Most Americans will then willingly talk about their experiences of living in or visiting that city or place.
◆Talk about work: It is common for Americans to ask “What do you do?” It’s not considered impolite as in some countries and is a popular topic of discussion between strangers.
◆Talk about sports: Americans love sports! However, they love American sports. When speaking about football, most Americans understand “American football”, not soccer.
◆Be careful when expressing ideas about race, religion or other sensitive（敏感的）topics:The United States is a society with different cultures. Americans are very sensitive to other cultures and ideas.
【小題1】For Americans, the question “what do you do?” is ________.

Experts（專家）say that students usually need eight to ten hours' sleep at night, but more Chinese students do not get enough sleep．Some Chinese parents are usually glad to see their children studying late．They will think their children work very hard．But not all parents are happy about this．Once a mother told us that every morning her 10-year-old boy put up one finger with his eyes still closed ,begging （央求）for one more minute to sleep．Like thousands of student "early birds" in China, he has to get up before six every morning．

A report shows that a good night's sleep, students seem to be weaker than they should be．Many students have fallen asleep during class at one time or another．Too much homework is not the only reason why students stay up late．Some watch TV or play the computer games late into the night．

Experts have ever said that students should develop good study habits．So some clever students never study late, they are able to work well in class．

1．The 10-year-old boy begged for one more minute to sleep because

A．he didn't have enough sleep                  B．it wasn't time for him to get up

C．he didn't want to go to school                D．he wanted his mother to wake him up

2．In this passage "early birds" means persons who __

A．get up early                                           B．get up late

C．sleep less                                              D．don't want to sleep

3．From the passage we know if students don't get enough sleep, they may __

A．become too weak to sleep                   B．not work well in class

C．go to bed early                            D．be weak in English

4．"Stay up late" here means __

A．study late                                B．watch TV late

C．not go to bed until late                      D．stay outside

5．According to the passage, which of the following is right?

A．If you want to study better, you must work hard．

B．Sleeping less means working hard．

C．Some clever students can work well in class because they have good study habits．

D．Students don't have enough sleep only because they have a lot of homework to do．

　　Mary did not understand such sentences as“You are yellow.”“She is blue today.”“She has a green thumb（大拇指）.”“He has told a white lie.”and so on, so she went to her teacher for help.

　　Mrs. Smith: Certainly. Now I give you some cakes. In fact（實際上）you don't like them, but you won't say so. Instead you say,“No, thanks. I'm not hungry.”That's a white lie.

(1）Mary did not understand the sentences and asked Mrs. Smith ________.

(2）He is _______ today because he was told his father was seriously ill.

(3）I don't have a green thumb, so all my plants ________.

(4）He didn't want me to know ________ of the accident. He told me a white lie.

(5）This passage is about ________.

　　Experts（專家）say that students usually need eight to ten hours' sleep at night, but most Chinese students do not get enough sleep. Some Chinese parents are usually glad to see their children studying late. They will think their children work very hard. But not all parents are happy about this. Once a mother told us that every morning her 10-year-old boy put up one finger with his eyes still closed, begging（乞求）for one more minute to sleep. Like thousands of students“early birds”in China, he has to get up before six every morning.

　　Experts have ever said that students should develop good study habits（習(xí)慣）. So some clever students never study late. They are able to work well in class.

A．he didn't have enough sleep

B．it wasn't time for him to get up

C．he didn't want to go to school

D．he wanted his mother to wake him up

(2)In this passage“early birds”means persons who ___________.

A．get up early

B．get up late

C．sleep less

D．don't want to sleep

A．become too weak to sleep

B．not work well in class

C．go to bed early

D．be weak in English

(4)“Stay up late”here means“__________”.

A．study late

B．watch TV late

C．not go to bed until late

D．stay outside

A．If you want to study better, you must work hard at night.

B．Sleeping less means working hard.

C．Some clever students are able to work well in class became they have good study habits.

D．Students don't have enough sleep only because they have a lot of homework to do.