四、阅读理解
A
In our daily life, direct questions are usually used to ask for information we do not know. Direct questions are either yes-no questions such as "Are you married?" or information questions such as "Where do you live?"
It is OK to ask your friends or someone you know well direct questions. But they can seem abrupt and impolite at times, especially when you are asking a stranger. For example, if you come up to someone and ask "What time is it?" or "Can you move?", he or she may refuse to answer you. It is certainly correct to ask questions in this way, but it is very common to make these kinds of questions more polite by adding "Excuse me" or "Pardon me" to begin your questions.
It is also possible to use "can" in more informal situations. In the past, "can" was not used when asking for something, but only to refer to abilities. In the United Kingdom, Cambridge University publishes English teaching books with the phrase "Can you lend me", "Can I have", etc. In the United States, this form is still considered to be incorrect, especially for written English, and "May I have" is preferred. Questions with "can" are made more polite by using "could": "Pardon me, could you help me?"
"Would" can also be used to make questions more polite. "Would you lend me your pencil?" sounds nicer.
Another way of making direct questions more polite is to add "please" at the end of the questions. We can say "Could you help me, please?" "Please" should not appear at the beginning of the questions.
()36. The underlined word "abrupt" in Paragraph 2 means in Chinese.
A. 疯狂的
B. 严肃的
C. 温和的
D. 唐突的
()37. According to the passage, the writer thinks .
A. we shouldn't ask direct questions in daily life
B. it is OK to ask strangers direct questions
C. it is not enough to ask questions correctly
D. we must know someone well before asking questions
()38. From Paragraph 3, we can know .
A. "can" was only used to describe abilities in the past
B. people in America like using "can" better
C. questions with "can" are more polite in written English
D. questions with "can" are polite in informal situations
()39. Where can we put "please" if we want to make direct questions more polite?
A. At the beginning of the questions.
B. At the end of the questions.
C. In the middle of the questions.
D. We needn't use the word "please".
()40. What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. How to be a polite person.
B. How to use English expressions correctly.
C. How to make direct questions more polite.
D. How to change the way we speak.