Passage TwoThe other day I heard an American say to a Chinese student of English "You speak very good English." But the student answered, "No, no. My English is very poor." The foreigner was quite surprised at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself understood or the student had not heard him clearly, he said, "Yes indeed, you speak English very well." But the Chinese student still kept saying "No". In the end the foreigner gave up and was at a loss what to say. What's wrong with the student's answer? It is because he did not accept a compliment(赞美的话)as the English people do. He should have said "Thank you" instead of "No". He actually understood what the American had said. But he thought he should be modest. If he said "Thank you", that would mean he was too proud. According to the western culture, if someone says the dishes you have cooked are very delicious, you should say "Thank you". If someone says to a Woman "You look so beautiful with the new clothes on", she should be very happy and answer "Thank you". In our country we think being modest is a virtue and showing off a bad thing. But in the west, if you are modest and say "No, I'm afraid I can't do it well", then the others will take it for granted that you really cannot do it. If you often say "No", you will certainly be looked down upon by others. When asking for a job, if one says something like "Let me have a try on the job" instead of "Yes, I can certainly do it," he or she will never expect to get it. So in the west one should always be confident. Without self-confidence, he cannot go anywhere. Confidence is of great importance to one in a country where competition is quite keen.40. Why was the American surprised at the Chinese student's answer?

You（）to the meeting this afternoon if you have something important to do.

She is very dear to us. We have been prepared to do it takes to save her life.

It is（）for people to feel excited when they start doing something new.

A good way to train an animal to do something quickly is to_____.

he following conversation clearly violates the_____ . A: How do you finally go to school? B: The bus is so fast so I got to school very early.

Daniel is a model student. He works very hard and is _________to his teachers.

— Tom is never late for work. Why is he absent today? — Something ________ to him.

What has Mr. Fritz promised to do to encourage the staff?

I wonder if Henry will come to the party at 8:00 sharp as he's promised. （）

Practice 1　　Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. (1) It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child—things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. (2) But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is continually being told not to do things, or being punished for what he has done wrong.