The British love to think of themselves as polite and everyone knows how fond they are of their “pleases"and “thank yous".Even the simplest business such as buying a train ticket requires__65  seven or eight of these.Another __66   of our good manners is the queue.New?comers to Britain could be forgiven for thinking that queuing rather than football was the__67 national sport.Finally,of course,motorists generally stop at crossings.But does all this mean that the British should consider themselves more polite than their European neighbours?I think not.

Take forms of address (称呼)for example.The average English person__68   he happens to work in a hotel or department store—would rather die than call a stranger “Sir" or“Madam".Yet in some European countries this is the most basic of common address.Our __69  “you" for everyone may appear more democratic,but it means that we are forced to seek out complicated ways to express __70  .I am all for returning to the use of “thee"and “thou"(Thee and thou are old?fashioned poetic words for“you");“you" would be__71   for strangers and professional relationships.

And of course,the English find touching and other shows of friendship truly terrifying.Have you noticed how the British __72   ever touch?Personlly, I find the Latin habit of shaking hands or a friendly kiss quite charming.Try kissing the average English person,and they will either take two steps backwards in horror;or,if their escape is__73   ,you will find your lips touching the back of their head.Now what could be__74  than that ?        

65.A.at least          B. at most         C. less than         D. not more than

66.A.signal            B. scene           C. sign              D. sight

67.A.true              B. original        C. superior          D. advanced

68.A.if                B. whether         C. when              D. unless

69.A.universal         B. unique          C. regular           D. normal

70.A.politeness        B. gratitude       C. democracy         D. consideration

71.A.ordered           B. reserved        C. offered           D. stocked

72.A.highly            B. mostly          C. hardly            D. nearly

73.A.confirmed         B. assured         C. jammed            D. blocked

74.  A. better         B. ruder           C. more polite        D. more frightening 

The company wasted________ investing in out- of- date technology.

1. A.
   a millionpound
2. B.
   millionsof pounds
3. C.
   severalmillions of pound
4. D.
   a millionof pounds

It is immediately clear ____ the financial crisis will soon be over.

1. A.
   since
2. B.
   what
3. C.
   when
4. D.
   whether

The local police were______ by their authorities to _____ the situation as soon as possible.

1. A.
   said to; control
2. B.
   ordered; manage
3. C.
   instructed; handle
4. D.
   told; hold

Most people, when they talk about education, think that it is only a task for teachers, ________ we teachers consider it is a job of the whole society.

1. A.
   whenever
2. B.
   while
3. C.
   thus
4. D.
   otherwise