“What’s the matter, mum?” When I came home yesterday, I found my mother was unhappy. It was unusual—she usually opened the door and welcomed me with a smile. “She’s dying (死),” mum said sadly. I knew what she said. The tulip (郁金香), mother’s favorite, was dying.
A month ago, we moved into our new house and mum bought a very beautiful tulip. Mum liked it very much. Every time she was free, she would sit near the tulip and enjoyed its beautiful color and nice smell. She treated (对待) it like a baby and looked after it carefully. She put the tulip by window and moved it from one place to another to give the tulip enough sunshine. Every morning the first thing she did was to water the tulip. Mum also fertilized (施肥) it many times. She hoped the tulip would become more and more beautiful and stronger. But the tulip was dying because of too much sunshine, water and fertilizer.
It’s true that mother loved the tulip. But this kind of love can be harmful (伤害的). Love can sometimes kill (杀害) what you love.
【小题1】Yesterday the writer found that __________.
A. his mother was sad
B. his home was as usual as before
C. his mother bought a tulip.
【小题2】The sentence “She’s dying ” means __________ was dying soon.
A. the mother        B. the tulip          C. a baby
【小题3】Which of the following is NOT true about the mother?
A. Every afternoon she watered the tulip.
B. She looked after the tulip carefully.
C. She moved the tulip everywhere to give it enough sunshine.
【小题4】Why was the tulip dying in the end? Because __________.
A. she forgot to water it
B. she never fertilized it
C. she gave it too much sunshine, water and fertilizer
【小题5】What does the writer want to tell us?
A. Love is important to everyone.
B. Everyone should love his mother.
C. Not all of love is good for us.

Asking for information or help is a very common and necessary activity, especially when we visit a foreign country. So knowing how to ask for information politely is important. In English, "Where are the restrooms?" and "Could you please tell me where the restrooms are?" are similar requests—both are correct English, but the first could sound rude. It’s important to use correct language, but sometimes this alone is not enough—we need to learn how to be polite when we make requests.
In English, just like in Chinese, we change the way we speak when talking with different people. The expressions you use might depend on whom you are speaking to or how well you know them. If you say to your teacher, "Where is my book?" this will sound rude. But if you say, "Excuse me, Mr West. Do you know where my book is?" your question will sound much more polite. On the other hand, it might be alright to say "Where is my book?" in some situations, perhaps with people you know well.
And you would not usually say, "Peter, lend me your pen. " A very direct order like this can sound rude in English. Usually in English polite questions are longer and include extra language, such as "Could you please...?" or "Can I ask...?" It sounds more polite to say, "Peter, could you please lend me your pen?" Sometimes we might even need to spend some time leading in to a question or request. For example, if you stop a stranger in the street, we might first say, "Excuse me. I wonder if you can help me. " or "I’m sorry to trouble you but," before asking them for help.
It might seem that speaking politely is more difficult than being direct, and in a way this may be true. However, in order not to offend people, learning about the language etiquette is just as important as learning grammar or vocabulary. And doing this will also help you become better at English, or any other language you wish to speak.
【小题1】 It’s important to know how to_     _in English when we visit a foreign country.
【小题2】 When you talk with different people, you need to__       _.
【小题3】 Extra words are used to help__      ___.
【小题4】._      _is as important as learning language structure.
【小题5】 How do you say " Don’t smoke here. " politely? "_         __*