Daniel was always making excuses for forgetting to do things. His usual excuse was: “ I was too busy.” or “I didn’t have time.”

Daniel’s parents were worried about him. “ He shouldn’t go through life making excuses all the time.” his father said. “ No one will trust him to do anything. He won’t be able to keep a job. No sensible(明智的)girl will marry him.”

“I don’t know what we can do.” his mother said.

“I have an idea.” his father said. “If this doesn’t work, nothing will.”

The next day was Daniel’s birthday. He was really looking forward to getting exciting presents. He woke up, expecting his parents to wish him a happy birthday. But all day what they said was “Good morning, Daniel. Hurry, or you will be late for school.” There were no presents, not even a card. He was really disappointed.

“Never mind.” he thought. (3) “There’ll be a surprise for me after school.” But there wasn’t. Sadly he said to his parents at dinner, “Today’s my birthday.”

“Oh,” his father said. “So it is. I forgot.”

“So did I.” his mother said.

“How could you forget?” Daniel asked. “There must be a reason.”

“Well, yes.” his father said. “We have a really good excuse for forgetting your birthday, Daniel. We didn’t remember your birthday because we were too busy.”

Poor Daniel! He never had a silly excuse for not doing something again.

1.判断Daniel got his birthday present at last(?? )。

2.He thought there would be ________for him afte school.

3.What did Daniel feel when he didn’t receive any presents?

_______________________________________________________.

4.What do you learn from the story?_____________________________________.

5.翻译划横线句子?

_________________________________________________________________.

Being shy keeps many Chinese people from getting to know westerners. You may feel nervous about making language mistakes in front of a native English speaker.
But remember, westerners living in Asia know how it feels to try to communicate in a foreign language. They have made many mistakes when speaking Chinese!
So don’t worry about speaking imperfect English. The important thing is just to communicate. Start talking, and make some foreign friends!
Many westerners value(注重) their privacy(隐私). Don’t be surprised if your new friend doesn’t want to include you in everything he does. This may seem strange to Chinese who worry about that their friends will get lonely.
Chinese people often expect their good friends to give advice and take care of them in many ways. If you expect this kind of care from westerners, you may be disappointed. Why? Because most westerners value independence. They feel insulted(侮辱的) if others think they can’t take care of themselves. They will assume(假设) you feel the same way.
Of course, these tips(小提示) are just rules of thumb(经验之谈) and may not apply(适用) to all westerners. Each person you meet will have his or her own ideas about friendship. When you get confused(不明白), don’t be shy and worry to ask questions. Your new western friends may also have many questions about Chinese culture, and they may be hesitant(犹豫) to ask. So encourage them to ask questions, too.
Be honest and open to your friends. Respect each other’s differences. The friendships you make can be lifelong treasure both for you and your new friends.
【小题1】.Why do many Chinese people feel worried to speak to the foreigners?

—What do you think of Liu Huan?

—Oh, he is my favourite singer. I think no one can sing________.

A. good    B. well   C. better    D. best

–What do you think of Henan Province?
--It’s a wonder place. ____ you go there, you can find many fantastic sights.

Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe (贿赂) him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don’t see the need for presents.
Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often re­member a friend’ s birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner — that kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees (政府职员) who can’t be given presents.
You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, ‘It’s so nice. Thanks…’when you get Christ­mas or birthday presents.
You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re never asked to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.
At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year like doormen, babysitters, housecleaners , newspaper senders — anyone who has often helped us.
【小题1】What do the underlined words ‘close friends’ mean in the passage?