Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C, and D on ANSWER SHEET 1.2()
A.yet B.otherwise C.even D.so
A.
Generally speaking, a British is widely regarded as a quiet, shy and conservative person who is (1) only among those with whom he is acquainted. When a stranger is at present, he often seems nervous, (2) embarrassed. You have to take a commuter train any morning or evening to (3) the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or dozing in a corner; hardly anybody talks, since to do so would be considered quite offensive. (4) , there is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, (5) broken, makes the offender immediately the object of (6) .
B.
It has been known as a fact that a British has a (7) for the discussion of their weather and that, if given a chance, he will talk about it (8) . Some people argue that it is because the British weather seldom (9) forecast and hence becomes a source of interest and (10) to everyone. This may be so. (11) a British cannot have much (12) in the weathermen, who, after promising fine, sunny weather for the following day, are often proved wrong (13) a cloud over the Atlantic brings rainy weather to all districts! The man in the street seems to be as accurate — or as inaccurate — as the weathermen in his (14) .
C.
Foreigners may be surprised at the number of references (15) weather that the British make to each other in the course of a single day. Very often conversational greetings are (16) by comments on the weather. "Nice day, isn’t it" "Beautiful!" may well be heard instead of "Good morning, how are you" (17) the foreigner may consider this exaggerated and comic, it is worthwhile pointing out that it could be used to his advantage. (18) he wants to start a conversation with a British but is (19) to know where to begin, he could do well to mention the state of the weather. It is a safe subject which will (20) an answer from even the most reserved of the British.
Generally speaking, a British is widely regarded as a quiet, shy and conservative person who is (1) only among those with whom he is acquainted. When a stranger is at present, he often seems nervous, (2) embarrassed. You have to take a commuter train any morning or evening to (3) the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or dozing in a corner; hardly anybody talks, since to do so would be considered quite offensive. (4) , there is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, (5) broken, makes the offender immediately the object of (6) .
B.
It has been known as a fact that a British has a (7) for the discussion of their weather and that, if given a chance, he will talk about it (8) . Some people argue that it is because the British weather seldom (9) forecast and hence becomes a source of interest and (10) to everyone. This may be so. (11) a British cannot have much (12) in the weathermen, who, after promising fine, sunny weather for the following day, are often proved wrong (13) a cloud over the Atlantic brings rainy weather to all districts! The man in the street seems to be as accurate — or as inaccurate — as the weathermen in his (14) .
C.
Foreigners may be surprised at the number of references (15) weather that the British make to each other in the course of a single day. Very often conversational greetings are (16) by comments on the weather. "Nice day, isn’t it" "Beautiful!" may well be heard instead of "Good morning, how are you" (17) the foreigner may consider this exaggerated and comic, it is worthwhile pointing out that it could be used to his advantage. (18) he wants to start a conversation with a British but is (19) to know where to begin, he could do well to mention the state of the weather. It is a safe subject which will (20) an answer from even the most reserved of the British.
Generally speaking, a British is widely regarded as a quiet, shy and conservative person who is (1) only among those with whom he is acquainted. When a stranger is at present, he often seems nervous, (2) embarrassed. You have to take a commuter train any morning or evening to (3) the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or dozing in a corner; hardly anybody talks, since to do so would be considered quite offensive. (4) , there is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, (5) broken, makes the offender immediately the object of (6) .
B.
It has been known as a fact that a British has a (7) for the discussion of their weather and that, if given a chance, he will talk about it (8) . Some people argue that it is because the British weather seldom (9) forecast and hence becomes a source of interest and (10) to everyone. This may be so. (11) a British cannot have much (12) in the weathermen, who, after promising fine, sunny weather for the following day, are often proved wrong (13) a cloud over the Atlantic brings rainy weather to all districts! The man in the street seems to be as accurate — or as inaccurate — as the weathermen in his (14) .
C.
Foreigners may be surprised at the number of references (15) weather that the British make to each other in the course of a single day. Very often conversational greetings are (16) by comments on the weather. "Nice day, isn’t it" "Beautiful!" may well be heard instead of "Good morning, how are you" (17) the foreigner may consider this exaggerated and comic, it is worthwhile pointing out that it could be used to his advantage. (18) he wants to start a conversation with a British but is (19) to know where to begin, he could do well to mention the state of the weather. It is a safe subject which will (20) an answer from even the most reserved of the British.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel won over German voters in the Federal Election on Sept. 27. Can she now be won over by a French charm offensive (1) at repairing the relationship that was once at the heart of Europe That’s the question being asked in Paris, (2) top government officials are (3) talking about their desire to rekindle closer ties (4) their neighbors across the Rhine. (5) the end of World War II the Franco-German relationship has been the motor of European integration, the (6) force behind the creation of the European Union and, more recently, the introduction of the euro. But the ardor has (7) in this decade, particularly under Merkel, who has regularly struggled to (8) her irritation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s grandstanding. Sarkozy, (9) , has often been impatient with what he (10) Merkel’s lack of resolve.
B.
The sometimes (11) personal rapport is a long way from the public shows of affection their predecessors staged, particularly Helmut Kohl and FranCois Mitterrand, who movingly held (12) in 1984 in a Verdun cemetery. There’s been tension on (13) , too. Charles Grant, director of the London-based think tank Centre for European Reform, points out that France and Germany have been (14) on issues from how best to reflate their economies during the economic (15) to the smartest strategies for dealing with Russia.
C.
But influential movers in France are now (16) to put the relationship back on a friendlier footing. In a recent paper French think tank Institute Montaigne (17) an ambitious agenda for the two nations, (18) that a new impetus is needed if Europe’s voice is to be heard in a world (19) of big new players, such as Brazil and India, and at a time when President Obama seems fax more (20) with China and the rest of Asia than with America’s traditional allies in Europe.