Question

“How are you?”is a nice question. It’s a friendly way for Americans to greet each other. But“How are you？”is also a very unusual question. It often doesn’t need an answer. The person who asks“How are you?”hopes to hear the answer“Fine”even if the person’s friend isn’t fine. In fact, they are not really a question or an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello”or“Hi”.

Sometimes people also don’t say exactly what they mean, For example, when someone asks“Do you agree？”the other person might think，“No，I disagree. I think you’re wrong.” But it isn’t very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say,“I’m afraid …”It’s a nicer way to disagree.

People also don’t say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many phone talks finish when one person says“I have to go now.”Often, the person who wants to finish the phone call gives an excuse,“Someone’s at the door.”The excuse might be real, or not. Perhaps the person who wants to finish the phone call simply doesn’t want to talk anymore, but it isn’t polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn’t hurt the other person.

When they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, thinking of finishing a talk, people don’t say exactly what they are thinking about. It’s an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it is part of the game of language.

【题文1】“How are you？”is another way of saying“Hello”or“Hi”.

【题文2】 It is polite to say“No，I disagree. I think you are wrong”if you don’t agree with others.

【题文3】When someone says“I have to go now”on the phone, it means he wants to go on talking.

【题文4】“Someone is at the door ”may be an excuse for finishing a phone call.

【题文5】Sometimes, people don’t say exactly what they are thinking about just because they try to be nice to each other.

Answer 1