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.

1. It's important to know how to_     _in English when we visit a foreign country.

2. When you talk with different people, you need to__       _.

3. Extra words are used to help__      ___.

4.._      _is as important as learning language structure.

5. How do you say " Don't smoke here. " politely? "_         __*

Jan：I have new photos of my family, but they’ re not very good. This is my sister…
Mark：Where is she?  Is she at the library?
Jan：No, she’ s in the living room. She s doing her homework. And that s my brother.
Mark：Is he doing his homework, too? What’s he eating?
Jan：He’ s watching a scary movie on TV and eating french fries.
This is a picture of my aunt and my mother.
Mark：Is that -your mother in the pool?[来源:学。科。网Z。X。X。K]
Jan：No, that’s my aunt. My mother can’t swim. And this is my mother and my aunt at the shop. They really like shopping and eating at the shop. Mark: Interesting photos.
1. The pictures are ______.
A. good   B. interesting   C. scary
2. Jan’ s sister is doing her homework ______.
A. at the library   B. at the pool   C. in the living room
3. Jan’ s brother isn’ t ______.
A. doing his homework   B. watching TV    C. eating french fries
4. Jan’ s ______ can’ t swim.
A. sister   B. mother   C. aunt [来源:学科网ZXXK]
5. Jan’ s mother and aunt like ______ at the shop.
A. eating french fries   B. shopping    C. swimming