Before you hit ‘Enter’ on MSN, read this
It is often said that the language we use online is less formal than that we use in a letter, or in direct speech sometimes. This is true, but it can also make us in trouble sometimes.
The thing about online communication is that you have no idea what the person who is reading your messages is feeling. For this reason, it is always a good idea to be polite and cautious when writing e-mails or messages to your friends.
Chinese can be a direct language, but in English, people often talk about a subject in another way. So instead of saying “Please meet me here” or “Do this for me now”, English speakers usually go for indirect phrases like “Would it be possible”, “if you have time” or “It would mean a lot to me if…”
If you have a close friend, you may still run into trouble because of your jokes. If you have asked someone to do something and they need a bit more time, you might joke with him: “What? You still haven’t done it yet? What’s wrong with you?” While this seems funny to you, your friend may feel unhappy.
If you have foreign friends in different countries, the time difference can also be a factor. While you are waking up for class on Friday morning, they may be having a party on Friday night. You will be serious and they will, probably, be excited. So don’t be angry if they seem not to care about you. Just try to message them at the proper time.
【小题1】 According to the passage, we learn that our letters are more ______ than the e-mails.

My class will put on a short play in English at the end of the year. Yesterday our English teacher gave us copies of the play.
“Choose a character in the play whom you’d like to be, ”she told us. “This afternoon learn a few lines of this part for homework. Then tomorrow you can say those lines in front of the class. Ill decide who play each part.”
I wanted to have one of the bigger parts in the play, so I choose the part of the king. He has a lot of lines to say. I learned them by heart.
This morning in our English lesson we had to say our lines. I acted the part of the king. When I said my lines, I put a lot of expression into my acting. I thought I acted really well.
Everyone in the class read a part and then the teacher who would play each part.
Many of the students in my class couldn’t act at all. They couldn’t even read without making lots of mistakes. I was sure that I would get a big part in the play.
However, the teacher gave me the part of a soldier. He has only one line. It is, “Yes, sir!”
I was very disappointed. At the end of the lesson I went up to her and asked her why I had such a small part.
“You put too much expression in your acting,” she said. “Good acting is not big acting. It is acting the audience can believe in.”
I think I know what she means.
【小题1】 What did the boy want to do in the play?

My class will put on a short play in English at the end of the year. Yesterday our English teacher gave us copies of the play.

“Choose a character in the play whom you’d like to be, ”she told us. “This afternoon learn a few lines of this part for homework. Then tomorrow you can say those lines in front of the class. Ill decide who play each part.”

I wanted to have one of the bigger parts in the play, so I choose the part of the king. He has a lot of lines to say. I learned them by heart.

This morning in our English lesson we had to say our lines. I acted the part of the king. When I said my lines, I put a lot of expression into my acting. I thought I acted really well.

Everyone in the class read a part and then the teacher who would play each part.

Many of the students in my class couldn’t act at all. They couldn’t even read without making lots of mistakes. I was sure that I would get a big part in the play.

However, the teacher gave me the part of a soldier. He has only one line. It is, “Yes, sir!”

I was very disappointed. At the end of the lesson I went up to her and asked her why I had such a small part.

“You put too much expression in your acting,” she said. “Good acting is not big acting. It is acting the audience can believe in.”

I think I know what she means.

1. What did the boy want to do in the play?

A. To get a  morning eating part 

B. To organize the play

C. To get a large acting part. D. To work the lights.

2.How did the boy feel when the teacher told the class they would put on a play?

A. Bored.           B. Sad.             C. Excited.         D. Unhappy.

3.Why didn’t the teacher give him the part of the kings?

A. He did not act correctly.        B. He did not know the lines.

C. He was not handsome.         D. He was too short.

4. What does the underlined word “expression” in the passage mean?

A. 表情       B.建议        C. 模仿         D. 服饰