【 C 】

British people have always been good at saying “I’m sorry”. They used to be so good at it that they would apologize(道歉)for things that weren’t even their fault.

However, the British seem to be losing touch with their art. According to a new book by British writer Max Davidson, instead of  saying “I’m sorry” when they do something wrong, British people prefer to choose their words carefully.

In this book, Sorry... The Hardest Word and How to use it, Davidson writes about a number of recent apologies. One example is of British television host Jeremy Clarkson. He described Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister(首相), as “a one-eyed Scottish idiot(笨蛋)”. (Brown is blind in his left eye)

Clarkson was forced to apologize. He said: “In the heat of the moment, I made a remark(评论)about the prime minister. Now I apologize of reflection.” Davidson says the apology was just “going through the motions(做表面文章)”.

Clarkson is not the only one. The best example may come from the UK MP(议员)Tessa Jowell. She said publicly: “If you feel our government falls short of what you expect, then I say sorry for that.”

Jowell said “sorry”. But she is actually saying it’s not the government’s fault but the voters’ fault for expecting too much from the government.

Perhaps those people with influence feel they may lose too much by apologizing. But as a teenager, would you really want to lose a close friend, just because you couldn’t say something as simple as, “I’m sorry”? That would be hard to forgive.

41. Who was the improper description “a one-eyed Scottish idiot” used to describe?

A. Max Davidson  B. Jeremy Clarkson    C. Gordon Brown    D. Tessa Jowell

42. What does the underlined sentence in the second paragraph mean?

A. The British are still good at apologizing.

B. The British like to say sorry for everything they have done.

C. The British say “I’m sorry” in a different way now.

D. The British lose too much by saying “sorry”.

43. Who wrote the book called Sorry...The Hardest Word and How to Use it?

A. Max Davidson  B.Jeremy Clarkson     C. Gordon Brown    D. Tessa Jowell

44. How was Clarkson’s apology according to the story?

A. Sincere        B. Friendly        C. Rude         D. Untrue

45. What does the story mainly tell us?

A. British people used to be polite and kind.

B. British people like to go through the motions.

C. British people choose their words carefully to apologize now.

D. British people are expecting too much from the government.