In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining(請客) at home. They often invites friends for a meal, a party or just for coffee and conversation.
Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their homes: “Would you like to come over for dinner this Saturday night?” “Hey, we’re having a party on Friday. Can you come?”
To answer an invitation, either say thank you and accept or say you are sorry and give an excuse. “Thanks, I’d love to. What time would you like me to come?” or “ Oh, sorry. I’ve tickets for a movie.”
Sometimes, however, people in the west use expressions(語句) that sound like invitation but which are not real invitation. For example, “Please come over for a drink sometime.” “Why not get together for a party sometime?” or “Why don’t you come over and see us sometime soon?” They are really polite ways of ending a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don’t mention(提到、涉及) a certain time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be friendly. To answer expressions like this, people just say, “Sure, that would be great!” or “OK! Thanks.”
So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?
【小題1】Why do Canadians and Americans often invite friends for meals at home?

In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining(請客)at home. They often invite friends over for a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.
Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their home:
" Would you like to come over for dinner on Saturday night? "
" Hey, we're having a party on Friday. Can you come'? "
To reply to an invitation, either say thank you and accept(接受), or say you're sorry and give an excuse(借口):
" Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?" or " Oh, sorry. I've tickets for a movie." Sometimes, however, people use expressions(措辭)that sound like invitations, but which are not real invitations(邀請). For example:
" Please come over for a drink sometime? "
" Why not get together for a party sometime? "
"Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?"
They are really just polite ways of ending a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't tell time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be friendly. To reply to expressions like these, people just say: "Sure, that would be nice!" or "OK. Yes, thanks."
So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?
【小題1】 Why do Canadians and Americans often invite friends for meals at home?

It was Friday. Andy Barton was in a bad mood . At six o’clock his __1__ programme, “Travel with us”, was on TV. Andy liked to get home in ___2___ for that. But then, just as he was leaving his office a little earlier , a customer (顧客) rang up with a few complaints for the next fif­teen minutes. “I can ___3__ get home in time if I hurry,” Andy told himself as he___4___out of the office. As he drove off in his car, he ___5___ that he was almost out of petrol(汽油). “I’ll have to stop at Fenton’s”, Andy thought. He ___6___Fenton’s because it was a self-service petrol station. “You do all the work yourself, but you pay___7____for the petrol,” he used to complain. At Fenton’s, the pump (泵) was not working properly and it ___8__ much time to get petrol. So when Andy got home, it was already two minutes past six. Just then the phone rang. “Shall I answer it?” Andy thought. He tried to___9__ his attention on the programme and forget the phone. But it kept ringing and finally he picked it up.

“Mr Barton?”__10__said. “Fenton’s Ga­rage here.”“Fenton’s?” Andy said. “Why, I was at your place only a few minutes ago, getting some petrol. Did I _11_ something behind or what?” “No, you didn’t, Mr Bar­ton.” And the voice went on. “That’s just the __12__ ! You went off without paying for your petrol, you __13___！ Now normally, when that happens, we ring up the police. But Luckily I knew you and I know it was a _14__.” “I’m really very sorry,” Andy said. “Oh, that’s all right, Mr Barton. But could you __15__round now and pay for your petrol? And please hurry! We close at half past six!”

1.                A．favourite       B．funny          C．popular   D．lovely

2.                A．chance         B．time           C．seat D．spirit

3.                A．surely          B．obviously       C．normally  D．still

4.                A．stepped        B．climbed         C．looked   D．rushed

5.                A．observed       B．noticed         C．thought   D．suggested

6.                A．hated          B．liked           C．meant    D．promised

7.                A．a(chǎn) little          B．the same        C．a(chǎn) lot D．the bill

8.                A．cost           B．spent          C．took D．spared

9.                A．draw           B．pay            C．fix   D．force

10.               A．a(chǎn) woman       B．a(chǎn) man          C．a(chǎn) recorder D．a(chǎn) voice

11.               A．lose           B．leave          C．forget D．destroy

12.               A．trouble         B．worry          C．excuse    D．reason

13.               A．remember      B．see            C．do   D．drive

14.               A．mistake        B．joke           C．trick  D．truth

15.               A．look           B．come          C．show D．turn