“How far is the next village？” the American asks a man standing by the edge of the road. In some countries, because the man realizes that the traveler is tired and eager to reach his destination (目的地), he will politely say “Just down the road.” He thinks this is more encouraging, gentler, and therefore the wanted answer. So the American drives through the night, getting more and more angry, feeling “being tricked”. He thinks the man on purpose lied to him, for obviously he must have known the distance quite well.

    Had conditions been reversed (颠倒过来), the American would have felt he was “cheating” the driver if he had said the next town was not too far, and if he would be sorry to the weary driver, he would say “You have a good way to go yet, it is at least fifteen miles.” The driver might be disappointed, but he would know what to expect.

    Whether to be accurate or polite leads to many misunderstandings between people of different cultures. If you know the situation in advance, it is sometimes easier to recognize the problem.

    On a hot summer day in America, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He dived into the cool water, Not 1that as he swam towards the middle of the lake, a crocodile (鳄鱼) was swimming toward him.

    His mother2was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer. In great3she ran toward the water,4 to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became 5 and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.6 it was too late. Just as he reached her, the 7reached him. From the shore, the mother 8 her little boy by the arms just as the crocodile snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war (拔河) between the 9The crocodile was much 10 than the mother, but the mother wouldn't11A farmer 12to drive by, heard their screams, raced from his truck, took aim and13 the crocodile.

    14 after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His 15were extremely scarred (留下疤痕) by the attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches (抓痕) where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

    The newspaper reporter, who 16the boy, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his legs. And then, with obvious 17 he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them 18my Mom wouldn't let go.”

    Never judge another person's19, because you don't know 20 they were made.

    Spending more than an hour on your smart phone each day may be a sign that you are suffering from depression,      new study has suggested. The more time is spent        (use) a phone for any reason including texting and going online, the more likely volunteers were      have the blues.

    Monitoring people's comings and      (go) using GPS tracking on their phones also helped track mood. Spending most of your time at home was also        (link) to depression, as was having an/a       (regular) daily schedule, such as unusual shift patterns. “      people are depressed, they tend to withdraw and don't have the motivation and energy to go out and do things,” said senior author David Mohr. “The data       showed depressed people tended not to go many places       (reflect) the loss of motivation seen in depression.”

    “The significance of this is that we can detect if a person has depressive symptoms and the severity of those symptoms      asking them any questions. Phones can provide data obviously and with no effort on the part of the users.”