1.W:Doyouhaveacalculatorthatyoucouldlendmeforafewdays?
Ijusthavenoideawheremineis.
M:Well,yes,Ihaveone.Butactuallymysisterisusingitnow.
Q:Whatdowelearnfromthisconversation?
2.W:Ican'tseemtowakeupinthemorningwithoutcoffeeatbreakfast.
M:Youknow,I'mjustlikeyouexceptthatIprefertea.
3.W:Iftheweatherdoesn'tgetanybetter,wemayhavetocancelourplansforthisafternoon'spicnic.
M:Don'tgiveupyet.Theforecastsaysthecloudsshouldclearupbymidmorning.
4.W:Myhandstillhurtsfromfallingontheiceyesterday.IwonderifIbrokesomething.
M:I'mnodoctor,butit'snotblackandblueoranything.
Maybeyoujustneedtorestitforafewdays.
Q:Whatdoweknowaboutthewoman?
5.W:HowmanystudentstookpartintheBandFourexamlasttime?
M:Well,letmesee.400hadregistered,butnotallstudentsshowedup.
Ithinktherewere180fromGradeOneand178fromGradeTwo.
Q:HowmanystudentstookpartintheBandFourexamlasttime?
6.M:LastweekIwenttoNewYorkonbusiness,guesswhomImet?
ItwasRobertWilliams.Doyoustillrememberhim?
W:Yes.It'samazing,wehaven'tseeneachothersinceourgraduation.
7.M:I'mgoingtoaskmyneighbourstoturnthemusicdown,Ican'tconcentrateonmypaper.
W:Doyoureallythinkitmakesanydifferencetothem?
8.W:Mr.Taylormusthavebeenjokingwhenhesaidthathewasgoingtoquithisjob.
M:Don'tbetoosure.Hetoldmethathewastryingtosellhishouse.
Q:Whatconclusiondoesthemanwantustomake?
9.W:I'mworriedaboutmyjewelrybusiness.IreallythoughtI'ddobetter.
M:Atleastyoubrokeeven.That'sbetterthanmostpeopledointheirfirstyear.
Q:Whatcanbeinferredfromtheconversation?
10.W:Ilovesailingonthelake.
It'ssorefreshingtofeelthewindinmyhairandthewateronmyface.
M:IguessIwouldfeelthesameway,ifIcouldswim.
Q:Whatdoweknowabouttheman?
Passageone
IntheUnitedStates,itisnotcustomarytotelephonesomeoneveryearlyinthemorning.
Ifyoutelephonehimearlyintheday,whileheisshavingorhavingbreakfast,
itshowsthatthematterisveryimportantandrequiresimmediateattention.
Thesamemeaningisattachedtotelephonecallsmadeafter11:00P.M.
Ifsomeonereceivesacallduringsleepinghours,heassumesit'samatteroflifeanddeath.
Thetimechosenforthecallindicatesitsimportance.
Insociallife,timeplaysaveryimportantpart.
IntheUnitedStatesgueststendtofeeltheyarenothighlyregardediftheinvitationtoadinnerpartyisextendedonlythreeorfourdaysbeforethepartydate.
Butitisnottrueinallcountries.
Inotherareasoftheworld,itmaybeconsideredfoolishtomakeanappointmenttoofarinadvance,
becauseplanswhicharemadeforadatemorethanaweekawaytendtobeforgotten.
Themeaningoftimediffersindifferentpartsoftheworld.
Thus,misunderstandingscanarisebetweenpeoplefromculturesthattreattimedifferently.
PromptnessishighlyvaluedinAmericanlife,forexample,ifpeoplearenotprompt,theymayberegardedasimpoliteornottrulyresponsible.