1.48Scarcely had he gone out ().

20、We all believe that modern technology can make life better because it makes everything faster. But by (11) everything up, we suffer losses we have not yet learnt to know. Our day begins with speedy urges:the alarm rings and you jump (12) bed. You take a quick shower. Then you wake the kids and (13) them through breakfast so they won’t miss the bus. At the dining table, you swallow some slices of bread with a cup of tea.When everything (14),you hurry to the car, thinking of the things you would buy from the supermarket on the way (15). Driving 20 minutes in the busy traffic,you reach your workplace, rushing into the building and (16) up the stairs three at a time, arriving at your desk with seconds to spare. You take (17) deep breaths. Then, you instantly remember that the (18) you didn't finish last night must be faxed to Beijing by l0’clock in the morning. Yet it seems that the (19) we go,the further we fall behind. Not only in the literal sense of not getting done what we set out to do,(20) at a deeper level. It has come to the point where my days feel like an Olympic marathon.

2.120In China it is relatively usual to ask people their age, but in the West this question is generally regarded as impolite. This is particularly true (11) women, and even more so if the inquirer is a man. However, it is very (12) to ask children their age, and some adults may not mind being asked either. In fact, some elderly people are quite happy to (13) their age, especially if they feel they look young for their age. Nevertheless, it is not very wise to ask a direct question like “How old are you?”. If elderly people want to talk about their age, they may easily (14) the topic themselves, and ask the other person to guess how old they are . They normally expect to be complimented on their youthfulness, though rather than (15) that they look very old. Even though Westerners do not usually ask people directly how old they are, this does not (16) that they are not interested to know how old other people are. They may ask (17) for the information, or else they may try to (18) the topic indirectly. Sometimes discussions about educational (19) and the number of years of working experience may provide some clues, but this is not always the (20).