Read the text below and fill in each blank with ONE suitable word. (2.0 pts)
The British are widely (1) _____ to be a very polite nation, and in (2)______ respects this is true. An Italian journalist once commented of the British that they need (3) _____ fewer than four “thank you” merely to buy a bus ticket. The first, from the bus conductor means, “I’m here.” The second accompanies the handing over of the money. The third, again from the conductor, (4) ____ “Here is your ticket.”, and then the passenger utters a final one as he accepts the tickets. Such transactions in most (5) ____ parts of the world are usually conducted in total silence. In sharp contrast to this excessive politeness with strangers, the British are strangely lacking (6) _____ ritual phrases for social interaction. The exhortation “Good appetite”, uttered in so (7) ______ other languages to fellow-diners before a meal, does not exist in English. The nearest equivalent – Enjoy your dinner! – is said only by people who will not be partaking of the meal in question. What’s more, the British (8) ____ happiness to their friends or acquaintances only at the start of a new year and at (9)_____ such as birthdays, (10) _____ the Greeks routinely wish all and sundry a “good week” or a “good month”.
The British are widely (1) _____ to be a very polite nation
