“Have a nice day” may be a pleasant gesture or a meaningless expression. When my friend Maxie says “Have a nice day” with a smile, I know she sincerely cares about what happens to me. I feel loved and secure since another person cares about me and wishes me well.
“Have a nice day. Next!” The version of the expression is spoken by a salesgirl at supermarket who is rushing me and my groceries out the door. The words came out in the same tone ( 腔调 ) with a fixed procedure. They are spoken at me, not to me. Obviously, the concern for my day and everyone else’s is the management’s attempt to increase business.
The expression is one of those behaviors that help people get along with each other. Sometimes it indicates the end of a meeting. As soon as you hear it, you know the meeting at an end. Sometimes the expression saves us when we don’t know what to say. “Oh, you just had a tooth out? I’m terribly sorry, but have a nice day”.
The expression can be pleasant. If a stranger says “Have a nice day” to you, you may find it heart-warming because someone you don’t know has tried to be nice to you.
Although the use of the expression is insincere, meaningless social custom at times, there is nothing wrong with the sentence except that it is a little uninteresting. The salesgirl, the waitress, the teacher, and the countless others who speak it without thinking may not really care about my day. But in a strange and fortable way, it’s nice to know they care enough to pretend they care when they really don’t care all that much. While the expression may not often be sincere, it is always spoken. The point is that people say it all the time when they like.
【小题1】How does the author understand Maxie’s words? A．Maxie shows her anxiety to the author.B．Maxie really wishes the author a good day.C．Maxie encourages the author to stay happy.D．Maxie really worries about the author’s security.【小题2】What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?A．The salesgirl is rude.B．The salesgirl is bored.C．The salesgirl cares about me.D．The salesgirl says the words as nothing special.【小题3】According to the last paragraph, people say“Have a nice day” .A．sincerelyB．as thanksC．as a habitD．encouragingly【小题4】What is the best title of the passage?A．Have a Nice Day—a Social CustomB．Have a Nice Day—a Pleasant GestureC．Have a Nice Day—a Heart-warming GreetingD．Have a Nice Day—a Polite Ending of a ConversationB
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(答案→)B
解析：本文就平时常说的Have a Nice Day的含义进行探讨，第一题问朋友，第二题问超市服务员，第三题问陌生人，说明不同的人说have a nice day有不同的含义。
【小题1】细节题：第一段的这句话：When my friend Maxie says Have a nice day with a smile， I know she sincerely cares about what happens to me. 这句话既包含了关键词Maxie，也包含她说的话以及作者自己的理解，通过这句话可知，作者从Maxie的一句简单寒暄中读出的是Maxie真诚的关心（sincerely cares），传达的是积极的意义。故B为正确答案。
【小题2】句意理解题：从第二段的句子：The words came out in the same tone ( 腔调 ) with a fixed procedure.说明女营业员这么说只是固定程序，没有特定含义。选D。
【小题3】推理题，从最后一段的句子：Although the use of the expression is insincere, meaningless social custom at times, there is nothing wrong with the sentence except that it is a little uninteresting.说明人们说Have a Nice Day，只是一种习惯。选C。
【小题4】主旨题。本文讨论的是have a nice day在不同人群口中的具体功能。现在一一分析选项。B项把have a nice day定义为pleasant gesture。文章开头第一句虽然提到了这一点，但同时也提到这句问候语还可能是a meaningless expression。而C、D两项也分别只指出了这句问候语的其中一种功能，因此都属于以偏概全。从广义上看来，B、C、D三项都是A项的子选项，因此，social custom是最具有概括性的一个标题。故选A。