I attended a birthday party in 1991. My teacher was then 59 years old. But her fellow teacher said that we were celebrating her 39th birthday! We were all surprised and puzzled.
After the party I was told by the fellow teacher that American women have a special saying about birthdays. If a woman is over 40, or even if she is 80, her birthday is always the 39th. If she is in her thirties, her birthday will be the 29th. And in her twenties, it’s the 19th. They usually have their “real” birthday when they are below 20.
This shows that American women, especially elderly women, are very sensitive(敏感的) about their ages. But my teacher always says, “We want to be younger,” so about the age of Western women, my advice is that if you don’t know it, don’t ask about it; if you really know it, don’t mention it.
小题1:The writer felt the birthday party he attended was ___________.
A．very interesting
B．very strange
C．very common
D．very sensitive小题2:The writer must be from______________.
A．Western countries
B．Eastern countries
C．China
D．the United States小题3:In order to please an old Western woman , you can say to her,“____________”
A．You are so old that you shouldn’t do that.
B．How old are you?
C．You look so young and beautiful.
D．Can I help you, granny?小题4:The writer wants to tell us__________________.
A．that a Western woman always celebrates her 39th birthday
B．not to ask a Western woman’s age whether you know her well or not
C．to ask a Western woman’s age freely
D．not to attend an old Western woman’s birthday party
