阅读理解。
On January 15, a little girl from the Chinese mainland was on the subway in Hong Kong. She
was eating something. A local man told her not to do so. The girl's mother told him to mind his
own business. A quarrel started. Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway rules say people cannot eat
on the subway. The rules say the train will be filled with the smell of food. They say the smell will
attract mice to the train. These mice might chew the cables and cause safety problems for passengers.
People caught eating on the subway will be fined up to 2,000 Hong Kong dollars (1,625 yuan),
Xinhua reported. Signs clearly say "no eating" and the rule is often announced on the subway and in
stations. However, the girl and her parents say they did not notice this.
This seemingly small event has started a debate on the Internet, Xinhua reported.
A netizen named Zhu Hongying said some Chinese consider bad habits like talking loudly in public
places, spitting or jumping queues as small matters. They simply don't care because they think public
places are not their private homes. "This kind of thinking shows a lack of a sense of social morality,"
she pointed out.
Many people agree. "The parents (of the girl) should have apologized for their mistake," Zhang
Nan, 15, a Senior 1 student at Diaotai High School, Shaanxi, said to Teens. "Quarreling after making
the mistake only makes the situation more embarrassing for them."
Reports of Chinese people behaving badly at tourist sites at home and abroad are nothing new.
Such reports are affecting the way other countries see Chinese people. Some foreign airports put
up signs in Chinese telling Chinese people not to talk loudly and not to spit everywhere. Many
Chinese people find this embarrassing.
All this shows that one of the secrets to a good journey is to learn about local customs and
taboos before you go.
1.The underlined word taboos probably means _________.
A. something you buy or keep to remind yourself of a place or an occasion
B. a group of people who have the power to make and change laws
C. a general agreement that does not allow people to do, use or talk about something
D. guidance offering information of local weather, accommodation and specialties
2.According to the debate on the net reported by Xinhua, Chinese manners___________.
A. are far from being poor
B. leave much to be desired
C. are only too easy to improve
D. are always to blame anywhere anytime
3.The passage wants to tell us that ___________.
A. When in Rome, do as the Romans do
B. Birds of a feather flock together
C. Misfortune may be an actual blessing
D. A real man never goes back on his words
