In English－as in any other language －we do not always say what we mean or mean what we say．This is true of some of the things we say every day．For example, “How do you do?” “How are you?” This is what people say on meeting．Sometimes they stop and shake hands．“How are you?” looks like a question．It is written with a question mark(問號)after it．And sometimes “How are you?” is a question．One person may want to know if another is well or ill－h(huán)ow his health is－and so on．

　　When these are questions, they are almost always said as if(好像)the person who says them wants an answer．

　　But most of the time they are said in a way which does not ask for any answer．When these words are said so, we do not answer “I am tired, ” or “I have a bad cold,” or “I am not well．” We say the same thing back to the other person．“How are you?” or “Hello”．Such words are like a smile or a wave of the hand．

　　In the same way, when we meet someone in the morning we may say “Good morning!” The weather may be very bad but we say “Good morning!” and the other person will say “Good morning” back to us．We are not talking about the weather or about how good or bad the morning is．

　　Again, when people are parting(分手), they may say “Good morning!” or “Good afternoon!” or “Good evening!” or “Good night!” to one another instead of “Good-bye!” They are not talking about the weather but saying “May all be well with you at this time!”

　　You will find few people today who know that “Good -bye!” is a short way of saying “God be with you”．(上帝保佑你)．But in past times, when religion(宗教)had more place than it now has in education, a child could be taught this very young as part of his knowledge of English．

閱讀理解

　　Starting from this month, you won't be hearing the word“NBA”on sports programs on CCTV．Instead, sport hosts will give the full Chinese name when they refer to the NBA－National Basketball Association．You also won't hear any other English abbreviations on CCTV's Chinese programs, such as GDP(gross domestic product,), or WTO(World Trade Organization,)．You will hear their Chinese translations．

　　CCTV received a notice from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, telling it to avoid using English-language abbreviations in their reports to protect the “purity” of the Chinese language．A few other TV stations also received the notice．

　　Fu Zhenguo, an editor of People's Daily, is one of the people who proposed(提議)the change．“Using English in a Chinese-speaking environment is against Chinese law,”he said．“Using English on Chinese TV programs is unfair to people who don't understand English．It will have a bad language influence on kids and teenagers．”

　　But some experts have a different opinion．Liu Yaoying, a professor at the Communications University of China, said the move shows cultural conservatism(保守主義)．

　　“If Western countries can accept some Chinglish(中國式英語)words, why can't the Chinese language be mixed with English?”Liu said．

　　A lot of people have criticized the move, saying that it will cause problems for them．

　　“I understand what CD, VCD and DVD mean when I hear them．But I won't know what the TV programs are talking about if I hear those products' full Chinese names,”a person wrote in a BBS post．Following the same post, another person wrote jokingly：“I'm not listening to my MP3 now．I'm listening to my Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 3．”

　　Some people also question why CCTV is keeping its logo, since it is also an English abbreviation．