One silly question I simply cannot tolerate is "How do you feel?" Usually the question is asked of a man in action—a man walking along the street, or busily working at his desk. So what do you expect him to say? He'll probably say, "Fine, I 'm all right." But you have put a bug¹ a his ear-maybe now he is not sure. If you are his good friend, you may have seen something on his face, or in his walk, that he overlooked that morning. It makes him worrying a little. He looks in a mirror to see if everything is all right, while you go merrily
on your way asking someone else, "How do you feel?"
Every question has its time and place. It's perfectly² acceptable, for instance, to ask "How do you feel?" if you are visiting a close friend in the hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying to take a train or sitting at his desk working, it's no time to ask him that silly question.
When George Bernard Shaw, the famous British writer of plays was in his eighties, someone asked him, "How do you feel?" Shaw put him in his place. "When you reach my age," he said, "either you feel all right or you are dead."
1. According to the writer, greetings, such as "How do you feel?" .
A. show one's consideration for others
B. are a good way to make friends
C. are proper to ask a man in action
D. generally make one feel uneasy

2. The question "How do you feel?" seems to be correct and suitable when asked
of .
A. a friend who is ill
B. a person who has lost a close friend
C. a stranger who looks somewhat worried
D. a man who is working at his desk

3. George Bernard Shaw's reply in this passage shows his .
A. silliness
B. cleverness
C. carelessness
D. politeness

4. "You have put a bug in his ear" means that you have .
A. made him laugh
B. shown concern for him
C. made fun of him
D. given him some kind of warning

5. This passage can be entitled .
A. A Silly Question
B. Don't Trouble a Busy Man
C. What Are Good Greetings
D. George Bernard Shaw's Reply

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