British people are famous for apologizing (道歉) in almost every situation. Whether they are apologizing for asking a question, for the bad weather _________ sneezing (打喷嚏), they are probably the number one nation for apologies.

British people take pride in _________ because of their polite manners towards one another in public. As a result, they often use the word “sorry”—even when they don't really _________ it! Usually, if they want to ask a stranger for the time, they will _________ by saying “Sorry to trouble you.” If they’re five minutes late _________ an appointment (约会), they will generally _________ the person by saying “Sorry, I’m late!”

_______ do British people use “sorry” so much? Well, in the British custom, saying “sorry” is a manner to be polite, _________ to people whom they don’t know very well. It’s also a very smart way to get what they want. In recent research, an actor got close to _________ strangers on a rainy day to ask if he could use their mobile phones. When he walked to one group of strangers and asked them without apologizing first, he was only 9 percent successful in ____________ their phones. However, when he apologized to another group of strangers about the bad weather before asking, he was 47 percent successful.