[originaltext]W: Our topic today is about something that foreigners nearly alwa

W: Our topic today is about something that foreigners nearly always say when they visit Britain. It’s"" Why are the British so cold?"(12-1)And they’re talking about the British personality—the famous British "reserve". It means that we aren’t very friendly...we aren’t very open.
M: So, do you think it’s true?
W: It’s a difficult one.(12-2)So many people who visit Britain say it’s difficult to make friends with British people. They say we’re cold, reserved, unfriendly.
M: I think it’s true. Look at Americans or Australians. They speak the same language, but they’re much more open. And you see it when you travel. People—I mean strangers—speak to you on the street or on the train.(13)British people seldom speak on the train, or the bus. Not in London, anyway.
W: "Not in London". That’s it. Capital cities are full of tourists and are never friendly. People are different in other parts of the country.
M: Not completely.(14)I met a woman once, an Italian. She’d been working in Manchester for two years, and no one—not one of her colleagues—had ever invited her to their home. They were friendly to her at work, but nothing else. She couldn’t believe it. She said that would never happen in Italy.
W: You know what they say—"an Englishman’s home is his castle". It’s really difficult to get inside.
M: Yeah.(15-1)It’s about being private. You go home to your house and your garden and you close the door. It’s your place.
W:(15-2)That’s why the British don’t like flats. They prefer to live in houses.
M: That’s true.
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
12. What do foreigners generally think of British people according to the woman?
13. What may British people typically do on a train according to the man?
14. What does the man say about the Italian woman working in Manchester?
15. Why do British people prefer houses to flats?