In China it is relatively usual to ask people their age, but in the West this question is generally regarded as impolite. This is particularly true ___11___ women, and even more so if the inquirer is a man. However, it is very ___12___ to ask children their age, and some adults may not mind being asked either. In fact, some elderly people are quite happy to ___13___ their age, especially if they feel they look young for their age. Nevertheless, it is not very wise to ask a direct question like “How old are you?”. If elderly people want to talk about their age, they may easily ___14___ the topic themselves, and ask the other person to guess how old they are . They normally expect to be complimented on their youthfulness, though rather than ___15___ that they look very old. Even though Westerners do not usually ask people directly how old they are, this does not ___16___ that they are not interested to know how old other people are. They may ask ___17___ for the information, or else they may try to ___18___ the topic indirectly. Sometimes discussions about educational ___19___ and the number of years of working experience may provide some clues, but this is not always the ___20___.