Question

【题目】When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect(尊敬) elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.

I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description(描述) “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized（道歉）to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.

In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.

However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.

After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.

【1】Jack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.

A. the manager asked him to do so

B. he respected the elderly

C. the couple wanted him to do so

D. he wanted more pay

【2】When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.

A. nervous B. satisfied

C. unhappy D. excited

【3】In Jack’s hometown, _______.

A. people dislike being called “old”

B. people are proud of being old

C. many people reach the age of seventy or eighty

D. the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants

【4】After this experience, Jack _______.

A. lost his job in the restaurant

B. made friends with the couple

C. no longer respected the elderly

D. changed his way with older people

【5】Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got.

B. Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience.

C. The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple.

D. From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】B

【3】D

【4】D

【5】A

【解析】中国和美国在很多方面都存在着差异，例如在对待“老”这个问题上，中国人就觉得很自豪，因为“老”意味着有更多的知识和经验，受人尊敬；而美国人却觉得“老”就意味着要退休了，身体也不健康了。短文中作者由于一开始不知道这个差别而犯了错误。

【1】细节理解题。根据短文第二段中I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly.可知，作者确定这两位老人的是我很很快就上来，因为在中国的时候，一个传统就是要尊敬老人。故应选B。

【2】细节理解题。根据短文第二段中As soon as I said that，her face showed great displeasure可知，当作者称呼他们为老人的时候，这对夫妇中妻子感到不高兴了。原文的displeasure 和选项里的unhappy是同义的，故选C。

【3】细节理解题。根据短文第三段中In my village in China，people are proud of being old可知，在作者的家乡，人们都以“老”感到自豪，因为老意味着有更多的知识和经验。由此可知应选B。

【4】细节理解题。根据短文的最后一段中After that，I changed the way I had been with older people可知，在这件事情之后，作者改变了对待老人的方式。故应选A。

【5】推理判断题。根据文意可知，中国人和美国人在对待“老”这个问题上是不一样的，这是两个国家文化的差异，经过了这件事，作者对美国文化了解的更多了，在短文的倒数第二段里，作者详细给我们分析了美国人为什么不喜欢别人说自己“老”。因此A选项是正确的。