Many people say that they are working too many hours. They don't have enough time to relax or to stay with their family.

     Work hours are different from one country to another. In France, people spend about 1,646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2,159 hours a year. That means a Japanese worker works 513 more hours a year than a French worker.

     Why do people work so many hours? Some people work extra hours because they want to make more money. However, many companies don't pay overtime. Their workers don't get more pay for more work. Some people think it's their duty to work more hours. Some are afraid of losing their jobs if they don't work more hours.

     Many people say that their vacations are too short. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation a year. In Germany, they get four to six weeks, and in the United States, two weeks. One study shows fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days. In Great Britain, there is a saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull (迟钝的) boy." If that is true, there must be a lot of dull people in the world.

1.A Japanese worker works __ more hours a year than a French one.

A. 513              B. 1,646             C. 2,159              D. 3,805

2.The word "extra" in Paragraph 3 means ".

A. 正常的   B. 额外的      C. 有用的      D. 少量的

3.People in ________ get only two weeks of paid vacation a year.

A. France          B. Germany

C. the United States    D. Great Britain

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. No companies offer vacations to their workers.

B. Many people say they have enough time to relax.

C. Not all companies pay their workers for more work.

D. More than half of workers use all their vacation days.

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Many workers have to work long hours.

B. Many people have vacations long enough.

C. Work hours are the same around the world.

D. There are a lot of dull people in the world.

 

Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe (贿赂) him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don’t see the need for presents.

Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often re­member a friend’ s birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner — that kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees (政府职员) who can’t be given presents.

You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, ‘It’s so nice. Thanks…’when you get Christ­mas or birthday presents.

You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re never asked to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.

At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year like doormen, babysitters, housecleaners , newspaper senders — anyone who has often helped us.

1.What do the underlined words ‘close friends’ mean in the passage?

A.The friends who are very kind.

B.The friends who live close to each other.

C.The friends who were once classmates.

D.The friends who you like most.

2.What kind of presents don’t Americans usually open in front of the givers?

A.The small presents

B.Christmas or birthday presents.

C.The expensive presents.

D.The presents for dinner party.

3.Why do Americans also give presents to housecleaners at Christmas?

A.To pay them.

B.To help them.

C.To thank them.

D.To make them work harder.

4.Which of the following do you think is right?

A.American business people don’t want presents because they are rich enough.

B.The writer of this passage must be an American.

C.Everyone must give presents to one’s family and friends at Christmas.

D.Government employees can get little presents from a foreigner.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Present-giving in the United States.

B.Customs (习俗) in the United States.

C.American people and present-giving.

D.When and how to give presents.

 

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