Question

Prices for the Lunar New Year’s eve dinners in 2007, the most important dinner for the Chinese people, will be 5 to 9 percent higher as restaurant reservations boom for the festival, Shanghai Morning Post reported on Thursday.

This year, the Lunar New Year’s eve festival falls on February 17.

The tradition meal, know as nianyefan, is for family reunions in China and to enjoy a homecoming feast, similar to Christmas dinners in the west.

“Agricultural products are more expensive than previous years, and this directly leads to the prices increase of nianyefan,” Xia Xiangqing, a senior official with the Shanghai Restaurants Association, told the newspaper, “Labour and transport also cost more.”

Up till a few years ago, almost every family in the city ate at home or the home of a close relative, with restaurants shutting down for the evening.

However, most families in the city now prefer to head out to a restaurant on that night to save the trouble of cooking and cleaning at home.

In fact, “if you haven’t reserved a table yet, you may be out of luck as most of the city’s restaurants are already booked before the new year,” Xia said.

“In the past, restaurants decided everything,” Xia said. “They sometimes refused to return the customers deposit(定金) if they wanted to cancel their reservation.”

Xia also told the newspaper yesterday that the association is working on some standards for nianyefan to avoid complaints from customers.

 

46. If the price of dinner in a retaurant is 600 yuan normally, it will be _____ yuan for the Lunar New Year’s eve in 2007 at least.

   A. 300           B. 540          C. 630             D. 654

47. What is the reason for the price rise of Spring Festival dinner according to the passage?

   A. The location of the restaurant          B. The number of the customers

   C. The time of having the dinner          D. The cost of dinner

48. Which of the follow is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. Restaurants are usually shut down for the evening during the Spring Festival.

   B. More and more city families choose to book New Year dinner in restaurants.

   C. Most of the city’s restaurants are already booked from the beginning of a year.

   D. Restaurants have taken measures to avoid customer complaints this year.

49. According to the passage, if you want to book a table in a restaurant for 2007 Lunar New Year’s eve, you will have to ______ first.

   A. save some money in a bank               B. accept the restaurant’s decision

   C. put some money in the restaurant      D. invite some relatives or friends

Answer 1

CDBC