题目内容
Our village carpenter(木匠), John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill for the job.
My wife said to me quietly, “It’s his ninth cup of tea today.” But she said in a loud voice, “It is a beautiful table, dear, isn’t it?”
“I will decide about that when I see the bill, ” I read:
One dining table, 10 November, 1989.
Cost of wood: ＄17.00
Paint: ＄1.50
Work: 8 hours (＄1 an hour) ＄8.00
Total: ＄36.50
When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It’s been a fine day, hasn’t it? Quite sunny.” “Yes,” I said, “I’m glad it is only the 10th of November.”
“Me, too,” said John. “You wait. It’ll be a lot colder by the end of the month.”
“Yes, colder…. And more expensive! Dining tables will be ＄20 more expensive on November 30th, won’t they, John?” John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.
“If it isn’t too much trouble, John,” I said, “Please add it up again and you can forget the date.”
I paid him ＄26.50and he was happy to get it.
【小题1】Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill?_______
| A．Because he didn’t want the writer to go through the bill carefully. |
| B．Because it was really a fine day. |
| C．Because he wanted the writer to check the bill carefully. |
| D．Because he wanted to tell the writer what the weather was like. |
| A．Because it was difficult to make dining tables in cold weather. |
| B．Because paint would be more expensive. |
| C．Because the cost of wood would be more expensive. |
| D．Because he thought John would certainly add to the cost of the dining table. |
| A．John made a mistake in the bill. |
| B．John tried to fool the writer in order to get more money for his work |
| C．John had written out the bill before the writer got home. |
| D．John still wanted to get ＄36.50 for his work in the end. |
【小题1】A
【小题2】D
【小题3】B
解析
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 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 Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized 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.
By Jack
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.