题目内容
Does it _______any difference whether we leave at 9:00 or at 10:00?
A. tell B. have C. give D. make
D
Many of us assume that with such a last name, Peter Buffett, 52, must enjoy a life of endless privilege. But the son of billionaire investor (投资人) Warren Buffett definitely doesn’t think so.
“People who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth can fall victim (受害者) to what my father has called a silver dagger (匕首) in your back,” Buffett told Reuters in an interview. “It leads to a sense of entitlement (特权) and a lack of personal achievement.”
Entitlement, he believes, is the worst thing ever. “Anybody who acts like they deserve (应得) something ‘just because’ is a disaster,” he said.
In his new book, Life Is What You Make It: Finding Your Own Path to Fulfillment, Buffett says that the only real inheritance (遗产) handed down from his parents was a philosophy (价值观): Forge your own path in life. It is a belief that has allowed him to follow his own passions, establish his own identity, and reap (收获) his own successes.
Did his father ever want him to go into finance? “It was encouraged for a moment when I was open to the idea,” he told Reuters. But as he grew older, it became clear the financial world “was not speaking to my heart.”
His father accepted his choice to become a musician. He began his musical career by writing music for TV commercials (广告). He then released his own albums.
“I am my own person and I know what I have accomplished in my life,” he told Reuters. “This isn’t about wealth or fame or money or any of that stuff, it is actually about values and what you enjoy and finding something you love doing.”
Along with the book, Buffett has begun a “Concert & Conversation” tour in which he plays the piano, talks about his life and warns against consumerist (消费主义) culture and damaging the environment.
“Economic prosperity (繁荣) may come and go; that’s just how it is,” he writes in the book. “But values are the steady currency (硬通货) that earn us the all-important rewards.”
【小题1】 What does “It” in the second paragraph refer to?
A.A life of a top investor. | B.A silver spoon in the mouth. |
C.Being born to a wealthy family. | D.The victim of a silver dagger in the back. |
A.Peter Buffett is a born musician. |
B.Peter Buffett enjoys a hugely privileged life. |
C.A wealthy family can benefit a child but also spoil him or her. |
D.Peter Buffett was forced by his parents to take over their business. |
A.his passion for music | B.the good education he received |
C.his great determination | D.the values he learned from his parents |
A.Wealth is there to enjoy to the fullest. |
B.A person’s value lies within. |
C.Many people are fooled by economic prosperity. |
D.Young people should choose their own philosophy, whatever their parents believe in. |
Everybody hates it, but everybody does it. A recent report said that 40%of Americans hate tipping. In America alone, tipping is a $16 billion-a-year industry. Consumers acting politely ought not to pay more than they have to for a given service. Tips should not exist. So why do they? The common opinion in the past was that tips both rewarded the efforts of good service and reduced uncomfortable feelings of inequality. And also, tipping makes for closer relations. It went without saying that the better the service, the bigger the tip.
But according to a new research from Cornell University, tips no longer serve any useful function. The paper analyzes numbers they got from 2,547 groups dining at 20 different restaurants. The connection between larger tips and better service was very weak. Only a tiny part of the size of the tip had anything to do with the quality of service.
Tipping is better explained, by culture than by the money people spend. In America, the custom came into being a long time ago. It is regarded as part of the accepted cost of a service. In New York restaurants, failing to tip at least l5% could well mean dissatisfaction from the customers. Hairdressers can expect to get l5%-20%, and the man who delivers your fast food $2. In Europe, tipping is less common. In many restaurants the amount of tip is decided by a standard service charge. In many Asian countries, tipping has never really caught on at all. Only a few have really taken to tipping.
According to Michael Lynn, the Cornell papers’ author, countries in which people are more social or outgoing tend to tip more. Tipping may reduce anxiety about being served by strangers. And Mr. Lynn says, “In America, where people are expressive and eager to mix up with others, tipping is about social approval. If you tip badly, people think less of you. Tipping well is a chance to show off.”
【小题1】 This passage is mainly about ________.
A.different kinds of tipping in different countries |
B.the relationship between tipping and custom |
C.the origin and present meaning of tipping |
D.most American people hate tipping |
A.become popular. | B.been hated. |
C.been stopped. | D.been permitted |
A.A Frenchman just quarreled with the barber who did his hair badly in New York. |
B.An American just had a wonderful dinner in a well known restaurant in New York. |
C.A Japanese businessman asked for a pizza delivery from a Pizza Hut in New York. |
D.A Chinese student enjoyed his meal in a famous fast food restaurant in New York. |
A.tipping is no longer a good way to satisfy some customers themselves |
B.tipping is especially popular in New York |
C.tipping in America can make service better now |
D.tipping has something to do with people’s character |