When my family moved to America 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 “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(退休) 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.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

3. 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

4.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.

5.Which is the best title for this passage?

A.  Different countries, different customs     B.  Old people, old customs

C.  Different restaurants, different services    D.  Differences between old and young

Dear Annie,

I have never written a letter to a newspaper before, I have just never felt the need to do such a thing. I have always felt I was quite able to do everything by myself. But now I know I was wrong.

Sometimes you really need help in life, I guess. And that’s why I’m writing this letter to you.

I have a happy family. I love my children and they love me . I’m a mother of three children. I know well how to bring up (带大)children, and two of them are already over twenty, so it is nothing new for me.

But now I have a serious problem:the Internet problem. My little son is just sixteen, and I feel he should do a lot of homework now , but he doesn’t seem to be interested in it . He can happily spend six or eight hours at a time on the Tnternet every day , He chats with pelple that he has never met before , but speaks little to us .He does lots of useless things on the Internet. And he sees red if you ask him to do his homework.

I just want him to be a good student . Now he seldomdoes his lessons at home. I’m afraid he will drop behind in his class soon. His father is a doctor , a very kind man . He never seems to be afraid of his father.

What can I do ?And don’t tell to talk to him. We’ve tried that and it didn’t work. But this is really a big problem in our family. I have tried everything I can think of . I

wonder how the Internet is so attractive(有吸引力的).You’re my last hope. Please tell me what I can do!

Yours,

Ellen Smith

(   ) 1. Mrs Snith wrote to Annie because　　　　　　　.

     A. she often asked others for help

     B. she thought she was a great mother

     C. she didn’t know how to stop his son surfing the Internet

     D. she didn’t know how the Internet was so attractive

(   ) 2.What might NOT Mrs Smith’s son do on the Internet?                        

     A. Send e-mails to his friends         B. Prepare for his lessons

     C. Chat with strange people           D.Read the news

(   ) 3. What does the phrase “he sees red”mean in this passage?                   

     A. He feels sorry                    B.He feels happy

     C. He becomes frightened             D. He becomes angry

(   ) 4. What do you think of Mr.Smith?                   

     A. An irresponsible(不负责任的)father who nerver taught his son

     B. A very excellent doctor who was busy with his work and had no time to teach

his son

     C. A very kind man who loved his son

     D.A man who always made his son be afraid of him but failed

As a volunteer(自愿者) teacher, I traveled a long way to a small village school in Longzhou, Guangxi. On my way there, I thought about the village, the school and the childrenn there. However, my heart sank when I arrived there. It wasn't what I expected. It didn't look like a school at all! The school had only three rooms, one for Grades 1, 2 and 3, and the other for Grades 4, 5 and 6. There was a third one for me.

　　The children welcomed me warmly on my first day. They asked me a lot of questions, and I told them stories about myself and my life in Shanghai. The next day, I gave them a test to find out their level（水平）. To my surprise, though the test was very easy, over half of the students failed it, yet they all wanted to learn new things. I knew they needed me.

I was busy preparing lessons and reading test papers every night. I enjoyed teaching these lovely and hard-working children, and I could see that they were making progress(进步) with my help. I have also learned a lot from them. I understand their level is becoming higher and higher, and we are good friends now.

I worked in Longzhou for a year. I'm very happy, and the experience(经历) is very useful to me. I love the small village and the children. In fact, I would like to continue working here.

1.How many grades are there in the school?

A．2                B．4                C．5                D．6

2.The writer came from        .

A．Longzhou         B．Guangxi           C．Shanghai          D．Beijing

3.What does the writer think of working in the school?      .

A．Boring            B．Useful            C．Careful           D．Surprising

4.According to the passage. The writer        .

A．was sorry for the school                  B．worked hard to teach the children

C．don’t want to work in the school           D．left the school in a short time