This is an open letter to the three people who stole my handbag from the department store I am employed as a shop assistant.

When you took my bag, I don’t know what you thought you were going to get. With my wages, there’s not much left on a Tuesday. I hope the ￡5 was useful to you. I have informed the social security office so you won’t be able to cash the child benefit next week. I hope that won’t leave you too short．But if you really need a couple of pounds, I suppose you could always cash one of the two checks left in my check book．Of course, I phoned the bank right away and the check-cashing card is no longer valid(有效的), so it won’t be much use to you.

Actually I don’t mind about the money too much. We single parents who work to support our families understand only too well what it means to be short of cash. However, I don’t suppose it went very far among the three of you. Sorry about that!

I wish you had left the bag behind and just taken the wallet and check book．There were all kinds of papers in it, and notes and things that I really need. I really think that was very inconsiderate of you . I mean, how would you like something like that to happen to you?

Well, perhaps the bag will turn up. It wasn’t even an expensive one, just a plain, old brown leather handbag. You probably dumped it in the nearest rubbish bin or threw it into the bushes. We’ve looked around, of course, but no one saw which way you went after you left the shop.

I’m not really angry with you．I know how the pressures of modern living can affect us, but I am sad at the loss of my personal things. I feel offended and helpless. The police were very icy, and they just shrugged（耸） their shoulders. “It happens all the time,” they told me. Some small comfort, I suppose. But I’ve lost just a little more faith in human nature. And as my young son said when I told him what had happened, “Why? Mummy, why us?” I couldn’t answer that question. I wonder if you can.

1.In writing Paragraph 2, the writer wants to __________.

A. describe the contents of the bag in detail        B. give some suggestions to the three thieves

    C. tell the thieves they could hardly get any money  D. state the fact that she was careless with the money

2.Which of the following is the most valuable to the writer?

    A. The cash in her bag.                       B. The papers and notes in the bag.

    C. The handbag itself.                        D. The check books in the bag.

3. What can we conclude about the police?

    A. They have doubts about human nature.                     B. They show sympathy for the woman.

    C. They think the case quite common.                        D. They are unable to find the thieves.

4. Why does the author write the letter?

    A. To give the thieves a serious warning.                   B. To complain about the fall of human goodness.

    C. To call people’s attention to their belongings.         D. To express her affection for her valuable bag.

This is an open letter to the three people who stole my handbag from the department store where I am employed as a shop assistant.
When you took my bag, I don’t know what you thought you were going to get. With my wages, there's not much left on a Tuesday. I hope the ￡5 was useful to you. If you really need a couple of pounds, I suppose you could always cash one of the two checks left in my check book. Of course, I phoned the bank right away and the check-cashing card is no longer valid, so it won’t be of much use to you.
Actually I don’t care about the money too much. We single parents who work to support our families understand only too well what it means to be short of cash. However, I don’t suppose it went very far among the three of you. Sorry about that!
I wish you had left the bag behind and just taken the wallet and check book. There were all kinds of papers and notes that I really need. I really think that was very inconsiderate of you. I mean, how would you like something like that to happen to you?
Well, perhaps the bag will turn up. It wasn’t even an expensive one, just a plain, old brown leather shoulder bag. You probably threw it in the nearest rubbish bin or threw it into the bushes. We've looked around, of course, but no one saw which way you went after you left the shop.
I'm not really angry with you. I know how the pressures of modern life can affect us, but I am sad at the loss of my personal things. I feel helpless. The police were very icy, and they just shrugged their shoulders. “It happens all the time,” they told me. Some small comfort, I suppose. But I’ve lost just a little more faith in human nature. And as my young son said when I told him what had happened, “Why? Mummy, why us?” I couldn't answer that question. I wonder if you can

1. 1.

   In writing Paragraph 2, the writer wants to           

   1. A.
      describe the contents of the bag in detail
   2. B.
      tell the thieves hardly any money was available
   3. C.
      state the fact that she was careless with the money
   4. D.
      give some suggestions to the three thieves
2. 2.

   Which of the following is the most valuable to the writer?

   1. A.
      The cash in her bag
   2. B.
      The handbag itself
   3. C.
      The papers and notes in the bag
   4. D.
      The check book in the bag
3. 3.

   What can we conclude about the police?

   1. A.
      They are unable to find the thieves
   2. B.
      They show sympathy to the woman
   3. C.
      They have doubts about human nature
   4. D.
      They think the case quite common
4. 4.

   Why does the author write the letter?

   1. A.
      To give the thieves a serious warning
   2. B.
      To express her affection for her valuable bag
   3. C.
      To call people’s attention to their belongings
   4. D.
      To complain about the fall of morality

When I worked as a waitress in Chicago, US, my coworkers and I would sigh whenever we heard someone with a foreign accent coming into our restaurant. We knew what it meant to serve a non-American: no tip. We would work just as hard as we always did, but we might not get paid.
Americans have an unspoken rule about tipping: they give tips to almost everyone who offers them a service of some kind. Americans tip their waiters, barbers and taxi drivers. An appropriate tip is between 15 and 20 percent of the amount charged for the service (But the charge for the tip doesn’t appear on the bill. The customer is expected to add it himself/herself.) Tipping less than this sends a message to your waiters that you think they’ve done a bad job serving you. And to leave no tip at all is simply unacceptable.
It’s not that American waiters are greedy. In many countries, waiters are paid a salary for their work. They’ll earn money even if no one comes into the restaurant. This system offers much more safety for waiters than the American version. In the US, waiters know that a night without customers means a night without pay.
Some countries include a tip for waiters – a “service charge” – on the bill itself. Since the tip is included with the other charges, waiters don’t need to worry about people forgetting to tip. But in the US, waiters do not receive a salary, and service charges only appear on bills when there are six or more customers at the table.
Since almost all American customers are familiar with the system, they know to add a tip without being told. But visitors to the US may expect waiters to be paid a salary, or think that the tip is included on the bill.
So much as we waiters loved hearing stories about other places from our foreign customers, we were always nervous when they got ready to leave the restaurant. We were never sure what to expect

1. 1.

   If you order $200 worth of food, which of the following is a proper total payment?

   1. A.
      $200
   2. B.
      $215
   3. C.
      $220
   4. D.
      $230
2. 2.

   Why don’t some foreigners tip a waiter according to the writer?

   1. A.
      because they are unfamiliar with the American tip system
   2. B.
      because they are too mean to give tips to any waiter
   3. C.
      because they have difficulty communicating with waiters
   4. D.
      because they are not really easy to become satisfied
3. 3.

   What can we learn from the passage?

   1. A.
      The service charge never appear on the bill in the USA
   2. B.
      Customers are usually expected to tip waiters in the USA
   3. C.
      Dining out in other countries is much more expensive than in the USA
   4. D.
      Waiters in other countries earn much more money than those in the USA
4. 4.

   What is the main purpose of the passage?

   1. A.
      To complain about the difficult life of American waiters
   2. B.
      To warn other waiters not to serve any foreign customer
   3. C.
      To call on foreign customers to leave tips for American waiters
   4. D.
      To tell us something about American waiters’ salary system