I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happen to be that unfairly treated member of society --- a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I am convinced the things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a deceptive (欺骗的) new motto for so-called “service” organizations --- Staff Before Service.
　　 How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there were not enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles or checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to hire cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that uncovering all their cash registers at any one time would increase operating costs. And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low”.
　　  It is the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is cut short. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There is also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been thrown out of their jobs in the interests of “efficiency” and replaced by coin-eating machines which offer everything from lager to laxatives (从贮藏啤酒到通便剂). Not to mention the tea-making kit in your room: a kettle with a mixed collection of tea bags, plastic milk boxes and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I do not, especially when I am paying for “service”.
　　Can it be stopped, this worsening of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a bore? I angrily hope so because it is happening, sadly, in all walks of life.
　　Our only hope is to hammer home our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, bring back into practice that other, older slogan --- Take Our Deal Elsewhere.
【小题1】The writer feels that nowadays customers __________.

A．not having enough male staff on duty

B．difficulties in hiring more efficient staff

C．lack of cooperation between staff members

D．not providing enough staff on purpose to reduce budget

A．be patient when queuing before checkout counters

B．put up with the rude manners of the staff

C．try to control his temper when ill-treated

D．go to other places where good service is available

       The tea gardens in Sri Lanka are actually large estates(种植园). The best tea usually comes from plants grown on high grounds, the cool hilltops with rows and rows of tea plants. The plants are about one metre apart. The plant is often pruned so that it remains only 60 to 90 centimetres high. Pruning is important because it encourages the growth of tender shoots, or young leaves. It is from these shoots that the best tea is got.

       Practically all the tea pickers are women. The estates prefer to employ women pickers because they are more careful. Their thin fingers can easily remove the twin leaves and new shoots from the plant, which are the parts used for processing(加工) tea. The pickers carry large baskets into which they throw their pickings. A skilled worker can harvest between 9 to 14 kilogrammes of tea leaves a day. Usually new shoots can be picked from the plants about every ten or fifteen days.

       Processing tea shoots into the familiar dry tea leaves requires great care and skill .There are various methods of processing depending on the type of tea required .For black tea ,the young green leaves are first spread out o shelves to dry. This process removes much of its water and the leaves become soft. After this ,the leaves are passed through heavy rollers .This operation will press the leaves for juices which give the tea both its colour and taste .Then the leaves are spread out on floors and left to ferment （发酵）under wet conditions. Fermentation develops the rich taste of black tea .The fermented leaves are then dried with a hot-air blower until they become rolled-up black leaves .The final step is to sort and grade them before the black tea is ready for sale to countries all over the world.

68.In the first paragraph ,the word “pruning” means       .

  A.regular cutting of the plants    B.frequent watering

  C.regular use of chemicals         D.growing the plants high in the mountain

69.One of the reasons why women are employed to do the picking is that        .

  A.they work harder than men do in the picking

  B.they can throw their pickings more easily into the baskets

  C.their fingers fit them better for the job.

  D.they can more easily find the twin leaves.

70.How many processing steps are mentioned in the last paragraph?

  A.Three.    B.Four.    C.Five.    D.Six.

71.What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

  A.To introduce various methods of tea processing.

  B.To persuade readers to buy tea from Sri Lanka.

  C.To tell a story that had happened in the tea gardens.

  D.To inform readers of tea growing ,picking and processing.

In England, afternoon tea is the most informal (非正式) meal of a day. It is taken between four and five. If you are a friend of the family, you may come for tea at any time. Very often it is not taken at a table. The members of the family and visitors take the tea in the sitting room. Each person has a cup and saucer (茶盘), a spoon (调羹) and a small plate for bread and butter (黄油) and cakes. By the way, do not help yourself to cakes first, bread and butter first, and then cake. Do remember: Though you can eat as much as you want, do not put more than（超过） one piece of bread or cake on your plate each time.

1.In England, afternoon tea is usually taken

A. between breakfast and lunch        B. in the middle of a day

C. early in the afternoon              D late in the afternoon

2.A real English afternoon tea has               .

A．tea only                               B．both tea and food

C．tea, food and vegetables                  D．the same things as other meals

3.If you want to have afternoon tea in a friend's home,               .  

A．you must send a message before you go

B．you must take food with you

C．you must go only when he asks you to

D．you may put only one piece of bread or cake on your plate each time

4.Help yourself to                   . 

A．cakes first                             B．bread and butter first

C．either bread first or cake first              D．only one piece of bread or cakes .

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．People don't use the same spoon for afternoon tea.

B．Afternoon tea is often taken in the sitting room.

C．For afternoon tea, people use cups only.

D．Afternoon tea is often taken with bread and cakes.

A young British woman had shortly arrived in Hong Kong and had not yet  36   anything about the Chinese   37  . One day she went to the home of a Chinese friend and was                                                                                                                                                       38   given a cup of Chinese tea. She was not   39   and she also found this type of tea rather   40  . However, since she had been given the tea , she felt she should drink it. Hoping to finish it   41   so that she would not feel about having to drink this tea which she did not   42   , she started to drink as much of it as she could. But as soon as her cup became half - full, the host   43   giving her more. Several times she told the host that she had had   44    , but it seemed to have no   45   . Her cup kept being   46  , and she kept on drinking. During the time of her   47  , she drank about twelve cups of tea. Later she found out that she should have just  48   the tea, and that this would have meant that she had had enough. Influenced by her  49   culture, she felt it too   50   to leave the tea and could not understand why the host took no notice of her protests(抗议) that she had had enough!

     EDGEWOOD - Every morning at Dixie Heights High School, customers pour into a special experiment: the district’s first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.

     Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries.

     By closing time at 9.20 a.m., the shop usually sells 90 drinks.

     "Whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schatzman says it was good," Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher.

     The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school.

     They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers.

     Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.

     Not that it was easy. Chevalier's first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?

     Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition (营养) guidelines.

     The whole school has joined in to help.

     Teachers agreed to give up their lounge (休息室) in the mornings. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups.

1．What is the text mainly about?

    A．A best-selling coffee.

    B．A special educational program.

    C．Government support for schools.

    D．A new type of teacher-student relationship.

2．The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to_     _．

    A．raise money for school affairs

    B．do some research on nutrition

    C．develop students' practical skills

    D．supply teachers with drinks

3．How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schatzman's opinion of the chi tea?

     A．She met her in the shop.

     B．She heard her telling others.

     C．She talked to her on the phone.

     D．She went to her office to deliver the tea.

4．We know from the text that Ginger Gray       ．

     A．manages the Dixie P1T program in Kenton County

     B．sees that the drinks meet health standards

     C．teaches at Dixie Heights High School

     D．owns the school’s coffee shop