(B )
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 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
Choose the best answer (根据短文内容,选择最恰当的答案,用A、B、C或D表示):
74. 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
75. When Jack called the couple “elderly”,
they became ______.
A) nervous B)
satisfied C)
unhappy D) excited
76. 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
77. 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
78. 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.
79. 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