2.Still no free lunch

The repairman told me,“No charge,Professor Pan!We're friends.”“I'd rather pay,”I replied.“If it's free I can't afford it!”

Chinese often refuse payment for professional services,insisting,“We're friends now!”But then they show up later to ask me to tutor them in English,or get them into an American university,and I wish I'd have just paid the 30 yuan I owed them in the first place!

According to the Americans,“There's no free lunch”means there's a price for everything,and I'm always looking around to figure out what this means.

Many of our neighbours have given us fruit or flowers or costly(昂贵的)teas,never asking anything in return.For years,a bicycle repairman has repeatedly refused to let me pay him.“Wait until you have something major to fix!”he insists.

I mentioned to a peasant friend that I wished I had a stone mill to grind(磨)flour for bread.A month later,he showed up with a beautiful mill that he'd had his uncle in the countryside carve from a solid block of granite(花岗石).

Chinese generosity(慷慨)is a real education for Americans like me,who would rather avoid social entanglements(纠纷)and just hand over the money.But cash can't compensate(补偿)for the greatest gift-friendship.

When an American saw some of my friends sitting on bamboo stools(凳子)under the trees,sipping(呷)tea,he said,“They must have nothing better to do.”“Actually,”I said,“they are professors,with plenty of work to do.But probably you're right in saying that,at this moment,they have nothing better to do.And neither do!”

And I joined the group.We chatted about tea and Chinese cooking and how much my boys have grown since we arrived.One man said,“They were pocket-sized when you came here.Now they're taller than you.How time flies!”

How life flies!And Chinese are smart enough to share what they know they cannot keep.They freely give out their time,never too busy to help a friend.And they are teaching me,slowly,to both give and receive.

So the next time someone says,“No charge.We're friends!”I will thank them heartily.But if they show up later asking me to tutor them in English,I'll make sure they tutor my son in Chinese as well,because there's still no free lunch.

1.Bars in America

In America,people often go to bars to have some drinks,watch TV,or have a party to relax themselves after a whole day's toil(辛苦的工作).In America,people have to reach a certain age to get alcohol(酒精)drinks.Every state has its own law and the drinking age is different.In Ohio,people have to be over 21 to have alcohol drinks.If a bar sells alcohol drinks to teenagers under 21,the most serious punishment the government will take is a heavy fine and even to put the manager into prison.So every bar in America just cooperates with the government and checks everyone's valid(有效的)license to make sure not to sell alcohol drinks to teenagers under 21.If the bar-tenders meet someone and they are not sure about his age,they will check his ID to verify(证实).

There are several kinds of bars.One is a sports bar.In America,people love sports.Their favorite sports are basketball,football and hockey.Usually people go to a sports bar watching sports games with their friends and enjoying a passionate(感情强烈的)moment with strangers in the bar.Another is the ordinary bar.People just go there and take a couple of drinks and chat with each other to relax themselves.The bar is a symbol of the American culture.There,you can learn much western culture and have a lot of fun.

I went to Beijing this National holiday, and it was an interesting experience of my life.

My friends told us that taking the “hard 36” to Beijing would be really terrible. So we didn’t know what to 37. But we were pleasantly surprised when we finally boarded the　 38 , which was relatively modern and 39 . During the 14-hour ride we ate peanuts and talked. It was not 40 at all.

It was morning when we arrived. We stepped out of the railway station, having sat in hard seats and not getting much 41 . However, We had energy, First we tried to get return tickets to Shanghai, but the tickets seller42 us that tickets would not be on 43 for another two days. We were a little worried about getting 44 , but we made up our minds to 45 for the hotel to put our bags down. After fighting our way 46 the “gypsy(象吉普塞人的)” taxi drivers that tried to 47 us one hundred yuan for the ride, we found a taxi and it 48 cost us thirty yuan to get 49 we had planned to go. When we reached the hotel, there was a window for airplane and train tickets. To our surprise, 50 the man behind the counter could get tickets that day, which we　 51 . The most important lesson about China I ever 52 , is to get someone to do your work for you, and it seems to work out much 53 . We were not able to get tickets, but the　 54agents(代理)could.

While in Beijing we saw a lot of places of interest, most of which were very 55 . It was fun to be with thousands of people in one place. There aren’t any words to describe it.

21. A. chair　　 B. bed　　 C. seat 　 D. bench

22. A. provide 　　　 B. expect C. happen 　　 D. think

23. A. plane 　 B. bus　　 C. ship 　 D. train

24. A. slow 　 B. clean　 C. simple 　　　 D. long

25. A. bad 　　 B. good　 C. easy 　 D. comfortable

26. A. trouble 　　　 B. food　 C. sleep D. help

27. A. promised 　　 B. informed　　 C. advised 　　 D. persuaded

28. A. time 　 B. show　 C. duty 　 D. sale

29. A. behind 　　　 B. out　　 C. through 　　 D. back

30 A. start 　　 B. ask　　 C. look 　 D. leave

31. A. towards 　　　 B. into　　 C. across 　　　 D. past

32. A. offer 　 B. charge C. bargain 　　 D. share

33. A. even 　 B. still　　 C. also 　 D. only

34. A. what 　 B. which C. where 　　　 D. how

35. A. somehow 　 B. only　　 C. therefore 　 D. otherwise

36. A. wouldn’t 　　 B. couldn’t　　 C. shouldn’t 　 D. needn’t

37. A. learned 　　　 B. taught C. offered 　　 D. heard

38. A. harder B. earlier C. later 　 D. easier

39. A. business 　　 B. transport　　 C. travel 　　　 D. hotel

40. A. interesting 　 B. crowded　　 C. famous 　　 D. noisy

20. All of us were _____ by the _____ questions _____ by a six-year-old boy.

A. puzzled; puzzling; rose B. puzzling; puzzled, raised

C. puzzling; puzzling; risen D. puzzled; puzzling; raised

19. History is _____ a subject which only lets us know something in history.

A. not more than B. less than C. more than D. no more than

18. You can drink _____ water but not _____ water.

A. boiled; boiled B. boiling; boiled C. boiled; boiling D. boiling; boiling

17. This great mind was _____ outer space.

A. on fire B. on a fire C. on fire for D. on a fire for

16. There is no point ____ any further. It won’t help much.

A. to argue 　 B. in arguing C. about arguing 　 D. /