Everybody hates it, but everybody does it. A recent report said that 40％of Americans hate tipping. In America alone, tipping is a $16 billion-a-year industry. Consumers acting politely ought not to pay more than they have to for a given service. Tips should not exist. So why do they? The common opinion in the past was that tips both rewarded the efforts of good service and reduced uncomfortable feelings of inequality. And also, tipping makes for closer relations. It went without saying that the better the service, the bigger the tip.
But according to new research from Cornell University, tips no longer serve any useful function. The paper analyzes numbers they got from 2,547 groups dining at 20 different restaurants. The connection between larger tips and better service was very weak. Only a tiny part of the size of the tip had anything to do with the quality of service.
Tipping is better explained, by culture than by the money people spend. In America, the custom came into being a long time ago. It is regarded as part of the accepted cost of a service. In New York restaurants, failing to tip at least l5％ could well mean dissatisfaction from the customers. Hairdressers can expect to get l5％-20％, and the man who delivers your fast food $2. In Europe, tipping is less common. In many restaurants the amount of tip is decided by a standard service charge. In many Asian countries, tipping has never really caught on at all. Only a few have really taken to tipping.
According to Michael Lynn，the Cornell papers’ author, countries in which people are more social or outgoing tend to tip more. Tipping may reduce anxiety about being served by strangers. And Mr. Lynn says, “In America, where people are expressive and eager to mix up with others, tipping is about social approval. If you tip badly, people think less of you. Tipping well is a chance to show off.”This passage is mainly about________.
| A．different kinds of tipping in different countries |
| B．the relationship between tipping and custom |
| C．the origin and present meaning of tipping |
| D．most American people hate tipping |
Which of the following best explains the underlined phrase “caught on” ?
| A．Been hated． | B．Become popular． |
| C．Been stopped． | D．Been permitted |
Among the following situations, in your opinion, who is likely to tip most?
| A．A Frenchman just quarreled with the barber who did his hair badly in New York. |
| B．A Chinese student enjoyed his meal in a famous fast food restaurant in New York. |
| C．A Japanese businessman asked for a pizza delivery from a Pizza Hut in New York. |
| D．An American just had a wonderful dinner in a well known restaurant in New York. |
We can infer from this passage that________.
| A．tipping is no longer a good way to satisfy some customers themselves |
| B．tipping has something to do with people’s character |
| C．tipping in America can make service better now |
| D．tipping is especially popular in New York |
Show Your Bones is the newest album from a musical group with an unusual name, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The energetic music made by these rock musicians is becoming very popular in America.
A singer, a guitar player and a drummer make up the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Their rock sound is creative, unusual, and full of personality. Their music is considered an example of “indie”(short for independent) rock. Indie musicians like to protect their independence and artistic freedom. One way to do this is to avoid using major record companies. The lead singer Karen O is known for wearing wild clothing and having wild hairstyles while performing. Sometimes she even pours beer over herself and the audience. Imagine Karen O dancing around on stage as you listen to her sing the song, Phenomena.
The words in the songs on Show Your Bones are poetic and also a little strange. It is not always clear what the songs mean. In the song called The Sweets, Karen O describes colors and the motion of water. Also, she wonders about meeting someone again.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs started playing music together in New York City.
Now Karen O has moved to Los Angeles, California. She says that she likes flying between the two cities and the band is now “bi-coastal”. Karen O also said that this album was the most difficult to make. The band was trying to find a different sound from their earlier albums. Their work seems to have been worth the effort. Critics say Show Your Bones might be one of the best albums of the year.
39. How many people are there in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?
A. Two. B.One. C. Four. D. Three.
40. According to the passage, we know that_______.
A. Karen O usually drinks beer on stage while singing
B. The Sweets is an album made by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
C. Karen O doesn’t sing in New York any longer
D. the group had made more than one album before Show Your Bones
41. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Most major record companies follow certain The words on
B. Show Your Bones are all difficult to understand.traditions.
C. Show Your Bones has got a lot of criticism.
D. Show Your Bones is the best-seller of the year.
42. The writer’s attitude towards the Yeah Yeah Yeahs can be best described as _______.
A. indifferent B. curious C. positive D. negative
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Robby was 11 when his mother dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer students to begin at an earlier age. Robby insisted that it had always been his mother’s dream to hear him play the piano, so I took him on as a student.
Robby tried and tried while I listened and encouraged him and gave him more instructions. But he just did not have any inborn ability.
I only saw his mother from a distance. She always waved and smiled but never came in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but I guessed he had decided to try something else.
I was also glad that he stopped coming for the sake of my career. However, several weeks before the recital (演奏会) of my students, Robby came，telling me that he never stopped practicing and begged me to allow him to take part in. I agreed, but I made him perform last in the program, so I could save his poor performance through my “curtain closer”.
I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen one piece of Mozart’s. Never had I heard a piece of Mozart’s played so well by someone at his age. When he finished, everyone was cheering.
I ran up and put my arms around Robby in joy. “I’ve never heard you play like that, Robby! How could you do it?”
“Well, Miss Hondorf. Do you remember I told you my mom was sick? Actually she died this morning. She was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she could hear me play in heaven. I wanted to make it special. I knew I could.”
That night, Robby was the teacher and I was the student. He taught me so many important things about life.
36. Why did Robby stop coming to piano lessons suddenly?
A. He lost heart and believed that he would never make it.
B. His mother might had been seriously ill.
C. He thought that his teacher disliked him.
D. His mother died and he didn’t need to play any longer.
37. We can know from the passage that ________.
A. the writer thought that students shouldn’t begin playing the piano too early
B. the writer thought that Robby had given up his piano lessons
C. only by practicing at home did Robby learn to play well
D. no one else could play the piece of Mozart’s as well as Robby
38. The writer made Robby perform last because ______.
A. the one who performs last always performs very well
B. Robby asked the writer to do so
C. she wanted to do something to save a poor performance
D. Robby thought his mother would come at last
Arnold followed Eugie down the slope, stealing, as his brother did, from one stock of wheat to another. Eugie paused before climbing through the wire fence that divided the Wheatfield from the marshy pasture （牧场）around the lake. They were screened from the ducks by the trees along the lake’s edge.
“If you hit your duck, you want me to go in after it?” Eugie said.
“If you want.” Amold said.
Eugie lowered his eyelids, “You’d drown before you got it, the legs of yours are so weak.” he said contemptuously（轻蔑地）.
He shoveled the tub under the fence and, pressing down the center wire, climbed through into the pasture.
Arnold pressed down the bottom wire, pushed a leg through and leaned forward to bring the other leg after. His rifle caught on the wire and he pulled at it. The air was rocked by the sound of the shot. Feeling foolish, he lifted his face, uncovering it to an expected shower of derision （嘲弄）from his brother. But Eugie did not turn around. Instead, from his crouching position, he fell into his knees and then fell forward onto hi
s face. The ducks rose up crying from the lake, cleared the mountain background and beat away northward across the pale sky.
Arnold squatted beside his brother. Eugie seemed to be climbing the earth, as if the earth ran up and down, and when he found he couldn’t scale it he lay still.
“Eugie?”
Then Arnold saw it, under the rolling hair at the back of the need — a slow rising of bight blood. It had an unpleasant movement, like that of a parasite（寄生虫）.
“Hey, Eugie, ” he said again.
He was feeling the same discomfort he had felt when he had watched Eugie sleeping; his brother didn’t know that he was lying face down in the pasture.
Again he said, “Hey, Eugie,” an anxious push in his voice. But Eugie was as still as the morning about them.
72．What does the underlined word “screened” in Para 1 probably mean?
A．Separated. B．Stopped. C．Dragged. D．Hidden.
73．According to the passage, we know that .
A．Eugie always laughed at Arnold
B．Eugie would help Arnold hit the ducks
C．Arnold begged Eugie to go in after the ducks
D．Eugie was worried that Arnold might drown
74．Why did Eugie lie still?
A．Arnold shot him intentionally. B．Arnold killed him accidentally.
C．He pretended to be unconscious. D．He was ready to shoot some ducks.
75．It can be inferred from the passage that .
A．the relationship between Arnold and Euie was not so good
B．Arnold followed Eugie approaching the lake to steal ducks
C．they were crouching forward to steal the wheat
D．Eugie was always
taking care of Arnold
Vancouver ended its time hosting the 2010 Olympic games on a light-hearted note, with a closing ceremony that featured floating moose, dancing Mounties and gigantic cut-out hockey players wearing the gold medals Team Canada had won hours before.
The upbeat ending was in stark contrast to the grim beginning of these games, which were marred by protests, the death of a Georgian luger, and then by unseasonably warm weather that left organizers postponing events and trucking in snow on Cypress Mountain.
``You took on a stubborn mountain with all your might,'' said Vancouver Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong, lauding the games' blue-garbed staff in a speech during the ceremony. ``The final result: Blue Jackets 1; Cypress Mountain weather zero.''
During the closing ceremony, Vancouver passed the baton to Sochi, Russia, which will host the 2014 winter games.
68. Which one didn’t happen at the beginning of games?
A. snow once was a big problem for the events. B. a Georgian coach died
C.weather became warm out of season. D. something unharmonious happened.
69. According to Furlong’s speech, we can infer that _________.
A.you made every effort to climb up the mountain
B.Cypress Mountain is quite stubborn. C.mountain weather was up to zero cold.
D.to some degree, blue-grabed staff are supernatural.
70. What happened at the closing ceremony?
A.Team Canada won the first place in hockey. B.A handover ceremony ocurred.
C.Furlong announced the final result in the last event.
D.Some staff trucked snow to the scene.
71. The best title is ______________.
A.Vancouver Ends 2010 Games With A Smile B.Team Canada Achieved A Great Success.
C.A Splendid Closing Ceremony D.The Wonderful 2010 Winter Games
Anti-bird flu contingency (意外事故) measures, including a proposal to separate poultry from humans and a series of traffic and logistics (后勤) measures will be discussed at the Legislative Council's Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene Pane
l meeting next month. Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Dr York Chow says the contingency plan would come into force if an outbreak occurred near Hong Kong.
Speaking on a radio talk show this morning, Dr Chow said the separation of poultry from humans policy, which will be determined after a decision whether to set up a central slaughtering (屠宰) house or several regional ones, would be based on the demand for live chickens.
He pointed out that at present there were 30,000 live chickens imported from the Mainland and 30,000 supplied locally. If this demand persisted, there would be no central slaughtering house or wholesale point that could handle such an amount and regional slaughtering houses could be the choice.
He added that building of regional slaughtering houses took time, but stressed the need to study the views of the public and the sector before a final decision was made.
Regarding avian flu vaccination (种痘) for humans, Dr Chow said it was still being developed. He added that it may not be reliable in the case of an outbreak as records show vaccination can only offer 5% protection against a virus.
He said Hong Kong had more experience and expertise than neighbouring territories in the fight against viral outbreaks, and was willing to offer them help. He added there was no “boundary” for infectious diseases and close cooperation among different countries had to be maintained to fight against a possible outbreak.
64. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ______.
A. the government is planning to take strong action to fight against bird flu
B. an outbreak which happened near Hong Kong made people very frightened
C. anti-bird flu contingency measures will come into use next month
D. Dr York Chow will organize a meeting to discuss the contingency plan
65. According to the passage, the best way to fight against bird flu is to ______.
A. separate poultry from humans B. set up a central slaughtering house
C. set up several regional slaughtering houses D. get avian flu vaccination
66. When the final decision will be made mainly depends on ______.
A. the demand for live chickens
B. the views of the public
C. the advice from experts
D. the time when regional slaughtering houses will be finished
67. Which of the following statements isn’t Dr York Chow’s opinion?
A. Hong Kong is better at dealing with viral outbreaks than its neighbours.
B. Infectious diseases could happen in any country.
C. Other territories should ask Hong Kong for help because it has more experience.
D. Cooperation is quite necessary when danger is coming.
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