Have you ever had an embarrassing (尴尬的) experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony: My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool secondary school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry: The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress in a shop window and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped (拍击) my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand！I'd taken the hand of a stranger!The students began laughing when they saw Tony _________.
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．carrying an alarm clock |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
Henry and his wife held hands _________.
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop | C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
Henry was embarrassed because he __________.
| A．heard his wife screaming | B．knocked over some watches |
| C．took the hand of a stranger | D．slapped the woman in the face |
These days, a new kind of restaurant is becoming popular. People who go there can not only enjoy their meals, also can enjoy playing computer games and have fun with their family and friends on line．uWink is the restaurant’s name．It is in Los Angeles，and it’s about fun and food．
In uWink，there are no waiters or waitresses around you. The screens have replaced(取代) them. You can order the food you want by touching the screen in front of you and runners will bring it to the tables．You can also play video games with the people at the next table．The screens can show music videos，movies and so on．But mainly they are used to show video games．
It’s an interactive(互动的) restaurant where you will controlyour meal and your fun．The service is fast and the runners know clearly where to go．There will be no waiting for a waiter，and no misunderstandings(误解) in the kitchen．Different kinds of food are served at any time of day．uWink is a place which hosts “room games”，where every table in the restaurant can have a video game competition at the same time．
The owner of the restaurant hopes that uWink can make it easy for people to be interactive，have fun and enjoy a delicious meal．
| A．Enjoy their meals. |
| B．Play computer games. |
| C．Have fun with their family and friends. |
| D．Chat with the waiters and waitresses. |
| A．touching the screen in front of them | B．calling the restaurant |
| C．asking the waiters or waitresses | D．asking the runners |
| A．The waiters. | B．The waitresses. |
| C．The runners. | D．The customers themselves. |
| A．it’s a restaurant where there are no waiters or waitresses |
| B．different kinds of food are served at any time of day |
| C．it’s an interactive restaurant for people to have fun and enjoy a delicious meal |
| D．it’s in Los Angeles |
| A．A restaurant without waiters or waitresses. |
| B．A new kind of restaurant called uWink. |
| C．A new kind of kitchen. |
| D．How you order food in the restaurant. |
Millions of British people have ditched the traditional “thank you” and took the place of it with the less formal “cheers”, according to a survey.
Although the common person will say “thank you” nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to add a “cheers” or “ta” where it’s needed to show they are fashionable.
One in twenty now say “nice one” instead, while the younger are more likely to offer a “cool” than a “thank you”.
“Merci”, “fab” and even “gracias” were also listed as common phrases to use, as “much appreciated(感激)”.
One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal “thank you” was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood. Most people stated that saying thank you was something that their parents trained them. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while one fifth avoid(避免)saying it when they know they should.
It seems our friends and family get the stress of our bad manners. Half of them admit (承认) they’re not good at thanking those closest to them. Many of them explain that they don’t say thank you because their family “already know I’m grateful”.
When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people.
One third will still send a handwritten thank-you note---but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they tried to send one.
A quarter of British people say “thank you” with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.
It follows that 85 percent of people will be angry because of not getting the gratitude (感激)
they feel they should receive.
| A．when they are in good mood |
| B．completely out of habit |
| C．when they feel truly grateful |
| D．purely out of politeness |
| A．gave up | B．used |
| C．shared | D．knew |
| A．different ways of expressing gratitude are all fashionable |
| B．people should avoid saying “thank you” nowadays |
| C．a thank-you note is still appreciated by most people |
| D．people in a bad mood never say “thank you” |
| A．Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them. |
| B．About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should. |
| C．Most people may feel natural when they fail to receive others’ gratitude. |
| D．Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members. |
It seems that there’s a good reason why dogs are always seen as man’s best friend. Scientists have found that dogs are the only animals that can read emotion(情感)in faces much like humans. The finding suggests that like an understanding friend, dogs can see if we are happy, sad, pleased or angry.
When humans look at a new face, their eyes usually look across the left, falling on the right hand side of the person’s face first. A possible reason for this is that the right side of the human face is better at expressing emotions.
Scientists have now shown that pet dogs also have “left gaze bias(左视偏好)”, but only when looking at human faces. No other animal has been known to do like this before. Dr. Kun Guo showed 17 dogs pictures of human, dog and monkey faces as well as something else with his team. The dogs’ eyes and heads show a strong left gaze bias when the animals see human faces. But this did not happen when they were shown other pictures, including those of dogs.
Guo suggests that over thousands of years living with humans, dogs may have developed the left gaze bias as a way to guess our emotions.
“Recent studies show that the right side of our faces can express emotions better than the left. If true, then it makes sense for dogs and humans to see the right hand side of a face first.”
| A．Because dogs are the closest animals to humans. |
| B．Because dogs can read the emotions in humans’ faces easily. |
| C．Because dogs can understand us better when we feel sad. |
| D．Because dogs are good at expressing emotions. |
| A．get along well with humans |
| B．express emotions quickly |
| C．have more understanding friends |
| D．remember more new faces |
| A．dogs have been man’s best friends for thousands of years |
| B．humans have a “left gaze bias” |
| C．the “left gaze bias” works on all animals |
| D．dogs can read emotions the same as humans |
Do you want to know something about children in Africa? What do they do for fun every day? Find out here:
Education
School is expensive for many African children. Lots of families can’t afford school uniforms or exercise books even though they don’t have to pay for school.
For those lucky enough to go to school, they have a lot to learn. Some take two language classes: English or French, and their first languages. There is also math, science, history and geography. Chores take up much of children’s time after school. They have to get water and firewood for the family every day. Also there’s cleaning, washing and helping Mum with the meal.
Daily fun
It’s not all work and no play.Sports are very popular. Children can make goals with twigs（嫩枝）and their own footballs with plastic and bits of string(绳子).They play in the country and the streets of old towns.There’re many football teams for teenagers in Africa.
Internet
It’s really expensive to get on the Internet. To surf the net for 20 hours costs 600yuan.This is more than the average（平均的） monthly pay per person.
Egypt and South Africa are the top two users of the Internet in Africa. All of the capital cities there can get on the Internet.
Some schools offer computer lessons but few students can enjoy computer fun at home.
| A．网上冲浪 | B．家务杂活 |
| C．体育活动 | D．家庭作业 |
| A．do not need money to play |
| B．can play all kinds of ball games |
| C．don’t like to go to school |
| D．don’t like to do their homework |
| A．20 hours | B． more than 240 hours |
| C．about 240 hours | D．about 20 hours |
To: manager@tastytreat.com
Date: Monday, 7th October, 3:34 p.m.
From: raymondyuen@canada.net
Subject: Complaint
Dear Mr. Price,
I have eaten in your restaurant many times and have always been happy with the food and service. This makes what happened last Saturday even more disappointing(失望).
It was my son’s birthday so we booked a non-smoking table at your restaurant for 7:30 p.m. We arrived on time but were told that our table was not yet ready. At 8:00 p.m., we were given a table in the smoking area. I asked to move but I was told that there were no other tables. A lot of people were smoking so it was uncomfortable and unhealthy.
Our first waitress, Janet, was very polite and helpful. She gave us free drinks for waiting so long. Our food also came quickly and looked fresh and tasty. When my wife had eaten most of her meal, she found a dead cockroach(蟑螂)in her vegetables. She was shocked and wanted to leave. At first, the waitress told us it was a piece of garlic(作料).When we told her it had legs, she apologized
(="said" sorry) and took the food away.
We asked for the pay for my wife’ s meal bill, expecting not to pay for my wife’s meal. Nobody came. After 15 minutes, I asked to see the manager. The headwaiter told us that you were on holiday. I complained again about the horrible cockroach. He told me Janet had finished work. He didn’t believe my story and gave me a bill for three meals. I argued with him but was forced(被迫)to pay.
The waitress, Janet, was always friendly, but I would like an apology from your impolite headwaiter and a full refund(退款)for our meal. It cost $68. Until then, I will not be eating at your restaurant or recommending it to anyone.
You can contact me at 742-3254 or through e-mail if you want more information.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Raymond Yuen
| A．the waitress hadn’t told him about what happened |
| B．he believed that the cockroach was garlic |
| C．he didn’t want to pay Mr. Yuen back |
| D．the manager was on holiday |
| A．Nothing. | B．Two meals. |
| C．Three meals. | D．Only the drinks. |
| A．say sorry to his family |
| B．let the headwaiter stop working in the restaurant |
| C．get the headwaiter to say sorry |
| D．get the headwaiter and Janet to say sorry |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号