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 a 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．become popular. | B．been hated. |
| 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．An American just had a wonderful dinner in a well known restaurant in New York. |
| C．A Japanese businessman asked for a pizza delivery from a Pizza Hut in New York. |
| D．A Chinese student enjoyed his meal in a famous fast food 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 is especially popular in New York |
| C．tipping in America can make service better now |
| D．tipping has something to do with people's character |
C
Snoopy and Lou were robbers. Half a year ago, they decided to plan another bank robbery. It was to be their last one. Then they would give up this business and live a comfortable life. The job was so well done that the judge who sent them to prison for fifteen years each said it was the cleverest robbery of the century, and what a pity it was that their car had used up its petrol not far from the bank.
After they were in prison for a few weeks, Snoopy and Lou decided to escape. Soon they worked out a plan as good as any they had ever made. Even the smallest points were considered carefully. They planned as a team because they lived in the same room, and because the guards, who had a great deal of respect for the famous robbers, left them very much alone. They decided the quickest and safest way to escape was to squeeze themselves along a drain form their present workplace in the prison to a quiet country road on the other s
ide of the prison wall.
The great day arrived, and the pair started along the drain. With great difficulty, they squeezed themselves along for what seemed ages. In half an hour , they could see daylight. When they got out, the men were so pleased with themselves at their success that they sloped each other on the back. It was only then that they realized they were not alone. They looked around, they found themselves facing thirty astonished policemen, who were carrying musical instruments of various sorts. The next morning, the same judge seemed very sorry as he told Snoopy and Lou that the plan of the prison drain system, which they had studied so carefully, was more than twenty years old, and that the quiet country road was no longer there. The drain now led directly to the parade ground where the police band had just finished practicing when the two robbers appeared before them.
64．What was Snoopy and Lou’s plan to escape from the prison?
A．They planned to run away while working
in the prison workplace.
B．They planned to climb over the prison wall, on the other side of which was a quiet country road.
C．They planned to crawl along the drain which led to a country road
D．They planned to get to the parade ground through the drain which was empty when the police band was not practicing.
65．Snoopy and Lou failed in their plan to escape because_________.
A．they did not play well before hand
B．they were not quick enough in their action
C．the policemen had been keeping a watchful eye on them
D．the map of the prison drain system they used was out of date
66．According to this article, which of the following statements is true?
A．When Snoopy and Lou went out of the drain, thirty policemen were waiting for them.
B．When Snoopy and Lou found themselves facing thirty policemen, they turned round and ran in the direction of the country road.
C．The policemen caught Snoopy and Lou by chance
D．The policemen were frightened more than surprised when the two robbers suddenly appeared before them
67．It seemed the judge________.
A．admired Snoopy and Lou for their cleverness
B．felt very proud to try the two famous robbers for their crime
C．was very angry at Snoopy and Lou’s breaking the law again and again
D．was sad at Snoopy and Lou’s breaking the law again
B
America has long been considered the land of opportunity(机遇)by those from other countries. Amer
icans, too, believe that the United States gives almost limitless opportunities for those who want to open business on their own.
Today, Americans are still fond of trying their hand at becoming small business people, even though only one out of two survives in the first two years. Many of these people start their business for the wrong reason; to get away from the paper work of their present jobs or to exchange the responsibility(责任) of their present jobs for freer life styles. But more, not less paper work and responsibility come with the ownership of a small business.
Not all small businesses succeed. Fifty percent of the 4 550 000 that start in the United States ever fail. Still ninety-five percent of businesses in the U.S. can be regarded as small, and these businesses altogether produce forty percent of America’s total national products.
60．According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A．People from other countries and Americans think there are a lot of opportunities in the U.S.
B．On
ly the Americans think the U.S. can give them many opportunities.
C．Both people from other countries and Americans believe they have many opportunities in the U.S so that they can do whatever they like.
D．People from other countries and Americans all think the U.S. the place where they can realize their dreams.
61．From this passage, we know that________.
A．many people from other countries think that in the past there were many opportunities in the U.S. but not now
B．now Americans don’t believe the U.S. can give them a lot of opportunities
C．people from other countries still think they have more opportunities in the U.S. than in their own countries
D．Americans think they have more opportunities to start their own business than those from other countries
62．According to this passage, many American people like to start their own business because___.
A．they want to become rich soon
B．they not only dislike their present jobs but also want a freer life style
C．they don’t want to do paper work
D．they want to have more chances
63．From this passage, we can get the idea that________.
A．it is easy to do business successfully in the U.S
B．it is easy to start a business but hard to make it successful
C．there are more big business t
han small business in the U.S
D．only big business can succeed in the U.S
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40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。
A
When I was a child , I remember that my mother decided that we would take a trip to visit my Aunt Sandy who lived in Mammoth Lakes, California. I was about 7 at the time but my memory does not fail me because I can recall my personal details .
We were sitting in the kitchen getting ready to have peanut butter and suddenly without warning the room started shaking. I remember thinking that it was weird(怪异)that construction workers must have been moving the house or something, but that it was weird that they would do it when we were still in it. I had a vivid imagination too. So everything started shaking and my aunt had this horrible look on her face as she dropped the knife of peanut-butter onto the ground and held on to the counter. My mom told me to get under the table, which as I think back was odd because what was happening was from the ground so what good was getting under a table going to do. The kitchen window soon broke out on its 
own from the force of all the shaking and I started getting pretty scared(害怕). I don’t think my aunt moved the entire time. My mom had gotten under the table with me and was holding me to make sure I was OK I suppose. It seemed strange because no one really knew what to do.
So finally the shaking stopped. The power was out and it took minutes before anyone really even started to move and talk again. My mother decided that we would leave the next morning. I don’t remember if we were only planning to stay for one night or if we were just stopping by on our way to Fresno where my mom had friends.
56．The first paragraph is mainly to tell us that the writer_________.
A．was eager to see Aunt Sandy B．was too young to do anything
C．doesn’t remember anything at all D．still remember what happened when young
57．While they were sitting in the kitchen__________.
A．the construction workers moved the house
B．the kitchen window broke out on its own
C．a terrible earthquake took place suddenly
D．they were warned to leave the room at once
58．Aunt dropped the knife of peanut-butter onto the ground because_________.
A．she was very busy B．she was too frightened
C．everything shook hard D．she didn’t use it any more
59．From the last paragraph we can know that________.
A．everyone began to make the house clean and tidy
B．the writer’s mum decided to leave immediately
C．the electricity was cut off completely at home
D．everyone started to talk about the shaking loudly
|
第Ⅱ卷（共45分）
第四部分：书面表达（共两节，满分45分）第一节阅读表达（共5小题；每小题3分，满分15分）
阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后面的要求答题。（请注意问题后的字数要求）
Eating disorder is very common now. "When I first wrote about this. the problem was pretty much hidden … I didn't expect it to get as bad as it is." Susie Orbach, an international authority on eating disorders, said.
Orbach must at times think the anti-diet message of her book “fat is a Feminist Issue(女权主义问题)”has been lost since it was written more than 20 years ago.
Girls, boys, old people -- even the famously well-rounded female population of Fiji are falling victims(牺牲品) to fat fear.
"If anything, the situation has got much, much worse. We now have kids as young as eight and women in old people's homes worried about the way they look." Orbach said.
Even though it has been proved that repeated dieting results in a little more than regaining most of the lost weight, constant dieting has become a way of life for many women. 48 per cent of British women aged 25 to 35 were on some kind of diet and 20 per cent of young women dieted all or most of time. Some of them said they would pop a pill to give them their beautiful shape, even if it meant riskingtheir health. Worldwide, 70 million people have an eating disorder. Most are women, but men are increasingly affected, too.
More than half the women and two thirds of the men in Britain weigh too much. while in the United States more than one quarter of adults and about one in five children are overweight. The idea that female beauty is a very thin body could be changed, if clothing factories and magazines showed images(形象) of women of all shapes instead of selecting skeletal-like models and stick-thin actress.
But that is easier said than done.
To get the message across, Orbach is also considering talking to pop stars such as Victoria Beckham and Geri Halliwell, both of whom have admitted__________________.
81. What’s the best title of the passage?
_______________________________________________________________________________
82. Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?
Lots of women has chosen constant dieting as part of their life despite the fact that constant dieting leads to the lost weight being regained.
_______________________________________________________________________________
83. Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (within ten words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
84. Are you in favor of dieting? And why? (within 30 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
85. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
_______________________________________________________________________________
E
Many cities in the world are benefiting from the nocturnal (夜间活动的) activities of a group of people who call themselves guerrilla (游击队的) gardeners. Armed with trowels, spades and a van full of flowers and plants, guerrilla gardeners turn abandoned urban land into a blaze of color. In city centre locations where there was mud, weeds and empty plastic bottles, residents often wake up to find that the wasted area has been transformed overnight with brightly-colored bedding plants.
In most British cities, local governments and police turn a blind eye to the exploits (开发) of the gardeners, whose activities are always carried out under cover of nightfall. And so far, there has been nothing but praise from the astonished and delighted local residents when they find their neighborhood transformed in such a striking fashion.
Not only do the guerrilla gardeners beautify neglected places, they also return regularly to water the plants and weed the flower beds. They also make sure that at least some of the plants they bring are evergreens, which means that the area doesn’t look dismal (凄凉的) in the winter months.
The first guerrilla gardener in London was Richard Reynolds, whose day job is at an advertising agency. Mr Reynolds, a graduate of Oxford University, began his efforts two years ago when he moved to a flat in a tower block in South London. From his balcony, he could see several empty concrete pots, placed by the local governments to contain plants but never used. He went out after midnight and filled the pots with plants, and then planted more flowers in the path leading to the entrance to the block.
He then set up a website to explain his plan and called upon more gardeners to join him. Cash donations flooded in and, more importantly, volunteers rushed to be part of the campaign. Within six months, there were five hundred people in London prepared to come out at very short notice to revitalize (恢复活力) neglected parts of the urban landscape. There are now unofficial but carefully-organized groups in many cities in Britain and North America and there is also a website where would-be urban gardeners can find out the location of the next expedition.
76. According to the text, guerrilla gardeners got their names ______.
A. because of the residents’ advice B. from the local governments
C. for the nature of their work D. based on the local cultures
77. These guerrilla gardeners do their work ______.
A. at the request of the government B. nearby their house
C. often in return for others’ help D. of their own free will
78. Why do the guerrilla gardeners often return to their former working places?
A. To look after these plants. B. To enjoy these beautiful flowers.
C. To help plants live through winter months. D. To change the types of these plants.
79. Richard Reynolds decided to fill the pots with plants with the purpose of ______.
A. making the neighborhood more beautiful B. agreeing with his own job
C. advertising some products in his agency D. killing his spare time
80. It can be inferred from the text that these guerrilla gardeners ______.
A. are mainly from the United Kingdom
B. will later get well paid
C. are still not accepted by the local people
D. become more and more organized
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