There are thirty-four bridges on the Tha...

When you’re abroad, trying to find out who to tip is never straightforward and neither is trying to work out the exact number. To make things even more complicated, the rules for tipping vary greatly from country to country. Also, within each country the rules can change, so what was appropriate last time you visited your favourite country may be completely inappropriate the next time you go. However, here are some general guidelines which might help you on your journeys.

You face your first dilemma as soon as you land at the airport— the taxi ride. Taxi drivers generally do expect tips, but rather than there being an exact amount, people round up the fare or just tell the driver to keep the change.

Your next encounter is with the hotel porter and you know he’s expecting a tip, but the problem is trying to figure out how much. It seems that in many countries round the world $1 per bag would be an appropriate amount.

Then, of course, you have to eat. In some countries such Ireland, Brazil, Poland and Portugal, the customary tip in restaurants is 10-15% unless a service charge is included, so the first rule of thumb is always check the bill. In other countries such as France, Italy, Germany, Australia and Spain, where a 10-15% service charge is either very common or compulsory, you may want to leave an additional tip if you think the service was particularly good, but it certainly isn’t obligatory. However, in some countries it may seem strange if you do leave a tip. In Japan, for example, the waitress might be insulted if you tipped her. In Thailand, if you left a tip, the restaurant staff probably wouldn’t be offended, but you might be pursued down the street by someone thinking you’d forgotten to take your change. In New Zealand, although it’s unlikely anyone would chase after you, you’d definitely get some odd looks if you left a trip.

And your problem with tipping isn’t over when you leave the restaurant. Next you discover the tour guide, the hairdresser and the toilet attendant are all expecting a tip as well, but again, how much? Perhaps the best option in these cases is to ask the local people what is acceptable or observe what others do. Of course, you could simply play safe and tip everyone you meet.

1.The word “dilemma” (in paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to _____________.

A. a difficult situation    B. an early opportunity

C. a high expectation    D. an exact explanation

2.What does the writer suggest tourists do in countries like Brazil?

A. Never tip waiters or waitresses because they may be offended.

B. Play safe and leave a tip about 12% of the bill after each meal.

C. Make sure whether a service charge is included in the bill before giving tips.

D. Always check whether you have kept all your change before leaving the restaurant.

3.People needn’t tip waiters in _____________.

A. Ireland and France    B. Germany and Japan

C. Poland and Italy    D. Thailand and New Zealand

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Advantages of tipping.    B. Rules of tipping.

C. Possible origins of tipping.    D. Different opinions on tipping.

When you say that someone has a good memory, what exactly do you mean? Are you saying that the person has fast recall or that he or she________ information quickly? Or maybe you just mean that the person remembers a lot about her or his childhood. The truth is that it is __________ to say exactly what memory is. Even scientists who have been studying memory for decades say they are still trying to ________ exactly what it is. We do know that a particular memory is not just one thing stored somewhere in the brain.________, a memory is made up of bits and pieces of information stored all over the brain. Perhaps the best way to ________ memory is to say that it is a process—a process of recording, storing, and getting back information. Practice and repetition can help to ________ the pieces that make up our memory of that information.

Memory can be ________ affected by a number of things.________ nutrition can affect a person’s ability to store information. Excessive alcohol use can also weaken memory and cause permanent ________ to the brain over the long term. A vision or hearing problem may affect a person’s ability to notice certain things, thus making it ________ to register information in the brain.

When people talk about memory, they often________short-term memory and long-term memory. If you want to call a store or an office that you don’t call often, you look in the telephone book for the number. You dial the number, and then you forget it! You use your short-term memory to remember the number. Your short-term memory lasts about 30 seconds, or half a minute.________, you don’t need to look in the telephone book for your best friend’s number, because you already know it. This number is in your long-term memory, which __________information about things you have learned and experienced through the years.

Why do you forget things sometimes? The major reason for forgetting something is that you did not learn it well enough ________. For example, if you meet some new people and right away forget their names, it is because you did not ________ the names at the first few seconds when you heard them.

1.A. collects    B. processes    C. publishes    D. absorbs

2.A. necessary    B. important    C. difficult    D. convenient

3.A. figure out    B. take out    C. put out    D. give out

4.A. After all    B. Instead    C. By contrast    D. Besides

5.A. recall    B. refresh    C. describe    D. decrease

6.A. lose    B. organize    C. identify    D. strengthen

7.A. positively    B. negatively    C. actively    D. directly

8.A. Poor    B. Adequate    C. Special    D. Various

9.A. benefit    B. offence    C. effect    D. damage

10.A. easier    B. more impressive    C. harder    D. more convenient

11.A. refer to    B. apply for    C. come across    D. break down

12.A. Furthermore    B. However    C. Consequently    D. Otherwise

13.A. leaks    B. transmits    C. checks    D. stores

14.A. in the middle    B. at the end    C. in the beginning    D. ahead of time

15.A. restore    B. record    C. replace    D. respond

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word. For the other blanks, fill in each blank with one proper word. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct.

Special Days Around the World

Teacher’s Day

1. people in many countries celebrate World Teachers’ Day on 5th October, in Argentina it is on 11th September— the anniversary of the death of former president, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento in 1888.2. Samiento believed passionately in was the importance of education: he wrote ‘Schools are the very basis of civilization’. Children traditionally write poems for their teachers and give them an apple, make a cake or buy flowers. In Vietnam, Educators’ Day is in November. Many students visit their former teachers in their homes 3. (give) them presents, or give news about themselves. And at some schools in India, senior students become teachers, and teachers become students for the day!

World Book Day

In many countries, Book Day 4. (fall) on 23rd April every year. It originated in Catalonia in 1923 when booksellers decided to honour the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day in 1616. In 1995, World Book Day became an international event,5. (celebrate) reading and books. People exchange presents—usually a book and a rose. There are also events such as writing competitions, and in Madrid there is a public reading of Cervantes’s greatest work— Don Quijote —6. lasts 48 hours! In the UK and Ireland, all schoolchildren receive a £1 book token（礼品劵）, and many children now dress up as 7.favourite character from fiction!

Respect for the Aged Day

Grandparents’ Day is popular in many countries, but in Japan— a country where nearly 30 percent of the population are over 60 —older people8. (treat) with special respect. The third Monday of September is ‘Respect for the Aged Day’, which became a national holiday in 1966. Everyone has a day 9. school or work and people organize celebrations for the older people of the village or community where they live. Young people dress up in traditional clothes. They sing and dance and there will be a meal specially 10.(prepare) for the older people. Nowadays, people also visit relatives and the older people in their families, for a three-day weekend.

假设你是李华。上个星期你收到了你正在学中文的外国朋友Mike送给你的一本英文书《老人与海》，作为回赠，你想送一本对Mike有用的中文书，请给Mike写封电子邮件。

要点:1. 对他表达感谢之意和对这本英文书的喜欢；

2. 简单介绍你赠送的这本书，希望他了解中国文化；

3. 希望保持联系。

要求:1. 词数不少于100；2. 邮件中不能出现本人真实信息。

提示:《老人与海》The Old Man and the Sea;

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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文，文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。

修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

Last Sunday, I went to a shop to have my watch repair. After checking the watch, the shop assistant said she would call her manager to see that if this kind of problem could be fixed. As I was waiting the response from the manager, I saw an old man in a wheelchair roll himself over to the counter. No one seems to have noticed him, so I went over to his wheelchair and offered to give him some helps. Kindly as I was, I found that I could do something to help him. At that moment, the assistant replied that it would cost myself much money to fix this problem. I was very sad and about to leave the shop while the old man said, “You are a nice and thoughtful boy, but I would like to help you pay for it.”