Would you like to be a king or queen? To have people waiting on you hand and foot? Many Americans experience this royal treatment every day. How? By being customers. The American idea of customer service is to make each customer the center of attention. Need proof? Just listen to the commercials. Most of them sound like the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you.” Actually, not all stores in America roll out the red carpet for their customers. But wherever you go, good customer service means making customers feel special.
People going shopping in America can expect to be treated with respect from the very beginning. Most places don’t have a “furniture street” or a “computer road” which allow you to compare prices easily. Instead, people often “let their fingers do the walking” through the store hot lines. From the first “hello”, customers receive a satisfying response to their questions. This initial contact can help them decide where to shop.
When customers get to the store, they are treated as honored guests. Customers don’t usually find store clerks sitting around watching TV or playing cards. Instead, the clerks greet them warmly and offer to help them find what they want. In most stores, the clear signs that label each department make shopping a breeze. Customers usually don’t have to ask how much items cost, since prices are clearly marked. And unless they’re at a flea market or a yard sale, they don’t bother trying to bargain.
When customers are ready to check out, they find the nearest and shortest checkout lane. But as Murphy’s Law would have it, whichever lane they get in, all the other lanes will move faster. Good stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes get too long. Some even offer express lanes for customers with 10 items or less. After they pay for their purchases, customers receive a smile and a warm “thank you” from the clerk. Many stores even allow customers to take their shopping carts out to the parking lot. That way, they don’t have to carry heavy bags out to the car.
1.By quoting (引用) the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you”, the author intends to_______.
A. suggest that customers believe what mercials say deeply
B. show readers the American idea on good customer service
C. express all the stores pay much attention to the customers
D. persuade readers to choose the stores with ads correctly
2.In the USA, what may you do at first if you want to do some shopping?
A. To visit a professional street with lots of similar stores.
B. To pare prices in many shops in the same street.
C. To make phone calls and get better shopping choices.
D. To receive other customers’ answers to the questions.
3.Which of the followings shows American stores offer convenience to customers in this passage?
A. The store clerks don’t usually sit around watching TV or playing cards.
B. Some stores offer price bargain to the customers like a yard sale.
C. The clerks give customers a smile and a warm “thank you” after paying.
D. Some stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes are crowded.
4.Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
A. Customer Service in America
B. Excellent Stores in America
C. Shopping Rules in America
D. Being King or Queen in America
Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.
1.In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank.
c. Travelled to Texas. d. Was put in prison.
e. Had a newspaper job. f. Learned to write stories.
A. e. c. f. b. d. a B. c. e. b. d. f. A
C. e. b. d. c. a. f. D. c. b. e. d. a f.
2.O. Henry went to prison because.
A. people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper
B. he broke the law by not using his own name
C. he wanted to write stories about prisoners
D. people thought he had taken money that was not his
3.What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
A. He was well-educated.
B. He was not serious about his work.
C. He was devoted to the poor.
D. He was very good at learning.
4.Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
A. His life inside the prison.
B. The newspaper articles he wrote.
C. The city and people of New York.
D. His exciting early life as a boy.
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a plete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
1.Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A. The man’s job was bike racing.
B. It was their only possession.
C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed.
D. They used it for work and daily life.
2.We can infer from the text that ____________.
A. the couple worked 60 hours a week.
B. people were busy before Christmas
C. the stranger brought over the bike
D. life was hard for the young family.
3.How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A. From radio broadcasts.
B. From a newspaper.
C. From TV news.
D. From a stranger.
4.What do the couple learn from their experience?
A. Strangers are usually of little help.
B. One should take care of their bike.
C. News reports make people famous.
D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.
British potato farmers were angry and wanted the expression “couch potato” to be taken out of the dictionary because it harmed the vegetable’s image.
The British Potato Council wants the Oxford English Dictionary to replace the expression with the term “couch slouch”, with protests being outside Parliament in London and the offices of Oxford University Press.
Kathryn Race, head of marketing at the Council, which represents some 4,000 planters and processors, said the group had complained in writing to the OED but had yet to receive a response.
“We are trying to get rid of the image that potatoes are bad for you,” she said on Monday.
“The potato has had its knocks in the past. Of course it is not the Oxford English Dictionary’s fault but we want to use another term instead of “couch potato” because potatoes are naturally healthy.”
The OED says that “couch potato” began as American slang, meaning “a person who spends his or her leisure time sitting around, especially watching television or video tapes.”
The Potato Council says its campaign is backed by dieticians (饮食学家) who say the vegetable is low in fat and high in vitamin C.
Supporting the campaign, famous cook Antony Worrall Thompson said the vegetable was one of Britain’s favorite foods.
“Not only are they healthy, they are also convenient and yummy (美味). Life without potato is like a sandwich without a filling,” he said.
John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, said the dictionary first included the term “couch potato” in 1993 and said “dictionaries just reflect the words that society uses.”
Simpson said words were never taken out of the full-length dictionary, which includes some 650,000 words in 20 volumes.
But little-used words can be removed from the smaller dictionaries to make way for newer ones.
“If society stops using words then they get taken out of the smaller dictionaries,” he added.
The first known recorded use of the expression “couch potato” was in an article in Los Angeles Times, in 1979, Simpson said.
Nigel Evans, a member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley in Lancashire, has made a motion in support of the campaign, highlighting the nutritional value of the British potato.
1.British potato farmers wanted to _________.
A．advertise their produces
B．call for a higher price for their potatoes
C．remove the expression “couch potato” from the dictionary
D．let people know how important the potato is in people’s lives
2.The farmers think that _________.
A．potatoes have had a bad image
B．Potatoes are good for people by nature
C．potatoes sometimes do harm to people
D．it’s the dictionary’s fault to use the expression “couch potato”
3.John Simpson thinks that _________.
A．the expression can be taken out of every kind of dictionary
B．dictionaries do not necessarily reflect the words the society uses
C．little-used words can remain in the smaller dictionaries
D．it is impossible for them to take the expression out of the dictionary
4.What is wrong with the expression “couch potato” according to the farmers in this passage?
A．It is connected with unfavorable meaning.
B．Potato should be used in the expression.
C．It is borrowed from America English.
D．It refers to a kind of person.
During my elementary school years, I used to compare my mom with my best friend Tiffany's mom..
Tiffany's mom always gave her lots of money to buy the most fashionable clothes and favorite food. Her mom allowed her to do anything she liked. I really admired Tiffany. My mom didn't give me much pocket money and she always told me that I should behave myself. I was annoyed with her.
Whenever I didn't get what I wanted, I would complain to my mom, Tiffany's mom would give her that! I wish she were my mom. "Every time, my morn would calmly say "Poor Tiffany". I couldn't understand her. "She shouldn't be feeling sorry for Tiffany!" I thought. "She should be feeling sorry for me."
One day, I couldn't help saying to Mom, "Poor Tiffany? Lucky Tiffany! She gets everything she wants! Why do you feel sorry for her? " I burst into tears.
My mom sat down next to me and said softly. "Yes, I do feel sorry for her. I have been teaching you a lesson that she will never be taught. "
I looked up at her. "What are you talking about?"
Mom said with care, "One day she will really want something. Maybe she'll find out that she can't have it. Her mother won't always be around to give her money, and what's more, money can't buy everything. "
She continued, "I have taught you valuable lessons by not giving you everything you want. You'll know how to look for bargains and save money, but she won't. You'll understand that you need to work hard to get the things that you want but she won't. When Tiffany is a grown woman, she'll wake up one day and she will be wishing that she had a mom like the one you've got. Life lessons are more important than modern clothes and delicious food. "
It took some time, but I eventually understood my mom's words. Now I am a happy and successful woman.
1.During the author's elementary school years, she .
A. wished that her mom were as good as Tiffany's
B. went to school with Tiffany every day
C. usually pared her lesson with Tiffany's
D. sometimes gave lots of money to Tiffany
2.Why did the author's mom always say "Poor Tiffany"?
A. She felt sorry for Tiffany because Tiffany was poor.
B. She wanted to tell a lie to fort the author.
C. She thought that Tiffany was spoiled by her mother.
D. She told the author this and wanted her to help Tiffany.
3.What do we learn about the author's mother?
A. She was strict and taught the author to be independent.
B. She cared for other people's children more than her own.
C. She thought that life lessons were as important as money.
D. She was so poor that she couldn't give the author much money.
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A. The author was quite annoyed with her mother in the past.
B. The author's mother felt sorry for Tiffany.
C. Tiffany's mother took the author's mother's advice.
D. The author is thankful to her mother now.
I believe that families are not only blood relatives, but sometimes people who show up and love you when no one else will.
In May 1977, I was living in a Howard Johnson’s motel off Interstate 10 in Houston. My dad and I a room with two double beds and a bathroom was too for a 15-year-old girl and her father. Dad’s second marriage was and my stepmother had us both out of the house the previous week. Dad had no _ what to do with me. And that’s when my other family .
Barbara and Roland Beach took me into their home their only daughter, Su, my best friend, asked them to. I with them for the next seven years.
Barbara washed my skirts the same as Su’s. She I had lunch money, doctors’ appointments, help with homework and nightly hugs. Barbara and Roland attended every football game where Su and I were being cheerleaders. I could tell, for the Beaches there was no between Su and me; I was their daughter, too.
When Su and I college they kept my room the same for the entire four years I attended school. Recently, Barb presented me with an insurance policy they bought when I first moved in with them and had continued to pay on for 23 years.
The Beaches knew about me when they took me in – they had heard the whole story from Su. When I was seven, my mother died and from then on my father relied on other people to _ his kids. Before I went to live with the Beaches I had believed that life was entirely __ and that love was shaky and untrustworthy. I had believed that the only person who would take care of me was me.
the Beaches, I would have bee a bitter, cynical (愤世嫉俗的) woman. They gave me a(n) that allowed me to grow and change. They kept me from being paralyzed(使麻痹，瘫痪) by my _ , and they gave me the confidence to open my heart.
I family. For me, it wasn’t the family that was there on the day I was , but the one that was there for me when I was living in a Howard Johnson’s on Interstate 10.
1.A. lived B. shared C. possessed D. bought
2.A. cheap B. noisy C. small D. limited
3.A. in trouble B. in sight C. in place D. in parts
4.A. struck B. removed C. kicked D. knocked
5.A. plan B. choice C. chance D. idea
6.A. looked after B. showed up C. turned over D. came across
7.A. so B. because C. until D. while
8.A. worked B. traveled C. lived D. learned
9.A. worked out B. called up C. watched out D. made sure
10.A. As long as B. As far as C. As soon as D. As many as
11.A. change B. problem C. conflict D. difference
12.A. set off B. left for C. entered into D. admitted into
13.A. all B. little C. something D. nothing
14.A. supply B. teach C. encourage D. raise
15.A. different B. unfair C. easy D. hopeful
16.A. Thanks to B. In spite of C. Except for D. But for
17.A. home B. house C. ability D. lesson
18.A. choice B. failure C. past D. present
19.A. doubt about B. call on C. center on D. believe in
20.A. born B. accepted C. educated D. deserted
