Question

    I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happened to be that put-upon member of society ― a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I’m convinced that things are being run just to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a new motto for the so-called “service” organization ― Staff Before Service. How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there aren’t enough staff on duty at all the service counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to increase counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that bringing all their cash registers into operation at any time would increase expenses. And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service counters to be occupied “at times when demand is low”.

It’s the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is lowered. As for us guests (and how the meaning of that word has been cut away little by little.), we just have to put up with it. There’s also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been gradually withdrawn from service in the interests of “efficiency” (i.e. profits) and replaced by coin-eating machines which supply everything from beer to medicine, not to mention the creeping（慢慢加剧的） threat of the tea-making set in your room: a kettle with teabags, milk bags and sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I don’t, especially when I am paying for “service”.

Our only hope is to repeat our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, restore that other, older saying ― Take Our Custom（买卖） Elsewhere.

1.The author feels that nowadays customers are _____.

A.not provided with proper service

B.considered to be lower members of society

C.not worthy of special treatment

D.regarded as privileged

2.In the author’s opinion, the quality of service is changing because _____.

A.more consideration is given to the staff than customers

B.customers are becoming more demanding

C.customers are unwilling to be satisfied with

D.the staff are less considerate than employers

3.According to the author, long queues at counters are caused by _____.

A.deliberate（故意的）understaffing

B.lack of cooperation among staff

C.the reducing supply of good staff

D.inefficient staff

4.The  disappearance  of  old-style  hotel  porters  can  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that _____.

A.the personal touch is less appreciated nowadays

B.few people are willing to do this type of work

C.machines are more reliable than human beings

D.self-service provides a cheaper alternative

5.The author’s final solution to the problem discussed in the passage is _____.

A.to put up with whatever service is provided

B.to fully use all kinds of coin-eating machines

C.to make strong complaints wherever necessary

D.to go where good service is available

Answer

1.A

2.A

3.A

4.D

5.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章作者首先指出在很多服务行业里，消费者得不到适当的服务，这归咎于这些行业把利益看的很高，不愿投入更多的人力成本，最后作者给出建议，如果在一个地方得不到好的服务，就换个更好的地方。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happened to be that put-upon member of society ― a customer. (我已经受够了被当作二等公民的待遇，仅仅因为我碰巧是那个被社会欺骗的成员——一个顾客。)可知，作者作为消费者时，觉得自己是个二等公民，说明消费者没有被很好的对待。A. not provided with proper service (没有提供适当的服务) 符合题意。故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据第一段中The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I’m convinced that things are being run just to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a new motto for the so-called “service” organization ― Staff Before Service. (我越是走进商店、旅馆、银行、邮局、火车站、机场等地，就越是确信，这些东西只是为了公司、系统或工会的利益而运行的。对于所谓的“服务”组织来说，似乎有一个新的座右铭——员工先于服务。)可知，在商场、酒店、银行等行业里，作者的体会这些行业把员工作为第一考虑要素，而顾客就相对于没有那么重要了。A. more consideration is given to the staff than customers (考虑更多的是顾客，而不是员工) 符合题意。故选A项。

3.细节理解题。根据第一段中How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there aren’t enough staff on duty at all the service counters? (例如，你有多少次在邮局或超市排了几个小时的队，因为所有的服务台都没有足够的工作人员值班?) 可知，人们在商场等出现排队现象，就是因为这些行业里没有配备足够的员工。A. deliberate（故意的）understaffing (故意没有配备足够的人员) 符合题意。故选A项。

4.推理判断题。根据第二段中There’s also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been gradually withdrawn from service in the interests of “efficiency” (i.e. profits) and replaced by coin-eating machines which supply everything from beer to medicine. (还有这么多友好的酒店夜班行李员被公司因为“效率”(即利润)而解雇，取而代之的是提供从啤酒到药品等一切东西的吃硬币的机器。) 可推测，酒店用投币器来取代酒店的夜班服务员，那是因为投币器对于酒店来说成本更少。D. self-service provides a cheaper alternative (自助服务提供了一种更便宜的选择) 符合题意。故选D项。

5.推理判断题。根据最后一段Our only hope is to repeat our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, restore that other, older saying ― Take Our Custom（买卖） Elsewhere. (我们唯一的希望就是随时随地重复我们的愤怒，如果其他所有的都失败了，那就回复到另一个，俗话说-换个地方。) 可推测出，作者认为在某些地方没有得到相应的服务，那么消费者就会到别的地方去消费。D. to go where good service is available (去有优质服务的地方) 符合题意。故选D项。