When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect(尊敬) elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By Jack
根據以上短文內容，然後從每題所給的四個選項中選擇最佳選項。
1. Jack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.
A. the manager asked him to do so
B. he respected the elderly
C. the couple wanted him to do so
D. he wanted more pay
2. When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.
A. nervous
B. satisfied
C. unhappy
D. excited
3. In Jack’s hometown, _______.
A. people dislike being called “old”
B. people are proud of being old
C. many people reach the age of seventy or eighty
D. the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants
4. After this experience, Jack _______.
A. lost his job in the restaurant
B. made friends with the couple
C. no longer respected the elderly
D. changed his way with older people
5. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got.
B. Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience.
C. The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple.
D. From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture.
【答案及解析】
1. 選B。根據第2段中的I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly可知答案。
2. 選C。根據第2段中的As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure可知他們聽到Jack稱他們為老者時，一點也不高興。
3. 選B。根據第3段中的In my village in China, people are proud of being old可知答案。
4. 選D。根據最後一段中的After that, I changed the way I had with older people可知答案。
5. 選D。根據第2段最後一句After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry可知A選項不對;根據文章最後一句but now I don’t show my feelings through words可知B選項不對;根據第2段中的I then waked back to the table and apologized to the wife 可知C 選項也不對，故正確答案為D。
QQ聊天對我們來說並不陌生，但是該不該完全相信網友呢?我們究竟該以怎樣的心態對待網路呢?讓我們來看看本文主人公與網友的奇遇吧!
Jean is a bright young woman who comes from a rich and famous family. She goes to a good university and has everything that money can buy. Well, almost everything. The problem is that the people in Jean’s family are so busy that they can hardly find time to be with her. In fact, Jean is quite lonely.
So Jean spends a lot of time on her QQ. She likes being anonymous(匿名), talking to people who do not know about her famous family and her rich life. She uses the name Linda on QQ and has made a lot of friends who she keeps in touch with quite often.
Last year Jean made a very special friend on QQ. His name was David and lived in San Francisco. David was full of stories and jokes. He and Jean had a common(共同的) interest in rock music and modern dance. So it always took them hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot their time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. David sent a picture of himself: He was a tall, good-looking young man with a big, happy smile. As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.
When Jean’s father told her that he was going on a business trip to San Francisco, she asked him to let her go with him so that she could give David a surprise for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of their favorite rock singer. But when she knocked on David’s door in San Francisco, she found that her special friend was a twelve-year-old boy named Jim!
根據以上短文內容，然後從每題所給的四個選項中選擇最佳選項。
1. Jean spends a lot of her time on QQ because she is _______.
A. rich B. famous
C. young D. lonely
2. Jean thought “David” was special because he _______.
A. made her quite happy on QQ B. was from San Francisco
C. sent her a picture of himself D. was tall and good-looking
3. When Jean and “David” met and introduced themselves to each other, who felt surprised?
A. “David”. B. Both “David” and Jean.
C. Jean. D. Neither “David” nor Jean.
4. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Don’t believe those you get to know on QQ so easily.
B. People don’t use their real names on QQ so often.
C. Don’t go to meet those you get to know on QQ.
D. People should tell their real names to others on QQ.
【答案及解析】
1. 選D。由第1段的句子…In fact, Jean is quite lonely. 可知答案選D。
2. 選A。Jean認為David幽默風趣，在搖滾樂和現代舞上和她有共同的興趣，他們可以在網上快樂地聊上幾個小時。很顯然David使得Jean很開心。答案選A。
3. 選C。文章的最後一句…she found that her special friend was a twelve-year-old boy named Jim!告訴我們，當Jean發現她那特殊的朋友是一個12歲的小孩時，用了一個感嘆號結尾，雖然作者沒有直接說Jean感到驚訝，但是我們可以從這個標點符號推斷出她的感覺應該是十分surprised(驚訝的)。
4. 選A。本文講述Jean交了個十分投緣的網友，後來卻發現對方原來只是一個12歲的小男孩。通過這個故事，短文意在告戒人們不要輕易相信Q友，答案選A。
