Like most people, I’ve long understood that I’ll be judged by my occupation, that my profession is used by people to see how talented I am. Recently, however, I was disappointed to see that it also decides how I’m treated as a person.
Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job waiting tables. As someone paid to serve food to people, I had customers say and do things to me I suppose they’d never say or do to the people they know. One night a man talking on his cell phone waved me away, then called me back with his finger a minute later, saying angrily that he was ready to order and asking where I’d been.
I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon(勤杂工) by plenty of people. But at 19 years old, I believed I deserved inferior(低等的)treatment from professional adults. Besides, people responded to me differently after I told them I was in college. Customers would joke that one day I’d be sitting at their table, waiting to be served.
Once I graduated I took a job at a community newspaper. From my first day, I heard a respectful tone from everyone who called me. I assumed this was the way the professional world worked--- politely and formally.
I soon found out differently. I sat several feet away from a person in advertising department with a similar name. Our calls would often get mixed up and someone asking for Kristen would be transferred to Christie. The mistake was immediately clear. Perhaps it was because of money, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never used with me.
It’s no secret that there’s a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and fortunately, much of it can be easily forgotten when you pocket the tips. The service industry exists to meet others’ needs. Still, it seemed that many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant.
I’m now applying to graduate school, which means someday I’ll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get what they want. I think I’ll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone whose job is to serve them.
68. What makes the author disappointed?
A. Professionals tend to look down upon workers.
B. Talented people have to do the job waiting tables.
C. One’s position is used to measure one’s intelligence.
D. Occupation affects the way one is treated as a person.
69. What does the author intend to say by the example in Paragraph 2?
A. Waiting tables is a hard job.
B. Some customers are difficult to deal with.
C. The man making a phone call is absent-minded.
D. Some customers show no respect to those who serve them.
70. How did the author feel when waiting tables at the age of 19?
A. She felt it unfair to be treated as a servant.
B. She found it natural for professionals to treat her as inferior.
C. She was embarrassed each time her customers joked with her.
D. She felt badly hurt when her customers regarded her as a peon.
71. The author says one day she’ll take her customers to dinner in order to _______.
A. see what kind of person they are
B. experience the feeling of being served
C. share her working experience with her customers
D. help them realize the difference between server and servant
For as early as I could remember, my mother had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. However, in the last fifteen years of her life, she had to live with senile dementia (老年痴呆). I would go to my home to pay her a visit in California and she would curiously look at me and then ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I’m your own son, of course.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In Virginia”, I would tell her. “Isn’t that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in Virginia.”
Mother seemed only forgetful as well as confused at the beginning of that disease, but sometime later she would go through different time of intense anxiety. She would keep walk ing through the house she used to live in most of her life crying uneasily that she would like to go home. Or sometimes she left home and wandered away if she were unattended for a short time.
Hoping to make her happy and put her mind at ease I would take her in my car, visiting sites where she used to live when she was a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn(草坪). I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”
Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I think it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still energetic and attentive.
Watching my mother’s suffering set me wondering where I would have in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of senile dementia is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance. What’s the main idea of the first and second paragraphs?
| A.The mother of the author could not find her home. |
| B.The mother of the author could not remember who’s his son. |
| C.The author’s mother suffered with serious senile dementia. |
| D.The author didn’t know how to cure his mother. |
Which of the following is NOT the symptom of the mother of the author?
| A.forgetful | B.confused | C.cheerful | D.uneasy |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “picture”?
| A.photograph | B.describe | C.appear | D.paint |
What can you infer from the third paragraph?
| A.The author cared much about his mother. |
| B.The mother of the author liked pet lambs very much. |
| C.The author found a very little girl who was playing with a pet lamb. |
| D.The mother of the author did not like her usual home. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A.Where Is Home? | B.A story about a son and a mother. |
| C.Everyone will suffer with senile dementia. | D.Take Mother Home. |
Attention STARBUCKS
Owners of Stainless Steel(不锈钢) Travel Mug
Mug lid Recall---16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mug
We’ve recognized a fault at the cup. The fault might cause some lids to lift slightly from the body of the mug, and could possibly result in injury from hot liquid leaking. So, we have given a lid recall notice immediately. The notice is only related to STARBUCKS 16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mugs which were sold between November 2012 and February 2013. The bottom of the mug is stamped with “ThermoSServ”, the distributor’s (经销商) name. There is not any printing on the mug handle.
At STARBUCKS, customers’ safety is valued above anything else. Therefore, no matter whether your lid is leaking , in the interest of your safety, we request you bring your mug to your nearest STARBUCKS (excluding Esso STARBUCKS), where they are sure exchange the lid for a new lid that fits well and safely. The new lids are going to be available March 1, 2013.
Don’t use your mug until you exchange the lid, please.
Here’s what you do:
* Please do not use your mug until you have exchanged the lid for a new one.
* New lids will be available March 1, 2013.
* Return your travel mug to a STARBUCKS store.
* Your lid will be exchanged for a new lid.
If you’d like to return the entire mug, bring it back at any time for a full repayment.
If you have any questions regarding this recall, please don’t hesitate to us at:
Toll Free Number: 1-999-701-1717
9:30 am - 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time STARBUCKS The passage is written in order to ________.
| A.warn against the danger of using the mugs |
| B.inform people of exchanging a lid |
| C.persuade people to buy a new lid |
| D.introduce a new type of mugs |
The advertisement is mainly aimed at those who ________.
| A.have 16 oz Stainless mugs | B.often travel around |
| C.want to buy 16 oz stainless mugs | D.are selling the mugs |
According to the advertisement, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A.People should stop using the mug immediately. |
| B.People can get the money back if they return the mug. |
| C.People with questions can call the company free of charge. |
| D.People can return the lid between October 2012 and January 2013. |
We can learn that STARBUCKS from the passage ________.
| A.is a club for travelers |
| B.wants to make more money |
| C.is an organization helping customers |
| D.cares about the customers’ safety |
The passage is most likely taken from a(n) ________.
| A.news report | B.advertisement | C.tour-guide book | D.novel |
In a cab, a woman seemed in such a hurry. She constantly rushed the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts of getting to the airport as soon as possible that she was not aware they were going by a different route.
All of a sudden, a young man got inside the cab. He took her handbag in which she had put her visa, passport, and all the money for the trip.
The cab driver, who was in collusion with the robber, left her in the exactly middle of a dark street. She thought that she was rather unfortunate in the very situation.
During the very night, she was told a piece of shocking news. Tears came down her cheek. Flight 360, the plane that she should have got on board, had crashed. Had she not lost her important belongings, she could surely have lost the thing far more precious——her life.
Sometimes bad things really happen. There are times when nothing seems to go our way. So what should we do about it? We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the faith that we will get what we deserve.
Don’t waste your time and energy on things that can’t be changed. Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you’ll be doing much more damage than what was previously done.
What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?
There was a man who won the lottery. He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on.
But when he one day made it to the front page of the newspaper again, it was a different story. He had been killed because of his riches. If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it. Life is so unpredictable. You never know what will happen next.
Live one day at a time. We sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble. But please don’t forget: sometimes misfortune can be the source of happiness. Live for the moment. Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine. Believe me. And believe in yourself. As Captain Planet always says, “The power is yours!” The underlined phrase “in collusion with” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________.”
| A.was forced by | B.was fighting bravely against |
| C.was doing one’s best to beg | D.had cooperated with |
From the passage, we learn that ________.
| A.robbers are sure to get what they want |
| B.somebody never runs out of good luck |
| C.the woman was lucky to miss her flight |
| D.if one feels oneself lucky, he or she will continue to be so |
The writer presents the second example in order to ________.
| A.warn people of the danger of winning the lottery |
| B.tell people life is unpredictable |
| C.encourage people to buy lottery |
| D.persuade people not to be greedy |
According to the author, which of the following choices is the correct attitude to adopt to life?
| A.Never waste any time or energy because time is so limited. |
| B.One needn’t be worried or feel frustrated. Believe in yourself. |
| C.Even while everything appears to be going smoothly, we should keep fully alert. |
| D.Worrying about what you don’t have |
The passage above is intended to tell us ________.
| A.misfortune sometimes is a blessing |
| B.we should save up for a rainy day |
| C.fortune just goes with those prepared minds |
| D.both losses and gains go hand in hand |
It’s the dirty little secret many shampoo companies don’t want you to know. When you wash your hair with certain traditional chemical shampoos, you may actually be removing your hair and scalp(头皮)of their natural oils. These shampoos generate a thick bubble to clean hair, they can also create dryness, curl, dullness, and color fade. We then spend a lot of time and money on products that are effectively repairing the damage caused by shampoo.
Chaz Dean got tired of clients leaving his salon raving about their color and the feeling of their hair---brassy(似黄铜的) and dull.He knew the main cause was likely their shampoo, so he started experimenting with various ingredients, including natural herbs and botanicals, that he knew had cleansing(弄干净)and hydrating (保湿的) properties.
The result was a totally new approach to the way we cleanse our hair. It’s calledWEN® Cleansing Conditioner. WEN® contains a super-hydrating natural herbs and botanicals mixture of glycerin, chamomile(甘菊), rosemary, calendula, and Cherry bark, which when combined, will both cleanse the hair as well as give shine and softness, even to damaged hair.
WEN® is a 5-in-1 formula(配方) that takes the place of your shampoo, And the most amazing thing about it is that it cleanses without bubble. Instead, when mixed with water, it creates a smooth bubble for shiny, healthy-looking, manageable results. The first time you try it certainly feels strange, but the results speak for themselves.
Before being marketed, WEN® went through extensive consumer tests, and the results were impressive. More than 90 percentof the participants in the studies reported that their hair was more shiny, less frizzy, and had more bounce.
WEN® is recommended for all hair types, and once you start using it, it will become the only cleanser/conditioner youwill want to include in your daily routine.
Right now, WEN® is offering an easy way for online shoppers to try the product.Now you just pay less than $30 and have a 60 day money back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied. Click hereto learn more about WEN®and try this revolutionary new approach yourself.We can infer from the first paragraph that _________________
| A.All the shampoo companies are irresponsible. |
| B.Few traditional shampoos depend on chemicals for cleaning. |
| C.WEN® does harm to people’s hair. |
| D.It takes much time and money to repair hair damaged by shampoo. |
What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “ raving about”(in para.2)?
| A.smiling satisfactorily at | B.shouting angrily for |
| C.crying excitedly for | D.sighing silently at |
Which is right according to the passage?
| A.WEN® contains natural herbs and botanicals. |
| B.You cann’t use WEN® without bubble. |
| C.WEN® hasn’t been tested before selling. |
| D.WEN® is accessible only online. |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A.Why are shampoos a waste of money | B.Why do we need shampoos |
| C.WEN® is your best choice. | D.WEN® has good guarantee |
Where does the passage come from ?
| A.magazine | B.website | C.newspaper | D.text |
Today, the biggest killers stem as much from our lifestyles as from bacteria and viruses. One of the worst of these is heart disease, and specifically high blood pressure. It’s a slow, but efficient killer that robs many people of what should be the last 10, 20 or 30 years of their lives.
Scientists are claiming that they have now separated unusual ingredients in a rare seaweed discovered by fishermen off the coast of Korea that offer incredible health benefits—including the ability torestore blood pressure to normal levels.
Dr. Haengwoo Lee, afamous biochemist conducted a clinical study on these two ingredients. The first is Seanol, an extremely rare seaweed extract(浓缩物) fromEcklonia Cavathat's proven to be 100 times more powerful than any land-based antioxidant(抗氧化剂). That's because it stays working in your body for 12 hours, compared to land-based antioxidants that work for 30 minutes. "Its secret is its make-up of special chemicals that are ahuge 40% fat soluble( 可溶的)," Dr. Lee explains. "Unlike nearly all land-based antioxidants that are water soluble, Seanol's protective compounds can get into things like the fatty tissues of your brain and penetrate(渗透) all three layers of your cells, including the outside, the oil-based cell membranes(细胞膜), and your DNA." Indeed, Seanol is so powerful, it's the only FDA-approvedEcklonia Cavamarine-algae (海藻) extract in existence.
The second ingredient is Calamarine, a deep-sea omega-3 discovery that delivers 85% more DHA omega-3sto your heart, brain, joints, and eyes. It's known to reduce the problems from tiredness and poor memory, joint pain, mood swings and depression.
With that research in mind, Dr. Lee combined Seanol and Calamarine with a high dose of vitamin D to form Marine-D3, the newest supplement in the fight against age-related illnesses and high blood pressure.
Dr. Lee found that Calamarine delivers some of the greatest concentration of omega-3s known to science. Combined with Seanol's ability to reduce body inflammation(炎症), as well as help cells get the nutrients they need to thrive, stay healthy and protected, Marine-D3 is able to boost a body's entire well being.
The makers of Marine-D3 are so confident that you'll seefast dramatic results from this product, that if you aren't happy after two full months, simply return the unused portion and they'll buy it back. They'll even give youten dollars extrajust for giving it an honest try! That kind of faith, combined with Dr. Lee's exhaustive research, shows that Marine-D3 really is a one-of-a-kind product.From the first paragraph we can infer that ________.
| A.Our lifestyles result from the biggest killers |
| B.our lifestyles do less harm to our bodies than bacteria and viruses do. |
| C.High blood pressure left untreated may cause shorter life. |
| D.Heart disease is incurable. |
What can we know from paragraph 2 ?
| A.Fishermen off the coast of Korea have isolated unusual ingredients. |
| B.Scientists have purified ingredients that can lower blood pressure to normal standard. |
| C.Scientists discovered a rare seaweed. |
| D.Scientists have imagined a medicine that treat blood pressure. |
Which is right about Seanol ?
| A.According to FDA , Seanol reaches the agreed standard. |
| B.Seanol can be fat soluble entirely. |
| C.Seanol is a common seaweed extract fromEcklonia Cava. |
| D.Seanol's protective compounds can get into all things like the fatty tissues of your brain. |
What do we know about Calamarine?
A. Calamarine is easy to find in the surface of the sea.
B. Calamarine 's ability to reduce body inflammation(炎症) alone.
C. Calamarine has a low dose of vitamin D and C.
D. Calamarine may relieve you if you feel blue.What’s the makers’ attitude toward Marine-D3?
| A.pessimistic | B.indifferent | C.doubtful | D.Optimistic |