MynameisLianaWexler.I’m12years-优题课

Banquets (宴会) are usually held in restaurants in private rooms that have been reserved for the purpose. You will be met at the door and led to the banquet room. Traditionally, the head of your delegation should enter the room first. Do not be surprised if your hosts greet you with a loud round of applause. The proper response is to applaud back.
Seating arrangements are stricter than in the West. Guests should never assume that they may sit where they please and should wait for hosts to guide them to their places. Traditionally, the Chinese regard the right side as the superior and the left side as the inferior. Therefore on formal occasions, the host invariably arranges for the main guests to sit on his right side.
It is the host's responsibility to serve the guests, and at very formal banquets people do not begin to eat until the host has served a portion to the principal guest. Or, the host may simply raise his chopsticks and announce that eating has begun. After this point, one may serve oneself any food in any amount. Remember to go slow on eating. Don't fill yourself up when five courses are left to go. To stop eating in the middle of a banquet is rude, and your host may incorrectly think that something has been done to offend you.
Drinking takes an important place in Chinese banquets. It is likely that the host will stand and hold his glass out with both hands while saying a few words. When he says the words "gan bei",which means bottoms up, all present should drain their glasses. After this initial toast, drinking and toasting are open to all. No words are needed to make a toast, and it is not necessary to drain your glass, although to do so is more respectful. When filling another glass, it is polite to fill it as full as you can. This symbolizes full respect and friendship.
When the last dish is finished, the banquet has officially ended. There is little ceremony involved with its conclusion. The host may ask if you have eaten your fill. Then the principal host will rise, signaling that the banquet has ended. Generally, the principal host will bid good evening to everyone at the door and stay behind to settle the bill with the restaurateur. Other hosts usually accompany guests to their vehicles and remain outside waving until the cars have left the premises.
To attend a formal banquet, you_______.

A．may enter the banquet room directly when you arrive .

B．may stop eating in the middle of the banquet.

C．may help yourself to any food immediately the dishes are served.

D．should applaud back when greeted with a loud round of applause .

What is the host ‘s responsibility in the author’s eyes?

A．Announcing that eating ends.

B．Driving guests to their home.

C．Filling the guests’ glasses.

D．Arranging for guests to go to their place..

We can conclude form the passage that____

A．to stop eating halfway means that the dishes taste bad.

B．guests should drain their g1asses the instant they are filled

C．important guests are arranged to sit on the host’s right side

D．the more you drink , the more you respect the host.

The passage mainly tells us ____

A．Chinese food is delicious.

B．customs and traditions at banquets in China

C．what food guests should eat at banquets

D．different customs between China and western countries.

Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare’s World

Welcome to the world—famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up. The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806 .The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world ,for over 250 years.
Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly praised
exhibition of Shakespeare's World，a lively and full introduction
to the life and work of Shakespeare
Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up
Discover examples of furniture and needlework from
Shakespeare’s period
Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden，planted with trees
and flower mentioned in the poet’s works

The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks
shown on the map；nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ Walk)
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre，its
exhibition．and the garden are accessible (可进入的)to wheelchair users
The Shakespeare Coffee House(opposite the Birthplace)
How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children？

A．￡9.80．

B．￡12.00．

C．￡14.20．

D．￡16.40．

Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace？

A．Behind the exhibition hall．

B．Opposite the Visiturs’ Centre．

C．At Windsor Street．

D．Near the Coffee House．

A wheelchair user may need help to enter ．

A．the House	B．the garden
C．the Visitors’Centne	D．the exhibition hall

Hong Kong businesses hit by nearly two months of illegal street occupations breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday. Police finally cleared illegal protesters camped at the main intersection in the Mong Kok district, arresting two student leaders.
More than 7,000 officers backed bailiffs (执达官，法警)clearing occupied sections of Argyle Street and Nathan Road. The two-day operation saw 148 people arrested for various offenses, including contempt (藐视) of court, resisting arrest, possession of offensive weapons, unlawful gathering and attacking police.
The Chief Leader Stephen Hui said 22 officers were injured during the clearances.
Police used pepper spray and batons (警棍)to keep protesters from reclaiming cleared roads and from spreading the illegal occupation to neighboring streets.
Six-lane Nathan Road, which goes through the heart of Kowloon, was cleared after nearly five hours. However, comments on the Internet said protesters were looking to reoccupy roads later in the evening.
This week's actions mark the first time the authorities have successfully cleared one of the three main protest sites, which sprang up after demonstrators seized key intersections in late September to press for unconstitutional reforms.
Contractor Kwan Sui-sum, 55, said he wished the Nathan Road clearance had come earlier, as he has had to pay HK$20,000 ($2,580) after the protesters delayed building reconstruction work. The owner of the Chung Hing Duty Free drug store was cautiously optimistic and eager for his store at the corner of the cleared intersection to get back to business. Sales dropped by 40 percent during the occupation, he said.
“I'm not worried about the guess that the protesters will return. I trust in Hong Kong's rule of law and in the police,” the man said, who wished to remain unknown as he fears attack from protesters.
But five stores at a cleared site owned by jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook were still closed hours later. A company spokesman said the outlets will remain shut while it continues to monitor the situation.
You can infer from the passage that _______.

A．the Hong Kong police cleared the roads at a cost

B．all the Hong Kong citizens are doubtful about the result of the clearances

C．all the illegal protesters were willing to leave the protest sites

D．the Hong Kong government’s attitude to the illegal protesters is unclear

In the two-day operation,_________.

A．many Hong Kong citizens joined in it

B．all the protest sites were cleared

C．many illegal protesters were arrested

D．all the stores were still open

What Hong Kong police will probably do next according to the passage?

A．They will help the owners of the stores do their businesses.

B．They will try their best to arrest other fled illegal protesters

C．They will help the officers injured during the clearances.

D．They will arrange to take more action to finish the clearances.

This passage is mainly about ______.

A．Hong Kong businesses hit by nearly two months of illegal street occupations

B．the event that police cleared Hong Kong protest sites

C．shop owners who wished to remain unknown as he fears attack from protesters

D．Hong Kong citizens who doubt the police's clearances

High-quality customer service is preached (宣扬) by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.
Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers—and anyone who will listen.
Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde Group and Wharton School.
“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers,” said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde Group. “The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”
On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four others, and will no longer visit the specific store. For every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative review. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.
According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.
The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered (塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.
During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved parking problems by getting moonlighting (业余兼职的) local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty parking spaces. This guidance eliminated the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.
Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.
Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.
“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly,” said Professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”
Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.
Why are store managers often the last to hear complaints?

A．Most customers won’t bother to complain even if they have had unhappy experiences.

B．Customers would rather relate their unhappy experiences to people around them.

C．Few customers believe the service will be improved. .

D．Customers have no easy access to store managers.

What does Paula Courtney imply by saying “…the shopper must also find a replacement” (Line 2, Para. 4)

A．New customers are bound to replace old ones.

B．It is not likely that the shopper can find the same products in other stores.

C．Most stores provide the same kind of service.

D．Not complaining to manager causes the shopper some trouble too.

What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?

A．Manners of the salespeople.

B．Hiring of efficient employees.

C．Huge supply of goods for sale.

D．Design of store layout.

To achieve better shopping experiences, customers are advised to ________.

A．exert pressure on stores to improve their service

B．settle their disputes with stores in a diplomatic way

C．voice their dissatisfaction to store managers directly

D．shop around and make comparisons between stores

About five years ago, an American electrical engineer named Scott Brusaw and his wife Julie came up with the idea of putting solar panels (控制板) on the ground rather than the roof. Then they began to develop the Solar Roadway. The Solar Roadway is an intelligent road that provides clean renewable energy using power from the sun while providing safer driving conditions, along with power and data delivery. They predict that the Solar Roadway will pay for itself through the generation of electricity along with other forms of income and that the same money that is being used to build and resurface current roads can be used to build the Solar Roadways.
Each Solar Road Panel measures roughly 4 meters by 4 meters and contains a microprocessor (微处理器) that monitors and controls the panel, while communicating with neighboring panels and the vehicles traveling overhead. The inventors suggest that this provides a communications device every 4 meters on every road which could be used for example to warn drivers of cars which are moving across a centre line and various other speed control problems. The top of the Solar Road panels is made of super-strong glass that would offer vehicles the tractions (抓地力) they need.
According to the inventors, the Solar Roadway creates and carries clean renewable electricity and therefore electric vehicles can be recharged at any conveniently located rest stop, or at any business that has paved Solar Road Panels in their parking lots.
The inventors say their Solar Roadway has many functions and advantages from main roads to driveways, parking lots, bike paths, sidewalks and runways. The Federal Highway Administration has given Brusaw ＄100,000 to develop the invention and Brusaw hopes to build a smart-road parking lot in the coming spring .
In the inventors’ opinion, the Solar Roadway ___________________________ .

A．is too expensive to build at present

B．costs no more money than current roads

C．can provide as many data as present computers

D．will bring them a large sum of money

The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 2 refers to.

A．the panels	B．the inventors
C．the researchers	D．the vehicles

It can be inferred from the text that ____________________________.

A．the Solar Roadway has already been put into use

B．＄100,000 is only enough to build a smart-road parking lot

C．the Solar Roadway is not available for gas-powered cars

D．future electric vehicles can be charged anytime and anywhere

What can be the best title for the text?

A．Solar-powered smart road of the future

B．The great changes on the roadway

C．The influence the Solar Roadway has on people

D．The Solar Road—a much faster road

A．John Kerry	B．A letter to John Kerry
C．Kids for Kerry	D．John Kerry: Our to-be President

A．a good	B．a hero to America
C．a confident man	D．a persuasive speaker