Thanks to a young waiter, I recently found a friend of 20 years was once a yo-yo virtuoso(大师).
“Oh, stop it!” Jackie said when I started laughing during our dinner. “I was, too. And I knew how to ‘Walk the Dog.’”
“Wow, really?” said our waiter, Jumario Simmons, flashing a big smile at us.
“Don’t encourage her,” I said.
“What else could you do?” he asked.
“I did ‘Round the World,’” Jackie said, now ignoring me completely. “That was cradle(婴儿时期的)thing, too.”
I’d asked Jumario what he did when he wasn’t waiting on tables. The 24-year-old waiter was so smart that I knew there had to be more to his story. It turns out that he won a regional yo-yo competition last year. He also gives free lessons to kids. “It gives them something to do,” Jumario said. “Keeps them off the streets.”
One of the great things about eating out is the table talk with strangers, which reminds us that everyone has a life and a name. But the other day I heard that some restaurants are ending this talk between diners and servers. I listened to the reporter describe how their improvements are allowing customers to text orders from their tables to speed up service.
The reporter got my attention with this sentence “Five minutes after typing ‘I’m at table 3’, a meal arrives at the table.” But there wasn’t a “please” with this order, which should have been a request. If you’ve ever waited on tables, you know that the last thing you need is yet another way for a customer to be unpleasant.
Most servers are often mediating(调解)between customers’ requests for substitutions and overworked cooks’ accusations of treason(背叛). Except at high-end restaurants, servers also have to walk back and forth like mothers of preschoolers so that we might consider them worthy of a large enough tip to lift their pay to minimum wage.
Texting a server from a table a few feet away is equal to moving our fingers and shouting, “Hey, you!” It was rude in 1957, and it’s rude now. You won’t ever find me texting a waiter or waitress.What do we know from the text?
A.The waiter knows Jackie well. |
B.The waiter is good at playing yo-yo. |
C.Jackie plays yo-yo in her spare time. |
D.The author has a great interest in playing yo-yo. |
Some restaurants allow diners to text a server from a table to ________.
A.improve their service |
B.reduce the cost of service |
C.show respect for diners |
D.stop talks between diners and servers |
What’s the last but one paragraph mainly about?
A.The pay of servers. |
B.The work of servers. |
C.The customers’ request. |
D.The work of mothers of preschoolers. |
From the passage, the author’s attitude towards texting a server from a table is ________.
A.indifferent | B.positive |
C.curious | D.negative |
In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a great bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts thought that this was an impossible project and told Roebling to forget it. But Roebling could not ignore the vision of this bridge. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an engineer, that the bridge could be built.
The father and son developed concepts of how it could be completed and how the difficulties could be overcome. After that, they began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway (在进行中) a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which made him unable to walk or talk or even move.
Everyone had a negative comment since the Roeblings were the only one who knew how to build the bridge. In spite of these difficulties, Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge. It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was to move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving it, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. The project was underway again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.
Today the Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory to the victory of one man's determination not to be defeated by circumstances. This is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical disability and achieves an impossible goal.
1.When John Roebling had the idea of building the bridge, ________.
A. his son supported him immediately
B. many experts thought it impossible
C. there was no bridge around New York
D. he persuaded the government to support him
2.What is the right order of the following statements?
a. The Roeblings talked about the possibilities of building the bridge.
b. Washington became disabled.
c. John Roebling believed that building the bridge was possible.
d. Washington's wife helped instruct the building.
A. a d c b B. b c d a C. c a b d D. a d b c
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. the government did offer much help to building the bridge
B. to go to the long Island, we can go across Brooklyn Bridge now
C. Washington had only one finger after the accident
D. it took 13 years to complete the bridge
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. the Roeblings were devoted to their work
B. how the Brooklyn Bridge was built by the Roeblings.
C. a strong will is not to be defeated.
D. success lies in patience and hard work.
BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have pros and cons.
Good news
Free museums: No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities(古董).
Pop music: Britain is the only country to rival(与……比敌)the US on this score.
Black cabs: London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never enough of them at weekends or night.
Choice of food: Visitors can find everything from Ethiopian to Swedish restaurants.
Fashion: Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.
Bad news
Poor service: “It’s part of the image of the place. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.
Poor public transport: Trains and buses are promised to defeat the keenest tourists, although the over-crowded London tube is inexplicably(不可解的) popular.
Lack of language: Speaking slowly and clearly may not get many foreign visitors very far, even in the tourist traps.
Rain: Still in the number one complaint.
No air-conditioning: So that even splendidly hot summer become as unbearable as the downpours.
Overpriced hotels: The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.
Licensing hours: Alcohol is in short supply after 11 p.m. even in 24-hour cities.What do we learn about pop music in Britain and the US through this passage?
A.Pop music in Britain is better than that in the US. |
B.Pop music in Britain is as good as that in the US. |
C.Pop music in Br![]() |
D.Pop music in Britain is quite different from that in the US. |
When is alcohol not able to get?
A.At 9:00p.m. | B.At 10:00p.m | C.At 11:00p.m. | D.At 12:00p.m. |
Which of the following is true
according to the passage?
A.You have to pay to visit the museums. | B.It’s very cheap to travel by taxi there. |
C.You cannot find Chinese food there. | D.The public transport is poor there. |
Harry’s father bought a magazine which gave its readers information about all kinds of products and helped them make the best choice while buying.
Harry borrowed his father’s magazine when he needed a new computer. “I’ll read it and choose the best one.” He said.
The magazine described these computers.
The DGT PC450 |
The BNK 975XF: AT $3,200 |
The CGP 8PT |
![]() This computer comes with lots of good software. However it does not have much memory and is rather slow. At $2,850 it’s not very good value for money. |
![]() This is the most expensive computer we tested. However it is also the most reliable (可靠的). It is very fast and has lots of memory. It is worth the extra money if you can afford it. |
![]() At only $1,900. It has lots of memory and is quite fast. However it broke down twice while we were testing it and we cannot recommend (建议) it for reliability. |
Harry chose the BNK 975XF. “I know it’s expensive,” he said, “but it will be with me for a long time and do everything I want it to do.” Harry wants to buy a computer, so he borrowed ___________ from his father.
A.a magazine about all kinds of products | B.a computer magazine |
C.a shopping book | D.a book about all kinds of computers |
____________ doesn’t have much memory and is rather slow.
A.The BNK 975XF | B.The DGT PC450 |
C.The CGP 8PT | D.Harry’s computer |
The CGP 8PT is _____________ among the three kinds of computers.
A.the fastest | B.the most expensive | C.the cheapest | D.the slowest |
Harry chose the BNK 975XF because _________.
A.it is the most expensive | B.it has lots of good software |
C.it has much memory | D.it would work for him for a long time |
Islamabad, Pakistan, June 22nd---Two mountain climbers surprisingly survived (幸免于) a fall of over 500 feet on the 25,530-foot mountain in Pakistan, Saturday. The two climbers were climbing an ice-covered wall of the mountain when they suddenly lost their footing and fell about 560 feet to a narrow snow-covered ledge(悬崖突出部分) below. “We were lucky that ledge was there,” said the climbers, “Otherwise, we would have fallen over 2,000 feet.” If the ledge had not been there, the two climbers almost certainly have met their death. “It’s a wonder,” the climbers said, “that we landed on the ledge, and the snow was loose enough to cushion(缓冲) our fall. We’re thankful that we survived.”
When a reporter asked them if they planned to give up mountain climbing after their narrow escape(九死一生), the two climbers replied, “Not at all. We’ll be going back up there just as soon as we get out of the hospital.”
The mountain climbers survived because _____.
A.they had fallen only 500 feet down | B.of the ledge and the loose snow on it |
C.of their strong bodies | D.they were very good climbers |
If there had not been
the snow-covered ledge, _____.
A.they wouldn’t have fallen down | B.they would have them wounded |
C.they would have lost their lives | D.they would fall into the deep snow |
How high was the ledge from the foot of the mountain?
A.2,560 feet high | B.2,000 feet high |
C.25,530 feet high | D.More than 1,400 feet high |
Choose the right order which shows what happened to the two climbers.
a. talked with a reporter b. lost their footing
c. was sent to a hospital d. fell to a ledge
e. started to climb an ice-covered wall
A.b-d-c-e-a | B.e-d-b-c-a | C.e-b-d-c-a | D.a-c-b-d-e |
Bats are the only mammals(哺乳动物) which can fly properly. Other flying mammals have wings of thin skin which cover their sides between their front and back legs. They can only fly from tree to tree, but they cannot change direction when they want to.
All bats fly at night and most of them hunt for flying insects(昆虫), such as bees. The common bat finds its food by making a constant noise that the human ear cannot
hear. The bat listens for echoes(回声) of the noise as it bounces(反射) off the insects showing the bat their position.
The Fruit bat feeds on many different kinds of fruit. It does not use echoes but instead has very large, special eyes to see even in low light. The largest Fruit bat has a wing length of 0.75 meters. The Vampire bat drinks the blood of large mammals, and a few bats catch fish, birds and even other bats. Some flying mammals are not real flyers because _____.
A.they do not have wings | B.their wings are too thin |
C.they have skin between their legs | D.they cannot turn around in the air |
When common bats hunt for food they _____.
A.use echoes to kill the insects | B.make a noise to draw insects to them |
C.produce a sound and listen to the echoes | D.listen noise made by the insects |
Unlike other bats, the Fruit bat _____.
A.can see very well | B.eats fruit and fish |
C.has very long wi![]() |
D.has excellent hearings |
The word "it" in the second paragraph refers to ____
_.
A.the bat | B.the echo | C.the noise | D.the insect |