阅读理解。
When my family moved to America 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 elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment (尴尬) 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 Americans are and how they dislike the description "old". Then I 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 old
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 old 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.
1.The writer 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 the writer called the couple, "elderly", they became ______.
A.nervous
B.satisfied
C.unhappy
D.excited
3.Which of the following is TRUE?
A.The more the writer explained, the angrier the couple got.
B.The writer 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, the writer learned more about American culture.
4.What is the best title for this passage?
A.Different countries, different customs
B.Old people, old customs
C.Different restaurants, different services
D.Differences between old and young
5.What is the Chinese meaning of the underlined word, "sensitive"?
A.敏感的
B.好战的
C.自私的
D.友好的
