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(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(退休) 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.
【小题1】Jack brought the couple their food very fast because______.

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(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(退休) 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.

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.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

3. 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

4.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.

5.Which 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

I have forgotten the name of the old lady, who was a customer(顾客) on my newspaper route when I was twelve. Yet she taught me a lesson that I shall never forget.

On a winter afternoon, a friend and I were throwing stones onto the roof of the old lady’s house near her garden. I found myself a perfectly smooth rock and threw it. The stone was too smooth, however, so it slipped(滑) from my hand as I let it go and headed straight for a small window on the lady’s door. At the sound of broken glass, we knew we were in trouble. We ran faster than any of our stones flew off her roof.

I was too scared about getting caught that first night to be concerned about the old lady with the broken window in winter. However, a few days later, when I was sure that I hadn’t been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her trouble. She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the newspaper, but I was no longer able to act comfortably when seeing her.

I decided that I would save my paper delivery(送) money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I thought would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope (信封) with a note saying that I was sorry for breaking her window and hoped that the seven dollars would cover the cost of repairing it.

The next day, I handed the old lady her paper. She thanked me for the paper and gave me a bag of biscuits she had made herself. I thanked her and ate the biscuits as I continued my route.

After several biscuits, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was shocked. Inside were the seven dollars and a short note that said, “I’m proud of you.”

21. What do the underlined words “be concerned about” mean?

A. wait for　 　　　　　　 B. worry about　　 　 C. argue with 　　　　　　 　　　 D. look after

22. Of the following people, who has similar qualities to the writer that paid for the broken　window?　　

A. Alice, who used to spend most of her pocket money on snacks, now saves money and　donates it to help the elderly. 　　

B. Tom, who used to be shy, kept practising speaking in front of his classmates and has become confident.

C. Ann, who was weak in maths, now often asks her friends for help and has made much progress.

D. Millie, who had stolen her aunt’s necklace, realized her mistake and returned it to her aunt.

23. What can we infer(推断)from the story?

A. The old lady was such a rich woman that she didn’t care about the money.

B. The old lady forgave the boy for what he had done and returned him the money.

C. The old lady was too proud to accept the money the boy paid for the broken window.

D. The old lady didn’t forgive the boy for what he had done though he said sorry to her.