You get all sorts of demands, and the mark of a good hotel is to supply whatever is asked for without sounding surprise. If a guest asks for rubber gloves. You don't ask why. You say, “No problem. What colour do you want？”

　　There have been some demands which, much as I would have liked to fill, I couldn't. A Japanese businessman， for example， thought the manager of a hotel was like the captain of a ship so he asked me to marry him and the woman he loved. There was one time, however, we did help out. A young man thought that if he asked his girlfriend to marry him at the Ritz she would say yes. He asked us to put the ring in a cake, and she accepted.

　　Top hotels are used more and more to impress. They are used for doing business. If you've got something to sell, take your clients(客户) to the best hotel where the surroundings are quite helpful. A friend of mine working at Savoy Hotel tells story about a man who gave him 5 pounds to say “Good morning, Mr. Smith” when he walked through the door with two other men. This he did， and could hear Mr. Smith saying, “I do wish they would leave me alone at this place.”

　　According to Julian Payne， the most powerful people in any hotel are the porters， who carry bags for hotel guests. “Porters can do almost anything. They can get you tables at the best restaurants or tickets for a popular concert. Don't ask me how they do it or what their deal is because I don't know. Most of them have been there for years. They know more about the history of the hotel and the guests than anyone else. They are invaluable. A head porter will come in even on his day off so he can say hello to someone he remembers visiting the hotel years ago.”

56．When guests ask for something strange，the manager of a good hotel would think ______.

　　A．how he can meet their needs

　　B．why they have such demands

　　C．what problems the hotel has

　　D．who is the best person to go to

57．Which of the following examples explains “we did help out？”

　　A．The hotel bought a ring for a young lady.

　　B．A Japanese married the woman he loved.

　　C．The manager once acted as a captain.

　　D．A young lady agreed to marry her boyfriend.

58．Which of the following statements is true about the porters in expensive hotels?

         A．They sell tickets for concerts.

         B．They know how to make a good deal.

         C．They know a lot about the hotels and the guests.

         D．The come to work even on their days off.

59．By saying “I do wish they would leave me alone at this place”， Mr. Smith ______.

　　A．showed that he disliked such people at the hotel

　　B．gave the impression that he was a constant guest

　　C．tried to make his clients feel sorry for him

　　D．sounded as if he was tired of such greetings

Talking to Teachers—Teachers are just people.Behind that desk, is a living, breathing human being.And just like any human being, they will probably be friendly to people who talk nicely to them.Teachers also seem to get along better with children who take schoolwork seriously and are prepared for class.And, just like any other human being, teachers like to be appreciated.The next time your teacher helps you solve a math problem or figure out a science project, say thank you with a smile.
Talking to Parents—Parents can be very supportive if their children ask for help.If you think there’s something your parents can do to help you socialize more or feel more comfortable around people, then ask them.Very often, parents want very much to help, but really don’t know what to do.Pick a quiet time of the day and ask to talk.Tell them how you feel.Maybe they had the same trouble when they were kids.
This Stranger Thing—This is always a tough one.How do you deal with a neighbor, the mail carrier, or someone walking down your street—situations that often seem to cause arguments between kids and parents.The answer to these questions will vary from kid to kid, from parent to parent because all cultures are different.Some folks live in small towns where a hello to everyone is “what’s done”.Then there are kids who live in the city who may have been taught not to speak to anyone they don’t know.If you’re having trouble with this and always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, you might want to talk to your parents or a teacher about it.Where do they think you should draw the line? When is silence rude and when is it wise?

1. 1.

   From the first paragraph we may learn that teachers dislike____ .

   1. A.
      being talked to nicely
   2. B.
      their students to be serious with the schoolwork
   3. C.
      the students’ appreciation
   4. D.
      the students who are not ready for classes
2. 2.

   If your parents are not supportive and you are not getting along quite well with your parents, who or what is to blame?

   1. A.
      Your parents.
   2. B.
      Yourself.
   3. C.
      Lack of communication.
   4. D.
      Your teachers.
3. 3.

   The underlined word in the third paragraph is close in meaning to____.

   1. A.
      afraid
   2. B.
      puzzled
   3. C.
      strange
   4. D.
      familiar
4. 4.

   The passage doesn’t say but it implies that in daily communication____.

   1. A.
      arguments often happen between kids and parents
   2. B.
      we should talk to the neighbors and other people according to different cultures
   3. C.
      city people and country people greet in the same way
   4. D.
      we should fit our words with proper situations

When I enrolled at Pepperdine University in 1974, my mother exercised her parental right to express her worry at my departure. I responded with typical teenage indifference and ignorance. “Mom , I’m only an hour away. What’s the bit deal?” “You just wait until you have one of your own,” she cried .“Then you’ll know what I’m feeling.” It has been a little more than a month since my daughter Devin moved into her dorm at Occidental college, and life as I know it has come to an end. Or that’s what it feels like. Mom, you were right.

The nest’s empty loneliness is almost unbearable. Why does it hurt so bad? Science has an answer: We are social mammals who experience deep attachment to our fellow friends and family, an evolutionary throwback to our Paleolithic(旧石器时代的)hunter-gatherer days of living in small bands. Bonding unified the group, aiding survival in harsh climates and against unforgiving enemies. Attachment between parents and offspring assured that there is no one better equipped to look after the future survival of your genes than yourself.

The empty-nest syndrome is real, but there is good news for this and all forms of loss and grief. According to Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, we are not very good at forecasting our unhappiness. Most of us think that we would be miserable for a very long time. Gilbert calls this the durability bias, an emotional misunderstanding.

The durability bias and the failure to recognize the power of our emotional immune systems lead us to overestimate how depressed we will feel and for how long, and to underestimate how quickly we will get rid of it and feel better.

For me, taking the long view helps. How long? Deep time. Evolutionary time, in which 6,895 days represent a mere 0.000000005% of the 3.5 billion year history of life on Earth.

Each of us parents makes one small contribution to the evolutionary importance of life’s continuity from one generation to the next without a single gap, an unbroken link over the eons(永久)。

57. What message does the author want to express by telling us her experience in the first paragraph?

A. The empty-nest syndrome is really hard for old parents to bear.

B. All people should learn to love their parents no matter how old they are.

C. A person will not understand his parents´ love until he has his own child.

D. The love parents give to children is selfless and should be respected.

58. According to Daniel Gilbert, the empty-nest syndrome is­­­­         .

A. caused by our emotional misunderstanding

B. not a real problem but in our imagination

C. the result of overestimating our happiness

D. from our emotional immune systems

59. The author gets herself out of the empty-nest syndrome by holding a positive idea that        .

A. she can go to see her daughter regularly when she misses her

B. her daughter will one day come back to her after graduation

C. her daughter will understand her when she has her own children

D. the departure from her daughter is much shorter than the history of life on Earth

60. What kind of role do parents play in the human history, according to the last paragraph?

A. They cultivate talents for the development of history.

B. They help keep the life’s continuity without a broken link.

C. They accelerate the evolutionary pace of the human beings.

D. They point a right way for the next generation to develop themselves.

Talking to Teachers—Teachers are just people．Behind that desk, is a living, breathing human being．And just like any human being, they will probably be friendly to people who talk nicely to them．Teachers also seem to get along better with children who take schoolwork seriously and are prepared for class．And, just like any other human being, teachers like to be appreciated．The next time your teacher helps you solve a math problem or figure out a science project, say thank you with a smile.

Talking to Parents—Parents can be very supportive if their children ask for help．If you think there’s something your parents can do to help you socialize more or feel more comfortable around people, then ask them．Very often, parents want very much to help, but really don’t know what to do．Pick a quiet time of the day and ask to talk．Tell them how you feel．Maybe they had the same trouble when they were kids.

This Stranger Thing—This is always a tough one．How do you deal with a neighbor, the mail carrier, or someone walking down your street—situations that often seem to cause arguments between kids and parents．The answer to these questions will vary from kid to kid, from parent to parent because all cultures are different．Some folks live in small towns where a hello to everyone is “what’s done”．Then there are kids who live in the city who may have been taught not to speak to anyone they don’t know．If you’re having trouble with this and always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, you might want to talk to your parents or a teacher about it．Where do they think you should draw the line? When is silence rude and when is it wise?

1．From the first paragraph we may learn that teachers dislike____ .

  A．being talked to nicely

  B．their students to be serious with the schoolwork

  C．the students’ appreciation

  D．the students who are not ready for classes

2．If your parents are not supportive and you are not getting along quite well with your parents, who or what is to blame?

  A．Your parents.                                      B．Yourself.

  C．Lack of communication.                      D．Your teachers.

3．The underlined word in the third paragraph is close in meaning to____.

  A．afraid                  B．puzzled                C．strange                D．familiar

4．The passage doesn’t say but it implies that in daily communication____.

  A．arguments often happen between kids and parents

  B．we should talk to the neighbors and other people according to different cultures

  C．city people and country people greet in the same way

  D．we should fit our words with proper situations

    Just as our degree of individual freedom uncomfortable to many foreign visitors, foreign attitudes toward truth seem uncertain to Americans.

    In many countries people will tell you what they think you want to hear, whether or not it is true. To them, this implies politeness. To Americans, it is considered misleading-even dishonest--to distort facts on purpose, however kind the motive. The point is ---our priorities(优先) are different; in the United States truth has a higher priority than politeness. We are taught from babyhood that “Honesty is the best policy.” Elsewhere, politeness, honor, family loyalty, “machismo” or many other values might come far ahead of honesty if one is listing priorities.

    But with us, trust and truth are of paramount importance. If we say of a man, “You cannot trust him.” This is one of the most damning statements that can be made about him.

    In view of such profound differences in values, it is natural that misunderstandings and irritations often occur, especially in exact areas such as the negotiation of contracts. A Mexican has said, “With us  business is like a courtship(求爱).” Americans lack this grace, but on the other hand you can count on their word. You know where you are with them; except in advertising, they will not be “whispering sweet nothings” that they do not mean in order to make you feel desirable!

    “How far is it to the next village?” the American asks a man standing by the edge of the road. In some countries, because the man realizes that the traveler is tired and eager to reach his destination, he will politely say “Just down the road.” He thinks this is more encouraging, gentler, and therefore the wanted answer. So the American drives on through the night, getting more and more angry, feeling “tricked.” He thinks the man deliberately lied to him, for obviously he must have known the distance quite well.

    Had conditions been reversed, the American would feel he was “cheating” the driver if he implied the next town was close when he knew it was really 15miles further on. Although, he, too, would be sympathetic to the weary driver, he would say, “you have a good way to go yet; it is at least 15 more miles.” The driver might be disappointed, but he would know what to expect.

    This often-epeated question of accuracy versus courtesy leads to many misunderstandings between people of different cultures. If you are aware of the situation in advance, it is sometimes easier to recognize the problem.

1．The best title for the passage should be_________.

       A．Truth or politeness   B．Truth or lying

       C．Cultural differences D．Honest Americans

2．In American’s view, people who tell you what they think you want to hear, whether or not it is true, are _________.

       A．polite       B．honest      C．kind        D．misleading

3．According to the author, misunderstandings and angers often occur as a result of_________.

       A．the exactness of negotiation    B．the importance in trust and truth

       C．deep differences in values       D．lack of respect

4．According to the author, Americans_________.

       A．treat a business deal like a courtship

       B．list honor on the top of the list of values

       C．do not whisper sweet nothings in advertising

       D．expect to know the exact distance when asking the way