From Mr. Ward Hoffman.

   Sir, I was halfway through Professor Raj Persaud's article “What's the tipping point"

(Financial Times Weekend, April 9-l0) when it occurred to me that what I was reading was not ironic(讽刺的). If Prof Persaud wants to know why Americans tip in restaurants, he need only ask the first American he meets in London.

   Americans tip in restarts for one reason, and one reason only: we tip to supplement (补贴) the salary of restaurant workers. Quality of service does not enter into it, beyond the fact that one may tip a bit less for poor service, or a little more for good service.

   Not tipping at all in a non-fast-food restaurant is not a choice. In the US, one used to tip about 15 per cent for dining in a family-style restaurant or in an up-market (高档的) restaurant. Here, in San Francisco Bay area restaurants, we me encouraged to tip 20 per cent or more, to help restart workers live in this very expensive area.

   After eating at an Italian restart in my city, I left a tip of 20 per cent on the non-tax part of our dinner bill. It was expected. There is nothing more complicated (复杂的) than that about Americas tipping in restaurants.

Ward Hoffman, 

Palo Alto, CA 94306, US

*                *                  *

From Mr. Philip McBride Johnson.

    Sir, I agree with most of Raj Persaud's opinion about the doubtful value of tipping, but with one exception(例外). Tips can be very useful when one is a repeat customer or diner.

It is only when the tipper is a stranger and likely to remain so that the system does not work to his or her advantage. But frequent a hotel or a restaurant, always tip a bit more, and the difference in service and treatment will ha easily felt.

Phfiip McBnde Johnson,

Great Falls, VA 22066, US

68. What can we learn from Hoffrnan's letter?

     A. Quality of service determines tipping in the US.

     B. Americans don't tip in non fast-food restaurants.

     C. Tipping in US upmarknt restarts is unnecessary.

     D. How to tip in the United States is not complicated.                               

69. Johnson's letter shows ________.

     A. a stranger in a restaurant is likely to tip a bit more

     B. diners receive better service if they frequent a restaurant

     C. repeat dinners may get good service ifthay tip a bit more

     D. the tipping system works to the advantage of new customers           

70. From tbe two letters, we can learn Professor Raj Persaud ______ .

     A. feels doubtful about the value of tipping

     B. believes tipping improves quality of service

     C. wats to ask Hoffman about tipping m the US

     D. thinks tipping a bit mom one can get good service                     

71. The two letters most probably appears in a ______.

From Mr. Ward Hoffman.

    Sir, I was halfway through Professor Raj Persaud's article “What's the tipping point"(Financial Times Weekend, April 9-l0) when it occurred to me that what I was reading was not ironic(讽刺的). If Prof Persaud wants to know why Americans tip in restaurants, he need only ask the first American he meets in London.

    Americans tip in restaurants for one reason, and one reason only: we tip to supplement (补贴) the salary of restaurant workers. Quality of service does not enter into it, beyond the fact that one may tip a bit less for poor service, or a little more for good service.

    Not tipping at all in a non-fast-food restaurant is not a choice. In the US, one used to tip about 15 per cent for dining in a family-style restaurant or in an upmarket (高档的) restaurant. Here, in San Francisco Bay area restaurants, we are encouraged to tip 20 per cent or more, to help restaurant workers live in this very expensive area.

   After eating at an Italian restaurant in my city, I left a tip of 20 per cent on the non-tax part of our dinner bill. It was expected. There is nothing more complicated (复杂的) than that about Americans tipping in restaurants.

Ward Hoffman, 

Palo Alto, CA 94306, US

*                *                  *

From Mr. Philip McBride Johnson.

    Sir, I agree with most of Raj Persaud's opinions about the doubtful value of tipping, but with one exception(例外). Tips can be very useful when one is a repeat customer or diner.

    It is only when the tipper is a stranger and likely to remain so that the system does not work to his or her advantage. But frequent a hotel or a restaurant, always tip a bit more, and the difference in service and treatment will be easily felt.

Philip McBride Johnson,

Great Falls, VA 22066, US

68. What can we learn from Hoffman's letter?

     A. Quality of service determines tipping in the US.

     B. Americans don't tip in non-fast-food restaurants.

     C. Tipping in US upmarket restaurants is unnecessary.

     D. How to tip in the United States is not complicated. 

69. Johnson's letter shows ________.

     A. a stranger in a restaurant is likely to tip a bit more

     B. diners receive better service if they frequent a restaurant

     C. repeat diners may get good service if they tip a bit more

     D. the tipping system works to the advantage of new customers       

70. From the two letters, we can learn Professor Raj Persaud ______ .

     A. feels doubtful about the value of tipping

     B. believes tipping improves quality of service

     C. wants to ask Hoffman about tipping in the US

     D. thinks tipping a bit more one can get good service            

71. The two letters most probably appears in a ______.

     A. notice                B. handbook              C. book review         D. newspaper  

I’m lying on my back in my grandfather’s orchard(果园)，looking up at the branches above me.It is one of the last days of summer.Already the days are shorter and the nights are cooler.Some kinds of apples are already ripe(成熟的).Others will be ready to pick soon.I think of my grandmother’s apple pie，and how I used to make it with her.She died last year，before the apple harvest，and I have not had her pie since.I really miss her.I hear bees busily humming about，visiting the late summer flowers.The gentle hum of their wings nearly sends me to sleep.

The sky is as blue as my grandfather’s eyes.Above me，big white clouds race across the sky like pieces of cotton blowing in the w ind.School starts in another week，and time seems to have slowed down.

“Sophie！”calls my  grandfather.“Is that you？”I stand up，take his hand，and tell him all about my day as we walk through the orchard.We talk about apples，and bees，and Grandma.He tells me that he misses her too.

He puts his rough，brown farmer’s hand around my shoulder and pulls me close.“You know，Sophie，”he says，“I spent the morning in the attic(阁楼)，and you’ll never guess what I found.It’s the recipe(烹饪法) for Grandma’s apple pie.I used to help her make it sometimes.I can’t do it all alone，but you used to help her too.Maybe between the two of us，we ca n work it out.Want to try？”

“But it won’t be the same without Grandma，” I tell him.

“That’s true，”he says，“but nothing_is_the_same_without_Grandma.Still，I don’t think that she would want us never to have another apple pie.What do you say？” I nod yes，and we walk towards home...towards an afternoon in the farmhouse kitchen，making Grandma’s famous apple pie.

1.We learn from the passage that Sophie　　　　.

A．likes to watch clouds in the attic

B．comes to the orchard after school

C．enjoys Grandma’s apple pie very much

D．picks many apples in the orchard

2.Sophie’s grandfather spent the morning in the attic______　　　.

A．looking for Grandma’s recipe for apple pie

B．helping Sophie’s grandmother make apple pie

C．trying to make apple pie all alone for Sophie

D．talking about apples，and bees，and Grandma with Sophie

3.The underlined part in the last paragraph shows

A．how much Sophie’s grandmother loved Sophie

B．how much Sophie’s grandfather likes apple pies

C．how much Sophie loves her grandfather’s orchard

D．how much Sophie’s grandfather misses Grandma

4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．My grandfather’s orchard           B．My grandmother’s apple pie

C．A morning in the attic              D．The last days of summer

C
A blow-fly was looking for an ideal place like rotting meat to lay her eggs so that when her little babies were born, they could feed on the meat.
As she turned a corner in the grassland, she smelt something that smells like rotten meat in the air! With a great joy she landed on it and laid her eggs. She was happy that her children would have enough food to eat.
But the fly did not know she had made a great mistake. What she had sat upon was not meat but a flower, which smells badly. It is called a carrion flower. So, when the blow-fly’s eggs hatched and the little maggots（蛆）came out, they had nothing to eat. They died of starvation.
The carrion flower is one of the many flowers which send out dirty smells to attract flies. The Rafflesia stinks like rotting meat, while the tropical Lords and Ladies flower gives out a smell like rotting fish.
They do it for a special reason. These plants cannot move from their place. But it is important for the male cell of one plant to get in touch with the female cell of another plant. Once that is done, the seed of the plant will bloom and give birth to another plant.
The plant uses its stink to attract flies. As soon as the blow-fly sits on the follower, it is captured by the flower with strong hair. When the hair falls, the fly is free to fly- but it takes some pollen（花粉） with it. And goes and sits on another plant. The male cell of one plant meets the female cell of the other. The seed gets new life.
64. Why did the fly land on something smelly?
A. She was too careless before her bearing.       B. She liked the particular smell very much
C. She hoped to find some food for her babies.    D. She couldn’t find a better place for delivery.
65. The little maggots finally died because_________.
A. they were born too weak             B. they lacked food available
C. carrion flower were poisonous         D. their mother didn’t take care of them
66. Flowers like carrion flower and Rafflesia naturally smell terrible so that_________.
A. they need insects to spread their pollen     B. they succeed in producing more seeds
C. their seeds can be carried to other places    D. they can manage to absorb more nutrients
67. What is the best title of the text?
A. Dirty Tricks        B. Smelly Plants   C. A strange Flower   D. Secrets of Nature.

 
C
A man from Sri Lanka on Friday broke the Guinness world record for the longest time spent watching TV. He finished with 69 hours and 48 minutes.
Suresh Joachim did his TV viewing in the lobby (门厅) of WABC-TV as part of the “Guinness World Record Breaker Week ” on the TV talk show “Live With Regis and Kelly”.
After passing the previous record of 50 hours and 7 minutes Thursday, Joachim continued until about 7 am Friday.
Sitting on a brown leather couch, he watched nothing but ABC shows.
“I’m going to be a little tired of watching TV after this,” Joachim told reporters by phone during a brief break.
Rules of Guinness for the couch potato honor, allow for a five-minute break every hour and a 15-minute break every eight hours. The viewer must be constantly looking at the screen.
The hardest part, Joachim said on Live With Regis and Kelly, was “I couldn’t watch the people” — the many waving passers-by on the street outside the ABC studio.
Joachim, who lives in Toronto but comes from Sri Lanka, now holds more than 16 Guinness records, including the longest duration (持续) balancing on one foot (76 hours, 40 minutes) and bowling for 100 hours. He does it, he says, to raise awareness of suffering children.
64. Which paragraph shows the main idea of the passage?
A. The first paragraph.                                B. The last paragraph.
C. The second paragraph.                            D. The sixth paragraph.
65. How long had Joachim spent when the new “couch potato” record was made?
A. Half a week.                                   B. Less than two days.
C. 76 hours, 40 minutes.                             D. Nearly three days.
66. Which of the following phrases can replace the underlined word “constantly”?
A. All the time.  B. At times.  C. Some time.   D. Once upon a time.
67. What’s the biggest pity for Joachim when he did his TV viewing?
A. That Joachim could eat nothing.
B. That Joachim couldn’t watch the people outside.
C. That Joachim felt very tired.   
D. That Joachim didn’t have any time for a break.