I had the meanest mother in the world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast．I had to have cereal, eggs and toast．Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids'．But at least I was not alone in my suffering．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing．We had to wear clean clothes every day．Other kids always wore their clothes for days． We reached the height of disgrace （耻辱） because she made our clothes herself, just to save money．
The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning．So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law．She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us．Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks．None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout （辍学者）．
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults．Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children．I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world．
【小题1】From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was____．

A．not generous at all

B．very cruel to her children

C．very mean with money matters

D．very strict with her children

【小题2】Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

A．Eating differently from other kids．

B．Letting mother know where they were．

C．Going to bed early and getting up early．

D．Wearing clean clothes made by mother．

【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that____．

A．the writer's family lived a miserable life

B．all the other kids studied better than the writer

C．Mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law

D．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies

【小题4】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The writer is very thankful to her mother．

B．The writer has a deep hatred for her mother．

C．Mother practiced economy in running her home．

D．The writer is strict with her children when bringing them up．

【小题5】The passage was written in a way of  tone．

A．humorous

B．hateful

C．ridiculous

D．impatient

阅读理解

　　William Lehmann was a writer. When he was a boy, writing came as naturally to him as walking. He enjoyed playing with works, in the same way that other boys played with a football. He wrote stories whenever he had the chance, stories that most of his teachers couldn't hope to write, with the experience of a person two or three times his age. He wrote some quite striking poems, too.

　　At school, Wlliam always did best in English exams in his school, but not in subjects like history. As he was never satisfied to stick to the facts, he preferred to imagine how things might have been.

　　At home, William was always writing. He wrote in bed; he wrote while the others were watching television, in the half darkness , he would even write at the breakfast table if his mother let him. What a quiet boy: different from others!

　　

1．From this passage we know that ________.

[　　]

A．William was a boy to whom walking came naturally

B．Willaim was good at history as well as English

C．writing came naturally to William when he was very young

D．William enjoyed imagining things while other boys liked playing a football

2．To William words ________.

[　　]

A．were what a football was to other boys

B．were like a game, not to be taken seriously

C．came more naturally than walking

D．came almost as naturally as playing football

3．The stories that William wrote were ________.

[　　]

A．about the experiences of someone two or three times his age

B．two of three times better than the stories that most people write

C．of the sort that most people older than William hope to write

D．of a sort that few people can write, even after year of experience of life

4．William did better in English than is history because ________.

[　　]

A．he was unable to describe how things were

B．he was not interested in history

C．he always stuck to the facts

D．he preferred to imagine how things might have been rather than to stick to the facts

5．At home, William wrote ________.

[　　]

A．about his family members

B．whenever he had the chance

C．except when he was watching the television

D．even at the breakfast table

It is commonly believed among many Chinese that Westerners who take “Yes’，and “No” by their facial expressions are more straightforward than Chinese. Normally Westerners don * t have to adopt Chinese ways like sweeping the floor or constantly checking the clock to indicate to a guest that it’ s time to leave. They don’ t have to hesitate in saying “No” when they are not able to, or don’ t want to, offer help to a friend in need. There is no embarrassment attached to this behavior. But it is too simple to conclude that Westerners are more direct speakers than the Chinese.
There are many occasions when the way Westerners express themselves makes Chinese look more straightforward and honest. When I was a fresh international student，the director of our program once asked students in an e-mail what we thought about a young professor. I simply said ’ “She seems to know a lot but doesn* t know how to teach. ” And the director replied with “Thank you for being honest. ”
Only years later when I better understood the new culture，I realized why I had gone too far. If that question were asked now，the reply would have three paragraphs devoted to the qualities of the professor before the last line came out — ” There are some gaps in her teaching method. ” Still tough, but at least it wouldn't be considered rude.
Indeed, the reserved social norms and the deeply - rooted “face issue" make honest speaking risky in China ； Americans have their own ways of being polite. This results partly from political correctness. It also results from several generations of people who have been told they have done well even when they have failed. It may not be unfair to suggest that many Americans are oversensitive and obsessed with a perfect self image.
So，the next time you hear about indirect Chinese，it would be worth challenging the source and pointing out that the cultural comparisons are much more complex. But maybe you should do it in a roundabout way，to be polite.
【小题1】The passage mainly aims to ?

A． tell us something about culture distinctions

B． remind us of the conflicts between cultures

C． ask us to take positive attitudes to Chinese cultures

D． keep us informed of the various communications

【小题2】According to the passage, the young professor lacked   .

A． confidence in her job
B． teaching experience
C． interaction with her students m	D．responsibility for her students

【小题3】   The underlined words “obsessed with" (para.4) probably means   .

A．satisfied with

B．proud of

C．addicted to

D．stuck in

【小题4】   It can be inferred from the passage that    .

A． the writer has a good knowledge of American culture

B． Americans are much more straightforward than Chinese

C． the new professor was very angry with the writer' s comments

D． different culture backgrounds make cultures comparison complicated

When I worked as a waitress in Chicago, US, my coworkers and I would sigh whenever we heard someone with a foreign accent coming into our restaurant. We knew what it meant to serve a non-American: no tip. We would work just as hard as we always did, but we might not get paid.

Americans have an unspoken rule about tipping: they give tips to almost everyone who offers them a service of some kind. Americans tip their waiters, barbers and taxi drivers. An appropriate tip is between 15 and 20 percent of the amount charged for the service (But the charge for the tip doesn’t appear on the bill. The customer is expected to add it himself/herself.) Tipping less than this sends a message to your waiters that you think they’ve done a bad job serving you. And to leave no tip at all is simply unacceptable.

It’s not that American waiters are greedy. In many countries, waiters are paid a salary for their work. They’ll earn money even if no one comes into the restaurant. This system offers much more safety for waiters than the American version. In the US, waiters know that a night without customers means a night without pay.

Some countries include a tip for waiters – a “service charge” – on the bill itself. Since the tip is included with the other charges, waiters don’t need to worry about people forgetting to tip. But in the US, waiters do not receive a salary, and service charges only appear on bills when there are six or more customers at the table.

Since almost all American customers are familiar with the system, they know to add a tip without being told. But visitors to the US may expect waiters to be paid a salary, or think that the tip is included on the bill.

So much as we waiters loved hearing stories about other places from our foreign customers, we were always nervous when they got ready to leave the restaurant. We were never sure what to expect.

1.If you order $200 worth of food, which of the following is a proper total payment?

A．$200             B．$215             C．$220             D．$230

2.Why don’t some foreigners tip a waiter according to the writer?.

A．because they are unfamiliar with the American tip system .

B．because they are too mean to give tips to any waiter.

C．because they have difficulty communicating with waiters.

D．because they are not really easy to become satisfied.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. The service charge never appear on the bill in the USA.

B. Customers are usually expected to tip waiters in the USA.

C. Dining out in other countries is much more expensive than in the USA.

D. Waiters in other countries earn much more money than those in the USA.

4.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To complain about the difficult life of American waiters.

B．To warn other waiters not to serve any foreign customer.

C．To call on foreign customers to leave tips for American waiters.

D．To tell us something about American waiters’ salary system.