In the eighteenth century young ladies in Italy were taught reading, writing, music and arithmetic．But their knowledge of history and geography was very poor．

Once the French ambassador in Rome was giving a ball to which many important people were invited．The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs came very late．A young lady, who knew him very well, saw him enter the ball -room and asked why he was so late．

"You see," said the Minister, "there has been a little, accident at the King's palace．"

The curious young lady asked the Minister to tell her what had happened at the King's palace．

"Oh, nothing important," answered the Minister．"The ambassador of Brazil, who was to be presented to the King, forgot to take his credentials(国书) with him and was forced to go back to his hotel to bring them．If he had left them in Brazil we should have had to wait at least six months for them．"

"Is Brazil so far from Rome?" asked the lady, who knew little geography．

"It is in the New World," said the Minister．

"In the New World," repeated the lady in great surprise．

"Yes, in the New World," answered the Minister in a sarcastic (讽刺的) tone, "which was discovered by Christopher Columbus．"

When the young lady heard this, she rushed in to the middle of the ball-room and shouted as loud as she could:

"Ladies and gentlemen, have you heard the latest news? A new world has just been discovered by a certain Christopher Columbus．"

1．The Italian foreign minister came to the hall very late because            ．

A．he had had something to do at home

B．he was delayed by a little accident

C．someone was hurt in the King's palace

D．he was unhappy to come to the ball

2．What happened at the King's palace?

A．The ambassador left his credentials in Brazil．

B．For some reason the ambassador had to go back to Brazil．

C．The King was late and the Brazilian ambassador had to wait．

D．The Brazilian ambassador forgot to take his credentials with him．

3．Where did the ambassador leave his credentials?

A．In Brazil．          B．In Rome．          C．In the hotel．        D．In his office．

4．The reason why the young lady shouted her announcement was that              ．

A．she was the hostess of the ball

B．she knew the Minister very well

C．she had ever heard about Columbus

D．she wanted to broadcast the surprising news

5．Her announcement showed she was           ．

    A．ignorant(.无知的)    B．clever          C．thoughtful          D．knowledgeable

We recently treated our now-adult son and his girlfriend to a seafood feast, near Cocoa Beach, Florida. Our server, a grandmotherly woman skilled in the art of___36___, flew around the ___37___juggling dishes and drinks while treating customers as individuals. She remembered their ____38___tastes, likes and dislikes –all of which she’d learned after only the briefest ___39___.

At the end of the meal, she presented the bill, and then went to___40___ the growing crowd of other dinners. My husband ___41___with a credit card, added her___42____, and we were off.

“Mr. Goldsmith!” our waitress ran out of the dinning room waving a receipt at him, “Thank you. ”

He looked at her as though he didn’t __43___. We’ve all seen that universal__44__ of confusion—eyebrows drawn together and head cocked to one side

“What did you give her?” I asked in a stage whisper, ___45___if he had done something __46__ or made a calculation error.

“Wow, Dad,” our son said, __47__like an awestruck 10 –year-old. “I’ve never seen a waitress ___48___anyone out of the restaurant to say ‘thank you’ for the tip.

“She gave us great service. I just thought she deserved a little bump __49___ what I usually give. ”

It wasn’t until later, when I accidentally heard our  __50___retelling the story of the ___51___waitress, that I realized she had given my family something__52__ a “thank you”. She showed our son the importance of __53___hard work and the rewarding sound of “thank you”. Her show of thanks helped a dad earn a bit more __54__from a loving son. And it reminded me just why I __55___this thoughtful, caring man.

36. A. painting           B. smiling                  C. cooking                D. serving

37. A. restaurant        B. sky                       C. corner                  D. table

38. A. common          B. special                  C. considerable          D. delicious

39. A. argument         B. discussion             C. conversations        D. debate

40. A. attend to          B. look for                C. care for                D. find out

41. A. paid                B. called                    C. carried                  D. pushed

42. A. advice             B. suggestions           C. tip                     D. prize

43. A. doubt              B. suspect                 C. happen                 D. understand

44. A. feeling             B. look                      C. attitude                 D. face

45. A. thinking           B. hoping                  C. wondering            D. expecting

46. A. unreasonable    B. appropriate            C. unfair                   D. helpful

47. A. looking            B. sounding               C. doing                    D. imagining

48. A. help                B. keep                     C. drive                    D. follow

49. A. except             B. below                   C. above                   D. within

50. A. son                 B. friend                   C. colleague              D. parent

51. A. excellent          B. skilled                   C. generous               D. grateful

52. A. rather than       B. more than             C. less than               D. no more than

53. A. devoting          B. remembering         C. acknowledging      D. ignoring

54. A. respect            B. sympathy              C. thanks                  D. satisfactory

55. A. trained             B. refused                 C. left                       D. married

We recently treated our new-adult son and his girlfriend to a seafood feast, near Cocoa Beach, Florida. Our server, a grandmotherly woman skilled in the art of1, flew around the2juggling dishes and drinks while treating customers as individuals. She remembered their3tastes likes and dislikes –all of which she’d learned after only the briefest 4.
At the end of the meal, she presented the bill, and then went to5 the growing crowd of other dinners. My husband6with a credit card, added her7, and we were off.
“Mr. Goldsmith!” our waitress ran out of the dining room waving a receipt at him, “Thank you.”
He looked at her as though he didn’t 8. We’ve all seen that universal9 of confusion—eyebrows drawn together and head cocked to one side
“What did you give her?” I asked in a stage whisper,10if he had done something11 or made a calculation error.
“Wow, Dad,” our son said,12like an awestruck 10 –year-old. “I’ve never seen a waitress13anyone out of the restaurant to say ‘thank you’ for the tip.
“She gave us great service. I just thought she deserved a little bump14 what I usually give.”
It wasn’t until later, when I accidentally heard our15retelling the story of the16waitress, that I realized she had given my family something17 a “thank you”. She showed our son the importance of18hard work and the rewarding sound of “thank you”. Her show of thanks helped a dad earn a bit more19from a loving son. And it reminded me just why I20this thoughtful, caring man.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      painting
   2. B.
      smiling
   3. C.
      cooking
   4. D.
      serving
2. 2.
   1. A.
      restaurant
   2. B.
      sky
   3. C.
      corner
   4. D.
      table
3. 3.
   1. A.
      common
   2. B.
      special
   3. C.
      considerable
   4. D.
      delicious
4. 4.
   1. A.
      argument
   2. B.
      discussion
   3. C.
      conversations
   4. D.
      debate
5. 5.
   1. A.
      attend to
   2. B.
      look for
   3. C.
      care for
   4. D.
      find out
6. 6.
   1. A.
      paid
   2. B.
      called
   3. C.
      carried
   4. D.
      pushed
7. 7.
   1. A.
      advice
   2. B.
      suggestions
   3. C.
      tip
   4. D.
      prize
8. 8.
   1. A.
      doubt
   2. B.
      suspect
   3. C.
      happen
   4. D.
      understand
9. 9.
   1. A.
      feeling
   2. B.
      look
   3. C.
      attitude
   4. D.
      expression
10. 10.
    1. A.
       thinking
    2. B.
       hoping
    3. C.
       wondering
    4. D.
       expecting
11. 11.
    1. A.
       unreasonable
    2. B.
       appropriate
    3. C.
       unfair
    4. D.
       helpful
12. 12.
    1. A.
       looking
    2. B.
       sounding
    3. C.
       doing
    4. D.
       imagining
13. 13.
    1. A.
       help
    2. B.
       keep
    3. C.
       drive
    4. D.
       follow
14. 14.
    1. A.
       except
    2. B.
       below
    3. C.
       above
    4. D.
       within
15. 15.
    1. A.
       son
    2. B.
       friend
    3. C.
       colleague
    4. D.
       parent
16. 16.
    1. A.
       excellent
    2. B.
       skilled
    3. C.
       generous
    4. D.
       grateful
17. 17.
    1. A.
       rather than
    2. B.
       more than
    3. C.
       less than
    4. D.
       no more than
18. 18.
    1. A.
       devoting
    2. B.
       remembering
    3. C.
       acknowledging
    4. D.
       ignoring
19. 19.
    1. A.
       respect
    2. B.
       sympathy
    3. C.
       thanks
    4. D.
       satisfactory
20. 20.
    1. A.
       trained
    2. B.
       refused
    3. C.
       left
    4. D.
       married