Struggling in the US? Move to China!

I graduated from the university with a degree of civil engineering. It is a good field but my heart was not in it. I wanted to be an actor or work in the entertainment industry…living a creative life. My choice of civil engineering was really a mistake but I realized too late. As soon as I graduated, I moved straight to Los Angeles—the home of the film and television industry!

For three years, I tried to get a job in that field. I often worked as an extra in movies and TV shows—standing in the background while actors are in the foreground. This was fun for a while, but I wanted a real acting job, where I was speaking! Sadly, in Los Angeles, there is too much competition. Every race and age is represented: old, young, black, white, Asian and thousands of blondish-red haired Midwestern types like me. Being an extra couldn’t make enough money for me to live in Los Angeles. I had to do something else for money.

After three years of trying, I gave up my dream of being an actor and started a different career. I then tried network-marketing, but in the end, that failed. Seven years after graduating college, I was still in debt, still searching for a satisfactory life. I decided to go back to civil engineering.

However, I was starting to get very disappointed with my life. Why is life not like what I expected? I expected to have made a lot of money, gotten married, with a house and nice cars, kids, time freedom, etc. Millions of people lead lives with their dreams shelved, existing but not really living. I want my life to be different, more satisfactory, more alive. America was not providing that for me…

In addition, America was too expensive—always worrying about money was a headache. I wanted a life filled with adventure, romance, friendships, successes, and dreams realized.

…

I decided to move to China.

69．How can we describe the writer’s attitude toward life?

     A．Practical    B．Passive   C．Disappointed     D．Positive

70．What does the underlined sentence mean?

     A．A lot of people are living but they are not enjoying their life.

     B．A lot of people are living with dreams though their life is not that enjoyable.

         C．A lot of people give up their dreams and yet are living a good life.

     D．A lot of people don’t have dreams, nor do they want to live either.

71．What did the writer do before he finally decided to move to China?

     A．Engineer→extra→marketing→engineer

     B．Extra→marketing→engineer

     C．Engineer→extra→marketing

     D．Extra→engineer→marketing

72．What can we infer from the passage?

     A．Life is easier in the US.

     B．Life in China is not easy.

     C．There is always somewhere in the world where you can enjoy life.

     D．More Americans will move to China.

Struggling in the US? Move to China!

I graduated from the university with a degree of civil engineering. It is a good field but my heart was not in it. I wanted to be an actor or work in the entertainment industry…living a creative life. My choice of civil engineering was really a mistake but I realized too late. As soon as I graduated, I moved straight to Los Angeles—the home of the film and television industry!

For three years, I tried to get a job in that field. I often worked as an extra in movies and TV shows—standing in the background while actors are in the foreground. This was fun for a while, but I wanted a real acting job, where I was speaking! Sadly, in Los Angeles, there is too much competition. Every race and age is represented: old, young, black, white, Asian and thousands of blondish-red haired Midwestern types like me. Being an extra couldn’t make enough money for me to live in Los Angeles. I had to do something else for money.

After three years of trying, I gave up my dream of being an actor and started a different career. I then tried network-marketing, but in the end, that failed. Seven years after graduating college, I was still in debt, still searching for a satisfactory life. I decided to go back to civil engineering.

However, I was starting to get very disappointed with my life. Why is life not like what I expected? I expected to have made a lot of money, gotten married, with a house and nice cars, kids, time freedom, etc. Millions of people lead lives with their dreams shelved, existing but not really living. I want my life to be different, more satisfactory, more alive. America was not providing that for me…

In addition, America was too expensive—always worrying about money was a headache. I wanted a life filled with adventure, romance, friendships, successes, and dreams realized.

…

I decided to move to China.

1．How can we describe the writer’s attitude toward life?

     A．Practical              B．Passive   C．Disappointed                  D．Positive

2．What does the underlined sentence mean?

     A．A lot of people are living but they are not enjoying their life.

     B．A lot of people are living with dreams though their life is not that enjoyable.

  C．A lot of people give up their dreams and yet are living a good life.

     D．A lot of people don’t have dreams, nor do they want to live either.

3．What did the writer do before he finally decided to move to China?

     A．Engineer→extra→marketing→engineer

     B．Extra→marketing→engineer

     C．Engineer→extra→marketing

     D．Extra→engineer→marketing

4．What can we infer from the passage?

     A．Life is easier in the US.

     B．Life in China is not easy.

     C．There is always somewhere in the world where you can enjoy life.

     D．More Americans will move to China.

Like most people, I’ve long understood that I will be judged by my occupation, that my profession is a standard people use to see how smart or talented I am. Recently, however, I was disappointed to see that it also decides how I’m treated as a person.

Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job waiting tables. As someone paid to serve food to people, I had customers say and do things to me I suspect they’d never say or do to their most casual acquaintances（泛泛之交）. One night a man talking on his cell phone waved me away, then asked me back with his finger minutes later, complaining he was ready to order and asking where I’d been.

I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon （勤杂工） by plenty of people. But at 19 years old, I believed I deserved inferior treatment from professional adults. Besides, people responded to me differently after I told them I was in college. Customers would joke that one day I’d be sitting at their table, waiting to be served.

Once I graduated, I took a job at a community newspaper. From my first day, I heard a respectful tone from everyone who called me. I assumed this was the way the professional world worked .

I soon found out differently. I sat several feet away from an advertising sales representative with a similar name. Our calls would often get mixed up and someone asking for Kristen would be transferred to Christie. The mistake was immediately evident. Perhaps it was because money was involved, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never used with me.

My job title made people treat me politely. So it was a shock to return to the restaurant industry.

It’s no secret that there’s a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and fortunately, much of it can be easily forgotten when you pocket the tips. The service industry, by definition, exists to satisfy others’ needs. Still, it seemed that many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant.

I’m now applying to graduate school, which means someday I’ll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get what they want. I think I’ll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone whose only job is to serve them.

72. The author was disappointed to find that ____  ___.

A. one’s position is used as a standard to measure one’s intelligence

B. talented people like her should fail to get a respectable job

C. one’s occupation affects the way one is treated as a person

D. professionals tend to look down upon manual waitresses

73. What does the author intend to say by the example in the second paragraph?

A. Some customers simply show no respect to those who serve them.

B. People absorbed in a phone conversation tend to be absent-minded.

C. Waitresses are often treated by customers as casual acquaintances.

D. Some customers like to complain because of the waitress’ poor service.

74. How did the author feel when waiting tables at the age of 19?

A. She felt it unfair to be treated as a mere servant by professional.

B. She felt badly hurt when her customers regarded her as a peon.

C. She was embarrassed each time her customers joked with her.

D. She found it natural for professionals to treat her as inferior.

75. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 7 means “      ”.

A. those who satisfy others’ needs are sure to be looked down upon.

B. those working in the service industry shouldn’t be treated as servants.

C. those serving others have to put up with rough treatment to earn a living.

D. the majority of customers tend to look on a servant as server nowadays.

Like most people, I’ve long understood that I will be judged by my occupation, that my profession is a standard people use to see how smart or talented I am. Recently, however, I was disappointed to see that it also decides how I’m treated as a person.

Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job waiting tables. As someone paid to serve food to people. I had customers say and do things to me I suspect they’d never say or do to their most casual acquaintances（泛泛之交）. One night a man talking on his cell phone waved me away, then beckoned （示意） me back with his finger minute later, complaining he was ready to order and asking where I’d been.

I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon （勤杂工） plenty of people. But at 19 years old, I believed I deserved （值得） inferior（较差的）treatment from professional adults. Besides, people responded to me differently after I told them I was in college. Customers would joke that one day I’d be sitting at their table, waiting to be served.

Once I graduated, I took a job at a community newspaper. From my first day, I heard a respectful tone from everyone who called me. I assumed this was the way the professional world worked .

I soon found out differently. I sat several feet away from an advertising sales representative with a similar name. Our calls would often get mixed up and someone asking for Kristen would be transferred to Christie. The mistake was immediately evident. Perhaps it was because money was involved, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never used with me.

My job title made people treat me politely. So it was a shock to return to the restaurant industry.

It’s no secret that there’s a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and fortunately, much of it can be easily forgotten when you pocket the tips. The service industry, by definition, exists to satisfy to others’ needs. Still, it seemed that many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant.

I’m now applying to graduated school, which means someday I’ll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get what they want, I think I’ll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone whose only job is to serve them.

1．The author was disappointed to find that         .

       A．one’s position is used as a standard to measure one’s intelligence

       B．talented people like her should fail to get a respectable job

       C．one’s occupation affects the way one is treated as a person

       D．professionals tend to look down upon manual waitresses

2．What does the author intend to say by the example in the second paragraph?

       A．Some customers simply show no respect to those who serve them.

       B．People absorbed in a phone conversation tend to be absent-minded.

       C．Waitresses are often treated by customers as casual acquaintances.

       D．Some customers like to complain because of the waitress’ poor service.

3．How did the author feel when waiting tables at the age of 19?

       A．She felt it unfair to be treated as a mere servant by professional.

       B．She felt badly hurt when her customers regarded her as a peon.

       C．She was embarrassed each time her customers joked with her.

       D．She found it natural for professionals to treat her as inferior.

4．The underlined sentence “many of my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant” in Paragraph 7 means “          ”.

       A．those who satisfy others’ needs are sure to be looked down upon.

       B．those working in the service industry shouldn’t be treated as servants.

       C．those serving others have to put up with rough treatment to earn a living.

       D．the majority of customers tend to look on a servant as server nowadays.