阅读理解

　　It was a cold wet night. The taxi driver hadn't had one passenger(乘客)all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man from the country coming out, carrying two big bags. “Aha! ”thought the taxi driver, “here's the right person to make good this bad day. ”He quickly stopped the taxi and opened the door.

　　Driver: Where do you want to go, sir?

　　Young Man: To the Park Hotel.

　　When the taxi driver heard that, his hopes of getting a lot of money disappeared. The Park Hotel was hardly two kilometers away. The young man would give him fifty cents at most. Only fifty cents ! Then he had an idea of taking the young man by a longer route----going all around the city and then back to the Park Hotel. This he did, and after a long time the taxi finally arrived at the hotel.

　　Driver: You should pay me fifteen dollars ,sir.

　　Young Man: What? Fifteen dollars? Do you think I'm a fool? You're trying to cheat(骗)me.

　　Driver: How dare you say I…

　　Young Man: You must think I don't know my way around.

　　Driver: But…

　　Young Man: Only last week I took a taxi from the station to this hotel. I know how much I should pay.

　　Driver: Oh…oh…all right. Now…now look…uh…

　　Young Man: I think I should call the policemen.

　　Driver: Oh, no! Please don't do that! I have a sick wife and four hungry children.

　　Young Man: All right! This time I'll forget it.

　　Driver: Oh, thank you ,sir. And you are right. The trip isn't worth fifteen dollars.

　　Young Man : You don't have to tell me that. I may come from the country, but I'm as clever as you city people.

　　Driver : Yes, sir.

　　Young Man : I just won't be cheated. I won't pay you a cent more than I paid the other taxi last week…thirteen dollars !

1．Why did the taxi driver tell the young man he had a sick wife and four hungry children?

[　　]

A．He didn't want the young man to call the policemen.

B．He wanted to let the young man know he had a big and happy family.

C．He was going to ask the young man to visit his family.

D．He wanted to let the young man know they were not afraid of the policemen.

2．From the story we know that the taxi driver ________.

[　　]

A．was an honest man

B．was very busy that day

C．got far more money than he should get for the trip

D．didn't get a cent more than he should get for the trip

3．From the story we know that the young man ________.

[　　]

A．was as clever as city people

B．knew how much he should pay for the trip

C．had been cheated by another taxi driver the week before

D．wanted to get a lot of money in the city

4．Which of the following would be the best title(标题)of the story?

[　　]

A．City People and Country Men

B．Going to the Park Hotel

C．A Passenger and a Taxi Driver

D．Clever or Foolish?

“When are you going on holiday? And where? ”are usual questions in the office before the summer holiday, and the answer often is: “In one week, to the beach. ”“Aha! You have a beautiful tan（＝brown by sunshine）! How was your holiday? ”These continue for days after you return.　　  Many Europeans have not only weekends and bank holidays but also five to seven weeks paid leave. おUsually parents in the summer plan to spend three or four weeks with the family. Because of my earlier years in China, I found it difficult to understand the European attitude （态度）toward holidays.

During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours