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(諷刺的). 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 (補(bǔ)貼) 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 (高檔的) 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 (復(fù)雜的) 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 ______.

Paula Radcliffe, chasing (角逐) a third London marathon title(冠軍), says she has became a stronger person after her terrible experience at the 2004 Athens Gaines.

   Radcliffe, who failed to complete the Olympic marathon and the 10,000m last August, said: "Athens made me a stronger person and it made me care less about criticism (批評(píng))"

   "In the past I wanted to please everyone, but now I am going to listen even more to the people around me."

   She didn't care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz McColgan, who felt Radcliffe should have rested and let her body recover after her failure in Athens.

   "Liz is someone I look up to but she hasn't spoken to me since last year and if she really eared for me, I'm sure she would have contacted (聯(lián)系) me."

   Instead Radcliffe won the New York City marathon just 11 weeks after Athens.

   "In New York I wasn't in my best state but I did know I was good enough to win the      Radcliffe insisted her only goal in Sunday's race would be winning a third title and not chasing world records.

   However, RadcIiffe has not ruled out(排除) m the future chasing her "final" world record time and questioned sayings that marathon runners have the ability in their career to produce only four or five world-class times.

   "I don't think that -- although I can't put a number on it," said. RadcLiffe. "That changes from person to person."

   Radcliffe is sure she can better her winning London 2003 performance at some point in the future. Following a successful three-month training period in the United States, the 31-year-old will chase a third title on Sunday after her first victory in 2O02 and again 12 months later.

Radcliffe clocked a time of 2:18:56 in her first 42.2-kdnmetre race three years ago.

   Afterwards she set a "mixed course" mark of 2:17:18 five months later In Chicago before lowering that to a time of 2:15:25 m the 2003 London event.

63. Radcliffe's failure in Athens made her ________

     A. develop respect for Liz    B. love people around her more

     C. rest for five months       D. face criticism calmly                    

64. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

     A. Radcliffe broke the world record in the New York City marathon.

     B. Radcliffe didn't fully recover before the New York City marathon.

     C. Radcliffe won her first marathon title in the New York City marathon.

     D. Radcliffe had a 3-month training before the New York City marathon.    

65. By saying "I can't put a number on it," Radcliffe means she's not sure _____ .

     A. if she has the ability to set a new world record

     B. if she can win another race though she has won many tunes

     C. how many times a marathon runner can set the world record

     D. if she has the ability to produce four or five world-class times           

66. According to the text, Redcliffc bas won ____ London marathon title(s).

      A. four         B. three         C. two         D. one             [C]

67. What can we learn from Radcliffe's story?

     A. Practice makes perfect.           B. Well begun is half done.

    Collections were the inspiration(靈感) for a project at Thomas Tallis School, which formed part of the Imagine Children's Literature Festival last autumn. Each child (aged 12-13) beatified a box and wrote a story on the subject of collections to throw inside it. The boxes were spread within the Royal Festival Hall's Ballroom. Some were left empty to encourage

    The subject chosen by Luren was an imaginative one. "It's a sort o f Cinderella (灰姑娘) story," she told me, inspired by a collection of letters from her cousin, ha the story these become love letters, burned by a creel stepmother. Lauren's best friend Charlotte is the stepmother. "I'm in Charlotte's story too," says Lauren, "and I get run over." Charlotte's tale was inspired by the girls' coin collection. "We've collected foreign coins for years since our families went on holiday to Tenerife." she explains. "That was before the Euro, so we put pesetas in." Lauren continues: "I fred a coin in the road, go to get it and get run over. I'm in hospital and then I die." Charlotte adds: "Or she might not die. I haven't decided yet."

     Millie Murray, who is a tea-novel author, thinks that setting the subject of collections was a useful inspiration to their creativity rather than a restriction(限制). "In the beginning I thought, 'Will the children be able to do it?'" she says. "But it's been fruitful. Some have their own collection, some have parents who do, and some have wlstten complete stories. It's made them think about something they wouldn't have otherwise, winch can only be a good thing."

59. What were the children asked to do in the project?

      A. To meet friends at Thomas Tallis School

      B. To write stories on the subject of collections.

      C. To encourage visitors to write their own stories.

      D. To have their friends for characters in the stories.                      

60. The underlined word "pesetas" in Paragraph 2 is a kind of _____.

      A. story       B. collection      C. inspiration     D. foreign coin      

61. From the stories by Lauren and Charlotte, we know that _____ .

      A. Charlotte hurt herself when getting a coin

      B. both of them developed their imagination

      C. both of tram will die in each other's stories

      D. Latwen's cousin posted her some love letters                            

62. Millie Murray thinks ________.

      A. collections could inspire writing creativity

      B. it was good for parents to have collections

      C. inspirations were very useful in writing stories

     We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got pulled over. A middle-aged policeman came up to the car and was really being troublesome at first. Lecturing us, he said, "You were speeding. Where are you going in such a hurry?" Our guitarist, Tim, told him that we were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show. His way towards us totally changed. He asked, "Oh, so you boys are in a band (樂隊(duì))?”We told him that we were. He then asked all the usual broad questions about the type of music we played, and how long we had been at it. Suddenly, he stopped and said, "Tim, you want to get out of this ticket, don't you?" Tim said, "Yes." So the officer asked him to step out of the car. The rest of us, inside the car, didn't know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim. Next thing we knew, the policeman was putting Tim in the back of the police car he had parked in front of us. With that, he threw the car into reverse(倒車), stopping a few feet in back of our car. Now we suddenly felt frightened. We didn't know if we were all going to prison, or if the policeman was going to sell Tim on the black market or something. All of a sudden, the pollen's voice came over in a loudspeaker. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90.” Turns out, the policeman had told Tim that the only way he was getting out of the ticket was if he sang part of one of our songs over the loudspeaker in the police car. Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver. The policeman enjoyed the performance, and sent us on our way without a ticket.

56. The policeman stopped the boys to ______.

     A. put them into prison               B. give them a ticket

     C. enjoy their performance             D. ask some band questions           

57. The policeman became friendly to the boys when ha knew they ____

     A. had long been at the band         B. played the music he loved

     C. were driving for a show           D. promised into a performance       

58. The boys probably felt ______ when they drove off.

     A, joyful               B. calm            C. nervous        D. frightened       

  When I was thirteen, my family moved from Boston to Tucson, Arizona.  36  the move, my father  37  us in the living-room on a freezing January night. My sisters and I sat around the fire, not   38  that the universe would suddenly change its course. "In May, we're  39  to Arizona."

     The words, so small, didn't seem  40  enough to hold my new life. But the world changed and I awoke on a tram moving across the country. I watched the  41_  change from green trees to flat dusty plains to high mountains as I saw strange new plants that  42  mysteries(奧秘) yet to come. Finally, we arrived and  43  into own new home.

     44  my older sisters were sad at the loss of friends, I   45   explored(探索) our

new surroundings.

     One afternoon, I was out exploring  46  and saw a new kind of cactus(仙人掌). I crouched (蹲) down for a closer look. "You'd better not  47  that."

     I turned around to see an old woman

     "Are you new lo this neighborhood?" I explained that I was,  48 , new to the entire state.

     "My name is Ina Thorne. Have you got used to life in the  49 ? It must be quite a   _50  after living in Boston."

     How could I explain how I  51  the desert? I couldn't seem to find the right words.

     "It's vastness," she offered. “That vastness  52  you stand on the mountains overlooking the desert -- you can  53  how little you are in comparison with the world.  _54 , you feel that the possibilities are limitless.”

     That was it. That was the feeling I'd bad ever since I'd first seen the mountains of my new home. Again, my  55  would change with just a few simple words.

     "Would you like to come to my home tomorrow? Someone should teach you which plant you should and shouldn't touch."

 I was surprised by her words, which made me recognize ___ silly mistakes I had made.

 I send you 100 dollars today, the rest __ in a yew.

You will find as you read fiats book that you just can't keep some of these stones to ______. You will want to share them with

a friend.

Since I won the big prize, my telephone hasn't stopped ringing. People __ to ask how I am going to spend the money.

The more I think about him, the more reasons I find for loving him ___ I did.