题文
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(讽刺的). 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 restaurants for one reason, and one reason only: we tip to supplement (补贴) 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 upmarket (高档的) restaurant. Here, in San Francisco Bay area restaurants, we are encouraged to tip 20 per cent or more, to help restaurant workers live in this very expensive area.
After eating at an Italian restaurant 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 (复杂的) than that about Americans tipping in restaurants.
Ward Hoffman,
Palo Alto, CA 94306, US
* * *
From Mr. Philip McBride Johnson.
Sir, I agree with most of Raj Persaud's opinions 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 be easily felt.
Philip McBride Johnson,
Great Falls, VA 22066, US
68. What can we learn from Hoffman'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 upmarket restaurants 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 diners may get good service if they tip a bit more
D. the tipping system works to the advantage of new customers
70. From the two letters, we can learn Professor Raj Persaud ______ .
A. feels doubtful about the value of tipping
B. believes tipping improves quality of service
C. wants to ask Hoffman about tipping in the US
D. thinks tipping a bit more one can get good service
71. The two letters most probably appears in a ______.
A. notice B. handbook C. book review D. newspaper 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
68.D 69.C 70.A 71.D
解析
68.解析：这是一道主旨题。Hoffman的信说明在美国如何给小费并不复杂。
69.解析：这是一道细节推断题。根据Johnson信中的最后一句话“But frequent a hotel or a restaurant，always tip a bit more，and the difference in service and treatment will be easily felt.”可推断出如果多次去一家餐馆聚餐并且付的小费多的话就会得到好的服务。
70.解析：这是一道细节推断题。这两封信中“Sir，I agree with most of Raj Persaud’s opinion about the doubtful value of tipping，but with one exception.”说明Raj Persaud对付小费的价值表示怀疑。
71.解析：这是一道判断文章出处题。根据这两封信讨论的内容可判断出它可能出现在报纸上。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“From Mr. Ward Hoffma.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
