首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Not long ago, a mysterious Christmas card dropped through our mail slot. The envelope was addressed to a man named Raoul, who, I
Not long ago, a mysterious Christmas card dropped through our mail slot. The envelope was addressed to a man named Raoul, who, I
admin
2013-05-11
81
问题
Not long ago, a mysterious Christmas card dropped through our mail slot. The envelope was addressed to a man named Raoul, who, I was relatively certain, did not live with us. The envelope wasn’t sealed, so I opened it. The inside of the card was blank. Ed, my husband, explained that the card was both from and to the newspaper deliveryman. His name was apparently Raoul, and Raoul wanted a holiday tip. We were meant to put a check inside the card and then drop the envelope in the mail. When your services are rendered at 4 a.m., you can’t simply hang around, like a hotel bellboy expecting a tip. You have to be direct.
So I wrote a nice holiday greeting to this man who, in my imagination, fires The New York Times from his bike aimed at our front door, causing more noise with mere newsprint than most people manage with sophisticated black market fireworks.
With a start, I realized that perhaps the reason for the 4 a.m. wake-up noise was not ordinary rudeness but carefully executed spite: I had not tipped Raoul in Christmases past. I honestly hadn’t realized I was supposed to. This was the first time he’d used the card tactic. So I got out my checkbook. Somewhere along the line, holiday tipping went from an optional thank-you for a year of services to a Mafia-style protection racket(收取保护费的黑社会组织).
Several days later, I was bringing our garbage bins back from the curb when I noticed an envelope taped to one of the lids. The outside of the envelope said MICKEY. It had to be another tip request, this time from our garbage collector. Unlike Raoul, Mickey hadn’t enclosed his own Christmas card from me. In a way, I appreciated the directness. "I know you don’t care how merry my Christmas is, and that’s fine", the gesture said. "I want $30, or I’ll ’forget’ to empty your garbage bin some hot summer day".
I put a check in the envelope and taped it back to the bin. The next morning, Ed noticed that the envelope was gone, though the trash hadn’t yet been picked up: "Someone stole Mickey’s tip!" Ed was quite certain. He made me call the bank and cancel the check.
But Ed had been wrong. Two weeks later, Mickey left a letter from the bank on our steps. The letter informed Mickey that the check, which he had tried to cash, had been cancelled. The following Tuesday morning, when Ed saw a truck outside, he ran out with his wallet. "Are you Mickey?"
The man looked at him with scorn. "Mickey is the garbageman. I am the recycling". Not only had Ed insulted this man by hinting that he was a garbageman, but he had obviously neglected to tip him. Ed ran back inside for more funds. Then he noticed that the driver of the truck had been watching the whole transaction. He peeled off another twenty and looked around, waving bills in the air. "Anyone else"?
Had we consulted the website of the Emily Post Institute, this embarrassing breach of etiquette(礼节) could have been avoided. Under "trash/recycling collectors" in the institute’s Holiday Tipping Guidelines, it says: "$10 to $30 each". You may or may not wish to know that your pet groomer, hairdresser, mailman and UPS guy all expect a holiday tip.
选项
A、he forgot to write a few words on it
B、he wanted the couple to send it back
C、he used it to ask for a Christmas tip
D、he was afraid of asking for a tip in person
答案
C
解析
细节题。依据第一段第三、四、五行。拉奥想要一份假期小费。A)忘写字了;B)要他们寄回;D)害怕当面要小费。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/bGQK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
WriteonANSWERSHEETTHREEanoteofabout50-60wordsbasedonthefollowingsituation.Yourgoodfriend,John,isthinkin
Thetextbookquestionaswellasotherissuesisgoingtobediscussedwhenthecongressisin______againnextspring.
Thesetoysareso______thatchildren’sparentscanhardlyaffordthem.
WriteonANSWERSHEETTHREEanoteofabout50-60wordsbasedonthefollowingsituation:Duringthesummervocationyouwould
I’msureyoursuggestionwill______theproblem.
Inthesentence"HefoundGeorgeintelligent.",theitalicizedwordis______.
Inthefollowingsentences,whichitalicizedwordorphraseservesasasubjectcomplement(主语补足语)?
Hereisourbreakfastmenu______,asyouhaveadvised,isfullofnutritiousfood.
Despitethewiderangeofreadingmaterialspeciallywrittenor______forlanguagelearningpurposes,thereisyetnocomprehensiv
JohnWilliams’houseismadeof
随机试题
属于构件式玻璃幕墙的有()幕墙。
消渴病的主要临床表现有( )
病灶与周围组织密度接近,为突出病灶,CT窗的调整应为
由患者的家长、家属或他人作出求医决定的求医类型是
A、可待因B、喷他佐辛C、二氢埃托啡D、美沙酮E、吗啡适用于非细菌性急慢性消耗性腹泻的药物是( )。
患者,男性,41岁,8h前饮酒后出现上腹绞痛,向肩部放射,来院急诊,疑诊急性胰腺炎。对诊断最有价值的检查是
美国兰德公司被誉为世界智囊团的开创者,是美国规模最大的决策咨询研究机构之一。在研究苏联公开发表的空间技术文献后,于:1946年就写报告给政府,预言苏联将于1957年发射人造地球卫星,提出政府当年的战略措施应是加速研制人造卫星。但是,美国政府首脑对此不屑一顾
人们在社会生活中常会面临选择,要么选择风险小、报酬低的机会;要么选择风险大、报酬高的机会。究竟是在个人决策的情况下富于冒险性,还是在群体决策的情况下富于冒险性?有研究表明,群体比个体更富有冒险精神,群体倾向于获利大但成功率小的行为。以下哪项如果为
ThePewFoundationdiscoveredinarecent【C1】______thattensionsoverinequalityinwealthnow【C2】______tensionsoverraceandi
TheimmigrantsinAmericaareplayinganimportantroleinthenationalsciencedevelopment.Mr.Obamasaysthatpartofthesol
最新回复
(
0
)