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
36
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
AccordingtoBT’sfuturologist,IanPearson,theseareamongthedevelopmentsscheduledforthefirstfewdecadesofthenewmil
Howmenfirstlearnedtoinventwordsisunknown;【B1】,theoriginoflanguageisamystery.Allwereallyknowisthatmen,un
IntheUnitedStates,PresidentBarackObamahasreversedlong-standingDemocraticPartypolicybyapprovingsubstantialnewloa
Withinthatexclusivegroupofliterarycharacterswhohavesurvivedthroughthecenturies—fromHamlettoHuckleberryFinn—fewc
WhenIwasachildinBrainItaly,hardlyanymothershadajob,grandmotherslivedwiththeirchildrenandgrandchildren,and
In1967,inresponsetowidespreadpublicconcernarousedbymedicalreportsofasbestosrelateddeaths,theNationalMedicalRe
Agoodmarriagemeansgrowingasacouplebutalsogrowingasindividuals.Thisisn’teasy,marriagehasalwaysbeendifficult.
Thesnowstormmaycomeatanytime.Itisessential______incaseofablackout.
MyhusbandChristopherwasonceafinancialplanner.Eventhoughhecouldn’tbalanceourbudget,hisclientstrustedhimimplici
随机试题
试述上市公司持续信息披露的意义。
男性,45岁,1个月来逐渐感到乏力,面色苍白,1周前无特殊原因突然寒战、高热,全身皮下及口腔黏膜出血,血红蛋白下降至60g/L,白细胞0.8×109/L,分类中性粒细胞25%,成熟淋巴细胞74%,血小板15×109/L,网织红细胞0.3%,骨髓象细胞增生减
按Tallarida分级标准,7级患者的生存期为()
王某是九联公司某地分公司的负责人,因个人事务欠李某1000万元。李某要求在欠条保证人一栏加盖九联分公司的公章。王某表示,自己没有被公司授权订立保证合同,且向李某出具了总公司的书面授权文件,李某依然坚持加盖,最终,王某同意加盖了分公司的公章。对此,下列哪些说
这些年来,中国文学的创作取得了长足进步。许多作品也不乏______底层的人文情怀,而唯独缺少______星空的超越性力量。填入划横线部分最恰当的一项是()。
根据下面材料回答问题。2012年建材工业增加值同比增长11.5%,增速回落8个百分点,占全国工业增加值的6.6%。全年水泥产量21.8亿吨、同比增长7.4%,陶瓷砖92亿平方米、同比增长9.4%,天然花岗岩石材4.1亿平方米,同比增长27.2%。
中共中央组织部、中共中央宣传部、中共教育部党组于2012年1月4日在北京召开第二十次全国高等学校党的建设工作会议。中共中央政治局常委、中央书记处书记、国家副主席习近平强调,高校党的建设要紧紧围绕()这个根本任务,为建设能够培养高质量大学生的社会主义
关于2014年一季度全省主要农产品产量生产情况,不能够从资料中推出的是()。
一般来说,PoxPro系统具有结构化程序的()种基本结构。
Beforeconsideringthisquestionitisinterestingtoreviewbrieflytheevolutionofthe【M1】______mindastheinstrument.The
最新回复
(
0
)