While the rest of his family was happily feasting during Spring Festival, Zu Xinming, a Senior 2 student in Shaanxi province, was frowning. "Every time my s leave after dinner, almost half of the dishes are unfinished," he said, and we throw away a lot of food. Nowadays in China, food waste is a widespread problem. Each year, Chinese people throw away the equivalent of about 50 million tons of grain, an amount which could feed 200 million people, according to Xinhua News Agency. One reason is that people are unaware of the issue. "Some of my friends don't care at all when they can't finish the food on their plates," said Zu, "and they even throw it away if they don't like the taste." Gong Tao, an official from the Communist Youth League of China Committee of Central South University in Hunan province, is worried about the decreasing awareness of food waste on his campus in recent years. "Students don't know how much hard work others go through in order to provide their food," Gao told China Education Daily. One deeper factor is the Chinese cultural value of "face". In a Chinese banquet setting, the host feels great shame when guests' plates are empty. "Serving lots of food is the Chinese way of showing respect to guests and displaying generosity," Yu Changjiang, a sociologist at Peking University, told Xinhua. Huge public spending on government banquets is also worsening the situation. Government banquets at the taxpayer's expense have become "a major source of waste", commented People's Daily. The good news is that people are already beginning to take action. On Jan 16, 10 restaurants with 749 outlets in Beijing joined an "eating up" campaign promoted by Xu Xiake, deputy director of China Land and Resources News. These restaurants have begun serving half-sized meals and small dishes. So, how can you help reduce food waste? Discuss with your family regularly about your food preferences and how much you want to eat. Eat all of the food on your plate and in your bowl. And each... Where is the passage most probably taken from? A) Textbook B) Newspaper C) Magazine D) Guidebook
B
Most people who experience bad service while traveling, shopping, or dining out do no complain. They accept bad services or products without making a sound. Why? Many feel complaining won't do any good. In fact, they're wrong, because companies don't want their customers unhappy. Not sure you can do it? Here are some ways to use when things go wrong. 1.If you have a complaint, do something about it right away. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get your complaint solved. 2.First, complain to the servers. If they are not going to solve your problem, then ask politely to speak to a manager. And if that doesn't work, you can always request to speak to the manager's manager! 3.Demand a discount . Let's say you were promised a hotel room with an ocean view, but got a view of a brick wall instead; if you were promised a seat in the front of a plane, but got a seat in the back. You should do something about both of these situations. Ask a special discount. 4.Don't be passive. Offer ways you think the company can satisfy you. 5.Insist on the price you were told. If you are refused, get a manager's name and telephone number, and promise to follow up with a letter and a telephone call. 6.If all else fails, wait until you get home and take action. Call the company's head office, and speak to the most powerful person possible. Then follow up your call with a letter of complaint. If necessary, call the customer protection office in your city and complain. According to the text, people don't complain because _ . A) they think complaining doesn't work B) they consider it wrong to complain C) they don't want to waste their time D) they don't want to become unpopular
A
Q: My brother Ron joined the US army a few years ago. Most girls, especially those who are my age, are thrilled by anything that has to do with the "army". It's a novelty to them to shoot a gun, jump out of a plane, and wear uniform. Now I know you're thinking that I must find it really cool to know a solider, who's my brother. That's wrong, before I found out that my brother joined the army, I was crazy about the army. Firstly, I wanted to go to college, knew that joining the army was probably the only way I could get it as my parents couldn't afford it. Additionally there were all the other points of the army that grabbed my heart. I wanted the challenge, I wanted the discipline and I wanted the feeling that I would be doing something beyond the ability of average citizen. But as soon as my brother joined the army, all those things fell away. All I saw were dead people, guns shooting, tanks turning into a ball of fire, tents burning, and lots of blood. It was so horrible. When Ron went to Iraq, I freaked out whenever I didn't hear from him for more than a week. I kept up with the news, reading the latest newspaper and listening to the hourly reports. And every time I heard that an American solider was killed, I prayed, it' wasn't Ron. I'm proud of my brother for serving our country, and his willingness to devote his life to something he finds important. It's great to see how discipline and mature he's got, and I'm glad he has his college paid for. But although I am proud, I gladly give up the "coolness" of having a brother in the army. I would be perfectly all right if I had never seen that uniform on him, and he was just a plain old "boring" brother. I love my brother, and I'm proud of him, but I want him back home! What would be the best title for the passage? A) Peace or war? B) Life in the army C) Having a soldier in the family D) A choice between your life and your dream
A: C
Q: "We're leaving you a great gift,"Papa once told us, " _ !"We thought this was another one of Papa's jokes.But Papa and Mama knew the true value of that gift.We children didn't -until much later.What great gift did our parents leave us? They left us the oil lamp On winter nights,I felt my way through the dark kitchen to get a drink of water for Papa.I was so afraid of the darkness that I never took the time to light the oil lamp or even to drink before I filled his glass.I always sipped from the glass on my way back to him, "Don't drink it all before you get here Miss,"Papa would call. They left us the milking Today I buy milk in bottles,pure and cold.But as a girl I had to milk the cows each day.Then after the milking I had to wash the milk pails and pans.I couldn't use soap,because the water had to be fed to the pigs.The same was true of the dishwater.Soap in the water would have made the pigs sick.But even without soap,the dishes must shine,Mama said.So we had to make them shine! Now we have the blessed telephone and the automobile.There's no barn to clean out,no hitching of horses.There is the warming magic of the furnace .There are the electric lights,with no oil lamp to clean.There are the vegetables that come in neat clear bags.If I want an apple pie,I don't have to climb a tree first. And there is always water!It comes from shiny taps. Now I know what Papa meant when he said, "We're leaving you a great gift.It's a great gift--the gift of going without.It makes you rich for all the days of your life!" We can infer that the author had to _ when she was a young girl. A) ride a horse B) sleep in the barn C) clean electric lights D) plant vegetables
A: A