Question

Whether you’re eating at a fancy restaurant or dining in someone’s home, proper table manners are likely to help you make a good impression. According to a US expert, Emily Post, “All rules of table manners are made to avoid ugliness.”

While Henry Hitchings of the Los Angeles Times admits that good manners can reduce social conflict, he points out that mostly their purpose is protective – they turn our natural warrior-like selves into more elegant ones.

So where did table manners come from?

In medieval England, a writer named Petrus Alfonsi took the lead to urge people not to speak with their mouths full. And King David I of Scotland also proposed that any of his people who learned to eat more neatly be given a tax deduction (減除).

Disappointingly, that idea never caught on. It was during the Renaissance, when there were real technical developments, opinions of correct behavior changed for good. “None of these was more significant than the introduction of the table fork,” wrote Hitchings. “Gradually, as forks became popular, they brought the new way of eating, making it possible, for instance, to consume berries without making one’s fingers dirty.”

Forks were introduced to Britain in 1608 and 25 years later, the first table fork reached America. Yet while most of the essentials (基本要素) are the same on both sides of the Atlantic, there are a few clear differences between what’s normal in the US and what holds true in the UK. For example, in the US, when food needs cutting with a knife, people generally cut a bite, then lay aside the knife and switch the fork to their right hand. Then they pick up one bite at a time. By contrast, Britons keep the fork in the left hand and don’t lay the knife down.

Though globalization has developed a new, simpler international standard of table manners, some people still stick with the American cut-and-switch method.The Los Angeles Times noted, “They are hanging on to a form of behavior that favors manners above efficiency.”

1.What does the story mainly talk about?

A. The importance of proper table manners .

B. The development of table manners in Western countries.

C. Some unwritten rules of table manners in the US and UK.

D. Differences between American and British table manners.

2.The underlined phrase “caught on” in the passage probably means ______.

A. worked in practice B. became popular

C. drew attention D. had a positive effect

3.Which of the following events influenced people’s table manners most according to the article?

A. The introduction of forks.

B. The tax deduction policy.

C. The rise of the Renaissance.

D. Petrus Alfonsi’s efforts in promoting table manners.

4.What can we conclude from the article?

A.British and American table manners are completely different from each other.

B.American people pay more attention to their table manners than British people do.

C.With globalization, the American cut-and-switch method has been abandoned in the US.

D.British people’s way of using a knife and fork may be more efficient than American people’s.

Answer 1

1.B

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

試題分析: 這篇文章講述了餐桌禮儀的發(fā)展歷史。英國作家Petrus Alfonsi和蘇格蘭國王King David 一世都為餐桌禮儀做出過貢獻(xiàn)。

1.B考查主旨大意。根據(jù)前兩段提到餐桌禮儀的重要性，作為鋪墊引出了So where did table manners come from?然后在下文對餐桌禮儀的發(fā)展進(jìn)行了介紹，可知：文章主要內(nèi)容是關(guān)于西方國家餐桌禮儀的形成過程。故選B。

2.B考查猜詞能力。根據(jù)第四段作者介紹了英國作家Petrus Alfonsi以及蘇格蘭國王King David I提出的有關(guān)餐桌禮儀的想法，和下文when there were real technical developments, opinions of correct behavior changed for good可知：當(dāng)時他們提出的想法沒有人贊同，由此判斷caught on指“受歡迎，流行”的意思。故選B。

3.A考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第五段“None of these was more significant than the introduction of the table fork,” wrote Hitchings.可知：在餐桌上叉子的使用對人們的餐桌禮儀有著最重要的影響。故選A

4.D考查推理判斷。根據(jù)第六段in the US, when food needs cutting with a knife….. By contrast, Britons keep the fork in the left hand and don’t lay the knife down.可知：英國人使用刀叉的方法比美國人效率更高。故選D。

考點：記敘文。