The servants （） the silver tableware before the guests arrived.

A.朋友之间，何需客气

B.说谢就见外了

C.一家人何需客套

D.没什么，这是我应该做的

Passage Two（2016年6月英语六级卷2试题）

These days, nobody needs to cook. Families graze on high-cholesterol take-aways and microwaved ready-meals. Cooking is an occasional hobby and a vehicle for celebrity chefs. Which makes it odd that the kitchen has become the heart of the modern house, what the great hall was to the medieval castle, the kitchen is to the 21st-century home.

The money spent on kitchens has risen with their status. In America the kitchen market is now worth $170 billion, five times the country's film industry. In the year to August 2007, IKEA, a Swedish furniture chain, sold over one million kitchens worldwide. The average budget for a "major" kitchen overhaul in 2006, calculates Remodeling magazing, was a staggering $54,000, even a "minor" improvement cost on average $18,000.

Exclusivity, more familiar in the world of high fashion, has reached the kitchen: Robinson&Cornish, a British manufacturer of custom-made kitchens, offers a Georgian-style. one which would cost £145,000-155,000—excluding building, plumbing and electrical work. Its big selling point is that nobody else will have it :"You won't see this kitchen anywhere else in the word."

The elevation of the room that once belonged only to the servants for the modem family tells the story of a century of social change. Right into the early 20th century, kitchens were smoky, noisy places, generally located underground, or to the back of the house, as far from living space as possible. That was as it should be: kitchens were for servants, and the aspiring middle classes wanted nothing to do with them.

But as the working classes prospered and the servant shortage set in, housekeeping became a natter of interest to the educated classes. One of the pioneers of a radical new way of thinking about the kitchen was Catharine Esther Beecher, sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe. In American human's Home、published in 1869, the Beecher sisters recommended a scientific approach to use hold management, designed to enhance the efficiency of a woman's work and promote order. Many contemporary ideas about kitchen design can be traced back to another American, Chris Frederick, who set about enhancing the efficiency of the housewife. Her 1919 work, House-Engineering: Scientific Management in the Home, was based on detailed observation of a wife's daily routine. She borrowed the Principle of efficiency on the factory floor and applied

mestic tasks on the kitchen floor.

Frederick's central idea, that "stove,sink and kitchen table must be placed in such a relation that useless steps are avoided entirely". Inspired the first fully fitted kitchen, designed in the 1920s by Mangarete Schutter. Libotsky. It was a modernist triumph, and many elements remain central features of today's kitchen.

52.What does the author say about the kitchen of today？

A.It is where housewives display their cooking skills.

B.It is where the family entertains important guests.

C.It has become something odd in a modern house.

D.It is regarded as the center of a modern home.

53.Why does the Georgian-style. kitchen sell at a very high price？

A.It is believed to have tremendous artistic value.

B.No duplicate is to be found in any other place.

C.It is manufactured by a famous British company.

D.No other manufacturer can produce anything like it.

54.What does the change in the status of the kitchen reflect？

A.Improved living conditions.

B.Technological progress.

C.Women's elevated status.

D.Social change.

55.What was the Beecher sisters' idea of a kichen？

A.A place where women could work more efficiently.

B.A place where high technology could be applied.

C.A place of interest to the educated people.

D.A place to experiment with new ideas.

56.What do we learn about today's kitchen？

A. It represents the rapid technological advance in people's daily life.

B.Many of its central features are no different from those of the 1920s.

C.It has been transformed beyond recognition.

D.Many of its functions have changed greatly.

M: Good morning, Cindy.

W: Roberta, what exactly do time management consultants do？

M: Well, Cindy, it's all about helping people to organize their work in an ef fective way: maximum efficiency; minimum stress.

W: Hah, sounds like something I need. Who are your clients？

M: Um, mainly business people, but I've also worked with politicians, civil servants and university lecturers.

W: Um, quite a range, then. And what sort of things help people to organ ize their time？ I suppose punctuality is important.

M: Um, yes and no. It's easier to finish a meeting on time if it starts on time. But in international contexts, you do have to be aware of cultural differences.

W: For example？

M: Well, in Britain big, formal meetings usually start on time, but less for mal meetings often begin a few minutes late. In Germany, on the other hand, people expect all meetings to begin on time; In some countries, er, for example, in Latin America, there's a more relaxed attitude. So, you d6 have to adapt to circumstances.

W: Um, it sounds like even if you manage your own time very well, you still can't control what other people do.

M. Well, you can set limits. If you're meeting a friend who always arrives late, you can say, "Well, I'm going to wait for 15 minutes. If they aren't there by then, I'll leave,"

W: Hmm. I've got one friend who's always late. I don't think I'd ever see her if I did that.

M: Hah, but people who are always late are the ones you need to set limits with. If they know that you won't wait, then, perhaps they'll make an effort.

W: Isn't that rather harsh？

M: No, not really. Someone who constantly turns up late is putting a low value on your time. Let them know you've got other things to do. And I'm not suggesting you do that with everyone just the persistent latecomers.

(20)

A．To help people to organize their work in an effective way.

B．To help people to become efficient at their jobs.

C．To help people to arrange their time properly.

D．To help people to reduce stress.

Yet, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it.And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is.That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about.It is the story of someone who tries to look as rich and as successful as his neighbors.

The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American by the name of Arthur Momand.He told this story about himself: he began earning $125 a week at the age of 23.That was a lot of money in those days.Young Momand was very proud of his riches.He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City.But just moving there was not enough.When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horse riding every day.When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up.Momand and his wife could not do that.

The race ended for them when they could no longer pay for their new way of life.They left their wealthy neighborhood and moved back to an apartment in New York City.

Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors.He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories.He called it “keeping up with the Joneses”, because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States.“Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with the people around you.Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

Every city has an area where people want to live because others will think better of them if they do.And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world.But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses, because no matter what one does, Mr.Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.The writer of the selection believes ().

A.anyone in the United States can become rich

B.anyone in the United Sates can become rich if he works hard and has some good luck

C.he can become rich in the future

D.many people in the United States think anyone can become rich if he works hard and has some good luck

2.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because ().

A.they want to be as rich as their neighbors

B.they want to be happy

C.they don’t want others to know they are rich

D.they want others to know or to think that they are rich

3.It can be inferred from the story that rich people ().

A.like to live in apartments

B.like to live in New York City

C.like to live outside New York City

D.like to have many neighbors

4.Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because Jones is ().

A.an important name

B.his neighbor’s name

C.a popular name in the United States

D.not a good name

5.According to the writer, it is ().

A.correct to keep up with the Joneses

B.interesting to keep up with the Joneses

C.impossible to keep up with the Joneses

D.good to keep up with the Joneses