单选题 I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happen to be that put-upon member of society--a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I am convinced the things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a deceptive new motto for so-called "service" organizations--Staff Before Service.
How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post office or the supermarket because there were not enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles or checkout counters? Sure? in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to hire cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that uncovering all their cash registers at any one time would increase overheads. And the Post office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied "at times when demand is low".
It is the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is cut short. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There is also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been thrown out of their jobs in the interests of "efficiency" (i. e. profits) and replaced by coin--eating machines which offer everything from lager to laxatives. Not to mention the creeping threat of the tea-making kit in your room: a kettle with a mixed collection of tea bags, plastic milk cartons and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I do not, especially when I am paying for "service".
Can it be stopped, this worsening of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a nuisance? I angrily hope so because it is happening, sadly, in all walks of life.
Our only hope is to hammer home our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, bring back into practice that other, older slogan--Take Our Custom Elsewhere.

单选题 The writer feels that nowadays a customer ______

单选题 The writer argues that the quality of service is changing because ______

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 题干问：“作者说服务的质量正在改变是因为……”。正确选项为C“先考虑员工然后再考虑顾客”，在第1自然段的最后作者讲述了服务机构打出的新口号是先员工后顾客，以及在第4自然段作者再次申明商家认为顾客总是一种讨厌的东西。而选项A“顾客的要求产生根本的改变”，选项B“提供的服务从来就不能够前后一致”和选项D“员工没有他们老板体贴”都不是服务的质量正在改变的原因。

单选题 According to the writer, long queues at counters are caused by ______

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 题干问：“根据作者，导致排长队的主要原因是……”。在第2自然段的第1句作者明确提出排长队的原因在于当班的人员不够，因此选项B“故意减少员工”为正确选项。而选项A“雇佣雇员的困难性”，选项C“雇员间缺乏合作”，选项D“雇主的不负责任”，尤其选项D最具干扰性，不是不负责任，而是故意把员工安排不足。

单选题 Service organizations contend that keeping all checkout counters operated can result in ______

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 题干问：“服务性的机构声称说让所有的收银台都开放可能会导致……”。正确选项为C“提供服务的成本增加”，此题定位在文章第2自然段第3句，服务性的机构声称说如果让所有的收银台都开放，可能会造成人员过剩，并会导致价格的上涨。而选项A“收银员要求加工资”，选项B“对于顾客来说没有多少好处”，选项D“需要购买昂贵的设备”在文中都没有提及。

单选题 The writer suggests that a customer ______

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 题干问：“作者建议顾客……”。此题定位于文章最后一段，正确选项为D“去有好的服务的地方”。而选项A“忍受员工粗鲁的态度”，选项B“在收银台前耐心地排队等待”和选项C“当受到虐待时控制自己的脾气”，其中选项C最具干扰性，文中虽然提到只要能克制就尽力克制自己的愤慨，但作者主要的建议还是去其他地方购买。