单选题 Everybody loathes it, but everybody does it A recent poll showed that 20% of Americans hate the practice. It seems so arbitrary, after all. Why does a barman get a tip, but not a doctor who saves lives?
In America alone, tipping is now a $ 16 billion-a-year industry. Consumers acting rationally ought not to pay more than they have to for a given service. Tips should not exist. So why do they? The conventional wisdom is that tips both reward the efforts of good service and reduce uncomfortable feelings of inequality. The better the service, the bigger the tip.
Such explanations no doubt explain the purported origin of tipping--in the 16th century, boxes in English taverns carried the phrase "To Insure Promptitude" (later just "TIP") . But according to new research from Cornell University, tipping no longer serves any useful function.
The paper analyses data from 2, 327 groups dining at 20 different restaurants. The correlation between larger tips and better service was very weak: only a tiny part of the variability in the size of the tip had anything to do with the quality of service. Customers who rated a meal as "excellent" still tipped anywhere between 8% and 17% of the meal price.
Tipping is better explained by culture than by economics. In America, the custom has become institutionalized: it is regarded as part of the accepted cost of a service. In a New York restaurant, failing to tip at least 15% could well mean abuse from the waiter. Hairdressers can expect to get 15-20%, the man who delivers your groceries＄2. In Europe, tipping is less common; in many restaurants, discretionary tipping is being replaced by a standard service charge. In many Asian countries, tipping has never really caught on at all.
How to account for these national differences? Look no further than psychology. According to Michael Lynn, the Cornell paper's co-author, countries in which people are more extrovert, sociable or neurotic tend to tip more. Tipping relieves anxiety about being served by strangers. And, says Mr. Lynn, "In America, where people are outgoing and expressive, tipping is about social approval, ff you tip badly, people think less of you. Tipping well is a chance to show off." Icelanders, by contrast, do not usually tip-a measure of their introversion, no doubt.
While such explanations may be crude, the hard truth seems to be that tipping does not work. It does not benefit the customer. Nor, in the case of restaurants, does it actually stimulate the waiter, or help the restaurant manager to monitor and assess his staff. Service people should "just be paid a decent wage" which may actually make economic sense.

单选题 It is implied in the passage that______.

单选题 What can we know about the origin of "tip"?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题是细节题。
“小费”这个词的来源是什么?文章在第3段提到了TIP这个词的起源。 Such explanations no doubt explain the purported origin of tipping-in the 16th century，boxes in English taverns carried the Phrase“To Insure Promptitude” (later just“TIP”)．tavern的意思是“小旅馆，客栈”，与选项A中的inn是同义词，所以A是正确答案。TIP的意思是保证快速服务，选项B“保证服务生得到更多的钱”显然不对。C纯属编造；而D则没有根据。

单选题 We can get the information from the article that_______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题是推论题。
参见文章第5段：In Europe，tipping is less common；in many restaurants， discretionary tipping is being replaced by a standard service charge．由此可见，
费在欧洲没有在美国那么流行。选项A说小费在欧洲很流行，这与原文意思相反；选项B说小费在亚洲国家从未存在过，过于极端，不流行并不等于没有存在；而选项D说小费在美国盛行的原因是因为美国人比较富有，显然不对。

单选题 People who dine in a New York restaurant______.

单选题 The author thinks that______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题是推论题。
作者在最后一段表明了自己的观点：tipping does not work on does not benefit the customer．Nor，in the case of restaurants，does it actually stimulate the waiter，or help the restaurant manager to monitor and assess his staff．这句话的大意是：小费根本不起作用，既不利于顾客，也不利于激励服务生，更不利于饭店对员工的管理和评估。所以小费对国家的经济不会起到什么促进作用，正确答案为D。