阅读理解 Last week 29 earnest American high school students were invited to an evening of receiving good words, small talk, warm toasts and fancy silverware.
" Find out something about the person sitting next to you," advised by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "Eventually, you'll discover they always have something interesting to say. And you should always use the proper silverware in the proper order. "
Albright was the guest of honor at the imitated Official Dinner, which was a lot like a real official dinner in Washington minus the soft money.
The evening was sponsored by the St. Albans School of Public Services to introduce its first class to the fine art of social survival.
More than 84 guests, including students, teachers, school donors and speakers, gathered to imitate the lifestyle of the rich and politicians.
The idea was to teach the social graces that will help students survive any social situation. Anyway, the whole proper fork thing is overrated. Former White House official C. Boyden Gray shared his top tips for surviving dinner parties: " Drink as little as possible until you get to dinner. "
"Don't be the first person there or the last person to leave. "
"Try to get more out of your dinner partners than they get out of you. "
Every Official Dinner has a great reason for being. State dinners, for example, are either an opportunity to reward emerging democracies or strengthen old friendships.
The Official Dinner was intended to show the students an elegant evening in Washington—part of the four-week intensive summer program to encourage public service. The students are from 13 states and two foreign countries.
The program includes classes on the presidency, the courts, the media and international affairs. The students also debated on public policy issues. "They're still at it at 10 o'clock at night," said director Mary Waikart. "That's a good practice for Washington, isn't it?"
Since there was no band, Albright offered herself up as the night's entertainer. No singing, but stories about her life in diplomacy. "Being secretary of state is the best job in the world," she said. "Better than being president, because you don't have to deal with the elections. "
单选题 1.Last week a group of high school students were invited to the dinner party______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推断题。文章第一段指出上周有29名中学生被邀请参加一次正式晚宴。在晚宴上他们能昕到赞美的语言，与人闲聊，吃热土司和享用华丽的银餐具。根据第四段的内容可知，这次晚会是为了让学生们学习社交技巧。故选C。
单选题 2.According to Madeleine Albright, at an official dinner______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】推断题。第二段说：前国务卿奥尔布赖特向学生建议“从坐在你旁边的人身上发现一些东西，最终你会发现他们总是会说一些有趣的东西…”这里她是在介绍与人交往的经验，让学生们学会与人交谈。故选B。
单选题 3.The imitated Official Dinner is different from the real ones in that the former______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节题。根据第三段的内容可知，这次模拟外交场合的晚宴除了不筹集经费外，与一个真正的官方晚宴很像。因此，模拟外交场合的晚宴与正式晚宴不同之处在于前者不筹集经费，故选B。
单选题 4.According to Boyden Gray, at dinner parties you should______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节题。根据第八段引用前白宫官员的话“Try to get more out of your dinner partnersthan they get out of you．”可知，尽量倾听晚宴上你同伴的讲话，而自己不要说得太多。故选A。
单选题 5.We can conclude from the passage that______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节题。第十一段说：这个培训项目包括介绍总统、法院、媒体和国际事务。学生们还讨论公共政策问题。该项目的主任玛丽介绍说：“到晚上10点了他们还在讨论。”由此可知，美国学生们对这个项目的热情还是很高的，故选D。