An important question about eating out is who pays for the meal. If a friend of yours asks you to have lunch with him. You may say something like this, “I’m afraid it’ll have to be some place cheap, as I have very little money.” The other person may say, “OK, I’ll meet you at McDonald’s.” This means that two agree to go Dutch, that is, each person pays for himself. He may also say, “Oh, no. I want to take you to lunch at Johnson’s”, or “I want you to try the steak(牛排) there. It’s great.” This means the person wants to pay for both of you. If you feel friendly towards this person, you can go with him and you needn’t pay for the meal. You may just say, “Thank you. That would be very nice.” American customs about who pays for dates(約會) are much the same as in other parts of the world. In the old days, American women wanted men to pay for all the meals. But, today, a university girl or a woman in the business world will usually pay her own way during the day. If a man asks her to dinner or a dance outside the working hours, it means “come as my guest”. So as you can see, it is a polite thing to make the question clear at the very beginning.

1. In the old days _______ often paid for all the meals.

A. women

B. men

C. university students

D. businessmen

2. “To go Dutch” means to _______.

A. go to play outside

B. eat out

C. pay for oneself

D. go to a cheaper eating place

3. “McDonald’s” here means _______.

A. a tea house

B. a gate

C. an office

D. an eating place

4. If you feel friendly to the person, _______.

A. you should pay for him

B. you needn’t pay for him

C. you can accept his invitation

D. you can’t accept his invitation

5. We’d better know who will pay for the meal _______.

A. at the beginning

B. at the end

C. in the middle of the meal

D. after drinking

【答案與解析】本文向我們介紹了有關朋友一起吃飯誰付賬的約定俗成的習慣。

1. B。推理判斷題。根據 In the old days, American women wanted men to pay for all the meals可知答案為B。

2. C。事實細節題。根據 this means that two agree to go Dutch, that is, each person pays for himself可知答案為C。

3. D。推理判斷題。根據 I’m afraid it’ll have to be some place cheap, as I have very little money. The other person may say, “OK, I will meet you at McDonald’s I’m afraid it’ll haimes 可推知McDonald’s是個吃東西的地方，因此答案為D。

4. C。事實細節題。根據 If you feel friendly towards this person, you can go with him and you needn’t pay for the meal可知答案為C可知。

5. A。推理判斷題。根據 An important question about eating out is who pays for the meal. If a friend of yours asks you to have lunch with him. You may say something like this…可知在吃飯前弄清楚誰買單是非常必要的，因此答案為A。