Question

If you ever go to the US and eat at a restaurant, there’s a very important difference you should know about. US people have a custom to give money to waiters and waitresses as a tip for their work.

But why is this? Shouldn’t waiters get paid enough by their bosses? Well, many waiters and waitresses get paid below the US minimum wage (最低工资) and work for tips to make up for that. According to the American travel website TripAdvisor, some states pay their servers (服务员) only $2.13 (about 14 yuan) per hour.

While no one makes you tip, if you are at a sit-down restaurant, it is usually expected that you tip your waiter 15 to 20 percent of what your bill is.

It’s not just for waiters either. Hotel maids, hairdressers and taxi drivers also usually work for tips. But it is much more expected to tip waiters.

The US hasn’t always had this tipping culture. In fact, people were mostly against it until the Prohibition Era (禁酒令时代) in the 1920s. The government said no one could sell alcohol (酒). Then, restaurants had trouble making enough money. So they started to ask people to tip their waiters.

This tipping culture has lasted through the years, but most people don’t like it. Some think restaurant bosses use it as an excuse to not pay their workers well. There isn’t much action being taken to make a change yet. So for now, be sure to tip your waiter when in the US.

1.If a server works eight hours a day, he can get from his boss.

A. $2.13 B. $17.04 C. ￥14

2.Besides waiters and waitresses, also works for tips in the US.

A. customers B. taxi drivers C. restaurant bosses

3.When the restaurants couldn’t sell alcohol, .

A. they were bankrupt (破产的) and closed down

B. the bosses still made much money

C. they started to ask people to tip

4.We can learn from the passage that .

A. the waiters and waitresses aren’t well paid in the US

B. the custom of giving tips only appears in the US

C. all Americans are glad to tip their waiters

5.About American’s tipping culture, foreign visitors think .

A. they need to fight for their own rights

B. they should “do as the Romans do”

C. they can leave it alone

Answer 1