Question

Dear Managing Director,

As you know, money was recently received for improvements to the café, and the Board (董事会) has made some suggestions about how to spend it. The purpose of this letter is to show the reaction of the staff (全体员工) to your ideas and to present some suggestions of our own.

As we understand it, the Board has three main suggestions:

• to repaint the walls and hang curtains

• to buy longer tables and more chairs

• to brighten up the café with plants

We are very happy with the idea of repainting and curtains. This would certainly make the café more attractive. However, we do not feel that there is any need for new tables and chairs. The present furniture is in good condition and because the tables are small, they encourage a friendlier feeling than long tables would. As for plants, we feel the money could be better spent on other things. Our suggestions are:

• to buy a new dishwashing machine. The present machine is of poor quality and doesn't always clean the dishes well.

• to buy a new coffee machine. The present machine breaks down very often and takes a long time to get repaired.

Also, would it be possible to change our servicing company?

• to buy more salt and pepper sets so we have one for every table.

• to buy new staff uniforms. The present uniforms are uncomfortable and unattractive.

We hope that our suggestions will be given serious consideration, particularly those related to the two machines.

We look forward to discussing them with you at a convenient time.

Constanza Brookes, Staff Representative

1.What can we learn from the passage?

A. The staff agree to spend the money on plants.

B. The tables in the café provide a comfortable feeling.

C. The dishwashing machine must be repaired very often.

D. The staff think that curtains are unnecessary for the café.

2.Which of the following do the staff think is more important?

A. Buying more salt sets.

B. Making new uniforms.

C. Getting a new coffee machine.

D. Changing the servicing company.

Answer

1.B

2.C

【解析】

本文是一封信件，属于应用文。咖啡馆需要更新设备，员工向管理层提出自己的具体建议并说明了理由。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第三段The present furniture is in good condition and because the tables are small, they encourage a friendlier feeling than long tables would.可知员工们认为现在的桌子虽然小一点，但比长桌子更能带来友好的感觉，让人感觉更舒服。故B项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据员工建议中的前两条：

• to buy a new dishwashing machine. The present machine is of poor quality and doesn't always clean the dishes well.

• to buy a new coffee machine. The present machine breaks down very often and takes a long time to get repaired.

可知员工们认为现在餐厅里的洗碗机和咖啡机经常出故障，更需要购买新的机器替换旧机器。故C项正确。