Walking
around the corner and into the hall at three in the morning, lost in thought
and dragging a mop bucket, I raised my eyes to the front counter in
indifference. A man, looking to be in his mid 40’s, stood in a pink dress. A wide-edged hat stuck out over his massive frame resembling an umbrella that was a little too shabby and worn-out, making him look like a woman. The
shock at seeing such a strong proud man in a cheap disgusting dress broke my
heart, as well as frightened me.
Dropping my mop on the
floor in surprise and picking up my face that had temporarily fallen off, I
confidently walked over to the desk.
“I’m sorry,” I began to
say but was confused on whether sir or madam was appropriate. “Can I help you?”
“I need a room,” he said
in a gruff (粗啞的) powerful voice.
“Sure thing,” I said
bringing up the registry. “Can I get your last name?”
“Hurgan,” he said
briefly.
“And your first name?”
“Amanda.”
Suddenly I had to direct
all of my concentration on holding back a smile. A ten second pause of silence
passed while I tried to stay calm.
“Okay,” I said getting
back to the job, “can I get your phone number, Amanda?”
All
of the information was acquired and stored and Amanda received her room key for
the night. All was well as I returned to the neglected mop bucket. Suddenly a
low throaty cough drew me out of my temporary mental disorder. Looking over at
the desk where Amanda stood touching her thick biceps (二頭肌) I once again dropped
the mop in shock.
“I’m sorry about that,” I
said coming around to the desk. Amanda stared with unease twisting her sleeve
with her right index finger.
“I have a cat,” she said
in a low voice.
“I’m sorry you what?” I
asked leaning in closer. She drew back a bit as if I was some kind of threat.
“I have a cat.”
Looking up into her tall
frame, I replied, “That’s fine. We just need to add an extra $10 fee.” She
handed me her credit card once again. I swiped it, returned it, and grabbed the
printing receipt.
“You just need to sign
here,” I said handing over the pen. She hesitantly grabbed it from my hand and
signed. As she began to return it, my hand came a bit too close to connecting
with hers. Scared and possibly a little disgusted she dropped the pen, causing
it to bounce off the counter and onto the floor.
“Sorry,” she said,
looking down. “I have to go get my cat.”
While Amanda was getting
her cat, an unpleasant thought was circling around my head. Here I was just
doing my job and this, this WO-MAN was acting as if I was the monster! He was
wearing a pink dress! And I was the monster? Was he even still a man? The
sliding doors opened and in came Amanda passing the front desk without even
giving me a polite nod.
1. The story most probably happened at a ________.
A. pub B.
hotel C.
hospital D. shop
2.We can conclude that the author’s attitude towards the man is
_______.
A. objective B.
indifferent C. critical D.
considerate
3. Which of the following statements is true according to the
passage?
A. The author was on the edge of
smiling when he heard the man’s first name.
B. When the man checked in, he
tipped the author $10.
C. After signing, the man grasped
the author’s hand and thanked him.
D. The man gave the author a
friendly nod while going toward his room.
4. What might be the best title of this passage?
A. A disgusting cat B.
A considerate waiter
C. A fierce monster D.
A strange-looking WO-MAN