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(约会) 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.
小题1:In the old days _______ often paid for all the meals.
A．women
B．men
C．university students
D．businessmen小题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小题3: “McDonald’s” here means _______.
A．a tea house
B．a gate
C．an office
D．an eating place小题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小题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
