【推荐2】A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn’t want to have to go back there every night, so she rented (租用) an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture (家具) and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours.

It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter’s bill. At the bottom of it were the words “Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance,£3,” with this note： “After 5 p.m. I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings.”

Driving a car at high speed along a highway seems to be fun. You need only to follow the bright traffic signs beside the highways and it will take you to where you wish.

But to a London taxi driver, driving is not an easy job. A taxi driver has to have not only good driving skills but also a good knowledge of the city of a London, from the smallest lane to the most popular bar around. He has to be at the service of all kinds of passengers at all times.

A certain London taxi driver told of his job as follows.

During the night it is quite usual for him to stop two or three times for some refreshments (点心). He said. “I never drink when I’m working -- I would lose my licence.”

He normally goes home between 2 and 3 o’clock in the night. There are times he has to stay longer and try to make more runs. He said, “That’s the worst thing about working for yourself. If you don’t make the money, no one is going to give it to you.”

London taxi drivers not only ‘take’ but also ‘give’ , Every summer hundreds of children from London will go for a day at the sea-- by taxi! Their rides are paid by the taxi drivers, and these fares all go to the ‘London Taxi Fund for Underprivileged Children.’ At the sea. they are met by the mayor, and a lunch party is also held in honour of the taxi drivers and the children. After a happy day running around the sea beaches and visiting the market, the children go home again- by taxi, and free of charge, of course!

Wealthy Chinese do not have a good reputation（=fame）, a survey by China Youth Daily and Sina.com has found.

The poll（民意调查）, conducted last week, showed about 70 percent of 3,990 interviewees believe the well-off are immoral and not worthy of respect. Only 4 percent thought rich people are good, the survey said.

For the rich, to become popular, they need to do three things, the survey suggested.

First, they need to have a sense of social responsibility. Second, they need to be self -disciplined, and third, they need to have a caring heart.

The number of people who make at least $50,000 a year increases by 15 percent a year and, according to the China Economic Times, the country now has 1.5 million rich people.

The China Youth Daily and Sina.com survey found interviewees questioned how the rich became rich in the first place.

“Some rich people are thought to have accumulated（积累）their wealth through illegal means, such as bribery,” said a post-graduate student at the Communication University of China.

Even so, the survey found wealthy people who abide by（遵守） the law, have a sense of social responsibility and a caring heart, are respected.

The poll showed about 60 percent thought these kinds of wealthy people were worthy of respect.

The survey suggested many voters were much better disposed（怀有好感的）toward rich people from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Western economies——rather than the mainland.

Hong Kong property tycoon（大亨） Li Ka-shing was most highly regarded, followed by Bill Gates, mainland property tycoon Wang Shi and basketball player Yao Ming.

“Rich people on the mainland invest too little in charity and gain too much,” a student from Beijing Sports University said.

Yu Guoming, a professor at Renmin University of China, called on the heads of Chinese companies to think and invest in a long-term way. “Social responsibility is not only about charity, it also connects the company with the government and the public.”

【推荐2】As COVID-19 broke out and spread in the world, many countries are changing their social habits to reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus(新型冠状病毒). Here are some of the ways that greeting habits are changing around the world.

China

Loudspeakers tell people not to shake hands but to make the traditional gongshou gesture(a fist in the opposite palm) to say hello.

France

France is famous for its romantic greetings. They touch each other's cheeks and make a kissing sound. But now, this habit may be coming to a stop. Newspapers in France have begun publishing advice on how to replace kissing on the cheek. French etiquette(礼仪) expert Philippe Lichtfus said that simply looking into a person's eyes can be enough as a greeting.

Spain

The outbreak could also hit one of Spain's most important traditions—in the week before Easter, known as Holy Week, the faithful (信徒) queue up to kiss the hands or feet of sculptures of the Virgin Mary and the saints, seeking their protection. It's said that the ceremony could be banned.

Iran

Traditionally, people in Iran shake hands to greet one another. But today, a video has been popular in Iran, showing three friends meeting, hands in their pockets and two of them wearing masks, tapping their feet against each other as a greeting.