I’ve gotten used to travelling alone over the past few years, and have found it’s something I quite enjoy most of the time. One thing I still find difficult though is eating alone in foreign restaurants, especially during main dining hours, such as a Saturday night. And yet, that’s the position I found myself in last night, wanting to enjoy a final Parisian meal of oysters（牡蛎）. I headed to a spot close to my house. But, to my dismay, when I arrived around 8:15 it as if the restaurant were already full. And worse, everyone was eating with someone else, and all of a sudden I got a kind of lonely and sad feeling. But I wanted my oysters, so I asked a waiter, “Would it be possible to find a seat for me?”
He said, “It is quite full, but for you I will find a place!” I waited and he quickly returned and asked me to follow him. He pulled out a table next to another couple. This couple was using one of the chairs of my table to store their things, and as the waiter pulled out my chair, the gentleman began to remove his belongings. I told him it wasn’t necessary.
“You are alone?” He asked me. “Yes,” I said. And then the waiter came up.
“No! You are not alone! Now you are here, dining with us!” he said, smiling, and with a gesture of his hand indicating the restaurant.
It was perhaps one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I settled into my seat and watched the families and couples enjoying their dinner while I slurped the last briny oysters of my visit. And the feeling of being alone was forgotten.
【小题1】The underlined word “dismay” in the first paragraph most probably means “______”.| A．concern | B．surprise | C．satisfaction | D．disappointment |
| A．Because he wanted to use the chair. |
| B．Because he wanted to use these things. |
| C．Because he thought that the author needed the chair. |
| D．Because he wanted to invite the author to join them. |
| A．kind but silly | B．gentle and thoughtful |
| C．noisy but polite | D．funny and humorous |
| A．felt very comfortable and satisfied |
| B．forgot to enjoy the delicious oysters |
| C．still felt lonely when she was eating oysters |
| D．enjoyed sharing foods with others in the restaurant |
