《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit89:拒绝小费的中国

　　Unit 89

There's No Tipping in China

After living and teaching in China for 10 months, my wife and I returned to California to visit our children and friends. Many of them asked what we liked most about China. The friendly people, the wonderful food, and the beautiful sights were at the top of our list. Then one night, after yet another restaurant dinner with friends, I realized that there was one other thing that I really liked about China: No tipping.

Tipping is a subject that has long interested and irritated me.

Many people think that the word "tip" is acronym 1 "to insure promptness". However, this is not possible. Since the practice of tipping began in England in the Middle Ages, scholars have not been able to find any acronyms 2 much earlier than the 20th century. Most scholars trace the word "tip" back to the early 1600s, where it originated as criminal slang. It referred to inside information. The word gradually evolved to the point where, in the late 1700s, it meant to give a monetary 3 gratuity 4 to someone for service performed. That's where it stayed until the English immigrated 5 to North America.

In America, the three basic occupations that require tipping are waiters/waitresses, taxi drivers, and barbers. The standard tip is now between 15 and 20 per cent of the bill, depending on the quality of service. Why these three particular services deserve this special treatment is a mystery to me. Why am I supposed to tip a waiter for bring me food when I'm not expected to tip the flight attendant on an airplane for doing the same thing? Why am I supposed to tip a taxi drive, but I'm not expected to tip the bus driver? Why am I supposed to tip the barber for cutting my hair but not the dentist for fixing my teeth? I have been a teacher for 39 years. No one has ever tipped me after a particularly successful class or lecture.

The whole concept of tipping doesn't make any sense. I have heard that there are some expensive restaurants in major cities in the US where the restaurant does not give the waiters any salary at all due to the large amounts of the tips. In fact, in some instances, I heard that the waiters actually pay the restaurant a small fee for the opportunity to collect the large tips.

The tipping problem in many European countries is solved by automatically adding a 15 per cent gratuity to the bill. I prefer the Chinese solution: No tipping at all.

When I was visiting the US this summer, I went out to dinner several times with friends. Having spent 10 month in China not even thinking about tipping, I found it irritating to have to spend extra money on the meal -- especially when the amount of the tip would every often buy a meal in China. While I understand why China, as a developing nation, has adopted many Western customs, I hope the Chinese are wise enough to never start the unnecessary practice of tipping.