【题目】 In his 1930 essay Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren, John Keynes, a famous economist, wrote that human needs fall into two classes: absolute needs, which are independent of what others have, and relative needs, which make us feel superior to our fellows. He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable(无止境的), this is not true of absolute needs.

Keynes was surely correct that only a small part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority. He was greatly mistaken, however, in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands.

Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demand for almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner, for example, the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals.

There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demands for quality. For example, Porsche, a famous car producer, has a model which was considered perhaps the best sports car on the market. Priced at over $120,000, it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration. But in 2004, the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling acceleration. People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting. To get them, however, they must pay almost four times the price.

By placing the desire/span> to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands, Keynes actually reduced such demands. However, the desire for higher quality has no natural limits.

【1】According to the passage, John Keynes believed that .

A. desire is the root of both absolute and relative needs

B. absolute needs come from our sense of superiority

C. relative needs alone lead to insatiable demands

D. absolute needs are stronger than relative needs

【2】What do we know about the couple in Paragraph 3?

A. They want to show their superiority.

B. They find specialty important to meals.

C. Their demands for food are not easily satisfied.

D. Their choice of dinner is related to ideas of quality

【3】 What does the underlined word escalation in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Understanding B. Increase

C. Difference D. Study

【4】The author of the passage mainly argues that .

A. absolute needs have no limits

B. demands for quality are not insatiable

C. human desires influence ideas of quality

D. relative needs decide most of our spending

【题目】A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had ___ a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well ___it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day___, the young man awaited ___ that his father had purchased the car. ___, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. He handed his son a ___ wrapped gift box.

Curious,and somewhat ___, the young man opened the pretty box and found a lovely,leatherbound book,with the young man’s name embossed(凸印)in gold.

Angrily,he raised his ___ at his father and said, “With all your money ,you give me a used book?”He then ___ out of the house.

Many years passed and the young man was very ___ in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but ___ his father was very old, he thought perhaps he ___ go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.

Before he could make ___, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and ___ all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.He began to ___ through his father’s important papers and saw the gift—a ___ wrapped book ,just as he had ___ it years ago.With tears,he open the book and began to turn the ___. His father underlined a verse,”...know how to give good gifts to your children...”

As he read those words,a car key ___ from the back of the book.He picked it up. It had a tag(标牌) with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had wanted. On the tag was the date of his ___, and the words PAID IN FULL.

【1】 A.designed B.possessed C.admired D.booked

【2】 A.afford B.support C.offer D.manage

【3】A.arrived B.approached C.ended D.closed

【4】 A.signals B.signs C.promises D.agreements

【5】 A.Gradually B.Hopefully C.Luckily D.Finally

【6】 A.beautifully B.strangely C.commonly D.fairly

【7】 A.amazed B.annoyed C.surprised D.disappointed

【8】 A.head B.hands C.voice D.eyes

【9】 A.slipped B.stormed C.broke D.stepped

【10】 A.interested B.generous C.successfully D.professional

【11】 A.remembered B.reminded C.refused D.realized

【12】A.would B.could C.should D.might

【13】 A.arrangements B.choices C.decisions D.achievements

【14】A.restricted B.abandoned C.willed D.donated

【15】 A.get B.pass C.follow D.research

【16】 A.still B.already C.even D.ever

【17】 A.deivered B.left C. imagined D.found

【18】A.pages B.passages C.words D.pictures

【19】 A.occurred B.turned C.dropped D.extended

【20】 A.wedding B.graduation C.return D.birthday

【题目】The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother. My ____ began when I was just a kid. I ____ becoming a doctor.

My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that ____ people spent a lot more time reading than they ____ watching television. She announced that my brother and I ____ watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and ____ to her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later we realized her marks were a ____. My mother was illiterate.

When I entered high school I was a(n) ____, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to ____ the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student. One night my mother came home and I ____ about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, "Okay, I'll give you all the money make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy food for ____ and pay the bills. With everything ____ , you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want. "I was very ____ with that arrangement but once I got through allocating money, there was ____ left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to ____ our heads and any kind of food on the table, and to live a better life. I also realized that ____ satisfaction wasn't going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation. I went back to my ____ and became an A-student again, and eventually I ____ my dream and I became a doctor.

My story is really my mother's story -- a woman with ____ formal education or property who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around. There is no job ____ than parenting. This is what I believe in.

【1】A.belief B.work C.education D.promise

【2】A.majored in B.got used to C.dreamed of D.got tired of

【3】A.lazy B.easy-going C.successful D.reliable

【4】A.cost B.paid C.took D.did

【5】A.could only B.could not C.must not D.should often

【6】A.read B.present C.teach D.explain

【7】A.joke B.means C.tool D.trick

【8】A.A-student B.B-student C.C-student D.D-student

【9】A.get rid of B.hang out with

C.break away from D.keep in touch with

【10】A.worried B.thought C.complained D.heard

【11】A.your brother B.yourself C.your sister D.the family

【12】A.left over B.put off C.used up D.carried out

【13】A.angry B.pleased C.disappointed D.bored

【14】A.anything B.everything C.something D.nothing

【15】A.put an idea into B.give an impression on

C.keep a roof over D.have eyes in the back of

【16】A.immediate B.great C.much D.last

【17】A.guys B.mother C.studies D.play

【18】A.made B.fulfilled C.changed D.tried

【19】A.little B.much C.few D.high

【20】A.more interesting B.1ess important

C.more important D.less interesting

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