【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】 Top lists are lecturing people on everything from 100 places to visit to 100 books to read. Arent you just tired of being told what to do with your time?

Now you have a list to end all lists!

Take a look at the following two examples from the list of 101 thins not to do:

Swim with Dolphins?

Swimming with dolphins is one of the worlds most profitable tourist activities. However, every dolphin will welcome having their busy, tiring day interrupted by tourists screaming pushing around them in the water. Worse yet, when dolphins get too near to the boats loaded tourists, they could get caught up in ropes and killed by propellers(螺旋桨).

Heres a little secret. Dolphins look like smiling at you, but actually theyre just opening mouths.

Go to see the Mona Lisa?

There must be something about the mysterious smile. The 6 million people who visit the lady in the Louvre every year cant all be wrong, after all. But they can be quite annoying, standing in front of you, holding up their cameras to prevent you from seeing anything. In fact, it is hard for you to see the painting clearly because you have to stay away from it for security reasons. After queuing for hours, many tourists can remain in front of the painting only for 15 seconds most.

If the mysterious lady in the picture knew her fate, she wouldnt just be smiling, shed be laughing.

So, still long to see the Mona Lisa? If you want to find out more about the list, read 101 Things NOT to Do Before You Die. Visit www. not2dobeforeidie. co. uk and buy the book at a 20% discount.

【1】According to the passage, swimming with dolphins .

A. is the worlds most popular tourist activity

B. gives fun to both tourists and dolphins

C. will make tourists busy and tired

D. can cause danger to dolphins

【2】What does the author think about going to see the Mona Lisa?

A. It is wrong to go and see the mysterious smile.

B. It is not as satisfying as expected.

C. Fifteen seconds in front of the painting is enough.

D. Queuing for hours is worthwhile.

【3】The list of 101 things not to do is made most probably because its author .

A. thinks it boring to do the things suggested by other lists

B. believes other lists are not humorous enough

C. intends to persuade people to read more lists

D. wants to provide a list different from other lists

【4】 What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To advertise a book.

B. To introduce a website.

C. To comment on popular lists.

D. To recommend tourist activities.

【题目】 A villa designed to resist earthquakes with self-healing cracks in its walls, thanks to nanotechnology applications with self healing polymers(聚合物), is to be built on a Greek mountainside. The villas walls will include special particles that turn into a liquid when squeezed under pressure, flow into cracks, and then harden to form a solid material.

The Nano Manufacturing Institute (NMI), based in Leeds University, will play a key role in an EU project to construct the home by December 2010. The project, called Intelligent Safe and Secure Building(ISSB) is funded under the EUs Sixth Framework program. This potentially life saving scheme is led by German building manufacturer Knauf. The villa will be built in Amphilochia, in western Greece, where Knauf currently runs a manufacturing plant. If the experiment is successful, more tremor-resistant(防震)homes could be built in earthquake zones across the globe. NMI chief executive Professor Terry Wilkins said, What we’re trying to achieve here is very exciting. Were looking to use polymers in much tougher situations than ever before on a larger scale. Monitors contained in the villas walls will be able to collect vast amounts of data about the building over time.

Wireless sensors and Leeds designed radio frequency identity tags will record any stresses and vibrations, as well as temperature, humidity and gas level. The walls are to be built from novel load-bearing steel frames and high strength gypsum board. Professor Wilkins said, If there are any problems, the intelligent sensor network will be able to alert residents immediately so they have time to escape. If whole groups of houses are so constructed, we could use a larger network of sensors to get even more information. If the house falls down, we have got hand-held devices that can be used over the rubble to pick out where the embedded(嵌入的)sensors are hidden to get some information about how the villa collapsed. Also, we can get information about anyone who may be around, so it potentially becomes a tool for rescue.

【1】The aim of the passage is to .

A. report a piece of interesting news

B. promote tremor-resistant homes

C. inform us of the nanotechnology development

D. tell us about a tremor resistant home

【2】The villa can resist earthquakes because .

A. it will be built on a special place

B. the cracks in its walls can be healed by the polymers

C. the special particles can make its walls stronger

D. the intelligent sensor network can tell people where there is a crack

【3】If the tremor resistant home falls down, .

A. no one can be hurt in the earthquake

B. the intelligent sensor network will stop working

C. rescue work can be done more quickly and accurately

D. a warning signal will be given to other residents

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