Rock stars and their money

         Around the world young people are spending unbelievable sums of money listening to rock music. Forbes reports that at least fifty rock stars have incomes between two million and six million dollars per year.

         "It doesn't make sense," says Johnny Mathis, one of the older music millionaires, who made a million dollars a year when he was popular in 1950s. "Performers aren't worth this kind of money. In fact, nobody is."

         But the rock stars' admirers seem to disagree. Those who love rock music spend about two billion dollars a year for records. They pay 150 million to see rock stars in person.

         Luck is a key word for explaining the success of many. In 1972 one of the luckiest was Kon Mclean, who wrote and sang "American Pie". Mclean writes his own music, so he earns an additional two cents on every single record of the song.

         Neil Young who performs in torn blue jeans, sometimes sings to an audience of 10,000, each of whom has paid five dollars for a ticket. After paying expenses, Young leaves with about $ 18,000 in his blue jeans at the end of an evening.

         How do the rock stars use their money? What do they do when the money starts pouring in like water? Most of the young stars simply show the money around. England's Elton John gave someone a $ 38,000 Rolls car and bought himself 5,000 pairs of eyeglasses, then lighted up and spelt :E-L-T-O-N. He also bought himself two cars, "one for each foot".

         Many rock stars live like Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane. Those performers return from a tour, pay their bills, and buy new toys. Then when they need money again, they do another tour. They save no money and live from hand to mouth.www.zxxk.com

         In the end the rock stars' life is unrewarding. After two or three years riches and fame are gone. Left with his memories and his tax problems, the lonely star spends his remaining years trying to attract strangers. New stars have arrived to take his place.

1. This passage is mainly about       .

A. the success of a rock star     B. the way rock stars live

C. rich rock stars              D. the admirers of rock stars

2. How much expense does Neil Young pay for a performance?

A.  $10,000       B.$33,000    C.  $32,000            D.$38,000

3.According to passage, the underlined phrase "from hand to mouth" means       .

A. they have to earn money by hand   

B. They know how to spend money in a reasonable way

C. they earn money only for their immediate enjoyment

D. they steal to feed their mouth when they need money

 

It’s a goal for millions and millions of families every year——keep the Christmas spending within a certain amount, but can still afford the gifts that your loved ones will enjoy. Never has this concern been greater in recent years than right now. Even so, there are several things that you can do to help.

         Hit the sales.

No one wants to get up at four o’clock in the morning and fight to get the best deal on Black Friday, and it’s surely very tough to pick up the courage and get out there in the cold for a good deal, but sometimes——it can be well worth. Many retailers(零售商) offer specials all through the day——and some even offer online Black Friday specials, so you may still be able to get a great deal on Black Friday.

         Pay close attention to advertisements.

Once the Christmas shopping season is coming, retailers hungry for business will do just about whatever to get you in the store. Pay very close attention to weekly advertisements of sales among the major retailers and you may be lucky enough to find different prices for the same thing in different shops.

         Shop online.

Some of us don’t like running from store to store in order to get the best price on the perfect gift, and some of us don’t like to go out in the cold at all——thankfully for us, we can do online shopping.

         The world of online shopping lets people visit all the major retailers as well as some specialty stores that could only be found on the Internet. Customers can find exactly what they are looking for, at the best possible price without ever having to leave the house. With traditional Christmas shopping consumers are sometimes limited to what’s left in stock if they wait too long to get to a particular store.

1. The first paragraph implies that ______.

         A. nowadays not many people can afford expensive gifts

         B. recently many people don’t want to spend money on gifts

         C. Christmas is a time to make our loved ones enjoy their gifts

         D. Christmas is a time to make us feel free to buy our loved ones gifts

2. In the writer’s opinion, it is rewarding on Black Friday _____.

         A. if the weather is not very cold                       B. if we don’t have to fight for the best deals

         C. if we don’t have to get up early                     D. If we get what we want at a good price

 

3.The underlined word “specials” means_______.

         A. some experts in shopping                               B. certain things for especially low price

         C. some kind of help for a certain customer   D. things that can only be found on Friday

4. We can have more choices _____.

         A. on Black Friday                                                   B. in a particular store

         C. on the Internet                                                  D. from retailers

5.In this passage the writer means ______.

         A. to tell us the best way to do shopping

B. to attract more readers to do wise shopping

         C. to show us how hard it is to do Christmas shopping

         D. to give us advice on how to get a good deal at Christmas time

 

It’s a goal for millions and millions of families every year——keep the Christmas spending within a certain amount, but can still afford the gifts that your loved ones will enjoy. Never has this concern been greater in recent years than right now. Even so, there are several things that you can do to help.

       Hit the sales.

       No one wants to get up at four o’clock in the morning and fight to get the best deal on Black Friday, and it’s surely very tough to pick up the courage and get out there in the cold for a good deal, but sometimes——it can be well worth. Many retailers(零售商) offer specials all through the day——and some even offer online Black Friday specials, so you may still be able to get a great deal on Black Friday.

       Pay close attention to advertisements.

       Once the Christmas shopping season is coming, retailers hungry for business will do just about whatever to get you in the store. Pay very close attention to weekly advertisements of sales among the major retailers and you may be lucky enough to find different prices for the same thing in different shops.

       Shop online.

       Some of us don’t like running from store to store in order to get the best price on the perfect gift, and some of us don’t like to go out in the cold at all——thankfully for us, we can do online shopping.

       The world of online shopping lets people visit all the major retailers as well as some specialty stores that could only be found on the Internet. Customers can find exactly what they are looking for, at the best possible price without ever having to leave the house. With traditional Christmas shopping consumers are sometimes limited to what’s left in stock if they wait too long to get to a particular store.

1.The first paragraph implies that ______.

       A. nowadays not many people can afford expensive gifts

       B. recently many people don’t want to spend money on gifts

       C. Christmas is a time to make our loved ones enjoy their gifts

       D. Christmas is a time to make us feel free to buy our loved ones gifts

2.In the writer’s opinion, it is rewarding on Black Friday _____.

       A. if the weather is not very cold                B. if we don’t have to fight for the best deals

       C. if we don’t have to get up early                     D. If we get what we want at a good price

3.The underlined word “specials” means_______.

       A. some experts in shopping                       B. certain things for especially low price

       C. some kind of help for a certain customer D. things that can only be found on Friday

4.We can have more choices _____.

       A. on Black Friday                                    B. in a particular store

       C. on the Internet                                      D. from retailers

 

5.In this passage the writer means ______.

       A. to tell us the best way to do shopping

B. to attract more readers to do wise shopping

       C. to show us how hard it is to do Christmas shopping

       D. to give us advice on how to get a good deal at Christmas time

 

(D)

As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have.It’s likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen will have a washing machine and a microwave oven.Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.

Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for.Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world.They feel that the long-hour work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes.Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting_is one of them.

Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz.They used to work in central London.He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank.They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs (郊区), leaving their two children with a nanny(保姆).Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings.They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.

Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales.“I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift.It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it.We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays.However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.”

Liz, however, is not quite sure.“I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours.I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals.One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children.My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”

68.What do the first two paragraphs tell us?

A.People seldom work long hours to make money.      

B.People hardly buy more things than necessary.

C.People are sure everything they own is in the right place.

D.People realize more is involved in life than just making money.

69.Daniel agrees that the move to the farm __________.

A.was easy to organize               B.has improved family life

C.was extremely expensive           D.has been a total success

70.The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph means ________.

A.repairing your car by yourself

B.spending money carefully

C.moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life

D.living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week

 

 

 

Here's a scene:a village where the sun always shines,crops always grow and your friends drop by to sweep your yard to the sound of guitar music.Animals do what they are told,there is no disease,and lendin’ folks a helpin’hand makes you richer and wiser.Welcome to FarmVille—

Current population 69m and rising fast.

 “It reminds me of my childhood,”says one player, Lia Curran,37,a nurse from London.“Right now I'm growing wheat and flowers. I've got a small garden, and I'm raising some chickens and some cows. I like having the animals. It's relaxing.” Curran's animals, however, is nothing more than a collection of cartoons. FarmVille is an online computer game built into the social networking site Facebook and is described by its players as “addictive”. Launched last June by Zynga Game Network, FarmVille now has many players—more than the population of the UK. The players are largely women over the age of 35.

FarmVille unites the worlds of social networking and gaming.Players are given a ground with six fields,“cash”,a few seeds and a plough and have to build up wealth,skills and neighbors to create bigger,better,richer farms.Inviting your online friends to play means you earn more and get flee gifts;you rise rapidly through the first levels but,once hooked,have to work harder and harder with no final level or goal in sight.

“Games like this draw people into a fantasy world that's separate from real life where there are no issues,and where things are simple and controllable,” Brian Dudley says.In November,he opened the UK's first computer games addiction clinic,treating online gamers who stayed at the keyboard for up to eight hours a day—“the tip of the iceberg”,he says.Two weeks ago,a group of US players launched a class action against Zynga and Facebook.“Most,if not all,of the online advertisements presented through Zynga are scams(骗局),”the lawsuit states.“The advertisements are highly misleading and often result in users ordering goods or services that they do not want or need.”

According to Nick O'neill from the social media site All Facebook,Zynga is making $500,000(£304,000)a day,from its Facebook games,in turn spending some $50m(£30m)a year on Facebook ads.

If all that weren't enough,FarmVille doesn't even function like a proper farm:in FarmVille,wheat grows in two days—in real life,it takes months.But play continues nevertheless.

68.If you want to create a better and richer farm,you should do the following EXCEPT that   ____.

A.you have to work harder and harder

B.you should pay real—world money to advance in the game

C.you should invite your online friends and neighbors to play

D.you should develop your skills and befriend FarmVille neighbors

69.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A.Most young girls are fascinated by the farming game.

B.Money Zynga has made is mostly spent on advertising campaign.

C.There is potential threat to the players and some players are misled by the advertisements.

D.The UK's first computer games addiction clinic was opened to help treat online players.

70.The purpose of the class action against Zynga and Facebook was to_____.

A.show that Zynga has an extremely tight relationship with Facebook

B.try to stop Zynga and Facebook from putting advertisements

C.attract more people to FarmVille game to plant crops

D.appeal to the public to order more goods or services

 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网