题目内容
A 26-year-old Montreal man appears to have succeeded in his quest to barter a single， red paper clip(夹子) all the way up to a house. It took almost a year and 14 trades， but Kyle MacDonald has been offered a two-storey farmhouse in Kipling， Sask.， for a paid role in a movie.
MacDonald began his quest last summer when he decided he wanted to live in a house. He didn’t have a job， so instead of posting a resumé， he looked at a red paper clip on his desk and decided to trade it on an Internet website. The response was immediate —a fish pen was offered for exchange. MacDonald then bartered the fish pen for a handmade doorknob from a potter in Seattle.
In Massachusetts， MacDonald traded the doorknob for a camp stove. He traded the stove to a U.S. soldier in California for a generator. Then he exchanged the generator for an “instant party kit” — an empty keg(小桶) and an illuminated Budweiser beer sign. MacDonald then traded the keg and sign for a snowmobile. He bartered all the way up to an afternoon with rock star Alice Cooper， a KISS snow globe and finally a paid role in a Corbin Bernsen movie.
“Now， I’m sure the first question on your mind is， ‘Why would Corbin Bernsen trade a role in a film for a snow globe？ A KISS snow globe，’ MacDonald said on his website.”Well， Corbin happens to be arguably one of the biggest snow globe collectors on the planet.
Now， the town of Kipling， Sask.， Canada， with a population of 1,100，has offered MacDonald a farmhouse in exchange for the role in the movie. The town is going to hold a competition for the movie role.
MacDonald said： “There’re people all over the world that are saying that they have paper clips clipped to the top of their computer， or on their desk or on their shirt， and it proves that anything is possible and I think to a certain degree it’s true.”
MacDonald， who has attracted international media attention in his quest， said the journey has turned out to be more exciting than the goal. “This is not the end. This may be the end of this part of the story， but this story will go on.”
【小题1】The best title for this passage is “ ”.
| A．A lucky paper clip | B．From poor to rich |
| C．A lucky young man | D．From paper clip to house |
| A．to get something for free | B．to sell something at a price |
| C．to sell goods on the Internet | D．to exchange goods for other goods |
| A．Paper clip?snow globe?snowmobile?house |
| B．Paper clip?keg of beer?doorknob?snowmobile |
| C．Paper clip?camp stove?snowmobile?movie role |
| D．Paper clip?keg of beer?camp stove?snowmobile |
| A．All of his trades were done in his country. |
| B．A film role was offered due to Bernsen’s hobby. |
| C．They took over a year and some of them were really unbelievable. |
| D．The house in Kipling has been offered to MacDonald to attract media. |
| A．He wanted to gain fame through his quest. |
| B．His success largely depended on the Internet. |
| C．He never expected his aim could be achieved. |
| D．He intends to begin another quest on the Web. |
【小题1】D
【小题2】D
【小题3】C
【小题4】B
【小题5】B
解析
London Thursday July 26(Reuters)--Ian Johnstone missed his girlfriend so much that he flew back to Britain from Australia to propose to her．The problem is that she flew in the opposite direction．
He and Amy Dolby even managed to miss each other when they sat in the same airport waiting-room in Singapore at the same time to wait for connecting flights.
Dolby，heartbroken when she arrived at Johnstone’s Sydney apartment to find he had flown to London，told the Times：“It was as though someone was playing a cruel joke on us.He is the most romantic person I have ever known．I think our problem is that we are both quite impulsive(冲动的)people.We are always trying to surprise each other．”
After an 11，000-mile flight across the globe，she was greeted by Johnstone’s astonished flatmate asking what she was doing there.
“The terrible truth dawned when I found that Lan’s rucksack and most of his clothes were missing.I sat on the end of his bed and cried my eyes out．And that really annoyed me，”she said．
Johnstone，a 27-year-old bricklayer，had taken a year off to travel round Australia．But he was missing Dolby，a 26-year-old secretary，so much he got a job on a Sydney building site and started saving for a surprise.
He then flew home to Britain and went to her apartment armed with an engagement ring，champagne and flowers．
“I really missed Amy and I’d been thinking about her all the time．I thought she was winding me up when she phoned me from Australia．”he said．
Johnstone then asked Dolby to marry him on the phone．“I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but I accepted，”she said．
Dolby was given a short tour of Sydney by Johnstone’s friends and Johnstone had to stay in Britain for two weeks because he could not change his ticket．
【小题1】According to the text，it seemed that .
| A．Johnstone and Dolby could have seen each other in the same airport waiting-room in Singapore |
| B．the couple pretended not to see each other in the same airport waiting-room in Singapore |
| C．the young lovestruck couple had both intended to propose to each other |
| D．Dolby stayed longer in Sydney than Johnstone stayed in Britain |
| A．Johnstone was not as impulsive as Dolby |
| B．Johnstone got a job in Sydney in order to start saving money for a surprise to Dolby |
| C．Dolby was heartbroken because someone was playing a cruel joke on her |
| D．Dolby was greeted by Johnstone’s flatmate at the airport |
| A．excitement，anger and shyness |
| B．sadness，happiness and surprise |
| C．love,hatred and nevousness |
| D．cheer，regret and annoyance |
a.Johnstone flew back to Britain to propose to his girlfriend，Amy Dolby．
b.Johnstone started working at a Sydney building site．
c.Johnstone went to Amy’s apartment in Britain with an engagement ring．
d.Johnstone proposed to Dolby over the phone．
e.They were waiting for their connecting flight in the airport in Singapore．
f.Dolby called Johnstone from Australia．
| A．b—a—d—e—c—f | B．c—a—b—e—f—d |
| C．b—a—e—c—f—d | D．b—a—f—e—c—d |
While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruiningg their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, certainly share their disappointment : my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we two are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought what planet she is living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story is disappointed that he can’t afford to get a Ph. D in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be increasing, Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.
This recession(经济衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful---for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day---than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
1.. What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
|
A．They expect everything to be easy for them. |
|
B．They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans. |
|
C．They are unwilling to face all of the challenges. |
|
D．They are burdened by student loans. |
2.. The underlined word “fertility” in paragraph 3 probably means“_____”.
|
A．baby production |
B．pleasant |
C．baby comfort |
D．comfortable |
3.. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the complaints of the 20-somethings?
|
A．They can’t have children for at least a decade a decade to buy a house. |
|
B．They have only a one-bedroom apartment to live in. |
|
C．They can’t buy a house until 40 and are burdened by student loans. |
|
D．They despair at not being able to afford a PH. D in literature. |
4.. What’s the Kobliner’s attitude towards the 20-somethings with high expectations?
|
A．Unbearable |
B．Opposite |
C．Doubtful |
D．Understanding |
5.What is the best title for this passage?
|
A．Young people afford to continue their study |
|
B．Young people can’t afford to buy a house |
|
C．Young people’s high hopes create despair |
|
D．The 20-somethings’ high expectations |