题目内容
The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose(夸大的)words.“Outstanding” is the
new “good,” “amazing” is the new “OK, ” and “huge” is the new “big.”
I was in a restaurant in Washington D.C.last weekend and every question I asked was answered with exaggeration.
Me:How is the salmon?
Sever:Fantastic!
Me:Does it come with rice?
Sever:Absolutely!
Would a “good” and a “yes” have been enough? Of course!
My father is an average-sized man.He hasn’t gained weight or height for the past 30 years. Therefore, his size remains the same.However,in the same amount of time,his T-shirt size has gone from small to medium to large to extra large.
The reason for the exaggerated word is clear:we are bored with our lives. We want the next
—next thing now.Immediately!
And we also want others to think that we still care,that we can still be delighted,that we know that everything is just great.Even when deep inside we know it can’t be.Everything can’t be great.
I’m not a scientist,so many methods of proof leave little to be desired,or a lot to be desired,or an immensity(无限).
Listen to the voices around you.Listen to your own voices.There is nothing on the radio that is good or bad,weather is either beautiful or horrible.
Listen,the next time when someone asks you something and you agree,because when you
could simply say “yes”, instead you will say “absolutely’’ or “without doubt ” or “Oh,yeah,unquestionably ---- absolutely without doubt."
Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are? If everything is outstanding,if everything is the most amazing thing ever,is anything ever amazing at all?
【小题1】By telling his experience in the restaurant,the author intends to ________.
A.show his interest in exaggerated words |
B.prove that exaggerated words are widely used |
C.blame the restaurant for using exaggerated words |
D.tell us the food in the restaurant is extremely good |
A.He has gained height and is now a tall man. |
B.He likes following the fashion in clothing. |
C.His weight is getting greater and greater. |
D.The size of his T-shirt is described in exaggerated words. |
A.they are not satisfied with being normal |
B.they don’t want to be looked down upon by others |
C.they want to be different from others |
D.they are brave in telling their true feelings |
A.fantastic | B.perfect | C.OK | D.absolutely |
【小题1】B【小题1】D【小题1】A【小题1】C
解析
Nothing says love like a dozen long – stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. More than a million roses will be sold during this festival for lovers, the biggest day of the year for the nation’s rose industry. It’s going to remain the most popular flower because love never goes out of style.
Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose. But selling them is no longer a beautiful experience for traditional flower shops. Supermarkets now offer convenience to the busy and discount rose shops help those hopelessly in love save money. Roses only is a good example of a discount rose retailer that was transformed from a traditional shop to answer the challenge in the’ 90s.
Inside this store on Sixth Avenue near 40 th Street, contemporary white furniture and wall – to – wall mirrors give it an expensive look. Customers move about freely among the counters, looking eagerly at the roses in more than 50 colors from shelf to shelf. Some customers say it’s the high quality of the roses that attracts them there. “I spent $ 20 but the flowers looked like I paid 60 or 70 dollars,” says one customer.
Studies show more people are buying roses in ones, two and threes these days. In fact, more than half of all roses are sold in bunches of fewer than a dozen. But Roses Only's low prices encourage people to spend. Even on Valentine's Day, when the price of a dozen roses and delivery can soar as high as $150, 12 of Roses Only's most expensive flowers sell for just $35. The company's key to success is to hold prices down by controlling every link in the rose chain. It grows its own roses in the sunshine of the Andes Mountains. In addition, the company also sells other items such as ballons and stuffed animals.
While discount rose retailers are witnessing their business bloom, U.S. rose growers aren’t able to compete with the fierce foreign competition. More than 57% of roses sold in the USA are grown in other countries. The biggest foreign producers are Colombia and Ecuador, which accounted for almost 90% of the total imported last year. The trend has hurt domestic rose growers such as Johnson Flowers of California, considered to be this country's leading producer.
Now, instead of fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. "We have a few big fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. “We may also widen our business to include the service area and be a representative for overseas flower producers.”
As a result of severe competition, those in the rose business long for the good old days, whereas ordinary people benefit from the low price.
60.What is the central theme of this text?
A.The US rose business is going from bad to worse in spite of the efforts made.
B.The rose will remain the most popular flower as love never goes out of date.
C.The rose business is trying to meet the challenges in the market to succeed.
D.The rose industry plays an important role in American economy.
61.How does Roses Only obtain success in the discount rose retailing field?
A.By setting up more chain stores across the country.
B.By selling roses in supermarkets.
C.By selling high quality roses at a low price.
D.By selling roses by the dozen.
63.After reading the passage, we learn all of the following EXCEPT________.
A.Selling roses is no longer as easy for traditional flower shops as it was.
B.Almost 90% of roses sold in US are imported from Colombia and Ecuador.
C.US rose growers are faced with intense foreign competition.
D.the Johnsons are trying to co-operate with foreign competitors instead of fighting them.
More than half of rich Americans have not shown their full wealth to their children, a new survey showed last Tuesday.
The survey, published by the Bank of America, studied the rich with$3 million or more in possessions. It found that “surprisingly few of those surveyed have well-developed plans to preserve and pass on their possessions to their children”.
The majority of the 457 people surveyed are self-made, first-generation rich. Fifty-two percent of parents have not chosen not to tell their children just how wealthy they are,and 15 percent have given away nothing about the family wealth. One in three parents said they had never thought to do it.
They are worried that their children would become lazy, spend money freely,make bad decisions and even become a target for attractive women who use their looks to get money from rich men.
Only 34 percent strongly agreed that their children would be able to handle any inheritance(遗产)they plan to leave them.
“There is an expectation about the wealthy parents that they have a responsibility to pass down their fortune to the next generation,” said Sallie Krawcheck,president of the Global Wealth and Investment Management of the Bank of America. “Our research, however, uncovered changing views of what one generation owes the next.”
The trend is led by the world’s richest man Bill Gates, who promised in 2008 that he would leave his $58 billion fortune to the charity started by him and his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation(基金会),and not to his children.
“ We want to give it back to society in the way that it will have the most positive effect,” he said.
Of his plans for his children , Gates said: “I will give the kids some money but not a meaningful percentage… they will need to work but they will feel reasonably taken care of.”
1.We can learn from the passage that .
A.rich parents may not know how to manage their inheritance |
B.rich parents don’t equal rich kids, at least in the US |
C.American children don’t get to inherit their parents’ wealth |
D.poor children don’t expect themselves to be as rich as their parents |
2.According to the survey, most rich Americans .
A.think they owe their children nothing |
B.think it best to give their money back to society |
C.doubt their children’s ability to handle wealth |
D.are confident of their children’s ability to handle wealth |
3.The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refers to .
A.responsible children |
B.Bill Gates and his wife |
C.first-generation rich |
D.rich parents |
4.From the last paragraph,we can see that Bill Gates wants to show .
A.the trend of leaving no inheritance to children |
B.the positive effect of charity on society |
C.the way of giving back to society |
D.the importance of independence for children |