In the United States you will find yourself being urged from every page of every newspaper and every television station to buy all kinds of goods.

Not only is there a wide range of prices for goods in America, there is also a wide range in the quality of goods offered for sale. Unlike some countries, Americans generally pay the price of a product without question, instead of trying to get a lower price by bargaining. However, there are many “sales” in the United States, during which time stores will lower their normal prices. This may all be very confusing to visitors. How are you going to know how to “get your money’s worth” when you shop? Perhaps the best advice is: Don’t hurry. Visit various stores and determine the quality of goods. Read the advertisements so that you can compare prices.

There is a great variety of shops in the United States, ranging from very large stores called “department stores” to very small shops. There are “discount houses” offering goods at low prices, and “dime stores” specializing in a wide range of inexpensive items.

Most department stores in large cities carry better quality products at higher prices. However, they offer the shoppers great convenience since they contain such a wide variety of products.

If convenience isn’t as important to you as price, you may want to shop in discount houses. These stores have nearly as great a variety of goods as department stores, but offer lower prices. They can do so for several reasons. They don’t offer the same services to buyers that department stores do; there may be fewer sales people; and the store probably doesn’t deliver purchases.

Another popular shop is the “dime store”. No longer selling many things for five or ten cents, these stores got their name in the last century when it was decided that a small profit on a great quantity of goods would be better than a large profit on fewer sales. Dime stores specialize in a wide variety of inexpensive items and today, prices range from a quarter or 50 cents up to several dollars.

1.Where can we most probably read this passage?

A. In a research paper.       B. In a science report.

C. In a geography book.      D. In a travel magazine.

2.Why can discount houses offer goods at lower prices compared with department stores?

a. They have fewer employees.

b. They have larger quantities of goods.

c. They offer fewer services.

d. They don’t provide delivery service.

A. a b c    B. a b d   C. a c d    D. b c d

3.What’s special about dime stores?

A. They sell lots of goods at a small profit.

B. They make big profits by selling some goods.

C. They provide goods with a price lower than 50 cents.

D. They provide goods ranging from bargains to expensive ones.

.

My students often tell me that they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork.

My reply is often a brief “You have as much time as the president.” I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.

Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant (无关的). What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think carefully about the “hard worker” dodge (诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.

If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that’s important.

That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office: “Don’t work harder. Work smarter.” There is a lot of sense in that idea.

If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.

Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.

1.We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that we students still _____ .

A.have enough time                       B.can meet the president

C.get everything done well                  D.should accept the explanation

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The author’s students make good use of their time to do all their homework.

B.The author tried to tell the professor that he/she (author) had done a good job.

C.You can’t improve the quality of the work if you can’t get more time.

D.You’ll try to improve your skills in reading and writing if you’re a clever student.

3.What’s the passage mainly about?

A.Students don’t have enough time.         B.Don’t work harder; work smarter.

C.No one can get more time.                D.Read better and write better.

 

Do you want to visit Disney World? However, will you worry about your pet if you go to Disney World? To meet the needs of these people, a pet hotel has been built near the Disney World Resort in Florida.

The new pet hotel is named Best Friends Pet Care Resort and it is mainly open to dogs and cats. It has an area of 4,645㎡. About 270 dogs and 30 cats can be kept there at the same time. Besides dogs and cats, it can also provide services for birds, pigs and rabbits. However, it can’t take care of snakes and turtles(乌龟) now.

Best Friend Pet Care Resort is a very expensive hotel. There are several types of dog rooms, such as rooms with air-conditioners(空调) and VIP rooms. There is even a “private dog park”. Owners can have a high-quality vacation with their dogs there. The cats are kept in the “Kitty City”. The “Kitty City” is very comfortable and clean. Workers there will clean it once a day.

Apart from having good equipment, Best Friends Pet Care Resort also have other plans to meet the psychological (心理上的) needs of pets. Workers play music to the pets, walk with them, play with them and even read stories to them before they go to bed.

“We aim to make sure that pets will have a fun vacation here, just like their owners at Disney World,” said the manager of the resort.

1.How many kinds of animals can be kept in Best Friends Pet Care Resort?

A.Three.            B.Five.             C.Six.              D.Seven.

2.About Best Friends Pet Care Resort, which of the following is NOT true?

A.It covers about 4,645 ㎡.

B.It can keep more than 300 pets.

C.Owners don’t need to pay much for keeping pets there.

D.There is a “private dog park” in the resort as well.

3.How often do the workers clean the “Kitty City”?

A.Once a day.        B.Twice a day.        C.Once a week.      D.Twice a week.

4.Workers from the pet care resort read stories to pets in order to          .

A.provide pets with good equipment

B.meet the psychological needs of pets

C.teach pets to learn more knowledge

D.make pets’ owners satisfied with their service

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

A.Relationship between Owners and Pets

B.Popular Pets All Over the World

C.How to Take Care of your Pets

D.Pet Care Resort in Florida

 

How to Keep Your Job for a Long Time

Work Hard.

Many bosses don’t mind you spending a little time on some little things,but they do focus on your job attitude and the wealth you can create for this company. When it comes to making lay­off decisions,the company will also choose the most productive employees to keep the job instead of the workers who are always late to work,leave early every day and do nothing important to the company.1.________

Be a Team Player.

2.________As an employee,you should work in a team with others,and learn from others. You should get along well with others.

Be Flexible.

3.________When the company needs someone to change shifts,work weekends,put in some overtime,or work a different schedule,you can think about it if your personal schedule permits.

4.________

You should be making yourself available to take on some additional tasks or help with projects that you might not have otherwise had to do. Maybe there is no additional pay,but it is also very helpful to increase your own value. Maybe due to this additional help,your boss begins to take advantage of you and give you more important work.

Don’t Complain.

If you don’t like your job,I can guarantee there are plenty of other people who would jump at the chance to get it. You should be really careful about complaining.5.________

A.Or your job security may be indirectly affected.

B.You should not gossip about other workers.

C.Make Yourself Available.

D.So you should remember to work hard.

E.Team spirit is an important quality for everyone.

F.Flexibility is a very important component to your job.

G.You become someone that they can rely on.

 

The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (一度时髦的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” — and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer — which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet — adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear — popular in the US and the UK — that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of The Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.

In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.

Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of The Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.

But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, former head of the Language Center at King’s College London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBCMagazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.

“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便).” Adds Thorne.

Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western world is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.

Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBCMagazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.

But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend unavoidably disappeared.

1.People use iPlayer to _________.

A.listen to music                          B.make a call

C.watch TV programs online                 D.read newspapers

2.We can infer that The Independent’s i” is aimed at _________.

A.young readers                         B.old readers

C.fashionable women                      D.engineers

3.Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are _________.

A.portable                              B.environmentally friendly

C.advanced                             D.recyclable

4.The writer suggests that _________.

A.“i” products are often of high quality

B.iTeddy is a living bear

C.the letter “b” replaces the letter “i” to name the products

D.the popularity of “i” products may not last long

 

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