Question

How should one invest a sum of money in inflation (通货膨胀)? Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.

I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life. "The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people's wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves."

Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time. Certain men were very clever at measuring the time according to the beating of their own hearts. They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout time. So it seems that the first clocks were human beings.

However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time. They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun. They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour- glasses, and invented water-clocks. Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past.

Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home. After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in an antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?

1.According to the passage, collecting antique clocks ________.

A．can hardly keep the value of your savings

B．will cost much of your savings

C．may increase your wealth

D．needs your bravery

2.By quoting (引用) the remark of a being from another planet, the author intends to ________.

A．suggest human beings are controlled by a clock

B．describe why clocks can rule the planet Earth

C．tell readers what clocks look like

D．compare clocks to human beings

3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to measure the time?

A．Counting the beating of one's own heart.

B．Making use of candles, sand and water.

C．Observing shadows cast by the sun.

D．Keeping slaves busy day and night.

4.The purpose of the passage is ________.

A．to introduce the culture of antique clocks

B．to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks

C．to compare different ways to make a future profit

D．to explain convenient and reliable ways of telling time

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】如何增值？文章告诉我们一种好方法，收集古钟！

1.推理题。根据第一段Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past.可知购买古董，文章介绍了古钟，是一种投资增值得好方法。

2.推理题。根据第二段最后一句This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves.可知人类被钟所控制。

3.细节题。根据文章3,4两段我们早点ABC都是正确的。而D没有提及。

4.写作意图题。通读全文可知文章是关于收集古钟的一些建议。