阅读理解

Auctions(拍卖)are public sales of goods conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asks the crowd gathered in the auction-room to make offers or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods.

Almost all goods of various qualities are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, fruit, vegetables and wines. Auction sales are also useful for land and property, antique(古董), furniture, pictures, rare books, old china(瓷器), and works of art.

An auction is usually advertised beforehand with a full description of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by possible buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues(目录)are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot”, is usually given a number. The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1, and continue with Lot 2, Lot 3 and so on; he may wait until he sees certain dealers in the room and then produces the lots they are likely to be interested in. The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible.

The auctioneer must know quite accurately the current market values of the goods he is selling, and he should be acquainted(熟悉)with regular buyers of such goods. He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low. He will also encourage the rivals among buyers to bid against each other in order to get a high price. It is largely in his advice that a seller will fix a “reserved” price, that is, a price below which the goods cannot be sold. Even the best auctioneer, however, finds it difficult to stop a “knock-out”(连裆拍货), because dealers illegally arranged beforehand not to bid against each other, but choose one of them as the only bidder, in the hope of buying goods at very low prices. If such a “ knock-out” succeeds, the real auction sale takes place privately afterwards among the dealers.

1. At what prices are auctioned goods usually sold?

A. The reserved prices fixed by sellers.

B. The prices officially approved.

C. the highest prices offered by bidders.

D. The prices the dealers arranged beforehand.

2. Which of the following statements about an auctioneer is NOT true according to the passage?

A. He encourages buyers to bid higher prices.

B. He gives advice to sellers.

C. He should know the current values of the goods on sale.

D. He is a government official.

3. “A reserved price” in the last paragraph means______.

A. a price which an article can be sold at

B. a price below which an article cannot be sold

C. a price fixed by the local government

D. a price acceptable to possible buyers

4. Even the best auctioneer finds it hard to stop a “knock-out” because______.

A. dealers sometimes arranged in advance not to bid against each other

B. he is not familiar with the regular buyers

C. he does not know the values of the goods

D. he has never heard of such a thing

 

完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was no wonder I was not looking forward to entering ninth grade. High school is well-known for being a battleground, where everyone seems to be  36  through physical changes, emotional mood swings, and low self-respect. For me,  37  was my punishment.
I had always felt insecure and out of 38 as one of the  39  members of my class, standing a head above the other girls and bending at the  40  of the line to avoid sticking  41 .
I especially hate being around large groups of people, like during the social hour after services at my church.  42  the prayers were finished, I would leave as quickly as possible so I could  43  other well-meaning congratulations, "Ruthie! Look how tall you' re getting!"
My grandfather would watch me  44  increasingly uncomfortable, but he did not  45  at my self--consciousness or try to comfort me.  46 , he would remind me. "Stand straight and tall," he would say, as I unsuccessfully tried to shrink (使缩小) myself. Moreover, each time, I would embarrassedly obey. Even at age 15, I understood that his advice was about  47  than just feet and inches.
My grandfather grew up in war-torn Europe. When German soldiers  48  his hometown, he wound up joining the Soviet army to fight  49  his country's freedom. "Stand straight, stand tall," meant something else back then.
_50  the war, he boarded a boat for  51  , and on January 27, 1947, he stepped onto the dock in Manhattan. He was hungry and  52  from seasickness. All alone in a new country, he was  53  about his future. Still, he marched head-on into the streets of New York. Soon he met  54  European immigrants, each of them trying to find his or her own way. If they could do it, why couldn't he? "Stand straight, stand tall," he would remind himself. He felt his faith  55 . When he walked into the church that first time, he walked in proudly.
36. A. going                     B. getting            C. looking               D. putting
37. A. age                        B. sex                    C. height               D. face
38. A. place                    B. order              C. control              D. date
39. A. younger                    B. shorter                    C. fatter              D. taller
40. A. head                  B. bottom            C. back                D. side
41. A. to                    B. out                C. with                D. off
42. A. Until                  B. Unless             C. Once               D. Before
43. A. avoid                 B. receive               C. accept             D. refuse
44. A. change                B. grow                C. sense              D. make
45. A. look                   B. stare             C. stay                 D. laugh
46. A. Instead               B. Besides       C. However              D. Therefore
47. A. other                  B. more          C. less               D. rather
48. A. fought                 B. developed    C. occupied                D. marched
49. A. against                          B. for              C. with                D. to
50. A. Before                 B. During               C. Without              D. After
51. A. German                B. Australia             C. America             D. Canada
52. A. coming                B. learning            C. suffering             D. differing
53. A. frightened              B. excited              C. serious              D. sorrowful
54. A. few                   B. more               C. most               D. other
55. A. increasing              B. returning              C. gaining               D. disappearing


第二节完型填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My Teacher in the School of Life
I spent the opening day of school this year at DeMatha Catholic High School in much the same way I spent the first day of classes   36   30 years ago; I sat in Dr Charles E. Offutt’s British literature class, listening to him   37   what his seniors would learn and get them excited about the journey they would  38  . I’m the principal (校长) of the school now , but for a few minutes I was back in 1975,   39  what the future held.
I have been learning from Dr Offutt for 30 of the 51 years he had been teaching at DeMatha. He not only taught me to think, he   40  me, as much by example as  41  , that it was my moral duty to do so and to serve   42   .
Neither of us could know how our  43  would develop over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English. I worked for Dr Offutt, the then department chair. After several years, I was  44  department chair, and our relationship changed   45  . I thought that it might be  46  chairing the department, since all of my former English teachers were still there, but Dr Offutt   47  me throughout. He knew when to give me   48   about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me design my own course.
In 1997, I needed his advice about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school. If he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have.   49   , he encouraged me to seize the new     50  .
Five years ago, I became the   51   of DeMatha. Once again, Dr Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could   52  on him as I tried to fill such big shoes. I’ve learned from him that great teachers have a (n)   53   wealth of lessons to teach.   54  his students don’t know it yet, I know how   55   they are; I’m still one of them.
36.A.mostly        B.exactly        C.only               D.simply
37.A.explain       B.predict        C.speak          D.teach
38.A.keep           B.achieve       C.choose        D.take
39.A.preparing        B.discovering     C.wondering       D.realizing
40.A.assisted       B.reminded      C.advised       D.convinced
41.A.words         B.action         C.explanation     D.models
42.A.the others        B.everyone       C.others         D.anyone
43.A.relationship     B.position      C.situation       D.condition
44.A.pointed       B.named        C.given          D.taken
45.A.already       B.yet          C.still          D.again
46.A.foolish        B.surprising        C.uncertain     D.challenging
47.A.promoted        B.accepted      C.supported     D.welcomed
48.A.advice        B.information     C.notice         D.thought
49.A.Otherwise       B.Therefore        C.Furthermore    D.Instead
50.A.choice        B.opportunity     C.occupation      D.possibility
51.A.teacher       B.principal     C.officer        D.clerk
52.A.live         B.look               C.depend        D.take
53.A.rich         B.little           C.valuable      D.endless
54.A.Once          B.Even if       C.Unless        D.Until
55.A.fortunate     B.curious       C.innocent      D.satisfied

When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter(炼铜厂),and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest.One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area.Paul knocked him down.From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office.He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back.The answer from that big industry was “No”.
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants.Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren’t any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds.It would be a waste of his life to try to do it.Everyone knew that, he was told.Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married and had some kids.But his dream would not die.And then one night he did what he could with what he had.As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote.Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass.For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense.Slowly rabbits appeared.Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has.It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.
【小题1】When Paul was a boy,______________.

A.he had decided never to leave his hometown
B.the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter
C.no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution
D.he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area
【小题2】Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants?
A.Because he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself.
B.Because he was interested in planting trees since he was young.
C.Because he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him.
D.Because he thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive.
【小题3】What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?
A.That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland.
B.That his normal work and life would be greatly affected.
C.That no one would like to join him in the efforts.
D.That he had to keep everything he did secret.
【小题4】The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because___________.
A.they realized the importance of environmental protection
B.What Paul was doing moved them
C.Paul persuaded them to help him
D.they had legal pressure
【小题5】The message of the passage is that _____________.
A.action speaks louder than words
B.perseverance(持之以恒)will work wonders
C.God helps those who help themselves
D.many hands make light work

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