A growing number of consumers, especially young people , are adopting more Western habits when it comes to spending money—by favoring credit cards over savings.

A survey of 11,500 people in 18 cities by The Nielson Company found the credit card market had witnessed a major change in recent years.

    “Today’s consumer is clearly not interested in saving for a rainy day, as may have been the case in the past,” Bega Ng, director of financial services research with the company said. “Consumers have been adopting Western habits and attitudes in almost every way—including saving and spending habits. Consumers in their 20s spend tomorrow’s cash to fund today’s needs.”

      The report found consumers aged 18 to 24 were the most eager credit card users.

      Although the report did not give the amounts credit card users in each of the 18 cities spent, it mentioned the example of Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, where consumers put an average of 50 percent of their monthly incomes into their credit card accounts to indulge(沉湎于) in cashless shopping.

    Included in the survey for the first time, Xiamen is reported to have a fast growing penetration rate(渗透率) for credit cards, with four out of ten consumers now owning at least one card. With more than half of cardholders in Xiamen owning two or more cards, it is catching up with key “tier one” cities, the report said. The report did not make known the figures in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

      Last year, the same Nielson survey showed Shanghai had the biggest population of credit card holders, with citizens owning 1.8 credit cards on average. Half of them use credit cards at least once a week, the survey said.

Yunfei, 30, from Beijing, said she spent at least 2,000 yuan a month by credit cards, most of which went on daily necessities and dining out.

Which of the following best shows the young urbanites’ idea of consumption?

A. Using credit cards in every way.

B. Spending tomorrow’s cash for today’s needs.

C. Owning more cards for cashless shopping.

D. Saving money for future use.

How is the situation of credit card use in Xjamen?

A. Forty percent of the consumers own at least one card.

B. Credit card users use up most of their monthly income.

C. The number of credit card users is larger than that in Guangzhou.

D. Over half of the consumers use two or more cards.

Which city had the largest number of credit card users according to a previous survey?

A. Xiamen.         B. Beijing.          C. Shanghai.          D. Guangzhou.

What is the main idea of the survey reported by Nielson Company?

A. Most credit card users are young people aged 18 to 24.

B. Western habits have a big influence on the Chinese people.

C. The number of credit card users is growing rapidly in Chinese cities.

D. Chinese consumers are no more interested in saving money.

A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it clear getting back her pet was more important than her cat．

    “Whoever did this can keep my car．Please let Benjerman come home，”the notice said．

    It is not known whether the thief showed any pity，but al-most 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday，Atkins and Benjerman，a 12-year-old black retriever(猎犬)，were reunited after the police located them in Barrington．

    “He’s hungry，he’s dirty，but he’s very happy to be home．”Atkins said．

    The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy area frequented by off-the—road cars and dirt bikes．However，the police couldn’t control Benjerman, and they had to call Atkins to come and get him．

    Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food．She believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy warer in the area．She said they have been together for nearly 1 l years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas．Texas．

    Before Benjerman was found．Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in Somersworth．They also contacted animal shelters throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts．The notice stated there was a reward and also that the dog needed medication．Any caller could remain anonymous(匿名的)．

    Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet cleaner．

    “It was 10 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjermma in broad daylight．”Atkins said．The car thief threw Atkins’  wallet and other personal items out of the car before escaping from the scene．

Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened?   

    a．Notices were put up saying there was a reward．

    b．Atkins saw Benjerman again．

    c．The police found Atkins' car．

    d．Atkins took Benjerman back from a society sheher．

    e．Atkins hired a carpet cleaner in a hardware store．

A．d，e，a，b，c       B．d，e，a．c．b

C．e，a，d，b，c       D．e，a，c，d，b

We can infer from the passage 

    A．the dog was treated extremely badly by the thief 

    B．car stolen accidents happen frequently nowadays

    C．the dog was found because of the reward   

    D．the thief stole the car easily   

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A．Benjerman was sent back immediately after Atkins put up the notices．  

    B．Atkins and her friends made a great effort to look for  Benjerman．  

 C．The thief gave the dog back but kept the spots car.

    D．The dog was back at 1 pm on a Friday．  

A green house is a building made of glass which is used for keeping warm when the outside temperature is low. In a similar way there are several gases in the atmosphere (mixture of gases that surround the earth) which trap the heat produced by the sun and prevent it from escaping. These gases are known as “greenhouse gases”. And the way in which they trap heat in the atmosphere is called the “greenhouse effect”. This is not simply air pollution. Most of the main greenhouse gases exist naturally in small amounts in our atmosphere, and without them the earth would be 30 degrees colder and human life would not exist. In other words, the greenhouse effect is a natural course which is to some degree helpful to us.
The problem is that in the last century and a half, we have been putting too many of these gases into the earth’s atmosphere by burning large quantities of coal and oil and by cutting down forest. The rapid increase in greenhouse gases is making the world warmer. The world’s temperature has already gone up by half a degree this century, and the sea level has risen by 10 centimetres. If the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles, there will probably be a rise in the earth’s temperature of between I and 4℃;. This may seem a small increase, but it would be enough to cause major changes in geography and agriculture. Large areas of the world would be flooded, and some areas would become dry and unable to produce crops. It is important, too, to consider that there may be a delay of about 30 years in the greenhouse effect. This means that we are probably experiencing only now the effect of the gases put into the atmosphere before the 1960s. Since then, our use of these gases has greatly increased.
【小题1】 According to the passage, we can know “greenhouse effect” means_______.  

A small group of people around the world have started implanting(移植) microchips to link the body and the computer.
Mr. Donelson and three friends, who had driven 100 miles from their homes in Loekport, New York, to have the implants put in by Dr Jesse Willemaire, whom they had persuaded to do the work, are part of a small group, about 30 people around the world, who have independently put in microchips into their bodies, according to Web-based reports.
At a shop William Donelson was having a four-millimeter-wide needle put into his left hand. “I’m set,” he said with a deep breath. He watched as the needle pierced(刺穿) the fleshy webbing between his thumb and a microchip was set under his skin. At last he would be able to do what he had long imagined; strengthen his body’s powers through technology.
By putting the chip inside—a radio frequency identification device (RFID)—Mr. Donelson would have at his fingertips the same magic that makes safety gates open with a knock of a card, and bridge and tunnel traffic flow smoothly with an E-Zpass. With a wave of his hand he plans to connect with his computer, open doors and unlock his car.
Implanting the chip was relatively simple task but very meaningful to Mr. Doneselson, a 21-year-old computer networking student so interested in the link between technology and the body that he has data-input jacks(数据输入插空) inside his body. They might lead to an imagined future when people can be connected directly into computers. His new chip is enclosed in a glass container no bigger than a piece of rice and has a small memory where he has stored the words “Technology”.
Some doctors have done the piercing in people’s homes, and others have implanted chips in their offices after patients signed forms showing the fact that long-term studies have not been done on their safety. Piercers treat the implants much like any other medical operation steps, instructing people to keep the site dry, and advising them that swelling(肿) and redness should last a week.
69. With a RFID implanted, which of the following will Mr. Donelson be able to do?
Make a safety gate open with a knock of a card.
Make bridge and tunnel traffic flow smoothly with an E-Zpass.
Open doors and unlock his car with a wave of his hand.
Turn his body and brain directly into computers.
70. The underlined word “they” in paragraph 5 refer to “___________”.
A. glass containers                             B. implanted computer chips
C. data input jacks                                    D. computer and net working students
71. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. High Tech, Under the Skin                     B. A Needle, So Magic
C. Donelson, a Powerful Man                     D. Data-input Jacks, Inside the Body
72. We can conclude from the passage that __________________.
Mr. Donelson has made a large sum of money by the piercing.
the Piercers are people working in the computer field
the piercing has no side effect and it will make people intelligent
the long term effects of these implants are not yet known

A growing number of consumers, especially young people , are adopting more Western habits when it comes to spending money—by favoring credit cards over savings.
A survey of 11,500 people in 18 cities by The Nielson Company found the credit card market had witnessed a major change in recent years.
“Today’s consumer is clearly not interested in saving for a rainy day, as may have been the case in the past,” Bega Ng, director of financial services research with the company said. “Consumers have been adopting Western habits and attitudes in almost every way—including saving and spending habits. Consumers in their 20s spend tomorrow’s cash to fund today’s needs.”
The report found consumers aged 18 to 24 were the most eager credit card users.
Although the report did not give the amounts credit card users in each of the 18 cities spent, it mentioned the example of Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, where consumers put an average of 50 percent of their monthly incomes into their credit card accounts to indulge(沉湎于) in cashless shopping.
Included in the survey for the first time, Xiamen is reported to have a fast growing penetration rate(渗透率) for credit cards, with four out of ten consumers now owning at least one card. With more than half of cardholders in Xiamen owning two or more cards, it is catching up with key “tier one” cities, the report said. The report did not make known the figures in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Last year, the same Nielson survey showed Shanghai had the biggest population of credit card holders, with citizens owning 1.8 credit cards on average. Half of them use credit cards at least once a week, the survey said.
Yunfei, 30, from Beijing, said she spent at least 2,000 yuan a month by credit cards, most of which went on daily necessities and dining out.
【小题1】Which of the following best shows the young urbanites’ idea of consumption?