I was 230 pounds this spring and I decided to get down to a healthier 200.In a house full of food，including snacks bought for my 7­year­old sons，I had a hard time cutting calories. Then I noticed my neighbors were having diet meals (减肥餐)．I decided to do the same，knowing I would never be able to stick to a diet if I had to do the buying and cooking myself. I was looking for food that I could afford but I might take a diet more seriously if it hurt me in the wallet.
After online searches，I decided to compare the offerings of four companies：Zone Manhattan，Chefs Diet，Nu­Kitchen and eDiets. All four would send the meals to my door. Three send food daily，while eDiets sends a large package once a week. There were dozens of companies I could have chosen.Research suggests that the economic crisis has made diet programs less tempting.Consumers prefer do­it­yourself diets with foods bought from the supermarket.
Nu­Kitchen regards itself as the “personal chef”．I ordered the five­day plan ($230.53) and the taste was disappointing. I neither lost nor gained weight on the food.
eDiets promises “healthy，delicious meals sent to your door”．I ordered five breakfasts，five lunches and five dinners. My total cost was $119.70，or less than $25 a day. Overall，the food from eDiets was better than that from Nu­Kitchen.
Chefs Diet charged $380.99 for seven days，making it the most expensive of the four services.I never tasted anything terrible，but I never tasted anything that made me want to renew for a second week.
Zone Manhattan charged $349.80，with tax，for a week’s supply of food，or about $50 a day.I liked the food so much that I lost six pounds in the first four days on the diet.
【小题1】When the author began to have diet meals，she________.

I was 230 pounds this spring and I decided to get down to a healthier 200.In a house full of food，including snacks bought for my 7­year­old sons，I had a hard time cutting calories. Then I noticed my neighbors were having diet meals (减肥餐).I decided to do the same，knowing I would never be able to stick to a diet if I had to do the buying and cooking myself. I was looking for food that I could afford but I might take a diet more seriously if it hurt me in the wallet.
After online searches，I decided to compare the offerings of four companies：Zone Manhattan，Chefs Diet，Nu­Kitchen and eDiets. All four would send the meals to my door. Three send food daily，while eDiets sends a large package once a week. There were dozens of companies I could have chosen.Research suggests that the economic crisis has made diet programs less tempting.Consumers prefer do­it­yourself diets with foods bought from the supermarket.
Nu­Kitchen regards itself as the “personal chef”.I ordered the five­day plan ($230.53) and the taste was disappointing. I neither lost nor gained weight on the food.
eDiets promises “healthy，delicious meals sent to your door”.I ordered five breakfasts，five lunches and five dinners. My total cost was $119.70，or less than $25 a day. Overall，the food from eDiets was better than that from Nu­Kitchen.
Chefs Diet charged $380.99 for seven days，making it the most expensive of the four services.I never tasted anything terrible，but I never tasted anything that made me want to renew for a second week.
Zone Manhattan charged $349.80，with tax，for a week’s supply of food，or about $50 a day.I liked the food so much that I lost six pounds in the first four days on the diet.

1. 1.

   When the author began to have diet meals，she________.

   1. A.
      was 200 pounds
   2. B.
      didn’t have any children
   3. C.
      worked as a cook in a company offering diet meals
   4. D.
      didn’t believe she could stick to a diet if she had to cook herself
2. 2.

   What does the underlined word “tempting” in Paragraph 2 mean?

   1. A.
      Attractive.
   2. B.
      Expensive.
   3. C.
      Delicious.
   4. D.
      Useful.
3. 3.

   Which of the four companies’ food cost the least daily?

   1. A.
      Zone Manhattan’s.
   2. B.
      Chefs Diet’s.
   3. C.
      Nu­Kitchen’s.
   4. D.
      eDiets’.
4. 4.

   We can learn from the passage that________.

   1. A.
      the author gained weight on the food from Nu­kitchen
   2. B.
      the author would choose the food of Zone Manhattan
   3. C.
      the food from eDiets was the worst of the four
   4. D.
      Zone Manhattan sends food once a week

As the economic crisis goes worse, some reader are turning to bookstores for advice on how to manage their own finances. Below are the top-ten selling books in both categories for the week ended Oct.18 at Barnes & Noble Inc., the country’s largest book retailer (零售商). Here readers are buying books whose titles feature such words as “failed”, “crisis” and “danger”.

1. The total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. A primer on how to cut debt, save money and create a financial strategy.

2. Debt Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau. A look into the dangers of credit card spending and how to reduce your expenses.

3. Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman, Ms. Orman writes about how women can gain better control of their finances by better understanding their relationship with money.

4. The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman. A book on what the young need to know now about money management.

5. The Smart Cookies’ Gude to Making More Dough by the Smart Cookies with Jennifer Barrett. The book’s advice: Take charge and get out of debt.

6. The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes. A look at what happened during that other crisis.

7. The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs by Charles D. Ellis. An inside look at the famed investment-banking firm.

8. “Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism by Kevin Phillips. Mr. Phillips documents the unreaveling of the U.S. economy.

9. The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means by George Soros. An analysis of the issue behind the crisis and their implications.

10. The World is Cured: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy by David M. Smick. An inside look at what went wrong with the banking system here and abroad.

1.What is the best title for the passage?

A.A Personal Financial List

B.The Country’s Largest Book Seller

C.Serious Economic Crisis

D.Ten Books to Read in the Financial Crisis

2.The reason why readers are buying books including “failed, crisis, danger” is that______.

A.they are discouraged with the serious financial crisis

B.they are to find advice to get through the financial crisis

C.they are concerned about failures in the world

D.they have no choice but to read such books

3.If you desire to get out of debt, you’d better read the book written by      .

A.David M. Smick B.Suze Orman       C.Kevin Phillips     D.the Smart Cookies

4.From the text we know that ______.

A.Charles D. Ellis is famous as an investment-banking manager

B.George Soros has given the detailed root of present economic crisis

C.Amity Shlaes is only interested in the past economic crisis

D.Dave Ramsey is the current Minister of the USA.

In the U.S., people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don’t know. This means a hostess may not seat a small group until a small table is available, even if a large one is. If you are sitting at a table with people you don’t know, it is impolite to light up a cigarette without first asking if it will disturb them.
At American restaurants and coffee shops you are usually served tap water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill.
Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores or restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in large cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day.
Serving in restaurants are often large, too large for many people. If you can’t finish your meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask your waitress or waiter for a “doggie bag”. It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you’re taking the food for yourself.
“Supper” and “dinner” are both words for the evening meal. Some people have “Sunday dinner”. This is an especially big noon meal.
Tips are not usually added to the check. They are not included in the price of the meal, either. A tip of about 15% is expected and you should leave it on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a check is brought on a plate and you put your money there. Then the waiter or waitress brings you your change.
1. According to the passage, which statement is true?
A. American people like sitting with people they don’t know.
B. A Hostess always seats a small group at a large table.
C. American people never sit with people they don’t know.
D. American people would not light up a cigarette if the people who sit at the same table mind their smoking.
2. What is served before you order? ______ .
A. Cold water B. Bread   C. Coffee   D. Butter
3. What do American people always do when servings are too large for them?
A. They take the food home with a doggie bag for their dogs.
B. They leave the food on the table and go away.
C. They ask the waitress or waiter to keep the food for them.
D. They take the food home with a doggie bag and enjoy the food later.
4. What can you learn about “tips” according to the passage?
A. Tips are usually included in the total check.
B. A 15 percent tip in large cities indicates satisfactory service.
C. Tips are supposed to be left on the table when customers leave.
D. People are not expected to pay tips in addition.

 (10·山东B篇)

Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.

The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.

Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue , encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.

But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.

There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.

61. What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?

A. Using too much packaging.

B. Recycling too many wastes.

C. Making more products than necessary.

D. Having more material than is needed.

62. The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.

A. the tendency of cutting household waste

B. the increase of packaging recycling

C. the rapid growth of super markets

D. the fact of packaging overuse

63. According to the text, recycling ______.

   A. helps control the greenhouse effect

   B. means burning packaging for energy

   C. is the solution to gas shortage

   D. leads to a waste of land

64. What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?

   A. Unpackaged products are of bad quality.

   B. Supermarkets care more about packaging.

   C. It is improper to judge quality by packaging.

   D. Other products are better packaged than food.

65. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

   A. Fighting wastefulness is difficult.

   B. Needless material is mostly recycled.

   C. People like collecting recyclable waste.

   D. The author is proud of their consumer culture.