( D )
In Western countries people have been using the installment plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large number of families in Great Britain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installments. In the U. S., the figure is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.
The price of an article bought on installments is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays one quarter or one third of the price as a down payment when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.
Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. It can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment. There is, however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment. If the people on the installment plan lose their jobs, they will probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit, it becomes more likely to have a depression. This is why, in some countries, the government controls the installment plan by fixing the amount of the down payment and installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan.
56. Which of the following is NOT true about the installment plan?
A. A lot of British families use the installment plan.
B. More than 10 percent American families buy things on installments.
C. Americans depend more on installment than British people do.
D. Americans spend one tenth of their income on installment buying.
57. Goods bought on installments are more expensive than goods bought by cash because ______.
A. the buyer has to pay extra money as interest
B. the delivery of the goods charges extra money
C. the buyer has to pay a down payment
D. the service offered by installment plan charged extra money
58. What will happen to a buyer if he fails to make the full payment for an item bought on installments?
A. He might lose his job.
B. He will stop owning the item he has bought.
C. He will have to sell what he has bought.
D. He will go into debt.
59. The advantage of installment buying might include all the following EXCEPT that ________.
A. purchasing power is strengthened
B. employment might be increased
C. people develop a good habit of saving money
D. young couples are able to furnish their homes
60. In some countries, the governments control the installment plan to ________.
A. increase employment
B. avoid depressions
C. ensure that businesses make good profits
D. ensure that people can pay for what hey buy

D

In the north of Scotland there is a lake called Loch Ness. It is the biggest lake in Britain. It is over thirty kilometres long and in places nearly 300 meters deep. It is cold and dark and not many people went there until after 1930. Then a road was made around the lake. Holiday makers began to use the road, and this was when the stories began.

Someone said that he had seen a monster in the lake. He said it was twelve meters long. It had a long neck and a small head. Then someone else said he had seen it. Others said the same thing and in 1933 a London doctor took a photo. It looked like a monster with a long neck and a thick body but the photo was not dear. The newspapers printed the picture and called it the Loch Ness monster, or "Nessie".

Then the argument began. Some people, however, were certain there was something living in the lake. Others said there was nothing there.

In 1961, a lot of people joined together to make a real effort to see and photograph the monster if there was one! Several times people thought they saw something but after ten years there was still no real proof.

Later underwater television cameras were used, but no one found any real proof. However, they did find something interesting: a huge underwater cave. It was big enough to be home of a monster, but of course, this was not a proof.

In 1975, however, some American scientists formed a search group. They used an underwater camera. It took pictures every seventy seconds. Some of the pictures seemed to show a red-brown creature. Its body was about four meters long and had a very ugly head on the end of a four meter neck. Many people then began to believe in the monster. But even today we can not be certain.

63. Before 1930, ____.

A. few people went to Loch Ness Lake

B. many people had been there

C. nobody went to the lake

D. nobody knew about the lake

64. What did the monster look like?

A. It looked like a horse.

B. It was a creature with a long neck and a small head.

C. It looked beautiful.

D. It was tiny and pretty.

65. Who first took a photo of the monster?

A. An American

B. A television camera

C. A holiday-maker

D. A doctor from London

66. A search group formed by some American scientists.

A. found the monster itself

B. found a huge cave under water

C. believed that there wasn't any monster at all

D. took some pictures which seemed to show a monster

C

To be able to motivate oneself, or self-motivate, occurs when a person has the willingness to do something and is internally(内在地) motivated to do it．

Sometimes it’s very difficult to get ourselves moving．The natural tendency is to postpone．Life just seems to get in the way! There is a job to go to, groceries to do, television to watch—whoops! I guess we get pretty good at finding excuses to escape getting started on goals like an exercise routine or reading a new book．The fact is that we are creatures of routine and habit．So what can we do to motivate ourselves to accomplish our goals? 

Here are some tips on how to get moving:

Decide what you want．It’s hard to motivate an aimless mind．Set a goal and decide how you are going to go about it．Then break it down into smaller sections so it’s easier to handle and less overwhelming．（势不可挡）

Keep track of your progress．Keep a log or journal where you can measure how much you have accomplished．Looking at it can also motivate you to keep pushing ahead．

Post motivating pictures or slogans within your sight．It is always inspiring to see pictures of people who have accomplished what you’re going for．It makes it attainable and realistic．Likewise, little slogans like “go for it” or “just do it” can give you the little support you need．    

Sometimes we forget what we set out to do and a little reminder is all we need to be revitalized (激活) and focus on the end result．If you remind yourself to go for the desired promotion, it will re-establish why you are doing what you’re doing．

Make it a habit．Once you have accomplished your objective, e．g．becoming an early riser, keep it up so that it’s second nature to you and you don’t have to think about it anymore．

64．According to the author, some people fail to achieve their goals because ________．

       A．they don’t have enough desire

       B．their life is filled with routine work

       C．they benefit from the force of habit

       D．they naturally put off forming new habits

65．It can be inferred from the underlined sentence that ________．

       A．self-motivation needs repeated self-reminding of one’s goal

       B．in modern society people tend to become forgetful

       C．when we forget our goal, our life becomes meaningless

       D．we can achieve our goal only by focusing on the end result

66．To get moving on your goal, you can do the following EXCEPT ________．

       A．keep a diary to clearly judge your distance to your goal

       B．make self-improvement your second nature

       C．forget your aim and revitalize yourself with slogans

       D．support yourself by hanging inspiring pictures in your house

67．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

     A．Set Goals in Your Life    B．Get Yourself Motivated

     C．Get into Good Habits      D．Do Not Postpone

D

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit(追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.

However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try. ” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.

66. What does this passage mainly talk about?

       A. Competition helps to set up self-respect

B. Opinions about competition are different among people.

C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.

D. Failures are necessary experiences in competition

67. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

       A. It pushes society forward                       B. It builds up a sense of duty.

C. It improves personal abilities.                 D. It encourages individual efforts.

68. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means__________.

       A. those who try their best to win

B. those who value competition most highly

C. those who are against competition most strongly

D. those who rely on others most for success

69. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?

       A. One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others

B. One’s success in competition needs great efforts.

C. One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills

D. One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.

70. Which point of view may the author agree to?

       A. Every effort should be paid back.

B. Competition should be encouraged.

C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.

D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.

C

To be able to motivate oneself, or self-motivate, occurs when a person has the willingness to do something and is internally(内在地) motivated to do it.

Sometimes it’s very difficult to get ourselves moving. The natural tendency is to postpone. Life just seems to get in the way! There is a job to go to, groceries to do, television to watch—whoops! I guess we get pretty good at finding excuses to escape getting started on goals like an exercise routine or reading a new book. The fact is that we are creatures of routine and habit. So what can we do to motivate ourselves to accomplish our goals? 

Here are some tips on how to get moving:

Decide what you want. It’s hard to motivate an aimless mind. Set a goal and decide how you are going to go about it. Then break it down into smaller sections so it’s easier to handle and less overwhelming.（势不可挡）

Keep track of your progress. Keep a log or journal where you can measure how much you have accomplished. Looking at it can also motivate you to keep pushing ahead.

Post motivating pictures or slogans within your sight. It is always inspiring to see pictures of people who have accomplished what you’re going for. It makes it attainable and realistic. Likewise, little slogans like “go for it” or “just do it” can give you the little support you need.     

Sometimes we forget what we set out to do and a little reminder is all we need to be revitalized (激活) and focus on the end result. If you remind yourself to go for the desired promotion, it will re-establish why you are doing what you’re doing.

Make it a habit. Once you have accomplished your objective, e.g. becoming an early riser, keep it up so that it’s second nature to you and you don’t have to think about it anymore.

64. According to the author, some people fail to achieve their goals because ________.

A. they don’t have enough desire

B. their life is filled with routine work

C. they benefit from the force of habit

D. they naturally put off forming new habits

65. It can be inferred from the underlined sentence that ________.

A. self-motivation needs repeated self-reminding of one’s goal

B. in modern society people tend to become forgetful

C. when we forget our goal, our life becomes meaningless

D. we can achieve our goal only by focusing on the end result

66. To get moving on your goal, you can do the following EXCEPT ________.

A. keep a diary to clearly judge your distance to your goal

B. make self-improvement your second nature

C. forget your aim and revitalize yourself with slogans

D. support yourself by hanging inspiring pictures in your house

67. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

   A. Set Goals in Your Life                             B. Get Yourself Motivated

   C. Get into Good Habits                              D. Do Not Postpone