In Western countries people have been using the installment (分期付款) 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.A.,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 (预付定金) 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 (萧条). 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.

1. 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 of 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.      

2. 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 adown payment

    D. the service offered by installment plan charged extra money

3. 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 setl what he has bought. 

    D. He will go into debt.

4. 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

5.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 they buy

Could a grizzly bear move to your neighborhood? If you live in the U.S. West, the answer may be yes. People and grizzly bears are living closer together now.

The grizzly bear is one of the largest meat-eating land animals in North America. In the early 1800s, about 50,000 grizzly bears lived there. Today there’re far fewer bears. Settlers built cities and roads where bears lived. Many bears were hunted and killed. Now only 1,200 to 1,400 grizzly bears have remained.

In and around Yellowstone National Park, grizzly bears have been making a comeback because of people’s efforts to protect them. Some bears are moving to areas where people live. People are also moving into grizzly countries.

People there have to learn how to live with their new, furry (毛皮的) neighbors peacefully. If someone leaves their barbecue grill（烤肉架）out overnight, or leaves their pet food or rubbish where a bear can get it, the bear will learn to come to their house for food. Grizzly bears that learn to eat people’s food can become dangerous, and they often have to be killed or moved. Also, it’s important not to surprise a grizzly. Besides, if you are hiking in a grizzly country, you should go with others and make a noise to make bears hear your coming and get out of the way. You may not want to invite grizzly bears to your next neighborhood party, but with a little effort, grizzly bears and people can live together peacefully.

Why does the number of grizzly bears get smaller, according to the text?

A. Settlers’ buildings break the balance of their living environment.  

B. Land for them to live on is limited and they are hunted in large numbers.

C. Yellowstone National Park wants to control the number of them.

D. Living closer to humans makes them die from serious diseases.

How many suggestions are made for people to live with bears peacefully？

A. One.          B. Two.       C. Three.          D. Four.

Compared with the early 1800s, the number of grizzly bears has got smaller by ______.

A. exactly 26﹪          B. over 36﹪   C. nearly 64﹪   D. about 96﹪

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Grizzly bears are always friendly to the people living in grizzly countries.

B. It is certain that grizzly bears and people can live together peacefully.

C. Grizzly bears are protected only in and around Yellowstone National Park.

D. The grizzly bear is one of the largest meat-eating animals in North America.

What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A. How to protect yourself from grizzly bears.

B. How to get grizzly bears out of your way.

C. How to invite grizzly bears to your party.

D. How to live with grizzly bears peacefully.

In Britain today, is it possible to tell a person’s class just by looking at him? Physical details alone tell us about health, diet and the type of work a person does. A hundred years ago the working class often looked unhealthy, small and they were either too thin or too fat. The upper classes were often tall, sporting types who were used to a good diet and looked healthy. Today living and working conditions have improved, and such descriptions are no longer true. People are taller now than a hundred years ago. Everyone in Britain today is able to have free medicine, a good diet, acceptable working conditions and enough rest and leisure. WWW.K**S*858$$U.COM

       The clothes people choose to wear, however, do provide information about their backgrounds. Expensive clothes look expensive and show their wearer is rich. Clothes can provide other clues as well. The upper classes appear to be less interested in fashion and wear good quality clothes in non-bright colours, made of natural material like wool, leather and cotton. Lower working-class people often choose clothes in bright colours, made of man-made materials. A sociological explanation for this would be that colour and interest are missing from their lives, and therefore any opportunity to produce this is taken.

       Clothes are available at a price within most people’s reach. New clothes make the wearer feel good and show some degree of wealth to the outside world. Today it is the younger people who spend most money on clothes. Fashion is no longer for the upper classes and the rich. Young people from all social classes spend a lot of money on clothes. Some new fashions are started by working-class people who want to look different and feel important. They want people WWW.K**S*858$$U.COMto look at them.

In the past, a person’s appearance could not tell other people about his ________.

      A. health              B. diet                C. occupation (职业)    D. habits

The clothes people choose to wear tell us about their ________.

      A. education             B. richness              C. backgrounds             D. hobby

A working-class person may start a new fashion because ________.

      A. she wants to draw the attention of other people

       B. she wants to look different and healthy

       C. she wants to show their wealth

       D. she wants to show their taste

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

      A. Expensive clothes look expensive and show the wearer is rich.

       B. Working-class people prefer clothes in bright colours because they lack colour in their lives.

       C. Today, it is still the upper class people who spend most money on clothes.

       D. Today, fashion is no longer for the upper classes and the rich.

（B）

The U．S．birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in the middle 1970’s．Something else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased greatly, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline．At the same time, foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel efficient cars in large quantities for the export market．Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands．The American automobile industry went into a recession．Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry．

People who are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing．They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to college．Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession they cannot find jobs．High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service-----unemployment benefits, and to aid dependent children, for example-----than during more prosperous times．It also means, that the states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes．Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states．At the present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds available for higher education．The colleges and universities are in trouble．

60．What is the main idea of this passage??

A．The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything．

B．There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’s．

C．Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s．

D．High unemployment caused a lot of social problems．

61．American cars were not popular in their domestic markets because they were____．

A．small              B．gas consuming             

C．fuel efficient          D．not attractive

62．The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that ____．

A．they couldn’t get enough income to keep them running

B．young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees

C．keeping them running at the same level would cost much more

D．social services need more state funds because of the recession

63．All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ____．

A．young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s

B．it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s

C．fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recession in 1970’s

D．Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession

The government-run command post in Tunis is staffed around the clock by military personnel, meteorologists and civilians. On the wall are maps, crisscrossed with brightly colors arrows that painstakingly track the fearsome path of the enemy.
　　What kind of invader gives rise to such high-level monitoring? Not man, not beast, but the lowly desert locust(蝗虫). In recent months, billions of the 3-inch-long winged warriors have descended on Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, blackening the sky and eating up crops and vegetation. The insect invasion, the worst in 30 years, is already creating great destruction in the Middle East and is now treating southern Europe. The current crisis began in late 1985 near the Red Sea. Unusually rainy weather moistened the sands of the Sudan, making them ideal seedbed for the locust, which lays its eggs in the earth. The insect onslaught threatens to create yet another African famine. Each locust can eat its weight (not quite a tenth of an ounce) in vegetation every 24 hours. A good-size swarm of 50 billion insects eats up 100,000 tons of grass, trees and crops in a single night.
　　All ﹩150 million may be needed this year. The U.S. has provided two spraying planes and about 50,000 gal. of pesticide. The European Community has donated ﹩3.8 million in aid and the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan and China have provided chemical-spraying aircraft to help wipe out the pests. But relief efforts are hampered by the relative mildness of approved pesticides, which quickly lose their deadly punch and require frequent replications. The most effective locust killer dieldrin has been linked to cancer and is banned by many Western countries and some of the affected African nations. More than 5 million acres have been dusted with locust-killing chemicals; another 5 million will be treated by the end of June.
　　On May 30, representatives of Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania will meet in Algiers to discuss tactics to wipe out the ravenous swarms. The move is an important step, but whatever plan is devised, the locust plague promised to get worse before the insects can be brought under control.
【小题1】The main idea of the first sentence in the passage is that ______.

A．to devise anti-locust plans.

B．to wipe out the swarms in two years.

C．to call out for additional financial aid from other nations.

D．to bring the insects under control before the plague gets worse.