C
Several years ago, I read a book Your Money or Your Life, written by Joe Domingguez and Vicki Robin. The major theme of the book is the idea that if you want to cut your spending, you’ll have to begin by stopping trying to impress other people.
The authors divide people into two groups : people whose opinions you care about, and people whose opinions you don’t care about one way or another. It’s easy to stop caring about people whose opinions you don’t care about. Who cares what they think ? As long as you’re not doing something truly immoral —— something that might potentially create a negative reputation for you —— it doesn’t matter what they think.
But shouldn’t you impress other people whose opinions you do care about ? Anyway, they are people you want to meet : customers, friends and family.
The answer is that you don’t need to impress those people with expensive, shiny things. The relationship you’ve built with them —— or you’re going to build with them —— is based on you, not on the material items. They’ll either like you for you or they won’t.
To put it simply, take care of the basics. Keep yourself clean. Keep your weight under control. Wear reasonable clothing. Work on your communication skills. If you have them covered, you don’t need to invest time and money in impressing other people.
Coming to this realization is incredibly valuable. It drops your clothing budget. It drops your automobile budget. It drops your electronics budget. It drops your housing budget. You don’t need a shiny car, an iPhone, or a ＄50 haircut.
Yes , you may actually still want one or two of these things, but the impetus(动力) comes from what your personal values are, not what other people around you seem to value or what marketing messages you receive.
For some people, it seems impossible. Their social cues come from advertising-laden media and from friends who also get their cues from advertising-laden media.They believe they need a slick cellphone and ＄100 casual clothes. Their self-worth revolves around that little burst they get from impressing others.
People should learn to break through that situation. In short, don’t play socially by the tiring old rules that revolve around needing to impress people. Instead, spend your time on things that bring real value to you and give real value to others.
46. Which of the following behaviours is “immoral”according to the second paragraph ?
A.  Caring about other people’s opinion.
B.  Dropping your clothing budget.
C.  Copying existing works.
D.  Obeying the traffic rule.
47. To build relationship with others, you should pay attention to the following EXEPT _______.
A.  dressing casually
B.  learning about weight control
C.  improving communication skills
D.  being a tidy person
48. As for people we care about, what does the author advise us to do ?
A.  To impress them in a proper way.
B.  To buy them special gifts.
C.  To spare more time to be with them.
D.  To impress them with shiny things.
49. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
A.  An iPhone is totally unnecessary in our life.
B.  Your family members’ opinions are always worth caring about.
C.  Learning how to impress others helps people save money.
D.  You should always be aware of what other people around you seem to value.
50. What is the best title for the passage ?
A.  Whose opinions do you care about ?
B.  Two different groups of people.
C.  My favorite book : Your Money or Your Life
D.  Stop trying to impress other people.

B
In ancient Japan, if you saved someone's life, they would make it their duty to spend the rest of their life serving you. Nowadays, if you rescue someone's story, he or she will feel the same kind of gratitude(感激).
It happens all the time. Someone in a group is telling a story and, just before their big point, BOOM! There's an interruption. Someone new joins the group, a waiter with a plate of biscuits comes over, or a baby starts crying. Suddenly everyone's attention turns to the new arrival, the food on the plate, or the "charming" little child. Nobody is aware of the interruption－except the speaker. They forget all about the fact that the speaker hasn't made his or her point.
Or you're all sitting around the living room and someone is telling a joke. Suddenly, just before their big punch line (妙语), little Johnny drops a dish or the phone tings. After the crash, everyone talks about little Johnny's carelessness. After the call, the subject turns to the upcoming marriage or medical operation of the caller. Nobody remembers the great punch line got unfinished－except the joke teller. When it's you entertaining everyone at a restaurant, have you ever noticed how you can almost set your clock by the waiter coming to take everyone's order just before your funny punch line?
Most joke and story tellers are too shy to say, after the interruption, "Now, as I was saying ..." Instead, they'll spend the rest of the evening feeling bad because of what they didn't get to finish. Here's where you come in. Rescue them with the technique I call "Lend a Helping Tongue. "
Watch the gratitude in the storyteller's eyes as he restarts where his story sank and he sails off again toward the center of attention. His expression and the appreciation of your consideration by the rest of the group are often rewarded enough. You are even more fortunate if you can rescue the story of someone who can hire you, promote you, buy from you, or otherwise lift your life. Big winners have excellent memories. When you do them favors like Lend a Helping Tongue, they'll find a way to pay you back.
45．Very often, a storyteller cannot make his point because_____.
A．people are more interested in food than his story
B．many guests bring their babies to the party
C．he is interrupted by something unexpected
D．his story is easily forgotten by the listeners
46．From Paragraph 3, we know that when someone is telling a joke, _________.
A．something bad will surely happen just before their punch line
B．the only person really interested in the joke is the joke teller
C．listeners' attention is often drawn to something else
D．the waiter knows when to take everyone's order
47．How can we help the joke and story tellers when they are interrupted?
A．By giving them a chance to finish.
B．By going on telling the story for them.
C．By comforting them to make them happy.
D．By teaching them some useful techniques.
48．What is the text mainly about?
A．We can win someone's heart by getting him back to his story.
B．People should learn how to take turns in a conversation.
C．Telling jokes will make you the center of attention.
D．It is impolite to interrupt someone's talk.

C
A poor chimney-sweeper, who had not enough money to buy a meal, stopped one hot summer day at noon before an eating-house, and remained regaling his nose with the smell of the victuals．The master of the shop told him several times to go away, but the sweeper could not leave savory smell, though unable to purchase the taste of the food．At last the cook came out of the shop, and taking hold of the sweeper, declared that, as he had been feeding upon the smell of his victuals (food and drink), he should not go away without paying half the price of a dinner．The poor fellow said that he neither could nor would pay, and that he would ask the first person who should pass, whether it was not an unreasonable and unjust demand．
The case was referred to a policeman, who happened to pass at that moment．He said to the sweeper: “As you have been feasting one of your senses with the odor (smell) of this man’s meat, it is but just you should make him some recompense; therefore you shall, in your turn, regale (amuse) one of his senses, which seems to be more insatiable than your appetite．How much money have you?”
“I have but two pence in all the world, sir, and I must buy me some bread．”
“Never mind,” answered the officer, “take your two pence between your hands; now rattle (cause to make a lot of quick little noises)them loudly．”
The sweeper did so, and the officer, turning to the cook, said, “Now, sir, I think he has paid you: the smell of your victuals regaled his nostrils(openings at the end of the nose); the sound of his money has tickled your ears．”
This decision gave more satisfaction to the bystanders than to the cook, but it was the only payment he could obtain．
66．The sweeper stopped one hot summer day at noon before an eating-house, because _______ .
A．he wanted to regale his nose with the smell of the victuals
B．he was hungry and he wanted to have dinner
C．he was hungry but he had no enough money to buy a meal
D．he wanted to smell if the food was delicious．
67．The cook’s demand that the sweeper should pay half the price of a dinner was 
obviously _______ .
A．reasonable     B．not fair  C．logical   D．proper
68．We infer that the way that the policeman settled the problem was _______ .
A．foolish        B．kind      C．clever    D．stupid
69．The passage implied that _______ .
A．it’s a pity that the cook did not get what he wanted
B．the master of the shop and the cook were cool-hearted
C．the cook was cruel
D．the sweeper got what he wanted
70. Which is true according to the passage?
A. This story is arranged in order of time.
B. This story is arranged in order of place.
C. There were four people in the scene.
D. The case was judged by law.

BUY A JOINT TICKET AND VISIT THE HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES
THE TOWER OF LONDON
Royal Palace and fortress for over 900 years, scene of mystery, murder and home to the Crown Jewels.
KENSINGTON PALACE
Birthplace of Queen Victoria, this royal retreat is home to magnificent State Apartments and the stunning Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, which includes dresses worn by HM Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales.
HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES
Hampton Court Palace is part of Historic Royal Palaces, a registered charity ( No: 1068852 ) that receives no public funding. We rely on the income from admission tickets to the palaces to pay for vital protection work, necessary for the preservation of these national monuments and collections for future generations. Please ask at the ticket office for more information or visit www.hrp.org.uk.
VISITOR INFORMATION
CARRIAGE RIDES
Take a trip around Home Park in a horse-drawn carriage. Rides begin and end in Home Park at the entrance by the East Front Gardens. Available all day. 20 minutes duration. £10.00 per carriage. Subject to weather and ground conditions.
ENQUIRIES
For details of admission charges, group rates, the Friends of Hampton Court Palace and facilities for disabled visitors, call 0870-752-7777 or visit www. Hampton-court-palace.org.uk.
RESTAURANTS & SHOPS
Choose from the Tiltyard Tearooms or the Privy Kitchen Coffee Shop. There are also a number of ice-cream kiosks open in the summer. The palace shops offer a wide range of gifts and souvenirs.
AUDIO GUIDES
Audio guides are included in the palace ticket and are available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese.
【小题1】
If you want to take a look at the dresses worn by some royal members, you go to __________.

A great many people are disappointed because of unrealistic expectations.

Walking up to a department store’s cloth counter, a(n)  1   young woman said, “I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?”

“Only one   2   per yard,” replied the smirking (自鸣得意的) male clerk.

Not to be taken back by the funny words, the woman said,” That’s fine! I’ll take ten yards.”

With   3  written all over his face, the clerk   4   measured out and wrapped the cloth, then held it out teasingly,  5  forward to receive his “  6  ”.

The woman got the package quickly from the clerk and pointed to a little old man standing beside her. “Grandpa will pay the bill instead of me,” she   7  .

He was no doubt disappointed. But in the course of living, many people are  8         when others do not   9  their expectations. In order to be happy, some expectations must be dropped. These three particular   10   and unhealthy expectations are some of the main causes:

1. Expect too much  11  .When others say, “Thank you,” or in any way to show their gratitude, be happy. It is a gift!

2. Expect others to make you happy. They simply cannot do that. Make yourself happy and       12  your joy with others.

3. Expect not to be  13   . At times, people will simply not come through for you in the way you need.  14   them and move on.

Get rid of these three unrealistic expectations and you can begin to expect more   15        right away!

1.                A．tricky          B．attractive       C．ugly D．generous

2.                A．kiss            B．pay            C．dollar    D．cent

3.                A．happiness       B．enjoyment      C．expectation   D．courage

4.                A．hurriedly       B．slowly          C．patiently  D．curiously

5.                A．setting         B．sitting          C．leaning   D．taking

6.                A．reward         B．payment        C．bonus    D．money

7.                A．smiled         B．begged         C．waved    D．thought

8.                A．encouraged     B．disappointed     C．annoyed  D．surprised

9.                A．live up to       B．go against       C．go without D．hope for

10.               A．reasonable      B．proper         C．unimportant    D．unrealistic

11.               A．profit          B．kiss            C．appreciation    D．disappointment

12.               A．spare          B．share          C．make D．control

13.               A．put down       B．let down        C．taken down D．thrown down

14.               A．Forgive         B．Punish         C．Blame D．Praise

15.               A．happiness       B．encouragement  C．excitement D．pride