Competition. It’s a simple word, yet a very complex word that covers many angles when it comes to how gasoline prices are determined. It seems so easy to explain, but don’t let that trick you—it’s incredibly difficult to explain and adequately understand.

Say you’re on a Sunday afternoon drive, and notice a gas station near you charging $3.50. Down the road a few miles, that price could easily be 10 or more cents higher or lower. The question is “how” or “why” is that? Think of it this way. Are you more likely to get a better deal on a car if there are two similar car dealers next to each other? Perhaps, because the dealers are too close. Say there is a third similar car dealer miles away. Is he going to be at the same level of competition and sell his cars for the same price as the two dealers next to each other? Likely not. He may charge more or less. Maybe people don't know there are two other dealers down the road. Maybe the dealer is almost outside of the city and the land value isn't as high, so his taxes aren't as high.

These situations do take place at gas stations. And more factors can impact what a station will charge. Timing can greatly impact what price a station charges as well! Many motorists fail to realize that the price a station pays for gasoline changes daily. If one station gets lucky and buys gas on Monday and the cost goes up Tuesday, the station that bought on Monday doesn’t necessarily have to raise prices like the station that bought on Tuesday. Maybe the station that got caught buying for a higher price on Tuesday will pass that higher cost on by raising its gas price.

Perhaps the difference is what brand the station is---branded stations usually pay a slightly higher cost for their gasoline. In return for paying a higher cost, those stations are guaranteed first supply in case of emergency situations. Independent stations don’t pay as much, but aren’t guaranteed supply.

While competition sounds easy to understand, there are always a large number of factors that could influence what one station charges. Keep in mind how many variables there are next time you fill up.

1.What could be the best title for the passage?

A．How Competition Impacts Gas Prices

B．Gas Prices Go Up or Down

C．Competition---a Very Complex Word

D．We Can’t Stress Enough the Need for Competition

2.The example of car dealers is used to show _________.

A．car prices are determined by car dealers

B．location is an important factor in pricing

C．the quality of service matters most

D．dealing strategy should be flexible

3.The gas prices of a station always change partly because _________.

A．a gas station always wants to charge more

B．the gasoline is in great demand

C．the cost of the gas the station buys varies daily

D．gas is in greater need on Monday

4.According to the passage, branded stations _________.

A．spend less money on their gasoline

B．have more staff than independent stations

C．charge less for high quality oil

D．offer a steady oil supply

　　Building a house costs quite a lot of money. ___1___ you plan to build a house. Your first ___2___ will be to find a right piece of land. Your choice will depend on many different things. You will probably try to ___3___ a sunny place, with ___4___ surroundings, near shops and bus stops, not too far from your friends and the place where you work.

　　Next you will find an excellent ___5___, and together with the builder you will work out a ___6___. The builder will draw the plan. It will ___7___ the number of rooms, their position and size, and other parts which must be noticed, ___8___ windows, doors and electric outlets. The builder will work out ___9___ is needed to ___10__ your house. He will ___11___ the cost of the wood, bricks, the glass, and ___12___ else that must be used in building the house, later on, when he starts to build, this estimate（预算）must be corrected and revised. His estimate is based onexisting___13___, but prices of such things may ___14___, and many other things may happen ___15___ the time when he makes the estimate and the time when he builds the house.

　　When the builder gives his estimate, you may wish to ___16__ your plan. (You may also wish to change your builder, if his estimate is too __17__!) You may find that some of the features you wanted at first ___18___ too much, or that you can spend a little more and ___19___. something to your plan. The builder's estimate depends on the plan, ___20___ the final plan depends on the builder's estimate.

　　Remember a very popular TV series “Meteorr Garden (《流星花园》)”, in which four richest boys (“F4”) played the important part? Why was it banned (禁播) in China of that time? Read the passage to find out the reason and to learn some comments from different people．

　　“Meteor Garden”, a popular TV play of Taiwan, was banned a few months ago as it would mislead (误导) young 　1　．

　　The play is situated in a school for 　2　 students, where a girl may 　3　 half a million US dollars making herself more beautiful．When a poor 　4　 brave girl enters the campus, four richest boys (“F4” meaning Flower Four) at the school soon 　5　 a love-hate relationship with her．

　　In recent years, more and more plays of this kind from Japan and South Korea have become 　6　 TV for young people．And “Meteor Garden” which is based on a Japanese comic book (漫画册), is one of the 　7　 popular．

　　8 many teenagers like to watch such plays and 　9　 every teenage girl is fond of love stories 　10　 , more and more 　11　 have complained about the play．They say it has a 　12　 influence on their children．“It seems that the teenagers in”Meteor Garden never 　13　 their studies, and what they do every day is all about dating and love．It 　14　 lead some students to think that school life isn't worthwhile unless a similar love affair 　15　 to them．

　　A psychology (心理学) teacher in Beijing considers it 　16　 for teenagers to idolize (视……为偶像) pop stars and actors．“But they will realize that this is simply naive (幼稚的) when they grow 　17　 ,”he said．“They need proper guidance

(引导)．”In his 　18　 , parents should talk to their children 　19　 , and teachers and the media also need to let them know what 　20　 life is about．

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