I needed to buy a digital camera, one that was simply good at taking good snaps (快照), maybe occasionally for magazines. Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand. So I went on the net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store. There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list. And it was on special offer. Oh joy. I pointed at it and asked an assistant, “Can I have one of those?”? He looked perturbed (不安). “Do you want to try it first?” he said. It didn’t quite sound like a question. “Do I need to?” I replied ,“There is nothing wrong with it？” This made him look a bit insulted and I started to feel bad. “No, no. But you should try it,” he said encouragingly. “Compare it with the others. ”

       I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based around the same basic box. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.

       But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice, the clever choice, the wise choice. In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen. The assistant seemed a sincere man. So I let him take out of my chosen camera from cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers… and when he started to introduce the special features, I interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well.

      Why do we think that new options still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine.

1.The shop assistant insisted that the writer should________.

A. try the camera to see if there was anything wrong with it.

B. compare the camera he had chosen with the others.

C. get more information about different companies.

D. trust him and stop asking questions.

2.What does the writer mean by “it would be worth half what I paid for it ”(paragraph 2)

A. He should get a 50% discount.

B. The price of the camera was unreasonably high.

C. The quality of the camera was not good.

D. The camera would soon fall in value.

3. The writer decided to try the model he had chosen because he________.

A. knew very little about it.

B. didn’t trust the shop assistant

C. wanted to make sure the one he chose would be the best.

D. had a special interest in taking pictures of his fellow shoppers.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that in the writer’s opinion__________.

A. people waste too much money on cameras

B. cameras have become an important part of our daily life

C. we don’t actually need so many choices when buying a product

D. famous companies care more about profit than quality

请认真阅读下面对话，并根据各题所给首字母的提示，在答题卡上标有题号的横线上，写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式、使对话通顺。

W: Where are you going to s__1._ your holiday this year, Bob?

M: We may go a__2._, but I’m not sure.

W: What do you mean?

M: Well, my wife’s talking about Egypt recently. She may want to go there. I’d like to go there, too.

W: Yes, it’s an interesting country to see.

M: But we can’t make up our m3.yet. You know, a round trip to Egypt c__4. a lot.

W: But you may go by sea.

M: You’re right. It’s cheaper, isn’t it?

W: You may s__5.__ at least half of the money if you go by ship.

M: But don’t you think it would t_6._ a long time and…

W: But you can enjoy the scene of the sea and the r___7.__ sun.

M: Yes, I’ll tell my wife.

W: You will definitely enjoy y__8.___, I’m sure.

M: Don’t be so sure. We may not go anywhere.

W: You always hesitate at everything.

M: It’s not my f__9.__, you know. Wife always worries too much.

W: Like what?

M: Well… Who is going to look after the house? Who is going to look after the garden? And who is going to look after

the pets? We have these p_10.__ every year. And in the end we stay at home and look after everything.

Years ago while lying in my hammock（吊床）and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor’s 10 – year – old daughter’s rabbit. For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.

The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as “natural caused”.

Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbor’s Volvo pulled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: “D—A—D—D—Y!!!”.

Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.

Her father less than calmly shouted, “What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl’s rabbit and put it back in its cage?”

1.The girl was shocked because           .

    A．the rabbit was killed by someone

    B．the rabbit was too clean

    C．the dead rabbit was cleaned and put back into the cage

    D．the rabbit was asleep in the cage

2.That day the girl ran to the cage           .

    A．because her rabbit was there

    B．because she had a habit of going there to see her rabbit

    C．because she wanted to see her rabbit again

    D．because the rabbit was dead

3.We can infer that the rabbit            

    A．was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it

    B．was already dead before the writer saw his dog dragging it

    C．was in the cage playing with the dog

    D．was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog

4.According to the story, the writer           .

    A．was helpful to his neighbor     

B．did a smart thing

    C．was honest                      

D．made a mistake

Years ago while lying in my hammock（吊床）and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor’s 10 – year – old daughter’s rabbit. For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.

The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as “natural caused”.

Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbor’s Volvo pulled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: “D—A—D—D—Y!!!”.

Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.

Her father less than calmly shouted, “What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl’s rabbit and put it back in its cage?”

1.The girl was shocked because           .

    A．the rabbit was killed by someone

    B．the rabbit was too clean

    C．the dead rabbit was cleaned and put back into the cage

    D．the rabbit was asleep in the cage

2.That day the girl ran to the cage           .

    A．because her rabbit was there

    B．because she had a habit of going there to see her rabbit

    C．because she wanted to see her rabbit again

    D．because the rabbit was dead

3.We can infer that the rabbit            .

    A．was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it

    B．was already dead before the writer saw his dog dragging it

    C．was in the cage playing with the dog

    D．was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog

4.According to the story, the writer           .

    A．was helpful to his neighbor      B．did a smart thing

    C．was honest                       D．made a mistake

The year 2007 ______ remarkable changes in Changzhou’s landscape.