As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life. Financial experts say that everyone also has his own belief of how to manage his money. According to our different values, experts put us in three catagories---the ant, the cricket(蟋蟀) and the snail.
★ The ant — work first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don't care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save, but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.
★ The cricket — fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.
★ The snail — life under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans(贷款) from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford them. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.
【小题1】 One’s values may________.

Japanese people,who never miss a chance to be photographed,were lining up to get their pictures on a postage stamp．Vanity（虚荣）stamps with personal photographs went on sale for the first time in Japan as part of an international postage stamp exhibition．The customer’s photo was taken with a digital camera and then printed on stamp sheets,a process that takes about five minutes．Sold in a sheet of 10 stamps for $8．80,little more than the cost of lunch in Tokyo,each stamp printed a different scene from a traditional painting along with the photo．
The stamps can be used normally to mail a letter,and postal officials hope they will help encourage interest in letter writing in the Internet age．“Certainly e-mail is a useful method of communication,but letters are fun in a different way,”said Hatsumi Shimizu an official in the Post Ministry．“We want to show young people that letters can be fun too．”
While similar stamp sheets appeared in Australia in 1999 and are now sold in some nations and territories,Japan’s fondness for commemorative photos is likely to make them especially popular here．Indeed,officials had prepared 1 000 sheets but they were sold out in less than 30 minutes．Although the stamps are currently only available as a special service during the exhibition,postal officials said they may start selling them on a regular basis in the future．
【小题1】The best title of this passage might be______．

III、完型填空（共30分，每小题1.5分）
阅读短文，根据内容，从第36-55小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
Sam backed his car out of the garage and drove two blocks to the highway. It 36 from the suburbs into Central City. Immediately he joined the steam of early-morning 37 that was flowing towards town. As he drove, he 38 Leon Poole. Poole was an odd man, clever in some ways, very stupid in 39. Poole had been a respectable 40 in a town near Central City. He had arranged with another man to 41 the bank at a time when an unusually large amount of cash was being held there. The other man had walked into the bank, waved a 42 at Poole, who was on duty, and taken the 43 . Only three men had known when the money would be there, so it was 44 that someone inside the bank must have 45 the robbery. Sam, the detective in 46 of the case, questioned Poole and the others, and released them, but had them all 47 closely. Two days later Poole, thinking he was 48 under suspicion(怀疑), arranged a meeting with the actual robber, who was a known criminal. The 49 arrested the robber and got a confession(坦白) from him. He 50 Poole as the man who had planned the whole thing.
The three officers who went to 51 the fat, soft, bank clerk didn’t expect trouble. 52 Leon Poole turned out to have a gun, and 53 it when they knocked at his door. His 54 hit one of the officers in the arm. 55 they had gone in after him, shooting.
36.A. led B. escaped      C. jumped      D. suffered
37.A. airline   B. traffic C. exercise      D. train
38.A. dealt with     B. talked with C. thought of  D. met with
39.A. rest       B. mind   C. action D. others
40.A. salesman       B. shop assistant     C. bank clerk  D. sales manager
41.A. defend   B. protect       C. rob     D. damaged
42.A. pole      B. finger C. stick   D. gun
43.A. money   B. interest       C. counter      D. car
44.A. doubtful       B.obvious       C. uncertain    D. important
45.A. planned B. prevented   C. hidden       D. blamed
46.A. place     B. possession  C. charge D. search
47.A. followed       B. watched     C. stood  D. communicated
48.A. no longer      B. on earth     C. once again  D. all the time
49.A. clerk     B. army   C. police D. firefighter
50.A. owned   B. named C. directed      D. grasped
51.A. visit      B. frighten      C. invite  D. arrest
52.A. Since    B. Meanwhile C. But     D. Although
53.A. threw    B. fired   C. stole   D. hid
54.A. sound    B. strength      C. anger  D. bullet
55.A. Basically      B. Naturally    C. Namely      D. Comfortably

If you don’t prepare yourself now, retirement may be some of the most boring and dull years of your life. To have a happy, fulfilling retirement, you need to start preparing right away.
The most obvious thing for people to do when they retire is to take up a hobby. The most important step to take before retiring, though, is to make sure that you actually have started some hobbies. Once you’re retired, unless you ‘ve already started a hobby, you’ll find it very hard to get into something new. Some hobbies aren’t for everyone. Think about what you enjoy doing and start participating on a casual basis now.
Another thing many people participate in is volunteering. Not only does volunteering give you something to do, it also gives you a sense of accomplishment(成就) and can add meaning to your life .Volunteering is also rewarding in other ways, too. There are hundreds of different types of volunteer services and you’ll always be able to meet new and interesting people. Also, don’t think that volunteering is always only about helping someone for free. Many companies pay their volunteers after they’ve had enough experience and prove themselves to be valuable workers.
There are plenty of other potions, as well. Going back to school is a great way to keep yourself feeling young. Taking a vacation around the world with your loved ones is another great way to spend your retirement.
Ultimately, though, the key to a happy retirement is simply keeping yourself busy and doing whatever you love. If there’s nothing you love doing now, then you’ll find that once you have a vast amount of free time, your life will be pretty empty. Now is the time to find out what you want to do when you retire.
【小题1】Why does the author suggest starting a hobby before retirement?

Just put your special clothes on in the morning and you could jump 3 meters into the air and even carry more than 60 kilograms without getting tired. The walk to school would be very, very easy. Such supercharged clothing is one of the products that could be created using "wearable robotics” technology.
Designed to improve a person's senses and skills, the device could be as simple as a hearing aid. Or it could be a full-body suit that senses what you're going to do, then helps you do it better.
“A superman suit would be the final result in wearable robot i cs ”，s a id Francois Pin, head of robot­ics and energy systems at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory(橡树林国家实验室), US. While these suits are at least ten years away, in some areas the technology is already in use.
Researchers are developing artificial- arms and legs that allow old，disabled or injured people to move freely. Thus US Army is interested in using wearable robot legs to help soldiers run faster, carry more equipment and be stronger in battle. Jobs that involve lifting heavy loads or saving lives from the rubble of an earthquake could also become much easier.
A robot is a device that responds to a command. You're probably with simple robots, such as toy cars or airplanes that respond to buttons you push on a remote control.
Wearable robotics goes further. Instead of just receiving information through a wire or remotecontrol- the robotic device can send information back to its controller.
Suppose you wore a sleeve that has sensors where your joints are. Every time you move your arm, the sleeve senses your movements and sends the information to a robot, which then moves its arm just as you did. When the robot hits or touches something, it sends a signal back to the sleeve and you sense the action.
In this way，scientists are working to wrap the robot around the person. Their goal is to make the sleeve, shoe or suit help you do what you want to do.
【小题1】Which of the following can replace the underlined word “supercharged” in Paragraph One?
A, expensive      B. overcharged C. advanced     D. full of electricity
【小题2】Products resulting from this wearable robotics technology do not include _______.