Two travelling angels (天使) stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy (富有) family. The family was rude(无礼的)and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement (地下室). As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren't always what they seem.”

The next night the_pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable(好客的) farmer and his wife. After sharing the little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income (收入), lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could you watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house.” She accused (指责), “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”

“Things aren't always what they seem.” the older angel replied, “When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy(贪婪的) and unwilling(不愿意的)to share his good fortune (财富)．I asked the God if I could seal (封口) the wall so he couldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer's bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. The things aren't always what they seem.”

6．Why did the old angel repair the hole for the rich family?

A．Because she didn't like the greedy owner.

B．Because she wanted to save the gold for the poor.

C．Because the basement was too cold to stay in.

D．Because she believed that one should always be ready to help others.

7．What does the underlined phrase“the pair”in the second paragraph refers to?

A．The poor couple.　　　　B．The rich couple.

C．The guests.             D．The angels.

8．The younger angel was very angry because ________.

A．the older angel killed the farmer's cow

B．the older angel treated the two families unfairly

C．the wealthy man give them a bad place to live in

D．the angel of death took the cow away

9．Why did the older angel let the farmer's cow die?

A．Because the God wanted the older angel to take the cow.

B．Because she wanted to teach the younger angel a lesson.

C．Because she wanted to save the farmer's wife.

D．Because she was sympathetic to the rich.

10．The story tries to tell the reader that ________.

A．angels are always ready to (乐于)help the poor

B．sometimes things are not what they seem

C．angels are always ready to help the rich

D．the young should always learn from the old

Dogs and millionaires have a lot in common. They are absolute opportunists (especially when it comes to rewards). They defend their territory(地盘). And in general, they don’t like cats. Perhaps that explains a new survey showing that millionaires are far more dog-friendly than the rest of Americans.

According to a study by Spectrem Group, 58% of millionaire pet owners have a dog. Only 37% own a cat. Only 3% keep fish, 2% birds and 2% have a horse. Similarly, 39% of U. S. households own a dog, compared to 33% of households owning a cat, released by the Humane Society.

Jennifer Cona, a trust and estates attorney(信托和资产律师) and partner with Genser Subow Genser & Cona in New York, does a lot of work on pet trusts. She said of all the pet trusts she’s worked on, 90% are for dogs and only 10% are for cats. 

She said dogs provide one thing especially important for the wealthy: unconditional love.

“You don’t get that from a cat,” she said, “Dogs are like children for some families, except that they don’t mess up in college or run off with money. Sometimes it’s easy to see why dogs are the favorite children.”

Millionaires show their love for their dogs in part by their spending. One quarter of millionaire pet owners spend more than $1, 000 a year on their pets, the Spectrem study said, while more than half spend more than $500 a year.

Many would say those numbers are understated, given all the diamond-dog collars, dog foods and booming dog spas in evidence these days, not to mention the medical bills.

The survey showed 34% of pet owners spend money on decorating, while 6% spend on “sweaters, outfits and costumes.”

More than half of millionaire pet owners spend money on teeth cleaning for their pets. More than 16%, meanwhile, said they would spend money on reconstructive surgeries and “anti-anxiety, anti-depression” medication for their pets.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A．Millionaires like dogs more than other Americans.

B．Keeping dogs as pets is quite popular among Americans.

C．Pet dogs help relieve their owners’ anxiety and depression.

D．Millionaires spend much money on teeth cleaning for their pets.

2.From the survey by Spectrem Group, we can learn ___________.

A．about one third of American households own a cat

B．more than half of millionaire pet owners have a dog

C．millionaire pet owners spend $1, 000 on their pets daily

D．34% of pet owners spend money on dog clothing

3.What’s the main reason why millionaires show great love for their dogs?

A．They can afford the high expense to raise pet dogs.

B．Pet dogs have never made a mess of things around.

C．Millionaires feel more secure in company of dogs.

D．Pet dogs show unconditional love for their owners.

4.What does Jennifer Cona probably think of millionaires owning pet dogs ?

A．Ridiculous.        B．Acceptable.        C．Negative.          D．Indifferent.

Parties held by the wealthy seldom welcome poor guests.But last week China made it through the doors into a gathering of the world’s richest countries.

Jin Renqing ,Chian’s finance minister,and Zhou Xiaochuan,governor of the People’s Bank of China,joined a meeting of the Group of Seven(G7)on October1,2004.It is the fist time that China has had direct talks with the club.It was a good chance to share the world powers’thoughts about critical economic issues and promote understanding.

China’a participation is a natural part of its increasingly important role in the global economy.China is the world ‘s factory and the biggest market.

America and China made up almost half of global economic growth last year.“If Anerican consumers and Chinese producers were to reduce their activities at the same time,global growth would drop greatly,”said the Economist,a leading British economics magazine.

Up to now chinese economic stability(稳定)has been closely related to world development.“The increasingly connected global economy means that China should be a part of the meeting.”said Stephen Roach,a world famous economist.

During the meeting,China represented (代表)developing countries.It callde on the world’s developed nations to increase their  spending on aid to poorer  countries.Jin said that overall official help from developed countries is only 0.23 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product(国内生产值),much lower than the 0.7per cent UN targert.And this should be changed.

According to the passage,China particpates in the meeting of G7 because______.

        A.China has become one of the richest countries of the world           

B.China is playing a more important part in the world economy       

 C. China has more factories than any other countries in the world        

 D. developing countries want China to speak for them

Which of the following is true?

        A.China’s participation in the meeting of G7 is the first time that China has talks with the developed countries.          

 B.The stable economy of China has done a great deal to the development of the world.         C.The developed nations are trying their best to help the poorer countries at present

D.America has as large a market as China has.

From the passage we can infer that ________.

        A.Chinese producers as well as American consumers contribute a lot to the growth of the world economy

        B.the author doesn’t think it necessary for China to participate in the meeting          

C.China produces a lot but consumes a little        

D.the economist thinks that American consumers and Chinese producers will reduce their activitres at the same time

The underlined wrold “promote”in the second paragraph means_______.

 A.to make better      B. to make worse       C. to share       D.to make clear

You hear the comment all the time: the U.S. economy looks good by figures, but it doesn’t feel good. Why doesn’t ever-greater wealth promote ever-greater happiness? It is a question that dates at least to the appearance in 1958 of The Wealthy Society by John Kenneth Galbraith, who died recently at 97.
The Wealthy Society is a modern classic because it helped describe a new moment in the human condition. For most of history, “hunger, sickness, and cold” threatened nearly everyone, Galbraith wrote. “Poverty (贫穷) was found everywhere in that world. Obviously it is not of ours.” After World War II, the fear of another Great Depression gave way to an economic growth. In the 1930s unemployment had averaged 18.2 percent; in the 1950s it was 4.5 percent.
To Galbraith, materialism (物质主义) had gone mad and would cause discontent. Through advertising, companies conditioned consumers to buy things they didn’t really want or need. Because so much spending was artificial, it would be unsatisfying. Meanwhile, government spending that would make everyone better off was being cut down because people wrongly considered government only as “a necessary bad.”
It’s often said that only the rich are getting ahead; everyone else is standing still or falling behind. Well, there are many undeserving rich — overpaid chief managers, for instance. But over any meaningful period, most people’s incomes are increasing. From 1995 to 2004, people feel “squeezed” because their rising incomes often don’t satisfy their rising wants — for bigger homes, more health care, more education, and faster Internet connections.
The other great disappointment is that it has not got rid of insecurity. People regard job stability as part of their standard of living. As company unemployment increased, that part has gradually become weaker. More workers fear they’ve become “the disposable American,” as Louis Uchitelle puts it in his book by the same name.
Because so much previous suffering and social conflict resulted from poverty, the arrival of widespread wealth suggested utopian (乌托邦式的) possibilities. Up to a point, wealth succeeds. There is much less physical suffering than before. People are better off. Unfortunately, wealth also creates new complaints.
Advanced societies need economic growth to satisfy the multiplying wants of their citizens. But the search for growth cause new anxieties and economic conflicts that disturb the social order. Wealth sets free the individual, promising that everyone can choose a unique way to self-accomplishment. But the promise is so unreasonable that it leads to many disappointments and sometimes inspires choices that have anti-social consequences, including family breakdown. Figures indicate that happiness has not risen with incomes.
Should we be surprised? Not really. We’ve simply confirmed an old truth: the seeking of wealth does not always end with happiness.
【小题1】The Wealthy Society is a book ________.   

Scientists are uncovering the secrets of two port cities lost under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a researcher said yesterday.

Herakleion and Menouthis were rich and proud cities until something reduced them to rubble (碎石) and buried them in the mud beneath 30 feet of sea water, French underwater explorer Franck Goddio said at the American Geophysical Union conference.

“This is a mystery that is ongoing,” said Goddio, a founder of the European Institute of Marine Archeology, a Paris-based underwater research organization backed by the wealthy Hilti Foundation of Liechtenstein(列支敦士登基金会).

The destruction of the twin port cities has haunted Goddio ever since he happened upon the site about 15 miles from Alexandria while exploring sunken ships from Napoleon’s fleet.

Goddio and his group of expert divers, marine archeologists(海洋考古学家) and others, are using high powered vacuums, satellite navigation systems and sophisticated sonar(声纳) to excavate(挖掘) the sunken cities from underneath a carpet of silt about one meter (three feet) high.

Walls of shops, remains of streets and gold artifacts have been found and recovered.

Some experts believe that the port cities were destroyed by a series of massive earthquakes, much like the quakes scientists believe felled Troy(特洛伊城), Jericho and other ancient cities. The uniform direction of the collapsed columns and walls suggest an earthquake, Goddio said, but no fault lines have been found nearby.

Other researchers believe a massive wave, caused by either an offshore earthquake or a distant underwater landslide, could explain the catastrophe. Still others think rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities.

“The argument, as you can see, continues,” Goddio said.

The reason why the two port cities disappeared under the waters of Mediterranean Sea is that ______.

A. the two port cities were destroyed by huge earthquakes

B. the disappearance of the two port cities was caused by underwater landslide

C. rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities

D. the story didn’t tell us at all

From the story we can draw a conclusion that _______.

A. the two port cities were famous for their wealth and the mystery

B. the two cities belonged to France

C. some mysterious creatures from other planets destroyed the two cities

D. the American Geophysical Union conference was once held in one of the two cities

This article is probably from _______.

A. a scientific magazine       B. a report to the government

C. a school text book         D. a scientific report in a newspaper