But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1840, the United States mint struck 19, 570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to the auction market. So what happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American territory then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates. The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down—since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What .is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich.

　　 1. It can be inferred from the passage that——.

　　　　  A. money buys as much as it did before

　　    B. money does not buy as much as it did before

　　　　  C. paper money buys more than metal money

　　　　  D. metal money buys more than paper money

　　 2. Which of the following is true of a coin?

　　　　  A. The longer it is held, the less valuable it becomes.

　　　　  B. The more it wears out, the more valuable it becomes.

　　　　  C. The less it gets scratched, the less it values.

　　　　  D. The longer it lasts, the more it values.

　　 3. Coins becomes more valuable because

  　　　　A. they make purses and pockets untidy

　　　　  B. the price of metal goes up

　　　　  C. they fall more readily into a category for collections due to their duration

　　　　  D. both B and C

　　 4. What really happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins?

　　　　  A. They were melted down.　　　　 B. They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.

　　　　  C. It is still mystery.　　 　　    　　  D. They were stolen by pirates.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。
A.　Goods for auction (拍卖) sales
　　B.　Definition of bidding
　　C.　Way to sell more goods by auction
　　D.　Auction sales in history
　　E.　Brief introduction to auctions
　　F.　Making a larger profit as an auctioneer
【小题1】______
Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asks the crowd assembled in the auction-room to make offers, or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is called “knocking down” the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer strikes a small hammer on a table at which he stands.
【小题2】 ______
The ancient Roman probably invented sales by auction, and the English word comes from the Latin auction, meaning “increasing”. The Romans usually sold in this way the goods taken in war. In England in the eighteenth centuries, goods were often sold “by the candle”: a short candle was lit by the auctioneer, and bids could be made while it stayed alight.
【小题3】 ______
Practically all goods whose qualities vary are sold by auction. Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, furs, silk and wines. Auction sales are also usual for land and property, furniture, pictures, rare books, old china and similar works of art.
【小题4】 ______
An auction is usually advertised beforehand with full particulars of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by potential buyers. If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot”, is usually given a number. The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1 and continue in the order of numbers: he may wait until he notices the fact that certain buyers are in the room and then produce the lots they are likely to be interested in.
【小题5】 ______
The auctioneer’s services are paid for in the form of a percentage of the price the goods are sold for. The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible. He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low. He will also play on the opponents among his buyers and succeed in getting a high price by encouraging two business competitors to bid against each other.

　　In the 19th century England people liked to go to the seaside. In those days, ladies wore long bathing dresses, and men wore bathing suits. Women did not walk about on the beach in their bathing dresses. They hired a bathing machine. A bathing machine was used for changing in, and for taking the bather down to the sea. It cost 2 pence to hire a machine and an attendant (f~ ~). When she had paid, the bather climbed up the back steps and got into the bathing machine. Then she changed into her bathing dress. When she had changed , the machine was pulled down to the sea. The bathing machine stopped in the water and the bather went down the front steps into the water. If she did not want to get into the sea, the attendant pulled her in.

1. Who used the bathing machine?

　　A. Women bathers.

　　B. Both men and women bathers.

　　C. Bathers who couldn’t swim.

　　D. Bathers who couldn’t walk.

2. A bathing machine was mainly used for

　　A. giving the bather a pleasure ride on the beach

　　B. giving the bather some exercise before getting into the water

　　C. protecting the bather from catching cold from the sea wind

　　D. protecting the bather from being seen in bathing dress out of water

3. In the 19th century people who used the bathing machine usually did the following things. Which is the right order for doing them?

　　a. Changing into bathing clothes

　　b. Getting out of the bathing machine

　　c. Paying 2 pence

　　d. Getting into the bathing machine

　　e. Being taken down the beach

　　f. Getting into the water

　　A. e,d,a,b,f,c　　B. c,d,a,e,b,f

　　C. c,d,e,a,b,f　　D. d,a,e,b,f,c

阅读下面短文，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在机读卡上相应番号处将该项涂黑。

June 5 is World Environment Day. This makes us pay more attention to our environment and the need to protect it.

   When Wang Boxuan, a Beijing high schoolboy, uses up his exercise books, he does not throw them away. Each one is stored at his school with hundreds of exercise books given by other students. Then they are sold to a Beijing paper making factory.

The paper is recycled and used again by students and teachers in the school. At the same time, the money made from the sales goes towards schools in Inner Mongolia for planting trees and grass. This place is one of the sources of the sandstorms that often attack Beijing during springtime.

Wang’s school is one of the schools in the capital that take part in the “Green Promise” —environmental protection activity. So far, nearly 210,000 students have taken part in the activity, collecting more than 87 tons of waste paper.

Students are eager to help make the capital a more pleasant place.

What do Wang Boxuan and his schoolmates do with the waste exercise books?

A. Throw them away.　　　               B. Store and sell them.

C. Cut them into pieces.                   D. Give them to the students in Inner Mongolia.

What is the money used for?　　

A. Buying new exercise books.　　     B. Helping poor students.

C. Planting trees and grass.　　　      D. Being stored.

What can we infer from the third paragraph？　

A. Students will have no exercise books to use in many years.

B. There will be no waste paper in many years.

C. The sandstorms will be weaker in Beijing in many years.

D. Beijing will be much dirtier in many years.

Choose the right order according to this passage?

1     Trees and grass were planted.

2     Schools in Inner Mongolia received the money.

3     Students collected waste paper.

4     Students sold the paper to a paper making factory.

A.③②④①　　    B.②①④③　　    C. ③④②①　　   D.③②①④

Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Planting Trees.　　　　　　　      B. Green Promise.

C. Collecting Waste Paper.　　　       D. Making Money.

阅读下面短文，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在机读卡上相应番号处将该项涂黑。

June 5 is World Environment Day. This makes us pay more attention to our environment and the need to protect it.

   When Wang Boxuan, a Beijing high schoolboy, uses up his exercise books, he does not throw them away. Each one is stored at his school with hundreds of exercise books given by other students. Then they are sold to a Beijing paper making factory.

The paper is recycled and used again by students and teachers in the school. At the same time, the money made from the sales goes towards schools in Inner Mongolia for planting trees and grass. This place is one of the sources of the sandstorms that often attack Beijing during springtime.

Wang’s school is one of the schools in the capital that take part in the “Green Promise” —environmental protection activity. So far, nearly 210,000 students have taken part in the activity, collecting more than 87 tons of waste paper.

Students are eager to help make the capital a more pleasant place.

1. What do Wang Boxuan and his schoolmates do with the waste exercise books?

A. Throw them away.　　　               B. Store and sell them.

C. Cut them into pieces.                   D. Give them to the students in Inner Mongolia.

2. What is the money used for?　　

A. Buying new exercise books.　　     B. Helping poor students.

C. Planting trees and grass.　　　      D. Being stored.

3.What can we infer from the third paragraph？　

A. Students will have no exercise books to use in many years.

B. There will be no waste paper in many years.

C. The sandstorms will be weaker in Beijing in many years.

D. Beijing will be much dirtier in many years.

4.Choose the right order according to this passage?

1     Trees and grass were planted.

2     Schools in Inner Mongolia received the money.

3     Students collected waste paper.

4     Students sold the paper to a paper making factory.

A.③②④①　　    B.②①④③　　    C. ③④②①　　   D.③②①④

5. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Planting Trees.　　　　　　　      B. Green Promise.

C. Collecting Waste Paper.　　　       D. Making Money.