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

I made a pledge (发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving .  No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting (引用) a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful（体贴的） of their wives. Then he went on to say," Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love." To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well , for  two weeks that would change.

And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said," That new yellow sweater looks great on you."

"Oh, Tom, you noticed," she said, surprised and pleased, maybe a little puzzled.

After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, "Evelyn's been alone here with the kids all the week and now she wants to stay with me. " We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed, I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love. There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. Last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“ Tom ,” se said in a voice filled with distress, “ do you know something I don’t?”

"What do you mean?"

"Well...that checkup(体检) I had several weeks ago...our doctor...did he tell you something about me? Tom , you've been so good to me... am I dying?"

It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

"No, honey," I said, wrapping her in my arms. "You're not dying; I'm just staring to live."

1.In the first paragraph, "No ifs, ands or buts" probably means___.

A. unnecessarily     B. unexpectedly    C.   impossibly    D. unconditionally

2.From the story we may infer that Tom went to the beach cottage___.

A. with his family    B. with Evelyn     C. alone            D. with his children

3.During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because___.

A. she looked lovely in her new clothes

B. he had made a lot of money in Wall Street

C. he was determined to be a good husband

D. she was seriously ill

4.The underlined words "one thing" in the passage refer to the fact that___.

A. he praised her sweater, which puzzled her

B. she insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated

C. he knew something about her illness but didn't tell her

D. he was so good to her that she thought she must be dying

5.By saying "I'm just starting to live", Tom means that___.

A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life

B. he is just beginning to enjoy his life as a loving husband

C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change

D. he is beginning to feel regretful for what he did to his wife

I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.?
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “ I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”
【小题1】In the first paragraph, “No ifs, ands or buts” probably means ______.

    Of all the men who ever liked fresh air, no one liked it more than James Wilson did. He _1__ slept with his window open even when snow was falling outside.

    One winter, he went to Finland on business. When he _2__ his room in the hotel, he found that the windows were closed to __3__ the icy air out. He did his best to open one but failed. The bed was really __4___, but Wilson couldn’t sleep. He __5__ forget the closed windows. No fresh air! It was __6___ to think of.

    At about one o’clock in the morning, he was __7__ awake. Worrying about the air in the room. He became very angry. Where was the __8__ ? He could see something that looked like __9___ over there. He threw a shoe at it through the darkness with all the force of his strong right arm. A terrible sound of breaking glass _10__ the room, but to Wilson’s sad heart, it seemed like the sound of __11___ music.

    When daylight came through the window, he __12___ and lay with his eyes close. There was __13__ to worry about. __14___ was it ? Oh, the broken window! Yes, indeed. He would have to pay __15__ that. He opened his eyes to look.

    Suddenly he sat up in __16__. The window was not broken at all. The __17__ was all in one piece, just as good as it had been the night before. __18__ fresh air was entering the room through the window!

    He then turned his eyes to the __19__ and saw a broken picture __20__ on the wall. There was a shoe on the floor below it, and a lot of broken glasses around the shoe.

1. A. seldom           B. often                 C. sometimes          D. always

    2. A. left             B. cleaned               C. entered            D. examined

    3. A. prevent          B. keep                  C. stop               D. send

    4. A. cold             B. comfortable           C. bad                D. terrible

    5. A. shouldn’t       B. wasn’t able to       C. couldn’t          D. wouldn’t

    6. A. unlucky          B. anxious               C. difficult          D. terrible

    7. A. already          B. nearly                C. hardly             D. still

    8. A. waiter           B. manager               C. window             D. light

    9. A. paper            B. glass                 C. a picture          D. a man

    10. A. destroyed       B. covered               C. filled             D. entered

    11. A. funny           B. strange               C. beautiful          D. famous

    12. A. got up          B. woke up               C. went in            D. came down

    13. A. a lot           B. little                C. something          D. someone

    14. A. What            B. How                   C. Where              D. Who

    15. A. to              B. with                  C. from               D. for

    16. A. silence         B. surprise              C. trouble            D. pain

    17. A. window          B. picture               C. glass              D. shoe

    18. A. Much            B. No                    C. Still              D. Yet

    19. A. outside         B. top                   C. side               D. bottom

    20. A. lying           B. hanging               C. falling            D. put    

根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将

该项涂黑。

M：Mr Smith, have you ever been to the Great Wall?

W：No, actually I’ve never been there．    

M：Would you like to go to the Great Wall?

W：    I’ve been waiting for long．I’d be more than glad to．

M：All right．We’ll go by car．Can you get ready by eight?

W：   I’ll try to make it．Do you think I should ask the hotel to pack me a lunch?

M：   I’ll take care of that．There’s a good restaurant there．Oh, it is likely to be windy on the wall at this time of year．

W：   Shall I take a coat with me?

M：Yes, you’d better take a coat or a sweater．Well, I’ll be off now．I’ve got to see about the arrangements．See you tomorrow．

W：Till then．

       A．No, I think there’s no need．

       B．Sorry, but I am terribly busy．

       C．Yes, I think that’s a good idea．

       D．That’ll be fine．

E．Is that so?

F．Of course I’ve heard much about that．

G．I don’t think so