Dear Economist,
My newly-wedded wife and I are deeply in love. There is, however, one issue that threatens the happiness of our marriage. I absolutely insist on shopping at Walmart. My wife, meanwhile, would rather avoid Walmart at all costs.
　　I have recently tried to convince her that not only does Walmart offer the lowest prices known to man, but that the chain is also a force for good―lower prices mean better standards of living for all consumers, increased global trade means a tighter-knit(紧密团结的) international community, and efficient operations translate into higher productivity growth for the economy. My wife complains about poor labour policies, the “fact” that Walmart squeezes suppliers, and that it puts local shops out of business.
　　Who is right? Will our marriage survive?
　　                                                                                                                                                  Brian Gee
Dear Brian,
I have to agree with you about Walmart. Jason Furman, then an economist at New York University, now an adviser to President Obama, famously argued in 2005 that Walmart was unwittingly (不知不觉地) a progressive success story. The chain’s prices don’t much affect me (I prefer Whole Foods) but Furman estimated that they benefited low-and-middle-income Americans to the sum of around $250 billion a year.
　　Walmart does not pay much, so it may depress wages. Then again, it may increase wages by offering jobs to the otherwise-unemployed. Either way, the benefits of low prices to Walmart shoppers far outweigh any seemingly reasonable costs to Walmart employees. And while it is true that Walmart employees tend to be poor, the same is true of Walmart shoppers.
　　Armed with this information you can face your wife with confidence. You are sure to win the conversation. The divorce is likely to be more argued.
Economist
68. What concerns Brian Gee so much that he wrote the letter?
A. His wife refuses to shop at Walmart.
B. They are faced with a divorce.
C. They can’t afford the costs of shopping at Walmart.
D. They are in conflict about shopping at Walmart. 
69. Brian Gee’s wife tends to hold the opinion that _________.
A. it is wrong for Walmart to depress its employees’ wages
B. consumers’ lives have improved thanks to Walmart
C. Walmart’s business operation increases productivity in economy
D. Walmart’s business increases global trade
70. What can be inferred from the reply letter?
A. Some employees accept the low pay to keep the job.
B. Walmart appeals to only poor consumers and poor employees.
C. Employees suffer from Walmart’s low prices more than consumers.
D. Jason Furman, a New York University economist, spoke highly of Walmart.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

     One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered．and they all admired his heart for it was 　41　. There was not a scar in it. Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, “Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as 　42　.”

　　The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s 　43　. It was full of scars, it had places 　44　 pieces had been removed and other pieces 45　 in, but they didn’t fit quite right, and there were several 　46　 edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gaps where whole pieces were missing.

　　The young man laughed. “ 　47　 your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars.”

　　“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours  48　 perfect but I would never trade with you. You see, every　49　 represents a person 　50　 I have given my love. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they 51　 me a piece of their heart that fits into the  52　 place in my heart. But because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we 　53　.

　　“Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart 　54　, and the other person hasn’t returned a 　55　 of his or her heart to me. These are the empty gaps—giving love is 　56　 a chance. Although these gaps are painful, they 　57　 open, reminding me of the love I have for those people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have been waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?’’

　　The young man walked up to the old man, 　58　 his perfect heart, and tipped a piece out. He 　59　 it to the old man.

　　The old man placed it in his heart, then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It 　60　, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.

　　The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.

　　They embraced and walked away side by side.

1.A．ugly　　　　　B．perfect　　　　　 C．beautiful　　　　D．hurt

2.A．mine　　　　 B．his　　　　　　　 C．theirs　　　　　D．ours

3.A．coat　　　　　B．appearance　　　　C．face　　　　　 D．heart

4.A．that　　　　　B．which　　　　　　C．where　　　　　D．whose

5.A．cut　　　　　 B．set　　　　　　　C．put　　　　　　 D．brought

6.A．smooth　　　 B．rough　　　　　　C．broken　　　　　D．pretty

7.A.Comparing　　　B．Compared　　　　C．Compare　　　 D．Compares

8.A．looks　　　　 B．seems　　　　　　C．is　　　　　　　D．fits

9.A．one　　　　　 B．heart　　　　　　 C．piece　　　　　 D．scar

10.A．on whom　　 B．in whom　　　　　C．with whom　　  D．to whom

11.A．take　　　　 B．give　　　　　　　C．lend　　　　　　D．pass

12.A．empty　　　 B．full　　　　　　　 C．original　　　　 D．first

13.A．had　　　　  B．gave　　　　　　 C．shared　　　　　D．owned

14.A．in　　　　　 B．away　　　　　　 C．off　　　　　　D．up

15.A．lot　　　　　 B．sheet　　　　　　 C．piece　　　　　D．pile

16.A．making　　　 B．taking　　　　　　C．keeping　　　　D．bringing

17.A．keep　　　　　B．cut　　　　　　　C．come　　　　　D．stay

18.A．carried away　　B．reached into　　　C．took out　　　 D．brought up

19.A．offered　　　　B．took　　　　　　C．passed　　　　　D．served

20.A．fit　　　　　　B．hit　　　　　　　C．beat　　　　　　D．set

根据对话情景和内容,从对话后所给的选项中选出能填入每一空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑.选项中有两个为多余选项

W: Why don’t we go to a movie tonight?

M: __1.___ I have to study.

W: But it is just a couple of hours.

M: No. ___2.__　I have no choice. I have to study.

W: Can I help you?

M: I don’t think so.___ 3.__ Then I have to read 20pages of my grammar book.

W: Oh, your teacher must be a monster to give you all that work!

M: __4.   . He told us about the test three weeks ago.__ 5.  

     A. First I have to memorize some irregular verbs

B. My teacher is always giving us much homework.

C. I’d like to, but I can’t

D. I have been watching football matches and I have to study day and night!

E. I’d like to.

F. I have a French test tomorrow morning.

G. No, It’s my fault.

Dear Economist,
My newly-wedded wife and I are deeply in love．There is, however, one issue that threatens the happiness of our marriage．I absolutely insist on shopping at Walmart．My wife, meanwhile, would rather avoid Walmart at all costs．
　　I have recently tried to convince her that not only does Walmart offer the lowest prices known to man, but that the chain is also a force for good―lower prices mean better standards of living for all consumers, increased global trade means a tighter-knit(紧密团结的) international community, and efficient operations translate into higher productivity growth for the economy．My wife complains about poor labour policies, the “fact” that Walmart squeezes suppliers, and that it puts local shops out of business．
　　Who is right? Will our marriage survive?
Brian Gee
Dear Brian,
I have to agree with you about Walmart．Jason Furman, then an economist at New York University, now an adviser to President Obama, famously argued in 2005 that Walmart was unwittingly (不知不觉地) a progressive success story．The chain’s prices don’t much affect me (I prefer Whole Foods) but Furman estimated that they benefited low-and-middle-income Americans to the sum of around $250 billion a year．
　　Walmart does not pay much, so it may depress wages．Then again, it may increase wages by offering jobs to the otherwise-unemployed．Either way, the benefits of low prices to Walmart shoppers far outweigh any seemingly reasonable costs to Walmart employees．And while it is true that Walmart employees tend to be poor, the same is true of Walmart shoppers．
　　Armed with this information you can face your wife with confidence．You are sure to win the conversation．The divorce is likely to be more argued．
Economist
【小题1】What concerns Brian Gee so much that he wrote the letter?