My husband is a born shopper. He loves to look at things and to touch them. He likes to compare prices between the same items in different shops. He would never think of buying anything without looking around in several different shops. On the other hand, I’m not a shopper. I think shopping is boring and unpleasant. If I like something and I have enough money to take it, I buy it at once. I never look around for a good price or a better deal. Of course my husband and I never go shopping together. Doing shopping together would be too painful for both of us. When it comes to shopping, we go our different ways.

Sometimes I ask my son Jimmy to buy some food in the shop not far from our home. But he is always absent-minded. This was his story.

One day I said to him, ” I hope you won’t forget what I have told you to buy.” “ No,“ said Jimmy. “I won’t forget. You want three oranges , six eggs and a pound of meat.”

He went running down the street to the shop. As he ran, he said to himself over and over again, “three oranges , six eggs and a pound of meat.”

In the beginning he remembered everything but he stopped several times. Once he saw two men fighting outside a clothes shop until a policeman stopped them. One of them was badly hurt. Then he stopped to give ten cents to a beggar. Then he met some of his friends and he played with them for a while. When he reached the shop, he had forgotten everything except six eggs.

As he walked home, his face became sadder and sadder. When he saw me he said, “I’m sorry, Mum. I have forgotten to buy oranges and the meat. I only remembered to buy six eggs, but I’ve dropped three of them.”

1.The husband likes shopping because _______.

2.They never go shopping together because_______.

3.Jimmy can’t do the shopping well because _______.

4.Jimmy didn’t buy what his mother wanted because_______.

The tough economy is bringing new shoppers to the secondhand market. Plato’s Closet in Charlotte, NC is a private company which mainly buys and sells used clothes. While Charlotte has outstanding secondhand stores offering high-end and sophisticated (高雅时尚的) brands for women, most of their stock applies to adults. Plato's Closet targets teens and those in their 20s.Plato's Closet, with stores in Matthews and the university area, sells clothes and accessories (装饰品) that are currently popular at up to 70 percent off retail prices (零售价).
The two hottest brands, for buying and selling, are Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. Even though the offerings tend to be suitable for young people, there are a variety of shoppers at Plato's Closet of varying ages. Women in their 30s; 40s and older could easily find a purse, jacket or piece of jewelry they like.
Customer Beth Gibbs, 52, who has three teenage daughters, said she used to shop at name-brand stores, but “this year I'm shopping more in secondhand stores”, because of the economy.
If you're selling
Unlike higher-end resale stores which usually work on consignment (寄售), Plato's Closet buys on the spot.
Items can be gently used, but must be in very good condition.
Clothes should be less than two years old and styles should be the same as those still being sold at the shopping center.
There is no negotiation; prices are set company-wide. If what you sell amounts to $30 or less, they'll give you cash. More than that, you'll get a Visa cash card.
Secondhand success
Don't get discouraged if you can't find something on your first trip. Resale shops are always getting new lists of goods and change their styles with each season.
Be sure to check each piece carefully before buying.
Price comparison
Jackets: New York & Company black blazer, $12; retail: $37.
Pants: Express Editor-style pants, $12; retail: $69.90.
Shoes: Nine West black peep-toe pumps, $12; retail: $89.
Jewelry: Necklaces, $3-$5; retail: $18-$30. (365)
【小题1】What is the difference between Plato's Closet and other resale shops?

There’s no shortage of web sites offering deals-everything from daily deals to members-only private sales. But when it comes to real jaw-dropping deals, there’s one company that seems to have figured out a way to really deliver.

The company is called Quibids and they auction（拍卖）the hottest, in-demand electronics like Apple ipads and ipods, as well as other items like gift cards from the top retailers（零售商）. Unlike other sites, the prices people pay are nowhere near retail. How low are the prices?

$ 33.84 for a new Apple ipad 32 GB（retail $ 600）

$ 22.10 for a new Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera（retail $ 1070）

Our first reaction on seeing these prices was disbelief. After all, how could Quibids possibly afford to sell these items for so little ---- surely they must be losing a lot of money.

That’s where its unique business model comes into play. You see, for every bid a buyer places for an item on Quibids, the company collects a small fee from the bidder. The fee to bid is only about 60 cents, but based on the volume of sales and bids, the company is able to collect enough to make up for the ridiculous prices the items sell for.

But best of all, participating in the Quibids auction is incredibly fun. Because each bid costs a little to place, shoppers can strategize when to place their bids. Each auction has a strict time limit. When you place your bid, the system adds a little time to the auction to see if any other bids come in. If you have the winning bid when the clock runs out ---- you win the item for that price.

But the best part of Quibids may be the “Buy-It-Now” feature. This allows bidders who did not win an auction to still buy the product they want and apply the cost of the bids they placed as a discount on the regular product price. So you still get the item and the bids you placed previously in the auction don’t cost you anything!

1.According to the passage, the success of Quibids mainly lies in          .

A. how its buying and selling is conducted         B. the change in people’s shopping model

C. the quality of the goods and service     D. their willingness to risk losing money

2.It can be inferred from the passage that          .

A. other retailers will be out of business B. winning a bid is not just a matter of luck

C. Quibids only sell popular electronics     D. the prices on Quibids are the lowest

3. A buyer who bid twice for a $ 20 MP4 can get one from “Buy-It-Now” for          .

A. $ 21.2   B. $ 20      C. $ 19.4   D. $ 18.8  

4.Which might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. Buy Products for Next to Nothing          B. How to Buy New Must–have Electronics

C. The Most Successful Shopping Website          D. Tips on Shopping Online

It is believed that the prices of houses will be decreased by ______ 5%.

A. any other            B. the other        C. another      D. other

How do you think of the following example? Many Japanese never take the vacations they should enjoy, but with the coming of “Golden Week”, several holidays following one after another in late April and early May, they pour out of the country in the tens of thousands.

   So when traveling, whether on business or for pleasure, the first thing to think about are hotels. The kind of hotel you choose is decided according to how much money you want to spend. There are small hotels with very few services, where the prices are low, or there are large hotels with all the very latest comforts, where you could spend all the money you have in the bank for a very comfortable night.

   There are several different kinds of people who go to hotels. Some want to live, rather than just stay, in a hotel; hotels which are designed to meet their needs are called residential hotels. However, most people who stay in hotels are either business people or tourists on holiday.

   In most hotels, there are two kinds of rooms: single rooms, for the use of one person, and double rooms, for the use of two people. In addition, in large hotels, there are also suites (套房), which include two or more rooms connected together — perhaps a bedroom and a living room. They are for people who are very rich or very important.

1.From the example of many Japanese, we can learn that           .

A. they don’t enjoy taking vacations because it’s too expensive

B. they enjoy touring in “Golden Week” because it consists of several holidays

C. they don’t have vacations unless they go abroad

D. they enjoy staying at home unless they have enough time and money

2.A person’s choice of a particular hotel is made mainly according to           .

A. how much he is willing to pay for a night

B. whether he is traveling on business or for pleasure

C. whether the hotel is in the central part of a city

D. how good the services of the hotel are

3.If the president of a certain country comes, he will most probably             .

A. live in a new hotel               B. stay in a single room of a hotel

C. stay in a double room of a hotel     D. stay in a suite of a modern hotel

4.If a person stays in a modern hotel with the latest comforts for a night,           .

A. he will become poor        

B. he will have to pay a lot of money

C. he will have to spend all the money he has in the bank

D. he will have to draw all of his money out of the bank