At the top of a hill,we can usually get a good view of everything around us,so from there we can plan which direction to go next.

As we go downhill,we can see less and less,and at the bottom of that hill,even less.So,because we can see more from the top of the hill,we can also plan our future better.

In business,education,or anything else that people do,being”on top”means being the best.A business that is”on top”is beating all its competition in the same way,a student”on top”is getting the highest grades in his or her class.

Such a business or student is in a good position to plan a positive future.

It is necessary,however,to continue to work very hard to keep one’s position”on top”.If one allows high standards to fall through inattention,mismanagement,or poor quality control,we can say that that person’s work or business is”going downhill”.

1.What does”go downhill”in this passage mean?

A.See less.　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B.Be in a worse condition.

C.Get worse.　　　　　　　　　　　　 D.Slip off the top of a hill.

2.If a company 　　　,it will go downhill.

A.beats all its competition　　　　　　　 B.no longer gets a good view

C.is run improperly　　　　　　　　　　　 D.has no direction to go next

3.The writer wants to tell us that 　　　.

A.we’d better often plan our future

B.it’s worth trying to keep”on top”

C.it’s not easy to keep high standard

D.the higher we stand the further we can see

People often say that money talks. They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done. But it is not easy to earn enough money to gain this kind of power. Ask anyone in a business, they will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The expression probably began because the jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people. Sometimes people in business feel competing businesses are as dangerous as wild animals. And they feel that unknown dangers in the business world frighten the survival of their business.

People in business have to be careful, if they are to survive the jungle out there. They must not be led into making bogus investments. Bogus means something that it is not real. Nobody is sure how the word got started. But it began to appear in a American newspapers in 1800s. A newspaper in Boston Massachusetts said the word came from a criminal whose name was Bogazy. The newspaper said Bogazy wrote checks to people, although he did not have enough money in the bank. After he wrote the checks, he would flee from town. So people who were paid with his checks received nothing. The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed to the criminal's name Bogazy to bogus.

People try to earn money also must be aware of being ripped off. A person who is ripped off has had something stolen or at least has been treated very unfairly. A writer for the magazine American Speech said he first saw the expression used in 1971. It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university. The message on the sign was that the student felt ripped off or cheated. Perhaps the best way to prevent getting ripped off in business is to not try to get rich quickly.

To be successful, a person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks. This expression means to get to the bottom or most important part of something. For example, a salesman may talk and talk about his product without saying the price. You get down to brass tacks when you say it sounds good but how much does it cost？

Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships. They clean the bottom of a boat. When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the brass tacks, the copper pieces that hold the boat together. So if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there. And some good luck will help too.

1.This passage is mainly written to________.

A. explain several expressions related to money

B. tell us some skills of learning English words

C. tell us the secret of how to do business

D. tell us the power of money

2.People compare doing business to being in a jungle because________.

A. doing business is as exciting as living in a jungle

B. businessmen are as dangerous as animals in a jungle

C. doing business is as difficult as living in a jungle

D. businessmen are as careful as people living in a jungle

3.If we say something is bogus, we probably mean it is not________.

A. real                          B．beautiful                        C．good                               D．new

4.According to Paragraph 2,where did the word "bogus" come from? _________

A. The name of a very successful businessman.

B. The name of a criminal who cheated others.

C. The name of a famous newspaper in Boston.

D. The name of a check written by a criminal.

Most Americans are turning to charm school to gain an advantage over competitors in a job market stricken by the longest economic slowdown since the Great Depression.

Etiquette (礼节) trainers report business growing from clients who believe that good manners could be the key selling point that helps them get hired or keeps them off the unemployment line.

“People are prepared to do whatever it takes to keep their job”, said Gloria Starr, an adviser on image, etiquette and communications in North Carolina. Starr, who says business is up 40 percent in the past year at her school, said people were “realizing that it takes more than just ability and knowledge” to keep or win a job.

Peggy Newfield, who had been teaching etiquette for 30 years and runs a charm school, said business was “booming.” “When the economy is down etiquette training will always be up. They’re focusing on‘What I can do to survive, I really have to keep up my game because the competition is keen.’”

Proper business manners, however, extend far beyond greeting or thanking a would-be employer. Etiquette classes deal with the basics of presentation in an interview, including what to say and how to dress.

“It’s so much more than writing the thank-you note at the end,” Newfield said. “It’s about walking in for the job interview, every hair is in place, your clothes are perfectly pressed, your shoes are polished, you’re groomed to the nines, you speak the part, and your English is correct.”

It’s great that we have seen this renewal in etiquette and manners and self respect.

Studies have shown that 85 percent of the reason a person gets a job, keeps a job and moves up is related to their personal skills. There are very few jobs out there where your manners, where your socials skills, are not a big piece of being successful. If you have manners you can walk into any business or social situation.

Teaching etiquette has become a tougher task. Some people point to bad public behavior by athletes and celebrities as a factor in ruining good manners in US society. Hotel owner Paris Hilton, actress Lindsay Lohan and singer Britney Spears are among those who have been charged with setting a poor example, especially for children and adolescents. Hilton is infamous for a sex tape that became an Internet hit, Lohan has long been gossip stuff due to her quarrels with the law and Spears was photographed partying without underwear.

61. The writer wants to tell the readers____________.

A. the etiquette training in America         B. the ways to avoid failure

C. good manners count in keeping a job      D. how to keep business up

62. From the passage we learn that the charm school____________.

A. helps those who are unemployed        B. deals with moral problems

C. becomes more popular with people      D. does good to the economy

63. The underlined sentence “you’re groomed to the nines” probably means “you’re ____________”.

A. dressed in the best way               B. fully understood

C. greeted with good manners            D. very concerned

64. We can infer from the last paragraph that ____________.

A. good examples contribute to etiquette teaching

B. good public behavior doesn’t exist any more

C. teaching etiquette has become a tougher task

D. some famous people don’t have good manners

65. Which of the following can you NOT learn in Peggy Newfield’s charm school?

A. How to dress in a job interview

B. How to hack into the company central database.

C. How to maintain an edge over other competitors in the job market.

D. How to improve your communicative skills with your colleagues.

One of the traditions which is now a necessary part of Christmas is that of Father Christmas, or Santa Claus. According to the modern legend, he is a magical figure who visits all the children of the world during the night before Christmas Day, leaving presents which they find the next morning. He flies through the night sky in a sledge pulled by reindeer, and enters houses by climbing down chimneys. This strange legend is based on the life of a man called Nicholas, but in fact we know very little about him. Historians think he was a Christian bishop(主教) in Turkey in about 285－350 A. D. One of the stories about him is that he helped three poor girls. No one would marry them because they were so poor. To provide them with money for their weddings, Nicholas secretly dropped some gold coins down the chimney of their house. After Nicholas died, he was made a saint(圣人) by the church. (The name Santa Claus thus comes from St Nicholas.) His feast day was celebrated in December, and parents started giving their children secret presents from St Nicholas. Over the years, this custom became part of our Christmas traditions.

    Recently, a psychologist has claimed that Father Christmas is “the perfect fantasy” for children. According to Professor Anthony Clare, children love the character of Father Christmas because he is like an ideal father: he loves children and gives them presents, but he never criticizes them, is never angry, and children do not even need to thank him for the presents. Other writers, however, point out that Father Christmas can be a frightening character to some children. Jane Bidder says that some children are terrified of this fat, bearded old man. It can certainly confuse many children. As parents, we warn our children to be careful of strangers and never to let them into the house, and yet we tell children that a strange man will come into their bedroom at night! Some children can become very worried about this idea and fear that he is a kind of burglar.

Most children, however, understand from their parents and from the media that Father Christmas is basically a benign character, and look forward to his annual visit with joy and excitement.

46. The main point of the first paragraph is that ________.

Father Christmas is an important part of Christmas 

the tradition of Father Christmas is a modern idea

Father Christmas is a magical figure who can fly   

the legends about Father Christmas are not true

47. The writer mentions details such as Father Christmas’s sledge, the reindeer and the way he climbs down chimneys because he/she ____________.

wants to make it clear that these things are impossible   

is describing the history of St Nicholas

wants everyone to believe that Father Christmas is real

is explaining the modern legend of Father Christmas

48. Why does the writer mention the story about St Nicholas helping three poor girls?

It shows us that historians know very little about him.

This story explains why parents give secret presents to children.

It supports the writer’s main point that Father Christmas is based on an untrue story.

This story explains why we celebrate Christmas in December.

49. In the last paragraph, the word “benign” means _________.

      A. religious    B. friendly      C. frightening D. unreal

50. The best title for this passage would be __________.

   A. Is Father Christmas Dangerous?       B. The True History of St Nicholas

   C. The Legend of Santa Claus  D. The Traditions of Christmas