Shopping is one of the best ways to relax after a stressful week. Nothing is more satisfying than finding a perfect item -- and when I’ m bored with shopping for clothes I move on to make-up and shoes. I never shop in sales -- the reason the items haven’ t sold at full price is usually because they are badly made or horrible colours.

--Blanca

I hate shopping and it bores me enormously. I really cannot understand such a useless and expensive habit. I only shop for clothes when I can’ t get out of it and when I do, I make sure I buy good quality and as much as I can afford, to put off having to go again for as long as possible. I have friends who will spend a Whole day going from shop to shop trying on lots of different clothes and not buying anything. That’s really stupid.

--Pam

I can’ t see the point in spending a lot of money on clothes, when they are so much cheaper abroad. I do most of my shopping when I go on holiday, and get great clothes for half the price. I love finding bargains! I also buy a lot in sales. The clothes may be out of fashion a bit, but they’ re good quality, and if you wait long enough, they come back into fashion!

--Meghan

I personally still spend half of my wage on clothes. I usually only ever wear something three times before I throw it in the back of my wardrobe (衣橱). I never wear a party dress more than once. If I lost my job and couldn’t afford to buy lots of clothes, I would never be able to go out of the house again.

--Shelly

1.What does Pam focus on when shopping for clothes?

A. Price. B. Brand.

C. Pattern. D. Quality.

2.Who is a bargain hunter?

A. Blanca. B. Pam.

C. Meghan D. Shelly.

3.Which of the following can best describe Shelly?

A. She has no taste for clothes.

B. She is addicted to shopping.

C. She is always leading the fashion.

D. She goes shopping only when necessary.

Volunteering Is Fun

One afternoon I was sitting at home feeling so bored. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to meet people and have new experiences so I decided to start volunteering. I searched on my computer and found a website where I could volunteer on a farm in France.

My time working on a farm was a new experience for me. It was basically a free holiday as food and accommodation were provided. However, it was not your typical holiday as I had to look after fifteen horses and sleep at the top of a tower in a castle! I was an awful farmer but it did not matter because I made some great friends.

However, you do not need to go abroad to volunteer. I have had plenty of adventures at home as volunteering can become a hobby. For example, I love singing so I had a good laugh waving my arms in an attempt to conduct my local choir. I did slowly improve and it felt great to conduct the choir in a concert. At university, I organised a concert for charity with my friends. It was really fun finding hands and raising money for a cause we believe in.

It is true that you feel good volunteering but there are also other advantages. I once vol-unteered as a server at a charity sports event where the organizers gave me cupcakes to thank me for my services. I also volunteered in a charity shop so I found loads of nice cheap clothes to update my wardrobe (衣柜).

While this is all fun, my favourite aspect of volunteering is creating and sharing stories. My terrible attempts at farming have given me hilarious stories to tell! Talking to volunteers from different countries and backgrounds has also helped me learn more about the world. I feel thankful to have had so much fun with many nice people thanks to volunteering.

1.Why did the author want to be a volunteer?

A. He wanted to go abroad.

B. He felt ashamed of himself.

C. He wanted to taste new life and make friends.

D. He wanted to be a farmer.

2.The underlined word “hilarious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “ ” .

A. sad B. critical

C. awful D. funny

3.The author did many volunteering work except .

A. taking care of horses and sheep B. conducting a choir in a concert

C. helping in a charity sports event D. helping in a charity shop

4.How does the author feel according to the last paragraph?

A. Curious. B. Anxious.

C. Cautious. D. Grateful.

“Regardless of social class, race and age, men say they hate to shop,” says Zukin, City University of New York sociology professor. “Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they like to shop. Men generally like to shop for books, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they'll say, ‘Well, that's not shopping. That's research.’”

In other words, what men and women call “buying things” and how they approach that task are different.

Women will wander through several 1,000?square?metre stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the perfect digital camcorder. Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a special task or a game to be won.

“Men are frequently shopping to win,” says Ann, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. “They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best and latest one and if they do that, it makes them happy. When women shop, they're doing it in a way that they want everybody to be very happy,” says Ann. “They're kind of shopping for love.”

“Teenage girls learn to shop from their mums and elder sisters, and they also learn to shop by examining articles in magazines like Seventeen,” Zukin says. “And although men's magazines such as GQ and Esquire have long had shopping articles, it's TV that has the eye of young male shoppers,” say Ann and Zukin.

“Television shows are used by young men in the same way Seventeen or Lucky is used by girls,” says Zukin, “to help make clothing and toiletry choices.”

“Of course, there are men who love to shop and are proud of it,” Ann says. And that is important no matter whether you buy a car or a frying pan. All men love to buy but don't want to get cheated. Ann adds, “There actually are men who are interested, for example, in cooking or shopping or chinaware or things around the home—they become kind of girl magnets. Women like it.”

1.From the first paragraph we can find that .

A. men are all dishonest B. men like to shop in fact

C. men hate to shop actually D. men are all book?lovers

2.Compared to women, men usually treat shopping .

A. honestly B. frequently

C. seriously D. foolishly

3.As is shown in this passage, teenage girls go shopping .

A. only with their sisters B. often following magazines

C. only with their mums D. often following TV shows

4.The underlined word “magnets” in the last paragraph means “ ”.

A. vegetables that make women beautiful

B. magazines that attract young women

C. persons that have a powerful attraction

D. tools that can help housewives much

Jessica Westervelt,a Spanish teacher at Bethlehem High School in New York,created an activity called “House Hunters”,which was inspired by the popular television show “House Hunters International”,for her Spanish class about four years ago.

Similar to the show,students work in groups,pretending to be real house agents,and look for three houses in Spanish-speaking countries.She uses the activity to teach vocabulary related to the home,chores,travel and vacation.She created the exercise because she wanted to incorporate her students’ interests into the curriculum.At the time,a group of her students were big fans of the show.

The students look for a house for Westervelt to buy to live in,or rent for vacation.She tells them what she is looking for in a home and gives them a budget.Students work in groups of three,and each student is responsible for finding one house in a Spanish-speaking country that fits the requirements.

The groups usually make a brochure describing the houses they find.Each group presents their findings to the class,while the other students take notes.The entire activity is done in Spanish,so students get to practice their writing,listening and conversation skills.They also get some cultural education when researching homes in Spanish-speaking countries.Westervelt says that students planning to take the class look forward to her project.

Westervelt says,“I think any time that you can find a way to link into something that they are interested in outside of school,it makes it more realistic for them and it makes that activity much more enjoyable for them.”

1.How did Westervelt come up with the idea of the activity?

A. She got it from a TV program. B. She was inspired by her students.

C. She learned it from a house agent. D. She was taught that in high school.

2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “incorporate” in Paragraph 2?

A. change B. absorb

C. force D. persuade

3.What are the students supposed to do with the houses they find?

A. Rent the houses for their vacation. B. Live in the houses for a while.

C. Write an introduction to the houses. D. Choose and buy one for their teacher.

4.What do Westervelt’s words in the last paragraph mean?

A. Most school activities are not enjoyable.

B. Students should be realistic about study.

C. Out-of-school activities are very important.

D. Learning should be combined with interest.

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网