How should one invest a sum of money in these clays of inflation (通货膨胀)? Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.

   I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life. "The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people's wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves."

     Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time. Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of clay according to the beating of their own hearts. They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout tire time. So it seems that the first clocks were human beings.

     However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time. They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun. They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour- glasses, and invented water-clocks. Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past.

    Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home. After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in air antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?

According to the passage, collecting antique clocks____.

can hardly keep the value of your savings

will cost much of your savings

may increase your wealth

needs your bravery

By quoting (引用) the remark of a being from another planet, the author intends to____.

A. suggest human beings are controlled by a clock

B. describe why clocks can rule the planet Earth

C. tell readers what clocks look like

D. compare chicks to human beings

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to measure the time?

A. Counting the beating of one's own heart.

B. Making use of candles, sand and water.

C. Observing shadows cast by the sun.

D. Keeping slaves busy day and night.

The underlined phrase stately homes in paragraph 4 means

state-owned houses

houses in very good condition

grand houses open to the public

houses where statesmen meet regularly

The purpose of the passage is

A. to introduce the culture of antique clocks

B. to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks

C. to compare different ways to make a future profit

D. to explain convenient and reliable ways of telling time

A kind of little cars may some day take the place of today’s ones. If everyone drives such cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will also be more space for parking cars in cities, and the streets will be less crowded. Three such cars can fit in the space now needed for one car of the usual size.

The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive. Driving will be safer, too, as these little cars can go only 65 kilometers an hour.

The cars of the future will be fine for getting around the city, but they will not be useful for long trips. Little cars will go 450 kilometers before needing to stop for more gasoline.

If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed in the future. Some roads will be used for the gig, fast cars and other roads will be needed for the slower small ones.

There is much pollution in the air today because ___________.

A. people drive big cars

B. people drive little cars

C. the cars go 65 kilometers an hour

D. the cars can go 450 kilometers an hour

The usual size of cars today is _______ that of the future cars.

A. much smaller than               B . much the same as

C. three times as large as             D. a little larger than

Which of the following is NOT true?

Big cars cost more to own and to drive

Big cars are not useful for long trips

The cars of the future will be smaller than today’s cars.

Small cars are slower than big cars.

The street will be less crowded because ______________.

A there will be fewer cars in the future

B. driving future cars will be safer

C. there will be fewer passengers in the street

D. future cars will be much smaller

Two sets of roads may be needed in the future because_________.

there will be too many cars in the future    

more and more people will get around a city

bit cars and little cars may be used along with each other

it looks more beautiful to have two sets of roads

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