Auctions(拍卖)are public sales of goods conducted by an officially approved auctioneer．He asks the crowd gathered in the auction room to make offers or“bids”, for the various items on sale．He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods．

　　Almost all goods of various qualities are sold by auction．Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, fruit, vegetables and wines．Auction sales are also useful for land and property, antique(古董)，furniture, pictures, rare books, old china(瓷器)，and works of art．

　　An auction is usually advertised beforehand with a full description of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by possible buyers．If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues(目录)are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a “lot”, is usually given a number．The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1, and continue with Lot 2, Lot 3 and so on; he may wait until he sees certain dealers in the room and then produces the lots they are likely to be interested in．The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible．

　　The auctioneer must know quite accurately the current market values of the goods he is selling, and he should be acquainted(熟悉)with regular buyers of such goods．He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low．He will also encourage the rivals among buyers to bid against each other in order to get a high price．It is largely in his advice that a seller will fix a “reserved” price, that is, a price below which the goods cannot be sold．Even the best auctioneer, however, finds it difficult to stop a“knock－out”(连裆拍货)，because dealers illegally arranged beforehand not to bid against each other, but choose one of them as the only bidder, in the hope of buying goods at very low prices．If such a“knock－out”succeeds, the real auction sale takes place privately afterwards among the dealers．

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　　In a classroom in any country, the teacher teaches more than art or history or language．He or she teaches what is known as the“hidden course”－the culture of that country．

　　In a society such as the United States, people with different history, culture and language join together and they highly value individualism．Their education, as a part of the society, also values this greatly．Teachers try to make each student special．Students do not have to memorize a lot of information, instead, they work individually and find answers by themselves．There is often discussion in the classroom．At an early age students learn to form their own ideas and opinions．Their education encourages personal thought．The importance is placed on how to arrive at an answer and not simply to get the correct answer．

　　Inmost Asian countries, people have the same language, history, and culture．Perhaps for this reason, the education there shows society’s value in group goals and purposes rather than individualism．Children in China and Japan often work together and help each other on homework．In the classroom, the teaching methods are often very traditional．The teacher says, and the students listen．There is not much discussion．Instead, the students repeat rules or information that they have been taught in order to keep them in mind．

　　In many ways these differences come from different educational psychology．In western countries teachers are taught to nurture(培育)students．They make it easier for the students to learn for themselves．In the Orient, however, teachers often feel that their task is to pass knowledge to students, or the students can’t learn anything．

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　　We can offer you a place at one of the best universities in Britain．We’ll provide you with a choice of 150 first class courses developed especially to enable you to study in your own time, backed by the Open University’s own special study method－OU supported open learning．

　　We’ll give you the support of a personal teacher, and the chance to meet your fellow students．You can take one－off courses, diplomas, a degree or a postgraduate degree．Subjects available include：Computing, Business Management, Technology, Modern Languages, Social Science, Arts, Education and so on．

　　Whether you want to study to improve your jobs or for your own personal interest, there’s almost certainly a course for you．If you haven’t studied for a while, we’ll help you get started．No previous training or degrees are required, you just need a lively power of learning and a willingness to learn．It’s real value for money and you can pay by monthly payments．

　　Open University course materials are of the highest quality and come in a variety of forms, including video and audio tapes as well as texts．The OU leads the world in its use of new technology for learning．A number of courses provide source material on CD Rom．What else can the Open University offer you?The best way to find out is to use the coupon below or phone us today．

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　　The Internet is a way of life for US college students, with research showing them to be one of the most connected groups．

　　A recent study by Harris Interactive and 360 Youth found that 93 percent of American college students visit the Internet, and this market is expected to grow from 15.2 million in 2003 to 16.4 million in 2007．That is slow but could be the result of the already high number of college Internet users．

　　About 88 percent of American college students own a computer, and more than half have broadband(宽带)connections．Furthermore, 67 percent 6 own cell phones and 36 percent use their mobile devices to visit the Internet．Study findings are that 42 percent go online mainly to communicate socially, and 72 percent of college students check emails at least once a day, with 66 percent using at least two email addresses．

　　The most popular online social activity is forwarding messages to friends or family, with 37 percent of college students saying they do so．The study also looked beyond the Internet surfing habits and into the buying habits of this group, and found them responsible for more than US ＄210 billion in sales last year alone．

　　College students have learned how to spend their money, with 93 percent saying low prices were important when shopping．

　　The study also showed that 65 percent make loan(贷款)payments; 41 percent of freshmen have a credit card; and 79 percent of seniors have a credit card．A significant number of charges on these credit cards are likely to be for entertainment and leisure expenses．

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阅读理解

　　Sam, a dog, was left behind in Colorado while his owners, Mr．And Mrs．Green moved to Southern California．They did not give the dog up．They found him a very nice home before they moved．They would have let Sam accompany them, but they were afraid the dog’s presence would make it difficult for them to rent a house when they reached their destination．

　　The Green family lived in Colorado for less than a year．Before that, they had lived in the same neighborhood in California to which they returned．So Sam had been there before, but only for a short time when he was young．

　　Several months after Greens left Colorado, after they were comfortably settled back in California, they heard a scratch at the door．They couldn’t imagine who might be there．It never occurred to them that it might be Sam, because they were sure he was happily set up with his new family back in Colorado．

　　When they opened the door, the Greens saw a dirty, tired dog with very hurting feet．The animal looked a little bit like Sam, but no one could believe that Sam could have walked 840 miles on his own．The tired dog spent the night under the family car．The next day, when he was more rested, he performed some of his old tricks．The Greens knew they had their own dog back．

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　　Maybe you never opened that account, but someone else did－someone who used your name and personal information to commit fraud(造假)．When an imposter(冒名顶替者)uses your name, your credit card number, or some other piece of your personal information for their own purpose－in short, when someone takes your personal information without your knowledge－it’s crime, pure and simple．

　　The biggest problem is that you may not know your identity has been stolen until you notice that something’s wrong：you may get bills for a credit card account you never opened, your credit report may include debts you never knew you had, a billing cycle may pass without your receiving a statement, or you may see charges on your bills that you didn’t sign for, and even don’t know anything about．

　　If someone has stolen your identity, the Federal Trade Commission(FTC)suggests that you take three actions immediately．

　　First, contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit offices．Tell them to mark your file(档案)with a fraud warning including a statement that creditors(债权人)should get your permission before opening any new accounts in your name．

　　Then, ask the credit offices for copies of your credit reports．Credit offices must give you a free copy of your report if it is not correct because of fraud．Review your reports carefully to make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized(侵权的)changes made to your present accounts．In a few months, order new copies of your reports to check your corrections and changes, and to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred．

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　　I'm usually fairly doubtful about any research that concludes that people are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago．While any of these statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically．Still, I was struck by a report which concluded that today's children are significantly(＝to an important degree)more anxious than children in the 1950s．In fact, the analysis showed, normal children aged 9 to 17 exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago．

　　Why are America's kids so stressed？According to the report there are two main causes：increasing loneliness－brought on by high divorce rates and little communication with society, among other things－and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place．

　　Given that we can't turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation handle such difficulties．At the top of the list is giving children a better appreciation of the limits of individualism(个人主义)．No child is an island．Strengthening social ties helps protect individuals against stress．To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers．Your family will thank you later．They will have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep．

　　Limit the amount of virtual(虚拟的)violence your children are exposed to．It's not just video games and movies：children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news．Keep your expectations for your children reasonable．Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale．Make exercise part of your daily routine．It will help you deal with your own anxieties and provide a good model for your kids．Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable．But it doesn't have to ruin your life．

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It was a quarter past nine as Marie hurried into the office building where she would be working．Her bus had inched along through heavy morning traffic, making her a few minutes late for her very first job．She decided she would start out half an hour earlier the next day．Once inside the building, she had to stand at the lifts and wait several minutes before one arrived．When she finally reached the office marked“King Enterprises(公司),”she knocked at the door nervously and waited．There was no answer．She tapped on the door again, but still there was no reply．From inside the next office, she could hear the sound of voices, so she opened the door and went in．Although she was sure it was the same office she had been in two weeks before when she had had the interview with Mr．King, it looked quite different now．In fact, it hardly looked like an office at all．The employees were just standing around chatting and smoking．At the far end of the room, somebody must have just told a good joke, she thought, because there was a loud burst of laughter as she came in．For a moment she had thought they were laughing at her．Then one of the men looked at his watch, clapped his hands and said something to the others．Quickly they all went to their desks and, in a matter of seconds, everyone was hard at work．No one paid any mind to Marie．Finally she went up to the man who was sitting at the desk nearest to the door and explained that this was her first day in the office．Hardly looking up from his work, he told her to have a seat and wait for Mr．King, who would arrive at any moment．Then Marie realised that the day's work in the office began just before Mr．King arrived．Later she found out that he lived in Connecticut and came into Manhattan on the same train every morning, arriving in the office at 9∶35, so that his staff knew exactly when to start working．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Caloundra, a city in Queensland, Australia gives away, on average, 7000 trees per year to its residents(居民)．The local council’s Free Tree Program, which has been running for the past 16 years, allows residents to have two free native trees per year for free．Nursery Manager Phil Rolton, who has worked at the council’s nursery for the past 23 years, has given away thousands of those trees．“We give most of the trees away at the free tree days organized throughout the city．However, residents can also come into the nursery at certain times to collect their trees,”Phil said．“All the trees we give away are natives．I speak with people about and try to make sure they always get plants that are native to their area．When residents receive their free trees, we also give them a native plant book which covers information on how to care for the plants．”

　　As well as supplying plants for the free tree days, the nursery also grow trees to be used for beach protection, environmental projects and for parks and gardens．“Trees that are hard for us to find or expensive to grow, we grow here at the nursery．We also grow a lot of endangered species(种类)to improve our environment,”Phil said．

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