Children are getting smarter by the generation. I am very amazed by how kids these days know exactly what they want, and know how to communicate with several different languages when they are with different persons. It’s very common in HK that kids are being looked after by overseas domestic helpers. Their helpers do speak with them in English. Some do even speak with the kids in their own countries languages. Surprisingly, the kids do know how to response to their helpers regardless what languages they are in communication. This is what I observed a helper with a one-year-old kid on bus last week. My cousin has a Pilipino helper at home for more than ten years. He can response to his helper well regardless she speaks with him in English or Pilipino. Some kids’ grandparents do speak with their grand children in their hometown dialect. The kids also pick up fast with whatever dialect it is. Kids’ parents usually speak with them in Cantonese; naturally, this also becomes their first language.
I have really noticed among urban HK children, is that they know exactly which human behavior to switch on when facing with parents, grandparents and helpers. Their expression is different when they ask their helpers to help compared with their parents. They are usually much more direct with their helpers instead of their parents and grandparents when they want to ask for something. (eg. when they ask for ice-cream or chocolate) I think there must be related to phenomenon（现象）, whether it is learnt or not. It’s really amazing how children automatically（自动地）know all at such a young age, which mode of behavior, and at what tone and manner to use them, who to use them on, and when.
1. The example of my cousin’s story shows that __________.
A. The kids know exactly what they are in need of.
B. The kids know how to communicate well with others.
C. The kids know how to response to their helpers.
D. The kids know all the above at so young an age.
2. Who will the kids turn to for help in the first place?
A. Kids’ parents B. Kids’ grand parents
C. Relatives D. overseas domestic helpers
3. What does the underlined phrase “pick up” most probably mean?
A. succeed in seeing or hearing B. gain or acquire it by purpose
C. learn it without taking lessons D. take hold of and lift it
4. Which of the following expresses the main idea of the text?
A. Kids have an amazing childhood. B. Kids are getting smarter in HK.
C. Kids are truly amazing and smart. D. Kids get along well with the helpers.
Moral science is taught as a subject in most schools but with little effect. Perhaps part of the problem lies in the fact that morality is not a science, strictly speaking. It is too much of a social phenomenon, and also has too much of the personal and subjective things mixed within. Besides, morality itself changes with generations. So it is impossible to be defined in a textbook.
I remember sitting through forty minutes of moral lessons, which told stories about little children who never told lies and were rewarded for their goodness. It had little effect and left no impression on me, though.
If moral science has to be taught as a subject in schools, it needs a participatory(参与其中的) approach. When you tell a child about morals, you also have to deal with social norms（规范）and cultural differences. You have to explain that morality can be subjective, and be able to co-exist in society. You will probably have to refer to the morals of the present time.
The best way to tell a child how to live is to show him what is valued. If a child likes his friend, you have to make the child think about why. Once the child notices and recognizes goodness in others, he or she is likely to develop it as well.
In fact, children learn most of their morals by watching people around them. They absorb behavior patterns from teachers and older students. They watch to see what is rewarded and who is punished. They learn on the sports field and through social work. Moral science lessons should simply consist of letting them live and interact, and watch you support correct values and reward good behavior. Which is NOT the reason that moral science is taught in schools but with little effect?
| A．Morality doesn’t strictly belong to a science. |
| B．Morality is more like a social phenomenon. |
| C．Morality can’t be written down in textbooks. |
| D．Different generations have different moral ideas. |
The author describes his own experience of having moral lessons in order to _____.
| A．explain telling lies is not moral for little children |
| B．advise people should be rewarded for their goodness |
| C．show he has no opinions about moral science |
| D．prove moral lessons in schools have little effect |
When you tell a child about morals, you should________.
| A．teach him to share personal moral ideas with others |
| B．tell him about social norms and cultural differences |
| C．explain that nobody can influence his moral ideas |
| D．say that the present morals are likely to be changed |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．The influence of people’s behavior on morals. |
| B．The value of teachers’ setting a good example. |
| C．The best way of teaching children about morals. |
| D．The importance of rewarding good behavior. |
Are you a problem shopper? The answer is “Yes”, if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping. In other words, do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping? If people have regrets later about their shopping, or have an “out-of-control” feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use, they may be considered to be problem shoppers.
Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem – addictive shopping. Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money. They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a “rush” during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity.
Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety, pain and shame are common ones. When we feel bad inside, we often do something to make ourselves feel better. In this case, we often go shopping.
A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness. For some people, the motivation is a desire for status, power, beauty or success. Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants. Others shop simply because it makes them forget, at least temporarily, tension, fear or unhappiness in their life.
Besides, shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping. For instance, there are some malls where you can’t see clocks displaying the time because they don’t want you to become too aware of the time you spend there. What’s more, food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided, so you don’t have to leave the mall because of your physical needs.
Therefore, once you become aware of how market forces work, you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior. For example, how much time you will spend and what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend. Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it. That is vital for gaining self-control.Which of the following people may not be problem shoppers?
| A．Those who cannot control the amount of credit they use. |
| B．Those who feel sorry for their shopping. |
| C．Those who are occupied in too much shopping. |
| D．Those who just walk around the shopping malls. |
According to the passage, what may not result in addictive shopping?
| A．The desire for status, power, beauty or success. |
| B．The awareness of how market forces work. |
| C．Boredom, emptiness, tension, fear or unhappiness in people’s life. |
| D．Long-time bad feelings of anxiety, pain and shame. |
What does the author suggest to control our shopping behaviour?
| A．Never going to the shopping malls because there are many tricks. |
| B．Applying for a credit card before we go shopping. |
| C．Making a shopping list before we go shopping. |
| D．Making the shopping time as short as possible. |
The author writes this passage to.
| A．inform the shopping malls how to attract more shoppers |
| B．tell a shopping story |
| C．scold the problem shoppers |
| D．provide solutions to the problem shopping. |
Back those photos up
The images were striking. Homes on the East Coast were washed away by Superstorm Sandy. People were in tears, picking up faded photographs, among their only remaining possessions.
If that doesn’t move you to get serious about safekeeping your lifetime of memories, what will? The digital age offers tools never imaginable before—including one-click access to a lifetime of family photos.
Here is a brochure on how to back up (存) your photos and save them online, where they can live forever and be accessible in good times and bad.
Scanning
The first step for those old photos is to scan them and save them to a digital format. Most printers come with scanners these days, so that’s an easy but extremely time-consuming step.
Storing the photos
With your scans in place, import the photos into your computer, and back them up.
You could make multiple copies of the disks and spread them to loved ones. Or you could choose external(外接的) hard drives or USB thumb drive, and add your photo and video collection from your computer.
Online backup
If you need lots of space, look at a pure online backup service, Caronite.
Caronite backs up 300 million files daily. Once you sign up, it starts to pick up everything you have on your hard drive. But photo collection on your computer’s main hard drive charges for $59 a year.
Cloud Storage
For folks who don’t need automatic backup, but instead want to take a more active approach, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft’s SkyDrive let you store files online by yourself, share and instantly access them. All offer free options—2GB of free storage for Dropbox, 5GB for Google and 7GB for SkyDrive. But if you want more, you need to pay.
Bottom Line
The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and easiest. But drives can fail. Online services are more expensive, but more secure. With more of us switching back and forth between our computers, such services are the best way to get access to our data from wherever we are.Why does the author mention Superstorm Sandy?
| A．To tell the background of the scanning photos. |
| B．To describe a severe natural disaster. |
| C．To attract the readers’ interest in the backups. |
| D．To win the readers’ sympathy. |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Scanning photos take little time but costs a lot. |
| B．Caronite charges for backing up photos from hard drive. |
| C．Google Drive offers unlimited free photo storage on line. |
| D．The hard drive or flash drive is the cheapest and safest. |
Which of the following allows storing files automatically?
| A．Dropbox. | B．SkyDrive. | C．Caronite. | D．Flash drive. |
The main purpose of the passage is to _____.
| A．introduce some of the storage services |
| B．tell real stories about storage services |
| C．describe the functions of storage services |
| D．argue about the advantage of storage services |
In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They had to move back to an apartment in New York City. Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses” because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbors |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don't want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to be happy |
It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
| A．live outside New York City |
| B．live in New York City |
| C．live in apartments |
| D．live with many neighbors |
What's the author's attitude to keeping up with the Joneses?
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. | C．Supportive. | D．Objective. |
In the UK, we like a good bargain. People flock to the sales in January, when stores slash their prices to get rid of all their winter stock. But surprisingly, the British hate haggling. In markets you might see the odd British person battling with a stall owner to bring down the price of a pair of trousers or some furniture. Generally, though, people from the UK are too reserved to haggle. If we think the price of something we want is too high, we’ll simply move on and try somewhere else.
The act of bargaining with someone is very theatrical, in my opinion. It’s a test to see who can stand their ground for the longest. But it is not in British people’s nature to “perform” in public, especially around strangers.
However, in the US, people are generally more willing to haggle. And if you wander into a market, you’re likely to hear a number of phrases that Americans reserve for such occasions.
First, “you drive a hard bargain” is commonly said by the customer to indicate they think the stall holder is working very hard, probably a little too hard, to get the price he wants.
Or you might hear the buyer telling a stall holder that “the kid’s gotta have braces”, which means they don’t have enough spare money lying around to afford the price being offered.
If the customer is really shocked at the price suggested by the seller, they also might say “you’re killing me” to indicate that they think the price is far too high.
In Britain, it’s difficult to imagine anyone saying anything along these lines. If I were forced to bargain, I’d probably say, very simply: “I’m going to make you an offer.” If that offer were refused, I think I’d just walk away.The underlined word “haggling” can be replaced by _______.
| A．arguing | B．bargaining | C．performing | D．insisting |
Why don’t the British haggle generally?
| A．They don’t think it is polite behavior. |
| B．They have sales every January. |
| C．They can always get a better price somewhere else. |
| D．They dislike openly expressing feelings or opinions. |
The underlined phrase “you drive a hard bargain” means_______.
| A．the seller has a lot of deals on offer. |
| B．the buyer will make a final offer |
| C．the stall holder is too insistent |
| D．the buyer doesn’t have a lot of spare money |
What’s the author’s attitude toward bargaining?
| A．Negative. | B．Careless. | C．Positive. | D．Critical. |
How does the passage mainly develop?
| A．By providing examples. |
| B．By making comparision. |
| C．By analyzing causes and effects. |
| D．By following the order of importance. |