Thousands of people began pouring into Pennsylvania from other states. They wanted to buy lottery tickets. The tickets cost only $0．9 each ．But that small spending could bring them a reward of $90 million. That was the second largest lottery jackpot（积累奖金）in history.
More than 87 million tickets were bought for the Pennsylvania lottery drawing. Those who bought tickets had to choose seven numbers from 1 to 80. The chance of winning was one in 9．6 million. But that little chance certainly didn’t affect ticket sales. In the last few days before the drawing , tickets were selling at the unbelievable rate of 500 per second.
Experts say many people buy lottery tickets because they just want to have a piece of the action. Others say the lottery is a stock market for poor people. It allows them to dream about wealth they’ll probably never have.
But many people believe lotteries are no better than legalized gambling. Some critics note that most people who play are poor and may not be able to afford the tickets. There are also many addicts who take the game seriously. They may pour their life savings into lottery tickets. Some clubs have been formed to help them kick the habit.
Politicians like lotteries because they provide money that would otherwise have to some from new taxes. The profits from lotteries are usually used to pay for education or programs for senior citizens. But critics say this arrangement just allows states to legalize vice（恶习）, under the name of social progress. No matter whether you regard state lotteries right or not , you cannot refuse to accept their extreme popularity with many Americans.
1. The main idea of the passage is that ．
A．lotteries are of great benefit to everyone who buys them
B．playing a lottery is just like investing in the stock market
C．a lot of people buy lottery tickets , but lotteries cause disagreement
D．lotteries are just legalized vice
2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
A．Politicians like lotteries because they don’t have to pay extra tax ．
B．The popularity of lotteries in America actually is social progress ．
C．Some critics don’t like lotteries because many poor people waste their money on them ．
D．People love the lottery because it is a stock market ．
3. In just one hour in the last few days , the Pennsylvania lottery sold tickets totaling ．
A．$1．62 million B．$90million C．$9．6million D．$87million
4. People who are addicted to playing lotteries should ．
A．join a club B．save every cent
C．win the Pennsylvania D．kick the habit
Here is a poster on a middle school web site. Read the web-site poster. Then do Numbers 1 to 4.
Going, Going, Gone!
The Haynes Middle School Parent—Teacher Organization
invites you to attend our latest fund(基金)-raiser,
The Fourth Annual(每年一次的) Haynes School Auction(拍卖)!
Saturday, May 10
6:00 pm — 11:00 pm
in the school hall
6:00 pm — 6:30 pm: All items for auction are previewed.
6:30 pm — 7:00 pm: Silent auction begins.
7:00 pm — 7:30 pm: Highest bidders(出价人) from silent auction are determined.
7:30 pm — 11:00 pm: Main auction begins.
Items up for bid in the silent auction range in value from $ 5.00 to $ 30.00.
Items up for bid in the main auction include the following:
●Airline tickets to a place of your choice
●Weekend getaways at first-class hotels
●Season tickets to the Chicago Bears football game
●$ 50 gift tickets to local gift shops, restaurants, and salons
●Theater tickets to The Merchant of Venice
Don’t miss the boat! Book your tickets today.
Last year, tickets sold out in five days!
Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
$ 15.00 per person
All the money from the auction will be given to the Haynes School computer lab. Which of the following is not mentioned as being up for bid at the auction?
| A．A movie pass to the local cinema. |
| B．A weekend stay at a hotel. |
| C．A ticket to a restaurant. |
| D．Airline tickets. |
The more items that are given or bought for auction, _______.
| A．the less money that will be charged for the tickets to the auction |
| B．the more money that can be raised to support the computer lab |
| C．the faster the ticket will be sold to the auction |
| D．the higher the value that will be placed on the items in the silent auction |
Which of the following is most likely to happen at the year’s auction?
| A．The airline tickets will receive higher bids than any other item. |
| B．All items up for bid will be sold for at least twice their value. |
| C．More money will be raised this year than in any other year before. |
| D．Tickets for the event will be sold out in less than one week. |
The phrase “first-come, first-served” tells you that _______.
| A．people can buy the tickets on the first day only |
| B．the person who is first to arrive will receive a ticket at no charge |
| C．food and drinks will be served at the auction |
| D．tickets are sold in the order of who arrives first to buy them |
Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another. Choice, we are given to believe, is a right. But for a good many people in the world. In rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, something wonderful but hard to get, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertiser, hoping to sell their products.
The endless choice gives birth to anxiety in people's lives. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple. Easy access to a wide range of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item(商品) that is not really wanted. Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods bought in almost every family are not really needed. More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the professionals, lifestyle instructors, or advisors.
It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market. Advances in design and production help quicken the process Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The typical example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought. This indeed makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with case into a shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety.
| 1． |
What does the author try to argue in Paragraph 1?
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| 2． |
Why do more choices of goods give rise to anxiety?
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| 3． |
By using computers as an example, the author wants to prove that
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| 4． |
What is this passage mainly about?
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Seeing a volcano erupt (喷发) is a wonderful experience, and you can really feel the beat by climbing to the summit(山顶) of Pacaya for a close-up view. There are guided tours every day up this highly active volcano from Antigua. Giving travelers a chance to see Mother Nature at her most powerful.
Pacaya is an easy drive from Antigua, a beautiful city with many colorful houses along its old streets that are turned into art-works during its Holy Week festival. No matter when you come to Antigua, you won't miss the Pacaya-tour companies.
But climbing Pacaya is no easy job: it is 2560 metres high, and reaching the summit takes two to three hours of seemingly one-step-forward and two-step-back movements. As you climb, you hear the dull sounds of eruptions high above. Steaming. Hot remains from recent eruptions begin to line the path as you near the active summit; the McKenney Cone(火山锥). Just as though you were going to walk over to the edge of the cone, the road turns to the left and up to the relative safety of the old, inactive summit.
Many tours are timed so that you arrive at the cone of the volcano is plenty of time for sunset and the full contrast between the erupting red lava(熔岩) and the darkening sky. On a good day the view from the summit is extremely exciting. The active mouth boils, sending red lava over its sides, and once in a while shoots hot streams up to 100 metres into the air. There is a strong bad smell in the air even if you take care to be upwind of the cone. As evening turns deeper into the night. the burning lava quietly falls down tae side of the volcano. For you, too, it is time to get down .
| 1． |
What is the main purpose of this passage?
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| 2． |
Antigua is a city.
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| 3． |
Climbing to the McKenney Cone, people will.
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| 4． |
Many tours are timed for people to.
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Being able to multitask-doing several things at the same time-is considered a welcome skill by most people. But if we consider the situation of the young people aged from eight to eighteen, we should think again.
What we often see nowadays is that young people juggle an ever larger number of electronic devices(电子产品)as they study. While working, they also surf on the Internet, send out emails, answer the telephone and listen to music on their iPods. In a sense, they are spending a significant amount of time in fruitless efforts as they multitask.
Multitasking is even changing the relationship between family members. As young people around them. They can no longer greet family members when they enter the house, nor can they cat at the family table.
Multitasking also affects young people's performance at university and in the workplace. When asked about their opinion of the effect of modern gadgets(器具)on their performance of tasks, many young people gave a positive response(反应). However, the response from the worlds of education and business was not quite as positive. Educators feel that multitasking by children has a serious effect on later development of study skills. They believe that many college students now need help to improve their study skills. Similarly, employers feel that young people entering the job market need to be taught all over again, as modern gadgets have made it unnecessary for them to learn special skills to do their work.
| 1． |
What does the underlined word "juggle" in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?
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| 2． |
In Paragraph 3, the author points out that.
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| 3． |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
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| 4． |
The author develops the passage mainly by.
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While all my classmates seen to be crazy about a one-way ticket to Mars(火星), I’d rather say Mars is totally unsuitable for human existence. People won’t have enough food supplies there, and the terrible environment would make it impossible for them to live a long life. Besides, the journey won’t be safe. Can anybody explain to me just why people would go to Mars, never to return?
Steve Minear, UK
Here are the things you can think of: the desire to explore a foreign and unique environment, the excitement of being the first humans to open up a new world, the expectation of fame and glory…For scientists there is another reason. Their observations and research will probably lead to great scientific achievements.
Donal Trollop, Canada
There are already too many people on the Earth. I think that sometime before the end of the century, there will be a human colony(殖民地)on Mars. It will happen when people finally realize that tow-way trips to the red planet Mars are unnecessary. Most of the danger of space Flight is in the launches(发射) and landings. Cutting the trip home would therefore reduce the danger of accidents, save a lot of money, and open the way to building an everlasting human settlement on another world.
Enough supplies can be sent on ahead. And every two years more supplies and more people will needs, and Mars is far more pleasant than the other planets in the outer space.
Paul Davies. USA The main purpose of Steve Minear’s writing is .
| A．to report his classmates’ discussion | B．to invite an answer to his question |
| C．to explain the natural state of Mars | D．to show his agreement on going to Mars |
Which of the following best states Donal Trollop’s idea?
| A．There is a plan to send humans to Mars. |
| B．There are many reasons for going to Mars. |
| C．Scientists become famous by doing research on Mars. |
| D．It is possible to build an Earth-like environment on Mars. |
Paul Davies points out that .
| A．humans need only a one-way ticket to Mars. |
| B．two-way trips to Mars will be made safe soon |
| C．it is easy to reduce the danger and cost of flights to Mars |
| D．it is cheap to build an everlasting human settlement on Mars |
What does Paul Davies think of human existence on Mars?
| A．Humans will have to bring all they need from the Earth. |
| B．Humans will find Mars totally unsuitable for living. |
| C．Humans can produce everything they need. |
| D．Humans can live longer in the colony on Mars |