From Monday until Friday most people are busy working or studying, but in the evenings and on weekends they are free to relax (放松) and enjoy themselves. Some watch TV or go to the movies; others take part in sports. It depends on individual interests. There are many different ways to spend our spare time.
Almost everyone has some kinds of hobbies. It may be anything from collecting stamps to making model airplanes. Some hobbies are very expensive, but others don’t cost anything at all. Some collections are worth a lot of money; others are valuable only to their owners.
I know a man who has a coin collection worth several thousand dollars. A short time ago he bought a rare (稀有的) fifty-cent piece worth $250! He was very happy about his buying and thought the price was reasonable (合理的). On the other hand, my youngest brother collects matchboxes. He has almost 600 of them but I doubt (怀疑) if they are worth any money. However, to my brother they are very valuable. Nothing makes him happier than to find a new matchbox for his collection.
That’s what a hobby means, I guess. It is something we like to do in our spare time simply for the fun of it. The value in dollars is not important, but the pleasure it gives us is.The underlined word “individual” in the first paragraph most probably means____ .
A.different | B.strange | C.secret | D.one's own |
In the writer's opinion, ____.
A.all hobbies are very expensive | B.some hobbies don't cost anything |
C.hobbies are worthless | D.hobbies are valuable to everybody |
Something that one enjoys doing in one's spare time is a____ .
A.job | B.pleasure | C.hobby | D.habit |
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The manager expects to meet and talk with successful applicants in Paris in June and July.What is the purpose of the text?
A.To introduce a language school in Japan. |
B.To hire language teachers to work in Japan. |
C.To describe working conditions in Japan. |
D.To make clear the requirements for Japanese teachers. |
Before going to Japan, you need _______.
A.to see the manager of NOVA France |
B.to take some computer courses |
C.to write a letter to Japan |
D.to find a place to live |
If you want to work in Japan you should _______.
A.have some working experience |
B.know how to use computers |
C.present good teaching plans |
D.speak several languages |
I love charity(慈善) shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won't find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.
The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity's appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations(捐赠物). They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children's books, all 10 or 20 pence each.
Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you
see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don't encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.
The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than £110 million a year, funding(资助)medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better place to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and tread lightly on the environment.The author loves the charity shop mainly because of _______.
A.its convenient location |
B.its great variety of goods |
C.its spirit of goodwill |
D.its nice shopping environment |
The first charity shop in the UK was set up to ____.
A.sell cheap products |
B.deal with unwanted things |
C.raise money for patients |
D.help a foreign country |
Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?
A.The operating costs are very low. |
B.The staff are usually well paid. |
C.90% of the donations are second-hand. |
D.They are open twenty-four hours a day. |
Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
A.What to Buy a Charity Shops. |
B.Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development. |
C.Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate. |
D.The Public's Concern about Charity Shops. |
The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone. Enter the Red Hat Society -a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun.
“My grandmothers didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody. They were programmed to do that,” said Emils Comette, head of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society.
While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age. But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers (生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their parents’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old.
If you take into consideration feminism (女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable(必然的). In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple (紫色的) clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing.
“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. With a red hat which doesn’t go,” said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998. When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention. “The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper said. “Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves.” This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful. “We’re a ladies’ play group. It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood.
The underlined word “chapter” in paragraph 2 means __________.
A.one branch of an organization | B.a written agreement of a club |
C.one part of a collection of poems | D.a period in a society’s history |
From the text, we know that the “baby boomers” are a group of people who
A.have gradually become more noticeable |
B.are worried about getting old too quickly |
C.are enjoying a good life with plenty of money to spend |
D.tried living a different life from their parents when they were young |
DIt could be inferred from the text that members of the Red Hat Society are .
A.interested in raising money for social work |
B.programmers who can plan well for their future |
C.believers in equality between men and women |
D.good at cooking big meals and taking care of others |
Who set up the Red Hat Society ?
A.Emily Cornette . | B.Ellen Cooper . |
C.Jenny Joseph . | D.Joe Heywood . |
Women join the Red Hat Society because .
A.they want to stay young |
B.they would like to appear more attractive |
C.they would like to have fun and live for themselves |
D.they want to be more like their parents[来 |
It was Monday. Mrs Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way, Mrs Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it:“Give my dog half a pound of meat.”Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently:“Take this to the butcher(*person whose job is selling meat). and he's going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers (*people who buy sth. from a shop).
But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!Mrs Smith treated her little dog quite_________.
A.cruelly | B.fairly | C.kindly | D.politely |
It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper Mrs Smith gave it_______.
A.might do it much harm |
B.could do it much good |
C.would help the butcher |
D.was worth many pounds |
The butcher did not give any meat to the dog __________.
A.before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs Smith |
B.when he found that the words on the paper were not clear |
C.because he had sold out all the meat in his shop |
D.until he was paid enough by Mrs Smith |
From its experience, the dog found that ________.
A.only the paper with Mrs Smith's words in it could bring it meat |
B.the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it |
C.Mrs Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher |
D.a piece of paper could bring it half a pound of meat |
At the end of the story, you'll find that _______.
A.the dog was clever enough to write on the paper |
B.the dog dared not go to the butcher's any more |
C.the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog |
D.the butcher found himself cheated(*act in a way that is not honest)by the clever animal |
A woman and a man were involved in a car accident on a snowy cold Monday
morning. Both of their cars became totally damaged. But amazingly neither of them was hurt. God works in mysterious ways.
After they got out of their cars, the woman said, “So you are a man. That’s interesting. I’m a woman. Wow, just look at our cars ! There is nothing left, but we’re unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days.”
Flattered, the man replied, “Oh yes, I agree with you completely. This must be a sign from God!”
The woman continued, “ and look at this, here is another miracle. My car is completely destroyed but this bottle of wine doesn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune.” Then she handed the bottle to the man.
The man nodded his head in agreement, opened it and drank half the bottle and then handed it back to the woman. The woman took the bottle and immediately put the cap on, and handed it back to the man.
The man asked, “Aren’t you having some?”
The woman replied, “No, I think I’ll just wait for the police---”
What is the result of the accident?
A.The drivers were badly hurt. | B.The cars were completely destroyed |
C.the police arrived and saved the drivers. | |
D.the drivers became good friends |
The woman told the man to drink the wine to ________.
A.thank God’s help | B.accept her apology |
C.celebrate their survival | D.calm down and get relaxed |
Which of the following words can best describe the woman?
A.tricky | B.friendly | C.generous | D.optimistic |