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 the 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 an antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?According to the passage, collecting antique clocks____．
| A．can hardly keep the value of your savings |
| B．will cost much of your savings |
| C．may increase your wealth |
| D．needs your bravery |
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
| A．state-owned houses |
| B．houses in very good condition |
| C．grand houses open to the public |
| D．houses where statesmen meet regularly |
It’s good to make mistakes, and here is why.
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? The simple answer is “You can’t.” Look around you. With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new．
Another good thing about mistakes is this: When you are making mistakes, you are learning．Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work．
Finally, when you make a mistake you are much closer to success. Why? Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some numbers of things before you succeed．Every time you make a mistake you eliminate one of those things and are one step closer.But this all doesn’t mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences（后果） of a mistake. Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again．
We all have limited time and money so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem. Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate （分配） these resources properly so you can learn, make corrections, and try it again．If you accept and use your mistakes in this way ,you can make great progress in your business and your career．
There is an old saying that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”
So go ahead and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And succeed．From the second paragraph, we can conclude that _______．
| A．mistakes are unnecessary for development |
| B．we are afraid of trying new thing |
| C．it’s common for people to make mistakes |
| D．mistakes are better than not trying |
The underlined word “eliminate” means _______．
| A．avoid | B．remove | C．accept | D．solve |
According to the article, one thing you should pay attention to about making mistakes is_____．
| A．avoiding making the same mistakes |
| B．accepting the punishment willingly |
| C．taking consequences into consideration |
| D．trying things out one by one |
What would the writer probably suggest we say to ourselves when we make a mistake?
| A．Never mind, I can always try again． |
| B．I’d better stay out of trouble． |
| C．Ok! Now I can learn something． |
| D．Look at this mess. Anyone would be upset． |
General Airport Tips
Plan to get to the airport at least an hour early, or two during holidays and other busy times; this will reduce the stress of the flight. If all goes well, you will have time to relax, shop for last-minute items, or have a meal before the flight.
Flight Delays
Find out why your flight is delayed. Call the free call numbers. Find out if other airlines are experiencing similar delays. If you believe the delay is due to something other than weather or air traffic problems, then mention your suspicion （怀疑） and ask the airline agent to book you on the next available flight, either on the same air-line or a competing one. This is called "Rule 240", and all airlines are required to do it. Use the lingo （行话）; ask, "Can you 240 me?" when speaking with an agent. They will know what you mean.
Flight Cancellations （取消）
If your flight is canceled, then make a reservation on the next flight to your destination（目的地）. Usually, air-line officials will try to book everyone on their next flight out. Often they will put you on a competitor's next flight only if you request it. If on-time arrival is important to you, when you check flights through our reservation system you can make your choices based on their on-time arrival records. Be sure to also check the weather conditions, as they often affect flight schedules.
Getting bumped （不能登机）
To avoid getting bumped, you must be at the loading gate at least 10 minutes ahead of scheduled departure（离开） for a U.S. Flight, 20 minutes to /from Bahamas, Canada, and Mexico and 30 to/ from all other international points. You must be at the loading gate, not the airport entrance.By arriving at the airport earlier, one can _______.
| A．get on the airplane immediately |
| B．reduce the pressure of the flight |
| C．have a good rest in the airplane |
| D．buy what he wants in the airport |
If a person calls "Rule 240", he wants to _______.
| A．make sure the time for the next plane |
| B．get a ticket for the next flight |
| C．know if other flights are also delayed |
| D．ask about the reason for the plane delay |
After a flight cancellation, you can_______.
| A．arrive at your destination on time |
| B．be put on a competitor’s flight |
| C．make sure the weather is quite fine |
| D．reserve the next flight to your destination |
People heading for Germany must be at the loading gate at least__________.
| A．40 minutes ahead of time. |
| B．30 minutes ahead of time. |
| C．20 minutes ahead of time. |
| D．10 minutes ahead of time. |
There once was a master who went to India. In those times, we didn't have the communications or airplanes or many kinds of transportation that we do now. So the master went to India on foot. He had never been to India before; perhaps he came from Persia. And when he got there, he saw a lot of fruit. In India they have plenty of fruit to sell, but much of it is expensive because they can't grow much due to the water situation. So he saw one basket, a big basket of some very red, long fruit. And it was the cheapest in the shop, not expensive at all.
So he went up and asked, "How much per kilo?" And the shopkeeper said, "Two rupees（卢比）." Two rupees in India is nothing; it's like dirt. So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and started eating it. But after he ate some of it: Oh, my God! His eyes watered, his mouth watered and burned, his eyes were burning, his head was burning and his face became red. As he coughed and choked and gasped for breath, he jumped up and down, saying, "Ah! Ah! Ah!"But he still continued to eat the fruit! Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, "You're crazy, man. Those are chilies（辣椒）! You can't eat so many; they're not good for you! People use them as a condiment（作料）, but only a little bit to put into food for taste. You can't just eat them by the handful like that; they're not fruit!" So the stupid master said, "No, I can't stop! I paid money for them, and now I'll eat them. It's my money!"
And you think that master was stupid, right? Similarly, we sometimes do a lot of things like that. We invest money, time or effort in a relationship, business or job. And even though it's been a long time, bitter experience tells us it won't work, and we know there's no more hope that things will change in the future — this we definitely know by intuition（直觉） — we still continue just because we've invested money, time, effort and love into it. Just like the man who ate the chilies and suffered so much but couldn't stop because he didn't want to waste the money he'd paid.Why did the master buy a lot of chilies?
| A．He loved the taste of chilies very much. |
| B．He spent a lot of money on chilies. |
| C．The price of chilies is very low. |
| D．The quality of Indian chilies is very good. |
What can we infer about the master according to the passage?
| A．He is very wise in spending his money. |
| B．He came from Persia with someone else. |
| C．He walked to India for the first time. |
| D．He is a very rich and honest man. |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To share us a funny story about a silly master. |
| B．To tell us when to give up in life. |
| C．To offer some information about India. |
| D．To remind us how to spend money wisely. |
A young and handsome executive was driving down a neighborhood street. He thought he saw something. Then he slowed down, watching out for children rushing out from between parked cars. As his car passed, no kids appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into his door! He slammed on the brakes （make his car stop）. The angry driver then jumped out of his car, caught the nearest child and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, “Who are you and what was that all about?”
The little boy was full of apology, “Please，Mister… Please, I’m sorry…I didn’t know what else I could do. I threw the brick because no one else would stop.”
With tears dripping down his face, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. “It’s my brother,” he said. “He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”
Now weeping, the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help me to get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
Touched beyond words, the executive tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed （a light touch） at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. “Thank you and may God bless you.” The grateful child told the stranger.
Shaken up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, he has to throw a brick at us. Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!The executive slowed down because.
| A．he was afraid that some boys would suddenly rush out |
| B．he saw a boy rush out from between parked cars |
| C．he saw a boy throw a brick to his car |
| D．he saw a brick smash into his door |
The boy threw the brick to the car in order to.
| A．disturb the executive on purpose |
| B．stop someone to help him |
| C．ask the driver to drive him home |
| D．destroy the car of the stranger |
After knowing the reason why the boy threw the brick at his car the executive must feel .
| A．sympathized and excited |
| B．angry and guilty |
| C．ashamed and pitiful |
| D．regretful and sympathized |
After the boy’s brother fell off his wheelchair, .
| A．the boy threw bricks at several cars |
| B．the boy’s brother was hurt seriously |
| C．the boy tried to stop several cars |
| D．the boy’s brother wanted to stop a car |
Itzhak Perlman was born in Tel Aviv, in what was then Palestine, in 1945. Today he lives in New York City. But his music has made him a citizen of the world. He has played in almost every major city.
He has won many Grammy awards for his recordings. He has also won Emmy awards for his work on television.
Itzhak Perlman suffered from polio at the age of four. The disease damaged his legs. He uses a wheel-chair or walks with the aid of crutches on his arms.
But none of this stopped him from playing the violin. He began as a young child. He took his first lessons at the Music Academy of Tel Aviv. Very quickly, his teachers recognized that he had a special gift.
At the age of 13 he went to the United States to appear on television. His playing earned him the financial aid to attend the Juilliard School in New York.
In 1964 Itzhak Perlman won the Leventritt Competition in that city. His international fame had begun.
His music is full of power and strength. It can be sad or joyful，loud or soft. But critics say it is not the music alone that makes his playing so special. They say he is able to communicate the joy he feels in playing, and the emotions that great music can deliver.
Anyone who has attended a performance by Itzhak Perlman will tell you that it is exciting to watch him play. His face changes as the music from his violin changes.
He looks sad when the music seems sad. He smiles and closes his eyes when the music is light and happy. He often looks dark and threatening when the music seems dark and threatening.
In 1986，President Ronald Reagan honored Itzhak Perlman with a Medal of Liberty. In 2000,President Bill Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Arts. Several major universities have awarded him honors. He continues to receive honors for his music. According to the passage, we know Itzhak Perl-man __________.
| A．is 60 years old today |
| B．was born in New York City |
| C．was a rich citizen of the world |
| D．has some great achievements in music |
Despite the disease, none of this stopped Itzhak Perlman and he __________.
| A．took his first lessons at the Music Academy of New York |
| B．appeared on television for the first time in New York |
| C．got the financial aid to continue his study of music |
| D．won the Leventritt Competition in his nineties |
When the music seems dark, Itzhak Perlman often looks __________.
| A．dark |
| B．sad |
| C．happy |
| D．light |
We can infer from the passage Ronald Reagan must be president of __________
| A．Palestine |
| B．Germany |
| C．the USA |
| D．England |