Never go into a supermarket hungry! This is a good piece of advice. If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to. Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn’t enough for consumers these days. Modern shoppers need an education in how and how not to buy things at the store. First, you check the weekly newspaper ads. Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things. In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual! “New and Improved!” or “All Natural” on the front of a package influence you. Instead, read the list of ingredients(contents) on the back. Third, compare prices: that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands and different sizes of the same brand.
Another suggestion for consumers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands. Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages. These products are cheaper because producers don’t spend much money on packing or advertising. The quality, however, is usually as good as the quality of well-known name brands. In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands th
at are not famous. Shopping in discount clothing stores can help you save a lot of money. Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores.
Wise consumers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage: knowledge of the psychology behind the ads. In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation. They ask themselves questions: Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image? With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice.All the following statements are true about the phrase “ordinary items” in Paragraph 2 EXCEPT __________.
| A.ordinary items never say “New and Improved” or “All Natural” |
| B.ordinary products are usually cheaper than famous brands |
| C.producers spend less money on packaging of ordinary items |
| D.the quality of ordinary items is usually as good as that of famous brands |
What does the writer think about ads? __________
| A.They are believable. | B.They are attractive. |
| C.They are full of misinformation. | D.They are helpful to consumers. |
One of the author’s suggestions to consumers is __________.
| A.to make use of ads |
| B.not to buy items with words like “New and Improved” or “All Natural” |
| C.to buy high quality items such as famous brands after lunch |
| D.to buy any ordinary items instead of famous brands |
The author implies that __________.
| A.going into the supermarket hungry, you may buy more than you plan to |
| B.the quality of ordinary items is usually high and the prices are relatively low |
| C.discount clothing stores are good places to go to |
| D.ads sometimes don’t tell the truth |
第三部分:阅读理解(共 20 小题;每小题 2 分,满分 40 分)
阅读下面短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
A
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!
56、Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite .
A、cruelly B、fairly C、kindly D、friendly
57、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
58、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
59、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
60、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 by the clever animal
D
HOLIDAY HOMES IN MALLORCA
Holiday houses in Mallorca sailing and fishing port - quiet even in summer season.Beautifully situated houses with sights of sea and mountains, yet near to shops and restaurants.Cars and bicycles for hire.Sailing and sports clubs nearby.
ITALY IN COMFORT
Luxury coach trips of Italy, out of normal holiday season.21 days to visit five Italian cities starting from London 1st May, 1st September.The trips are guided by Professor Martin Davis, Head of Italian Studies, London University.See the arts and culture of historic Italy.
KIBBUTZ HOLIDAYS IN ISRAEL
Working holidays on a kibbutz (co-operative farm) in Israel.All nationalities welcome for one to three months, if prepared to work morning with kibbutz members.Accommodation, food and trips to historic sights all provided free - you pay only for the special low-cost return flight.
TWO WEEKS ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND
Two-week holidays in the Hotel Splendid, on a lovely beach with golden sands and deep-blue sea.Tennis, golf, sailing and all water sports, trips around the island arranged.Near to town of Castries with lively evening entertainment - dancing.
1st November - 31st March =£720 per person
1st April - 30th October =£850 per person
Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want to see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying.
Peter and Maria, university students, want to travel as far as possible on little money, and would like to get to know a country by working there for three months with other young people.
Michael, a young computer programmer, has been working hard and needs a holiday to relax in winter.He would like to go somewhere warmer and sunny, where he can swim in the sea, and he enjoys sports and dancing.
Henry and Kate, both teachers, and their two sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays.There must be plenty for the boys to do, although Harry and Kate just want to have beautiful scenery, good food and wine- and peace.
57.Michael would most probably go to _______ for his holiday.
A.Italy B.Israel C.Mallorca D.a Caribbean island
58.The best holiday for Jack and Mary would be _______.
A.the 21 - day coach trip of Italy
B.the 2 -week stay in the Hotel Splendid
C.the 14 -day trip around a Caribbean island
D.the working holidays for 1 -3 months on a kibbutz in Israel
59.Henry and Kate and their sons would like _______.
A.a holiday working on a kibbutz in Israel
B.a holiday visiting cities by coach in Italy
C.a holiday house in the fishing port in Mallorca
D.a holiday hotel on a lovely beach on a Carribean Island
60.You can find this passage most probably in _______.
A.a school library B.a tourist agency C.the post office D.the museum
C
In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and started austerity (紧缩) programs to reduce their imports.The result was a sharp drop in farm prices.This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient.They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods.The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell.These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1939s.
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized.It established the principle of direct interference (干预) with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers.
President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem.One of the first measures proposed by President FranklinD.Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was later passed by Congress.This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use.A deliberate shortage of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices.This law was declared unconstitutional (违背宪法的) by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people.However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation.The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation’s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens.Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid (杂交) grain, and fertilizers.
53.What caused the problem in the demand for American farm products?
A.The effect of the Great Depression.
B.The shrinking of overseas markets.
C.The destruction caused by the First World War.
D.The increased exports of European countries.
54.The word “successor” refers to ______.
A.President Hoover B.US Secretary of State
C.President Franklin D.US Secretary of Agriculture
55.The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to ______.
A.reduce their scale of production B.make full use of their land
C.adjust the prices of their farm products D.be self-sufficient in agricultural production
56.The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act ______.
A.might cause greater shortage of farm products
B.didn't give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power
C.would benefit neither the government nor the farmers
D.benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others
B
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar.It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X---or Nibiru---heads toward or collides with the Earth.
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”.“There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website.“If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye.Obviously, it does not exist.Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted.“After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA.
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space.But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible(unimportant)”, NASA said.
“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted.The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs.
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said.
49.______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors.
A.A new book B.The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C.NASAD.An Indian calendar
50.We can infer that ______.
A.people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B.Planet X --- or Nibiru does exist
C.astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D.the rumor caused a panic among some people
51.NASA thinks that Eris ______.
A.might have a threat to the Earth B.doesn’t have any threat to the Earth
C.is too far away to be visible D.is similar to our planet, where life might exist
52.Which of the following is the best title?
A.New Hollywood movie 2012
B.December 21, 2012, Not the end of the world
C.End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D.How rumors came into being
第二部分阅读理解(共两节,满分 40分)
第一节(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列四篇短文,从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
A
Fun-loving Paul Johnson earned the title of the Scarborough Evening News Teacher of the Year 2008.Mr Johnson, of Hinderwell School, was presented with the award after four of his pupils nominated(recommended) him for the prestigious title.
Evening News editor Ed Asquith presented Mr Johnson with his certificate — and a cheque for £100.His class is also set to enjoy a free trip to the Sea Life Centre which includes being picked up by a complimentary Shoreline Suncruisers open-top bus.
The 30-year-old, who lives in Hunmanby, said: “I am just so shocked.I have been nominated for this award for a few years and I never thought I would win it.It is fantastic.It is completely out of the blue.”
Mr Johnson has worked as a Year 5 teacher at the school for seven years.He also works as an advanced teacher, which involves visiting other schools in the county once a week to offer cross-curricular teaching.
He was chosen as the winner because of his dynamic but educationally engaging approach to teaching, and based on the real way he has demonstrated that every child matters.Each term he picks a theme for his class and the curriculum is based around it.This term they are studying medieval times — and his classroom has a castle in one corner.He also treated his class to a three-day trip to London earlier this year.
His nominators were Lucy and Emily Desborough, Rachel Laverick and Rebecca Miller.Classmate Callum Macdonald, 10, said: “He is the best teacher in the world and he deserves this.He is brilliant with us and he is just so funny.He tells lots of jokes which always make us laugh.” Beth Lawty, nine, added: “Our classroom is the best ever.We have really enjoyed being in his class and I will miss him next year.”
46.Paul Johnson visits other schools in the county to ______.
A.show his teaching experience B.learn from other teachers
C.improve his teaching skills D.offer a different course
47.Why is there a castle in one corner of Paul Johnson’s classroom?
A.It is used to train the students’ imagination.
B.It is a prize from the Scarborough Evening News
C.The students can play in it after class.
D.It is probably a symbol of medieval times.
48.The underlined part “out of the blue” probably means ______.
A.of surpriseB.frustrating
C.of great fame D.within easy reach