Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday, but only on Friday. This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale（士气）. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative effect on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because __________.
| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
David Smith wears casual clothes now, because __________.
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
| D．All the employers in the U.S. are for casual office wear. |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago. |
| B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s. |
| C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
| D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned except __________.
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
Researchers in London and Bristol have found that men are particularly likely to yield to depression if their partners are also depressed.
The finding highlights the importance of paying attention to the partners of depressed mothers, as young children themselves are vulnerable (容易受伤的) to social problems if both parents are depressed.
Researchers in London and at the University of Bristol launched their study to investigatewhether family structure affects the likelihood of depression in men around the time their child isborn. They looked at men from traditional families, men with children from a previous relationship, men whose partners had children by a former partner, and men who were not living with their partners.
All 7,108 participants filled out a questionnaire on depression, and answered questions about their age, education level and employment status. Details about the quality of their relationships with their partners, networks of friends and previous life events were also recorded.
About 3.5 percent of the men and 13 percent of their partners suffered depression around the time their child was born. While men in stepfamilies or who were not living with their partners were twice as likely to get depressed as those in traditional families, this could be explained by other factors that are more common in nontraditional families, such as poor education and relationship conflicts.
Even allowing for all these factors, however, the partners of women who were suffering from prenatal (围产期的) depression were significantly more likely to become depressed themselves, the researchers report in an American journal. Ten percent of women who were depressed had depressed partners. For the healthy women, the figure was only 2.6 percent.
Previous research suggests that families with two depressed parents may need special attention. A researcher in Atlanta has found that primary school children with two troubled parents have difficulty relating to their peers. “It’s extremely important to look at the whole family.” she says.What can we conclude from the first two paragraphs of this passage?
| A．Men often beat their children. |
| B．Depressed women often have depressed partners. |
| C．All young children are vulnerable to social problems. |
| D．Women with children often have depressed partners. |
Why did researchers in London and Bristol carry out such an investigation?
| A．To see what kind of family environment is ideal for children to grow up in. |
| B．To study whether family structure affects depression in men when their child is born. |
| C．To investigate why so many men get depressed when a child is born. |
| D．To see whether it is true that behind every depressed man there is a depressed woman. |
What kind of men is least likely to get depressed when their child was born?
| A．Men in stepfamilies. |
| B．Men who were not living with their partners. |
| C．Men in traditional families. |
| D．Men in nontraditional families. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Ten percent of women who were depressed had depressed partners. |
| B．2.6 percent of healthy women were depressed. |
| C．Special attention should be paid to families in which both the father and the mother were depressed. |
| D．Primary school children whose parents were both depressed couldn’t get along well withtheir peers. |
(B)
| HOW TO BOOK Booking opens for  Becket Shorts on 8 SeptemberBooking opens for all other plays on 19 September  BY TELEPHONEFor credit card bookings. Calls are answered. BOX OFFICE 01789 295623 9 a.m.— 8 p.m. (Mon—Sat) 0541 541051 (24 hours, 7 days, no booking charge). BY FAX For credit card bookings. Please allow at least 48 hours for reply, if required. BOX OFFICE 0178 26874 or 01862 387765 BY POST Please enclose a check or credit card details together with an SAE or add 50p to the total amount to cover postage. Please send to the Box Office, RST, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6BB. IN PERSON BOX OFFICE RST hall, 9:30 a.m.—8 p.m. (Mon—Sat) (6 p.m. when theaters are closed.) OVERSEAS BOOKING The easiest method of payment is by credit card. You can also pay by: Eurocheque (up to 500) with your card number written on the back.  PAYING FOR YOUR TICKETS CREDIT CARDS We accept Visa, Master Card, American Express and Diners Club. Please give the card number, name and address of card-holder. CHEQUES Cheques and postal orders should be payable to: Royal Shakespeare Theatre. |
In which of the following ways of booking does one probably have to pay extra money?
| A．In person. | B．By telephone. | C．By fax. | D．By post. |
“Becket Shorts” is most probably referred to the name of ________.
| A．a film | B．a credit card | C．a play | D．an old building |
What is the useful number to call at 11 a.m. Sunday?
| A．01789 295623 | B．0541 541051 |
| C．01789 261174 | D．01862 387665 |
The advertisement is most probably made by _________.
| A．a local post office | B．American Express |
| C．Royal Shakespeare Theatre | D．Dinners Club |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holiday meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership --- a shop selling cars --- was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the show room.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
“Thank you”--- two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City ________.
| A．to drop in on a friend | B．to see his parents |
| C．to pay at the cash register | D．to make a plan with his friend |
The words “took off” underlined in Paragraph 2 means “_________”.
| A．moved off | B．turned off | C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show _______.
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problem |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks. |
The traditional distinction between products that satisfy needs and those that satisfy wants is no longer adequate to describe classes of products. In today’s prosperous societies, the distinction has become unclear because so many wants have been turned into needs. A writer, for instance, can work with paper and pencils. These are legal needs for the task. But the work can be done more quickly and efficiently with a word processor. Thus a computer is soon viewed as a need rather than a want.
In the field of marketing, consumer goods are classed according to the way in which they are purchased. The two main classes are convenience goods and shopping goods. Two lesser types are specialty goods and unsought(主动提供的) goods. It must be emphasized that all of these types are based on the way shoppers think about products, not on the nature of the products themselves. What is regarded as a convenience item in France (wine, for example) should be a specialty goods in the United States.
People do not spend a great deal of time shopping for such convenience items as groceries, newspapers, toothpaste, aspirin, and candy. The buying of convenience goods may be done routinely, as some families buy groceries once a week. Such regularly purchased items are called staples. Sometimes convenience products are bought without enough thinking; someone has a sudden desire for an ice cream sundae(圣代) on a hot day. Or they may be purchased as emergency items.
Shopping goods are items for which customers search. They compare prices, quality, and styles, and may visit a number of stores before making a decision. Buying an automobile is often done this way.
Shopping goods fall into two classes; those that are recognized as basically the same and those that are regarded as different. Items that are looked upon as basically the same include such things as home appliances, television sets, and automobiles. Having decided on the model desired, the customer is primarily interested in getting the item at the most favorable price. Items regarded as essentially different include clothing, furniture, and dishes. Quality, style and fashion will either take precedence(优先) over price, or they will not matter at all.It can be learned from the first paragraph that ______.
| A．a writer needs a word processor |
| B．needs and wants can’t be separated clearly |
| C．the way to distinguish the products is unimportant |
| D．a computer is a need rather than a want |
The example of wine is used to illustrate that ______.
| A．goods are classified differently in different countries |
| B．the types of the product lie on the people rather than its nature |
| C．Frenchmen often drink but Americans sometimes do |
| D．one product may belong to many types |
Staples are items that ______.
| A．are convenient to purchase |
| B．are purchased without enough thinking |
| C．people “want but don’t need” |
| D．people are in constant need of |
Shopping goods that are considered as basically the same are those that ______.
| A．consumers don’t care where to buy them |
| B．consumers spend much time searching for |
| C．satisfy similar needs of the consumer |
| D．can be found in nearly every shop |
Downing the last drop of an expensive famous brand H2O as well as remembering to throw the empty bottle in the recycling bin, makes you feel pretty good about yourself, right? It shouldn’t. Even when the bottles are recycled, there are all kinds of other consequences of swallowing bottled water, says Melissa Peffers, the air-quality program manager for Environmental Defense.
The containers are often filled in faraway lands, then shipped from abroad, and stored in refrigerators at your local store. Compare that with the influence on environment of turning on your tap, filling a glass, and drinking up!
Anyone who is choosing bottled water for health reasons is misguided, says Peffers, “Most bottled water is just tap water.” And what comes out of your tap is carefully monitored to follow the strict rules. Consider another fact that bottled water is surprisingly expensive, especially when compared with the alternative, which is almost free, and it is astonishing that America’s desire for bottled water seems impossible to satisfy, reaching nearly 30 billion bottles a year.
“My parents’ generation never had bottled water,” says Isabelle Silverman, an Environmental Defense legal adviser. She has made a commitment to going bottle free. “You don’t need to fetch it home from the store, and it’s cheaper,” she adds.
Bottled water’s role as a status symbol needs to change, Peffers points out. So when a waiter at an expensive restaurant offers “And what’s your drink?” that’s no reason to forget your conviction(信念). “Don’t be afraid to say, ‘I’ll have tap.’ Say it loud enough that the other tables nearby can hear you,” Peffers says. “And then spend that money on a dessert.”In the first paragraph, the underlined sentence “It shouldn’t.” suggest that people _______.
| A．shouldn’t feel pleased with finishing the water in the bottle. |
| B．shouldn’t feel good about drinking an expensive brand H2O. |
| C．shouldn’t be pleased with just recycling empty bottles. |
| D．shouldn’t be satisfied with drinking only bottled water. |
According to the author, tap water is _______.
| A．as safe as bottled water | B．morel likely to be polluted |
| C．healthier than bottle water | D．less convenient than bottled water |
The underlined part “going bottle free” (in Para. 4) means “_______”.
| A．making bottled water free | B．giving up bottled water |
| C．recycling use water bottles | D．providing free water containers |
Why does Peffers ask people to say “I’ll have tap.” Loudly?
| A．To encourage them to set an example for others to follow. |
| B．To advise them to save the money for one more dessert. |
| C．To remind them to be aware of their social status. |
| D．To persuade them to speak confidently in public. |