Searching for airfares (飞机票价) often seems like a game that passengers are bound to lose.
Prices change from day to day, even minute to minute. Looking through multiple websites for the best deal can be a big challenge. Even when you do book, there’s no guarantee that you are going to get the best price.
“You just don’t know when to pull the trigger. It’s not like buying anything else I can think of,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.
Harriet Levy paid $179 for a recent round-trip flight on American Airlines between New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sitting just one row behind her, Shirley Harrison paid $215. A few rows back, Ellis and Dianne Traub paid $317 each. There were at least 12 fares on the flight, ranging from $169 to $360.
There’s no reason for it, Harrison said.
Fares can fluctuate significantly in just a few hours. One Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles jumped from $755 to $1,143 from a Friday to Saturday in late April, then fell to $718 on Sunday.
The flight was one of a dozen the Associated Press followed over three months for a vacation between July 16 and 22. The number one finding: avoid booking tickets on weekends. It’s the most expensive time to buy.
There’s no way to guarantee the best fare. But before booking, travelers should pay attention to this additional advice:
• Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when airlines most often offer sales.
• Buy in advance, but not too early. The best time is four to six weeks before traveling. In general, prices for any given flight are highest eight to 10 weeks and two to three weeks in advance.
• Make use of social media. Airlines are giving more benefits like exclusive (独家) sales to travelers who interact (互动) with them on Twitter and Facebook. Those specials are often gone within hours.
• The so-called discount (折扣) airlines – JetBlue, Air-Tran, Southwest and Frontier – adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident that the price will stay the same. But their prices aren’t always the lowest. Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal.What can we infer from the first sentence of the text?
| A．Passengers are unable to search for airfares. |
| B．Airlines often play games with passengers. |
| C．Airfares are set in different situations. |
| D．It’s difficult for passengers to get the best price. |
The underlined phrase “pull the trigger” in Paragraph 3 probably means _______.
| A．start searching | B．get the highest price |
| C．make a purchase | D．get on board the plane |
By using a lot of figures, the author intends to _______.
| A．show there is standard price for every single airline |
| B．discover the rules behind airfares |
| C．guarantee passengers a low price |
| D．prove airfares can vary widely |
Passengers are advised to book flights _______.
| A．in the middle of the week |
| B．on special websites |
| C．several months before traveling |
| D．with airlines which are famous for offering discount prices |
Recently Dr. Cleiman has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle. During the hours when you labor (work) through your work, you may say that you are “hot”. That is true, the time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak (顶峰). For some people the peak comes during the forenoon (上午前). For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so.
Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what this energy cycle means and which cycle each member of the family has.
You cannot change your cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. “Habits can help,” Dr. Cleiman believes. If your energy cycle is low in the morning but you have an important job early in the day, rise before your usual hour, and then you will work better at your low point.
Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a lazy yawn(哈欠) and stretch(伸展). Sit on the edge of bed before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome searching for clean clothes by laying them out the night before.Dr. Cleiman did not explain in the passage ___________.
| A．how people can make their life fit their cycle |
| B．whether everyone has a daily cycle or not |
| C．why people have their energy cycle at different times |
| D．what will happen in the family if the couple fail to realize which cycle each member has |
For what reason may husbands and wives quarrel with each other?
| A．Either of them gets up late in the morning. |
| B．Husbands and wives have different cycles of energy. |
| C．Either of them wants to change the cycle of the other’s. |
| D．They do not know which cycle they themselves have. |
According to the passage, ____________.
| A．one works better at one’s peak energy point |
| B．if you know your cycle you can change it to fit your life. |
| C．whenever you feel hot, your energy cycle reaches the highest |
| D．your energy cycle must be in the morning if you can get up early |
Which of the following can save your energy in the morning?
| A．Getting up late. |
| B．Jumping out of bed as quickly as possible. |
| C．Looking for clean clothes. |
| D．Sitting for a while before getting out of bed. |
Today, traditional opinions about men still exist. A man has to be strong, brave, sports loving and manly. Anything less would not be considered manly. Sports such as football, basketball and boxing all tend (往往是) to be men’s sports. However, the dance of ballet is considered feminine because it requires nice movements. This tradition is shown in the movie, Billy Elliot.
Billy Elliot is a movie that protests against this traditional view of men. Billy Elliot is an eleven-year-old boy that has a natural talent for ballet dancing, but his father will not allow it. Billy’s father wants him to take up boxing and become stronger, but Billy goes against his father’s wishes and takes up ballet dancing. This difference of opinion makes Billy sad. What’s more, his friends also laugh at him.
After saving enough money, his father sends Billy to a weekly boxing course; however, Billy doesn’t enjoy boxing because he always loses in matches and is often hurt. His ballet teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson thinks that men or women should not be judged by the activities they like to do, so she tells Billy’s father that although he wants his son to make a good living, he should let his son do what he loves to do because he has a talent for it. When his father finally realizes the truth, Billy is surprised. In the end, with the help of his father, brother and all the people around him, Billy goes to the Royal Ballet Academy in London and becomes a very successful ballet dancer.The underlined word “feminine” in the first paragraph most probably means ______
| A．of men | B．of children | C．of women | D．of students |
Why is Billy laughed at by other children?
| A．He always loses in boxing matches. | B．He isn’t strong. |
| C．He looks like a girl. | D．He loves ballet. |
What do we know about Billy?
| A．His teacher encourages him to take up ballet dancing. |
| B．He does well in ballet dancing and boxing. |
| C．He does what his father wants him to do. |
| D．He has never taken up any men’s sports. |
From Billy’s story, we can see that _______.
| A．children should accept their parents’ opinions |
| B．we should try to fight against traditional opinions |
| C．men and women play different sports |
| D．parents should let their children do what they are interested in |
One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by sending newspapers door to door, was so hungry that he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe (欠) you?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” With these words, Howard Kelly left that house.
Years later the woman became badly ill and was finally sent to the hospital in a big city. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Dressed in his doctor’s clothes, Dr. Kelly went into her room and recognized her at once. From that day on, he gave special attention to her, and decided to do his best to save her life.
At last the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to the woman’s room. She was afraid to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay for it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words:
“Paid in full with a glass of milk, Dr. Howard Kelly.”
Tear of joy flooded her eyes.The boy sent newspapers door to door in order to ________.
| A．thank the woman for her kindness |
| B．continue his schooling |
| C．become a famous doctor |
| D．support his poor family |
Which is true about the boy and the woman?
| A．He was too shy to ask her for some water. |
| B．She thought he was not hungry but thirsty. |
| C．She wanted him to pay for the glass of milk. |
| D．She never thought he would save her life later. |
After Dr. Kelly knew who the woman was, he ________.
| A．refused to take good care of her himself |
| B．decided to try his best to save her |
| C．told her she once gave him a glass of milk |
| D．asked for her bill and paid it off at once |
The best title for this passage is ________.
| A．The Final Bill | B．A Warm-hearted Woman |
| C．A Glass of Milk | D．A Famous Doctor |
I was the youngest of five boys and also had four sisters who had to pull together and take care of each other. Dad wasn't around, so I never knew him well. He killed himself when I was three years old, leaving mom with the job of raising nine kids. She was a very hard worker, and in order to make ends meet, she hardly ever rested. With my mom as my example, I learned that hard work is the best way to get what you want.
Even as a little boy, I knew I was going to be successful. Regardless of what I chose, I wanted to make my brothers, sisters and mom proud of me—not only by being successful in what I chose to do, but also as a person who could be looked up to for the right reasons.
Surprising as it might seem, basketball wasn't in my plans. One day, my mom cut a rim(边缘) off an old water barrel(水桶) and then held it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through. By junior high, I started playing basketball on a team. I loved to compete. For me, it paid off. I always put the effort in, every day.
I am grateful for the life I've enjoyed as a basketball star. Basketball is not life. It can be exciting. But the most important thing about basketball is that it gives me a way to do good things for others as I move through this journey called life.It can be inferred that the author's________.
| A．brothers were more famous than him |
| B．mother had a great influence on his career |
| C．father loved his children and wife very much |
| D．family was rich and happy when he was a child |
Why did the author's father kill himself?
| A．Because the family was poor. |
| B．Because he often quarreled with his wife. |
| C．Because he was seriously ill. |
| D．The passage didn't tell us the reason. |
From the second paragraph, we can infer that________.
| A．the author was respected as a brave boy |
| B．the author's family didn't like his career |
| C．the author got on well with his mother, brothers and sisters |
| D．the author helped his brothers and sisters succeed |
What does the author get from basketball?
| A．How to do good things for others. |
| B．Life is as hard as playing basketball. |
| C．Cooperation with others is important. |
| D．Two heads are wiser than one. |
Some 80 percent of graduate students in East China’s Zhejiang Province said in a survey they will give up trying to find jobs in Beijing，Shanghai and Guangzhou，first-tier cities in China that have been considered dream places for many，because of the untouchable home prices and high living costs．
The Yangtse Evening Post conducted the survey among 50 job seekers who were attending Sunday’s job fair in Jiangsu for graduate students．The survey showed graduates are becoming more realistic in their job search despite the job market becoming better．
The fair attracted more than 10，000 graduate students with 7，382 positions．
“The pressure of buying a house in Beijing is unbelievable，”said Wang Jian from Nanjiing Normal University，who acknowledged he had thought about finding a job in Beijing，Shanghai or Guangzhou，but in the face of huge pressures，he has no choice but to be “realistic”．
People can have a very comfortable life in Nanjing with a monthly salary of between 3，000 yuan($450)and 4，000 yuan，but in Shanghai，5，000 yuan a month can only help you survive and buying a house will remain a dream．
A student from Nanjing University of Science and Technology said he just turned down an offer from a Shanghai company of 7,000 yuan a month because“living costs in Shanghai are too high．”
An unnamed male student from Nanjing University said he will try first-tier cities only if he can get a high salary．“I would go to Beijing only if I can earn 200，000 yuan a year，”he said．
“Beijing，Shanghai and Guangzhou once had the advantages that other cities don’t have，but the high housing prices and living costs make young people barely able to breathe，”said Ren Leiming from the job service center of Jiangsu’s colleges and universities．
“First-tier cities have plenty of talents that make it hard for people to be outstanding，and if you go work in smaller cities you can become a dominant player at your position much more easily，”said Ren．The majority of graduate students will give up trying to find jobs in the first-tier cities because .
| A．it is not easy to find jobs there． |
| B．home prices and living costs there are very high． |
| C．they can’t make full use of their knowledge and skills there． |
| D．monthly salaries there are low compared with those in other cities． |
Which of the following statements is TRUE about the job market now?
| A．There are more job opportunities offered now． |
| B．The job markets are becoming more and more competitive． |
| C．Many graduate students aren’t satisfied with the working conditions． |
| D．Companies and enterprises have stricter rules to take in graduate students． |
We can learn from the news report that ．
| A．in Shanghai，5，000 yuan a month can only help you buy a luxury house |
| B．the fair attracted more than 10，000 graduate students and laid-off workers with 7，382 positions |
| C．The Yangtse Evening Post conducted the survey among 50 personnel managers who were attending Sunday’s joh fair in Jiangsu for graduate students |
| D．a student from Nanjing University of Science and Technology turned down an offer from a Shanghai company of 7，000 yuan a month |
The words Ren said in the last paragraph mean .
| A．people can’t achieve more in first-tier cities |
| B．people can easily be outstanding in smaller cities |
| C．he would rather go to first-tier cities than smaller cities |
| D．talents are more welcome in first-tier cities than smaller ones |