I want to talk about the economy．Not "the economy" we hear about endlessly in the news each day and in politicians' speeches．I want to talk about the real economy, the one we live in day by day．
Most people aren't particularly interested in "the economy"．"Share prices are flying high; interest rates are soaring; the Dow Jones Index closed sixty-three points down on 8472．35．" We hear this and subconsciously switch off．
Notice that "the economy" is not the same as the economy, "The economy" is what men in suits play with to make vast personal wealth．The economy is where the rest of us live on a daily basis, earning our living, paying our taxes, and purchasing the necessities of life．
We are supposed to be benefiting from all the advantages of a well-off society．So why do we feel tired and stressed? We have no time for anything other than work, which is ridiculous given the number of labor-saving devices in our lives．Our towns become more and more crowded．We poison our air and seas, and our food is full of chemicals．There's something wrong here．If times were truly good, then you may think we'd all feel optimistic about the future．Yet the majority of us are deeply worried．More than 90 percent of us think we are too concerned about ourselves and not concerned enough about future generations．
The term "economic expansion" suggests something desirable, but expansion simply means spending more money．More spending doesn't mean that life is getting better．We all know it often means the opposite - greed, crime, poverty, pollution．More spending merely feeds our whole economic system, which is based on production and consumption．Unless money keeps circulating, the economy breaks down．If we don't keep consuming, the whole system goes into stalemate（僵局）．
How do we break the cycle and make some changes? We need to become far more aware of the results of our actions．We buy clothes that are made in sweat shops by virtual slaves in poor parts of the world．We create mountains of waste．We demand cheap food, mindless of the fact that it totally lacks taste and is produced using chemicals that poison the land．
The consumption culture makes us unaware of the effect of our own behavior．Our main problem is not that we don't know what to do about it．It is gathering the desire to do it．According to the author, which one belongs to the real economy?
| A．The Dow Jones Index． |
| B．Increases in interest rates |
| C．Skyrocketing share prices |
| D．Shopping in a supermarket |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 4 that ．
| A．people are benefiting from a well-off society |
| B．the future generation is a big concern for most people |
| C．people still feel much pressure despite labor-saving devices |
| D．the majority of people are optimistic about the future |
What is true about economic expansion?
| A．It guarantees a better life for us． |
| B．It may lead to some social problems． |
| C．It will stop the circulation of money． |
| D．It has only brought desirable effects． |
The author writes the passage mainly to ．
| A．call on us to change our behavior |
| B．suggest a solution for over-consumption |
| C．make a distinction between two economies |
| D．inform us of the effects of economic expansion |
When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices（装置）tell the time—which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.
But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others—apparently including some distinguished men of our time—are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to £250.000 for a piece.
This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions—but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?
If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented(再投资) the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.
Watches are now classified as “investments”（投资）. A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly? £350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from 15, 000 to 30, 000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It’s a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up-—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when of fashion. Prices may keep going up—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that £350, 000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Times.
64. The sales of watches to young people have fallen because they__________.
A. have other devices to tell the time B. think watches too expensive
C. prefer to wear an iPod D. hame no sense of time
65. It seems ridiculous to the writer that_______________.
A. people dive 300 metres into the sea
B. expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones
C. cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones
D. expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell
66. What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?
A. It targets rich people as its potential customers.
B. It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors.
C. It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising.
D. It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches.
67. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Timex or Rolex? B. My Childhood Timex
C. Watches? Not for Me! D. Watches—a Valuable Collection
A TOUR TO CHINA
14days from just ￡2,090pp
Fully inclusive from the UK
Price covers international airfares, departure taxes, fuel charge, local transportation all meals, entrance fees, guides, daily tours and visas for UK citizens.
Days 1-3 UK-Shanghai
Fly to the great city of shanghai and in the evening sample traditional shanghai
food. Visit the beautiful YU Garden, Old Town. shanghai Museum ,cross the Grest Nanpu Bridge and tour the Pudong area. Also explore Xintiandi with its 1920’s style Shikumen buildings and end your stay in shanghai with an amazing Huangpu river evening tour.
Days 4-7:Shanghai-Yangtze River Tour
Fly to yichang and change （approx: one hour）to board your Yangtze River ship for the next four nights. Enjoy a tour of the three Gorgee Dam（三峡大坝）before sailing on the grand Yangtze River ,passing through the impressive Three Gorges. We take a side trip to the lesser Three Gorges or travel up the shennong Stream in a peapod boat and enjoy various shore trips along the way.
Day8 :Chongqing—chengdu
Get off in Chongqing and drive to Chengdu for an overnight stay.
Day9-10;Chengdu-xi’an
Visit the famous Panda Reserve to see the lovely animals We then fly to the historic city of xi’an for two nights stay and enjoy traditional Shuijiao. Next day, explore one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century—the Terracotta Warriors（兵马俑），followed by the ancient City wall and a performance of Tang Dynasty dancing.
Day11-13:xi’an-beijing
Visit little wild goose pagoda and see the ancient objects at the well-kowm shangxi provincial museum before walking through the lively militia Quarter to see the Great Mosque . Later fly to Beijing for three nights stay and try Peking Duck. During our stay in Beijing, we stroll through Tiananmen Square to the Forbidden city, the largest and best preserved collection of ancient buildings in china, and visit the summer palace. Next day we take a walk on the Great wall, tour the unique Temple of Heaven and enjoy an attractive Chinese Acrzibatio show.
Day14:Beijing-UK
Fly back to the UK, arriving home later the same day filled with happy memories.
60. The underlined word “sample” in the passage probably means “ ”
A. buy B. reserve C. taste D. make
61. The first and last scenic spots we visit in xi’an are .
A. the Terracotta Warriors and the Great Mosque
B. the Terracotta Warriors and shanghai provincial Museum
C. little wild goose Pagoda and Great Mosque
D. Little wild goose Pagoda and the Muslim Quarter
62. Which of the following is TRUE according to the ad ?
A. The tourists will have to pay extra for fuel and meals.
B. The tourists will visit the 1920’s Shikumen buildings in Beijing
C. The tourists will take a side trip to the Three Gorges Dam during the tour.
D. The tourists will stay in Beijing for three nights before leaving for the UK
63. The ad is mainly intended to .
A. encourage the British to travel in China
B. attract the British to traditional Chinese food
C. offer service of booking air tickets to tourists
D. provide the British with a better understanding of China.
第三部分:阅读理解（共20小题;每小题2分, 满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My grandfather came from Hungary and was the only one in his family who settled down in the United States. The rest of his family remained in Europe. When World War I broke out, he seemed to have become another man, downhearted. Such obvious change was not born out of his welfare, but out of fear: if his only son, my uncle, had to go to war, it would be cousin fighting against cousin.
One day in 1918, my Uncle Milton received his draft notice. My grandparents were very upset. But my mother, at the age of 10, felt on top of the world about her soldier brother going off to war. Realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and all of her friends, my uncle brought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted.
The moment came when my uncle and the other soldiers, without any training but all in uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. Although no one noticed, I’m sure my grandmother had a tear in her eye for the only son. The train slowly pulled out, but not about a thousand yards when it suddenly paused. Everyone stared in wonder as the train slowly returned to the station. There was a dead silence before the doors opened and the men started to step out. Someone shouted,”The war is over. ”For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark orders at the soldiers. The men lined up in two lines, walked down the steps, and with the band playing, marched down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home. My mother said it was great day, but she was just a little disappointed that it didn’t last a tiny bit longer.
56. What the grandfather was most worried about was .
A. the spread of the world war B. the safety of his living two cousins
C. a drop in his living standards D. his relatives killing each other
57. The underlined phrase “draft notice” means “ “
A. order for army service B. train ticket for Europe
C. letter of rejection D. note of warning
58. What did the “service pins”（in Para. 2）stand for in the eyes of the little girls?
A. Strength. B. Courage. C. Victory. D. Honor.
59. Which of the following words can best describe the ending of the story?
A. Disappointing. B. Unexpected. C. Uncertain. D. Inspiring.
Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep, a problem, which couldn’t be solved the night before, can often seem more manageable, although the evidence until now has been anecdotal (个人体验的). But researchers, at the University of Luebek in Germany, have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight (顿悟) and problem-solving.
“If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures (重新组织) them, and as a result, after sleep, the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr Jan Born, a neuroscientist (神经科学家), at the university.
To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of (一连串) numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: Half were allowed to sleep after the training, while the rest were forced to stay awake. Dr Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out (想出) the third rule as the other group.
“Sleep helped,” Born said in a telephone interview. “The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation (描绘，表现) of the problem you want to solve in your brain and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem.” But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how restructuring of memories occurs or what governs it.
Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the anecdotal suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added.
57. The underlined phrase “sleep on it” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.
A. to delay deciding something until the next day
B. to get as much sleep as possible
C. to go on sleeping without being disturbed
D. to sleep till after the time you usually get up in the morning
58. Jan Born and his team carried out the experiment through ______.
A. comparison B. interview C. survey D. imagination
59. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. people should sleep so long as they have time
B. sleep is the only way to solve hard problems
C. people have various periods of sleep
D. people know how sleep reconstructs memories
60. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How Sleep Works B. Sleep Helps Solve Problems
C. No Evidence, But Well Founded D. Born’s Discovery On Sleep
Summer Holiday Fun 2010 !
The summer holidays are upon us again. Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!
Peterborough Museum
The Age of the Dinosaurs is the museum’s main attraction this summer. Get up close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands—on exhibits! Watch out for monsters lurking around every ember! The museum is open from 10: 00am to 5: 00pm Monday to Saturday, and from 12: 00pm to 4: 00 pm on Sundays in August.
Call 01733 864663 for details
Saxon Youth Club
School holiday fun: Young people aged 13-19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in spots activities, or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club，Saxon Community Centre, Norman Road. Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3: 00pm. Moreover, an aero ball tournament will take place on Thursday 12th August between 3: 30pm and 6: 30pm.
Call 0135 3720274 for details
Houghton Mill
Alice through the Looking Class—a new production of the family favorite on Monday 30th August. Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play. Gates open 5: 30pm, performance 6: 30pm—8: 30pm. Tea room will be open until end of the interval. Adult ￡10. Child￡7. Family ￡20.
Booking advisable on 0845 4505157.
Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey
Farmland Games: From Wellie Wading to Pretend Ploughing matches, come and join the Farmland Team. Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette that is fit for a winner！No need to book, just turn up between 12: 00pm and 4: 00pm on Thursday 19th August. Suitable for children aged four and above, each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission price Tickets Cost￡7 per child.
For further information, call 01223 810080.
53. If you are interested in cooking, you can go to______.
A. Peterborough MuseumB. Houghton Mill
C. Saxon Youth Club D. Farmland Museum
54. You want to watch the new play with your parents, so it will cost you______.
A. ￡7B. ￡17 C. ￡27 D. ￡20
55. Which of the following activities needs parents’ company?
A. Playing farmland games B. Watching a new play．
C. Competing in spots activities． D. Visiting the dinosaur exhibition．
56. If Tom comes to Peterborough for amusement on August 19, he will have ______activities to choose from for himself.
A. one activity B. two activities C. three activities D. four activities