In Western countries people have been using the installment plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large number of families in Great Britain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installments. In the U. S., the figure is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.
The price of an article bought on installments is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays one quarter or one third of the price as a down payment when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.
Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. It can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment. There is, however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment. If the people on the installment plan lose their jobs, they will probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit, it becomes more likely to have a depression. This is why, in some countries, the government controls the installment plan by fixing the amount of the down payment and installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan.
56. Which of the following is NOT true about the installment plan?
A. A lot of British families use the installment plan.
B. More than 10 percent American families buy things on installments.
C. Americans depend more on installment than British people do.
D. Americans spend one tenth of their income on installment buying.
57. Goods bought on installments are more expensive than goods bought by cash because ______.
A. the buyer has to pay extra money as interest
B. the delivery of the goods charges extra money
C. the buyer has to pay a down payment
D. the service offered by installment plan charged extra money
58. What will happen to a buyer if he fails to make the full payment for an item bought on installments?
A. He might lose his job.
B. He will stop owning the item he has bought. 
C. He will have to sell what he has bought.
D. He will go into debt.
59. The advantage of installment buying might include all the following EXCEPT that ________.
A. purchasing power is strengthened
B. employment might be increased
C. people develop a good habit of saving money
D. young couples are able to furnish their homes
60. In some countries, the governments control the installment plan to ________.
A. increase employment
B. avoid depressions
C. ensure that businesses make good profits
D. ensure that people can pay for what hey buy
It’s not uncommon in America for a person to belong to some kind of volunteer group. Donating one’s time and services is very much a part of the American way of life. Most charitable activities are organized by churches and groups around the nation and even encouraged by the government. The helping hand is extended to the poor， the homeless and the disabled. Some people work to teach youngsters how to read. Others open up soup kitchens to feed the homeless. Volunteers also take care of the disabled by making reading tapes for the blind and working in orphanages（孤儿院）to help children without parents.
High school students are often encouraged to become volunteers and many school club activities center around volunteer services. Students may work with disabled children during a summer program， or participate in a club activity which helps to bring meal to senior citizens who are shut-ins. With their sense of idealism（理想主义）students are often eager to donate their spare time. They see such activities as a way of becoming involved in the community and the adult-world. Social action for them becomes as important as their academic studies.
In a like manner， throughout the year，fund raising drives are also conducted by schools and community groups to raise money for a worthy cause. They may respond to a recent earthquake in a foreign country， a flood somewhere within their own， or another natural disaster which has left people destitute and homeless. They may organize drives to collect food， clothing and medicines to serve an immediate need. Today even the Halloween custom of ‘trick or treat’has become an occasion to collect money for a charitable cause.
The motive to help those less fortunate comes from the poor origins of the American nation. Those immigrants who were poor and downtrodden（受压迫的）became dependent on the kindness of their neighbors to make a new life for themselves.
American volunteers work throughout the world in less developed countries. They volunteer by serving as a champion of goodwill both at home and abroad， which no doubt enriches both his life and those whom he serves. Which of the following charitable activities is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Some people open up soup kitchens to feed homeless people. |
| B．Some students bring meals to old people who can’t go out easily. |
| C．Some people collect money to help a foreign country with a recent earthquake. |
| D．Some students donate books to children in mountainous areas. |
Why are American high school students eager to do voluntary work?
| A．Because they want to participate in some social activities. |
| B．Because they want to go to better universities. |
| C．Because they can get higher scores at school. |
| D．Because they can realize their dream sooner. |
The underlined word “destitute” in Paragraph 4 probably means .
| A．lifeless | B． penniless | C．useless | D．valueless |
American charitable activities started because ___________.
| A．Americans are always ready to share with others |
| B．Americans are mostly kind |
| C．poor immigrants needed help badly |
| D．poor Americans couldn’t live on without help |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．The Call from the Poor | B．Voluntary Work in the US |
| C．Ways to help the Poor | D．American Volunteers Around the World |
A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.
Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and other things including cups-porcelain(瓷杯子), glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some elegant -- telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.
When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "I notice that all the nice looking and expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each others cups. Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate we have. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Thank the Lord for your blessings in 2011. And enjoy your hot chocolate in 2012!” When did they decide to go to see their professor?
| A．After the reunion. | B．During the get-together. |
| C．Before they graduated. | D．Just after the professor retired. |
Why did the professor offer them different cups?
| A．Because cups were not enough for everyone. |
| B．Because cups were beautiful. |
| C．Because the professor wanted to teach them something. |
| D．Because hot chocolate should be contained in different cups. |
What caused the professor to say those words?
| A．Their graduation. | B．Their reunion. | C．Their visit. | D．Their complaints. |
What does the word “cup” in this passage refer to?
| A．Life | B．happy things in life |
| C．hot chocolate | D．tools to hold and contain life |
What is the purpose of the professor’s words?
| A．To tell them life is not easy, so try their best to be happy. |
| B．To educate them that the happiest people don't have the best of everything. |
| C．To wish them to be grateful to their life and make the best of everything that they have. |
| D．To use different cups to tell them they should try different things in life. |
A new study suggests that the roundtheclock availability that cell phones have brought to people's lives may take a toll on family life. The study，which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone throughout the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover” between work and home life—and，in turn，less satisfaction with their family life.
Spillover essentially(本质上)means that the line between work and home begins to become unclear. Work life may invade home life when a parent is taking jobrelated calls at home，for instance—or family issues may start to take up work time. For example，a child may call mum at work，telling her “microwave exploded”，explained Noelle Chesley，an assistant professor of sociology at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be that they are allowing for even more spillover between work and home.
This may be especially true for working women，the study found. Among men，consistent use of mobile phones seemed to allow more work issues to creep (潜入)into family time. But for women，the spillover tended to go in both directions. Being “connected” meant that work cut into home time，and family issues came into work life.
Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchanges among family members. But there may be ways to control the spillover，according to Chesley. Employers, she said，could look at their policies on contacting employees after hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”．For their part，employees could decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said.What does the underlined phrase “take a toll on” probably mean in Paragraph 1?
| A．Explaining. | B．Founding. | C． Extending | D．Damaging. |
According to Chesley，what is the best solution to the problem caused by cell phones?
| A．Separate work hours from family time. |
| B．Refuse to use cell phones. |
| C．Ignore coming calls during family time. |
| D．Encourage women to stay at home. |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．cell phones affect men as much as women |
| B．cell phones seem to be convenient to families |
| C．cell phones make the line between work and home unclear |
| D．we can do nothing to solve the problem |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How to control the negative spillover caused by cell phones. |
| B．How work life invades home life. |
| C．Consistent use of cell phones makes people feel less satisfied with their work. |
| D．Cell phones cause negative “spillover” between work life and home life. |
Inside the pleasingly fragrant cafe, So All May Eat(SAME) in downtown Denver ,t
he spirit of generosity is instantly noticeable: donation box stands in place of
a cash register customers here pay only what they can afford, no questions asked.
A risky business plan, perhaps, but SAME Café has done one unchangeable thing i
n the MileHigh City for six years: Open only at midday, the restaurant allows p
oor local customers who cannot pay to work as volunteers instead. They can act as
waitersandwaitresses,anddishwashers, or look after the buildings and equipment
for the cafe.It’s based on trust, and it’s working all right”, says co-owne
r Brad Birky, who started the caféin 2006. Previously volunteering at soup kitc
hens, the Birkys were dissatisfied with the often unhealthy meals they served t
here. “We wanted to offer quality food in a restaurant where every-one felt co
mfortable,regardless of their circumstances,” Birky says. SAME’s special lunc
h menu changs daily and most food materials are natural and grown by local farm
ers. The café now averages 65 to 70 customers (and eight volunteers) a day. And
the spirit of generosity behind the project appears to be spreading. In early
2007,one volunteer who hadcleared snow for his meals during the long winter sai
d goodbye to the Birkys.He said he was going to New Orleans to help with the hu
rricane clearing up,” says Birky. What can we learn about the soup kitchens the Birkys previously worked for?
| A．They refused to have volunteers. |
| B．They offered low quality food. |
| C．They provided customers with a good environment. |
| D．They closed down because of poor management. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The customers who cannot pay can work as volunteers instead. |
| B．More volunteers will go to new Orleans for the hurricane cleanup. |
| C．Many new cafes will be opened to offer free lunches in the town. |
| D．The lunch menu has remained the same since the café was started. |
The author’s attitude towards running such a café is_______
| A．unfavorable | B．doubtful | C．cautious | D．approving |
What’s delicious to eat and comes in a variety of colors? Eggplant! And no, it has nothing to do with chickens! This strangely named vegetable is, however, as versatile as an egg．It can be steamed, fried, and baked．It can be eaten by itself or combined with meats and other vegetables．
Eggplant was first grown in India in the 5th century BC．Its popularity soon spread to China and then throughout Asia．Finally, during the Middle Ages the vegetable made its way to Europe．At that time, eggplant was not the shiny purple vegetable most people know today．Instead, it’s like a white egg．Due to this egg - like appearance, eggplant got its name．In its early days, the vegetable was so bitter that people often called it a “mad apple.” This nickname started because people believed its bitterness was bad for one' s health．People actually thought eggplant could cause madness and cancer．
Fortunately today people know that eggplant doesn't cause insanity or cancer．In fact eggplant is so healthy that it may prevent cancer．In addition, the brain and the heart benefit from this super vegetable．Since it's high in fibre, eggplant can improve digestion．
Italy, Turkey, Egypt, China and Japan are the leading growers of eggplant in the world today．Depending on its location, eggplant may be purple, green, orange or yellow - white．And it can be as small as a tomato or as large as a cucumber．Dish varieties range from simple to complex, with all of them being delicious．
Today, thousands of people gather in Loomis, Calif, for the annual Loomis Eggplant Festival．The main activity at the festival is eating delicious eggplant dishes．There is plenty more to do and see, though．Recipe contests, arts and crafts, performers, races and children's activities all “egg – cite” festival - goers．Most people at the festival would agree—eggplant is an “egg—cellent” vegetable．Eggplant got its name because of its _____．
| A．appearance | B．taste | C．color | D．value |
Which of the following does NOT belong to the qualities of eggplant?
| A．It can be cooked in various ways． | B．It is easy to digest． |
| C．It can prevent cancer． | D．It is valuable and priceless． |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Eggplant can be eaten to cure cancer |
| B．Eggplant used to taste bitter． |
| C．India produce the most eggplant in the world today． |
| D．Eggplant has a history of nearly 1,000 years． |
Most people come to the Loomis Eggplant Festival to_____．
| A．see arts and crafts | B．enjoy food with eggplants |
| C．take part in recipe contests | D．promote eggplant |
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