At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a holdup（持枪拦劫）,” the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part – close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.
Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.
The door was shut a
nd the bank robber was gone. George fainted (晕倒).
As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were examining the bank’s records, George was called into Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks 
being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed too. I have retired (退休), but I’m always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes (保持警觉). Now, I have put the money back in your money-box— all six thousand.” George was happy because ______.
| A．he didn’t lose his money box | B．he wasn’t killed by the robber |
| C．he got eight thousand dollars | D．he was introduced to Mr. Carruthers |
What did George do when he was taken to the bedroom?
A
. He counted money. B. He examined the bank’s record.
C. He put some money into his pocket. D. He lifted the top part of the money box.Who might be the robber?
| A．George. | B．Mr. Burrow. | C．A retired lady. | D．Mr. Carruthers. |
There are many international organizations which work to save and protect endangered species(物种) and natural environment. If you would like more information about any of the organizations listed below, you can write to the addresses given.
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth (FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rainforests, the countryside, water and air pollution and energy.
Friends of the Earth International Secretariat P.O. Box 19199
1000 G. D.
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Greenpeace
Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to defend the environment. It campaigns to protect rainforests and sea animals, stop global warming and end pollution of air, land and seas. It also opposes nuclear(核) power.
Greenpeace International
Keizergracht 176
1016 DW Amsterdam
The Netherlands
BirdLife
INTERNATIONAL
BirdLife International is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world.
BirdLife International
Wellbrook Court
Girton Road
Cambridge CB3 ONA
England
WWF
WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature is the world’s largest private international organization for the protection of nature and endangered species.
Information Officer
WWF International
Avenue du Mont-Blanc
1196 Gland
SwitzerlandIf you want to learn more about the organizations, you can .
| A．call them | B．write them a letter | C．visit them | D．send them an e-mail |
Which problem will be paid close attention to by FOE?
| A．Overhunting ocean animals | B．Killing endangered birds |
| C．Heavy air pollution | D．Global warming |
If you are against nuclear power, you can join .
| A．Friends of the Earth | B．World Wide Fund For Nature |
| C．Greenpeace | D．BirdLife International |
What can we learn about WWF?
| A．It helps to protect nature and save endangered animals |
| B．It is the world’s largest international organization |
| C．It works for private companies and rich people |
| D．It is a private organization in the United States |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Environmental protection organizations | B．Global traffic problems |
| C．Endangered animals | D．Natural beauty |
Peter Rabbit is a character in various children’s stories written by Beatrix Potter(1866-1943). Peter Rabbit made his first appearance in 1902 in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Peter doesn’t obey his mother’s orders and goes away. Mr.McGregor spots him and runs after him. Peter manages to escape, but not before losing his jacket and shoes, which Mr.McGregor uses to dress a scarecrow(稻草人). Peter returns home tired and ill.
In the Tale of Benjamin Bunny, first published in 1904, Peter’s cousin Benjamin Bunny brings him back to Mr.McGregor’s garden and they get back the clothes Peter lost in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. But after they gather onions to give to Peter’s mother, they are caught by Mr.McGregor’s cat. Benjamin’s father arrives and rescues them, but also blames Peter and Benjamin for going into the garden. In this tale, Peter displays fear about returning to the garden.
In the The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, first published in 1909, Peter has a small role and appears only briefly. He is grown up and his sister Flopsy is now married to Benjamin Bunny. The two are the parents of six little Flopsy-Bunnies. Peter and his mother keep a nursery garden and the bunnies come by asking him for spare cabbage.
In the Tale of Mr. Tod, first published in 1912, Benjamin and Flopsy’s children are taken away by Tommy Brock. Peter helps Benjamin run after Brock, who hides out in the house of the fox Mr. Tod. Mr. Tod finds Brock sleeping in his bed and as the two get into a fight, Peter rescues the children.
Peter makes cameo appearances(客串出场) in two other tales. In The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, first published in 1905, Peter and Benjamin are customers of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, a hedgehog(刺猬) washerwoman. In The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, first published in 1909, Peter and other characters from Potter’s previous stories make cameo appearances. In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter .
| A．is caught by Mr. McGregor’s cat | B．gathers onions to give to his mother |
| C．runs into a scarecrow when escaping | D．loses his clothes in Mr. McGregor’s garden |
In paragraph 4, the underlined part “the two” refers to .
| A．Benjamin and Brock | B．Peter and Benjamin | C．Mr. Tod and Brock | D．Peter and Mr. Tod |
What do we know about Benjamin Bunny?
| A．He’s a father of six children |
| B．He keeps a nursery garden with Peter |
| C．His mother passes away when he’s little |
| D．He saves Peter in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies |
According to the passage, Peter Rabbit .
| A．hates Benjamin Bunny’s father a lot |
| B．appears briefly in The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle |
| C．was worked into a story in the early 19th century |
| D．plays a leading role in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies |
The author wrote the passage to .
| A．introduce the character Peter Rabbit in Potter’s stories |
| B．describe the various characters in Potter’s books |
| C．show the influence of the Peter Rabbit series on children |
| D．discuss Potter’s changes in her writing styles |
Moving to a new town or even a new neighborhood is stressful at any age, but a new study shows that frequent moves in childhood are related to poorer well-being(幸福) in adulthood, especially among people who are more introverted(内向的) or neurotic(神经症的).
The researchers tested the relationship between the number of childhood moves and well-being in a sample of 7108 American adults who were followed for 10 years.
“We know that children who move frequently are more likely to perform poorly in school and have more behavioral problems,” said the study’s lead author Shigehiro Oishi. “However, the long-term effects of moving on well-being in adulthood have been overlooked by researchers.”
The study’s participants, who were between the ages of 20 and 75, were contacted in 1994 and 1995 and were surveyed again 10 years later. They were asked how many times they had moved as children, as well as about their psychological well-being, personality type and social relationships.
The researchers found that the more times people moved as children, the more likely they were to report lower life satisfaction and psychological well-being at the time they were surveyed. The research also showed that those who moved frequently as children had fewer quality social relationships as adults.
The researchers also looked to see if different personality types affected frequent movers’ well-being. Among introverts, the more moves participants reported as children, the worse off they were as adults. “Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to keep long-term close relationships.” Said Oishi. “This might not be a serious problem for outgoing people who can make friends quickly and easily.”
The findings showed neurotic people who moved frequently reported less life satisfaction and poorer psychological well-being than people who did not move as much and people who were not neurotic. However, the number and quality of neurotic people’s relationships had no effect on their well-being, no matter how often they had moved as children. In the article, Oishi thinks this may be because neurotic people have more negative reactions to stressful life events in general.
“We can guess that moving often creates more stress,” Oishi said. “But we need more research on this link before we can conclude that moving often in childhood can, in fact, be dangerous to your health in the long-term.”What can be learnt about the new study from the passage?
| A．The participants were from all over the world. |
| B．It was carried out in two periods of time. |
| C．The participants were mostly old people. |
| D．The participants had poor health. |
What is the purpose of the study?
| A．To show the relationship between moving and performance in school |
| B．To show the relationship between moving and well-being |
| C．To investigate Americans’ well-being in general |
| D．To research the personality types of Americans |
According to Oishi, .
| A．moving a lot is a serious problem for outgoing people |
| B．moving probably makes some people feel worried and tense |
| C．moving frequently is likely to help people make more friends |
| D．moving often is dangerous to people’s health in the long-term |
The fifth and sixth paragraphs mainly talk about .
| A．the process of the study |
| B．the results of the study |
| C．the importance of the study |
| D．the theory of the study |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．adults should take more care over their kids |
| B．neurotic people are likely to move frequently |
| C．children who move frequently behave well in school |
| D．personality types are related to frequent movers’ happiness |
Kelly Reeves was getting ready for a trip when her phone slipped into a sink full of water. Panic moment! She quickly picked up the wet phone and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. Her first reaction? She got dressed, drove to the nearest store, and bought a new mobile at full price.
A new study finds that fear of losing your phone is a common illness. About 66 percent of those surveyed suffer from nomophobia or “no mobile phone phobia”. Interestingly, more women worry about losing their phone than men.
Fortunately, there’s a solution.
The first step is to figure out if you have nomophobia. Checking your phone too often is one thing, but the true sign of a problem is that you can’t conduct business or go about your routine when the fear becomes so severe.
Do you go to unusual lengths to make sure you have your phone? That’s another sign of a problem. If you find you check your phone plenty of times per hour, or a total of an hour per day, there may be a problem.
Some of the treatments are similar to those for treating anxiety attacks: leaving the phone behind and not checking e-mail or text messages, and then learning to tolerate the after anxiety. Even if this leads to a high level of worry and stress, the solution is to push through the fear and learn to deal with not having your phone.
Of course, there are also technological alternatives. Luis Levy, a co-founder at Novy PR, says he uses an application called Cerberus that can automatically track the location of his phone. To find it, he can just go to a website and see the phone’s location.
He also insures his phone through a service called Asurion. The company’s description of its product reads like a prescription for anxiety:”60 million phones are lost, stolen or damaged each year. You’ll have complete peace of mind knowing that your phone is protected and you can quickly reconnect with family, friends and work, as soon as the very next day!”Why does the author mention Kelly’s experience in the first paragraph?
| A．To introduce the topic for discussion. |
| B．To inform us that mobile phones are useful. |
| C．To warn us that we should be careful. |
| D．To tell us we should get phones ready for a trip. |
The underlined word “nomophobia” in Paragraph 2 means “ ” .
| A．habits of using mobile phones | B．fear of losing mobile phones |
| C．eagerness for new mobile phones | D．independence of mobile phones |
Which of the following is a way to treat nomophobia?
| A．Avoiding using a phone for some time |
| B．Learning more about modern technology |
| C．Protecting one’s phone against any damage |
| D．Not using a mobile phone in one’s daily work |
Why can the service called Asurion help to treat nomophobia?
| A．It lets you know other people also lose their phones. |
| B．It will give you a new phone through insurance. |
| C．It enables you to reconnect with your acquaintances. |
| D．It gives you a prescription to treat nomophobia |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Attitude toward mobile phones | B．New mobile phone technology |
| C．Disadvantages of mobile phones | D．Solutions to nomophobia |
Group buying is one of the fastest growing trends in South Africa today. Industry leaders are confident the growth potential remains strong since group buying is location-specific. Start-up costs are low and profit room remains high, so many sites continue to receive invested money despite widespread criticism and Facebook’s decision to phase out of deal business due to privacy concerns.
In the early stages of all industries, some companied fail because they cannot compete with stronger companies in difficult economic conditions. To deal with difficult conditions, an alarming number of businesses are developing group buying websites in places like China and India, so the increase of group buying in South Africa is nothing more than a natural progression into the international mainstream.
The group buying concept is fairly new and consumers have accepted this concept because they can now make full use of the rich information available on the Internet. Group buying is convenient and easy so it works. Anyone can view a site, join a mailing list, subscribe to RSS or print out a coupon(优惠券). The current group buying structure offered by the industry leaders works although there are still challenges to overcome.
Perhaps, the future of group buying is tied to the joining together of social media and mobile devices. Mobile devices are with us wherever we go and almost everyone is using some type of social media site like Facebook or Twitter to stay informed. Using GPS and social media technology to provide real time location-specific promotions would be beneficial to every consumer looking for the best deals in town.
Pause for a moment and think about it! What is better than signing on to your phone while having fun in town and you receive a real time information that your favorite shop across the street is offering a killer dial?
The future of the group buying in South Africa is bright and we can expect to see more advanced approaches to this concept in the future. In addition to the technological advances consumers will see the range of promotions expand to include new products and services.What does the underlined phrase “phase out of” mean in the passage?
| A．Gradually stop | B．Gradually increase | C．Begin to develop | D．Continue to enlarge |
The author sets China and India as examples to show that .
| A．China and India are powerful countries |
| B．China and India are in difficult economic conditions |
| C．group buying is successful worldwide |
| D．group buying is an international trend |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．People have accepted group buying because it’s a new concept |
| B．Social media and mobile devices have been joined |
| C．GPS and social media technology will be helpful in group buying |
| D．Shops usually offer a killer deal when their customers are having fun |
The author’s attitude towards the future of group buying is .
| A．pessimistic | B．optimistic | C．objective | D．subjective |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．The history of group buying |
| B．Group buying in South Africa |
| C．The feature of group buying |
| D．The group buying concept |
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