A new system that scans customers’ fingerprints and subtracts（减去）the grocery bill from their bank accounts has taken supermarkets in Germany to use the new system. “Almost a quarter of our customers pay with their fingers,” said an employee at the headquarters. Edeka has tried the system at 70 of its supermarkets. It says it will introduce it at 200 others because customers like it.
“At first we thought that only the young who really keep up with the latest technology would be interested, but we were wrong,” said Stefan Sewoester from IT Werke. “Almost two-thirds of the people who use the system are 40 and older,” he said.
IT Werke, a computer company, is one of the pioneers of fingerprint payment software in Germany. It has helped about 150 shops, canteens and bars to put in the fingerprint scanning machines. Each costs about 2,000 euros.
To sign up for the service, customers must have their fingerprints taken and leave their addresses and banking details with the shop. The shop then takes the cost of goods directly out of the customer’s bank account.
“It is especially a good thing for elderly people. Now they do not have to remember their pin to pay with their bank cards, or to scratch around for their glasses or cash.” Sewoester said.
The stores benefit from the system too. It saves more than time in the check-out line. It also cuts out the hidden costs of accepting electronic card payments.According to the passage, the fingerprint system______.
| A．was invented by the Edeka supermarket chain |
| B．has caused payment revolution in Germany |
| C．is more popular with young people |
| D．is preferred by most American customers |
To apply to pay with fingers, customers are required to do all of the following EXCEPT______.
| A．have their fingerprints taken |
| B．leave their addresses |
| C．give the shop information about the bank accounts |
| D．have their phones connected with computers |
Why do elderly people benefit much from the fingerprint machine?
| A．They will spend less time on shopping.. |
| B．They are not forgetful. |
| C．They don’t like to pay in cash |
| D．They always fail to find their bank cards. |
Ever since the global economic recession( 萧条) began in 2008,many Americans have changed their lifestyles by downsizing what they buy and what they possess.
Tammy Strobel and her husband used to own a two-bedroom apartment,two cars and had good incomes. But Tammy wasn’t happy.Inspired by a web site,they began donating some of their belongings to charity, and eventually got rid of their cars.Some thought they were crazy,but now they feel much happier.Without debt and working fewer hours,now they have more time to be outdoors and to volunteer.
“The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false,”Ms. Strobel says. “I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness.”
Despite the fact that the economy is not as booming as it was,studies have shown that many are feeling happier as they save more and spend less.This mainly happens when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects and when they relish（喜爱）what they plan to buy long before they buy it.
It is true that extra cash always makes life a little easier because it lets people meet basic needs.But scholars have found that types of purchases,their size and frequency,and even the timing of the spending all affect long-term happiness.One major finding is that spending money for an experience---concert tickets,French lessons, sushi-rolling classes---produces longer-lasting satisfaction.
At the height of the recession in 2008,consumers were doing something different---vacationing in their yards, eating more dinners at home,organizing family game nights .As a result, these leisure activities appeared to make them less lonely and increased their interactions with others.
“I think people are realizing they don’t need what they had.They’re more interested in creating memories,”says a scholar.
To stop purchasing things using credit cards at any time brings happiness,too;in other words,waiting for something and working hard to get it makes it feel more valuable and more stimulating. In fact,scholar have found that anticipation increases happiness. Considering buying an i-Pad?You might want to think about it as long as possible before taking one home.
Ms.Strobel is now an advocate（拥护者） of simple living.”My lifestyle now would not be possible if I still had a huge two-bedroom apartment filled to the gills(完全满了）with stuff,two cars,and 30 grand（一千美元） in debt,”she says. “Give away some of your stuff,” she advises. “See how it feels.”What did Ms Strobel and her husband do to change their life?
a. Donated their things to charity.
b. Changed their jobs.
c .Got rid of their cars.
d. Spent more time outdoors.
| A．a, b, c | B．b, c, d |
| C．a, b, d | D．a, c, d |
Which of the following is not a purchase of experience?
| A．Enroll in a French course. |
| B．Learn how to make Japanese sushi. |
| C．Get a new Mac. |
| D．Go to a concert. |
It is true that money_____________________
| A．always makes people happier |
| B．enables people to work fewer hours |
| C．makes one a better volunteer |
| D．helps people to meet their basic needs |
Purchase of experience can make people feel happier because_____________
| A．They increase the interaction between people |
| B．They are more economical than material goods |
| C．They are unique and can’t be obtained again |
| D．They make the participant smarter |
Why does stopping using a credit card to buy anything at any time bring happiness?
| A．Because one has to pay for interest by using a credit card. |
| B．Because the process of saving money and waiting for the thing you want makes it feel more valuable. |
| C．Because it helps stop buying things one actually doesn’t need |
| D．Because as one waits, he/she often finds something better to buy |
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 42% of Americans could be overweight by 2030.Our expanding waistlines lead to not only a medical problem, but according to a recent article in The New York Times, it could also endanger personal safety in some situations-in an airplane crash, for example.
The New York Times’ Christine Negroni reports that engineers and scientists are questioning whether airplane seats are adequately constructed to protect overweight travelers. Government standards for airplane seat strength（强度）-first set more than 60 years ago---require that the seats be made for a passenger weighing 170 pounds(77kg).Today, the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds(88kg) and the average woman 165 pounds(75kg).Negroni reports:
“If a heavier person completely fills a seat ,the seat is not likely to behave as intended during a crash,”Robert Salzar,the leading scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “The energy absorption(专注，合并) that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overpowered and the passengers will not be protected properly”.
“Nor would the injury be limited to that passenger only,” Dr. Salzar said. “If a seat or a seat belt fails,”he said, “those people who are seated nearby could be endangered from the uncontrolled movements of the passenger.”
Most complaints about airplane seats focus on their lack of comfort and high ticket price, and whether overweight passengers should be made to buy two seats. But The New York Times’ article bring up another reason to feel anxious about flying. Investigators of the issue got in touch with the airplane seat and seat belt makers, but they refused to comment on the problem.Experts agreed that crash testing should be done with overweight dummies（人体模型）.Both airplane seats and seat belts should be tested, they said.
Fortunately, however, according to Nora Marshall, a senior adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board, the board’s investigators have never seen an accident involving a commercial plane in which the weight of a passenger was a problem.What is the article in The New York Times mainly conceerned with?
| A．The size of airplane seats and seat belts |
| B．Safety of overweight airplane passengers |
| C．Airplane crashes involving commercial planes |
| D．A medical problem caused by being overweight |
Robert Salzar would probably agree that_________.
| A．overweight passengers should buy two seats |
| B．the government should help produce safer planes |
| C．standards for airplane seat strength should be raised |
| D．passengers should know how to protect themselves |
What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．Experts |
| B．Passengers |
| C．Investigators of the issue |
| D．The airplane seat makers |
We can learn from the text that_________
| A．airplane seat makers have taken action now |
| B．there are few complaints about airplane seats |
| C．those seated near the overweight may suffer too |
| D．only a small number of airplane accidents involve the overweight |
what is the best best title for the text?
| A．Why do passengers Feel Anxious about Flying? |
| B．Will 42% of Americans Be Overweight by 2030? |
| C．When Will the Overweight Enjoy Their Flight? |
| D．Are Airplane Seats Safe Enough for the Overweight? |
Higher hotel prices, airline capacity（容量） cuts and rising travel demand mean travelers will have to work harder to find a good deal in 2013. But there are plenty of online tools to help keep your vacation expenses in check. Here are some websites to help you save money on air tickets this year.
Looking for sales on a specific routs, or just want to go somewhere cheap? AirfareWatchdog. com searches for deals computers tend to miss, like promotion codes airlines include in e-mail advertisements. It also finds sales from Allegiant and Southwest, which typically aren’t listed on major airfare（机票）search engines. You can sign up for specific fare notifications（通告）or a list of all the cheap round-trip fares from your local airport.
Where can you go for $500 or less? Kayak.com/explore will show you where you can go for a vacation for a particular price .You can narrow your search by month, region, flight length, weather or activity. Clicking on a price reveals dates the fare is available.
If you already know where you want to go, use itasoftware.com to find the cheapest dates to fly. To purchase, you must go to the airline’s website or online agencies like Travelocity.
To figure out whether to buy that plan ticket now or wait, go to Bing.com/travel. Its Price Predictor can determine how likely a fare is to rise or fall during the next seven says from more than 250 cities in the Unites States to top domestic destinations and major airports in Europe. The site claims that its predictions are about75 percent accurate and save customers more than $50 on average for a round trip.
After you’ve booked your tickets at an airline site, enter your flight information at Yapta.com to track the price so you don’t miss out on savings if the price drops.The underlined phrase “in check” in Paragraph 1 can be best replaced by“______”。
| A．above limit | B．under control |
| C．beyond expectaion | D．in danger |
We can infer from the passage that Allegiant is probably__________.
| A．an airline company |
| B．a well-known travel destination |
| C．a travel agency for cheap vacations |
| D．a search tool for low-cost air tickets |
If you’ve chosen a vacation destination, which website should you visit to choose the cheapest dates for air tickets?
| A．Airfare Watchdog.com | B．kayak.com/explore |
| C．Itasoftware.com | D．Yapta.com |
Who are the intended readers of the passage?
| A．Travel agency owners |
| B．Advertising company bosses |
| C．Hotel managers hoping to attract customers |
| D．Holidaymakers looking for cheap air tickets |
What can we know about the website Bing.com/travel from the passage?
| A．Its predictions are always accurate |
| B．Its predictions focus on European airports |
| C．Its predictions are about how air tickets will vary in a week |
| D．Its predictions help customers save over $50 for a single trip |
There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with the students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee, the students would be in fear, because he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all.
The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.
Then the professor asked about the cure for illness, and the student, too, answered just as right.
“Good,” said the professor, “and how much will you give the patient?”
“A full spoon”, answered the student.
“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get.”, said the professor. At the same time, the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer. “ A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Anxiously he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr Professor, I’ve make a mistake! A full spoon is too much for a patient. He can take only five drops.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” Said the professor coldly, “But it’s too late. Your patient has died.The students were afraid of the professor because_________.
| A．their answers seldom satisfied him |
| B．their answers often astonished him |
| C．they often angered and disappointed him |
| D．he often misunderstood them and give them bad markers |
The student’s description of the illness was _____.
| A．not correct | B．accepted |
| C．completely discouraging | D．not satisfied |
Before he left the room the student was almost sure that ______.
| A．he had made a mistake |
| B．his last answer was satisfying |
| C．he had passed the exam, and the only thing was to wait for the mark |
| D．he had not done well in the exam. |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．Since one spoon is less than five drops, the patient will be all right soon if he takes only one full spoon at a time. |
| B．The doctor will be in trouble if he’s given the patient a full spoon. |
| C．The patient will be in danger if he’s taken as much as a full spoon. |
| D．If the patient wants to remain safe, he should take no more than five drops at a time. |
Which guess is the most reasonable from the passage?
| A．The student must have passed the exam. |
| B．The professor must have been very pleased and given the student a good mark. |
| C．The student must have been very happy when he heard, “Your patient has died.” |
| D．The students may not have passed the exam. |
Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways. When people cheat, it’s not fair to other people, like the kids who studied for the test or who were the true winners of a game.
Many people like the action of cheating. It makes difficult things seem easy, like getting all the right answers on the test. But it doesn’t solve the problem of not knowing the material and it won’t help on the next test--unless the person cheats again.
Some people lose respect for the cheaters and think less of them. The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they are not really earning that good grade. And , if they get caught cheating, they will be in trouble at school, and maybe at home, too.
Some kids cheat because they are busy or lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying. Other kids might feel like they cannot pass the test without cheating. Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating, cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before and couldn’t study, it would be better to talk with the teacher about this. And if you don’t have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice, you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school. A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teacher and his or her parents so they can find some solutions together. Talking about these problems and working them out will be better than cheating.The author thinks when kids cheat in class, _________.
| A．it is unfair to other people |
| B．it does harm to their health |
| C．teachers should punish them |
| D．teachers shouldn’t stop them art once |
Some students like cheating mainly because______.
| A．the material in the test is very difficult |
| B．they want to do better than the others |
| C．cheating can make hard things seem very easy |
| D．they have little time to study their lessons |
The fourth paragraph mainly tells us______.
| A．cheating isn’t a good idea |
| B．why kids cheat in the test |
| C．some kids can’t pass the test without cheating |
| D．some kids don’t spend the time studying |
In the passage those cheaters are advised to _____.
| A．spend more time on school than sports |
| B．talk with the teacher or parents. |
| C．try hard to be intelligent rather than lazy |
| D．ask their classmates for good methods of study |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号