An American research company shows that $248.7 billion online sales are expected by 2014. It seems as if we can’t get enough of spending money through countless online clicks today. Following are some of the incredible things that you can buy online!
1) Parents
51-year-old Michael Amatrudo from Connecticut put a posting on Craig list in 2009 to sell his elderly parents, asking for $155 in return.
2) Chewing Gum
Bidding for Britney Spears’ chewing gum reached $14,000 in 2004. The pop star’s half-eaten sandwich also went for over $500.
3) Kidney Stone
Star Trek actor William Shatner sold his kidney stone for $20,000 when he put it up for sale online to see how much a piece of him was worth. He ended up giving the money to charity.
4) An Imaginary Friend
This imaginary guy went (or might still be going) by the name of Jon Malipieman and was sold on eBay for $3,000 by a man who claimed:
“My imaginary friend Jon Malipieman is getting too old for me now. I am now 27 and I feel I am growing out of him. He is very friendly. Along with him, I will send you what he likes and dislikes, his favorite things to do and his personal self portrait.”
5) Souls
The website demonical.com is probably the creepiest site I have ever visited. You can sell your own soul or buy the souls of people such as Fidel Castro and Woody Allen (both selling for $950). Bill Gate, whoever that is, has his soul for sale at $1,300 while Michael Jacobsen’s soul is being sold for $3000.
6) A Rock That Looks Like Meat
The screen shot from eBay tells us that people are bidding over $1 million for this “naturally formed bbq pork rock”. Absolute madness.What is the author’s purpose for writing the passage?
| A．To introduce some unbelievable things online. |
| B．To call on customers to resist the products. |
| C．To attract readers to visit the related websites. |
| D．To encourage readers to buy the things online. |
Which is probably sold at the highest price according to the passage?
| A．Chewing Gum. | B．Kidney Stone. |
| C．An Imaginary Friend. | D．A Rock That Looks Like Meat. |
According to the text, _____ is most likely to have starred in a film.
| A．Britney Spears | B．William Shatner |
| C．Jon Malipieman | D．Fidel Castro |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Michael Amatrudo charged a high price for selling his elderly parents. |
| B．William Shatner sold the kidney stone so as to donate the money to charity. |
| C．Jon Malipieman was sold because he was not wanted any longer. |
| D．The soul of Michael Jacobsen is worth more than that of Woody Allen. |
The price of milk may be going up. There was not enough rain in some parts of the country last year and the bad weather may mean that a gallon (加仑) of milk will cost 41 cents more after October 1st.
California already has high milk prices and the California court does not want the price to go any higher. High milk prices will be very hard for some people. Families with many children will have to spend more money to buy milk. The poor and older people without much money will also be hurt by higher prices.
The court said that more milk from other states should be sold in California as the price of milk from other states is not as high. Some states got enough rain so their costs did not go up. People will then be able to buy the cheaper milk, meaning that unless milk producers bring their milk prices down, their milk will not sell.
The drought (干旱) around the country has meant market forces are likely to push milk prices up by as much as 41-cent a gallon by October 1st. Experts said this decision by the Californian court could reduce (减少) the effect of the price rise here.
The 41-cent increase would add to California’s already high milk prices so California must allow more milk producers from outside the state to sell their products there. This would then lead to increased supplies (供应), which would, as a result, stop milk prices from increasing.Who will be hurt by high milk prices?
| A．Young people. | B．Milk producers from outside California. |
| C．Rich people. | D．Families with lots of children. |
What caused milk prices in California to increase?
| A．Short supplies from other states. | B．Being short of rain. |
| C．The California court. | D．Children’s need for milk. |
What will California do to keep milk prices down?
| A．Force milk producers to lower their price. |
| B．Encourage people to drink less milk. |
| C．Get men to produce more rain. |
| D．Increase the supply of milk in the state. |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking, "I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律).""Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you.” One younger musician said, "There are a couple of clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year." I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining(抱怨) or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard. The choice is always yours to make. Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is to show that ______.
| A．musicians’ living conditions are not good |
| B．people in that town have poor taste in music |
| C．different people have different attitudes |
| D．young people are more likely to succeed |
The underlined part "they’re rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 2 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead | B．they’ll have an influence on you |
| C．they’ll keep you from moving on | D．they’ll help you realize your dreams |
Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?
| A．He is more active than the others. |
| B．He can earn more than the others. |
| C．He has more things to do than the others. |
| D．His attitude is more positive than the others. |
By doing the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 3, you can ______.
| A．make the right kind of friends |
| B．improve your ability to make friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．make some new friends with the same interests as you |
We can get the following information from the passage EXCEPT ______.
| A．the younger musician is a positive person and would be a good friend |
| B．one will start complaining if one spends too much time with negative people |
| C．the exercise can help you keep close to really helpful friends |
| D．one should avoid making friends with people who have lots of difficulties |
Recently, a scientist did some experiments．He left a group of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a candy．If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the candy．If, however, they didn't ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two candies.
In videos of the experiment, he can see the children kicking, hiding their eyes--trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two candies．The results are different．Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute．Others lasted 15 minutes.
The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores．They got into better colleges and had better adult success．The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to have received worse teacher and parental evaluations （评价） 10 years later and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32.
The experiments are worth noting because people spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve education, how to become rich．But when the result is not good, they will come back to ask "how do we get people to get the sort of self-control that leads to success?" This is to enter the world of human nature.
So these experiments along with everyday experience, tell us that self-control is most important．Young people who can sit through sometimes boring classes to get a degree can work hard in order to learn a language well．They can avoid drugs and alcohol．For people without self-control skills, however, school is a series of failed ordeals（煎熬）．No wonder they drop out and their later life is a group of foolish ideas, such as drug use, stealing and so on.The scientist did some experiments to .
| A．test children's self control and later success |
| B．test children's intelligence of ringing the bell |
| C．find good ways of training children to learn |
| D．prove that children's education is important |
We can learn from the experiment that
| A．all children tried to ring the bell for more candies |
| B．some children didn't get any candy in the end |
| C．the children have different self- control |
| D．the last one to ring the bell is most successful |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Ways of self-control training |
| B．Experiments on children's ringing the bell |
| C．Higher score, better achievements |
| D．Self-control is the key to success |
Do other countries’ students also have so much homework? What do they usually do in their free time? You may feel curious about them.
On April 8, a report came out on the lives of high school students in China, Japan, South Korea and the US. It surveyed around 6,200 students from the four countries last year. You will find the answers to many of your questions in this report.
Who studies hardest?
Chinese students spend the most time studying. Nearly half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day. That’s much more than students of the US (26.4%), Japan (8.2%) and South Korea (5.2%).
Who sleeps most often in class?
Japanese students fall asleep in class most often. About 45% of them said they sometimes doze offin class. In South Korea, it’s 32%; in the US, 21%; and 5% in China.
South Korean students don’t like taking notes. About 70% said they write down what the teacher says in class, many fewer than in Japan (93%), China (90%) and the US (89%).
Who is the most distracted (分心的)?
American students are the most active in class, but also the most distracted: 64.2% said they chat with friends in class; 46.9% said they eat snacks in class; and 38.9% said they send e-mails or read unrelated books in class.
What do they do after school?
In their spare time, most Chinese students study or surf the Internet. Most American students hang out with their friends. Most Japanese students do physical exercise. Most Korean students watch TV.The report is about ___________.
| A．the countries | B．the subjects | C．the students’ lives | D．the high schools |
What country isn’t mentioned in the report?
| A．The US | B．South Korea | C．Japan | D．India |
__________ of the Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework.
| A．26.4% | B．8.2% | C．5.2% | D．48.6% |
The phrase doze off means ___________.
| A．be half asleep | B．get up | C．eat snacks | D．send emails |
Once in a village, the villagers built a new church building and people came from far and wide to see it. They admired its beauty! They said it was the most beautiful building in the world. Up on the roof, a little nail（钉子）heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure – except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became very angry and sad.
“If I am not important, nobody will miss me if I quit!” So the nail then released (松开) its hold, got down from the roof, and fell into the mud.
That night it rained and rained. Soon, the board that had no nail was blown away, and the roof began to leak (漏水). The water flowed down along the walls and over the beautiful pictures on the walls. The plaster (石膏) began to fall, the floor was ruined, and the Bible was also ruined by water. All this was because a little nail decided to quit!
But what of the nail? While holding the board, it was not known by others but it was useful. Buried in the mud now, it was useless and would soon be eaten up by rust!
What the story wants to say is that every member is important to a whole group!
You may, like the nail, feel not important at times, but just like the nail, your absence is felt. A big building might fall to pieces. You are important to a group even if you are small.Why did the nail decide to quit?
| A．Because he was not able to hold on any longer. |
| B．Because he was angry and sad without people’s praising him. |
| C．Because he knew a big nail would replace him. |
| D．Because he had finished his task successfully. |
What’s the result of the nail’s giving up?
| A．People began to realize the importance of the nail. |
| B．The nail was put in a more important position. |
| C．Many things in the building were ruined and the nail was eaten up by rust. |
| D．The nail regretted his original decision at last. |
The passage wants to tell us that ______.
| A．no matter how small you seem, you are important to a group |
| B．it is a pity that small people are never looked up to |
| C．quit when it is necessary, and don’t care about what others say |
| D．being valued is important to a man |
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