A bargain is something offered at a low and advantageous price. A more recent definition is: a bargain is a dirty trick to force money out of the pockets of silly and innocent people.
The cost of producing a new - for example - toothpaste would make 80p the proper price for it, so we will market it at £1.20. It is not a bad toothpaste, and as people like to try new things it will sell well to start with; but the attraction of novelty soon fades, so sales will fall. When that happens we will reduce the price to £1.15. And we will turn it into a bargain by printing 5p OFF all over it.
Sometimes it is not 5p OFF but 1p OFF. What breathtaking rudeness to advertise 1p OFF your soap or washing powder or whatever! Even the poorest old-age pensioner ought to regard this as an insult(侮辱), but he doesn’t. A bargain must not be missed. People say one has to have washing powder (or whatever) and one might as well buy it a penny cheaper.
The real danger starts when unnecessary things become ‘bargains’. Many people just cannot resist bargains. Provided they think they are getting a bargain they will buy clothes they will never wear or furniture they have no space for. Once I heard of a man who bought an electric saw as a bargain and cut off two of his fingers the next day. But he had no regrets: the saw had been truly cheap.
Quite a few people actually believe that they make money on such bargains. A lady once told me: “I’ve had a lucky day today. I bought a dress for £120, reduced from £400; and I bought a beautiful Persian carpet for £600, reduced from £900.” It will never occur to her that she has actually wasted £720. She feels as though she had made £580. She also feels, I am sure, that if she had more time for shopping, she could make a living out of it.
Some people buy in large quantities because it is cheaper. Once a couple bought enough sugar for their lifetime and the lifetime of their children and grandchildren. They thought it a bargain not to be missed. When the sugar arrived they didn’t know where to store it – until they realized that their toilet was a very spacious one. So that was where they piled up their sugar. Not only did their guests feel rather strange whenever they were offered sugar to put into their coffee, but the toilet became extremely sticky.
To offer bargains is a commercial trick to make the poor poorer. When greedy fools fall for this trick, it serves them right.
Which word best describes the language style of the passage?
| A．Polite. | B．Foolish. | C．Humorous. | D．Serious. |
What does the underlined word “novelty” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Good quality. | B．Low price. |
| C．Newness. | D．Curiosity. |
How does the author feel about 1p OFF a product?
| A．It’s a gift for poor people. |
| B．It’s an offense to shoppers. |
| C．It’s a bargain worth trying. |
| D．It’s a real reduction in price. |
Which statement will the author probably agree with?
| A．Bargains are things people don’t really need. |
| B．Bargains are often real cheap products. |
| C．Bargains help people make a living. |
| D．Bargains play tricks on people. |
There are 70,000 pubs in England and Wales have several thousand more in Scotland.
Every country has its drinking shop, but none has an institution quite like the British pub. The most important feature of a good pub (which modern buildings hardly ever achieve) is a feeling of something private. It must have nooks and crannies, corners and snugs, where conversations and assignations can take place without the whole world listening in.
Most pubs have at least two separate bars. The “public bar” which is for ordinary and women is the basic drinking shop. The “lounge bar” (or saloon bar) which is for traveling salesmen and “ladies” probably has a carpet on the floor and rather more comfortable decoration. There may be a difference of a few pence in the drink prices, although all pubs are required by law to put their price lists easily seen on display.
Pubs have been changing over the past few decades. More and more of them sell good, inexpensive food and are competing strongly with restaurants. Tea and coffee are often on offer and children are being made more welcome. The law says that no one under 14 may enter a pub, and between 14 and 18 they must be accompanied by an adult and may not buy or consume alcoholic drink. In reality some pubs, especially in country districts, welcome whole families. Some set aside special rooms for children and where there are gardens they are almost always welcome.
The most basic change, however, came about in the 1938 licensing laws which allowed pubs in England and Wales to open not just at lunch time and in the evening, but all day, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Scottish laws already permitted all day opening.) Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．Pubs’ history | B．Pubs in Britain |
| C．Changes of pubs | D．Features of a good pub |
According to the British people, what kind of pub is a good one?
| A．The one with all day opening time. |
| B．The one with good and inexpensive food. |
| C．The one with all kinds of people enjoying themselves. |
| D．The one with different parts where people can have a private conversation. |
In paragraph 4, we can learn that .
| A．pubs allow people above 14 to enter alone |
| B．pubs never allow people under 18 to enter |
| C．pubs don’t sell more expensive food than restaurants |
| D．pubs often sell alcoholic drinks as well as tea and coffee |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The law requires all the pubs have slightly different prices of drinks. |
| B．Ordinary people and women are often having fun in the “public pub”. |
| C．In some country pubs, children accompanied by their parents are always welcome. |
| D．Scottish laws allow pubs to open not just at lunch time and in the evening, but all day. |
Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end, we walk the dog, play golf, go fishing, sit in the garden, drink outside rather than inside the pub, have a picnic, live in the suburbs, go to the seaside, buy a weekend place in the country. The most popular free time activity in Britain is going for a walk. And when joggers (慢跑者) jog, they don’t run the streets. Every one of them automatical
ly heads to the park or the river. It is my firm belief that not only do we all need nature, but we all seek nature, whether we know we are doing so or not.
But despite this, our children are growing up nature-deprived (丧失). I spent my boyhood climbing trees. These days, children are robbed of these ancient freedoms, due to problems like crime, traffic, the loss of the open spaces and strange new ideas about what is best for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that can be found.
The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US: families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD (多动症). Those whose housing had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.
A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability than children used only to a normal playground. A US study suggested that when a school gave children access to a natural environment, the entire school would do better in studies.
Another study found that children play differently in a natural environment. In playgrounds, children create a hierarchy (等级) based on physical abilities, with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was planted with bushes, the children got much more into fantasy play, and the social hierarc
hy was now based on imagination and creativity.
Most bullying (恃强凌弱) is found in schools w
here there is a tarmac (柏油碎石) playground; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore. This reminds me unpleasantly of Sunnyhill School, with its hard tarmac, where I used to hang about in corners dreaming about wildlife.
But children are frequently discouraged from involvement with natural spaces, for health and safety reasons, for fear that they might get dirty or that they might cause damage. So, instead, the damage is done to the children themselves: not to their bodies but to their souls.
One of the great problems of modern childhood is ADHD, now increasingly and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.
The life of old people is much better when they have access to nature. The most important for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important thing in finding that quality.
In wider and more difficult areas of life, there is evidence to indicate that natural surroundings improve all kinds of things. Even problems with crime and aggressive behaviour are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.
Dr William Bird, researcher from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, states in his study, “A natural environment can reduce violent behaviour because its process helps reduce anger and behavior that people might regret later.” Wild places need encouraging for this reason
, no matter how small their contribution.
We tend to think human beings are doing nature some kind of favor when we are protecting nature. The error here is far too deep: not only do humans need nature for themselves, but the very idea that humanity and the natural world are separable things is damaging.
Human beings are a species of animals. For seven million years we lived on the planet as part of nature. So we miss the natural world and long for contact with non-human life. Anyone who has patted a dog, stroked a cat, sat under a tree with a glass of beer, given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to walk through the park on a nice day, understands that.
We need the wild world.
It is necessary to our well-being, our health, our happiness. Without other living things around us we are less than human.What is the author’s firm belief?
| A．People seek nature in different ways. |
| B．People should spend most of their lives in the wild. |
| C．People have quite different ideas of nature. |
| D．People must make more efforts to study nature. |
What does the author say people prefer for their children nowadays?
| A．Personal freedom. | B．Things that are natural. |
| C．Urban surroundings. | D．Things that are purchased. |
What does a study in Sweden show?
A. The natural environment can help children learn better.
B. More access to nature makes children less likely to fall ill.
C. A good playground helps kids develop their physical abilities.
D. Natural views can prevent children from developing ADHD.Children who have chances to explore natural areas ________.
| A．tend to develop a strong love for science |
| B．are more likely to dream about wildlife |
| C．tend to be physically tougher in adulthood |
| D．are less likely to be involved in bullying |
What does the author suggest we do to help children with ADHD?
| A．Find more effective drugs for them. |
B．Provide more green spaces for them. |
| C．Place them under more personal care. |
| D．Engage them in more meaningful activities |
In what way do elderly people benefit from their contact with nature?
A．They lo ok on life optimistically. |
B．They enjoy a life of better quality. |
| C．They are able to live longer. | D．T hey become good-humored |
Anne Whitney, a sophomore(二年级学生) at Colorado State University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college. "I was always well prepared for my tests. Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test. Yet I would go in to take the test, only to find I could not answer the questions correctly. I would blank out because of nervousness and fear. I couldn’t think of the answer. My low grades on the tests did not show what I knew to the teacher ." Another student in microbiology and similar experiences. He said ,"My first chemistry test was very difficult. Then, on the second test, I sat down to take it, and I was so nervous that I was shaking. My hands were moving up and down so quickly that it was hard to hold my pencil. I knew the material and I knew the answers. Yet I couldn’t even write them down!"
These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and it uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student can’t write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness. Although poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety causes the low grades. Recently, test anxiety had been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students.
Special university counseling courses try to help students. In these courses, counselors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety .At some universities, students take tests to measure their anxiety. If the tests show their anxiety is high, the students can take short courses to help them deal with their tension. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies .Students are trained to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work at ease .Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.
An expert at the University of California explains. "With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are felt after taking out program .Most of then experience better control during their tests. Almost all have some improvement. With some, the improvement is very great."To "blank out" is probably______.
| A．to be like a blanket | B．to be sure of an answer |
| C．to be unable to think clearly | D．to show knowledge to the teacher |
Poor grades are usually the result of _______.
| A．poor hygienic(卫生的) habits | B．laziness |
| C．lack of sleep | D．being unable to form good study habits |
Test anxiety has been recognized as _______.
| A．an excuse for laziness | B．the result of poor habits |
| C．a real problem | D．something that can’t be changed |
To deal with this problem, students say they want to ______.
A .take a short course on anxiety
B read about anxiety
C. be able to manage or understand their anxiety
D take test to prove they are not anxietyA University of California counselor said_______.
| A．all students could overcome the anxiety after taking a special test anxiety program |
| B．almost all students felt less stress after taking a University of California counseling course |
| C．students found it difficult to improve even though they had taken a special test anxiety course |
| D．students found it easy to relax as soon as they entered a University of California counseling course |
Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2,3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts don’t live in the town center as much of central London is commercial and not residential (居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
Continental Breakfast
Breakfast and Dinner
Breakfast ,packed Lunch and Dinner.
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast . Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal(谷物)，bread and tea or coffee. Cheese ,fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in English. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert , fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student . However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.The passage is probably written for
| A．hosts willing to receive foreign students |
| B．foreigners hoping to build British culture |
| C．travellers planning to visit families in London |
| D．English learners applying to live in English homes |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Room cleaning. | B．Medical care. | C．Free transport. | D．Physical training. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph3?
| A．Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2. |
| B．The business centre of London is in Zone 1. |
| C．Hosts dislike traveling to the city centre. |
| D．Accommodation in the city center is not provided |
According to the passage. What does continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee | B．Fruit and vegetables. |
| C．bread and fruit juice | D．Centre and cold meat. |
Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
| A．To experience a warmer family atmosphere. | B．To enrich their knowledge of English\ |
| C．To entertain friends as they like. | D．To enjoy much more freedom. |
About 21,000 young people in 17 American States don’t attend classes in school buildings. Instead, they receive their elementary (初等) and high school education by working at home on computers . The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools,” and that is about twice as many as two years ago.
The money for students to attend a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools . They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools . They say learning at home by computers ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.
Whatever the judgment of cyberschools , they are getting more and more popular.
For example , a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.
Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephones or by sending emails through their computers when necessary.
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another. But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter school recently met for the first time. They were guests of honor at their graduation.What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschool?
| A．They have to take long bus rides to school. |
| B．They study at home rather than in classrooms. |
| C．They receive money from traditional public schools. |
| D．They do well in traditional school programs. |
What is a problem with cyberschools?
| A．Their equipment costs a lot of money. |
| B．They get little support from the state government |
| C．It is hard to know students’ progress in learning. |
| D．The students find it hard to make friends. |
Cyberschools are getting popular because
| A．they are less expensive for students |
| B．their students can work at their own speed |
| C．their graduates are more successful in society |
| D．they serve students in a wider age range |
We can infer that the author of the text is _________.
| A．unprejudiced(无偏见的) in his description of cryberschools . |
| B．excited about the future of cryberschools |
| C．doubtful about the quality of cryberschools |
| D．disappointed at the development of cryberschools. |
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