On Sunday, August 24th, comic book lovers across the world held their breath to watch how much crazy collectors would pay for a rare Superman comic book. Though bids (出价) above the initial asking price of 1 million dollars had been coming in gradually since the copy was placed on the auction site (拍卖网站) eBay on July 14th, things really started to heat up during the final minutes when the price jumped from $2.5 to $2.6 and then $2.7 million, before shooting up to unbelievable 3,207,852 dollars!
This of course was no ordinary Superman comic book, but an edition of the extremely sought-after (很吃香地) No. 1 of Action Comics series — the first publication of the superhero that was born from the creative minds of teenagers Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Though Action Comics No. 1, which depicted a diaper-clad baby Superman lifting furniture, had a print run of 200,000 copies, only about 100 are known to exist today.
While the rarity is certainly a reason for the high price, Stephen Fisher, CEO of ComicConnect.com, thinks it also has a lot to do with the fact that Superman was the world’s first superhero! Even so, none of the copies have been able to fetch (售得) as much as the most recent one, simply because they have not been as well-preserved. Graded a rare 9 out of 10 by CGC, a third party grading service for comic books, the book is the highest rated copy of Action Comics No. 1 so far. According to CGC officials, the 76-year-old comic book looks and feels as though it has just come off the newsstand (报摊).
That is not surprising given that the original owner, a Virginian man who bought the book for only 10 cents in 1938, had carefully tucked it away (藏起来) in a wooden box for four decades. Fortunately, when he passed away, the book was bought by a string of collectors who all realized it was a rare treasure that needed to be looked after.
Before this, the highest price paid for an Action Comics No. 1 had been $2 million for a copy sold by Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage in 2011. Ironically, the two teenagers responsible for creating Superman received just 130 dollars when they sold the rights to the superhero to comic book publisher Detective Comics in 1938.
the Superman comic book was placed on eBay on July 14th, .
| A．it attracted no attention at all |
| B．things started to heat up immediately |
| C．the bid price didn’t go up very quickly at first |
| D．people thought it was worth millions of dollars |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．Why the comic book is well-preserved. |
| B．Why the comic book is well worth reading. |
| C．Why the comic book is worth so much money. |
| D．Why the comic book has drawn so much attention. |
When the other collectors got the comic book after the Virginian man, they .
| A．all took very good care of it |
| B．all liked reading it very much |
| C．didn’t believe it was worth a fortune |
| D．all kept it in the same way as that man |
What do we know about the creators of Superman?
| A．They didn’t want to sell the rights to a comic book publisher. |
| B．They knew all along Superman would be the most successful comic book. |
| C．They were professional comic book writers when they created Superman. |
| D．They didn’t make much money from creating Superman. |
Over the past decade, cheating—an act of academic dishonesty—has become more and more common.
The latest statistics shows more than two thirds of high school students admitted cheating on an exam last year, and—even more surprising—often the best students cheat to get to the top of their class—and they don’t think it is wrong. It’s not a big deal. Everybody is doing it.
It is a big deal! Cheating is basically wrong and must be punished.
If students easily get away with it, they might be encouraged to do it again. They won’t realize that this—in the broadest sense—is an attack on our society, which is based on values like honesty and fairness. The present spreading of cheating indicates a loss of those values and cannot be tolerated. An appropriate punishment for cheating incidents would make students aware of their misbehavior.
If no one were punished for cheating, who would ever study for an exam? Tons of papers would be lifted from websites, writing crib sheets would be more important than reviewing the subjects, and highly sophisticated cheating arts would be invented. Knowledge would only exist on the Internet and on cleverly created cheat sheets, but not in the minds of the students—a rather bad precondition to enrich our society wisely and intelligently.
Students have to learn that they have to learn. Only doing what’s right will bring them a feeling of pride and accomplishment and create self-confidence—the building blocks for a successful and satisfying life and a society that keeps its values.What is more surprising is that .
| A．cheating is very common in schools |
| B．over 2/3 of the students cheat last year |
| C．even the best students cheat on exams |
| D．teachers are not aware of the problems |
How do they make the students realize their misbehavior?
| A．By letting them getting away with it. |
| B．By telling them what is right. |
| C．By catching them on the spot. |
| D．By giving them some punishment. |
How can students create self-confidence?
| A．By knowing they have to learn. |
| B．By doing what is right. |
| C．By learning the right things. |
| D．By being punished when cheating. |
What does the underlined word “lifted” mean?
| A．taken | B．removed | C．copied | D．written |
Recently, I experienced a wonderful lesson in how little things still mean a lot. My brother, mother and I live in a very rural district on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our farm is at least a dozen miles from the most basic of services. Consequently, we take weekly trips to COSTCO to procure fuel and supplies. About a month ago, we’d finished loading up the SUV and prepared to leave. As I settled into my seat, I glanced down at the roadside, when a piece of paper caught my eye. I picked it up and read it carefully. Instantly, I was grateful I did.
The form turned out to be a receipt from the State Motor Vehicle Division, documenting the owners’ payment of their Vehicle’s Registration fees. Quickly, I put myself in their shoes and figured: no one would throw this out, especially if it was current. I also looked over the form for contact or any personal data, perhaps a license tag or telephone number. But that seemed impractical. Although the form had been born on the wind, where in the busy, crowded parking lot would I find the owners? Had it been lying there for a few minutes or a week? So I checked the date, the fees paid, noted the names of the owners and pocketed the receipt. Recalling the parable of the Good Samaritan, I concluded that the best and easiest step to take was to put the form in an envelope addressed to the couple and send it to them by post. Further, I imagined how crazy I’d be if I had misplaced my receipt. Much easier to attempt returning it than to leave them angry, upset, etc. over the loss.
By the end of the week, I received a beautiful thank-you letter from a very grateful and happy couple containing a hand written message and a gift card to use at any Starbuck’s. In her note, the wife explained how a gust of wind snatched their receipt from a pocket in her car’s passenger door. They had panicked and searched crazily for quite some time before giving up. It felt great to know I’d helped someone avoid a major loss by doing something that at first glance seemed minor or even unimportant.What did the author really mean when he said “Instantly, I was grateful I did.”?
| A．He was lucky to notice the paper on the roadside. |
| B．He was happy to do shopping in the district for it was convenient. |
| C．He was right to pick the paper up because it was important. |
| D．He was thankful to pick up the paper because he found it for a long time. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the short passage?
| A．I rode my car to COSTCO to buy supplies a month ago. |
| B．The receipt was out of date, so the owner threw it away. |
| C．I waited on the roadside for the receipt owner for half a day. |
| D．I called up the owner to take back the receipt. |
The author decided to give the paper back to the owner because ______.
| A．it was useless for him |
| B．he knew the owner was upset about losing it |
| C．the owner asked him to do so |
| D．he knew the owner would reward him for it |
Which would be the best title for this passage?
| A．How I helped the couple | B．The loss of an important receipt |
| C．The owner of the receipt | D．Little things still mean a lot |
假设你是李华，于2013年3月5日搭乘国外某航空公司航班（flight number BC779）回国后，发现遗失了一个行李箱（suitcase）。现请用英文给该航空公司写一封信，请他们帮你寻找。
信件要点包括：
1. 陈述写信原因。
2. 简要描述该行李，并说明其重要性。
3. 期待回复并表示感谢。
注意：1.词数100左右。2. 信件格式已给出。
Dear Sir/Madam,
Yours truly,
Li Hua
Most of us use the telephone several times a day to talk with friends or make social arrangements(安排). These calls are usually quite easy and require little planning.
Using the telephone for business purpose is different. In any organization the person on the telephone represents the company and gives an impression of the firm to the outside world.
If you want to ensure good public relations, you need to master effective telephone techniques.
You should try to give an impression of an efficient, friendly, progressive company eager to give good service.
Before calling
Choose the right time. Consider the cost, urgency and convenience. When calling overseas, you need to consider the time difference.
Check the number. A great deal of money is wasted each year on dialing wrong numbers.
Plan your call. Make a list of points and questions to be raised.
Be prepared. Gather any files, papers or information that may be needed during the call. It is unprofessional to have to say “Hold on while I look for that.”
If you have to ask a caller to hold on, keep going back and assuring him/her that you will be as quick as possible.
Avoid interruptions. Call at a time when you are unlikely to be distracted(分心).
During the call
Be courteous, polite. Make time for suitable greetings like “How are you today, Jim?” and “Did you enjoy your holiday”?
Put a smile in your voice. Remember, your caller can not see you, so use intonation to good effect and try to sound confident, decisive, helpful, and interested.
Check your notes. Look back at your notes to ensure that you have covered everything and quote figures and other data correctly.
Get feedback. Make sure the caller understands the message correctly, especially deadlines and actions that are involved.
Be courteous. Finish by thanking the caller for his or her time and trouble.
After the call
Make notes. Let it become a habit to make notes of the call and place them in an appropriate file.
Take actions. If you need to send a letter of confirmation or inform someone in your organization about any details of the call, do it immediately so that you do not forget important points.This passage is mainly about _____.
| A．how to become a dependable company |
| B．how to ensure public relations |
| C．some service a company should have |
| D．some telephone techniques for business purpose |
Before calling, you have to _____.
| A．stay at your company only |
| B．learn important data and figures by heart |
| C．get things ready for the communication |
| D．choose the right time and place |
During the call, it is unsuitable to _____.
| A．be heard in low spirits | B．be decisive |
| C．check your notes | D．get feedback |
What does the underlined word “courteous” in the passage mean?
| A．Polite. | B．Active. | C．Effective. | D．Correct. |
In the UK, a group of campaigners(活动家)have declared the last Saturday in November as National Buy Nothing Day. “Our message is clear: shop less, live more!” says organizer Michael Smith. “The challenge is to try simple living for a day. Spend time with family and friends, rather than spending money on them. Anyone can take part, provided they spend a day without spending.”
On Buy Nothing Day, they take to the streets to tackle consumers(消费者). They dress as pigs to symbolize greed(贪婪). They offer to cut up credit cards and hand out shopping bags with the words “another useless thing I don’t need” written on the side. Some hold street parties to show shoppers that it is possible to have fun without spending money. Others go into shops and put notes saying “don’t buy me” inside clothes and shoes.
Some protestors(抗议者) are working against powerful forces. Many retailers(零售商) and manufacturers depend on Christmas sales for most of their profits. Around two thirds of GDP in the West is made up of consumer spending. If this drops, many people will lose their jobs. At least that will make it easier for them to buy nothing.
And there is also the risk that the campaigners will be seen as killjoys, who want to stop people enjoying themselves. “There’s a fun side to this,” says Michael Smith. “To some it’s a protest, but it’s also a street party. We’re not saying that people are bad because they go shopping, but we need get the message across for people to consume wisely. And after we’re finished, we’ll probably go for a drink.”Why do a group of people in the UK choose Saturday as National Buy Nothing Day?
| A．Because they have enough food at their homes. |
| B．Because it is the season for shopping. |
| C．Because they have run out of money at that time. |
| D．Because it’s popular to live a simple life. |
In order to persuade people to stop shopping, the campaigners _____.
| A．stop people going out |
| B．have different ways to make it |
| C．offer goods to people freely |
| D．play tricks on consumers |
The underlined word “killjoys” in the last paragraph refers to people who _____.
| A．ruin the happiness and fun of others |
| B．get money from shopkeepers |
| C．bring happiness to others |
| D．take no interest in shopping |
The campaigners started National Buy Nothing Day for the purpose of _____.
| A．persuading people to kill time in a different way |
| B．persuading people to save money |
| C．persuading people to have more parties |
| D．persuading people to spend money wisely |
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