The freezing Northeast hasn’t been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part- particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers’ market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.

 The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m, rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries, the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.

Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they’re unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.

 Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where- luckily for me- I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.

25. What did the author think of her winter life in New York?

A. Exciting.   B. Boring.   C. Relaxing.    D. Annoying.

26. What made the author’s getting up late early worthwhile?

A. Having a swim.                   B. Breathing in fresh air.

C. Walking in the morning sun.        D. Visiting a local farmer’s market.

27. What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?

A. They are soft.    B. They look nice.   C. They taste great.      D. They are juicy.

28. What was the author going to that evening?

A. Go to a farm.                      B. Check into a hotel. 

C. Eat in a restaurant.                 D. Buy fresh vegetables.

—Don’t look down upon Bob. He has his own advantages.

—Oh, yes. _____ others are weak, he is strong.

This is the best interesting novel         .

   A. what I have very read                   B. which I have ever read

C. I have ever read it                      D. that I have ever read

Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have trouble in understanding speeches by native speakers. The following ways might help improve their listening ability.

First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a suitable course and start with the first book. Go on to the second book only after you are sure you understand the first one.

Secondly, stick to one course of study. Don’t change books often. Never let your attention be attracted by another course just because it seems to be more “fashionable”.

Thirdly, listen to the English news program over the radio from time to time. Better go through the news stories in the Chinese-language newspaper first. That will make it easy for you to understand the English news on the radio.

Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in some special English programs, such as VOA. or other listening materials of the same level as that of your textbook.

24. This is a piece of advice to learners of English on how to______.  

A. improve their listening ability        B. read fast

   C. write better English and read faster    D. speak correctly

25. If you want to understand the English news program on the radio, you should________.

   A. read the Chinese language newspaper step by step

   B. read again and again t he Chinese language newspaper

   C. go through the Chinese language newspaper first

   D. be able to recite the Chinese language newspaper

26. The author advised that once you have taken up a course, you _______.

   A. should stick to it.

   B. should begin with the last book

   C. should take up other courses if they are more fashionable

   D. shouldn’t do anything else

27. In this passage, VOA stands for_______.

   A. a book      B. a magazine    C. a text-book        D. a radio station  

Ever feel like you’ve been hit on the head after a bad night’s sleep? According to scientists, the thought isn’t as unbelievable as it seems.

A study found going without sleep for just one night causes changes in the brain similar to those that occur after a blow to the head. The researchers said the healthy young men examined in the study showed a sudden increase in the same chemicals which indicate brain damage. Professor Christian Benedict, of Uppsala University, Sweden, explained that the chemicals NSE and S-100B are biomarkers(生物指标) for brain damage, such as concussion(脑震荡). He said, “What we found was their levels in the blood rose in the group that went without sleep for a night. This was not to the extent that would happen after a head injury, for instance, but it was still significant. During sleep, the brain cleans poisonous substances off itself.

Benedict also said previous studies which linked a lack of sleep with increased risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis could applaud his study. The rise of the chemicals in the blood after sleep loss may suggest not getting enough sleep contributes to a loss of brain tissue, he explained. Benedict, whose study is published in the journal Sleep, added, “In conclusion, the findings of our experiment indicate a good night’s sleep may be critical to maintaining brain health.”

A third of the UK population suffer from sleep-related problems, while the average person now sleeps for only seven hours a night, compared with almost nine a few decades ago. Many scientists believe irregular sleeping patterns lead to illnesses ranging from aches and pains to heart disease, while less than eight hours’ sleep a night can lower the IQ the next day.

37. If you don’t sleep for a night, what will happen?

   A. NSE and S-100B will increase.             B. The brain damage will be like a head injury.

   C. You will suffer from concussion.           D. The brain will get rid of poisonous substances.

38. What do we know about previous studies?

   A. They found reasons for brain disorders.     B. Their findings were published in Sleep.

   C. They were supported by Benedict’s study.  D. They focused on brain health.

39. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

   A. People in the UK have the worst sleep in the world.

   B. Man’s intelligence is affected by sleep in a way.

   C. A lack of sleep causes all brain-related problems.

   D. People were more intelligent in the past.

40. What’s the main idea of the passage?

   A. Eight hours’ sleep is important.

   B. Regular-sleeping patterns improve health.

   C. Sleep loss is close to a blow to the head.

   D. Human brains work during sleep.

In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game. This can be the most important event of the year except graduation or commencement (毕业典礼)Day. Students plan Homecoming Day many weeks in advance.

   Several days before Homecoming, students start to decorate the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.

   The members of school clubs build booths(售货棚) and sell lemonade(柠檬汽水)，apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome visitors.

   During the day alumni and their wives will gather at the school. They like to look for teachers that they remember. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.

   Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over, the band comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears. All the students vote the most popular student Homecoming Queen or King. It is a great honor to be chosen.

   Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the game loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming. Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering.

1. The best title of this passage is ________.

    A. Homecoming Game                    B. American School              

  C. Homecoming Day                     D. Homecoming Queen or King

2. Which of the following is NOT done on Homecoming?

   A. To organize clubs.                    B. To see old friends.                

  C. To call on teachers they remember.          D. To watch the football game.      

3. The underlined word “ alumni” refers to ________.

   A. male former students of a school or college   B. female former students of a school or college

   C. grandmothers of the students in a school or college

   D. grandfathers of the students in a school or college

Kay and Charles Giddens sold their home to start a bed and breakfast. Four years later, the couple now dishes out banana pancake breakfasts, cleans toilets, serves homemade cookies to guests in a bed and breakfast surrounded by trees on a mountain known for colorful sunsets.

    “Do I miss the freeways? Do I miss the traffic? Do I miss the trees? No,” says Ms. Giddens. “This is a phenomenon that’s fairly widespread. A lot of people are rethinking their lives and

figuring out what they want to do.”

    Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing, living closer to work and commuting(通勤) less, avoiding shopping malls, borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job.

Vicki Robin, a writer, tells us how she deals with the changes in her budget, now far less than what she used to make.

“You become conscious of where your money is going and how valuable it is,”Ms. Robin says. “You tend not to use thing up. You cook at home rather than eat out. You find your life is not

a mess anymore, and you discover your living costs have gone way down.”

Janet Luhrs, a lawyer, quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a babysitter for two weeks.“It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids,”she says.“Simplicity is not just about saving money ; it’s about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music.”

Ms. Luhrs now edits a magazines called Simple Living, which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture  and  shoes, and organize potluck（家常便饭）dinners instead of fancy receptions.

“Simplicity is about conscious living and creating the life you want. The less stuff you buy, the less money goes out the door, and the less money you have to earn,” Ms. Luhrs explains.

4.How does Ms. Giddens feel about the life she is living now?

A.Bored        B.Worried          C.Satisfied           D.Surprised

5.What does the phenomenon Ms.Giddens mentioned refer to?

A.Serving others  B.Finding a new job  C.Living a simple life.  D.Opening a restaurant

6.Janet Luhrs gave up her job as a lawywer in order to _________.

A.have one more baby girl            B.create her own magazine

C.make her career in music            D.spend more time with her kids

7.In which part of a newspaper will the text most probably appear?

A.Business       B.Lifestyle         C. Education          D.Entertainment

 To the __________ of the manager, there are so many people who are _________ with the products made in his company.

A. satisfy, satisfied                               B. satisfying, satisfied

C. satisfaction, satisfied                           D. satisfaction, satisfying

The Horn of Plenty is one of the largest natural health food stores within the Greater Hamilton area. We are big supporters of buying locally and we are here to tell you why it is so important for your family, the community and the environment. The concept of buying locally is simple: buy food produced, grown, or raised as close to your home as possible. Not only will your food be fresher and tastier, but you are helping protect the environment and are supporting businesses within your community and reducing pollution.

Better for the environment Sustainabilityand global warming are such hot topics at the moment, and many                 people want to do their bit to help support a healthier environment. Small action carried out by many people can make a big difference. Most materials in an average North American meal have traveled about 1,500 miles to get from farm to plate. To cut out a big part of this travel would greatly reduce not only pollution from transportation and refrigeration but also customers’ expenses as well.

Taste and nutritional content Locally-grown fruits and vegetables are usually sold within 24 hours of being harvested. Because they are picked at the height of ripeness(成熟) and travel only a short distance to the market, their freshness, nutrition, and flavor are kept. Produce trucked in from far away may lose both taste and nutritional content. Community and home values when you buy direct from a farmer or buy locally-grown foods, you are engaged in a time-honored tradition between a grower and an eater. You also help keep dollars within your community.

21.It can be inferred from the third paragraph that ___________.

A. global warming is the most serious problem now

B. North American food is rich in various kinds of materials

C. the increased cost of transporting food is passed on to the customers

D. most people support buying locally

22.Locally-grown fruits and vegetables taste good mostly because___________.

A. they are picked when they are fully grown

B. they are not polluted by chemical fertilizer

C. they can be harvested at any time

D. they are sent to the market at a high speed

23.According to the author, when you buy locally-grown foods ___________.

A. you can see how fruits and vegetables grow

B. you will contribute to protecting the environment

C. you will become much healthier and prettier

D. you are making money from your community

24.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. The way to keep your food tasty and healthy.

B. The popularity of the Horn of Plenty.

C. The importance of protecting the environment.

D. The benefits of buying locally.

阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

47. I worked from the time when I was four and raised seven children,all of them college graduates.It seemed I'd done everything I'd ever wanted to do in my life,but I had one regret.I was born in 1898,the oldest of five kids.Papa couldn't spare me to go to school,so I worked in the fields with him till l was 21 years old.

Everywhere I went,I learned some hard lessons about what happens to a man who even can't read the alphabet. People cheat you out of wages.They sell you a ticket to one city,take your money and hand you a ticket to somewhere else.

By 1928,I'd been wandering for nine years.I met a woman named Elzenia.We fell in love,married and moved to Dallas,where I got work fixing roads for the city.When Amelia,the oldest of our seven children,first went to school,I took my wife aside."Elzenia,"I said."I don't want the kids to know I can't read or write."

In 1938,one day my boss called me in."George,"he said."No one knows those machines like you do.I'd like to promote you."But my thrill and surprise were cut short when he said,"Fill out this application and we'll get you a raise."I couldn't admit the truth.I thanked him and walked out of his office.I did stay right where I was,until I turned 65 and my boss made me retire.But I didn't stop working.For the next 25 years,I lived a happy life,but it still seemed to me like something was missing.

A young fellow handed me a piece of paper.It's information about adult education classes.People can learn to read and write.Now I'm 98.I thought of my friends and neighbours and what they might think if they found out I couldn't read.After all these years,my secret would be out.But all my life I've wanted to read.It was high time for action.

注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

The young man drove me to________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

I'm still going to school.___________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

The huge thirst for jobs in the civil service has made the national civil servant exam one of China’s most competitive tests. The first exam was held in 1995, and since then more and more people have (51) _____________for it, with applications reaching a peak over the last two years.

The latest online (52)_____________, carried out by China Youth Daily and www.qq.com, (53) ___________ that more than 73 per cent of young people want to work as civil servants. Of the 17,330 participants, about 83 per cent said they were attracted by the job's (54)         , guaranteed health care and pension(抚恤金).  (55)        , 55 per cent said it could bring "practical profits."

Nearly 1 million people (56)         to take the exam last year, yet only just over 10,000 were finally (57)         . This year the stiff (severe) competition continued. The exact number of applicants is not known, with the final day for (58)           today.

But the influx（流入） of applicants has already broken the exam's website once. China Youth Daily (59)          that the site was forced to close for maintenance due to (60)         high traffic on the night of October 16. In a typical year several hundred applicants will apply for many of the jobs listed. For example, the five job vacancies (61)         by the secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party have this year (62)          more than 3,880 applicants.

In general, the exam means 50 people competing for one post, the report said. (63) ________        as civil servants are attractive, not only because of the stable income and good health care, but also because of the low risks (64)          with the power and (65)          the positions enjoy. Among the total 6 million public servants, around 20,000 were dismissed between 1996 and 2003.

51.    A. put up                   B. signed up              C. made up               D. taken up

52.    A. discussion             B. search                  C. survey                  D. project

53.    A. found                    B. told                       C. spoke                   D. insisted

54.    A. interest                 B. concept                 C. difficulty                D. stability

55.    A. But                        B. Otherwise             C. Meanwhile            D. Instead

56.    A. entered                 B. adopted                C. allowed                 D. applied

57.    A. employed              B. won                       C. succeeded            D. dismissed

58.    A. examination          B. applications          C. vote                      D. decision

59.    A. declared               B. translated             C. praised                 D. reported

60.    A. generally               B. unusually              C. commonly             D. naturally

61.    A. provided               B. introduced            C. supplied                D. planned

62     A. grasped                B. pulled                    C. attracted               D. drawn

63.    A. Spots                    B. Locations              C. Work                     D. Positions

64.    A. satisfied                B. complained           C. compared             D. recognized

65.    A. sources                 B. entertainments      C. resources             D. developments

 Recently a survey        prices of the same goods in two different supermarkets has caused heated debate among citizens.

A. compared with        B. comparing              C. compared             D. having compared

Rachel looked through troubled eyes at her sister and said, “I wouldn’t have thought Eric would be a thief.”  Her sister Sarah replied, “Whoa, that's a        41      accusation to make against your best friend!”

Rachel remembered two days ago when she had brought out her coin collection for Eric to     42       . At the end of that day, Rachel’s mother asked her to do her a favor，so she asked her friend, “Is it okay if I leave you for a few minutes?” Eric said, “Go ahead. I 11 clean up here，     43     at the piles of coins on the floor.

When Rachel returned, it never occurred to her to     44     her coins until two days later that she realized some quarters were         45     .

Sarah said, “Why don’t you just ask him?”

“Ask him what? Hey, best friend, did you           46      my coin collection?” Rachel thought for a moment,    47       if that would be a good idea. The theft of her collection left her with a feeling of    48        “How could I have misjudged my friend’s         49       ?”

The next day Rachel went to Eric' s house. Eric was acting funny sort of nervous, like he couldn’t be    50       . In fact，Rachel thought Eric acted like someone with a secret . Anger blossomed as Rachel watched Eric pretend to be kind,          51       Eric had obviously stolen from her. Rachel finally could not stand it any more and stood up. Suddenly, Eric         52        , “I can’t stand it anymore!” Rachel was astonished at hearing her own        53       burst forth from her friend! Instead of sounding        54       ， Eric sounded excited. He pulled something from underneath the chair.

“Go to open it! I was going to wait until your birthday, but I can't wait. ” Slowly, Rachel lifted the top of the        55      . Laid out in front of her were all of the quarters from her coin collection.

Each quarter was in its own         56      in a new collection case. Each quarter shone like it was new.

Rachel felt         57    rush over her neck and ears. She said          58       ，"Thank you! This means. . . a great deal to me. ” She was grateful that Eric had cut her      59     before she said something she would      60      .  Eric was exactly the type of person she wanted as a friend!

41.A, initial          B. tentative      C. authentic       D. serious

42.A. classify       B. excavate     C. distribute       D. see

43.A. remarking     B. gesturing   C. playing    D. glaring

44.A. seek          B. select          C. check       D. collect

45.A. destroyed     B. messed        C. missing          D. decreasing

46.A. replace       B. steal             C. pick              D. remove

47.A. deciding B. knowing        C. asking            D- minding

48.A. stupidity B. abandon        C. sympathy          D. betrayal

49.A. favour         B. character          C. appearance          D. method

50.A. still           B. confident         C. generous           D. silent

51.A. when           B. so           C .as                  D. if

52.A. expressed       B. condemned     C. yelled             D- argued

53.A. purpose       B. choices        C. desire              D. thoughts

54.A. shocked       B. curious     C. guilty        D. cruel

55.A. jar            B. box             C. can             D. bag

56.A. spot             B. form              C. condition     D. style

57.A. air             B. heat          C. wind              D. sweat

58.A. awesomely       B. abruptly           C. weakly          D. acutely

59.A. off            B. down           C. out             D. up

60.A. illustrate    B. compromise        C. tolerate          D. regret

When I was eighteen, I couldn’t wait to get my first job, which meant I made the first step toward adulthood.

But it was difficult to get a work permit. One day I was dropped off by my parents at the  41  , where applicants took their physical tests for work permits. Although I had night blindness, my vision was clearer during the day, which helped me walk   42   by myself. Then the doctor began the   43  . He looked into my eyes with a bright light. “I suggest your parents take you to an eye specialist,” he said, “I   44   you have a retinal(视网膜) disease. If you do, you’ll never   45   a day in your life…”

My parents did take me to specialists. After much time and money spent seeking an   46   result, it was determined that I had an eye disease that slowly   47   a person of sight. But still, during daylight, I could walk without   48  . I could read, but not for hours. My eyes began to   49   and words slipped off the page when I read more than a few pages. However, no matter how tired my eyes became, I never gave up reading. I knew the   50   of great writers as well as the most popular music stars. Their words were powerful,   51   encouraged me to try writing. Soon writing brought me a lot of   52   each time I completed a paper.

Then an important phone call from an editor changed my life. An article I   53   appeared in a local newspaper. The newspaper, to my   54  , continued to print my work. Next, a book series published several of my essays. I got interested in writing and   55   up with each acceptance. On the pages, readers never knew of my blindness   56   I chose to present it. For me, finding my voice through writing gave me the pride and satisfaction I   57   so many years ago. Now, I have numerous essays and articles in   58  .

Should I be thanking that misguided doctor? By falsely predicting that I could never work a day, he fueled my motivation into   59  . He set the bar too   60   and focused on what I wouldn’t be able to do. Yet I proved what I could do.

41. A. station                B. company                  C. clinic               D. lab

42. A. easily                  B. proudly              C. suddenly                  D. silently

43. A. operation             B. examination        C. treatment            D. argument  

44. A. suspect        B. admit                 C. conduct                   D. arrest

45. A. rest             B. sleep                        C. live                          D. work

46. A. accurate                     B. obvious                    C. urgent            D. ordinary    

47. A. reminds        B. robs                         C. warns                      D. informs

48. A. allowance            B. medicine          C. assistance                  D. balance     

49. A. dance                 B. shine                        C. widen                D. tear          

50. A. houses                B. names            C. habits                       D. addresses  

51. A. it                     B. that                   C. where                      D. which

52. A. pleasure                  B. worry            C. trouble                         D. stress       

53. A. admitted            B. penned                   C. wanted                     D. described  

54. A. shame            B. delight                   C. admiration                D. disappointment

55. A. gave                   B. lit             C. came                       D. put

56. A. although        B. unless                      C. since                        D. after

57. A. sought                B. feared            C. brought                 D. rejected

58. A. mind           B. use                    C. time                         D. print         

59. A. imagination          B. failure              C. responsibility            D. success

60. A. low            B. far                      C. long                       D. close 

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文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。

注意：

1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

  When I was 10，once my parents were away on business，but I had to stay at home alone for a day. I got up early in the morning，thinking about different activity I could do. The first idea was that I could play computer games all through the day without blamed by my mother. Minutes later，I said to me，“Why don't I do something meaningful？” So I planned to cook the meal for my parents. I tried to recall how my mother usually did in the kitchen and arrange everything on my own. With a whole day's effort，I finally made it. I felt it very happy when I saw my parents eating the meal cheerful. They couldn't help say that their son had grown up.

It is widely accepted that babies learn to do things because certain acts lead to

        _.

A. rewards                     B. prizes                        C. awards                       D. results

When I was in first grade, doctors found a cancer in my head. It changed my _41_. After an operation, I spent a whole year getting treatment. The _42_ medicine that cured the cancer made my stomach hurt. One day, when I found out a program that trains dogs to be friends with people, I _43_ my parents to let me have one. They knew it had been a(n) _44_ year for me and they said yes. I was really happy, but I didn’t _45_ that my life was about to change again.

We went to visit a few dogs to see if any seemed _46_ for me. We went outside to play with them, and I found there was_47_ magical about one dog. Instead of running around and playing like the other dogs, Coco just_48_ with me on the grass. Since I felt so _49_, taking a rest was all I wanted to do. Coco seemed to _50_ it. Right then, I started to feel better with Coco sitting next to me. I knew she was the right dog, and she came home with us.

Coco was _51_ there for me and with the help of her_52_, my cancer was cured. That was when I realized that I _53_ to help someone else get a dog like Coco. I _54_ that if I could do that, another kid with cancer could start to feel better, too.

I needed to _55_ enough money for one _56_ dog. I sold home-made dog biscuits and after a summer of sales, I had enough money to pay for a (n) _57_. My first adopted dog, Lucky Bug, went to Krysta, who had lost most of her _58_ when she got cancer. She couldn’t see the dog, _59_ she could get to know him by touching and smelling him.

I _60_ cancer, and I knew Lucky Bug would help Krysta the way Coco had helped me.

41. A. habits                                B. hobbies                                        C. character         D. life

42. A. terrible                              B. traditional                                     C. expensive                             D. efficient

43. A. advised                             B. begged                                          C. allowed                                D. helped

44. A. strange                              B. tough                                             C. new                                      D. exciting

45. A. believe                              B. remember                                      C. realize                                 D. understand

46. A. beautiful                           B. friendly                                         C. right                                     D. gentle

47. A. everything                        B. something                                      C. anything         D. nothing

48. A. played                                 B. lay                                              C. ran                                          D. sat

49. A. sick                                      B. sad                                              C. bored                  D. lonely

50. A. enjoy                                   B. sense                                        C. share                                            D. keep

51. A. always                                 B. sometimes                             C. seldom                                      D. never

52. A. care                                      B. effort                                     C. medicine                                    D. friendship

53. A. planned                               B. prepared                               C. wanted                                      D. offered

54. A. admitted                              B. doubted                                 C. figured                                       D. discovered

55. A. borrow                                B. raise                                      C. save                                           D. receive

56. A. abandoned                           B. trained                                   C. cured                                         D. lost

57. A. adoption                              B. treatment                              C. project             D. biscuit

58. A. patience                               B. energy                                   C. eyesight           D. hearing

59. A. as                                         B. or                                          C. if                                             D. but

60. A. forgot          B. survived    C. ignored           D. hated

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 (电锯) 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.

32. What does the underlined word “novelty” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

   A. Good quality.                          B. Low price.

   C. Newness.                               D. Curiosity.

33. Which word best describes the language style of the passage?

   A. Polite.                B. Foolish.       C. Serious.          D. Humorous.      

34. How does the author feel about 1p OFF a product?

  A. It’s a gift for poor people.                       B. It’s an insult to shoppers.

  C. It’s a bargain worth trying.                      D. It’s a real reduction in price.

35. Which statement will the author probably agree with?

  A. Bargains are things people don’t really need.            

  B. Bargains are often really cheap products.

  C. Bargains help people make a living.                          

  D. Bargains play tricks on people.