How should one invest a sum of money in these clays of inflation (通货膨胀)? Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.
I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life. "The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people's wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves."
Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time. Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of clay according to the beating of their own hearts. They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout tire time. So it seems that the first clocks were human beings.
However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time. They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun. They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour- glasses, and invented water-clocks. Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past.
Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home. After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in air antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?
1.According to the passage, collecting antique clocks____.
A. can hardly keep the value of your savings
B. will cost much of your savings
C. may increase your wealth
D. needs your bravery
2.By quoting (引用) the remark of a being from another planet, the author intends to____.
A. suggest human beings are controlled by a clock
B. describe why clocks can rule the planet Earth
C. tell readers what clocks look like
D. compare chicks to human beings
3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to measure the time?
A. Counting the beating of one's own heart.
B. Making use of candles, sand and water.
C. Observing shadows cast by the sun.
D. Keeping slaves busy day and night.
4.The underlined phrase stately homes in paragraph 4 means
A. state-owned houses
B. houses in very good condition
C. grand houses open to the public
D. houses where statesmen meet regularly
5.The purpose of the passage is
A. to introduce the culture of antique clocks
B. to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks
C. to compare different ways to make a future profit
D. to explain convenient and reliable ways of telling time
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填人一个适当的
词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为3l.-40.的相应位置上。
I was on my way to the Taiyetos Mountains. The sun was setting when my car 1(break) down near a remote and poor village. Cursing my misfortune, I was wondering where I was going to spend the night when I realized that the villagers who had gathered around me were arguing as to 2should have the honor of receiving me 3a guest in their house. Finally, I accepted the offer of an old woman who lived alone in a little house. While she was getting me 4(settle) into a tiny but clean room, the head of the village was tying up his horse to my car to pull it to 5small town some 20 kilometres away 1.there was a garage.
I had noticed three hens running free in my hostess's courtyard and that night one of them ended up in a dish on my table. 2.villagers brought me goat's cheese and hone. We drank together and talked 3.(merry) till far into the night.
When the time came for me to say goodbye to my friends in the village, I wanted to reward the old woman 4.the trouble I had caused 5..
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to remember passwords (密码) ever again？If we could just sit in front of our computers and be 1logged in (登录? Crave mentions how NECSoft BiodeLogon system uses face recognition technology to log you on to Windows, rather than using a 2All you need is a webcam and your pretty face to 3your PC. No more 4, confusing passwords to remember or change every few months.
After doing a little research, I found this type of 5already available to consumers via a relatively 6application called FaceCode. The 7requires the use of a webcam to recog- nize and log PC users into their systems. You can add as many 8as you want, provided they each have a Windows account. If the system 9to recognize your 10, you can recall the Windows user name and password by using a hot-key combination.
1.A. automatically B. personally C. correctly D. occasionally
2.A. face B. password C. software D. system
3.A. access B. connect C. recognize D. remember
4.A. simple B. complicated C. special D. useful
5.A. computer B. technology C. password D. application
6.A. independent B. infrequent C. inexpensive D. instant
7.A. account B. consumer C. designer D. software
8.A. users B. passwords C. systems D. computers
9.A. begins B. tries C. fails D. stops
10.A. account B. name C. password D. face
第一节 听力理解(5段共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
每段播放两遍。各段后有几个小题，各段播放前每小题有5秒钟的阅题时间。请根据 各段播放内容及其相关小题，在5秒钟内从题中所给的A、B、C项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
听第一段对话，回答第1—3题。
1.What does the girl want her father to buy7
A. A ruler. B. High-tech things. C. Pencils and erasers.
2.Which of the following does the father consider buying for his daughter?
A. A calculator. B. A computer. C. An MP3.
3.Which of the following could be a reason for her father to buy what she wants7
A. She volunteers to use some of her own money.
B. She asks her father to buy a cheap one online.
C. She tells her father she is the best in school.
听第二段对话，回答第4—6题。
4.What do the speakers think of San Francisco?
A. It is a big city. B. They both love the city. C. It isn't so expensive to live there.
5.What does the woman think of cell phone interruption?
A. She likes it. B. She doesn't mind it. C. She considers it rude.
6.What reason does the man give to answer his cell phone?
A. He feels like answering.
B. He wants to know who's calling.
C. He thinks that it could be something important.
听第三段对话，回答第7—9题。
7.What is the man complaining about?
A. Not accepting any gift from his friend.
B. Not receiving any answer from his friend.
C. Not hearing any good news from his friend.
8.According to the woman, when should you write a thank-you card?
A. You receive a gift from your friend.
B. You are invited to a birthday party.
C. You spend a holiday with your friend.
9.What's the speakers' attitude towards writing thank-you cards?
A. They think it out-dated. B. They think it inconvenient.
C. They think it good to keep the custom.
听第四段独白，回答第10—12题。
10.What does the speaker imply about traffic in big cities?
A. Buses are slow, but comfortable.
B. Parking in the rush hour is very difficult.
C. All the people use private transport instead of public transport.
11.What does the speaker recommend to do to improve the situation?
A. To enlarge city centers.
B. To move to the areas outside the city.
C. To make good use of existing space.
12.How many aspects of our lives does the speaker mention as affected by overcrowding?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four.
听第五段对话，回答第13—15题。
13.Why does the man like The Times?
A. It has 20 pages every day.
B. It carries a lot of sports news.
C. It doesn't devote 5 pages every day to baseball results.
14.In what way is the jobs section on The Times useful to the local people?
A. It carries job ads from the local businesses.
B. It is the place where local businesses hire people.
C. It provides much information about local economy.
15.What does the woman think will happen to job ads if The Times closes down?
A. The other two newspapers will open a local jobs newspaper.
B. The local economy will be much affected but not destroyed.
C. The job ads will be carried in either of the other two newspapers.
第二节 听取信息(共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分)
听下面一段独白，请根据题目要求，从所听到的内容中获取必要的信息，填入答题卡 标号为16.—20.的空格中。听录音前，你将有10秒钟的阅题时间。录音读两遍，你将有80秒钟的作答时间。
|
Season |
Period |
Temperature |
Weather |
Activities |
|
winter |
December~early March |
Drop (16.) |
snowy |
skiing, snowshoeing |
|
spring |
from(17.) |
around 50 degrees during the day |
windy |
going on a picnic, strolling through parks and playing (18.) |
|
summer |
from June |
around 80 defrees |
rry with (19.) |
hiking, fishing, etc. |
|
fall |
from late September |
|
cool |
rriving into the mountains, viewing the fall colors, cleaning up (20.) |
Some pre-school children go to a day care center, — they learn simple games and songs.
A. then B. there C. while D. where
— Have you heard the latest news?
—No, what ______
A. is it B. is there C. are they D. are those
