From hitting the mall with your girl fiends on a Saturday afternoon, to holiday spending on gifts that go under the tree, shopping could be called one of America’s favorite pastimes. For most people, it means some new clothes for work or a small trinket for a friend. For others, however, shopping is much more than an enjoyable pastime, and in some cases, it is a real and destructive addiction that can turn into a financial disaster. Compulsive shopping and spending are defined as inappropriate, excessive过度的, and out of control. Like other addictions, it basically has something to do with impulsiveness and lack of control over one’s impulses冲动. In America, shopping is embedded in our culture; so often, the impulsiveness comes out as excessive shopping. Sometimes this is referred to as “shopholism”. Shopping addiction can damage a person’s life, family, and finances. “No one knows what causes addictive behaviors, like shopping, alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling”, says a professor of applied health science. Some of the new evidence suggests that some people, maybe 10%-15%, may have a genetic predisposition to an addictive behavior, coupled with an environment in which the particular behavior is triggered引发, but no one really knows why.” Individuals will get some kind of high from an addictive behavior like shopping.
What are the telltale signs that shopping has crossed the line and become and addiction? What should a concerned family member or friend look out for when they think shopping has become a problem? The behaviors can signal a serious problem:
·Shopping or spending money as a result of feeling angry, depressed, anxious, or lonely
·Having arguments with others about one’s shopping habits
·Feeling lost without credit cards — actually going into withdrawal without them
·Buying items on credit, rather than with cash
·Describing a rush or a feeling of euphoria with spending
·Feeling guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed after a spending spree(大买特买)
·Thinking obsessively about money
·Spending a lot time juggling accounts or bills to accommodate spending
“If someone identifies four or more of any of these behaviors, there may be a problem”, experts say. Treating a shopping addiction requires a multifaceted approach. There are no standard treatments for shopping addiction. Medications have been used, but with mixed results. Therapists also focus on cognitive-behavioral treatment programs. There is no quick and easy answer that will immediately cure a shopping addiction, and while treatment is a necessary part of solving the problem, so is behavior change on the part of the addict.
Some basic changes in behavior that will have a big impact on breaking a shopping addiction are recommended:
·Admit that you are a compulsive spender, which is half the battle.
·Get rid of checkbooks and credit cards, which fuel the problem.
·Don’t shop by yourself because most compulsive shoppers shop alone and if you are with someone you are much less likely to append more.
·Find other meaningful ways to spend time.
And keep in mind that while behavior change is clearly important to recovery, so is reaching out for professional help.(509)
1.The best title of this article is _________
A. Should We Shop or Not? B. Shopping Behaviors, Good or Bad?
C. Shopping Spree, or an Addiction? D. The Dangers of Shopholism.
2.You should be carefully think about your shopping behavior if you ________.
A. are angry to go shopping
B. lost your credit card while shopping
C. are overjoyed and overwhelmingly excited to go shopping.
D. count your money while shopping
3.Which of the following statement is not true? ________.
A. Medication will not help to cure a shopping addiction
B. No one really knows why people get addicted to doing something which is no good to them
C. By the word shopholism, we refers to the impulsive and excessive shopping behavior
D. Shopping addiction can turn into a real disaster in one’s life
4.The most important way to get rid of the addiction is ________.
A. use credit card instead of checkbooks
B. change one’s behavior as well as seek professional advice
C. find somebody else to shop for you
D. go to a doctor for a standard treatment
China supports international efforts to secure cyberspace but believes each nation’s “Internet sovereignty（主权）” must be respected, a top Chinese official said at a cyber security conference on Tuesday.
“China, like many other countries, is very concerned about cyber security,” said Liu Zhengrong, deputy director general of the Internet Affairs Bureau of the State Council Information Office.
“China faces severe cyber security threats,” Liu told participants here at the Worldwide Cyber Security Summit, a gathering of government and business leaders from 40 countries hosted by the EastWest Institute think tank.
“International cooperation is much needed to safeguard international cyberspace,” Liu said.
But “Internet sovereignty of each country needs to be respected,” the Chinese official added. “Different national and cultural conditions” should be taken into account.
Liu declined to answer repeated questions about cyber attacks last year on Google which the Internet giant said originated in China and led to the California company’s decision to reroute its searches through Hong Kong.
“The Chinese government firmly opposes cyber attacks in any form and Chinese law clearly states that any hackers will be held responsible for their actions,” he said.
Liu said China itself is a “a major victim of cyber attacks and network viruses” and has laws in place to deal with hackers.
“Internet-related crimes (in China) are showing a steady upward trend,” Liu said. “We suffer big economic losses from hacking networks and viruses - around $1 billion dollars (6.8 billion yuan) a year.”
In 2009, Chinese law enforcement authorities investigated about 48,000 cases, a 37 percent increase over 2008, he said.
While China has a dynamic Internet population of more than 400 million users and millions of bloggers, there is no “absolute freedom” on the Web, Liu said.
“I don’t think there is absolute freedom in this world,” he said. “When you are speaking via the Internet you must obey laws and respect others’ lawful rights.”
Last Thursday, Wang Chen, minister of the State Council Information Office, said China has been actively promoting a real-name registration system for Internet and cell phone users to better manage Internet information and services.
China needs laws that will step up monitoring for “harmful information” and block “overseas hostile forces from infiltrating（渗透）through the Internet,” Wang said.
Last week, China tightened its State Secrets law, holding Internet and mobile phone operators responsible for customers who try to leak State secrets.
Some 400 government officials, business leaders and cyber security experts are attending the summit, which features three days of discussions on ways to protect the world’s digital infrastructure from electronic threats.(427)
1.What was the top issue of Worldwide Cyber Security Summit?
A. To fight against Internet-related crimes.
B. To protect digital infrastructure in the world.
C. To respect Internet sovereignty of each country.
D. To make more laws to deal with hackers.
2.To respect a nation’s Internet sovereignty, _____________ must be considered.
A. different national and cultural conditions
B. attending Worldwide Cyber Security Summit
C. stopping the leaking of State secrets
D. safeguarding international cyberspace
3.According to paragraph 6, Internet giant refers to _____________.
A. Hong Kong B. hackers C. Google D. Liu Zhengrong
4.Which of the following is NOT the measure that China has taken to guarantee better Internet information and service management?
A. Promoting real-name registration for Internet use.
B. Promoting real-name registration for cell phone use.
C. Tightening State Secrets law to stop leaking State secrets.
D. Monitoring for harmful information and blocking overseas hostile forces.
After a lot of weightlifting and 25 exhausting days training, a 52-year-old woman recently became the first female “gripman” on San Francisco’s historic cable cars.
Fannie Barnes passed her written test and completed a final run under the watchful eye of a supervisor, Municipal Railway spokesman Alan Siegel said.
Deep calluses(茧) are already forming at the base of her fingers and there is a hole in her glove. Two other women quit after a single day with injured muscles. “Now they’re going to have to change the word from gripman to grip person, just because of me,” Barnes said earlier, “I’m so excited.”
After almost a year of serious workouts, Barns can pull more than 61 kilos, only 23 kilos less than her body weight. And she’ll need the muscle, for this is no modern, push-button technology. Every time a car starts up again after making a stop, the gripman must haul back on a lever controlling a device that grips the cable, which runs continuously at 14 kilometers per hour. If the grip slips, so does the car. A second person operates the brakes.
In addition to having to throw her weight around on the job, she’s got to throw out some attitude to men who were hard to convince. The city employs 76 men in the job.
“A lot of men said mean things to me and didn’t want to help train me. But I would like to thank the guys who were against me because they gave me even more inspiration to do it.” she said.
Not all the men were against her. Many of the male colleagues yelled out support as she did her training runs. One of her biggest tests was drizzly December morning. She first went down the Hyde Street Hill, considered the most dangerous incline on the cable car routes. “I had to have the will and I had to believe I could do it,” she said. “It was scary, but as I started going down full grip and felt that I was in control, I knew I was on my way,” Barnes already is a pioneer of sorts. She started working as a cable car conductor six years ago, collecting fares and assisting on the back brake. She is one of only three women to have that job. But she said she always wanted the job up front on the car. (400)
1.What is unusual about Fannie Barnes getting a job as a gripman?
A. She is the oldest one to work as a grpman.
B. She is the first women to work as a gripman.
C. She is the fattest women to work as a gripman.
D. She is the most suitable one to work as a gripman.
2.What did the 52-year-old woman do when she first began working on the city’s cable car?
A. As a gripman. B. As a conductor. C. As a brakeman. D. As a supervisor.
3.It can be inferred from the passage that Fannie Barnes is ________.
A. strong and easy-going B. strong-willed and self-confident
C. popular and humorous D. considerate and quick-tempered
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Enjoy the sumptuous Easter lunch buffet and children will be given the lovely Easter chocolate eggs. Time：Mar, 28-mar 30, 2010 11:00 am—3:00 pm Place：lucky corner coffee shop（hotel first floor） Price：150 + 15% service charge half price for children under 12 years old. Reservations：Scitech hotel 65123388-2114 or 2164 |
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Bring your family and friends along to The Palace Hotel this Easter and enjoy the traditional treats of the season. Forget about the calories and enjoy favourite goodies such as Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies and hot cross buns, which will be sold outside.Palm Court Coffee House every day from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm. PALM COURT COFFEE HOUSE Friday, March 28-- lavish fish buffet for lunch and dinner priced at RMB 180 for adults, half price for children. Sunday, March 30--Roast carving buffet priced at RMB 160 for adults, half price for children. ROMA RISTORANTE ITALLANO Sunday, March 30 --Delicious seafood lunch priced at RMB 198 for adults, children under 10 years half price. Youngsters can work off their extra energy in a special supervised play area next to the restaurant. Prices are subject to a 15% surcharge Reservations on 65128899, ext. 7492 for Roma Ristorante: ext. 7561 for Palm Court. |
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March 30th brings a fun-filled Easter entertainment program to the Crazy Sunday Brunch at the Patio Coffee Shop from 11:00 am-3:00 pm! Children under 10 year old accompanying their parents will enjoy this special meal for free and can even win lots of treat prices in the Egg Painting Competition! WE GUARANTEE You A Fun Easter Sunday Please register your children for the contest no later the March 29th as space is limited. For further information and reservations, please call 64376688 ext, 2873/2865 Holiday Inn Lido Beijing RMB 150.00 + 15% Surcharge |
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Happy Easter March 30 11:00—14:30 Hilton Hotel The Easter Bunny is coming to town! Join him for a special Easter Brunch at the Atrium cafe and enjoy traditional Easter favourites. RMB 195 + 15% surcharge Children under 12 years old free of charge. Surprise gift for the children at the Kid’s Corner. |
1.The main purpose of the advertisements is to give information about .
A．weekend activities B．a holiday celebrations
C．the price for the meals in big hotels D．Egg Painting Competition
2.It can be learned from the advertisements that the children can enjoy themselves most in .
A．Lido Holiday Inn B．Palace Hotel C．Scitech Hotel D．Hilton Hotel
3.If you want to have an Easter meal on March 28, which hotel can you go to?
A．Scitech Hotel and Lido Holiday Inn B．The Palace Hotel and Hilton Hotel
C．Hilton Hotel and Lido Holiday Inn D．Scitech Hotel and the Palace Hotel
4.If you have Easter Brunch in Hiton Hotel you will pay RMB for it.
A．195 B．224.25 C．165.75 D．97.5
Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned twelve, a white gardenia(栀子花) was delivered to my house. No card or note came with it. 1to the flower shop were always useless－it was a cash 2. After a while I stopped trying to 3who the sender was and just delighted in the beauty and perfume of the white flower. But I never 4imagining who the sender might be. Some of my 5moments were spent daydreaming about it.
My mother asked me whether there was someone for whom I had done a(n)6kindness who might be showing 7. Perhaps the neighbor I helped when she was 8a car full of groceries (杂货). Or maybe it was the old man 9the street whose mail I helped to get during the 10so he wouldn’t have to venture down his icy steps. As a teenager, 11, I had more fun guessing that it might be a 12who had noticed me 13I didn’t know him.
One month before my high school graduation, my father died of a heart attack. He was 14some of the most important events in my life. I became completely 15in my upcoming graduation and the dance. When my father died, I 16the dance and the dress for it. The day before the dance, I found a dress on the sofa. I didn’t 17if I had a new dress or not, but my mother did.
She wanted her children to feel 18and lovable, imaginative, believing that there was a magic in the world and 19in the face of hard times. Actually mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia－lovable, 20and perfect. The gardenia stopped coming when my mother died. (304)
1.A.Calls B. Quarrels C.Messages D. Letters
2.A. service B.deal C.bargain D.offer
3.A. recognize B.imagine C.wonder D.discover
4.A.failed B.stopped C.succeeded D.enjoyed
5.A.saddest B.painful C.happiest D.loneliest
6.A .special B.common C.valuable D.important
7.A .concern B.attitude C.interest Dappreciation
8.A. repairing B.washing C.unloading D.starting
9.A .across B.through C.from D.onto
10.A .spring B.summer C.autumn D.winter
11.A .though B.anyway C.therefore D.indeed
12.A. friend B.superman C.teacher D.boy
13.A.as if B.even though C.in case D.so that
14.A.considering B.expecting C.missing D.preparing
15.A.disappointed B.uninterested C.discouraged D.concentrated
16.A. forgot B.lost C.hated D.expected
17.A.wonder B.believe C.care D.know
18.A. contented B.respected C.thanked D.loved
19.A.. trouble B.beauty C.difficulty D.love
20.A.strong B.beautiful C.smell D.lucky
China and the United States held their first strategic dialogue on August and ______to increase co-operation and constructive relations.
A. agreed B. would agree C. have agreed D. had agreed
