"But Ijust paid 1．69 for this bottle of wine last week．How is it that the price is 2.25?"
There are at least three things going on that have caused the price of wine to rise．All haveto do with the supply and demand factors of economics．
The first factor is that people are drinking more wine than ever before．This demand formore wine has increased wine sales in America at the rate of 15 percent a year．
The second factor is that the supply of wine has stayed relatively the same, which meansthat the same number of bottles is produced each year．Wine producers are trying to open upnew land to grow more grapes．But in at least three wine producing areas of the world-France,Germany, and California --- new vineyards（葡萄园）will not be useable in the near future．Wines are produced in other countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Argentine,Australia, Austria, and Chile．And these wines will be seen more often on the American market．But none of these countries will be able to fill the good wines．
The third factor is that costs of wine production are soaring．The workers who make wineare asking for more money, and the machinery needed to press the grapes is becoming moreexpensive．
When the demand for something is greater than the supply, prices go up．When productioncosts, meaning the price of labor and machinery rise, the producer adds this increase to theprice of the wine．For these reasons, that bottle of wine now costs 2．25 instead of 1．69．
1.What is the main idea of this passage?
|
A．Every year people drink more wine． |
|
B．Countries won't be able to fill the demand for good wines． |
|
C．The prices of things go up when the demand for them is greater than the supply． |
|
D．The supply of wine will always be less than demand． |
2.This passage is written to ．
|
A．describe where wine is produced |
|
B．persuade people drink more beer |
|
C．explain why the price of wine is rising |
|
D．describe why wine is a favorite drink to many Americans |
3.Theunderlined word "soaring" means"___ .
|
A．adding quickly |
B．reducing fast |
|
C．demanding badly |
D．increasing fast |
People can be addicted to different things— e．g．alcohol, drug, certain foods，or eventelevision．People who have such an addiction are compulsive: they have a very powerfulpsychological need that they feel they must satisfy．According to psychologists, many peopleare compulsive spenders．They feel that they must spend money．This compulsion, like mostothers, is impossible to explain reasonably．For compulsive spenders who buy on credit, chargeaccounts are even more exciting than money．In other words, compulsive spenders feel thatwith credit, they can do anything．Their pleasure in spending large amounts is actually greaterthan the pleasure that they get from the things they buy．
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting．To save money, of course, mostpeople look for sales, low prices, and discounts．Compulsive bargain hunters，however, oftenbuy things that they don't need just because they are cheap．They want to believe that they arehelping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game．When they can buysomething for less than other people, they feel that they are winners．Most people, expertsclaim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and thereal reason．
It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, butalso business people．Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business．They consider people's needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs andopinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods．
Psychologists often use a method called "behavior therapy（疗法）"to help individuals solvetheir personality problems．In the same way, they can help people who feel that they haveproblems with money．
1.According to psychologists, a compulsive spender is one who spends large amounts ofmoney ．
|
A．and takes great pleasure from what he or she buys |
|
B．in order to satisfy his or her basic needs in life |
|
C．just to meet his or her strong psychological need |
|
D．entirely with an irrational eagerness |
2.According to the passage, compulsive bargain hunters are often in search of the lowest possible prices .
|
A．because they feel satisfied if they spend less money than others |
|
B．because they like to show off their success in getting things for less money |
|
C．because they have money problem |
|
D．because they want to save money to help heir budget |
3.The passage is mainly talking about．
|
A．the psychology of money-spending habits |
|
B．the purchasing habits of compulsive spenders |
|
C．a special psychology of bargain hunting |
|
D．the use of the psychology of spending habits in business |
4.From the passage we may safely conclude that compulsive spenders or compulsive bargainhunters .
|
A．are really unreasonable |
|
B．need special treatment |
|
C．can't be cured |
|
D．can never get any help to solve their problems with money |
Being the head of a high school for many years, I grew tired of budget meetings, fundingcuts, and many other administrative chores and started to dream of retirement．Sitting in trafficon a weekday morning, I would find my mind wandering．I would imagine spending time withmy grandchildren, quiet evenings with my wife, traveling, or rediscovering some great books．Itold myself that I wouldn't sign myself up for any committees, any classes, or anythingrequiring a schedule．
My first day of retirement came at last! I cooked a great breakfast for my wife and me,leisurely read the paper, cleaned a bit of the house, and wrote a few letters to friends．On thesecond day, I cooked breakfast, read the paper …On the third day, ...This is retirement? Itried to tell myself that it was just the transition, that those golden moments were right roundthe corner, and that I would enjoy them soon enough．But something was missing．
A former colleague asked a favor．A group of students was going to Jamaica to work withchildren in the poorest neighbourhood．Would I interrupt my newfound "happiness" and returnto the students, just this once? One trip．That's all．My bags were packed and by the door．
The trip was very inspiring．I was moved not only by the poverty I saw but also by thesense of responsibility of the young people on the trip．When I returned home, I offered to workone day a week with a local youth organization．The experience was so positive that I was soonvolunteering nearly full-time, working with students across North America to assist them intheir voluntary work．
Now，it seems, the tables have turned ．Some days I am the teacher, other days I am thestudent．These young people have reawakened my commitment to social justice issues bychallenging me to learn more about the situation in the world today, where people are still poorand suffer because of greed, corruption and war．Most importantly, they have given me theopportunity to continue to participate in helping to find solutions．In return, I help them do theircharitable projects overseas．I've gone from running one school to helping oversee theconstruction of schools in twenty-one countries!
1.What did the writer expect to do after he retired?
|
A．To stay away from busy schedules． |
B．To write some great books． |
|
C．To do some voluntary work． |
D．To plan for his future． |
2.Why did the writer decide to go to Jamaica?
|
A．He missed his students in that country． |
|
B．He couldn't reflise his colleague's favor． |
|
C．He was concerned about the people there． |
|
D．He was not satisfied with his retired life． |
3.The underlined part "the tables have turned" （Paragraph 5 ） means that thewriter ．
|
A．improved the situation in his school |
B．felt happy to work with students again |
|
C．became a learner rather than a teacher |
D．changed his attitude toward his retired life |
4.What does the writer think of his retired life now?
|
A．Disappointing． |
B．Troublesome． |
|
C．Promising． |
D．Meaningful． |
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，共30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
My wife was shouting at Sindu again．I threw the paper away and rushed to the scene．Mydaughter Sindu looked 36__．Her eyes were wet with tears．In front of her was a bowl 37___with bitter melon．Sindu particularly hated bitter melon, but my wife believed 38__ in the “cooling effects" of bitter melon. I tried to 39__ Sindu to take a fewmouthfuls．She 40__ down a bit and wiped her tears．Then she said she would eat the 41__bowl of bitter melon on condition that I gave her whatever she asked for．I agreed．Slowly and 42__ , she finished the whole bowl．After that, Sindu came to me with her eyeswide with 43__. To our surprise, she wanted to have her head 44__. "Impossible!"shouted my wife．However, I knew that if I 45__ on my promise, Sindu would neverlearn to 46 her own．So I decided to keep my promise．
On Monday morning, I 47__ her off at school．Just then，a boy shouted, "Sindu,wait for me!" What struck me was 48 hairless head．I was about to leave when a ladycame to me and said, "Sir, your 49__is great indeed!" I didn't 50__.She continued,“That boy is my son．He is 51__from Leukemia（白血病）．He lost all his hair_ 52__the side effects of the chemotherapy（化疗）? He 53__to come back to school because hewas afraid that the kids at school would make fun of him．Sindu visited him last week andpromised to help him, but I 54__imagined that she would sacrifice her lovely hair for thesake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a（n） 55__ soul for achild．”
I didn't know what to say．It was then that I knew what love really was．
1.
|
A．excited |
B．frightened |
C．moved |
D．disappointed |
2.
|
A．provided |
B．covered |
C．filled |
D．equipped |
3.
|
A．firmly |
B．angrily |
C．heavily |
D．happily |
4.
|
A．permit |
B．forbid |
C．persuade |
D．order |
5.
|
A．went |
B．calmed |
C．came |
D．fought |
6.
|
A．sweet |
B．entire |
C．bitter |
D．little |
7.
|
A．angrily |
B．worriedly |
C．painfully |
D．sadly |
8.
|
A．expectation |
B．happiness |
C．satisfaction |
D．pride |
|
9. |
|
10.
|
A．got off |
B．went back |
C．looked back |
D．gave off |
|
11. |
|
12.
|
A．dropped |
B．sent |
C．took |
D．picked |
13.
|
A．its |
B．her |
C．his |
D．my |
14.
|
A．wife |
B．daughter |
C．view |
D．life |
15.
|
A．insist |
B．request |
C．move |
D．understand |
16.
|
A．dying |
B．escaping |
C．suffering |
D．recovering |
17.
|
A．according to |
B．instead of |
C．thanks to |
D．because of |
18.
|
A．tended |
B．promised |
C．refused |
D．determined |
19.
|
A．nearly |
B．never |
C．ever |
D．seldom |
|
20. |
|
Not having work out the problem, leave the office．
|
A．so he was not allowed to |
B．and he didn't want to |
|
C．the teacher couldn't make him |
D．he couldn't free himself to |
Don't be so discouraged．If you such feeling，you will do better next time．
|
A．carry on |
B．get back |
C．put away |
D．stick to |
