In Western countries people have been using the installment (分期付款) plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large number of families in Great Britain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installments. In the U.S.A.,the figure is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.
The price of an article bought on installments is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays one quarter or one third of the price as a down payment (预付定金) when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.
Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. It can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment,There is,
however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment.
If the people on the installment plan lose their jobs, they will probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts, there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit,it becomes more likely to have a depression (萧条). This is why, in some countries,the government controls the installment plan by fixing the amount of the down payment and installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan.
1. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the installment plan?
A. A lot of British families use the installment plan. "
B. More than 10 percent of American families buy things on installments.
C. Americans depend more on installment than British people do.
D. Americans spend one tenth of their income on installment buying.
2. Goods bought on installments are more expensive than goods bought by cash because_______.
A. the buyer has to pay extra money as interest
B. the delivery of the goods charges extra money
C. the buyer has to pay adown payment
D. the service offered by installment plan charged extra money
3. What will happen to a buyer if he fails to make the full payment for an item bought on installments?
A. He might lose his job.
B. He will stop owning the item he has bought.
C. He will have to setl what he has bought.
D. He will go into debt.
4. The advantage of installment buying might include all the following EXCEPT that________.
A. purchasing power is strengthened
B. employment might be increased
C. people develop a good habit of saving money
D. young couples are able to furnish their homes
5.In some countries, the governments control the installment plan to_______.
A. increase employment
B. avoid depressions
C.ensure that businesses make good profits
D.ensure that people can pay for what they buy
A weather map is an important tool for geographers. A succession of three or four maps presents continuous picture of weather changes. Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts (气锋) to determine whether an individual pressure aroa is deepening or becoming shallow and whether a front is increasing or decreasing in intensity (强烈).They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving. Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal a summary picture of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time.
All students of geography should be able to interpret a weather map accurately.Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather conditions existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area. They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe. The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts and all climatic conditions in general. Twice a month it issues a 30-day"outlook" which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States. These 30-day outlooks are based upon an anaiysis of the upper air levels which often set the stage for development of air masses, fronts and storms.
Considerable effort is being exerted today to achieve more accurate weather
predictions, with identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological (气象)stations. Extensive experiments are also in progress for weathef modification studies.
1. One characteristic of weather maps NOT mentioned by the author in this passage is_______.
A. floods B. fronts C. temperature changes D. frosts
2. The thirty-day forecast is determined by examining________.
A. daily weather maps B. upper air levels
C. satellite reports D. changing fronts
3.The observation of weather conditions by satellites is helpful because it________
A.is modern
B. uses electronic instruments
C. makes weather prediction easier
D. shows things that would otherwise take hours to describe in a few minutes
4.A weather map is a summary because it_______
A. sums up a great deal of information B. appears daily
C. shows changing fronts D. is a science book
5.You may possibly read this article in_________.
A. a magazine B. newspaper C. a novel D. a science book
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills during a year abroad beforo college, learning from a cook in Italy and study local specialties in Gerrnany, Spain and France. At Yale,he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens offriends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmate how to do things like making drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around,with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the
network television. He says Lieberman's charisma is key."Food T-V isn't about
food anymore." says Flay, " It's about your personality and finding a way to keep
people's eyeballs on your show."
But Lieberman isn't putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing
sandwiches. An airline company was looking for someone to come up with a tasteful,
inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flight. Lieberman got the job.
1.We can learn from the text that Lieberman's family______.
A. have relatives in Europe B.love cooking at home
C. often hold parties D. own a restaurant
2. The Food Network got to know Lieberman________.
A. at one of his parties B. from his teacher
C. through his taped show D. on a television program
3.What does the word"charisma" underline in the text refer to ?
A. A natural ability to attract others. B. A way to show one's achievement.
C. Lieberman's after-class interest D. Lieberman's fine cooking skill
4.Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
A. He could prepare meals in a small kitchen.
B. He was famous for his shows on Food TV.
C. He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches.
D. He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals.
5. What can we learn about Lieberman from the text?
A. He is clever but lonely. B. He is friendly and active.
C. He enioys traveling around. D.He often changes his menus.
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，在空格处填入一个适当的
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16-25的相应位置上。
In most cities, 1. or poor, it is the less well off that are most at risk from floods and natural disasters. It was the poor of New Orleans, nearly a 2. (three)of the population, who lived in the lowest-lying parts of the city and 3. (suffer)most from Katrina's(卡特里娜飓风) wrath (愤怒). 4. (similar), it was the urban poor of Honduras(洪都拉斯) and its neighbors who were struck hardest 5. Hurricane Mitch in 1998. And it is the people of the slums (贫民窟) more widely in Latin America 6. are most capable of being attacked.
In some places, too little water, not too much, is the problem. China's thirst for industry and 7. (irrigate) has combined with climate change to drain the aquifers(蓄水层). Droughts seem to be ever more frequent in northem China, and southern cities such as Guangzhou are also affected. Rivers are drying up: the Yellow River now flows to the sea for only 8. few weeks a year. And the rain,when it comes, is intensely acid. To make matters 9. (bad), the glaciers on which both China 10. India partly depend are melting. Any benefits from extra water supplies will be short-term, and damaged by floods.
In Britain, people have different attitudes to the police. Most people generally 1 them and the job they do-although there are certain people who do not believe that the police should have the power that they do.
What does a policeman actually do? It is not a(n) 2 job to describe. After
all, a policeman has a number of jobs in one. A policeman often has to control traffic,either on foot in the center of a town, or in apolice car on the roads. Indeed, in Britain, he might be in the Traffic Police and spend all, or a lot of, his time 3up and down main roads and motorways. A traffic policeman has to help keep the traffic moving, stop 4 motorists and help when there is an accident.
A policeman has to help keep the 5 , too. If there is a fight or some other
disturbance, we 6 the police to come and restore order. And they often have to7 situation at great risk to their own 8 .
We expect the police to solve crimes, of course; so an ordinary policeman,
9 he is not a detective(��̽), will often have to help 10 and arrest criminals.
And who do we call when there is an emergency-an air crash, a 11 , a
road accident, or a robbery? We call the police. So a policeman has to be 12 to face any unpleasant emergency that may happen in the 13 world.
The police do an absolutely necessary job. They do it 14 well and I
support them, but I do not envy policemen. I do not think that I could 15 do
the job of a policeman.
1.A.dislike B.join C.appreciate D.admire
2.A.funny B.pleasant C.interesting D.easy
3.A.walking B.driving C.wandering D.searching
4.A.resting B.tired C.speeding D.drunken
5.A.peace B.silence C.situation D.condition
6.A.wait for B.call C.think of D.expect
7.A.turn to B.avoid C.deal with D.treat
8.A.safety B.families C.future D.friends
9.A.although B.as if C.however D.even if
10.A.get rid of B.question C.look for D.sentence
11.A.power failure B.fire C.thunder storn D.thief
12.A.provided B.promised C.prepared D.presented
13.A.future B.modern C.real D.whole
14.A.extremely B.specially C.surprisingly D.particularly
15.A.hardly B.forever C.ever D.never
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150左右的英语短文。
It was the end of my first day as a waitress in a busy New York restaurant. My cap had gone away, and my feet hurt. The loaded plates I carried seemed to be heavier and heavier. Tired and discouraged, I didn't seem able to do anything right. As I wrote out a check for a family with several children who had changed their ice-cream order a dozen times, I was ready to quit. Then the father smiled at me as he handed me my tip. “Well done”, he said, “you're looking after us really well.” Suddenly my tiredness disappeared. I smiled back, and later, when the manager asked me how I’d like my first day, I said, “Fine!” Those few words of praise had changed everything. Praise is like sunshine to the human spirit; no flower can grow without it. And yet, most of us are only too ready to apply to others the cold wind of criticism; we are unwilling to give our fellows the warm sunshine of praise. Why---when one word of praise can bring such benefit?
In fact, to give praise costs the giver nothing but a moment's thought and a moment's effort but will reward both the giver and the recipient（接受者） with a happy day. Let’s learn to give praise to people around us.
[写作内容]
1. 以约30个词概括短文的要点；
2. 然后以120个词就“The Power of Praise”为主题发表你的看法, 并包括如下要点：
1) 在你周围，人们对赞美的看法和做法；
2) 你的观点如何？你怎么做？举例说明赞美的力量。
[写作要求]
1. 可以使用自己的经历或听到的故事,可以参照阅读材料的内容, 但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2. 标题已经给出。
[评分标准]
概括准确、语言规范、内容合适、篇章连贯。
