The tough economy is bringing new shoppers to the secondhand market. Plato’s Closet in Charlotte, NC is a private company which mainly buys and sells used clothes. While Charlotte has outstanding secondhand stores offering high-end and sophisticated (高雅时尚的) brands for women, most of their stock applies to adults. Plato's Closet targets teens and those in their 20s.Plato's Closet, with stores in Matthews and the university area, sells clothes and accessories (装饰品) that are currently popular at up to 70 percent off retail prices (零售价).
The two hottest brands, for buying and selling, are Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. Even though the offerings tend to be suitable for young people, there are a variety of shoppers at Plato's Closet of varying ages. Women in their 30s; 40s and older could easily find a purse, jacket or piece of jewelry they like.
Customer Beth Gibbs, 52, who has three teenage daughters, said she used to shop at name-brand stores, but “this year I'm shopping more in secondhand stores”, because of the economy.
If you're selling
Unlike higher-end resale stores which usually work on consignment (寄售), Plato's Closet buys on the spot.
Items can be gently used, but must be in very good condition.
Clothes should be less than two years old and styles should be the same as those still being sold at the shopping center.
There is no negotiation; prices are set company-wide. If what you sell amounts to $30 or less, they'll give you cash. More than that, you'll get a Visa cash card.
Secondhand success
Don't get discouraged if you can't find something on your first trip. Resale shops are always getting new lists of goods and change their styles with each season.
Be sure to check each piece carefully before buying.
Price comparison
Jackets: New York & Company black blazer, $12; retail: $37.
Pants: Express Editor-style pants, $12; retail: $69.90.
Shoes: Nine West black peep-toe pumps, $12; retail: $89.
Jewelry: Necklaces, $3-$5; retail: $18-$30. (365)
1.What is the difference between Plato's Closet and other resale shops?
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A．They offer service for people of different ages. |
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B．The offerings in Plato's Closet are more expensive. |
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C．Plato's Closet only offers high-end brands for women. |
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D．Plato's Closet also sells books to the customers. |
2.Which of the following about Plato's Closet is NOT true?
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A．Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch are the two hottest brands in Plato's Closet. |
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B．Only young people can buy proper clothes and accessories in Plato's Closet. |
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C．Goods in Plato's Closet are sold at up to 70 percent off retail prices. |
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D．Plato's Closet targets teens and those in their 20s. |
3.In Plato s Closet, which of the following is not accepted?
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A．Items you sell must be. in very good condition. |
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B．You can bargain with buyers about the prices of goods. |
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C．The clothes you sell should be less than two years old. |
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D．You can sell your goods on the spot instead of on consignment. |
4. If you buy a pair of Express Editor-style pants in Plato's Closet, you can save_______.
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A．57.9 dollars |
B．44 dollars |
C．77 dollars |
D．25 dollars |
为了丰富学生们的生活,南山中学学生会将举办一次音乐周活动。请你以组织者的身份写一个书面通知书。有关内容如下:
时间:2013年1月第1周
活动:1.演唱歌曲:流行歌曲
2.器乐演奏:古典和民间音乐
3.音乐比赛:听歌曲片断,然后猜出处
地点:届时通知 参加者请于2012年12月20日前到学生会办公室报名。
注意：1.书面通知应写成一篇连贯的短文;
2.可以适当增减细节;
3.词数100左右;
4.通知格式已为你写好;
5.参考词汇: 民歌 folk 乐器 musical instruments
Dear students,
Come to the great fun!
The Students’ Union
December 4th,2012
此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上划一个对勾（P）如有错误（每行只有一个错误）则按下列情况改正；
此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并用斜线划掉。
此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。
此行错一个词：在错词下面划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出正确的词。
注意：原行没有错的不要改。
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Three men were fishing when the angel appeared in the boat |
66________ |
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with them. The first man got over his shock and politely said to |
67________ |
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the angel, “I’ve suffered by back pain for years. Can you help |
68________ |
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me?” The angel touched his back, and he had recovered. |
69________ |
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The second man pointed to his glass and asked if the angel |
70________ |
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could cure her poor eyesight. The angel touched his eyes, |
71________ |
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but he could see everything clearly. |
72________ |
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The angel then turned to the third man, threw up his hands |
73_________ |
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in fear. “Don’t touch me!” he cries. “I’m on disability pay! |
74_________ |
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I don’t want to be a normally person!” |
75_________ |
根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
－Mary, do you want to see the pictures of my holiday in Italy?
－ 61
－Ah, it was great! The food was great! The wine was great! But the traffic was terrible!
－ 62
－Those Italians are crazy drivers! I don’t want to think about it!
— 63
－Yes, so here’s a picture of the Tower of Pisa.
－How nice!
－It was raining that day, but it was still wonderful. We climbed to the top!
－ 64
－That’s a photo of the Arno River. That’s the “Ponte Vecchio”, the old bridge.
－ 65
－It was very interesting. There were beautiful old buildings in the city, and lots of wonderful museums.
－That’s nice.
A. And what’s this?
B. Why was t so bad?
C. Yes , it was wonderful.
D. What was Florence like?
E. Let’s return to the good parts.
F. Sure, what was your holiday like?
G. Well, did you like your hotel there?
Sports account for a growing amount of income made on the sales of commercial time by television companies. Many television companies have used sports to attract viewers from particular sections of the general public, and then they have sold audiences to advertisers.
An attraction of sport programs for the major U.S. media companies is that events are often held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons—the slowest time periods of the week for general television viewing. Sport events are the most popular weekend programs, especially among male viewers who may not watch much television at other times during the week. This means the television networks are able to sell advertising time at relatively high prices during what normally would be dead time for programming.
Media corporations also use sports to attract commercial sponsors that might take their advertising dollars elsewhere if television stations did not report certain sports. The people in the advertising departments of major corporations realize that sports attract male viewers. They also realize that most business travelers are men and that many men make family decisions on the purchases of computers, cars and life insurance.
Golf and tennis are special cases for television programming. These sports attract few viewers, and the ratings are unusually low. However, the audience for these sports is attractive to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, including many lawyers and business managers. This is why television reporting of golf and tennis is sponsored by companies selling high-priced cars, business and personal computer, and holiday trips .This is also why the networks continue to carry these programs regardless of low ratings. Advertisers are willing to pay high fees to reach high-income consumers and those managers who make decisions to buy thousands of “company cars” and computer. With such viewers, these programs don’t need high ratings to stay on the air.
1.Television sport programs on weekend afternoons .
A. result in more sport events
B. get more viewers to play sports
C. bring more money to the television networks
D. make more people interested in television
2.Why would weekend afternoons become dead time without sport programs?
A. Because there would be few viewers
B. Because the advertisers would be off work
C. Because television programs would go slowly
D. Because viewers would pay less for watching television
3.In many families, men make decisions on .
A. holiday trips B. sports viewing
C. television shopping D. expensive purchases
4.The ratings are not important for golf and tennis programs because .
A. their advertisers are carmakers
B. their viewers are attracted by sports
C. their advertisers target at rich people
D. their viewers can afford expensive cars
5..What is the passage mainly about?
A. Television ratings are determined by male viewers.
B. Sports are gaining importance in advertising on television.
C. Rich viewers contribute most to television companies.
D. Commercial advertisers are the major sponsors of sport events.
Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras. To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years. The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Bari University. The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli. They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side. When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm. The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again. The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left. Researchers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back. When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company. While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood (心情) of dogs. Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.
1.The video cameras were used to catch the dogs ’responses because .
A. it was easier to catch the dogs’ response changes in the tail wagging
B. the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time.
C. they enabled the dogs’ owners to know about their dogs’ habit
D. the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods
2.The underlined word“intensity” in the passage means .
A. surprise B. worry C. excitement D. interest
3.When there are no stimuli, a dog will .
A. wag to the left B. wag to the right
C. not wag at all D. wag to the left and then to the right
4.The underlined word “they”in the last paragraph refers to .
A. the dogs B. the trainers C. the systems D. the researchers
5.The purpose of doing the experiment is .
A. to train dogs for their owners
B. to help people judge the mood of dogs
C. to help dogs find company
D. to help people choose their pet dogs
