Is any economist so dull as to criticise Christmas? At first glance,the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those concerned with such vagaries (奇想）as GDP growth.After all,everyone is spending;in America,retailers make 25% of their yearly sales and 60% of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas.Even so,economiwsts find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made.
Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others.At the simplest level,giving gifts involves the giver thinking of something that the recipient would like-he tries to guess her preferences,as economists say-and then buying the gift and delivering it.Yet this guessing of preferences is not easy;indeed,it is often done badly.Every year,ties go unworn and books unread.And even if a gift is enjoyed,it may not be what the recipient would have bought if they had spent the money themselves.
Interested in this mismatch between wants and gifts,in 1993 Joel Waldfogel,then an economist at Yale University,sought to estimate the difference in dollar terms.In a research,he asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season:first,estimate the total amount paid (by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received;second,apart from the sentimental value of the items,if you did not have them,how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were gloomy:on average,a gift was valued by the recipient well below the price paid by the giver.
In addition,recipients may not know their own preferences very well.Some of the best gifts,after all,are unexpected items that you would never have thought of buying,but which turn out to be especially well picked.And preference can change.So by giving a jazz CD,for example,the giver may be encouraging the recipient to enjoy something that was ignored before.This,a desire to build skills,is possibly the hope held by many parents who ignore their children's desires for video games and buy them books instead.
Finally,there are items that a recipient would like to receive but not purchase.If someone else buys them,however,they can be enjoyed guilt-free.This might explain the high volume of chocolate that changes over the holidays.Thus,the lesson for gift-givers is that you should try hard to guess the preference of each person on your list and then choose a gift that will have a high sentimental value.
1.The word “sentimental” in Paragraph 3 is close to “ ”
A.intelligent B.emotional C.social D.practical
2.According to the text,which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Price is nothing but the factor when you give gifts.
B.Chocolates will be blamed when people receive them as gifts.
C.The receivers often overestimate the values of gifts.
D.Wants do not always correspond to needs in gift-giving.
3.Which of the following statements can be inferred from the text?
A.The gift-giver tries to neglect the actual needs of the receiver.
B.The best gifts are well picked by the givers.
C.In gift-giving,guessing preference is often a failure,so it's the thought that counts.
D.You have to take money into consideration when giving a gift.
4.The text is most likely taken from a .
A.users' handbook B.medical journal
C.travel magazine D.consumer-related report
Grey clouds move as low as smoke over the treetops at Lolo Pass. The ground is white. The day is June 10.It has been snowing for the past four days in the Bitterroot Mountains.Wayne Fairchild is getting worried about our trek over the Lolo Trail-95 miles from Lolo Montana to Weippe in Idaho, across the roughest country in the West. Lewis and Clark were nearly defeated 200 years ago by snowstorms on the Lolo.Today Fairchild is nervously checking the weather reports.He has agreed to take me across the toughest,middle section of the trail.
When Lewis climbed on top of Lemhi Pass,140 miles south of Missoula,on Aug.12,1805,he was astonished by what was in front of him;“high mountain chains still to the West of us with their tops partially covered with snow.”Nobody in what was then the US knew the Rocky Mountains existed,with peaks twice as high as anything in the Appalachians back East.
Today their pathway through those mountains holds more attraction than any other ground over which they traveled,for its raw wilderness is an evidence to the character of two cultures:the explorers who braved its hardships and the Native Americans who prize and conserve the path as a sacred (神圣的)gift. It remains today the same condition as when Lewis and Clark walked it.
The Lolo is passable only from July to mid-September.Our luck is holding with the weather,although the snow keeps getting deeper.As we climb to Indian Post Office,the highest point on the trail at 7,033 ft,we have covered 13 miles in soft snow,and we hardly have enough energy to make dinner.After a meal of chicken,I sit on a rock on top of the ridge (山脊）.There is no light visible in any direction,not even another campfire.For four days we do not see another human being.We are occupied with the things that mix fear with joy.In our imagination we have finally caught up with Lewis and Clark.
1. We learn from the text that before 1805 .
A.The Rocky Mountains were wholly covered with snow
B.there were no people living in the western part of America
C.no Americans knew of the existence of the Rocky Mountains
D.the Appalachians were the western frontier of the United States
2.We learn from the text that the Lolo Pass .
A.has changed a lot since 1805
B.is the meeting point of three cultures
C.remains much the same as it was 200 years ago
D.now attracts a large number of tourists to visit
3.Judging from the text,Lewis and Clark were most probably .
A.two native Indians
B.explorers of the early 19th century
C.merchants who did business with the Indians
D.travelers whose curiosity took them over the Lolo Pass
4.We can infer from the text that when crossing the Lolo Pass the author .
A.was attempting the impossible
B.was trying to set a world record
C.was following the trail of Lewis and Clark
D.was fighting with weather and taking unnecessary risks
B
STAY INFORMED WITH CITIZENS,BANK! Are you a busy person who likes to stay on top of your finances? Then why do you waste your time constantly checking your bank account? Citizens' Bank now offers a new service for you. With our new Automated Alert Service,Citizens' Bank account holders can have important account information sent directly to their cell phone or email address.The type of information you'll receive is up to you; ●Be informed when your account balance drops below a certain level. ●Receive notification (通知）when a specific check clears. ●Find out instantly whenever a withdrawal is made. And at the end of the month,your complete bank statement will still be sent to you.With Automated Alerts,staying on top of your banking will be a lot easier.For more information,contact us at aas@citizensbank.net or drop by your nearest branch. |
From;Robert Renfield robertyaho@nemo.com To:Citizens' Bank aas@citizensbank.net Subject;An Inquiry of the Alert Service Good afternoon, I am writing to request more information on your new Automated Alert Service,as advertised on your Website.I have had both personal and commercial accounts with Citizens' Bank for many years.Often,I find it necessary to move money between accounts.Because of this,it is vital that I keep a close eye on the cash flow of all of my accounts,to assure that their balances stay above the required minimums.Therefore,I have been searching for an economical means of keeping better track of my finances.I was considering purchasing software for this purpose,but I think that your new service might be a convenient alternative. My first question concerns the timeliness of the notifications.When you say “instantly,” does that relate only to banking hours? For example,if my wife were to use our debit card (借记卡）on a Sunday afternoon to make a transfer (转账）at an ATM,would I be informed via email instantly or on Monday morning? My second question is in regard to the information available in this service.Is it possible to be aware of any information in my monthly bank statement,such as interest on my savings account? Finally,I would like to know the cost of this service. Please send me this information as soon as possible.If necessary,you can contact me in the evenings at 225-782-0902. R.Renfield |
1.What is Citizens' Bank advertising?
A.A kind of checking account.
B.A way to bank over the phone.
C.A free hotline for new customers.
D.A service for account holders.
2.What is Mr Renfield's relation to Citizens' Bank?
A.He has had accounts with it for many years.
B.He is a member of its board of directors.
C.He recently opened a new account with it.
D.He used its Automated Alert Service.
3.Which of the following will be most important for Mr Renfield?
A.Receiving information directly on his cell phone.
B.Knowing when his balances drop to a certain level.
C.Being informed when a specific check clears.
D.Having his monthly bank statement sent to him.
Global Positioning Systems are now a part of everyday driving in many countries.These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go.But,they can also cause a lot of problems, send you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost.Many times,the driver is to blame.Sometimes a GPS error is responsible.Most often,says Barry Brown,an expert in human-computer interaction,it is a combination of the two.
We spoke to Mr Brown by Skype (网络电话软件).He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States.There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay.Barry Brown:“And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination.And,then it wasn't until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived.They actually put their home address ia So again,the GPS is kind of 'garbage in garbage out'”.
Mr Brown says this is a common human error.But,he says,what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings,or failures,of GPS equipment.Barry Brown:“One problem with a lot of the GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn.Because they just give you the next turn,sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it's going to the wrong place.”
Barry Brown once worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh.The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people's cars.They wrote a paper based on their research.It is called “The Normal,Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS”.It lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers.These include maps that are outdated,incorrect or difficult to understand.They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given.
Barry Brown says to make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers,passengers and GPS systems work together.
1.In Paragraph 2,Mr Brown mentioned his friend in the conversation to .
A.build up his own reputation
B.laugh at his stupid friend
C.prove the GPS system is only garbage
D.describe an example of human error
2.Which of the following statements would Barry Brown most likely agree with?
A.GPS units are to blame for most GPS service failures.
B.We should introduce higher standards for the driving license.
C.Cameras are urgently needed to help improve GPS systems.
D.Drivers,GPS systems and passengers should unite to improve GPS systems.
3.What is Mr Brown's attitude towards GPS?
A.Unconcerned. B.Prejudiced. C.Objective. D.Critical.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Driving with GPS can be difficult
B.Driving confusions can be caused by small screens
C.Driving without GPS should be much more convenient
D.GPS equipment in driving:to be deserted or improved?
假如你是李华，你所在的学校将要举办一场春节庆祝活动。你和你的同学邀请你校的美国交换生Tom参加。请你一封信给Tom，要点如下：
1.邀请Tom一起表演，一个中西合璧的节目；
2.活动时间：农历12月30日晚7：00---10：00；
3.活动地点：学校学术报告厅。
注意：1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已经为你写好，但不计入总词数。
Dear Tom,
You have told me that you are very interested in how we Chinese celebrate our traditional festivals. __________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____
We are looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear Steven,
I’m glad that you coming to Beijing this summer vacation. You asked many question in your letter, and now let me answer them.
To start with , Beijing, the capital of China, is very attractive city with a long history. You can found all kinds of delicious food in Beijing, of that the most famous is the roast Beijing duck. I hope we will enjoy it. Besides, there is a great number of tourist attractions worth visiting, such as the Great Wall, the Summer Palace or the Forbidden City. These scenic spots have attracted millions of tourists in this year. I promise you will have a wonderfully time here in Beijing.
I’m looking forward to hear from you as soon as possible.
Yours,
Liu Chao
