In a used furniture business, unlike new, you cannot order stock from a catalogue. People call in, and you have to go out and make an offer. “You can't _______ what you don't have,” my father would say.
When I was aged thirteen, my father _______ his store manager, a one－armed guy who could do more with his one arm than many will do with two. With his _______ gone, my father came to me. “Will you come in while I go out to _______ the day's calls _______ I find the right person?” he asked. The store has tens of thousands of _______. “People like to bargain,” he told me. “So I don't _______ prices. You just have to know a _______.”
He took me around and said, “A quarter－horse motor you can sell for four dollars. For a refrigerator, depending on the_______，you can sell for thirty－five dollars to sixty dollars. However, if it has a freezer all the way across, sell it for eighty dollars; ________ excellent condition, maybe one hundred dollars. Dishes come in with a houseful of furniture, and I don't even figure them in when I give a price. You can sell them for a nickel to a quarter. Something really nice.”
Every day after ________，I would pedal (骑自行车) down to the store. Soon after, I was writing up a sales slip (纸条) for an attractive plate when my father walked in. I had asked a dollar and the guy did not hesitate. I was very ________. My father glanced down at what I was doing, ________ the customer and said, “You sure got a________ today. My employee gave you the price and that's the price.” Afterward, I asked my father, “What was that all________？”
It turned out that it was a(n) ________ plate, worth a few hundred dollars. I was shocked. Here I was ________ to help my father in the business and instead I was losing money for him.
He said, “I could have stopped the sales if I'd wanted to. You were just writing up the slip and hadn't yet taken the money. ________， by civil law, you're ________ age. But, a man stands by his word and the word of his agent.” It ________ my father a small amount of money, but I learned a lifelong lesson in integrity (正直).
1.A.buy B.sell C.order D.store
2.A.missed B.fired C.dismissed D.lost
3.A.manager B.boss C.servant D.salesman
4.A.ask B.return C.answer D.give
5.A.if B.when C.until D.unless
6.A.items B.materials C.facilities D.instruments
7.A.offer B.decide C.mark D.create
8.A.name B.range C.variety D.catalogue
9.A.price B.situation C.condition D.quantity
10.A.on B.for C.by D.in
11.A.school B.work C.study D.play
12.A.upset B.worried C.embarrassed D.pleased
13.A.turned on B.turned to C.turned up D.turned down
14.A.plate B.reward C.bargain D.fortune
15.A.about B.for C.around D.to
16.A.ordinary B.fragile C.antique D.delicate
17.A.willing B.waiting C.managing D.trying
18.A.However B.Therefore C.Besides D.Consequently
19.A.under B.above C.at D.of
20.A.spent B.cost C.took D.wasted
More than half the planet’s population now live in cities, with limited access to the natural world. For Europe and Latin America, the figure is more than 70%. 1.
Gardening in particular is an opportunity for everyone to have such kind of experience, even if they live in built-up areas. It is typically seen as moderate (适度的) intensity exercise equal to playing doubles tennis or walking at a speed of 3.5mph, so it has similar fitness benefits.
2.Home and gardens have long been important for family food production, but gardening can also encourage people to eat more healthily and act as an educational resource on nutritious food. In fact, children who take part in gardening and grow their own food have a greater preference for, and increased consumption of, fruit and vegetables.
3.Research has shown that gardeners generally have greater life satisfaction, raised self-esteem and fewer feelings of depression and anger than non-gardeners.
This last point suggests that the mental benefits of gardening may be more than just a side-effect of the physical exercise involved, 4.People with strong social networks have an increased life expectancy, less stress and fewer visits to the doctor. In addition, spending time outdoors in a natural environment helps us to feel less stressed, reduce the symptoms of depression, and improve our concentration and attention.
All this evidence shows there’s a strong relationship between gardening and health, but we only know for sure that there is connection, not "cause and effect". 5.We also need to directly examine the immediate effects of gardening on people who have never previously taken part or are suffering from mental and physical ill health.
A. Gardening is also linked to better diets.
B. But more than this, it can promote people’s mental health.
C. One possible reason is that gardening can involve social interaction.
D. A good eating is supposed to include a balance of several food groups.
E. Yet contact with nature has varieties of benefits for both physical and mental health.
F. This means gardening alone is not necessarily a direct cause of any improvements in health.
G. Remaining socially active can also inspire seniors to build confidence and live a healthy life.
US private rocket company SpaceX has announced that two private citizens have paid to be sent around the Moon. The mission (任务) is planned for late 2018. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, "This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years."
The two unnamed people will fly aboard a spaceship which is set for its first unmanned test flight later this year. The co-operation of America's NASA space agency had made the plan possible. Mr. Musk said, "The two passengers will travel faster and further into the solar system than any before them." Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration.
"We expect to conduct health and fitness tests, as well as begin initial training later this year. The first mission would be unmanned, and the next one―with crew―was expected in the second quarter of 2018," the rich businessman and inventor said, "The first passengers are entering this with their eyes open, knowing that there is some risk here. They're certainly not childish, and we'll do everything we can to reduce that risk, but it's not zero."
The space tourists would make a circle around the Moon, scanning the lunar surface and then going well beyond. However, the mission will not involve a lunar landing. "If NASA decided to take part in a lunar fly-by mission, then the agency would have privilege," Mr. Musk said. The US has not sent astronauts to the Moon since the early 1970s.
1.Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
A.The two tourists can't afford to fly around the moon.
B.Space travels are rooted in the spirit of human exploration.
C.Initial training is expected to be conducted at the beginning of 2018.
D.The two tourists are expected to fly at a slow speed.
2.The agency has privilege because________.
A.it needs co-operation with Mr. Musk
B.it has previous technical skills
C.it will be able to remove all the risks
D.it has to make money for research
3.Where can you most probably read the text?
A.In a textbook. B.In a science fiction.
C.In a travel brochure. D.On a news website.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.T he Coming Moon Trip of Two Private Citizens
B.An Opportunity to Explore Space for the First Time
C.A Paid Trip Planned by SpaceX to 'Land on the Moon
D.Two Unmanned Missions of Circling around the Moon
Conflict is on the menu tonight at the café La Chope. This evening, as on every Thursday night, psychologist Maud Lehanne is leading two of France’s favorite pastimes, coffee drinking and the “talking cure”. Here they are learning to get in touch with their true feelings. It isn’t always easy. They customers—some thirty Parisians who pay just under $2 (plus drinks) per session-care quick to intellectualize (高谈阔论), slow to open up and connect. “You are forbidden to say ‘one feels,’ or ‘people think’,” Lehane told them. “Say ‘I think,’ ‘Think me’.”
A café society where no intellectualizing is allowed? It couldn’t seem more un-French. But Lehanne’s psychology café is about more than knowing oneself: It’s trying to help the city’s troubled neighborhood cafes. Over the years, Parisian cafes have fallen victim to changes in the French lifestyle-longer working hours, a fast food boom and a younger generation’s desire to spend more time at home. Dozens of new theme cafes appear to change the situation. Cafes focused around psychology, history, and engineering are catching on, filling tables well into the evening.
The city’s psychology cafes, which offer great comfort, are among the most popular places. Middle-aged homemakers, retirees, and the unemployed come to such cafes to talk about lover, anger, and dreams with a psychologist. And they come to Lehance’s group just to learn to say what they feel. There’s a strong need in Paris for communication, says Maurice Frisch, a cafe La Chope regular who works as religious instructor in a nearby church. “People have few real friends. And they need to open up” Lehanne says she’d like to see psychology cafes all over France. “If people had normal lives, these cafes wouldn’t exist”, she says, “If life weren’t a battle, people wouln’t need a special place just to speak.” But then, it wouldn’t be France.
1.What are people encouraged to do at the cafe La Chope?
A.Learn a new subject
B.Keep in touch with friends.
C.Show off their knowledge.
D.Express their true feelings.
2.How are cafes affected by French lifestyle changes?
A.They are less frequently visited.
B.They stay open for longer hours.
C.They have bigger night crowds.
D.They start to serve fast food.
3.What are theme cafes expected to do?
A.Create more jobs.
B.Supply better drinks.
C.Save the cafe business.
D.Serve the neighborhood.
4.Why are psychology cafes becoming popular in Paris?
A.They bring people true friendship.
B.They give people spiritual support.
C.They help people realize their dreams.
D.They offer a platform for business links.
Minutes after the last movie ended yesterday at the Plaza Theater, employees were busy sweeping up popcorns and gathering coke cups. It was a scene that had been repeated many times in the theater’s 75-year history. This time, however, the cleanup was a little different. As one group of workers carried out the rubbish, another group began removing seats and other theater equipment in preparation for the building’s end.
The film classic The Last Picture Show was the last movie shown in the old theater. Though the movie is 30 years old, most of the 250 seats were filled with teary-eyed audience wanting to say good-bye to the old building. Theater owner Ed Bradford said he chose the movie because it seemed proper. The movie is set in a small town where the only movie theater is preparing to close down.
Bradford said that large modem theaters in the city made it impossible for the Plaza to compete. He added that the theater’s location (位置) was also a reason. “This used to be the center of town,” he said. “Now the area is mostly office buildings and warehouses.”
Last week some city officials suggested the city might be interested in turning the old theater into a museum and public meeting place. However, these plans were given up because of financial problems. Bradford sold the building and land to a local development firm, which plans to build a shopping complex on the land where the theater is located.
The theater audience said good-bye as Bradford locked the doors for the last time. After 75 years the Plaza Theater has shown its last movie. The theater will be missed.
1.In what way was yesterday’s cleanup at the Plaza special?
A.It made room for new equipment.
B.It signaled the closedown of the theater.
C.It was done with the help of the audience.
D.It marked the 75th anniversary of the theater.
2.Why was The Last Picture Stow put on?
A.It was an all-time classic.
B.It was about the history of the town.
C.The audience requested it.
D.The theater owner found it suitable.
3.What will probably happen to the building?
A.It will be repaired.
B.It will be turned into a museum.
C.It will be knocked down.
D.It will be sold to the city government.
4.What can we infer about the audience?
A.They are disappointed with Bradford.
B.They are sad to say goodbye to the old theater.
C.They are supportive of the city officials.
D.They are keen to have a shopping center.
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C.It has a new noise reduction car tip. D.It applies special wireless technology.
3.This advertisement is made more believable by _____.
A.using recommendations B.offering reasons for this invention
C.providing statistics. D.showing the results of experiments.
