A

　　An American housewife was pushing her basket with one hand. With the other hand she was holding on to her small child. She arrived at the checkout(付款)counter and thought, !Now another 20 minutes. But her bill was ready in 20 seconds.

　　Twenty seconds? Yes. A new electronic(電子的)system !reads a small stamp of black and white lines on each tin, box or bottle. These little lines give the computer all the information it needs-the kind of product, the price and the tax. The girl at the counter simply moves the groceries(食品雜貨)along in front of the eye of the machine. And the bill is ready in no time. Most people are very pleased with this new idea. The machines-now in 20 supermarkets in New York, U.S.A.-save a lot of time and money. And they dont make as many mistakes as people. Some shoppers, however, are complaining(抱怨).They cant read the price of the food on a tin and all they can see is little black and white lines. The prices are on the shelves but they want them on each tin. Many people arent sure that machines are honest shopkeepers! The new machines are very expensive. But everyone, even these worried shoppers, will be happy. In the end, they bring food prices down.

　　　　1.The American housewife was pushing her basket of shopping with one hand because she_______ .

　　　　A. had arrived at the checkout counter

　　　　B. had been waiting for 20 minutes and was tired

　　　　C. was holding her child with the other hand

　　　　D. was holding out the other hand for the bill

　　　　2.What did she think when arriving at the checkout counter?

　　　　A. She would be home in 20 minutes.

　　　　B. She would get her bill ready.

　　　　C. She would get her bill in 20 seconds.

　　　　D. She would have a long wait.

　　　　3.The bill is getting ready so quickly in a supermarket because_______.

　　　　A. the girls at the checkout counter read more quickly

　　　　B. the prices and the taxes are lower

　　　　C. the groceries move along more quickly now

　　　　D. there is now an electronic system which !see how much each thing costs and calculate the bill quickly

　　　　4.What do people think of these new machines?

　　　　A. All the shoppers are very pleased.

　　　　B. They think 20 of them are too many in one city.

　　　　C. They like them because they save both money and time.

　　　　D. They complain about them because they make so many mistakes.

　　　　5.Why are some shoppers unhappy? Because_______ .

　　　　A. the little black and white lines are difficult to see

　　　　B. the machine can read the prices on the tins but they cant

　　　　C.the machines have put up prices

　　　　D. the prices on the shelves are worrying them

　　B

　　My topic is Fashion(時裝),and to make my talk more lively, I have brought along five objects .Fashion is important to all of us. Now we are all wearing school uniforms(校服).When we go home, what do we do ?We change into other clothes. If we are going out, we like to wear fashionable clothes .So my first object is this blouse. It looks beautiful, doesnt it? It is my most expensive piece of clothing, and I love it. It cost over $ 600.You may say that it is too expensive, but luckily I can afford it. The more you spend, the better quality. So, you see, fashion is quite important to me, I admit it.

　　However, Im not as fond of fashion as my elder brother. Last summer, my parents took us both to London. They wanted to show us some famous sights. But my brother Gary did not appreciate the old buildings. He just wanted to spend all his time in the big shopping arcades(拱廊市場),searching for the coolest pair of trousers! For him, fashion was more important than culture. These are the trousers, he bought. Were they worth the expense of a trip to London to buy these? I dont think so. I think it was a waste of time and money.

　　We must, however, remember that fashion is very big business. Changes in fashion can create or lose jobs .As an example, I have brought this blonde wig(淡黃色的假發)to show you. Do you like it? It belongs to one of my mothers friends. She told me that in the 1960s,it was fashionable for western women to wear wigs. But a few years later fashions changed and women wore wigs much less often. Then the wig factories closed down and hundreds of workers lost their jobs.

　　　　1.What is the author(作者)doing at the moment? The author is_______ .

　　　　A. selling some fashionable clothes

　　　　B. buying the coolest school uniforms

　　　　C .making a speech to the audience

　　　　D. travelling to London

　　　　2.In the authors opinion, fashion is_______ .

　　　　A .important B. unimportant C .fierce D .dull

　　　　3.What objects did the author show to the audience?

　　　　A. The blonde wig. B. The expensive blouse.

　　　　C. The cool trousers. D. All of the above.

　　　　4.According to the author,_______ .

　　　　A. The more money you spent, the worse the clothes would be

　　　　B. The lower the price is, the better the goods are

　　　　C. The less money you pay, the better clothes you can get

　　　　D. The higher the price is, the better the quality is

　　　　5.What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

　　　　A. Wigs were always popular in the past.

　　　　B. People in the east once like wearing blonde wigs.

　　　　C. Fashion is actually a business.

　　　　D. Business often depends on the production of wigs.

　　C

　　Everybody has to buy or sell things sometimes. Even students, who are usually not very rich, have to learn something about making purchases(買東西)intelligently. As a student you may find, for example, that you need to buy a typewriter or winter clothing. You may want to buy a television or a used car. Of course, you want to get good value for your money. If you are considering a major purchase, or any purchase, you should remember two important things.

　　(1)Study first, and then decide what you want to buy. You can learn a lot just by reading books and advertisements.

　　Remember that a high quality product will probably last longer and work better. Of course, for superior product you can expect to pay more. An inferior product may not give you the same quality, but the price should be low. Perhaps this seems obvious, but you must know the quality. Dont just look at the price. A poor quality product could be expensive. And a valuable one could be on sale at a greatly reduced price.

　　(2)Dont hurry. Take your time. After you decide what product you want, go to many different stores. If you cannot find the product you want, you may try to order it directly from the factory or ask the store to order it for you. Look for a good deal(有利的交易).If you wait, you will probably find that your product will go on sale and you may be able to save 10,20,or even 50 percent of the original price.

　　(3)Finally, before you buy, make sure that the product is guaranteed. If you dont like it, you want to be able to get your money back. If you carefully examine your own preferences and then shop until you find the lowest possible price, you will generally be happy with your purchase and also keep more money in the bank.

　　　　1.While you go shopping, you should pay more attention to_______ .

　　　　A. price B. quality C. information D. intelligence

　　　　2.You can get_______ by reading books and advertisements.

　　　　A. information about products B. facts of property

　　　　C. messages of a process D. knowledge of the amount of products

　　　　3.It is dangerous_______ by its price alone.

　　　　A. to bring a product into effect B. to argue about a product

　　　　C. to judge a product D. to deal with a product

　　　　4.Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage?

　　　　A. If you wait for a sale, you can save 10,20 or even 50 percent off the original price.

　　　　B.A superior product will probably work better but the price may be high.

　　　　C. Two important things should be remembered when you have some shopping to do.

　　　　D. You have to pay in advance when you order a product from the store.

　　　　5.You may buy a television or a used car. Here the word used apparently means_______ .

　　　　A. helpful B. producing good results C. second-hand D. valuable

　　Keys: A .1～5 CDDCB B. 1～5 CADDC C. 1～5 BACDC

　　A

　　An American housewife was pushing her basket with one hand. With the other hand she was holding on to her small child. She arrived at the checkout(付款)counter and thought, !Now another 20 minutes. But her bill was ready in 20 seconds.

　　Twenty seconds? Yes. A new electronic(電子的)system !reads a small stamp of black and white lines on each tin, box or bottle. These little lines give the computer all the information it needs-the kind of product, the price and the tax. The girl at the counter simply moves the groceries(食品雜貨)along in front of the eye of the machine. And the bill is ready in no time. Most people are very pleased with this new idea. The machines-now in 20 supermarkets in New York, U.S.A.-save a lot of time and money. And they dont make as many mistakes as people. Some shoppers, however, are complaining(抱怨).They cant read the price of the food on a tin and all they can see is little black and white lines. The prices are on the shelves but they want them on each tin. Many people arent sure that machines are honest shopkeepers! The new machines are very expensive. But everyone, even these worried shoppers, will be happy. In the end, they bring food prices down.

　　　　1.The American housewife was pushing her basket of shopping with one hand because she_______ .

　　　　A. had arrived at the checkout counter

　　　　B. had been waiting for 20 minutes and was tired

　　　　C. was holding her child with the other hand

　　　　D. was holding out the other hand for the bill

　　　　2.What did she think when arriving at the checkout counter?

　　　　A. She would be home in 20 minutes.

　　　　B. She would get her bill ready.

　　　　C. She would get her bill in 20 seconds.

　　　　D. She would have a long wait.

　　　　3.The bill is getting ready so quickly in a supermarket because_______.

　　　　A. the girls at the checkout counter read more quickly

　　　　B. the prices and the taxes are lower

　　　　C. the groceries move along more quickly now

　　　　D. there is now an electronic system which !see how much each thing costs and calculate the bill quickly

　　　　4.What do people think of these new machines?

　　　　A. All the shoppers are very pleased.

　　　　B. They think 20 of them are too many in one city.

　　　　C. They like them because they save both money and time.

　　　　D. They complain about them because they make so many mistakes.

　　　　5.Why are some shoppers unhappy? Because_______ .

　　　　A. the little black and white lines are difficult to see

　　　　B. the machine can read the prices on the tins but they cant

　　　　C.the machines have put up prices

　　　　D. the prices on the shelves are worrying them

　　B

　　My topic is Fashion(時裝),and to make my talk more lively, I have brought along five objects .Fashion is important to all of us. Now we are all wearing school uniforms(校服).When we go home, what do we do ?We change into other clothes. If we are going out, we like to wear fashionable clothes .So my first object is this blouse. It looks beautiful, doesnt it? It is my most expensive piece of clothing, and I love it. It cost over $ 600.You may say that it is too expensive, but luckily I can afford it. The more you spend, the better quality. So, you see, fashion is quite important to me, I admit it.

　　However, Im not as fond of fashion as my elder brother. Last summer, my parents took us both to London. They wanted to show us some famous sights. But my brother Gary did not appreciate the old buildings. He just wanted to spend all his time in the big shopping arcades(拱廊市場),searching for the coolest pair of trousers! For him, fashion was more important than culture. These are the trousers, he bought. Were they worth the expense of a trip to London to buy these? I dont think so. I think it was a waste of time and money.

　　We must, however, remember that fashion is very big business. Changes in fashion can create or lose jobs .As an example, I have brought this blonde wig(淡黃色的假發)to show you. Do you like it? It belongs to one of my mothers friends. She told me that in the 1960s,it was fashionable for western women to wear wigs. But a few years later fashions changed and women wore wigs much less often. Then the wig factories closed down and hundreds of workers lost their jobs.

　　　　1.What is the author(作者)doing at the moment? The author is_______ .

　　　　A. selling some fashionable clothes

　　　　B. buying the coolest school uniforms

　　　　C .making a speech to the audience

　　　　D. travelling to London

　　　　2.In the authors opinion, fashion is_______ .

　　　　A .important B. unimportant C .fierce D .dull

　　　　3.What objects did the author show to the audience?

　　　　A. The blonde wig. B. The expensive blouse.

　　　　C. The cool trousers. D. All of the above.

　　　　4.According to the author,_______ .

　　　　A. The more money you spent, the worse the clothes would be

　　　　B. The lower the price is, the better the goods are

　　　　C. The less money you pay, the better clothes you can get

　　　　D. The higher the price is, the better the quality is

　　　　5.What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

　　　　A. Wigs were always popular in the past.

　　　　B. People in the east once like wearing blonde wigs.

　　　　C. Fashion is actually a business.

　　　　D. Business often depends on the production of wigs.

　　C

　　Everybody has to buy or sell things sometimes. Even students, who are usually not very rich, have to learn something about making purchases(買東西)intelligently. As a student you may find, for example, that you need to buy a typewriter or winter clothing. You may want to buy a television or a used car. Of course, you want to get good value for your money. If you are considering a major purchase, or any purchase, you should remember two important things.

　　(1)Study first, and then decide what you want to buy. You can learn a lot just by reading books and advertisements.

　　Remember that a high quality product will probably last longer and work better. Of course, for superior product you can expect to pay more. An inferior product may not give you the same quality, but the price should be low. Perhaps this seems obvious, but you must know the quality. Dont just look at the price. A poor quality product could be expensive. And a valuable one could be on sale at a greatly reduced price.

　　(2)Dont hurry. Take your time. After you decide what product you want, go to many different stores. If you cannot find the product you want, you may try to order it directly from the factory or ask the store to order it for you. Look for a good deal(有利的交易).If you wait, you will probably find that your product will go on sale and you may be able to save 10,20,or even 50 percent of the original price.

　　(3)Finally, before you buy, make sure that the product is guaranteed. If you dont like it, you want to be able to get your money back. If you carefully examine your own preferences and then shop until you find the lowest possible price, you will generally be happy with your purchase and also keep more money in the bank.

　　　　1.While you go shopping, you should pay more attention to_______ .

　　　　A. price B. quality C. information D. intelligence

　　　　2.You can get_______ by reading books and advertisements.

　　　　A. information about products B. facts of property

　　　　C. messages of a process D. knowledge of the amount of products

　　　　3.It is dangerous_______ by its price alone.

　　　　A. to bring a product into effect B. to argue about a product

　　　　C. to judge a product D. to deal with a product

　　　　4.Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage?

　　　　A. If you wait for a sale, you can save 10,20 or even 50 percent off the original price.

　　　　B.A superior product will probably work better but the price may be high.

　　　　C. Two important things should be remembered when you have some shopping to do.

　　　　D. You have to pay in advance when you order a product from the store.

　　　　5.You may buy a television or a used car. Here the word used apparently means_______ .

　　　　A. helpful B. producing good results C. second-hand D. valuable

　　Keys: A .1～5 CDDCB B. 1～5 CADDC C. 1～5 BACDC