occasionally for magazines. Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand. So I went on the net,
spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top
recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store. There in the cupboard was
one of the cameras on my list. And it was on special offer. Oh joy. I pointed at it and asked an
assistant, "Can I have one of those?" He looked perturbed (不安). "Do you want to try it first?" he
said. It didn"t quite sound like a question. "Do I need to?" I replied, "There is nothing wrong with it?"
This made him look a bit insulted and I started to feel bad. "No, no. But you should try it," he said
encouragingly. "Compare it with the others."
I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide
range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based
around the same basic box. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to
spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same
time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the
store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I
paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.
But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice,
the clever choice, the wise choice. In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen. The assistant
seemed a sincere man. So I let him take out of my chosen camera from cupboard, show how it took
excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers… and when he started to introduce the special features, I
interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well.
Why do we think that new options (选择) still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they
offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited
than we would like to imagine.
B. compare the camera he had chosen with the others.
C. get more information about different companies.
D. trust him and stop asking questions.
B. The price of the camera was unreasonably high.
C. The quality of the camera was not good.
D. The camera would soon fall in value.
B. didn"t trust the shop assistant.
C. wanted to make sure the one he chose would be the best.
D. had a special interest in taking pictures of his fellow shoppers.
B. cameras have become an important part of our daily life
C. we don"t actually need so many choices when buying a product
D. famous companies care more about profit than quality
cultural differences, ignoring there 1 , I got there in July 2010. 2 I arrived, I realized the importance
of getting a job 3 my living experience.
Determined to do this 4 I spent several weeks going door-to-door for a job, but found 5 response
(回应).
One afternoon, I walked into a building to ask 6 there were my job opportunities (机会). The people
there advised me not to continue my job search in that 7 . As I was about to 8 , a man who had been
listening approached me and asked me to wait outside 9 . Nearly ten minutes later, he 10 . He asked me
about my plants and encouraged me to stay 11 . Then he offered me to Royal Oak to 12 a job.
I was a little surprised. but had a 13 feeling about him. Along the way, I realized that I had 14 resumes
(简历). Seeing this, the man 15 at his business partner"s office to make me fifteen 16 copies. He also gave
me some 17 on dressing and speaking. I handed out my resumes and went home feeling very 18 . The
following day I received a 19 from a store in Royal Oak offering me a job.
It seems that the world always 20 to you when you need it. And this time, it was a complete stranger
who turned out to be a real blessing.
( )1. A. doubts ( )2. A. Even if ( )3. A. of ( )4. A. on my own ( )5. A. any ( )6. A. why ( )7. A. director ( )8. A. answer ( )9. A. for ever ( )10. A. returned ( )11. A. silent ( )12. A. pick out ( )13. A. dull ( )14. A. made use of ( )15. A. stopped ( )16. A. right ( )17. A. pressures ( )18. A. lonely ( )19. A. call ( )20. A. turns off | B. concerns B. Every time B. at B. on my way B. much B. wherever B. attitude B. work B. at any time B. hesitated B. busy B. search for B. good B. taken care of B. knocked B. more B. agreements B. funny B. tip B. goes over | C. instructions C. Now that C. for C. by any chance C. some C. whether C. language C. leave C. as usual C. passed C. positive C. take on C. guilty C. run out of C. glanced C. former C. impressions C. disappointed C. present C. gives back | D. reasons D. Soon after D. with D. by the day D. little D. whenever D. manner D. refuse D. for a while D. regretted D. comfortable D. give up D. general D. become tired of D. appeared D. different D. suggestions D. satisfied D. report D. looks up | ||||||||||
阅读理解。 | |||||||||||||
They are the sort of friends who are so close they trust each other with their lives. If one fails the other is there to catch him. They are Wellman, whose legs were permanently injured nine years ago in a rock-climbing accident and Corbett, an experienced rock climber. Together, they climbed up Half Dome,the famous 2,000-foot rock in the Yosemite National Park, the medium of through the most different routes. (路线) During the climb, Corbett took the lead, hit in the metal spikes (尖状物) that guided the ropes and climbed up. Then, after Wellman pulled himself up the rope, Corbett went down to remove the spikes and climbed up again. This process was repeated time and again, inch by inch, for 13 days. Wellman"s job was not easy either. He got himself up the rope through upper body strength alone. In all, Wellman figured that he had done 5,000 pull-ups up the rope on the climb. However, when the two men first met, they never talked about climbing. "he knew that was how I got injured." Wellman said. Until one day Wellman decided that he wanted to climb again and they started training. Their climb of half dome was not all smooth. At one point, pieces of rock gave way, and Corbett dropped down quickly. Wellman locked their rope in place. Stopping the fail at 20 feet. His quick action probably saved his friend"s life. "Your partner can save your life-you can save your partner"s life," Wellman said as the pair received congratulations from friends. "there are real close ties." | |||||||||||||
1. Which of the following was a challenge for Corbett in climbing half dome? | |||||||||||||
A. to climb up to remove the spikes B. to climb it twice C. to do 5,000 pull-ups up the rope D. to lock the rope in place | |||||||||||||
2. Why did the two men never talk about climbing when they first met? | |||||||||||||
A. Corbett was poorly trained. B. Wellman had lost interest in climbing. C. Corbett didn"t want to hurt Wellman. D. Wellman hadn"t decided whether to climb again. | |||||||||||||
3. What do we know about Wellman? | |||||||||||||
A. he climbed half dome by himself. B. he was disabled in a traffic accident. C. he stopped rock-climbing for some time. D. he was saved by Corbett during the climb. | |||||||||||||
4. The main idea of the text is that _____. | |||||||||||||
A. two beads are better than one B. friendship is precious in life C. the disabled should never give up D. a man can be destroyed but cannot be defeated | |||||||||||||
完形填空。 | |||||||||||||
I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn"t like attention drawn to myself. And 1 otherwise assigned (指定) a seat by the teacher. I always 2 to sit at the back of the classroom. All this 3 after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy 4 because I didn"t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the 5 to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my " 6 for it", I wouldn"t have decided to give it a try. Getting up the courage to go the tryouts was only the 7 of it! When I first started 8 the practice sessions, I didn"t even know the rules of the game, much 9 what I was doing. Sometimes I"d get 10 and take a shot at a wrong direction-which made me feel really stupid. 11 , I wasn"t the only one "new" at the game, so I decided to 12 on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not to be too hard on myself for the things I didn"t 13 "just yet". I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the 14 and the "moves". Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive 15 in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and make friends in the 16 -friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun. With my 17 self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from " 18 " in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself, 19 raising my hand-even when I sometimes wasn"t 100 percent 20 I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself. | |||||||||||||
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