I bought a Paul Smith shirt three months ago. For those who don’t know, Paul Smith is an English designer brand.
His shirts cost about 1,000 yuan and upwards. I paid 50 yuan for my colorful shirt from a street vendor in Beijing.
Of course my shirt was a knockoff, a cheap copy of the brand. After a few washes, little balls formed on the surface of the thin material.
Do I care? Not at all. You get what you pay for.
I have to admit I hate shopping. I don’t care enough about spending money on clothes. I have other priorities.
In You Are What You Wear, US writer Jennifer Baumgartner says people’s clothes tell a story about their personality.
She writes: “The clothes you choose to wear provide important information about you as a person: your approximate education level, your income, social status and even your level of self-esteem (自信).” When I started work as an undercover crime reporter, I had to shop for jeans and a hoodie (连帽衫) in order to fit in with a rough and ready (世故的) social group.
I bought the hoodie in a charity shop. My daughters were shocked. They thought I looked bad, but I knew my disguise was perfect.
Elizabeth L. Cline thinks she knows best when it comes to cheap clothes in her book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. She expresses sadness that clothing has been turned into a good that is thrown away after being used once or twice.
She looks down her nose at cheap fashion and longs for the good old days when department stores sold quality clothes at high prices.
I don’t agree. At least people now can choose what to wear without breaking the bank.
1.The underlined sentence in the article meant that .
A. I don’t mind spending money on clothes
B. there’s not much point spending money on clothes
C. it is too much trouble to spend money on clothes
D. I never spend money on clothes
2.From the text we can infer that the author’s disguise .
A. immediately won the admiration of his daughters
B. turned out unsuited to his plan
C. proved that clothes can’t show a person’
s true personality
D. had something to do with his income
3.The author mentions Elizabeth L. Cline’s book to .
A. express his anger at the poor quality of clothes
B. show his disagreement with her idea
C. show his dislike for how people treat their clothes
D. support her attitude toward spending money on clothes
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the story?
A. The variety of clothesB. You are what you wear
C. High cost of cheap fashionD. You get what you pay for
People often say that money talks. They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done. But it is not easy to earn enough money to gain
this kind of power.
Ask anyone in business. They will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The expression probably began because a jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people.
People in business have to be careful if they are to survive the jungle out there. They must not be led into making bogus investments. Bogus means something that is not real.
Nobody is sure how the word got started. But it began to appear in American newspapers in the 1800s. A newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, said the word came from a criminal whose name was Borghese. Borghese wrote checks to people although he did not have enough money in the bank. After he wrote the checks, he would disappear. So, people who were paid with his checks received nothing. The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed the criminal’s name Borghese to Bogus.
People trying to earn money must be also aware of the risk of being ripped off. A writer for a magazine said he first saw the expression used in 1971. It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university. The message on the sign was that the student felt cheated.
To be successful, a 
person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks. This expression means to get to the bottom or the most important part of something. For example, a salesman may talk about his product without saying the price. You get down to brass tacks when you say, “it sounds good, but how much does it cost?”
Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships. They clean the bottom of a boat. When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the copper pieces that hold the ship together. So, if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there. And, some good luck will help, too.
1.Why do people say money talks?
A. Because the rich tend to decide a thing.
B. Because money can tell us something.
C. Because it is hard to earn much money.
D. Because everyone loves to have money.
2.My uncle is in a jungle out there, which means .
A. he will fight against wild animals
B. he is interested to go through a jungle
C. he will face many difficulties soon
D. he is a success in his own business
3.When you ask how much it cost, it means .
A. you declare you won’t be cheated
B. you get down to the real issues
C. you care nothing about the quality
D. you are always caring about money
4.It can be inferred from the passage that .
A. many English words have their interesting stories
B. brass is a necessary piece of equipment of a ship
C. many businessmen have been cheated in life
D. Charles Funk has created many interesting words
While waiting to pick up a fri
end at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to his family.
First he moved to his youngest son as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. they separated, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly and replied softly, “Me, too, Dad!”
Then the man stood up, gazed in the of his oldest son and said, “You’re already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.
After several , he turned to his wife and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I remember seeing.
For an instant they me of newlyweds(新婚夫妇), but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment and gathered my courage to ask, “Wow! How long have you been married?”
“Almost twelve years.” he replied, breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have you been away?” I asked. The man turned and looked at me,. “Two whole days”
Two days? I was . By the intensity of the greeting, I had he’d been gone for at least several weeks — if not months. I know my expression me. Hoping to stop our conversation politely and continue with my for my friend, I said almost immediately, “I hope my is still that passionate after twelve years!”
The man suddenly smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with power that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a person. He told me, “Don’t , friend …decide!” Then with wonderful smile, he and his family turned and left together.
I was still watching that special family walk just out of sight when my friend to me and asked, “What are you looking at?” Without , and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, “ My future!”
1.A. greet B. hugC. comfortD. appreciate
2.A. AsB. Before C. Because D. Since
3.A. mindB. eyesC. heart D. head
4.A. monthsB. hoursC. momentsD. weeks
5.A. proceededB. managedC. pretendedD. promised
6.A. never B. already C. ever D. almost
7.A. rememberedB. remindedC. warnedD. informed
8.A. nervously B. strangely C. casually D. excitedly
9.A. onB. afterC. withoutD. by
10.A. directlyB. finallyC. cautiouslyD. deliberately
11.A. shockedB. frightened C. delightedD. discouraged
12.A. assumedB. plannedC. realizedD. decided
13.A. discoveredB. overlookedC. betrayedD. withdrew
14.A. research B. controlC. searchD. reach
15.A. marriageB. relativesC. familyD. friends
16.A. continuedB. keptC. stoppedD. tried
17.A. differentB. reliableC. wonderfulD. perfect
18.A. remarkB. imagineC. hopeD. quit
19.A. called onB. dropped inC. came upD. waved at
20.A. hesitationB. decisionC. difficultyD. intention
There is no need for you to go on a diet; you are only slightly overweight ______ your height.
A. in case of B. in relation to C. in return for D. in response to
China needs to strike a balance between maintaining a ______ fast and stable development and economic structural adjustment.
A. relativelyB. seeminglyC. approximately D. environmentally
The preschool children who watch TV programs with violent scenes are more likely to have sleep problems than those who watched programs for the age.
A. accurate B. fantastic C. delicate D. appropriate
