Everything in China is negotiable, so goes the saying, reminding foreign travelers to be on guard and avoid being overcharged. Foreign tourists are often advised to learn some bargaining skills so that they can avoid paying high prices. Generally speaking, bargaining is an art and an important part of people’s life in China.
But the younger generation is gradually losing interest and the ability to negotiate a better deal. With fatter wallets, young people who never experienced war or shortages seldom bother to spend 10 minutes at a roadside shop cutting the price of a cell phone cover by 1 yuan. Saving for a rainy day and making good use of every penny---values held dear by older generations---no longer seem necessary. Naturally, bargaining is out, in an increasingly rich society. In this sense, bargaining is a product of poverty.
But in many countries, where residents’ incomes are much lower than those in China, bargaining is not popular at all. I can still remember my failed bargaining attempts in Africa and Indonesia, where vendor(小贩) looked at me in surprise when I sought something at half the price. They shook their heads and stopped the negotiation. Latter I was told by friends who had been staying there for years that bargaining was not part of local commercial culture.
During the years when the planned economy changed into the market economy, it was difficult for ordinary buyers to get a full picture of the product prices at a time when travel was inconvenient, and information spread slowly, adding to the information asymmetry(不对称). Afraid of being overcharged by vendors, buyers turned to the old wisdom of bargaining whenever and wherever they could.
Nowadays, the popularity of e-commerce has improved pricing transparence(透明) to the extreme. With the click of a mouse, all kinds of information on a product can be found, with users’ comments helping new consumers make decisions. With such transparency, overpricing becomes less frequent and bargaining is not a necessity for shoppers. In this sense, reduced bargaining activity can be seen as a sign of China’s progress toward a more mature economy.
1.Bargaining is a skill to _______.
A. buy high-quality products B. communicate with foreigners
C. avoid paying too much D. increase sales
2.In China, the younger generation is losing interest in bargaining as a result of _______.
A. rising incomes
B. an increasing number of products
C. the value of saving for a raining day
D. their fear of losing face
3.What can we infer from the author’s experiences in Africa and Indonesia?
A. Bargaining is always popular in poor countries.
B. Vendors there are impolite to foreign travelers.
C. It’s not avoidable to go abroad without bargaining skills.
D. Bargaining is not necessarily related to incomes.
4.In terms of price and product information, buyers in China used to ____.
A. be kept in the dark B. know better than seller
C. show no concern D. be well-informed
5.What’s the main theme of this passage?
A. Give buyers some tips about how to bargain.
B. Bargaining is disappearing with the development of society.
C. Make good use of every penny.
D. The younger generation is good at bargaining.
Imagine this: You’re working on a school paper on your laptop. Your screen is full of open programs, including documents, Web pages and MSN chat.
Suddenly, a friend sends you a link to a video and demands that you watch it. He says it’s about cats, it’s funny and you’re going to love it. But you can’t help thinking, “I don’t have time for this right now.” You start to feel even more stressed out than you already did about your paper. While you don’t want to disappoint your friend, you need to keep working.
This is a common dilemma in an age of multitasking.
I often find that my focus is so easily distracted that when I need to work I become quite annoyed in response to these types of links. At the same time, when they’re from good friends, I can’t just ignore them. Usually, I say something like “Cool, I’ll look at it later.” But this often disappoints the other person, creating an awkward break in the conversation. Other times, I’ll just say “OK”, wait a while and then send a second message saying “That was great!” While this approach is simpler that ignoring the other person, it seems ridiculous to life to avoid making a social faux pas(失礼).
The problem is that new technologies offer a good many new possibilities, both positive and negative. On the one hand, the Internet connects you to millions of people whom you can make friends with and learn from. On the other hand, it offers just as many ways to waste time.
When you’re signed on to MSN chat, the other person can’t see that you have three papers to finish before the end of the week---so you better believe they’re going to send you a video of monkeys dancing to music.
Online chat is convenient, but the advantage of face-to-face communication is that you can see exactly what other people are doing.
If they are really good friends, you should feel blessed to give them your full attention without worrying about what’s going on in that other window or program.
1.Why does the author feel annoyed when he receives a link to a video from a friend of his?
A. Because his friend wants to distract him from his work.
B. Because he cannot concentrate on his work.
C. Because the video is too boring.
D. Because the video has something to do with his work.
2.What will the author do to respond to his friend’s request for watching the video?
A. He will do as his friend asks. \
B. He will put it off or tell a white lie.
C. He will ignore his friend’s disappointment.
D. He will delete the link of the video.
3.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. There is an embarrassing pause or silence.
B. The author has broken the ice.
C. His friend intends to end their friendship.
D. They need a good rest after the conversation.
4.Compared with online chat, face-to-face communication allows people _______.
A. to communicate with each other more conveniently
B. to watch a video of a monkey dancing to music
C. to better understand what other people are working on
D. to hide something secret from other people
5.Which of the following statements does the author probably agree with?
A. Share an interesting video with your friend whether he/she is busy or not.
B. Neglect the links sent by your friend while working.
C. New technologies always bring us pressure rather than convenience.
D. It is a dilemma whether to disappoint your friend or stop working.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. Some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could have stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning. But I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. Maybe you could be a great writer, but you might not know it until you write that English paper that’s assigned to you. Maybe you could be an inventor, but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class.
I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork. But the circumstances of your life---what you look like, where you come form, how much money you have---none of these is an excuses for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school.
I know that sometimes you get that sense form TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work---that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star. Chances are you’re not going to be any of those things.
The truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t lose every subject that you study. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed in everything the first time you try. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who have had the most failure. J. K. Rowling’s first Harry potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published.
So I expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.
1.This passage is a speech of _________.
A. graduation ceremony B. back-to-school day
C. campaign D. educational reform
2.The second paragraph mainly talks about the role that education plays in ____.
A. getting high scores B. passing the tests
C. discovering one’s own talents D. getting on well with others
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. All people can become famous overnight.
B. You will be a great writer as long as you write English papers.
C. Whatever the circumstances, you should focus on study.
D. Every homework assignment is related to your life at this moment.
4.The author uses the example of J. K. Rowling to show that ________.
A. sometimes failures are unavoidable on the way to success
B. she is good at writing science fiction
C. Harry Potter is the best seller in the world
D. the publication of Harry Potter went smoothly
5.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A. To tell students to be successful is hard.
B. To inspire students to have a proper attitude to education.
C. To ask students to do their projects for science class.
D. To encourage students to become a reality TV star.
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为16～25的相应位置上。
Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon wakened the Lion, who 1. (catch) the little Mouse and was going to kill him. “Pardon, O King,” cried the little Mouse, “forgive 2. this time. I shall never forget it and someday I will help you on return!” The Lion started to laugh, “Ha! Ha! Ha! A little Mouse can help a big Lion 3. me?” The Lion thought it was funny and let the Mouse go. Some time 4. (late) the Lion fell into a trap. The 5. (hunt), who desired to carry the Lion alive to the King, tied him to a tree. Meanwhile, he went in search of a wagon to carry the Lion on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by. 6. (see) the sad situation 7. the Lion was, the little Mouse went up to him and soon chewed the net that bound the King of the Beasts. Soon the Mouse chewed a big hole 8. the net, and the Lion was free! “Was I not right?” said the Little Mouse, “You laughed at me but even 9. little Mouse can help a big Lion.” The Lion was so grateful 10. he no longer looked down on the little Mouse.
Little friends may prove great friends.
完形填空 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1—15小题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. ” —Albert Einstein
It’s no secret that curiosity makes learning more effective and . Curious students not only ask questions, but also seek out the answers. Without , Sir Isaac Newton would have never put forward the laws of physics, Alexander Fleming probably wouldn’t have penicillin (青霉素)，and Marie Curie’s pioneering research on radioactivity may not exist.
Curiosity is just as as intelligence in determining how well students do in school. Curiosity the brain for learning. As we all known, we’re more likely to what we’ve learned when the subject matter interests us. Actually, curiosity also helps us learn information we don’t consider or important. So if a teacher is able to students’ curiosity, they’ll be better prepared to learn things that they would normally consider boring or difficult. For instance, if a student struggles with , personalizing math problem to match their specific interest could help them remember how to go about solving similar math problems in the future.
However, scientists think that there are still a few things that remain about curiosity’s role in learning. For one thing, scientists have yet to determine its long-term effects. For instance, if a student’s curiosity is aroused at the of a school day, will it help them better absorb information all day long? Another thing the are keen to investigate is why some people are more curious than others, and which factors most influence how curious we are.
1.A. enjoyable B. impossible C. difficult D. avoidable
2.A. lazily B. actively C. dependently D. negatively
3.A. energy B. curiosity C. technology D. secret
4.A. invented B. discovered C. heard D. learned
5.A. important B. easy C. sensitive D. heavy
6.A. blames B. searches C. begs D. prepares
7.A. remember B. dislike C. forgive D. abandon
8.A. interesting B. boring C. friendly D. awful
9.A. arouse B. remove C. record D. miss
10.A. physics B. chemistry C. math D. biology
11.A. better B. less C. louder D. harder
12.A. distinct B. unclear C. certain D. confident
13.A. beginning B. end C. age D. time
14.A. teachers B. students C. researchers D. police
15.A. immediately B. indifferently C. naturally D. seriously
习近平主席最近在一次讲话中提到年轻人不要熬夜。某英语报以Don’t Stay Up Late 为题向中学生征文。请你根据以下内容要求用英语写一篇短文应征。内容包括：1. 熬夜的情况；2. 熬夜的负面影响；3. 你的看法。
注意：
1．根据提示内容可适当展开，使行文连贯；
2．短文开头已给出，不计入总词数；
3．文中不能出现考生的具体信息；
4．词数：120左右。
Don’t Stay Up Late
Our school has regular rest hours for students.
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