Double Trouble
When I was eight, I wanted a toy and needed $10 to buy it. But, as usual, I was broke. I decided to ask my 11-year-old sister, Kathleen, for a loan. I went to her room,_______ her for the cash. Laughing, she agreed to _______ me the money, but added, “I will charge you 10 percent compound interest every _______ until you pay me back.”
“Compound interest—what’s that?” I asked.
“Well, interest is what you call the _______ money borrowers have to pay back on a loan,” she explained. “Compound interest means that the interest payments get bigger and bigger the _______ you take to pay back the loan. To repay the loan, you will need to give me $11 after one month. If you wait two months to pay me back, your _______ will grow from $10 to $11. So I’ll be charging you interest on $11. Then I will add that interest to the $11 you already owe me, for a _______ of $12.10. That’s what you’ll owe after two months. ”
“Sure. I get it,” I said. Though truthfully, I was getting _______.
Kathleen lent me the money, and I bought the toy. My birthday came a month later, and my mom gave me $10._______, that was just the amount I needed to buy another toy I wanted _______. I put off paying my sister for a month. After another month, I _______ about the loan.
Several months later, on Christmas morning, my sister and I each found a $20 bill in our stockings. I was just putting it into my pocket _______ Kathleen tapped me on the shoulder.
“Sorry, kiddo. That’s mine. I’m _______ on your debt.”
“Huh?” Then I remembered the loan. “Hey! How can it be that much? I _______ borrowed $10.”
“True,” she said, “but interest has been compounding for eight months. Now you _______ me $21.43.” She paused, then added. “You can pay me the $1.43.”
I _______ to believe that a $10 loan could more than double so quickly. Much to my _______, my sister got her pencil and tablet and showed me exactly how it all added up.
My head _______ as I tried to keep track of Kathleen’s _______, but this time, I got the basic idea of compound interest. I _______ the hard way that borrowing money can be “double trouble” in no time.
1.A. blaming B. begging C. searching D. preparing
2.A. pay B. give C. lend D. hand
3.A. month B. year C. week D. day
4.A. little B. same C. enough D. extra
5.A. less B. longer C. more D. shorter
6.A. cash B. saving C. note D. debt
7.A. total B. cost C. number D. bill
8.A. encouraged B. shocked C. confused D. satisfied
9.A. Gradually B. Obviously C. Unfortunately D. Hopefully
10.A. seriously B. anxiously C. secretly D. desperately
11.A. forgot B. knew C. talked D. cared
12.A. after B. until C. while D. when
13.A. carrying B. collecting C. relying D. focusing
14.A. normally B. nearly C. only D. really
15.A. owe B. offer C. take D. give
16.A. decided B. refused C. pretended D. managed
17.A. relief B. delight C. annoyance D. regret
18.A. turned B. nodded C. stuck D. hurt
19.A. calculations B. excuses C. directions D. discoveries
20.A. explored B. learned C. explained D. questioned
It is sometimes thought that the longing for material goods, the need to buy things, is a relatively modern invention. 1. Trade or shopping is certainly an ancient desire, and existed before our ancestors invented writing, laws, cities or farming, even before they used metal to make tools.
Humans are born to trade. 2. Evidence from hunter-gatherers suggests that the exchange of food and other necessary things comes naturally, as well as the ability to keep a record of the credits involved. And once trade begins, the benefits are hard to resist.
Ancient local coastal people in northern Australia traded fish hooks, along a chain of trading partners, with people living 400 miles inland, who cut and polished local stone to make axes (斧子). 3. Finally, both groups of “producers”, by concentrating on things they could produce and exchanging them for other things they needed, benefited as a result.
Trade in the necessities of life, such as food and simple tools, is not really surprising, considering the link between these basic items and survival. What is surprising, though, is that our taste for unnecessary expensive objects also goes back a long way.
In South Africa, 100,000-year-old decorative dyes (染料) have been found in an area where none were produced. 4. Small round pieces of glass 76,000 years old were also found at the same place. The earliest jewellery known to us were not just random findings — they were grouped together in size and had holes like those used for threading onto a necklace.
Archaeologists argue that trade prepared the way for the complex societies in which we live today. 5. However, their modern equivalents — fast cars and expensive clothes — hold the same attraction for us as “trade goods” did for people 100,000 years ago.
A. And we don’t need shops or money to do it.
B. These are powerful evidence for cash purchase.
C. In fact, its roots go back to the beginning of humanity.
D. However, first trade began from the exchange of objects.
E. Modern-day shoppers may not be impressed by ancient glass pieces.
F. It is thought that these goods were bought at least 30 kilometres away.
G. Every individual along the chain made a profit, even if he produced neither himself.
Three Feet From Gold
Darby’s uncle was caught by the “gold fever” in the gold-rush days, and went west to dig and grow rich. After months of labor, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining ore (矿石). He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. So, with the “strike”, he returned home. And with the help of Darby, he borrowed a lot of money. After buying the machinery and having it shipped, Uncle and Darby went back to work the mine.
The first car of ore was mined. And the returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Uncle and Darby!
Then something happened! The vein (矿脉) of gold ore disappeared! They drilled on, but all in vain. Finally, they decided to quit and sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars. The junk man called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer’s calculations showed that the vein would be found just three feet from where the Darbys had stopped drilling! The junk man took millions of dollars in the vein, because he knew enough to seek expert’s advice before giving up.
Most of the money which went into the machinery was borrowed through the efforts of Darby, who was then a very young man. The money came from his relatives because of their faith in him. He paid back every dollar of it, although he was years in doing so.
Long afterward, Mr. Darby made another discovery that desire can be changed into gold. This discovery came after he went into the business of selling life insurance. Remembering that he lost a huge fortune, for he stopped three feet from gold, Darby profited by the experience in his chosen work, saying to himself, “I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say ‘no’ when I ask them to buy insurance.”
Darby sold more than a million dollars in life insurance annually. He owes his “stickability” to the lesson he learned from his “quitability” in the gold mining business.
1.Darby’s uncle went back home to ________.
A. receive his reward
B. seek financial support
C. look for more helpers
D. consult an engineer
2.The Darbys failed in mining business because of ________.
A. quitting drilling on
B. the disappearance of the vein
C. the shortage of the machinery
D. competing against the junk man
3.From the passage, we can know Darby ________.
A. was unable to pay off the debts
B. mined his gold from the failure
C. learned a lesson from selling insurance
D. devoted himself to making new discoveries
4.The author intends to tell us that ________.
A. hopes and difficulties exist side by side
B. correct decisions stems from correct judgement
C. we should catch it when an opportunity comes
D. we won’t reach our goal unless we persist
They hide in trees, hang from helicopters, even follow people down on motorcycles—all so that they can snap a shot of a celebrity. They are paparazzi—photographers who make a living by taking pictures of the rich and famous.
This September, California, a state with plenty of celebrities, passed a law aimed at taking action against paparazzi. The law forbids photographers from entering private property to take pictures, from using high-tech devices to take pictures of people on private property, and from “persistently following in order to take a picture.” Violators can be fined or spend time in prison. The United State Congress is considering passing a similar law.
Supporters of the California law say it will protect the privacy of celebrities, whom paparazzi have been bothering for years. Opponents (反对者) say the law restricts photojournalists from doing their job.
Most celebrities seem to like having their pictures taken when they are in public at award shows or other events. After all, it’s free publicity. But when they’re not in public, they say, photographers should leave them alone. Yet paparazzi have been known to secretly look in windows and worse. Actor Michael J. Fox said that paparazzi have even “tried to pretend to be medical personnel at the hospital where my wife was giving birth to our son.”
Celebrities have as much right to their privacy as anyone else, supporters of the law state. Supporters further argue that the California law is a fair way to keep the press at bay, because the law still allows photographers to do their job. It only punishes them, supporters say, when they violate celebrities’ privacy.
Opponents of the law say it violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (美国宪法第一修正案), which guarantees that no laws will be made to limit “the freedom of speech, or of the press.”Although some people might not consider paparazzi a part of the legal press, the California law does not single out paparazzi. It applies to photographers working for any publication.
Opponents of the law are also concerned about its wording. “Does ‘persistently’ mean following someone for six minutes, six seconds, or six days?” asked lawyer Douglas Mirell. The wording of the law is too vague, critics complain, and could be used to punish almost any news photographer.
The United States needs a free press to keep the public informed about important news, paparazzi law opponents say. Limiting the press in any way, they argue, limits the freedom of all.
1.Which of the following will be considered illegal by the new California law?
A. Paparazzi slipping into the house of a famous person to take a shot.
B. Paparazzi taking photos of famous people with high-tech cameras.
C. Paparazzi hiring helicopters as a fast means of transportation.
D. Paparazzi rushing towards filming sites on motorcycles.
2.Supporters of the new law believe that ________.
A. it prevents the media from getting worse
B. it gives photographers a fair way to compete
C. punishment forces paparazzi to quit their job
D. privacy of famous people needs special protection
3.Opponents of the new law are concerned that _________.
A. it will violate paparazzi’s privacy
B. the First Amendment will be changed
C. some photographers will be wrongly accused
D. people will not be informed of important news
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the new California law?
A. Critical. B. Neutral. C. Approving. D. Skeptical.
Donald Trump was born in Queens, a borough of New York City. He was the fourth child. He had two brothers and two sisters. By his own telling, young Donald often created trouble in school. So when he was 13 years old, his parents sent him to a military-style school.
Trump went on to college first at Fordham University in New York, and then at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in economics. He was also already investing in real estate. After he graduated, Trump quickly returned to New York City and his career.
In time, he became the head of the family business. He re-named it the Trump Organization. As its president, Trump developed and put his name on luxury buildings, casinos, hotels, and golf courses around the world. Later, he became linked to the entertainment industry, too. He became a part owner of beauty pageants, hosted a television show, and wrote a book about how to succeed in business.
During these years, Trump also married three times and divorced twice. The media wrote especially about his first and second marriages because he openly had a relationship with his second wife while he was married to his first. In 2005, he married Melania Knauss, a former model from Slovenia. She is only the second first lady who was not born in the United States. The first was Louisa Adams, who came from Britain in 1801.
But, until he officially entered the 2016 campaign as a Republican candidate, few linked him to politics.
Trump is unusual among past presidents because he had never worked in the government before. Nor has Trump served in the military. Only Presidents Taylor, Grant, and Eisenhower had no previous government experience; however, they had all been generals.
Trump is the oldest person ever to take office. He was 70 years old when he was sworn in.
He is also one of the richest.
And Trump is unusual in how he communicates with the public. As president, he continues to use Twitter to communicate his thoughts directly to anyone who wants to follow him.
While the long-term effects of Trump's presidency are not yet known, he will likely be remembered in part for his direct and unscripted style of communication.
1.Donald Trump is quite a different American president ever because _______.
A. only he has never entered politics before
B. he is the first to use the modern social media Twitter to speak
C. he is the richest president ever
D. only his wife wasn’t born in the US
2.Trump is a successful businessman and his business involves in the following except________.
A. television B. beauty
C. real estate D. publishing
3.Which of the following can’t suit Donald Trump?
A. He is the oldest president when taking office.
B. He has once served in the army.
C. He wrote a book about how to do business.
D. His father had five children.
4.What does the underlined word unscripted in the last sentences mean?
A. Unfinished. B. Undertaken. C. Unprepared. D. Unspoken.
Google announced new features to make devices smarter and more useful to open its yearly developers' conference. The announcements came at Google's I/O 2018 conference in Mountain View, California.
Google Duplex
"So what you're going to hear is the Google Assistant actually calling a real barber’s to schedule the appointment for you.
Hello, how can I help you?
Hi, I'm calling to book a woman's haircut for a client. I'm looking for something on May 3rd.
Sure, give me one second.
Mm-hmmm.
That was a real call you just heard."
Google Chief Pichai said the demonstration was the result of the company's research and development over many years in the areas of natural language, deep learning and text-to-speech. Google calls the technology Duplex. The idea is to create machines that sound and act more human-like in interactions with people.
Continued Conversation
Another new feature related to Assistant is called Continued Conversation. Until now, users have had to say "Hey Google" each time they asked a question or wanted help. But now, a user can issue more than one command – such as a follow-up question – for up to eight seconds, and Assistant will answer.
Gmail Smart Compose
The latest new tool for Gmail is an auto-complete feature called Smart Compose. It uses AI to suggest ways to finish sentences as they are written. For example, "I haven't seen you" might be auto-completed to "I haven't seen you in a while and I hope you're doing well."
Digital Wellbeing
Google says it recognizes many users are trying to find the right balance in life with technology. Sometimes they would like to break away from their devices to be able to spend time "on better things." New features with this in mind can help users prevent overuse of technology.
A Dashboard will provide users detailed information about how much time they are spending on which parts of their device. When the device is placed face down, a new feature will put the device on hold and silence it so the user can center on other things. A Wind Down Mode feature can let users enter the time they want to go to bed. At that time, the device will again go silent and the front of the device will dim to help users disconnect before bed.
1.What does the small dialogue mean in Google Duplex?
A. Google Chief Pichai calls his assistant to arrange an appointment for him.
B. Google’s digital assistant sets a haircut appointment for someone all by itself.
C. An assistant in Google sets a haircut appointment for a woman.
D. That wasn’t a real call the receiver had heard.
2.What can we learn about Digital Wellbeing?
A. It can find the right balance in work.
B. It may automatically go silent while the screen is still bright.
C. It can tell how much time is being spent on parts of the device.
D. When one feature is operating long enough, a new one will disappear.
3.If you are poor in writing compositions, you probably like________.
A. Continued Conversation B. Google Maps - Augmented Reality
C. Google Duplex D. Gmail Smart Compose
