Being that I worked in a grocery store for 7 years, I know quite a bit about impulsive purchases. In fact, I helped (sadly to say) push certain products by placing them in a certain fashion. Through said experience, I tend to know some of the best ways to counter the impulsive nature of buying things that are unnecessary.
The following is a 3- point list to counter the need to buy something shoved in your face…
Don't bring the kids.
You wouldn't believe (or maybe you parents would) how much more junk parents buy for their kids that is completely impulsive. Working as a checker at a grocery store, I quickly learned that most of the time kids were with their parents, the parents would buy something else within 10 feet of the check stand.
Bring exact cash.
I like to use my debit card because I am able to track every penny better, but holding and letting go of cash is much tougher for me personally. So, if I am going through a tough time budgeting properly, I will bring the allotted (限定的)amount of cash to the place of business and only allow that to be used.
Ignore salesman.
If you are at a department store and someone asks if you need help, try to ignore their push as much as possible. Sure, if you know nothing about laptops, get their advice, but even then I suggest doing your research pre-shop. Salesman could care less what you want. It's all about what their quota or commission is. Ignore them.
小題1:Why does the author write the passage?

A．To talk about her own shopping experiences.

B．To give readers some advice about resisting buying unnecessary things.

C．To complain about some bad experiences.

D．To tell us she has the habit of buying things that are unnecessary.

小題2:Why does the author like to use debit card?

A．Because her debit card is convenient.

B．Because she has not much cash.

C．Because she can know where every her penny goes.

D．Because she has many debit cards.

小題3:Which statement about the passage is WRONG?

A．Parents always bring something else for their children.

B．The author will bring the exact cash to buy things when going through a tough time.

C．Salesmen care much about what you want, so you can follow their advice.

D．The author worked in a grocery store for 7 years.

Hiking
If you like to hike during the warm months, you’ll probably like to hike in the winter. The landscape changes completely from summer to fall to winter, and the snow can make for some really beautiful photos. Be sure to bring your camera with you to capture all the awesome scenery. Because it’s cold out, you also have the added benefit of not sweating too much through your clothes, and it’s a great excuse to grab some hot chocolate when you finish your hike.
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is great exercise and a great way to see the winter scenery at the same time. If you’ve never done cross-country skiing before, be sure to check with an expert before trying it yourself. Knowing what to expect can keep you safe and prevent an injury.
Snowball fighting
Everyone remembers going outside, building a snow fort(城堡),and having snowball fights when they were kids. The fun doesn’t have to stop when you’re an adult! Go outside with your friends, build a fort and start throwing snowballs at each other. If you have kids, get them in on the action. Throwing snowballs is a great way to use some extra energy and can be really fun for the whole family.
Bird-watching
Lots of birds migrate during the winter months, and these quiet, cold hours can be a great time to see them like never before. Eagles, for example, migrate through central Illinois in February, and watching them fly through Starved Rock State Park is a breathtaking sight. Check your local parks to find out what birds you can see in your area and get out there to see them.
小題1:What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Outdoor winter activities

B．Popular winter sports around the world

C．Fun winter activities for children

D．Best ways to enjoy winter scenery.

小題2:As for cross-country skiing, the author suggests people_______.

A．try to do it on their own

B．a(chǎn)sk an expert for advice

C．take a camera with them

D．take a rest whenever possible

小題3:Which of the following does the author suggest for those with kids?

A．Hiking	B．Cross-country skiing
C．Snowball fighting	D．Bird-watching

小題4:What can we know about Starved Rock State Park from the passage?

A．It’s the largest natural park in Illinois.

B．It’s a good place for bird-watching.

C．It’s well-known for its strange animals.

D．It is home to a lot of birds.

Visiting London can be an expensive trip, so establishing a budget and finding bargains when you arrive will help you get around London on the cheap. The following steps can help you find cheaper alternatives for transport for your London trip.
l Familiarize yourself with the city’s boroughs and specifically the area where you will be staying. You can use a street map, or an online map search engine, to establish where in the city you will be staying and the distance you are from the major tourist attractions you want to visit.
l Find a local provider of Transport for London tickets or travel cards, since your first bargain purchase will be an Oyster Card. Traveling around London with an Oyster Card will give you access to the cheapest option of transportation methods and the Oyster Card is accepted citywide on buses, boats and the London Underground, known by the locals as “the tube”.
l Seek out your nearest Tube Station. The Tube is the cheapest and most reliable form of transportation and runs from around 6 a.m. until around 1 a.m. ..., depending on the line or the station.
There are 287 tube stations in London that accept the Oyster Card, with a high concentration in central London. If you are staying anywhere in central London, there will be a tube station less than 10 minutes away.
The Transport for London website offers a tube station search facility to find the nearest subway station to any location in the city. When you find a tube station, you can easily locate the closest bus stop by using the comparison bus-tube maps at the station’s entrance.
l Follow the Transport for London Tube Guide to your destinations and always plan ahead. Making a plan for transport will save you unnecessary expenses, wasted trips on the tube and doubling back on your journey .
小題1:What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To introduce the public transport system in London.

B．To show readers how to use the Oyster Card.

C．To prove the subway in London is easy to use.

D．To offer tips for saving transport costs in London.

小題2:Which of the following can help a traveler spend the least money on transport?

A．Trying different transportation methods.

B．Taking buses as much as possible.

C．Traveling with an Oyster Card.

D．Making a plan before your journey.

小題3:By visiting the Transport for London website, people can ________.

A．identify their own location	B．locate the nearest bus station
C．find the nearest subway station	D．use an online map to avoid getting lost

小題4:We can conclude from the passage that ________.

A．the subway is the cheapest means of transport in London.

B．only Tube stations in Central London accept Oyster Card.

C．subway lines in London run no less than 19 hours a day.

D．the transfer from subway to bus is very convenient.

So there are four of them in this car heading north from Coleman in the heart of Texas to the town of Abilene (阿比林), some 53 miles away. It is a hot day, and the drive is dusty and boring. Someone has had the bright idea to interrupt a nice family game of dominoes (多米諾) to go on a four-hour round-trip to eat at a really not very good restaurant.
When they are back home again, one family member admits that she hasn’t enjoyed herself all that much. One by one they all confess that they would rather have stayed at home. “I only went along with it because I thought the rest of you wanted to go,” says everyone. No one wanted to go to Abilene. It had just happened.
This story was first told by Professor Jerry Harvey in an article published in 1974 called The Abilene Paradox (悖論) and other meditations on management. It offers a wonderful insight into the way that decisions can sometimes just emerge, without ever being consciously “made”.
Whether they mean to or not, groups exert a pressure to conform (順從). A senior management team can find itself a long way down the track to a bad decision without realizing that the idea has very little support around the table.
Close-knit (組織嚴密的) teams are easily influenced by the pull of groupthink. The late Professor Janis suggested several ways in which teams can avoid it. Two key steps are to invite experts from outside into meetings, and to appoint at least one person to the role of “devil’s advocate” — a role that should be played by different people in different meetings.
小題1:The four family members have decided to go on a four-hour round-trip to the town of Abilene because _______.

A．they really like the restaurant they are going to

B．they are tired of the game they have been playing

C．they have not been to Abilene for a long time

D．everyone thinks all the other family members want to go

小題2:When they are back home, they find that______.

A．they have not really trusted each other

B．they have all enjoyed the trip except one family member

C．they would have had a better time if they had stayed at home

D．they have all had a good time although none of them wanted to go

小題3:A senior management team can make a bad decision because ______.

A．the idea has the support of everyone around the table

B．everyone on the team is too tired to think clearly

C．the group puts a pressure to conform

D．they understand what each member means

小題4:According to Professor Janis, at least one person should be appointed to the role of “devil’s advocate ” at each meeting so that _______.

A．the pull of groupthink can be avoided

B．each member will play a different role

C．team members can agree with each other more easily

D．experts from the outside can be invited into meetings

The Body Temperature
The temperature of your body should be always just the same, no matter whether the weather is hot or cold. That is why the doctor uses his thermometer （溫度計）when your are sick.
The body keeps the same temperature all the time ,because it balances the heat it produces and it gives off. It is always burning up food and , producing heat. It can produce heat faster when it needs to give off heat than when it becomes too warm. Let’s see how this happen.
The heat of your body is given off mainly through the skin. When you are cold, your skin is tight and shows “good flesh”. When you get chilly, you must dance around to keep warm or else you will shiver. Then your muscles begin to work, burn up fuel, and produce more heat. It is not pleasant to shiver, so you usually prefer to warm up by exercise, or put on more clothes to keep heat in.
When you are warm, the skin is loose and soft. It is so supplied with blood that heat is given off rapidly. If you get too warm, you begin to sweat ,and more body heat is used in evaporating the moisture（水蒸氣） from your skin. You wear less clothing, too, in warm weather or warm room, so that warm can be given off freely. You feel less like exercising because your body is warm already, and the extra heat produced by exercise makes you uncomfortable.
You can see from the way you feel differently in different kinds of weather. In summer, when it is warm, you feel tired and lazy. You do not care to work or play, but enjoy lying and doing nothing. When you get out of doors in winter, the cold air makes you feel lively. You want to play.
小題1:Which is another title suitable of the passage?

A．The Patients’ Temperature

B．The Body Temperature Should Always Be the Same

C．The Body Temperature

D．The Temperature and Your Skin

小題2:How does the body keep the same temperature all the time?

A．It is always producing heat from food.

B．It gives off the heat produced in it.

C．It balances the heat it gets and loses.

D．It stops producing heat when necessary.

小題3:When one feels chilly, which of the following will he do?

A．His skin becomes tight in order to keep warm.

B．He does exercises to make his muscle produce more heat.

C．He puts on more clothes to keep heat in.

D．He keeps shivering to produce more heat.

小題4:When in summer, people prefer to_____.

A．work

B．play

C．do exercise

D．relax and do nothing

Everyone has got two personalities(個性)—one shown to the world and the other secret and real. You don't show your secret personality when you are awake because you can control your behavior, but when you are asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you are a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feeling. You are quiet, shy and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you are always easily upset. You're very stubborn(頑固的), but you aren’t very ambitious(有野心的). You usually live for today, not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled(卷曲) up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself, so you are often defensive. You are shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You are easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced(通情達理的) personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You are usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed(沮喪的). You always say what you think even if it annoys people.
小題1:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Two personalities.

B．Proper sleeping positions.

C．Sleeping positions and personalities.

D．Ways to tell your real personalities.

小題2:According to the text, you naturally show your secret  personality when_____.

A．you are awake

B．you are asleep

C．you can't control your behaviour

D．you change your sleeping position

小題3:Tom is used to sleeping on his side. Which of the following can NOT describe him?

A．Well-balanced.	B．Careful.
C．Selfish.	D．Anxious sometimes.

小題4:If you are shy and often defensive, you are used to sleeping____.

A．on your back	B．curled up
C．on your stomach	D．on your side

Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no difference. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.
Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.
First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.
But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.
Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.
小題1:The purpose of the text is to ________.

A．tell what the family do for Thanksgiving Day

B．tell how the family spends Thanksgiving Day

C．introduce foods served on Thanksgiving Day

D．introduce the American Thanksgiving Day

小題2:On Thanksgiving Day the author’s family do the following except ________.

A．watching a movie	B．making visits
C．having a big meal	D．watching football

小題3:Why does the author’s mind usually “go blank” when saying a prayer of thanks?

A．He is too thankful to say a word.	B．His mind is on the food before him.
C．He feels too excited to speak.	D．He is shy to speak in public.

小題4:The underlined phrase “dig in” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．chat with others	B．make a hole
C．mix things up	D．start eating

"Everybody loves a bargain．" One person’s useless, ugly, or broken object can be another person's bargain．That is why so many Americans do not throw things away．They put them outside their houses．They put on a "For Sale" sign．And, as simple as that, they have a yard sale.
The sellers put a paid announcement in a local newspaper．It tells, when and where the yard sale will take place．These sales are very popular during weekends in spring, summer, and autumn．Early in the morning, all the things to be sold are carried out of the house．Then they sit all day in the sunlight—like tired guests at a party—waiting for someone to take them home．
Just about anything can be sold at a yard sale．Sometimes, there are more clothes than anything else．Cooking equipment is also popular．So are old toys, tools, books, tables and chairs．
Then there are objects called "white elephants"．A white elephant is something you think is extremely ugly or useless．It may be an electric light shaped like a fish．You feel a sharp pain whenever you look at it．To someone else, however, it might be a thing of beauty and joy．
Some people go to yard sales to find a special thing that they collect．It may be old toy trains, for example, or paintings of dogs．Experts say more Americans are collecting old things now than ever before．Most people who go to yard sales, however, are not looking for anything special．They might buy an object simply because it costs so little. They enjoy negotiating（談判）over prices, even if they really do not need the object．Later, they may hold their own yard to sell all the things they have bought．
小題1:What kind of things will go to a yard sale?

A．Things people no longer use．	B．Things of great, value．
C．Things out of season．	D．Things of beauty and joy．

小題2:A white elephant refers to something _____．

A．that can cause a feeling of pain

B．disliked by the owners while appreciated by others

C．that looks like a golden fish

D．sold at the lowest prices in the old newspaper

小題3:Which of the following is NOT true about a yard sale?

A．It is held outdoors．	B．It may not be held on a cold day.
C．It can last for a whole day．	D．It is usually held with a party．

Hilton English Language Center
Information for New Students
CLASS TIME: 8:30a.m.—10:00a.m., 10:30a.m.—12:00a.m., 1:30p.m.—3:00p.m..
The Language Center is open Monday to Friday. Each class has one afternoon free per week. On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable.
SELF-ACCESS: The language laboratory (Room 1110) is open Monday to Friday from 3:15p.m. to 5:00p.m. for all full-time students.
You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing（文字處理）. There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English. Go in and ask the teacher to show you. If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with. There are cloze exercises on the computers. Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays. Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days.
ATTENDANCE（出勤）：All students are expected to attend classes as it is required. Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS. Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates（證書）when they finish their courses. It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa.
BOOKS: If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility. If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it.
If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books (Room 3520).
小題1:When do classes begin and end on a full day?

A．8:30a.m.—1:30p.m..	B．8:30a.m.—3:00p.m..
C．8:30a.m.—3:15p.m..	D．3:15p.m.—5:00p.m..

小題2:Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．No teachers are in the language lab.

B．90% attendance is required for the students.

C．Books can’t be taken out of the center.

D．Students can prepare for exams by listening to tapes.

小題3:The timetable can be seen in _____.

A．the lecture hall

B．Room 3520

C．the classroom

D．Room 1110

British Summer Time runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. In the depths of winter the nights in the UK are anything from 15-19 hours long. Longer nights mean frost and fog are more likely to form.
Twice a year the clocks change, forward in the spring and then back again in the autumn. But why? It happens twice a year. We all change our clocks and watches by one hour. In the spring, we add an hour, and go onto what is called British Summer Time, while in the autumn, we do the reverse, and return to Greenwich Mean Time.
Why bother?
It’s all to do with saving the hours of daylight, and was started by a guy called William Willett, a London builder, who lived in Petts Wood in Kent. Basically, he figured that you could improve the population’s health and happiness by putting forward the clocks by twenty minutes every Sunday in April and do the opposite in September.
Economics
His idea was not taken up, even though a “Daylight Saving Bill” was introduced some five years before the outbreak of World War One. But once the war started, it was considered wise to economics, to promote greater efficiency in using daylight hours, and in the use of artificial lighting. And so in 1916, “Daylight Saving Time” was introduced. Even though most countries abandoned this after that war, some eventually decided that it was a good idea, and most of these nations began to keep it throughout the year.
Experiment
Since 1972, Britain has decided to go with Greenwich Mean Time in winter, and British Summer Time in Summer.
But back in 1968, Britain tried a four-year experiment by advancing time one hour ahead of GMT throughout the year.
But those living further north, particularly in Scotland, found it most unsatisfactory, with dark mornings for much of the year, and the experiment was dropped.
But the arguments go on …and on.
小題1:Why some countries decide to change the clocks after World War One?

A．To improve the people’s health and happiness.

B．To do a certain experiment

C．To save energy to develop economies.

D．All of the above.

小題2:What can you infer from the passage?

A．The idea of changing the clocks suffered disagreement.

B．The people in Scotland don’t change the clocks.

C．The idea was first thought of by an educator.

D．It’s unnecessary to change the clocks.

小題3:What is the real meaning of the last sentence of the passage?

A．Nobody in the UK likes the idea.

B．All things need arguments.

C．The British are fond of arguments.

D．Different views of the idea still exist.