I love charity (慈善) shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of
them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to
electric goods,all at very good prices. You can get things you won't find in the shops anymore. The thing
I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of
profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted
goods.
     The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity's appeal to aid postwar
Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations (捐贈物). They decided do set up a
shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity
shops in the UK. My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find
children's books, all 10 or 20 pence each.
     Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who
gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see
bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don't encourage this, rather ask people
to bring things in when the shop is open.
     The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than ￡100 million a year, funding (幫助) medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children,
homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better place to spend your money? You get
something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and
tread lightly on the environment.

1.The first charity shop in the UK was set up to        .

A. raise money for patients
B. help a foreign country
C. sell cheap products
D. deal with unwanted things

2. Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?

A. 90% of the donations are second-hand.
B. They are open twenty-four hours a day.
C. The operating costs are very low.
D. The staff are usually well paid.

3. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

A. Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate.
B. The Public's Concem about Charity Shops.
C. What to Buy at Charity Shops.
D. Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development.

     People in the past made clay-pottery because they needed it for their lives. They used the pots they
made for cooking, storing food, and carrying things from place to place. Pottery was so important to the
early culture that scientists now study it to learn more about ancient civilizations. The more advanced the
pottery in terms of pictures, materials and making, the more advanced the culture itself.
     The artisan who makes pottery in North America today use his or her skill and imagination to create
items that are beautiful as well as useful, turning something ordinary into something special. The potter
uses one of the Earth's most basic materials, clay. Clay can be found almost anywhere. Good pottery
clay must be free from all small stones and other hard materials that would make the potting steps
difficult. Most North American artisan potters now buy ready-made clay in stores, but some find the clay
they need right in the earth, close to where they work.
     The most important tools potters use are their own hands; however, they also use wooden modeling
tools, plain wire, and sponges. Plain wire is used to cut away the finished pot from its vase on the potter's wheel.
      After a finished pot is dried of all its wet part in the open air, it is placed in a kiln and fired. The first
firing hardens the pottery, arid it is then ready to be glazed and fired again.
      For areas where they do not want any glaze, such as the bottom of the pot, artisans paint on melted
wax that will later bum off in the kiln. They then pour on the liquid glaze and let it run over the clay surface, making any kind of designs that they want.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss? 

A. Different kinds of clay          
B. The training of an artisan
C. The making of pottery              
D. The lives of people in the past

2. The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to             .     

A. clay      
B. pottery        
C. lives          
D. culture

3. According to the passage, how do most North American potters today get the clay they need?     

A. They buy it.                      
B. They make it. 
C. They dig it from the earth.      
D. They exchange for it.

4. According to the author, what do potters use to remove the pot from the wheel?  

A. Melted wax    
B. A plain wire        
C. potters own fingers  
D. fire

5. Which material is NOT used in the process of making a good pottery?

A.clay      
B. water      
C. kiln          
D. paint

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容,  從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng).選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng).
         1    From 18－25, according to I. Q. scores；but you are wiser and more  experienced with
increasing age.
     You are smartest in your 20's; around 30, your memory begins to go down, particularly your ability to
perform mathematical computations.    2     Your vocabulary at the age of 45, for example, is three times
as great as when you graduated from college. At 60, your brain possesses almost four times as much
information as it did at the age of 21.
         3   You have the best physical sense of yourself from 15 to 24; the best professional sense from 40
to 49.
Before the age of 24, we believe that our happiest years are yet to come；over 30,  we believe that they
are behind us. A National Health survey agrees: after the age of 30, we become more realistic and do
not view happiness as a goal in itself. If we maintain our health, achieve professional and emotional goals,
happiness, we feel, will follow.
        4   Generally between 30 and 39,  but the peak(頂峰) varies with different professions.
Mosart wrote a symphony (交響曲)  and four sonatas by the age of 8, and Mendelssohn composed his
bestknown work A Midsummer Night's Dream, at 17, but most of the great music  was written by men
between 33 and 39.
Though the peak in most fields comes early, most Nobel Prize winners did their top research in their late
20's and 30's-creative people continue to produce work with high quality throughout their lives      5  

A. When are you most creative (創(chuàng)造性的)?
B. When are you happiest?
C. When are you smartest?
D. Do you know what I. Q. refers to?
E. But your I. Q. for other tasks goes up.
F. Creative people usually produce a lot of works.
G. For the "wellconditioned mind",   there is no upper  limit.

     Everyone's at it, even my neighbors. I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn't
done an eBay deal. So, I decided to try my hand at online auction (網(wǎng)上拍賣).
     Buying for beginners: Sign up on www. ebay. co. uk. Most items(e.g. tables, computers, and
books)ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description; others may be marked with "
Buy It Now " and have a fixed price. You can buy these right away.
     If the item is being auctioned, you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids
(出價(jià))for you. The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid, then you are
emailed and asked if you would like to bid again. Auctions last up to 10 days and when they finish you
get an email telling you whether you have won the item.
     How to pay: Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a check or postal orders. The easiest way is through PayPal, an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card (信用卡).
     Selling made simple: If you plan to sell on eBay, it helps to include a picture of the item. I followed
my friends' advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction, starting on a Thursday. This way buyers had two weekends to bid.
     The big things in life: It's easy to post a small item, but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to
be collected or sent by delivery men. Check the ways of delivery before you bid.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. How to make payment online.
B. Ways of using delivery online.
C. Advantages of an online-auction system.
D. How to use an online-auction system.

2. After bidding for an item, a buyer __________.

A. will get what he wants in ten days
B. should make payment immediately
C. has chances to make higher bids
D. may check its picture and description

3. The easiest way of making payment mentioned in the passage is __________.

A. through an online payment system
B. through a local banking system
C. by sending the money to the seller
D. by paying the deliveryman directly

1. You needn't ask for permission when camping in __________.

A. national parks in England
B. most parts of Scotland
C. crowded lowland Britain
D. most parts of England

2. The author thinks that a good campsite is one __________.

A. with easy access      
B. used previously
C. with modern conveniences    
D. far away from beaches

3. The last paragraph mainly deals with __________.

A. protecting animals      
B. building a campfire
C. camping in woodland    
D. finding a campsite with privacy

4. The passage is mainly about __________.

A. the protection of campsites    
B. the importance of wild camping
C. the human influence on campsites
D. the dos and don'ts of wild camping

      Clothes can make phone calls, play music, dial your pal's number, keep you warm during cold
weather and operate your computer.
      This is not a fantasy. A British company, called electrotexiles, has created a wide range of
clothes-clothes tha have minds of their own ! Scientists, working for the company, have invented a
kind of fabric that can be mixed with flexible electronic materials to create intelligent clothing. The
results are electronic garments.
      If you think the weather has to be wired to different devices, think again. These designer clothes
are wirefree, soft to touch and washable! Like any electronic device, these hightech clothes have to
be powered. Currently, a tiny ninevolt battery serves the purpose. But the researchers hope that in the
near future the clothes will generate electricity by using body heat. These clothes are 100% shockproof,
they say.
      The electrotexiles team has also created the world's first cloth keyboard. These keyboard can be
sewn into your trousers or skirt. To use this device, you will have to sit down and tap on your lap!
These "laptap" devices are all set to take over laptop computers!
     Another useful garment is the shirtcummobile phone. This handy invention enables drivers to chat
comfortably with others at the wheel! Other popular electronic wears include the denim (牛仔布)
jacket with flexible earphones sewn into the hoop and the electronic ski jacket with a builtin heater. The
ski jacket is also programmed to send signals to a satellite. This technology is known as global positioning
system and can be used to track lost skiers and wandering kids.
     Having completed the cloth keyboard, scientists have already started to work on a new project-a
necktie that can be used as a computer mouse. What is the next? Do you have any idea?

1. The electronic garments are similar to other electronic devices in that ________.

A. they feel smooth and soft  
B. they use electricity as power
C. they can be washed in water  
D. they are made from flexible materials

2. How will researchers improve these hightech clothes?

A. Body heat will be used as power.
B. The wearer will not get shocked.
C. A tiny ninevolt battery will work.  
D. They will get charged automatically.

3. The main purpose of the text is________.

A. to advertise for an English company
B. to predict the future trend of the products in the company
C. to show how rapidly science develops
D. to introduce some intelligent (智能的) clothing in the company

4. It can be inferred that the author's attitude towards the company is ________.

A. negative (消極的)  
B. casual  
C. optimistic  
D. doubtful

Transport Guide
     The Brisbane City Council(BCC)is responsible for bus and ferry services within the city limits and
suburbs,Most buses will either arrive at the city or an interchange where connecting buses can be caught.
BCC buses operate from 5:30 am to 11:00 pm Monday to Thursday and 5:30 am to 12:00 am on
Fridays.On weekends and public holidays buses operate less frequently. Prepaid bus tickets can be
purchased from the QUT (Queensland University of Technology)bookshop,the campus newsagency.
most other newsagencies and general stores,and any BCC Customer Service Centre.Shortterm students
at QUT cannot use their ID cards to gain a discount fare on BCC public transport.You will need to buy
an adult ticket to travel.Bus fares are dependent on the number of zones you have to travel.There are
several types of tickets:

     Single:one way ticket to reach your destination,including transfers within 2 hours.
     Daily: unlimited travel within the zones.
     Offpeak Daily:discounted unlimited travel between 9:00 am and 3:30 pm and after 7:00 pm
     Monday to Friday,and all day on weekends and public holidays.
      Weekly:unlimited travel within the zones for one week from the date of issue.Monthly:unlimited
travel within the zones for one calendar month from the date of issue.
     Tentrip Saver: 10 trips at any time within the zones on buses and ferries only.
     Transport routes,timetables and fare information are available from:
     Public Transport Information Centre
     69 Ann Street (corner of George St)
     Brisbane City
     Phone 13 12 30(Transport Information Service)

1. The transport guide above is most likely provided by________.
A. Public Transport Information Centre

B. the Brisbane City Council
C. Queensland University of Technology.
D. BCC Customer Service Centres

2. We can learn from the passage that________.

A. buses are scheduled as usual on weekends and public holidays
B. regular students at QUT need to buy adult tickets
C. prepaid tickets can be bought from the Public Transport Information Centre
D. Tentrip Savers can be used at offpeak time

3. An exchange student staying at QUT for five days has to travel between zones every day.
    What type of ticket would he probably buy?

A. Single.  
B. Weekly.
C. Offpeak Daily.  
D. Tentrip Saver.

     We've all met with something that slows us down, for example, the bump(顛簸)in the road,the
setback. You just have to keep in mind that a setback is only temporary and greater things lie ahead.
Therefore, keep moving forward, developing what you have, since you've already built a solid
foundation on which you can rely.
     It is easy just to quit,give up and ignore the hard work you have put into something. But we believe
in the "two steps forward, one step back" philosophy (哲學(xué)). So how can you react when something
doesn't turn out as you've expected it to be?
     First,be objective. Step back and look at the situation. Is your setback really that significant,or will
it just require a little extra effort? Then, plan your next move. You can ask for help. Don't be afraid or
ashamed to do this. Frequently, people are more than willing to give you support and advice.You don't
have to be perfect; after all, nobody else is. Next, bounce back. Reevaluate the goals you have set for
yourself at the beginning and retool(改組) them as necessary. Goals should be realistic and specific,
but that doesn't mean they can't be flexible. Instead of looking at your project as a disaster or a failure,
view it with success. Concentrate on how great it will feel after it is finally done, after you have put your
all into it. Instead of focusing on a possible unsatisfactory performance one single time, take a moment
to sit back and reward yourself for all that you have accomplished.
     Above all,don't live with regrets. Success is never easy. It remains up to you whether you will give
up, or fight through the tough battles to earn whatever you want. Keep reaching for your goals and you
will achieve them. One small setback is nothing if you really want something and are willing to work for
it.

1. According to the passage, the philosophy"two steps forward, one step back" means that  ________
    when meeting with a setback.

A. we are supposed to quit and ignore the hard work
B. we'd better think it over before making a decision
C. we should stop to think before taking further action
D. we are expected to look at things in an allround way

2.  The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refers to________.

A. a performance    
B. a success
C. a goal  
D. a project

3. When suffering a setback,the most important thing to do is________.

A. to keep moving forward to your goals
B. to depend on others' support and advice
C. to sit back and reward yourself for your success
D. to focus on a possible unsatisfactory performance

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A. How to avoid the bumps.
B. How to deal with the setbacks.
C. Different attitudes to the setbacks.
D. Different suggestions on your goals.