In Western countries people have been using the installment plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large number of families in Great Britain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installments. In the U.S.A., the figure is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.

The price of an article bought on installments is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays one quarter or one third of the price as a down payment when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.

Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. It can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment. There is, however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment. If the people on the installment plan lose their jobs, they will probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts, there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit, it becomes more likely to have a depression. This is why, in some countries, the government controls the installment plan by fixing the amount of the down payment and installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan

1．Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the installment plan?

       A．A lot of British families use the installment plan.

       B．More than 10 percent American families buy things on installments.

       C．Americans depend more on installment than British people do.

       D．Americans spend one tenth of their income on installment buying.

2．Goods bought on installments are more expensive than goods bought by cash because       .

       A．the buyer has to pay extra money as interest

       B．the delivery of the goods charges extra money

       C．the buyer has to pay a down payment

       D．the service offered by installment plan charged extra money

3．What will happen to a buyer if he fails to make the full payment for an item bought on installments?

       A．He might lost his job.

       B．He will stop owning the item he has bought.

       C．He will have to sell what he has bought.

       D．He will go into debt.

4．The advantage of installment buying might include all the following EXCEPT that          .

       A．purchasing power is strengthened.

       B．employment might be increased

       C．people develop a good habit of saving money

       D．young couples are able to furnish their homes

5．In some countries, the governments control the installment plan to            .

       A．increase employment

       B．avoid depressions

       C．ensure that businesses make good profits

       D．ensure that people can pay for what they buy

    A few years ago a young mother watched her husband diaper (给…换尿布) their firstborn son. “You do not have to be unhappy about it,” she protested. “You can talk to him and smile a little.” The father, who happened to be a psychologist, answered firmly, “He has nothing to say to me, and I have nothing to say to him.”

    Psychologist now know how wrong that father was. From the moment of birth, a baby has a great deal to say to his parent and they to him. But a decade or so ago, these experts were describing the newborn as a primitive creature who reacted only by reflex, a helpless victim of its environment without capacity to influence it. And mothers accepted the truth. Most thought (and some still do) that a new infant could see only unclear shadows, that his other senses were undeveloped, and that all he required was nourishment, clean diapers, and a warm baby bed.

Today university laboratories across the country are studying newborns in their first month of life. As a result, psychologists now describe the new baby as perceptive (有感知的) , with remarkable learning abilities and an even more remarkable capacity to shape his or her environment including the attitudes and actions of his parents. Some researchers believe that the neonatal (新生) period may even be the most significant four weeks in an entire lifetime.

    Far from being helpless, the newborn knows what he likes and rejects what he doesn’t. He shuts out unpleasant sensations by closing his eyes or looking away. He is a glutton for novelty. He prefers animate things over inanimate and likes people more than anything.

When a more nine minutes out, an infant prefers a human face to a head-shaped outline. He makes the choice despite the fact that, with delivery room attendants masked and gowned, he has never seen a human face before. By the time he’s twelve hours old, his entire body moves in precise synchrony (同时发生) to the sound of a human voice, as if he were dancing. A non-human sound, such as a tapping noise, brings no such response.

1．The author points out that the father diapering his first-born son was wrong because________.

       A．he thought the baby was not capable of any response.

       B．he thought the baby didn’t have the power of speech

       C．he was a psychologist unworthy of his profession

       D．he believed the baby was not able to hear him

2．According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

       A．A new infant can see only unclear shadows.

       B．A new infant’s senses are undeveloped

       C．All a new infant requires is nourishment, clean diapers, and a warm baby bed.

       D．A new infant is actually able to influence his or her environment.

3．What does the sentence “He is a glutton for novelty” probably mean?

       A．The newborn is greedy for new food.

       B．The newborn tends to overeat.

       C．The newborn always loves things that are new to him.

       D．The newborn’s desire is a constant topic in novels.

4．According to the passage, it’s unreasonable to think that newborns prefer          .

       A．a human face to a head – shaped outline

       B．animate things to inanimate ones

       C．nourishment to a warm baby bed

       D．human voice to non – human sounds

5．What is the passage mainly discussing about?

       A．What people know about newborns.

       B．How wrong parents are when they handle their babies.

       C．How much newborns have progressed in about a decade’s time.

       D．Why the first month of life is the most significant four weeks in a lifetime.

    Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable prices, thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices. By drawing attention to new idea it helps enormously to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labor, and is therefore an effective way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services.              your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television license would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or tube would cost 20 percent more.

And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a guarantee of reasonable value in the products and services you buy. Apart from the fact that twenty – seven Acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. He might fool some people for a little while through misleading advertising. He will not do so for long, for mercifully the public has the good sense not to buy the article bad in quality more than once. If you see an article consistently advertised, it is the surest proof I know that the article does what is claimed for it, and that it represents good value.

1．What is the main idea of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words.)

2．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

    All the honest advertisers will stick to what they have promised in their advertisements.

3．Please fill in the blank in the first paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please answer within 5 words.)

4．Do you think advertising necessary or not? Why? (Please answer within 30 words.)

5．Translate the underlined sentence in the second paragraph into Chinese.

为了缓解交通压力，减少废气排放，保护环境，9月22日我国108个城市参加了“无车日”活动。你们学校要举行以“Is ‘No Cars Day’ worthwhile?”为题的讨论会。请你就此用英语写一篇120—150词的短文，发表自己的看法。

--- Put          waste bag in the dustbin.

---It's not        waste bag. It's my shopping bag.  

A. a, a            B. the, the           C. the, a           D. a, the

---Do you think the weather is good enough for an outing?

---Yes, you couldn't hope for         at the time of the year.

A. the nicer day   B. a nicer day         C. the nicest day    D. a nice day

It is the education         he received when studying abroad         has made him such an excellent manager.

A. that, that      B. that, which        C. what, that       D. which, which

The litter boy is dirty from head to foot because he        in the mud all morning.

A. has been playing                      B. was playing

C. is playing                            D. had been playing

I shall never forget those years       I lived in the country with the farmers,      has a great effect on my life.

A. that, which    B. when, which     C. which, that     D. when, who

--How can your seize the thief?

--I will spend the evening         in your room.

A. locking        B. lock              C. locked          D. being locked