请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line：hiring line standers, buying tickets from scalpers(票贩子), or purchasing line-cutting privileges directly from, say, an airline or an amusement park．Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue(waiting your turn)with the morals of the market(paying a price for faster service)．

　　Markets and queues-paying and waiting-are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities．The morals of the queue, “First come, first served, have an egalitarian(平等主义的)appeal．They tell us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets．

　　The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops．But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions．If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it's the first．Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards．

　　Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply．Think of the recorded message you hear, played over and over, as you wait on hold when calling your bank：“Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received．” This is essential for the morals of the queue．It's as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness．

　　But don't take the recorded message too seriously．Today, some people's calls are answered faster than others．Call center technology enables companies to “score” incoming calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places．You might call this telephonic queue jumping．

　　Of course, markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things．Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by chance．However, the tendency of markets to replace queues, and other non-market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore．It is striking that most of the paid queue-jumping schemes we’ve considered－at airports and amusement parks, in call centers, doctors’ offices, and national parks－are recent developments, scarcely imaginable three decades ago．The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern, but these are not the only places that markets have entered．

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请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants．Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company．Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state．With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention．And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required．

　　Sparrow failed to grow for another two years．Until a new CEO, Carl Pearson, decided to build up its market share．He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them．Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign．

　　Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand．The chain's owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy's restaurants．Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun．Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time．Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers’ speeding power．Finally, the owner accepted his idea．

　　The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast-food industry．The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original sons performed by a variety of stars．Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product, the intension was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers．

　　Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image．For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover．(营业额)

　　These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella．But designer Mikhail Belvacv doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet．That's why he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain sensing umbrella．

　　The designer says he come up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia．“once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street ad saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain．I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy(伞蓬)built into a street lamp．” he said．

　　The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy．It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand．Sensors(传感器)then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining．

　　In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360°motion sensor on the biberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone's using the lampbrella．After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed．

　　According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians．Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lighting strike．Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people．Being installed at 2 meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians．

　　While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyacv says he recently introduced his creation one Moscow Department, and insists this creation could be installed on my street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　George Gershwin, born in 1998, was one of America's greatest composers．He published his first song when the was eighteen years old．During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs．

　　Many of Gershwin's songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City．These palys were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s．Many of his songs have remained popular as ever．Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way-from jazz to country．

　　In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music．Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music．Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it．And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue．Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert．The audience were thrilled when they heard his music．It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular．

　　In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris．He applied to study composition(作曲)with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him．She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style．While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris．When it was first performed, critics(评论家)were divided over the music．Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring．But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States．It sill remains one of his most famous works．

　　George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer．He was only thirty-nine years old．Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages．People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Jimmy is an automotive mechanic, but he lost his job a few months ago．He has good heart, but always feared applying for a new job．

　　One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview．His appointment was at 10 am and it was already 8∶30．While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed ot be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre of his car．Obviously there was something wrong with the car．Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand．When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service．Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone in need, and he had to rush for an interview．Then the old man said, “Well, I could take you to the office for your interview．It's the least I could do．Please．I insist．” Jimmy agreed．

　　Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applications waiting to be interviewed．Jimmy still had some grease on him after the car repair, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt．One by one, the applicants left the interviewer's office with disappointed look on their faces．Finally his name was called．The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window．Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked, “Do you really need to be interviewed? ” Jimmy's heart sank．“With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview? ” he thought to himself．

　　Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy's surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning．It turned out he was the General Manager of the company．

　　“Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce before you even stepped into the office．I just know you'd be a trustworthy worker．Congratulations! ” Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job．

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请认真阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city．The building next door was only a few feet away from mine．There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading．

　　After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty．Everything was unclear through the dirty window．I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window．It really looks terrible．”

　　One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside．

　　Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest．What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible．Her window was clean!

　　Then it dawned on me．I had been criticizing(批评)her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window．

　　That was quite an important lesson for me．How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?

　　Since then, whenever I wanted to judge(评判)someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window? ” Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly．

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请认真阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Everyone who has eaten instant noodles(方便面)before knows how it looks like．It is very easy to cook it instantly by putting the noodles into the boiling water and add in those MSG(味精)packets(小包), together with your other food like eggs or vegetables．However, have you ever wondered whether this is the correct way of cooking it? When you first took out the noodles from the packaging, you will notice that the noodles are joined together nicely as a piece．In order to make the noodles joined together nicely side by side it needs some form of wax coating(石蜡涂层)in order to show an attractive instant noodles in front of us．Many people who enjoy eating instant noodles frequently do not really think too much of it as it seems very normal to everyone to have it nicely shown in front of us．However, researches have shown that the layer(层)of wax coating on the noodles is quite harmful to our body and we should not eat it too frequently．It is advisable to have a break of 2-3 days before we start to eat another packet of instant noodles as our body need about 3 days to clear that layer of wax coating away from our body system．Do you know the danger of having too much wax coating stored in our stomach? It will lead to CANCER if it is stored in our body system for a long period of time．

　　There are 2 key points to take note while preparing instant noodles：

　　1)Wash the instant noodles with warm water first, stir(搅和)it and pour away the water containing the wax coating．

　　2)Repeat Step 1 and try to stir the noodles again to wash away the wax coating on the noodles before cooking it in a new pot of water．

　　Hope this article will let more people have self-awareness of the hidden danger of instant noodles and thus eat safely and stay healthy．

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请认真阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Green is an important color in nature．It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees．It is also the color of most growing plants．

　　Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing．Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished．For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation．In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns(角)had not yet developed．A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle．By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today-a person who is new in a job．

　　Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb．The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds．A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well．You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died．

　　The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains．The new plants produced much larger crops．The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs．

　　Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒)．The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space．It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”．It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants．A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else．Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and she does not．

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请认真阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

In the past, when people had problems, they went to their families or friends to get advice．Today it is possible to get advice from radio shows, TV programs and telephone hot lines, too．A hot line is a telephone line that offers a direct way of getting in touch with advisers．Most hot lines are completely anonymous(匿名的)-callers do not have to say their names or telephone numbers．Most hot lines are usually free, too．Callers do not have to pay for the advice or the phone calls-even if the calls are long distance(距离)．At some hot lines, the advisers are volunteers(志愿者)．Other hot lines pay their advisers for their work．Usually the advisers are full-job people with years of education and experience, but sometimes, the advisers have only taken a short class before starting to work on the hot line．All the advisers listen to people and help them solve their problems．

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