How do you usually buy what you need, shopping on line or going out to shop in person? With the help of the Internet, shopping is ___1.___(easy) than before. We can just click our mouse to choose the items we like, pay for them online, and the shopping ___2.___(finish). It is easy and quick. It helps save money, too. We can save thousands a year if we compare the prices of similar items before deciding ___3.___ to buy.

However, there are always traps in shopping online. If we are ___4.___(care), we may get into trouble. For example, we may find the color of the item different from ___5.___ in the picture online. Sometimes, the size of the item we receive can be too big ___6.___ too small. ___7.___(avoid) such troubles, we should compare similar items on different online stores and pay more attention to what other customers say. From their comments, we can know better ___8.___ an item’s color, size as well as ___9.___ shortcomings. In this way we increase our chance of buying ___10.___ more satisfactory item.

 

虎妈，美国耶鲁大学的华裔教授蔡美儿Amy Lynn Chua，出版了一本名叫《虎妈战歌》Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother的书，在美国引起轰动。在接受采访时，回答了记者的5个问题（第61—65题）。请从下列提问（A、B、C、D、E和F）中选出与她的回答相匹配的问题，并在答题卡上将相应选项涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。

Questions

A．What do you think of the competition between China and the US?

B．What do you think of the image of “tiger mom?”

C．How do your daughters take the criticism about you after your book was published?

D．You said you would not get her Christmas gifts or anything when your daughter refused to repeatedly practice the music. How did your husband respond?

E．What do you think makes a good mother?

F．What does your husband think of your method of bringing up kids?

1.       

Chua’s answer: Well, actually I think there are many ways of being a good mother. In my book my focus is just a memory about my own family story, me trying to raise my own children in a kind of traditional Chinese way. I make mistakes and I make fun of myself. It’s amazing the way the book has been received internationally, because. I didn’t intend my book to be telling other people of view and I am a proud strict “tiger mom”. But I’m not trying to tell other people what are the best ways to teach or raise their children.

2.       

Chua’s answer: Well, the title may sound a little frightening. Let me tell you why I chose the title. I was born in the year of the tiger. And “battle Hymn” in the United States comes from “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. The book is really about finding some sort of balance: how can we find the balance between the eastern way of parenting and the western way of parenting. In ways the book as been misunderstood maybe because of the title.

3.       

Chua’s answer: I didn’t write this book to have any foreign policy implications. But it’s been taken into the foreign policy realm. It is of course true that there is a connection between child-raising and the future of nations. We are raising, as parents, the next generation. So I think Henry is right. We tapped into this thing of insecurity, American’s fear about the rising power of china. A friend of mine told me that if the book had been called The Battle Hymn of an Italian Mother or The Battle Hymn of a Mexican Mother, nobody would have cared. It’s really “China”. you know.

4.       

Chua’s answer: I don’t think he opposes my idea of raising children. I’d like to think we have a combination, which is the right solution. You need a balance. From my perspective, what I give my kids is something that I thought was lacking in the US educational system. You know, they hate memorization, while in China you have too much of it. In the US, learning should be fun, a lot of games,. So I brought hard work and disciplines. My husband and I think this is a great thing always teaching them to question the authority and to ask why. Don’t accept everything just because somebody tells you. Figure it out yourself. I really think you need to combine both these qualities if you want creativity and dynamism.

5.       

Chua’s answer:  They both are stronger than I am. I am really proud of them. Their friends and communities supported them. At a time, I couldn’t even look at the Internet because there are so many negative comments. And they would find the good ones and text them to me, saying “here’s a good one mommy, hang in there.” This experience has actually brought my family together. Believe it or not, not just my kids, also my parents and my three younger sisters have supported me.

 

No budget for your vacation? Try home exchanges ---- swapping houses with strangers. Agree to use each other’s cars, and you can save dollars on car rentals (租赁费), too.

Home exchanges are not new. At least one group, Intervac, has been facilitating such an arrangement since 1953. But trading online is gaining popularity these days, with several sites in operation, including Home Exchanges. Founded in 1992, with some 28,000 listings, this company bills itself as the world’s largest home exchange club, reporting that membership has increased 30% this year.

The annual fee is usually less than US$100. Members can access thousands of listings for apartments, villas, suburban homes and farms around the world. Initial contact is made via e-mail, with subsequent communication usually by phone. Before a match is made, potential swappers tend to discuss a lot.

However, the concept may sound risky to some people. What about theft? Damage? These are reasonable causes for concern, but equally unlikely. As one swapper puts it, “Nobody is going to fly across the ocean or drive 600 miles to come steal your TV. Besides, at the same time they’re staying in your home, you are staying in their home.”

Exchange sites recommend that swappers discuss such matters ahead of time. They may fill out an agreement spelling out who shoulders which responsibilities if a problem arises. It does not matter if the agreement would hold up in court, but it does give the exchangers a little satisfaction.

Generally, the biggest complaint among home exchangers has to do with different standards of cleanliness. Swappers are supposed to make sure their home is in order before they depart, but one person’s idea of “clean” may be more forgiving than another’s. Some owners say if they come back to a less-than-sparkling kitchen, it may be inconvenient but would not sour them on future exchanges.

1.What is the second paragraph mainly about? 

A．How to exchange homes.

B．The biggest home exchange agency Intervac.

C．The fact that home exchanges are not new.

D．A contrast between Intervac and Home Exchanges.

2.How do home exchangers normally begin their communication?

A．By phone.            B．Via a matchmaker.

C． By e-mail.  D．Via a face-to-face meeting.

3.What is recommended in the passage to deal with the concerns about theft and damage?

A．One can file a lawsuit in court.

B．Both parties can trade online.

C．One can damage the home of the other party in return.

D．Both parties can sign an agreement beforehand. 

 

-- How do you find the dance music?.

--         .

A. My sister told me  B. By surfing the internet   C. Excellent  D. By chance

 

If you have ever gone through a toll booth(收费所), you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent affairs: You hand over some money; you might get change; you drive off.

　　Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward a booth. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.

　　"What are you doing?" I asked.

　　"I'm having a party," he said.

　　"What about the rest of the people?" I looked at the other toll booths.

　　He said, "What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths.

　　"They look like……toll booths. What do they look like to you?"

　　He said, "Vertical coffins. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."

　　I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. I could not help asking the next question: "Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."

He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that. I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, and the Berkeley hills. Half the Western world vacations here……and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing."

1.According to the first paragraph, in most cases, how do you describe the relationship between drivers and toll booth?

A．most intimate      B．very tense         C．pretty ordinary     D．extremely hostile

2.Why did the author go to San Francisco?

A. To attend a party

B. B. To have a meal

C. To dance with the worker in the toll booth

D. To hand in the repair fee of his car

3.The underlined name “Lazarus” mentioned in the eighth paragraph probably refers to a person___________.

A. who was very active in his life

B. B. who was dead and revived from death

C. who was going to San Francisco

D. who liked dancing at work

4.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．The author passed by the toll booth every day.

B．The worker enjoyed his work very much.

C．Only western people like to spend their holidays in the Berkeley hills.

D．The dancing worker was getting badly along with his colleagues.

5.After hearing what the worker said, the author would probably_________.

A．go to the worker’s senior to complain about his bad attitude towards job.

B．go climbing the Golden Gate and the Berkeley hills to have a vacation.

C．learn to take a positive attitude to job and appreciate valuable things in life.

D．go back home instead of wasting time traveling to San Francisco.