“Everybody loves a bargain.” Is a well-known saying. 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 house.  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 over prices, even if they really do not need the object.  Later, they may hold their own yard sale to sell all the things they have bought

1. 1.

   What kind of things will go to a yard sale?

   1. A.
      Cheap and ugly things．
   2. B.
      Things people no longer use．
   3. C.
      Things out of season．
   4. D.
      Things of great value．
2. 2.

   A white elephant refers to ______ ．

   1. A.
      something that can cause n feeling of pain
   2. B.
      something disliked by the owners while appreciated by others
   3. C.
      something sold at the lowest price
   4. D.
      a toy shaped like a fish
3. 3.

   Most people go to yard sales to ______ ．

   1. A.
      find Valuable paintings
   2. B.
      look for something special
   3. C.
      find a bargain
   4. D.
      kill their time
4. 4.

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

   1. A.
      It may not be held when the weather is very cold．
   2. B.
      It can last for a whole day．
   3. C.
      It is usually held with a party．
   4. D.
      It is held outdoors．
5. 5.

   We can infer from the last paragraph that ______ ．

   1. A.
      people may find something of great value on a yard sale
   2. B.
      yard sales only attract those who have a low income
   3. C.
      things on a yard sale can cost people a lot
   4. D.
      most people who go to yard sales want to make money

My father enjoys bike riding．Ever since I was little, I've always loved going hiking with my dad．   36  , as I became a teenager, other things began to draw my  37  ．Suddenly, it was important to do things with  38 ．I saw my dad every evening at home．Why did I have to  39 my Sundays:, to all day bike trips with him, too? If my indifference （冷漠） hurt him, my father kept  40  , but he would always let me know when he was planning a bike trip  41   I wanted to come．

       It was a Sunday morning, and I was in low   42   ．Two of my friends had gone to the movies without inviting me．Just then my father  43   my room．"It's a beautiful day．

Want to go for a   44  , today, Beck?” “Leave me alone!” I impatiently   45  . Those were the last words I said to him before he left the house that   46  .

Several hours later, the police called us,   47   us that Dad had a traffic accident. My father’s injuries were serious. It took several days before he could   48   speak. Beside his bed I held his hand gently,   49   of hurting him.

“Daddy … I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay.”

“No,” I said, “I   50  what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t   51   anything about that day. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though.” He   52   a weak smile.

I felt regretful for my thoughtless remark, for I   53  wanted him to leave me alone. My teacher once told me that   54   have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the   55   to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.

A．Therefore      B．Instead     C．Besides     D．However

A．attention      B．sight      C．effort      D．energy

A．Dad           B．friends      C．teachers    D．brothers

A．start           B．save      C．devote      D．waste

A．silent         B．busy      C．asleep       D．awake

A．unless        B．in case      C．so that      D．as if

A．spirits        B．conditions C．states     D．hopes

A．left         B．checked    C．entered     D．knocked

A．ride           B．walk      C．picnic       D．game

A．whispered    B．warned     C．announced       D．shouted

A．moment       B．morning   C．afternoon  D．evening

A．convincing  B．reminding C．informing D．phoning

A．eventually   B．generally  C．strictly      D．broadly

A．tired        B．afraid           C．aware       D．sorry

A．discuss     B．think     C．care       D．mean

A．hate         B．forget       C．remember D．like

A．got          B．expressed  C．exchanged D．managed

A．often        B．never     C．even      D．once

A．apologies     B．promises   C．smiles       D．words

A．experience   B．honor       C．power       D．desire

My father enjoys bike riding． Ever since I was little，I’ve always loved going biking with my dad．     16    ，as I became a teenager，other things began to draw my     17    ． Suddenly，it was important to do things with     18    ． I saw my dad every evening at home． Why did I have to    19    my Sundays to all­day bike trips with him，too？If my indifference （冷漠） hurt him，my father kept    20    ，but he would always let me know when he was planning a bike trip    21    I wanted to come．

    It was a Sunday morning，and I was in low    22    ． Two of my friends had gone to the movies without inviting me． Just then my father    23    my room． “It’s a beautiful day． Want to go for a    24    , today, Beck?” “Leave me alone!” I impatiently     25    ．

Those were the last words I said to him before he left the house that    26    ．

    Several hours later，the police called us，    27    us that Dad had a traffic accident． My father’s injuries were serious． It took several days before he could    28    speak． Beside his bed I held his hand gently,     29    of hurting him．

    “Daddy．．．I’m sorry．．．” “It’s okay, sweet heart． I’ll be okay．”

“No,” I said, “I    30    what I said to you that day． You know, that morning?”

    “Sweetheart, I don’t    31    anything about that day． I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though．” He    32    a weak smile．

I felt regretful for my thoughtless remark, for I    33     wanted him to leave me alone． My teacher once told me that    34    have immeasurable power． They can hurt or they can heal． And we all have the    35    to choose our words． I intend to do that very carefully from now on．

16.   A． Therefore　        B． Instead                 C． Besides            D． However

17.   A． attention            B． sight                     C． effort              D． energy

18.   A． Dad                B． friends                 C． teachers            D． brothers

19.   A． start               B． save                     C． devote             D． waste

20.   A． silent              B． busy                     C． asleep              D． awake

21.   A． unless              B． in case                  C． so that              D． as if

22.   A． spirits              B． conditions             C． states              D． hopes

23.   A． left                B． checked                C． entered              D． knocked

24.   A． ride               B． walk                    C． picnic               D． game

25.   A． whispered          B． warned                 C． announced           D． shouted

26.   A． moment            B． morning                C． afternoon            D． evening

27.   A． convincing         B． reminding              C． informing            D． phoning

28.   A． eventually           B． generally               C． strictly              D． broadly

29.   A． tired　 　          B． afraid                    C． aware               D． sorry

30.   A． discuss            B． think                     C． care                D． mean

31.   A． hate              B． forget                   C． remember           D． like

32.   A． got               B． expressed              C． exchanged           D． managed

33.   A． often              B． never                    C． even                D． once

34.   A． apologies          B． promises               C． smiles              D． words

35.   A． experience          B． honor                    C． power              D． desire

       My father enjoys bike riding．Ever since I was little, I've always loved going biking with my dad．   1  , as I became a teenager, other things began to draw my  2  ．Suddenly, it was important to do things with  3 ．I saw my dad every evening at home．Why did I have to  4 my Sundays to all day bike trips with him, too? If my indifference （冷漠） hurt him, my father kept  5  , but he would always let me know when he was planning a bike trip  6   I wanted to come．

       It was a Sunday morning, and I was in low   7   ．Two of my friends had gone to the movies without inviting me．Just then my father  8   my room．"It's a beautiful day．

Want to go for a   9  , today, Beck?” “Leave me alone!” I impatiently   10  . Those were the last words I said to him before he left the house that   11  .

Several hours later, the police called us,   12   us that Dad had a traffic accident. My father’s injuries were serious. It took several days before he could   13   speak. Beside his bed I held his hand gently,   14  of hurting him.

“Daddy … I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay.”

“No,” I said, “I   15  what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t   16   anything about that day. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though.” He   17   a weak smile.

I felt regretful for my thoughtless remark, for I   18  wanted him to leave me alone. My teacher once told me that   19  have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the   20   to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.

1．A．Therefore              B．Instead                C．Besides               D．However

2．A．attention                B．sight                   C．effort                  D．energy

3．A．Dad                      B．friends                C．teachers              D．brothers

4．A．start                     B．save                    C．devote                 D．waste

5．A．silent                    B．busy                   C．asleep                 D．awake

6．A．unless                   B．in case                C．so that                D．as if

7．A．spirits                   B．conditions            C．states                  D．hopes

8．A．left                       B．checked              C．entered                D．knocked

9．A．ride                      B．walk                   C．picnic                 D．game

10．A．whispered           B．warned                C．announced           D．shouted

11．A．moment               B．morning              C．afternoon            D．evening

12．A．convincing          B．reminding            C．informing            D．phoning

13．A．eventually            B．generally              C．strictly                D．broadly

14．A．tired                    B．afraid                  C．aware                 D．sorry

15．A．discuss               B．think                   C．care                    D．mean

16．A．hate                    B．forget                  C．remember            D．like

17．A．got                     B．expressed            C．exchanged           D．managed

18．A．often                   B．never                  C．even                   D．once

19．A．apologies             B．promises             C．smiles                 D．words

20．A．experience           B．honor                  C．power                 D．desire

In today’s society, a college degree tells little about what you know in comparison to what it tells about what you can learn. For example, the IT world is constantly changing. Anything you learn today will probably be useless in a few short years. The point is to learn to learn.

Blogging（写博客）works exactly the same way. And I believe this to be true regardless of your end goal. If you’re trying to make money, this is very clear. There’s always more money to be made. If you’re teaching on a subject, you are constantly looking for new information to share. Even if you’re just sharing your words with others for pleasure, you’re continuously improving your writing and storytelling so people don’t get bored of you.

This is one of the reasons that bloggers burn out. They forget this. They think they have an unlimited amount of content just waiting to burst from their brain. They get comfortable. Then they start to run out of juice. Sure, at times it seems that some bloggers just have it. They are experts in their fields and will simply feed us with invaluable content forever. But this is not true. Pay attention. Even famous bloggers would run out of content eventually without constant learning.

The point is easy to see. Don’t think you’ve succeeded. There is no summit. What happens when someone thinks they’ve hit the summit? They quickly begin falling down the other side. Always be learning from your experiences. See what posts work for your readers. Which get the best response? Which are completely ignored? Which bring in the most Google traffic, or get the most Absence clicks? Don’t settle or your blog will close for ever eventually.

72．Judging from the article, if you have got a college degree, say, in engineering, it means _______.

       A. you’re good at engineering                            B. you’ve finished learning engineering

       C. you’ve chosen to learn engineering                 D. you can find work relating to engineering      

73．The writer thinks Blogging works in a way that it requires the writers to _______.

       A. be constant learners                                      B. have academic degrees

       C. keep on writing                                            D. know everything before starting

74．The writer uses the word “it” in the underlined sentence “Sure, at times … have it” to refer to _______.

       A. the failure in keeping on writing                     B. the knowledge needed for blogging forever

       C. the ability of constant learning                       D. the comfort enjoyed from blogging

75．The questions in the last paragraph are asked to advise bloggers on how to _______.

       A. learn from their experiences                          B. learn from others

C. update their knowledge                                 D. reach blogging summit