For shopoholics, the post-Christmas period means only one thing ---- sales! Across the country, prices are reducing sharply on clothing, electronics and home furniture, but London is the place for serious shopping, and you can certainly pick up some amazing bargains.

The sales start on Boxing Day — 26th December, and continue for the month of January, but the keenest bargain hunters get there early to be first through the doors. In Oxford Street queues formed outside shops ahead of before-dawn openings for the start of their sales. At Brent Cross, in north London, more than 1,000 people were queuing at 3.30 am for the ‘Next’ clothing store’s sale which began at 4 am. Some eager individuals even camped outside the shops to be first in the line.

Consumers who hit the shops were rewarded with discounts of as much as 80% as department stores joined the bargain sales. The shops are very crowded as the sales reached the boiling-point, with more than half a million people gathering on London’s West End.

Famous sales include the biggest, most popular shops such as Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and John Lewis. Department stores are always a good bet — you’re likely to find everything you need under one roof, including much-needed food and drinks!

It’s a good time to stock up on cheap small tools, and there’s no better time to invest in some designer clothes.

Some people are taking their partners shopping with them, and buying their Christmas presents in the sale----a practical but unromantic way of making sure you get the gift you really want. For a less exciting but less stressful shopping experience, online sellers are also getting in on the act with January sales of their own.

The most organized of all are those who are already doing their present shopping for next Christmas, in the January sales!

In the sales, people can buy, at a very low price, all of the following except ______.

       A. fashionable clothing  B. bestseller      C. TV sets            D. bookcases

We can learn from the passage that the sales ______.

       A. actually start before the end of December B. generally last for two months

       C. basically benefit none of the people      D. are a time to buy Christmas gifts in a romantic way

“Hit the shops” in the third paragraph means to ______.

       A. attack the shops        B. arrive at the shops

       C. affect the shops         D. find the shops

     What is the best title for this passage?

       A. January Sales                       B. Sales in London at Christmas

       C. Practical but Unromantic Shopping  D. Shopping under One Roof

It was the old lady's birthday. She got up early to be ready for the post. From the second floor flat she could see the postman when he came down the street, and a little boy, Johnnie, _ _31___ her letters from the ground floor on the rare_ _32___ when anything came.
    Today she was sure there would be something. Myra_ _33___ forget her mother's birthday, even if she _ _34___ wrote at other times. Of course Myra was busy, but _ _35___, Enid, the daughter the old lady loved most, died two years ago. Since then Myra had been to see her mother three times, but her husband, Harold, never. 

The old lady was eighty today. She had put on her best dress. Perhaps--perhaps Myra might come. After all, eighty was a _ _36___ birthday, another decade lined or tolerated just as you chose to look at it. _ _37___Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was _ _38___ of that. Two spots of colour _ _39___ her cheeks. She was _ _40___ like a child. She would enjoy her day!
    Now, she stood by the window, _ _41___. The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat _ _42___. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate. Then clatter (咔嗒声), clatter up the stairs. Johnnie knocked at her door. He had got her post---four envelopes. Three were unclosed cards from old friends. The fourth was closed, in Myra's writing. The old lady felt a sharp pain of _ _43___.There was no parcel for her! Maybe the parcel was too large to come by letter post. That was it. It would come later by parcel post. She said to herself. She must be _ _44___.

Almost _ _45___she tore the envelope open. _ _46___in the card was a piece of paper. Written on the card was a message under the printed Happy Birthday --- Buy yourself something nice with the _ _47___, Myra and Harold. The cheque moved quickly to and fro in the air to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady _ _48___to pick it up. Her present! her _ _49___ present! With _ _50___fingers she tore it into little bits.

31. A. took away        B. brought up          C. moved off       D. set down

32. A. occasion         B. opportunity          C. ceremony       D. anniversary

33. A. mustn’t          B. mightn’t            C. wouldn’t        D. needn’t

34. A. occasionally      B. always              C. almost          D. seldom

35. A. unhappily        B. unfortunately         C. unforgettably    D. unkindly

36. A. casual           B. remote              C. special          D. conventional

37. A. Even if          B. So that         C. In case             D. Now that

38. A. proud           B. capable         C. sure               D. afraid

39. A. sharpened        B. weakened      C. widened           D. brightened

40. A. excited          B. alarmed        C. inspired           D. satisfied

41. A. thinking          B. imagining       C. welcoming       D. watching

42. A. steadily           B. wildly         C. nervously         D. randomly

43. A. discontent         B. loneliness      C. disappointment     D. annoyance

44. A. patient            B. anxious       C. urgent             D. mild

45. A. immediately       B. cheerfully      C. angrily            D. unwillingly

46. A. Pinned           B. Folded         C. Lined             D. Roped

47. A. card             B. bonus          C. cheque            D. cash

48. A. bent             B. leaned          C. struggled          D. stretched

49. A. painful           B. sad            C. expensive          D. lovely

50. A. moving          B. trembling        C. reacting           D. freezing

For shopoholics, the post-Christmas period means only one thing ---- sales! Across the country, prices are reducing sharply on clothing, electronics and home furniture, but London is the place for serious shopping, and you can certainly pick up some amazing bargains.
The sales start on Boxing Day — 26th December, and continue for the month of January, but the keenest bargain hunters get there early to be first through the doors. In Oxford Street queues formed outside shops ahead of before-dawn openings for the start of their sales. At Brent Cross, in north London, more than 1,000 people were queuing at 3.30 am for the ‘Next’ clothing store’s sale which began at 4 am. Some eager individuals even camped outside the shops to be first in the line.
Consumers who hit the shops were rewarded with discounts of as much as 80% as department stores joined the bargain sales. The shops are very crowded as the sales reached the boiling-point, with more than half a million people gathering on London’s West End.
Famous sales include the biggest, most popular shops such as Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and John Lewis. Department stores are always a good bet — you’re likely to find everything you need under one roof, including much-needed food and drinks!
It’s a good time to stock up on cheap small tools, and there’s no better time to invest in some designer clothes.
Some people are taking their partners shopping with them, and buying their Christmas presents in the sale----a practical but unromantic way of making sure you get the gift you really want. For a less exciting but less stressful shopping experience, online sellers are also getting in on the act with January sales of their own.
The most organized of all are those who are already doing their present shopping for next Christmas, in the January sales!
【小题1】In the sales, people can buy, at a very low price, all of the following except ______.

Twelve years ago, when I was 50,I wondered what 60 or 70 would be like? I looked around and saw only one style of living. It’s not fair, I thought. Young people have so many styles to choose from, but older people have just one choice. So I decide to do something about it , something practical.

I worked on my fitness by joining exercise classes in town. A few years later, my husband and I moved to a retirement community, and I wanted to teach aerobic（有氧运动的）classes. The community center wouldn’t give me a room to teach in, so I had to walk around and find any available empty room.

One day, the community center staff came to me and asked if I would help with the entertainment for a Hawaiian luau（夏威夷式宴会）they were putting on. I said yes. Then I talked five other ladies into dancing with me. We performed the hula（呼啦舞）and a war chant and brought the house down. Someone had a camera and took pictures, and then sent them to our local paper. We got requests for more engagements, which in turn led to more publicity and yet more engagements. Soon we had invitations from all over the country. The Dancing Grannies were born!

??? I think the real secret of the Dancing Grannies is out attitude. I was raised extremely poor ---no-food poor. If we wanted toys we had to make things up to play with ,so I learned early to be very creative. And you know,I think being poor was one of the best things that ever happened to me because I learned to look for treasures.

That’s what I’m still doing today—looking for the treasure in growing old. I’m getting better and better.

It’s true that antiques have to be treated a bit differently, with a little care, but they still have a beauty of their own.?

1.What did the writer think of the living style of the older people when she was 50?

A. Unsatisfying?????? B. Favorable??????? C. Pleasant??????? D. Practical

2.Why did the writer have to walk around and find an empty room?

A. Because she couldn’t offer an expensive room.

B. Because she wasn’t given a room to teach in by the community center.

C. Because she wanted to find a better one.

D. Because she wanted to keep fit by walking.

3.What can we infer from the writer’s performance???

A. It was just so-so.??? B. It was a failure.??

C. It was average.???? D. It was a success.

4.What made the writer learn to look for treasures?

A. Being active?????? B. Being creative????

C. Being rich???????? D. Being poor

5.What does the underlined word “antiques” (in the last paragraph) refer to???

A. Ancient treasures?? B. Poor children

C. Old people??????? D. The Dancing Grannies

For shopoholics, the post-Christmas period means only one thing ---- sales! Across the country, prices are reducing sharply on clothing, electronics and home furniture, but London is the place for serious shopping, and you can certainly pick up some amazing bargains.

The sales start on Boxing Day — 26th December, and continue for the month of January, but the keenest bargain hunters get there early to be first through the doors. In Oxford Street queues formed outside shops ahead of before-dawn openings for the start of their sales. At Brent Cross, in north London, more than 1,000 people were queuing at 3.30 am for the ‘Next’ clothing store’s sale which began at 4 am. Some eager individuals even camped outside the shops to be first in the line.

Consumers who hit the shops were rewarded with discounts of as much as 80% as department stores joined the bargain sales. The shops are very crowded as the sales reached the boiling-point, with more than half a million people gathering on London’s West End.

Famous sales include the biggest, most popular shops such as Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and John Lewis. Department stores are always a good bet — you’re likely to find everything you need under one roof, including much-needed food and drinks!

It’s a good time to stock up on cheap small tools, and there’s no better time to invest in some designer clothes.

Some people are taking their partners shopping with them, and buying their Christmas presents in the sale----a practical but unromantic way of making sure you get the gift you really want. For a less exciting but less stressful shopping experience, online sellers are also getting in on the act with January sales of their own.

The most organized of all are those who are already doing their present shopping for next Christmas, in the January sales!

1.

In the sales, people can buy, at a very low price, all of the following except ______.

    A. fashionable clothing         B. bestseller     

C. TV sets                      D. bookcases

2.

 We can learn from the passage that the sales ______.

    A. actually start before the end of December B. generally last for two months

    C. basically benefit none of the people              

D. are a time to buy Christmas gifts in a romantic way

3.

 “Hit the shops” in the third paragraph means to ______.

    A. attack the shops                 B. arrive at the shops

    C. affect the shops                 D. find the shops

4.

    What is the best title for this passage?

    A. January Sales                    B. Sales in London at Christmas

    C. Practical but Unromantic Shopping D. Shopping under One Roof