Governments all over the world make public reports about the condition of their economies. Most countries, including the United States, have used a measure called the gross national product (国民生产总值)or GNP. It includes all goods and services produced by citizens of the country anywhere in the world.

  Recently the American Commerce Department has started using a new method to measure production. It is known as the gross domestic product（国内生产总值）or GDP. It counts only goods and services that have been produced within the nation’s borders. Money earned by foreign companies operating in the United States is included in the GDP, but money earned by American companies operating in other countries is not.

  Economic experts generally approve of the change. They say that the gross domestic product provides a truer measure of the economy. They also note that most other industrial countries use this method. Therefore it will be easier to study the economies of different countries. Some officials also hope the new system will help them make better economic policy decisions. It will provide them with a clearer understanding of economic activity in the U.S. . The new measure is less likely to be affected by sudden changes in foreign oil prices or in the value of the American dollar in other countries.

  Economic experts believe that the change from GNP to GDP will immediately reduce the value of American production by at least 40,000 million dollars a year. But that is really a very small change in the American economy – less than 1% . The Commerce Department reports the unofficial gross domestic product once every three months. The government also continues to report GNP as it has four times a year since 1941.

1.To report the American GNP, the government should not consider goods and services produced _______.

A. by American companies at home         

B. by American companies in China

C. by American companies in Singapore     

D. by Japanese companies in the United States

2.To report the American GDP, the Commerce Department should count money earned ________.

A. by both American and foreign companies in America

B. by American companies within its own borders

C. by foreign companies in the United States

D. by American companies in its foreign markets

3.GDP is considered better than GNP by some economists because ________.

A. it is something new                     

B. it is used by most countries

C. it is easier to calculate                  

D. it is less likely to be affected by the foreign market

4.What will happen to the value of American economy if GDP is used to replace GNP?

A. It will be seriously affected.                B. It will not be affected.

C. It will come down a little.                   D. It will slightly go up.

5.How often are the reports of GDP issued by the American Commerce Department?

A. once every four months                           B. once every three months

C. once every six months                   D. once a year

 

Italian Lakes and Greek Islands (12 Days)

Your tour begins in Milan, Italy(意大利), and moves on to the pretty Italian Lake District and the attractive resort(胜地)of Stresa, your home for two nights. Collette Vacations has carefully chosen the Costa Victoria as your home for your 7—night journey along the waterways of the Mediterranean. The cruise ship is filled with the warmth and culture of Italy and is richly designed with entertainment(娱乐)areas and very good living conditions. It will take you to the places of your dreams.

You’ll spend 4 days touring Greek cities you’ve always heard about. In Katakolon, you will have an exciting tour to nearby Olympia without a guide. Then with a local guide you will visit the Greek islands of Santorini, which is often related to the story of the lost city of Atlantis, and Mykonos, a wonderful island with beautiful beaches.

Your journey ends in Verona, home of the love story Romeo and Juliet, with a fun—filled Goodbye dinner—a perfect ending to a pleasant journey.

12 Days, 25Meals: 10 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 9 Dinners

Day 1         Overnight flight to Italy

Days2—3       Regina Palace, Stresa, Italy

Days4—10     Costa Victoria ( Costa cruises)

Day 11        Hotel Leopardi, Verona, Italy

Day12        Leave for home

Please Note:

Leaving date	Price for one person
April 7	$2,099
June 2	$2,199
October 6	$2,099
November 3	$1,999

1.How is the journey planned?

A．It starts and ends in Italy.

B．It starts and ends in Greece.

C．It starts in Italy and ends in Greece.

D．It starts in Greece and ends in Italy.

2.What can be inferred from the travel plan?

A．The price may get lower than those in the plan.

B．The prices include three meals a day.

C．The price is the highest in summer.

D．The prices include entertainment service.

3.What does the underlined part “ the Costa Victoria” most probably refer to?

A．A famous hotel.                         B．A beautiful resort.

C．A comfortable ship.                      D．A long—distance bus.

4.Tourists will travel on their own in              .

A．Stresa            B．Olympia           C．Mykonos          D．Verona

 

As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend (趋势) in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture(家具) for our living room.” Says John Ross, “and we just didn’t have enough money to afford it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $ 420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourself”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
【小题1】We can learn from the text that many newly married people _______.

A．find it hard to pay for what they need

B．have to learn to make their own furniture.

C．take DIY courses run by the government.

D．seldom go to a department store to buy things

【小题2】John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _____

A．run a DIY shop	B．make or repair things
C．save time and money	D．improve the quality of life.

【小题3】 When the writer says Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ____

A．makes shoes in his home	B．does extra work at night
C．does his own car and home repairs	D．keeps house and looks after his children

Tom, Mary, Jason, Ann 和Juliet想根据各自的兴趣爱好挑选自己喜欢阅读的文章。阅读下面某杂志的文章摘要（A----F），选出适合他们阅读的文章。选项中有一项是多余选项。

A. The Forbidden City, situated in the heart of Beijing, is the largest and the most complete imperial palace and ancient building complex in China. It was home to 24 emperors of the Ming (1368—1644) and Qing (1616—1911) dynasties. The construction of the palaces in the Forbidden City began in 1406. The project spread over 15 years and was not completed until 1470. Most of the buildings in the Forbidden City were rebuilt many times, although they maintained the original style.

B. Mount Tai, the leader of the “Five Sacred Mountains”, is located in the center of Shandong Province, spanning the ranges of Tai’an and Jinan. It covers an area of 550 square kilometers, and its main peak is about 1,532.7 meters high. Mount Tai is a natural museum with many cultural relics and artwork like Heavenly Queen Pool, Red Gate Palace and Mid-Heaven Gate. Besides historic relics, Mount Tai has unique natural scenery.

C. Each year, forecasts of when the blossoms will open are headline news. The information is used by cities to plan cherry blossom festival, travel agencies to schedule tours, and ordinary people to choose dates for parties involving lots of eating and drinking under the trees.

D. Hong Kong is perhaps the best shopping place in the world with reasonable prices, various products and best service. In Hong Kong, shopping is not only a “social activity” but also an important part of recreation and a way of life. Visitors can enjoy the shopping environment and experience the fashion trend.

E. The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans because of the unstable soil on which it was built. The construction started in 1173. The building began to lean as soon as the first three floors were completed. Nevertheless, building continued, and the seven-story structure was finished between 1360 and 1370. It leans a bit more each year, and it was closed for repairs in 1990. Engineers worked to stabilize the foundation and straighten it slightly to prevent damage.

F. Centuries ago, the African elephant inhabited most of the African continent. Today, elephants are found only in the south of the Sahara. As a result of the habitat loss, along with poaching（偷猎）, the number of elephants has greatly declined. The decline has caused serious concern about the long-term survival of the species.

以下是Tom, Mary, Jackson, Ann 和Juliet各自的兴趣爱好的描述。请匹配最适合他们喜欢阅读的文章。

1.Tom is a history teacher at Wuhan University. He has a strong desire of studying the ancient Chinese architecture.

2.Mary is a volunteer, who supports and encourages people to protect wild animals and plants.

3.Jason is a student of Houston University. He dreams of seeing Japanese cherry blossoms with his friends. After graduation, he will go on a trip to Japan.

4.Ann is an energetic girl who loves climbing mountains. She said, “Climbing a mountain is hard work, but the higher I climb, the more wonderful my view is.”

5.Juliet often buys new clothes and shoes alone or accompanied by a friend. When she feels annoyed about a matter, going shopping always makes her relaxed.

 

 1.  One of these things is shopping. You can do your shopping from the comfort of your living room if you have a computer and an Internet connection. Most people enjoy shopping but some try to keep it as simple as possible. Shopping online is ideal for the people who find shopping difficult.

The main advantage of online shopping is that you are able to look through various different items without leaving your home. On the internet, you can find all kinds of things.   2. Also, you can compare the prices of the items. Thus, you can save a lot of money.

When doing online shopping, it's important to make use of a search engine. There are shopping directories (公司名录） that detail the available online shopping sites.    3.  There are probably thousands of sites available on the Internet. Many of the shopping sites operate on the same pattern.

It is also beneficial to you that you can order many items and they will be sent to your houses. You don't need to worry about transportation and shipping. This is because most online shopping sites will deliver the items to your doorstep.    4.   This will save you money in the end.

Online shopping is convenient and saves shoppers a lot of time. You save the time that you would have used to drive to a discount store together with your children who shout for everything they see.    5.  Also, you save the money spend on gas driving to the discount store.

A．You can avoid this by just clicking your mouse.

B．Be careful and don't let out your personal information.

C．You can chat with the owners of the online shopping sites.

D．With the coming of the Internet, many things have become easier.

E.In some cases, online shopping sites provide free shipping for shoppers.

F.Most shopping directories contain customers' reviews on shoppers.

G.It can help when you are shopping for something that is hard to find.