How should one invest a sum of money in these clays of inflation (通货膨胀)? Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.
I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life. "The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people's wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves（奴隶）."
Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time. Certain men were very clever at measuring（量） the time of clay according to the beating of their own hearts. They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout tire time. So it seems that the first clocks were human beings.
However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable（可靠的） ways of telling the time. They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun. They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour- glasses, and invented water-clocks. Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past.
Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home. After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in air antique clock and perhaps make a future profit（收益）?
【小题1】According to the passage, collecting antique clocks____.

If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others？Don’t believe those people who say that young people today often think only of themselves. It’s not true at all. More and more young people in the USA volunteer to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don’t do it for money. Here are some of their stories.
Alice, 17
I’m going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths in the mountains. It’s going to be great fun — I’ll spend the whole summer living in a forest and breathing the clean mountain air. I’m going to sleep under the moon and stars. It will be a nice sport, and I’ll be able to do something good at the same time!
Jason , 18
This summer, I’m going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, less expensive houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They’ll teach me what to do, so I’ll help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses.
Trish , 16
I’m going to teach children who have trouble in reading. I’ll work for a program called Reading for Life. Every day, I’m going to help them choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher, and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me.
【小题1】What does Alice plan to work for others in summer？

If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others？Don’t believe those people who say that young people today often think only of themselves. It’s not true at all. More and more young people in the USA volunteer to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don’t do it for money. Here are some of their stories.
Alice, 17
I’m going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths in the mountains. It’s going to be great fun — I’ll spend the whole summer living in a forest and breathing the clean mountain air. I’m going to sleep under the moon and stars. It will be a nice sport, and I’ll be able to do something good at the same time!
Jason , 18
This summer, I’m going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, less expensive houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They’ll teach me what to do, so I’ll help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses.
Trish , 16
I’m going to teach children who have trouble in reading. I’ll work for a program called Reading for Life. Every day, I’m going to help them choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher, and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me.

1. 1.

   What does Alice plan to work for others in summer？

   1. A.
      To sleep under the moon and stars.
   2. B.
      To breathe the clean mountain air.
   3. C.
      To help build hiking paths in the mountains.
   4. D.
      To spend the whole summer living in a forest.
2. 2.

   The writer’s idea in this passage is ______.

   1. A.
      school students should do some hiking in summer.
   2. B.
      it’s good to do something good for others in vacation.
   3. C.
      helping children to choose and read books is a good way.
   4. D.
      breathing clean mountain air is good for health.
3. 3.

   Which is the most possible title (标题) for this passage？

   1. A.
      Reading for Life
   2. B.
      A Special House Program
   3. C.
      The Forest Centre
   4. D.
      Young American Volunteers