I needed to buy a camera, one that was simply good at taking good snaps (快照). So I went on the net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations (推荐) and headed for my nearest big camera store. There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list. And it was on special offer. Oh joy. I pointed at it and asked a salesgirl, “Can I have one of those?” “Do you want to try it first?" she said. It didn’t quite sound like a question. “Do I need to?” I replied. “There’s nothing wrong with it?” “No, no. But you should try it,” she said encouragingly. “Compare it with the others.”
I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering different prices. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to consider Z and possibly H at the same time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.
But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps (陷阱) by making the right choice. In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen. The salesgirl seemed a kind girl. So I let her take out my chosen camera from the cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers... and when she started to introduce the special features, I cut in to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well.
Why do we think that new choices still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they offer a chance to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine.
小题1:The salesgirl insisted that the writer should ______.

A．try the camera to see if there was anything wrong with it

B．compare the camera he had chosen with the others

C．get more information about different companies

D．trust her and stop asking questions

小题2:What does the writer mean by “it would be worth half what I paid for it”?

A．The camera was not good.

B．He should get a lower price.

C．The camera would soon fall in value.

D．The price of the camera was too high.

小题3:The writer decided to try the model he had chosen because he ______.

A．knew very little about it

B．didn’t trust the salesgirl any more

C．wanted to make sure he chose the best one

D．wanted to take pictures of his fellow shoppers

小题4: It can be inferred from the passage that in the writer’s opinion, ______.

A．salespersons are not always very kind

B．people waste too much money on cameras

C．cameras have become an important part of our daily life

D．we don’t actually need so many choices when buying a product

Mr. Smith works in an office. He is very busy and has no time to have a good rest. Every evening, when he comes from his office, he’s always tired and wants to go to bed early. But his wife often has a lot of interesting things to tell him after supper. She doesn’t stop talking until she falls asleep, but it’s usually too late and Mr Smith has to get up in time in the morning when she is asleep.
One day the man felt terrible and couldn’t go to work. He decided to go to see a doctor. And Mrs Smith went to the hospital with him. Before her husband said what was the matter with him, the woman told the doctor all and the man understood why. He wrote out a prescription. And when Mr Smith brought the medicine to the resulting-room, the doctor said to her, “The bottle of medicine is for your husband and the pills are for you.”
“For me?” the woman said in surprise, “I’m fine. I don’t need any medicine!” “I don’t think so, madam,” said the doctor, “They are sleeping pills, your husband will soon be all right if you take them.”
小题1:What does Mrs Smith often do after supper?

A．She watches TV	B．She does the chores
C．She begins talking	D．She goes to bed early

小题2:Why does Mr. Smith have to get up when his wife is asleep in the morning?

A．Because he can’t fall asleep.

B．Because he has to go to work.

C．Because he doesn’t want to sleep.

D．Because his wife asks him to get up.

小题3:What does“prescription ” mean in Chinese?

A．建议

B．方式

C．要求

D．药方

小题4:Why couldn’t Mr. Smith go to work one day?

A．Because he didn’t want to work

B．Because his wife didn’t let him go

C．Because he felt ill

D．Because he was too tired to go to work

小题5:From the story, we know that___________________.

A．Mrs Smith was ill

B．Mr Smith has to take the pills

C．Mr Smithth wasn’t ill

D．Mrs Smith has to stop talking too much at night.