Many people say pennies are not worth saving. After all, a penny is only worth a cent. But one unusual penny turned out to be worth a lot more when a coin collector paid $1.7 million for it earlier this month.

The coin is one of a kind. It is the only penny that the Denver mint(铸币厂) made out of copper, instead of steel, in 1943. Because it is unique, it is also very valuable. No penny has ever sold for so much money.

The Changing Penny

The Lincoln penny first appeared in 1909. For 34 years, the one-cent coin was made out of copper. Then, in 1943, the penny changed. World War II was going on, and copper was needed for equipment. So for one year, pennies were made out of steel instead. At least most of them were.

Only a few coins were made out of unused copper. There are three main mints, or places where coins are made, in the United States. Of the known copper pennies from 1943, twelve were made in the Philadephia mint, and five were made in the San Francisco mint. Only one was made in the Denver mint.

Nobody knows for sure why a copper penny was made at the Denver mint in 1943, coin dealers Andy Skrabalak told Time for Kids. “There is a rumor that a mint employee made the coin in the middle of the night.”

A Special Set

The coin collector who bought the $1.7 million penny wants to remain unknown. But the reason for the trade is known. He already had two copper pennies from 1943 – one from the San Francisco mint and one from the Philadephia mint. To complete the set, he needed the Denver penny. The three coins will go on display at a coin exhibition in Tampa, Florida.

The collector who sold the penny is also keeping his name a secret. It took four years to convince him to give up the rare coin. Now that he has finally donating all of the money to charity.

1.Why is the Lincoln penny worth over one million dollars?

A. Because it has a history of thirty-four years.

B. Because it was made out of a rare material.

C. Because it was made on one night of 1943 by the Denver mint.

D, Because it was the only coin Denver mint made out of copper in 1943.

2.Before the Lincoln penny was sold, people thought one-cent coins __________.

A．were worth collecting for selling later

B．were surely valuable if not made out of steel

C．wouldn’t be sold for large amounts of money

D．were only useful for some coin museums

3.At least how many copper coins were made in 1943?

A．Five

B．Twelve

C．Seventeen

D．Eighteen

4.What can we learn about the collector who sold the penny?

A．He already had two copper pennies from 1943.

B．He wanted to complete the set of copper pennies.

C．He didn’t want to sell his penny in the beginning.

D．He was a well-known coin dealer in Tampa, Horida.

 

I came to study in the United States a year ago. Yet I did not know the American society until I was injured in a car accident because after the accident I had to see a doctor-and go to court（法庭）.

　　After the accident, my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and determined to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He had good reason to charge me, he said. And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I'd have to have a good lawyer. Now that he had helped me to find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.

　　But every time I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time. The final examination report consisted of ten lines, and it cost me $215.

　　My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. he knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to dismiss（解雇）him. And he made me pay him $770.

　　Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Due to my inexperience, I told the insurance the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time, … and I left without getting a cent.

　　My experiences taught me two things about America: firstly, in a country like America money is everything. It is more important than friendship honour or professional morality（职业道德）. Secondly, foreigners are still being unfairly treated. So when we talk about America, we should see both its good and bad sides.

1.The author's roommate offered to help him because_____.

    A. he felt sorry for the author

    B. he thought it was a chance to make some money

    C. he knew the doctor was a very good one

    D. he wanted the author to have a good lawyer

2. A good doctor is essential for the author to____.

    A. be properly treated

    B. talk with the person responsible for the accident

    C. recover before he leaves America

    D. eventually get the responsible party to pay for his injury

3.The word " charge " in the passage means____.

　　A. be responsible     B. accuse              C. ask as a price      D. claim

4.Both the doctor and the lawyer in this passage are very___.

　　A. friendly           B. greedy              C. professional      D. busy

5.What conclusion can you draw from this story?

　　A. Going to court is something every common in America

　　B. One must be very careful while driving a car

　　C. There are more bad sides in America than good sides

　　D. Money is more important than other things in the US

 

 

My newly-rented small apartment was far away from the centre of London and it was becoming essential for me to find a job, so finally I spent a whole morning getting to town and putting my name down to be considered by London Transport for a job on the underground. They were looking for guards, not drivers. This suited me. I couldn’t drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train, and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations. The writers Keats and Chekhov had been doctors. T.S. Eliot had worked in a bank and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company. I’d be a subway guard. I could see myself being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis. Obviously I’d be overqualified but I was willing to forget about that in return for a steady income and travel privileges — those being particularly welcome to someone living a long way from the city centre.

The next day I sat down, with almost a hundred other candidates, for the intelligence test. I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test. This time there were only about fifty candidates. The interviewer sat at a desk. Candidates were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed, after a greater or shorter time. Obviously the long interviews were the more successful ones. Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes. Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half.

I can remember the questions now: “Why did you leave your last job?” “Why did you leave your job before that?” “And the one before that?” I can’t recall my answers, except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter. His closing statement, I thought, revealed a lack of sensitivity which helped to explain why as a psychologist, he had risen no higher than the underground railway. “You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”

Failing to get that job was my low point. Or so I thought, believing that the work was easy. Actually, such jobs — being a postman is another one I still desire — demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that the habitual dreamer is least qualified to give. But I was still far short of full self-understanding. I was also short of cash.

1.The writer applied for the job chiefly because _________.

A．he could no longer afford to live without one

B．he wanted to work in the centre of London

C．he was not interested in any other available job

D．he had received some suitable training

2.The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because _________.

A．he often traveled underground            B．he had written many poems

C．he had worked in a company             D．he could deal with difficult situations

3.What does the writer realize now that he did not realize then?

A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs can be

B．How unsuitable he was for the job.

C．How difficult it is to be a poet

D．How badly he did in the interview.

4.The length of his interview meant that _________.

A．he did not like the interviewer at all

B．he had not done well in the intelligence test

C．he was not going to be offered the job

D．he had little work experience to talk about

5.What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist?

A. He was rather unsympathetic.           B. He was unhappy with his job.

C. He was quite inefficient.               D. He was very aggressive（有进取心的）.

 

— My son failed to be accepted by the firm after the interview.

   — Now that he wasn’t well prepared, he might as well ______.

A. not try              B. not to have tried   C. not to try       D. not have tried

 

根据下列句中的首字母或中文提示写出确当的单词：（5分）

81. The volunteers were kept busy d________ food and drinks to the people affected by the earthquakes.

82. There was a strong wind__________ (伴随) by thunderstorms last night, damaging lots of houses in the district.

83. Now that he a_______ that he had stolen the money, you should forgive him.

84. The tourists were rather satisfied with the restaurant because its _______(菜肴) was excellent.

85. _________(相比较而言) speaking, this part of the coast is much less polluted yet.

86. We would very much a__________ it if you could do us that favor.

87.The final result seems explicit, as there is a _______ (公认的) agreement as to who should become Chairman.

88. Don’t eat anything that will spoil(破坏) your a_______ for dinner.

89. The nurse’s job is to ________(护理) the patients in the hospital.

90. The president’s speech was i__________ by the ringing of his mobile phone.