This is time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents. Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help.
Littleton Children’s Home
We don’t want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes in good condition would be very welcome.
Also—we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests. You have so much—will you share it?
Phone Sister Thomas on 55671.
Children’s Hospice
We look after a small number of very sick children. This important work needs skill and love. We cannot continue without gifts of money to pay for more nursing staff. We also need story books and toys suitable for quiet games.
Please contact The Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road.w.^w.k.s.5*u.c.#o@m
Street Food
In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless. It’s even worse if you’re hungry. We give hot food to at least fifty people every night. It’s hard work, but necessary. Can you come and help? If not, can you find a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we urgently need some new saucepans. Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed.
Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way, Littleton. Phone 27713.
Littleton Youth Club
Have you got an unwanted chair?—a record player?—a pot of paint?
Because we can use them!
We want to get to work on our meeting room!
Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us.
Thank you!
The Night Shelter
We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go. We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street. Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money. Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help.
Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton. Please make check payable to Night Shelter.
【小题1】Reading the passage, you might like to help these organizations which work for     

An important factor that plays a part in susceptibility （易受影响） to colds is age．A study done by the University of Michigan School of Public Health indicated the fact that seems to hold true for the general population．Babies are the group suffering most from colds, averaging more than six colds in their first years．Boys have more colds than girls up to age three．After the age of three, girls are more susceptible than boys, and teenage girls average three colds a year to boy's two．
The general frequency of colds continues to decline into adults．Elderly people who are in good health have as few as one or two colds annually．One exception is found among people in their twenties, especially women, who show a rise in cold infections（感染）, because people to this age group are most likely to have young children．Adults who delay having children until their thirties and forties experience the same sudden increase in cold infections．
The study also found that economics （经济状况） plays an important role．As income increases, the frequency at which colds are reported in the family decreases．Families with the lowest income suffer about a third more colds than families at the upper end．Lower income generally forces people to live in closer quarters than those typically occupied by wealthier people, and crowding increases the opportunities for the cold virus to travel from person to person．Low income may also influence diet．The degree to which poor nutrition affects susceptibility to colds is not yet clearly proved, but an inadequate diet is suspected of lowering resistance generally．
68. What factors cause people to catch colds easily?
A. Age and pregnancy．            B. Health and pregnancy．
C. Health and economics．                D. Age and economics．
69. Why does the lowest income lead to the rapid spread of colds?
A. Because poor people can't afford to go to see a doctor．
B. Because balanced diet has definitely affected poor people．
C. Because people with the lowest income have limited living space．
D. Because cold virus don't have opportunities to travel in poor families．
70. How does the study prove that age plays a part in susceptibility to colds?
A. Using comparison．  B. Using graphs．
C. Using description．  D. Using argument．
71. What can you learn from the passage?
A. Families with the lowest income suffer less colds than rich families．
B. The general frequency of colds are likely to increase among the poor．
C. Women in their twenties are most likely to avoid cold infections．
D. The general frequency of colds continue to rise into the adults．

[1] What do you do to take care of the books in your library? Some collectors(收藏者) refuse to read the books in their collection; so the books remain in good condition. Others buy two copies of a book: they read one, and leave the other untouched. However, many readers must read their books, but they still want to protect and care for the volumes. Here are some tips to remember if you want your books to remain in good condition.
[2] Avoid Writing. You may have been told to write in your books, or even to underline words, phrases, and paragraphs. But if you plan to keep the book, add it to your library, or even sell it — don't write in the book. The ink may damage your book forever. Use a notebook to take notes or use pieces of paper. If you are required to write in your book, use a pencil, and remove the markings later.
[3] Avoid Food and Drinks. Food and drinks are things that may be dangerous to your books, so the best way is to avoid eating or drinking while you read. If you need to read while you eat, make sure your fingers are clean and dry as you hold the book or turn the pages. Also, keep the book well away from the food and drinks.
[4] Take Care. When you handle your book, hold it with care. When you read the book, don't fold down the corners of the pages (use a bookmark instead). Don't place your book with the book open, face-down. You'd better use a book cover to keep your book in the best condition.
[5] Put it on the Shelf. If you want to take care of your books, keep your books on a shelf when ____________. But, also, take care that the books should be placed in an upright (竖立的) position.
【小题1】What's the main idea of the text? (Please answer within 10 words.)
_________________________________________________________
【小题2】Why shouldn't you use a pen if you have to write in your book? (Please answer within 10words.)
______________________  ___________________________________
【小题3】Which sentence in the text is the closest in meaning to the following one?
A book cover may be what you need most to keep your book in the best shape.
____________________________  _____________________________
【小题4】Fill in the blank in the last paragraph with proper words. (Please answer within 6 words.)
_________________________   ________________________________
【小题5】Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 into Chinese.
____________     ___________________________________________

　　Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.
　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.
　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.
　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?
　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.
　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.
　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”
【小题1】According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.
Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier. There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he’s an old guy!
For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.
I thought it was odd (古怪的). I have grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don’t give any thought to the question and just say something back. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live,” and someone would reply, “Have a great day!”
But that wasn’t the end. He gave them the change, walked around the counter, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked the customers in the eyes. “I sure want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”
The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins (咧嘴一笑). All had been touched by his simple gesture—and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling.
Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name, Marty.
56. 【小题1】The checkout line the writer was standing in moved slower than expected because ________.