Dear Sirs，

Your shipment(装运)of twelve thousand“Smart”watches was received by our company this morning．However，we wish to make a number of complaints concerning the serious delay in delivery and your failure to carry out our instructions．   

It was stressed from the beginning that the delivery date had to be less than six weeks. While we appreciate that delays in production are occasionally unavoidable．We must point out that the major reason why the order was placed with your company was that we were assured by you that your existing stocks ensure immediate shipment．Late delivery of the goods has caused us to disappoint several of our most valued customers．and is sure to have a negative effect on future orders．

The second complaint concerns the difference in colour．Only half the watches in the delivery received are of the colours we ordered．Our Hong Kong agent assures us that she stressed to you the importance of following our instructions．Since we consider there to be only a limited market in this country for watches of other colours．Any watches that are not of the specified colours will , of course, be returned to you．   

We are also somewhat concerned about the rather poor quality of the goods received．since it is obvious that the watches that finally arrived have been produced from inferior materials and have been made to a lower standard than those in the sample．We have also found that a number of the watches do not appear to be functioning．We should like to point out that we feel this matter to be entirely your responsibility．

As a result of the above problems，therefore，we feel that the most suitable course of action is to return to you unpaid any of the goods considered unsatisfactory，and to deduct(扣除)any costs from our final settlement．We shall also be forced to reconsider whether any further orders should be placed with your company.

We look forward to your immediate reply．

Yours sincerely，

John Smith

1.How many complaints does John Smith make with the“Smart”watch producer?

A．Five．            B．Four．            C．Three．          D．Two．

2.The producer of“Smart”watches were given the order because_________

A．they produced the best watches of its kind in the world

B．the watches would be easy to make and the designs were already prepared

C．they promised they could produce enough stocks quite quickly

D．they claimed the order would be easy since the watches were already in stock

3.Receiving watches in the wrong colours is a problem because_______ 

A．the Hong Kong agent stressed the need to fulfill the order exactly

B．these watches will be difficult to sell．

C． these watches will not be able to get into the limited market

D．people will not buy the watches at present

 

Although credit cards are becoming a more acceptable part of the financial scene, they are still regarded with doubts by many as being a major part of the “live now pay later” syndrome（综合症）．Along with hire-purchase, rental and leasing schemes（租赁项目）, they provide encouragement to spend more money．Of course, it is only the hotheaded who give way to the temptation to live, temporarily at least, beyond their means, and such people would no doubt manage to do so even without credit cards．
Advertising campaigns have, however, promoted a growing realization of the advantages of these small pieces of plastic. They prevent need to carry large amounts of cash and are always useful in emergencies．
All the credit card organizations charge interest on a monthly basis which may work out as high as 25 per cent a year, yet sensible purchasing using a card can mean that you obtain up to seven weeks, interest-free credit．Using the card abroad, where items frequently take a long time to be included on your account, can extend this period even further．
It is worthwhile shopping around before deciding on a particular credit card. It is necessary to consider the amount of credit granted; interest rates, which may vary slightly; the number and range of outlets（经销店）, though most cards cover major garages, hotels, restaurants and department stores; and of course, what happens if your card is lost or stolen．A credit card thief may be sitting on a potential goldmine particularly if there is a delay in reporting the loss of the card．
However, if used wisely, a credit card can cost nothing, or at least help to tide you over a period of financial difficulty．
【小题1】The hotheaded are people who ________．

A．spend more money than they have

B．spend less money than other people

C．save money

D．make money

【小题2】The disadvantage of credit cards is ________．

A．to enable you to buy things without carrying large amount of cash

B．to encourage people to spend more money

C．to be always useful in emergencies

D．to help people tide over a period of financial difficulty

【小题3】Deciding on a particular credit, you do not have to consider ________．

A．the amount of credit granted

B．the number and range of outlets

C．the possibility of loss of money

D．the department stores where you are going to use your credit cards

【小题4】The underlined words in the last paragraph probably means ________．

A．floating with the tide of

B．going through a difficult period of

C．rising and falling with the tide of

D．attempting to go against the tide of

Pregnancy(妊娠) and childbirth kill more than 536,000 women a year. More than half of the cases happened in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. In fact, most of the deaths are preventable with basic medical care.
The five leading causes are bleeding, infection, high blood pressure, long­time labor and bad abortions (流产). Mothers' deaths from such causes were largely reduced nearly a century ago in developed countries.
Experts say that what kill many women are “the three delays”— the woman's delay in deciding to go to the hospital, the time she loses traveling there and the hospital's delay in starting treatment. Only about 15 percent of births have dangerous complications(并发症)．
Women lack education and information about birth control. Husbands and in­laws, may decide where a woman gives birth and insist that she stay at home to save money. However, there is no single solution to a problem with so many factors—shortages of doctors, nurses, drugs, equipment, roads and transportation—though hospital officials are trying many things now.
One stopgap measure to solve the problem for the present has been to train assistant medical officers, to perform certain operations. Some African countries are now struggling to train more assistants and midwives (接生婆) , and provide places for pregnant women to stay near hospitals.
But there is a long way to go. Only 20 percent of women in the continent give birth at the hospital. More than 50 percent stay at home to give birth, and the rest go to local clinics that cannot handle emergencies.
【小题1】Which is not included in the five leading causes of women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth?

A．Infection.	B．High blood pressure.
C．Traveling long distances.	D．Bleeding.

【小题2】The underlined word “stopgap” probably means “________ ”in the passage.

A．final

B．temporary

C．effective

D．instant

【小题3】What can we learn from this passage?

A．The governments of African countries have to take more effective measures to save pregnant women.

B．Developed countries should help African countries reduce mothers'deaths.

C．The husbands in poor countries should take responsibility for their wives'deaths.

D．Most problems that cause women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth can be treated or prevented.

【小题4】What is the author's attitude towards the future of preventing women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth?

A．Positive.

B．Negative.

C．Objective.

D．Subjective.

The high noise of modern life may affect speech and language development in the very young, according to a study that found the auditory (听觉的) parts of the brains of young mice are slower to organize properly in the presence of continuous sounds.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reared a group of rats in an environment of continuous background noise and found that their brain circuits that receive and interpret (解释) sound did not develop at the same rate as animals that were raised in a quieter environment.?

Edward F. Chang and Michael Merzenich, co-authors of the study appearing in the journal Science, said that the continuous noise delayed the organization of auditory neurons (神经细胞) during a critical two-to-three-week period after the rat pups were born.?

For rats not exposed to the noise, the auditory cortex(皮层) neurons during this period gathered into a smaller area and began developing a selective response to sounds.?

But for the noise?exposed rats, this organization was slowed, causing a delay in the development of the ability to discriminate(辨别) specific sound tones. The researchers said it took three or four times longer for the rats raised in a noisy environment to reach the basic bench marks (基准) of auditory development seen in the rat pups not exposed to noises.?

Although the rat is not a perfect model for what happens in humans, the authors note, the study does suggest that high levels of noise might possibly affect some language learning in babies.?

“These findings suggest that environmental noise, which is commonly present in contemporary child-rearing environments, can potentially contribute to auditory and language-related development delays,”the authors wrote in Science.?

The authors noted that although the brain development was delayed in rats exposed to the noise, their brains did eventually mature (成熟的) normally.?

The scientists at California University studied rats_______.?

A. of different age groups     B. with different habits?

C. in different environments  D. from different areas?

The rats exposed to noise, compared to those not exposed, _______.?

A. were more sensitive   B. were duller?

C. grew up more slowly D. gathered together more quickly

The result of the research mainly tells us that noise _______.

A. delays brain development  B. stops baby growth

C. affects speech and language      D. destroys brains?

The findings of the research are said to have special connections with _______.

A. causes of noises B. medical science?

C. other living things     D. human babies??

Washington, April 4----- The United States has more than 90 million families for the first time, but each contains fewer people on average than ever, the Census Bureau(统计局) reported today.

The 90,031,000 families in the United States averaged 2.64 members each as of last July 1.“The reason is, in effect, changes in the age structure,” explained Campbell Gibson, a population researcher for the bureau. Most Americans born in the great explosion of births are now in their 20’s and 30’s when they most likely to set up families, he said.

The fact that many are doing so increased the number of families from 80.4 million in 1980 t0 88.8 million in 1986 and past the 90 million mark last summer.

At the same time, the average number of people per family dropped from 2.75 in 1985 to 2.65 in 1986 and then to 2.64, Mr Gibson said.

By comparison, the 1970 Census found the average family contained 3.14 people. Families averaged more than four people in 1939 and more than five in 1880.

The growing number of ever---- smaller families is still going on, but Mr Gibson pointed out that family growth was not the same as population increase in the 1970’s.

The same age factors that are increasing the number of families also happened then, but in the 1970’s the proportion(比例) of families in each age group was also growing.

That hasn’t continued in the 1980’s for a number of possible reasons, Mr Gibson said. For example, in the 1980’s more young people have chosen to remain home with their parents instead of setting up housekeeping on their own, as many did in the 1970’s.

This could be caused by the increasing cost of housing, he said. Delays in marriage while young people go to work and school, have also been widely reported as a factor, but it was not the only factor for the family changes.

1.The smaller figure of families reported here is _________.

A．1980

B．80,400,000

C．2.64

D．90 million

2.What’s the reporter’s attitude towards the present situation?

A. People should get married at later age.

2. The average number of family members should be 2.64.
3. It’s not clear in the report.
4. Young people should set up housekeeping on their own, as many did in the 1970’s.

3.From the last paragraph we may infer that________.

A. delay in marriage will not help the number of the families

2. delay in marriage is the major factor of the family changes
3. the writer felt sorry that many young people now delay their marriages
4. there must be some other factors which have led to the slower growth in the 1980’s

4. The underlined word “factor” in the passage means_________.

A．reason	B．something that proves be true
C．advantage	D．something that helps to bring about a result