Auctions(拍卖)are public sales of goods conducted by an officially approved auctioneer．He asks the crowd gathered in the auction-room to make offers or“bids”, for the various items on sale．He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods．

　　Almost all goods of various qualities are sold by auction．Among these are coffee, skins, wool, tea, fruit, vegetables and wines．Auction sales are also useful for land and property, antique(古董), furniture, pictures, rare books, old china(瓷器), and works of art．

　　An auction is usually advertised beforehand with a full description of the articles to be sold and where and when they can be viewed by possible buyers．If the advertisement cannot give full details, catalogues(目录)are printed, and each group of goods to be sold together, called a“lot”, is usually given a number．The auctioneer need not begin with Lot 1, and continue with Lot 2, Lot 3 and so on; be may wait until he sees certain dealers in the room and then produces the lots they are likely to be interested in．The auctioneer therefore has a direct interest in pushing up the bidding as high as possible．

　　The auctioneer must know quite accurately the current market values of the goods he is selling, and he should be acquainted(熟悉)with regular buyers of such goods．He will not waste time by starting the bidding too low．He will also encourage the rivals among buyers to bid against each other in order to get a high price．It is largely in his advice that a seller will fix a“reserved”price, that is, a price below which the goods cannot be sold．Even the best auctioneer, however, finds it difficult to stop a“knock-out”(连裆拍货), because dealers illegally arranged beforehand not to bid against each other, but choose one of them as the only bidder, in the hope of buying goods at very low prices．If such a“knock-out”succeeds, the real auction sale takes place privately afterwards among the dealers．

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阅读理解。阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出最佳选项。

Way of Life for Students

　　The Internet is way of life for US college students, with research showing them to be one of the most connected groups．

　　A recent study by Harris Interactive and 360 Youth found that 93 percent of American college students visit the Internet, and this market is expected to grow from 15.2 million in 2003 to 16.4 million in 2007．That is slow but could be the result of the already high number of college Internet users．

　　About 88 percent of American college students own a computer, and more than half have broadband(宽带)connections．Furthermore, 67 percent own cell phones and 36 percent use their mobile devices to visit the Internet．Study findings are that 42 percent go online mainly to communicate socially, and 72 percent of college students check emails at least once a day, with 66 percent using at least two email addresses．

　　The most popular online social activity is forwarding messages to friends of family, with 37 percent of college students saying they do so．The study also looked beyond the Internet surfing(冲浪)habits and into the buying habits of this group, and found them responsible for more than US $ 210 billion in sales last year alone．

　　College students have learned how to spend their money, with 93 percent saying low prices were important when shopping．

　　The study also showed that 65 percent make loan(贷款)payments; 41 percent of freshmen have a credit card; and 79 percent of seniors have a credit card．A significant number of charges on these credit cards are likely to be for entertainment and leisure expenses．

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　　It’s a Saturday night－what is a group of friends to do?They could go out to a bar or pub, they could enjoy a good meal or they could go to a club．That’s what may have happened a few years ago．However, new research has shown that three times as many Britons would rather stay in and cook a meal for friends than have a wild night out．These people are being described as the Stay Home and Entertain Friends(SHEF)brigade(队，组)．

　　Mark is an IT manager from Manchester and could be described as a SHEF．“I like to socialize with my friends, but going out every weekend can be really expensive．We’ve found another choice; head to the local pub for one or two drinks, then go back to one of our homes for food, drink and some music．Much less trouble and more fun than going into the city center and struggling to get a taxi at 2 a.m!”

　　The survey also found that twice as many men as women associated romance with home-cooked, candlelit dinners with their partners, claming that this was a perfect way for a great Saturday night．

　　According to another study by insurance company More Than, people are also turning to their homes as a source of entertainment and a shelter from the stress of modern living．The new“staying in”culture is driving increased spending on home improvement and entertainments systems within the home．Many people in the UK have set up home cinemas with plasma screen(等离子屏幕)televisions, satellite televisions and DVD players．

　　Maybe, soon the popularity of this trend of staying in will decline and going out will become the new staying in!

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　　People say teenagers are no good．They make too much noise in shops; they drive wildly up and down the streets．And at times, some of these things are true．But there are also hard moments in the life of a teenager．

　　A teenager is neither a lovely child, nor a respectable grown up person．The members of her family consider a teenager a source of trouble．She feels that she has grown up．But she is told that she is just a child and she knows nothing．She sees her elders doing what they like．When she wants to do what she likes, the elders tell her that she should do only what she is told to do．To be a teenager means to be everybody’s servant and nobody’s master．Elders in the family and in the neighbourhood order a teenager to run errands from them．If he refuses to carry out the orders of his elders, he is scolded．He may even be punished．He is criticized for all that he says and does．If he behaves like a child, he is told that he is grown up and that he should not be childish．If he behaves like a grown up man, he is told that he is disrespectful．

　　A teenager becomes a lonely creature in the family．Children enjoy all the love of the elders in the family．The teenager gets no love and no respect．So she often runs away from home and finds some joy in the company of the girls of her age．

　　The trouble with teenagers is that they haven’t learnt to be controlled．There are too many rules and regulations for us to obey．It hasn’t yet occurred to us to run a zigzag pattern．Although we teenagers have miserable time with our family members and elders, we have a very good time with our friends and in schools and colleges．So we teenagers spend most of our good time and have fun with our friends and classmates rather than with parents．

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　　What do Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Philcollins all have in common?They were all bullied(欺负)at school．

　　If you’re being bullied, it doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you．You have a right to feel safe．If you are being bullied at school, it is the school’s responsibility to stop it．If you are being attacked outside of school, the police have the responsibility to help you．

　　The bully is the one with the problem．

　　A lot of bullies are already being bullied themselves．They feel powerless and so they look for ways to feel tough at school or in the street．

　　Often, the bully is envious of other kids, so he picks on those who are cleverer, or those kids who have cool dress or more money．Usually bullies don’t like themselves, so they take out their frustrations(沮丧)on someone else, e.g．you．

　　What can you do?

　　*Look calm and confident even when you are not!You can practice this in the bathroom mirror．

　　*If possible, ignore the bully．Bullies want a reaction(反应)－if you don’t seem upset, or angry, they’ll often leave you alone．

　　*Walk away．Just because a bully starts an argument doesn’t mean you have to hang around and finish it．

　　*Avoid being alone．Bullies are cowards(懦夫)who only pick a fight when they know they can win．If you are with friends, they are more likely to leave you alone．

　　Get help!

　　Tell an adult you can trust．This doesn’t mean you are weak．In life you often need to get help from other people．When you have a broken leg, you get help from a doctor－it doesn’t mean you are weak．If you are being bullied you also get help．Bullies want you to keep quiet．When you speak up, you refuse to play the bully’s game．Telling others about the problem is a brave move．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A，B，C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The word health can be used in a number of ways．In the past, health was only the absence of disease or illness．Today, though, health has a broader meaning．Health is the state of your well-being that includes how you feel physically, mentally, and socially．Wellness is another term that describes this broader view of health．You can understand the need for a broader definition(定义)if you think about how health in your life is different from health in your grandparents’ lives．

　　In 1900, the main causes of death were diseases that were spread by bacteria(细菌)and viruses(病毒)．If you had lived then, the danger of your dying from pneumonia(肺炎)would have been three times greater than the danger of your dying from cancer．

　　The diseases that were most common in 1900 affected people of all ages．It is not surprising, then that around 1900, the emphasis(重点)of health was on freedom from illness．Today many of the diseases that were common in 1900 can be prevented or cured by improved medicines and methods of sanitation(卫生)．Most diseases now are likely to occur late in life．You, as a teenager, will probably mot have to think about the same threats to your health as our grandparents did．

　　These improvements in health conditions mean that not only can you now enjoy a better life, but you also have a greater chance of having a longer life．Controlling diseases has increased the life expectancy in the Unites States．Generally, people born more recently have higher life expectancies．Since 1900, the life expectancy in the United States has increased by more than 27 years．It has increased from 47 years for those born in 1900 to 74 years in 1981．

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　　James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves．His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9．There, a school teacher asked the youth his name．

　　“J．C．”, he replied．

　　She thought he had said“Jesse”, and he had a new name．

　　Owens ran his first race at age 13．After high school, he went to Ohio State University．He had to work part time so as to pay for his education．As a second-year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later．

　　A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs．His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet．He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event．He did try, and the results are in the record book．

　　The stage was set for Owens' victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic(体育的)but also political．Hitler did not congratulate any of the African-American winners．

　　“It was all right with me,”he said years later．“I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway．”

　　Having returned from Berlin．He received no telephone call from the president of his own country, either．In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death．

　　Owens' Olympic victories made little difference to him．He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles, and dogs．

　　“Sure, it bothered(烦扰)me,”he said later．“But at least it was an honest living．I had to eat．”

　　In time, however, his gold medals(奖牌)changed his life．“They have kept me alive over the years,”he once said．“Time has stood still for me．That golden moment dies hard．”

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阅读理解

　　The Channel Islands are a group of British-owned islands lying in the English Channel(海峡), 10 to 30 miles off the French coast, and 70 to 90 miles from the English coast．There are ten islands with a total land area of 75 square miles and a total population of 123,000．The three largest islands, Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney, have long been known for the fine breeds(品种)of cattle that are raised on them and named after them．

　　In earliest known history the islands were considered part of Normandy, which was part of France, but the ruler of Normandy became king of England in 1066, and from then on the islands were looked upon as British land．English control was unbroken until World War II, when the Germans held the islands for five years．

　　Although people on the islands speak both languages and they are considered English, their customs are more French than English．

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　　Decision-thinking is not unlike it often matters not only what you think, but also what others think you think what you think they think you think．The mental process(过程)is similar．Naturally, this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are, by any standards, good thinkers．

　　The great mathematician John von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory．In particular, he showed that all games fall into two classes; there are what he called games of ‘perfect information’, games like chess where the players can't hide anything or play tricks; they don't win by chance, but by means of logic and skills．Then there are games of ‘imperfect information’, like poker, in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another．

　　One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information．Quite the reverse Business, life itself is games, which we must normally play with very imperfect information．Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors(因素), best poker players．But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance, and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess, not poker．

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The easy way out isn't always easiest．I learned that lesson when I decided to treat Doug, my husband of one month, to a special meal．I glanced through my cookbook and chose a menu which included homemade break．Knowing the bread would take time, I started on it as soon as Doug left for work．As I was not experienced in cooking, I thought if a dozen was good, two dozen would be better, so I doubled everything．As Dong loved oranges, I also opened a can of orange and poured it all into the bowl．Soon there was a sticky dough(面团)covered with ugly yellowish marks．Realizing I had been defeated, I put the dough in the rubbish bin outside so I wouldn't have to face Doug laughing at my work, I went on preparing the rest of the meal, and, when Doug got home, we sat down to Cornish chicken with rice．He tried to enjoy the meal but seemed disturbed．Twice he got up and went outside, saying he thought he heard a noise．The third time he left, I went to the windows to see what he was doing．Looking out, I saw Doug standing about three feet from the rubbish bin, holding the lid up with a stick and looking into the container．When I came out of the house, he dropped the stick and explained that there was something alive in our rubbish bin．Picking up the stick again, he held the lid up enough for me to see．I felt cold．But I stepped closer and looked harder．Without doubt it was my work．The hot sun had caused the dough to double in size and the fermenting yeast(酵母)made the surface shake and sigh as though it were breathing．I had to admit what the ‘living thing ’was and why it was there．I don't know who was more embarrassed(尴尬)by the whole thing Doug or me．

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