What is Bay? The simple answer is that it is a global trading platform where nearly anyone can trade practically anything. People can sell and buy all kinds of products and goods. Including cars, movies and DVDs, sporting goods, travel tickets, musical instruments, clothes and shoes- the list goes on and on 

The idea came from Peter Omidyar, who was born in Paris and moved to Washington when he was still a child, At high school, be became very interested in computer programming and after graduating from Tuft University in 1988, He worked for the next few years as a computer engineer. In his free time he started Bay as a kind of hobby, at first offering the service free by word of mouth. By 1996 there was so much traffic on the website that he had to upgrade（升级） and he began charging a fee to members. Joined by a friend, Peter Skill. and in 1998 by his capable CEO, Meg Whitman, he has never looked back. . Even in the great. com crashes of the late 1990s,abay has gone from strength to strength ,. It is now one of the ten most visited online shopping websites on the Internet 

eBay sells connections, not goods, putting buyer and seller into contact with each other. All you have to do is lake an e-photo, write a description, fill out a sales form and you are in business: the world is your market place. Of course for each item （商品）sold eBay gets a percentage and that is great deal of money. Every day there are more than sixteen million items listed on eBay and eighty percent of the items are sold.

We learn from the text that eBay provides people with__ 

A. a way of buying and selling goods 

B. a website for them to upgrade 

C. a place to exhibit their own photos 

D. a chance to buy things at low prices 

Why did Peter create eBay after graduating from university? 

A. For fun 

B. To make money 

C. For gathering the engineers 

D. To fulfill a task of his company

From “he has never looked back “in Paragraph 2 we learn that peter_ 

A. did not feel lonely 

B. was always hopeful 

C. did not think about the past 

D. became more and more successful 

How does eBay make money from its website7? 

A. By bringing callers together.  

B. By charging for each sale 

C. By listing items online 

D. By making e-photos. 

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有多余选项。

            The goal here is to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are closely associated to the big problem of global-warming.

Strategy 1: Bring your own cup to Starbucks

You’ll get a 10 cent discount, and it’s one less paper cup to end up in a landfill. While you’re there, pick up some free bags of spent coffee grounds to use as ‘‘green’’ fertilizer in your garden.

The payoff:      

Strategy2: Turn off your computer

When in standby mode, your PC is still using energy.            

The payoff: Turning off a monitor for 40 hours a week may only save $ 5 a month, but it reduces CO2 by 750 pounds

Strategy 3: Reuse plastic bags

Instead of throwing away 100 billion plastic bags a year, try and get a second, third, or tenth use out of them. Better yet, next time you shop, try a reusable bag.

The payoff:         The amount of oil it would take to make just 14 plastic bags would run your car for one mile.

Strategy4: Use recycled paper in the bathroom

Most of the toilet paper we use is made from trees found in forests previously untouched by humans.

The payoff: If every household replaced one roll of toilet paper with a recycled one, 424000 trees would still be standing. Look for eco paper towels too.

Strategy5: Buy energy-efficient appliances（电器）

Replace the old fridge with an Energy Star appliance and you’ll use 15 percent less energy.   

The payoff: If we all used one Energy Star appliance at home, it would be like planting 1. 7 million acres of new trees.

A. You can be proud of yourselves, even if you can only make one or two of these green changes.

B. Adding green to your garden is beautiful and earth-pleasing.

C. It might be a little expensive to buy, but you’ll save money on your electricity bills and help the environment.

D. In fact, 75 percent of electricity used in your home comes from electronics that are turned off.

E. You’re reducing pollution.

F. The store won’t create more waste when they throw away a cup.

G. Just one tree will help make cleaner air and save the environment from 5000 pounds of hot carbon dioxide each year.

Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours. This kind of loneliness is not serious. In fact, it is quite normal. For some people, though, loneliness can last for years. Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness.

The first kind of loneliness is temporary(暂时的). This is the most common type. It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention. The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result or a particular situation---- for example, a family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place. Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year.

The third kind of loneliness is the most severe. Unlike the second type, chronic(长期的) loneliness usually last more than two yeas and has no specific cause. People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others. Unfortunately, many chronically lone people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition.

Psychologists (心理学家)agree that one important fact in loneliness is a person’s social contacts（接触）, e.g, friends, family members, co-workers, etc. We depend on various people for different reasons. For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities. However, psychologists have found that, though lone people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more. They question their own popularity.

Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons: they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease. While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a very sad, and sometimes dangerous condition.

.How would you treat temporary loneliness according to the passage?

A. Talk to friends                         B. Just ignore it     

C. Go to see a doctor                      D. Ask your teachers for guidance

. The topic of the 4^th paragraph is that _______________.

A. lonely people don’t have many friends

B. lonely people don’t have many social problems

C. one problem of loneliness is a person’s social contacts

D. we depend on various people for different reasons

Why do psychologists want to help chronically lonely people?

A. Chronic loneliness can cause family problems

B. Chronic loneliness can cause serious illness

C. Chronic loneliness cannot be overcome

D.A, B, and C are all correct

.What is the best title of the passage?

A. Three kinds of Loneliness               B. Loneliness and Diseases

C. Loneliness and Social Contacts           D. Chronic Loneliness

Everyone’s at it, even my neighbors. I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn’t done an eBay deal. So, I decided to try my hand at online auction（网上拍卖）.

Buying for Beginners

Sign up on www. eBay. co. uk. Most items (e.g. tables, computers and books) ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description; others may be marked with “Buy It Now” and have a fixed price. You can buy these right away.

If the item is being auctioned, you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids (出价) for you. The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid, then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again. Auctions last up to 10 days and when they finish, you get an email telling you whether you have won the item.

How to Pay

Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a check or postal orders. The easiest way is through PayPal, an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card.

Selling Made Simple

If you plan to sell on eBay, it helps to include a picture of the item. I followed my friends’ advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction, starting on a Thursday. This way buyers had two weekends to bid.

The big Things in Life

It’s easy to post a small item, but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collectively sent by deliverymen. Check the ways of delivery before you bid.

What is the passage mainly about?

A. How to make payment online.              B. Ways of making delivery online.

C. Advantages of an online auction system.      D. How to use an online-auction system.

After bidding for an item, a buyer ________.

A. has chances to make higher bids  B. will get what he wants in ten days

C. should make payment immediately  D. may check its picture and description

The easiest way of making payment mentioned in the passage is ________.

A. through a local banking system   B. by sending the money to the seller

C. by paying the deliveryman directly   D. through an online payment system

根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。（每小题1分）

A：____ I went to work early today, and everyone laughed at me.

B：____ It was me. Can’t you take a joke?

A：____ But watch out, because I’ll be sure to pull a prank on you next time.

B：It had better not be a practical joke like last year, when you painted my face red while I was sleeping.

A：____ Let’s go and see if any of our friends made a fool on anyone today.

B：OK! ____

A. Let’s go.    B. Yeah, I’m a sucker (傻瓜).

C. What’s the date today?      D. April Fool!

E. Ha ha, that was a good one.      F. What did you do that for?

G. Who set my alarm one hour early?