How do you pay for things? Do you usually use cash(现金), or do you like to pay by credit card(信用卡)? If you are like a lot of people, you probably have at least one credit card. Also, you might use it more often than you probably should.

Credit cards first became popular in the 1920s, At that time, businesses, such as hotels and companies, gave credit cards to their best customers(顾客). Unlike today's credit cards, customers could only use these cards at the Store or business that gave out the card. Customers had to pay for things in full. They couldn't pay for something a little at a time.

In 1950, a businessman named McNamara started a credit card company — Diners Club. Unlike earlier credit cards, this card could be used by customers at many restaurants. Customers liked the card because they didn't have to carry a lot of cash with them. Restaurant owners liked the card, too. Why? They found out that customers usually spent more money when they could pay by credit card.

In its first year of business, Diners Club issued 200 cards, The customers who got the cards from the Diners Club could use them at 27 different restaurants. Today, Diners Club has about 8 million customers, and they can use their cards in over 7. 6 million businesses in more than 200 countries.

1.What can we know about the earlier credit cards from the passage?

A. They could be used everywhere.

B. Customers had to pay for things in full.

C. They were very popular before the 1920s.

D. Everyone could get this kind of credit card.

2. The underlined word "issued" here probably means "       ".

A. showed   B. took   C. borrowed     D. provided

3. This passage is mainly about        .    

A. part of the development of credit cards

B. how to use cash

C. the number of people who use credit cards in the world

D. how credit cards help businessmen

My mother was a housewife. She thought that successful people spent a lot more time reading than watching TV. So she asked my brother and me not to watch too much TV, but to read two books every week in our free time. She would check them with marks, though she couldn’t read the book at all.

When I went to high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted cool clothes and hung out with friends. I became a C-student, but I didn’t care. One night I complained about not having enough Italian shirts. Then my mother gave me all the money and said I could get the money left to buy shirts if I finished buying all the things the family needed. I was pleased with that, but after I bought those things, there was no money left. I got to know how difficult it was for my mother to do all these. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. Finally, my dream came true and I became a doctor.

My story is really my mother’s story----a woman with little education greatly changed my life as a parent. So I believe there is no job more important than parenting.

1.What did the writer’s mother do?

A．A worker.         B．A housewife       C．A teacher         D．A writer

2.Why did the mother ask her children to read books in their free time?

A．Because she thought successful people spent more time reading.

B．Because she thought books were interesting.

C．Because she wanted her children to be happy.

D．Because she wanted her children to be doctors.

3.Which was NOT the reason for the writer’s falling behind(落后)?

A．He only cared about clothes and didn’t study.

B．He spent more time hanging out with friends than studying.

C．He didn’t care that he went from being an A-student to a C-student.

D．He spent much time reading storybooks.

4.What was the writer’s dream?

A．To be a doctor.                         B．To be a teacher.

C．To be an A-student                      D．To find a good job.

5.The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______.

A．mothers with little education change their children more.

B．his mother is cruel and unhelpful

C．there is a job more important than parenting.

D．his mother has an important influence（影响）on him.

—Excuse me.Could you please tell me __________?

  —Sure.There’s a bookstore on River Road.

  A.where can I get a dictionary           B.where could I get a dictionary

  C.where I could get a dictionary         D.where I can get a dictionary

Anna and Jane had tickets for a pop concert in London. They were very excited about the concert. They had planned their day in London very carefully. They worked out which trains to catch, where to eat and where they wanted to go shopping. 【小题1】. A friend of Jane’s was working with the sound equipment backstage（后台）. He said he could get them special passes so they could go backstage. He promised to ask the group if the girls could come to say “Hello”. He said that he was sure he could get them the group’s autographs（签名）.【小题2】
Then two days before the concert, Anna got a cold.【小题3】, even though she stayed in bed and took medicine. On the evening before the concert, she had a fever and was very sick indeed.
Anna’s mother rang Jane. “Anna is too sick to go to the concert,” she said. “You had better find someone else to go with.”
The next day, Anna was feeling very sorry for herself. Then she had a visitor. It was Jane! She came with a big bag of fruit and a pile of their favorite CDs. “I’ll give the tickets to Jill and Sue in the end,” she said. “【小题4】 . It wouldn’t be much fun without you.”