Someday in the future we may not need to have money in our pockets. Is life easier when people don't need to carry any currency at all? Is money heavy to carry? Is it safe to carry money? Maybe in the future each of us will have only one small plastic credit card. We will use it to buy all the things we now buy with money. We will not need money to pay for things.

Of course we may still have some of the same problems with cards we now have with money. Sometimes we lose money. Maybe we will lose the cards. Maybe someone will take the card. Someone may even make a card that looks like our card. Since we can't buy anything without our cards, the credit card may be no better than currency.

Is there something easier to use than credit card? Each of us has a thumbprint (拇指纹). No two thumbprints are the same. Maybe someday the government will keep people's thumbprints with a number. When you want to buy something you will put your thumb on a machine or a computer. Each store or business will have one. Everyone's thumbprint will be in the computers. It will be very difficult to lose our thumbprints! It will be difficult for someone to steal it or to make one like it.

57. The underlined word "currency" probably means_______ here.

A. thumbs　　 B. coins　　　 C. plastic card　　 D. paper money

58. Our thumbprints may be used in the future because ______.

A. each store will have a computer　 B. each person's thumbprint is different

C. they will help each store　　　　 D. computers need them

59. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A. Each person has a different thumbprint.　

B. There are some problems with the use of credit cards.

C. There are no currency problems.　

D. There are easier things to use than credit cards.

60.Which of the following gives the main idea of the second paragraph?

A. Credit cards may be no better than currency.　

B. We use credit cards because money may be stolen.
C. We have many problems with money.　　

D. Credit cards are worse than currency.

Imagine there is a bank that puts $ 86, 400 in your account ( 账户)each morning. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank writes off( 注销)the balance that you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Take out every cent,  of course \
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning,  it puts in 86, 400 seconds. Every evening it writes off,  as it is lost. There is no balance or overdraft 透支) . If you fail to use the day's savings,  the lost is yours. There is no going back. There is no taking from " tomorrow". You must make good use of it so as to get more in health,  happiness and success!
The clock is running. Make the most of today. To realize the value of ONE YEAR,  ask a student who failed a grade; To realize the value of ONE MONTH,  ask a mother who gave birth to a premature( 早产)baby; To realize the value of ONE WEEK,  ask the editor of a weekly newspaper; To realize the value of ONE HOUR,  ask the lovers who are waiting to meet; To realize the value of ONE MINUTE,  ask a person who missed the train; To realize the value of ONE SECOND,  ask a person who just avoided(避免)an accident.
Make good use of every moment that you have. Remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called "The Present".
【小题1】The underlined word "balance" in paragraph 1 means_________.

A．平衡

B．贷款

C．余款

D．提款

【小题2】 What is special about the TIME bank we each have?

A．We can store time in it whenever we like.

B．Someone puts $ 86, 400 in it every day.

C．The time in it will surely get lost if you don't use it.

D．Someone helps you spend your time every night.

【小题3】What can be the best title of the passage?

A．The Bank of Money	B．The Bank of Time
C．The value of one hour	D．The clock is running

【小题4】 In this passage,  the writer tries to tell us_________.

A．what a bank is	B．how to save money
C．the difference of time units	D．to make good use of time

阅读下面的材料，然后根据材料内容回答所提问题。

You may have known several kinds of police, traffic police and street police. But have you ever heard of energysaving (节能) policemen?

A group of 22 of these new policemen went to work last week in Beijing. They go around the city to see the use of energy in hotels, office buildings, shopping centers and other public places. One of their aims is to make sure that these places have set their air conditioning (空调) no cooler than 26℃.

 “If everyone sets their air conditioning at 26℃, Beijing will save 400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in one summer,” said a TV advertisement.

At the beginning of this month, China made its first action plan to fight pollution. It aims to reduce energy usage by 20% and increase renewable (可再生的) energy up to 10% from 7% by 2011.

To introduce the public to a green life, last week Beijing held a show on energy-saving technology and products.

“We want to tell people that there are certain ways to protect the environment. Each of us can find effective ways to do it in our daily life,” said Liu Qianguang, an environmental engineer in Beijing.

1.What do the energy-saving policemen usually do in Beijing?

   _________________________________________________________

2.How much electricity will be saved in one summer if everyone in Beijing sets their air conditioning at 26℃?

   _________________________________________________________

3. Has China planned to reduce energy usage by 20% by 2011?

   _________________________________________________________

4.Why did Beijing hold a show on energy-saving technology and products?

   _________________________________________________________

5.Who is Liu Qianguang?

   _________________________________________________________

 

Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce (弹跳) back.
But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be broken. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How?
Don’t look down on your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.
Don’t let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best for yourself.
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don’t be afraid of difficulties. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible. The quickest way to receive love is to give it; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.
Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure you can always carry easily.
Don’t use time or words carelessly. You can’t get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why we call it “the present” Life is not a competition, but a trip, step by step.
【小题1】The passage tells us not to _________ because everyone is special.

A．be afraid of difficulties

B．be afraid to learn

C．run through life so fast

D．compare yourself with others to look down on your worth

【小题2】The sentence “Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.” means that _____.

A．Nothing is possible

B．If we don’t give up, there is always hope

C．You should learn to give up

D．Although you try, nothing will change.

【小题3】The best way to keep love is to ___________.

A．say it’s impossible	B．give it
C．give it wings	D．hold it tightly

【小题4】According to the passage, which is the best title? ___________

A．Nothing is impossible.

B．Glass balls are easy to be broken.

C．Things you can’t do

D．Treat your life in a right way.