As an English teacher, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to many countries all over the world. I’ve seen people celebrate everything from the arrival of new babies to the delivery of new cars. I’ve attended weddings, parties and religious celebrations in countries such as Argentina and Japan, and I’ve noticed that gold---the metal or the colour of it---is always part of cultural events, traditions and celebrations.
It makes me wonder: Why do people love gold?
For some people, gold seems to be a status(地位)symbol. Indian businessman Datta Phuge loves gold so much that he even bought a shirt made of gold at a cost of $250,000. I’m not sure I’d spend so much money on a shirt, would you? But Datta Phuge has his reason .He explains,“ Some people want to own an Audi or a Mercedes. I choose gold.”
For other people, gold is an investment(投資). The price of gold generally increases over time and in European markets, it reached even $1,500 per ounce in 2011.
And for many people, a family heirloom（傳家寶）brings together status and investment. My mother has a gold bracelet（手鐲）that was given to her by her grandmother who, in turn, inherited it from her own grandmother. It’s quite a heavy piece and probably worth quite a lot of money. But its mental value is greater than its value in dollars. It’s a beautiful object that holds many family memories. When the time comes, my mum will give the bracelet to me, and one day, I’ll pass it on to the younger generation.
Therefore, status and investment are good reasons to value gold. However, I think that the real reason why people love gold is that it can be made into beautiful objects. Think about Tutankhamen’s death mask. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?
People love gold because it holds their minds, their imaginations and, above all, their hearts.
小題1:The main idea of the first paragraph is that______.
A．the author has traveled to many countries
B．people celebrate almost everything
C．there are many ways to use gold
D．people all over the world love gold
小題2:Datta Phuge bought a shirt made of gold because________.
A．gold is a status symbol to himB．he loves this kind of shirt
C．people there love gold so muchD．he is a successful businessman
小題3:According to the passage, in Europe,gold could be________per ounce in 2010.
A．$1,550B．$1,500 C．$1,450D．$1,600
小題4:The gold bracelet is the heirloom for the author’s family mainly because______.
A．it’s worth a lot of moneyB．it brings status and investment
C．it’s a beautiful objectD．it holds family memories
小題5:In the author’s opinion, the real reason why people love gold is that________.
A．it is a status symbol to some people
B．it can be made into beautiful objects
C．it can be passed on to the younger generation
D．it can bring people a lot of money

小題1:D
小題2:A
小題3:C
小題4:D
小題5:B

試題分析：本文主要講了全世界的人們都愛金子。人們喜愛金子有各種各樣的原因，作者認(rèn)為人們喜歡黃金的真正原因是它可以被制成好看的物體。
小題1:概括題。根據(jù)and Japan, and I’ve noticed that gold---the metal or the colour of it---is always part of cultural events, traditions and celebrations.可以看出第一自然段主要講了全世界的人們都愛金子，故選D。
小題2: 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)For some people, gold seems to be a status(地位)symbol.可知Datta Phuge買了一件金子作成的襯衣，是因?yàn)閷λ�，金子象征著社會地位，故選A。
小題3:推理題。根據(jù)The price of gold generally increases over time and in European markets, it reached even $1,500 per ounce in 2011.可知在歐洲市場上，金價(jià)在2011年漲到了每盎司1500美元，也就是說在2010年，金價(jià)要低于每盎司1500美元，故選C。
小題4:細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)It’s a beautiful object that holds many family memories.可知金手鐲是作者家庭的傳家寶，主要是因?yàn)樗４媪思易宓挠洃�，故選D。
小題5:細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)However, I think that the real reason why people love gold is that it can be made into beautiful objects.可知依作者來看，人們喜歡黃金的真正原因是它可以被制成好看的物體，故選B。
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