I love charity shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won't find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.

The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity's appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful that it had been flooded with donations. They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favorite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children's books, all 10 or 20 pence each.

Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don't encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.

The shops have very low running costs, and all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than ￡110 million a year, funding medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better places to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and step lightly on the environment.

1.The author loves the charity shop mainly because of ______.

A. its convenient location

B. its great variety of goods

C. its spirit of goodwill

D. its nice shopping environment

2. The first charity shop in the UK was set up to ______ .

A. sell cheap products

B. deal with unwanted things

C. raise money for patients

D. help a foreign country

3. Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?

A. The operating costs are very low.

B. The staff are usually well paid.

C. 90% of the donations are second-hand.

D. They are open twenty-four hours a day.

Why does most of the world travel on the right side today? Theories differ, but there's no doubt Napoleon was a major influence. The French have used the right since at least the late 18th century. Some say that before the French Revolution, noblemen drove their carriages on the left, forcing the peasants to the right. Regardless of the origin, Napoleon brought right-hand traffic to the nations he conquered, including Russia, Switzerland and Germany. Hitler, in turn, ordered right-hand traffic in Czechoslovakia and Austria in the 1930s. Nations that escaped right-hand control, like Great Britain, followed their left-hand tradition.

The U.S. has not always been a nation of right-hand drivers; earlier in its history, carriage and horse traffic travelled on the left, as it did in England. But by the late 1700s, people driving large wagons pulled by several pairs of horses began promoting a shift (改變) to the right. A driver would sit on the rear (后面的) left horse in order to wave his whip (鞭子) with his right hand; to see opposite traffic clearly, they travelled on the right.

One of the final moves to firmly standardize traffic directions in the U.S. occurred in the 20th century, when Henry Ford decided to mass-produce his cars with controls on the left ( the reason was stated in a 1908 catalog: the convenience for passengers exiting directly onto the edge, especially if there is a lady to be considered).Once these rules were set, many countries eventually adjusted to the right-hand standard, including Canada in the 1920s, Sweden in 1967 and Burma in 1970.The U.K. and former colonies such as Australia and India are among the Western world's few remaining holdouts(堅(jiān)持不變者).Several Asian nations, including Japan, use the left as well—though many places use both right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive cars.

1.Why did people in Switzerland travel on the right?

A. They had used the right-hand traffic since the 18th century.

B. Rich people enjoyed driving their carriages on the right.

C. Napoleon introduced the right-hand traffic to this country.

D. Hitler ordered them to go against their left-hand tradition.

2.Of all the countries below, the one that travels on the right is ______.

A. Austria B. England C. Japan D. Australia

3.Henry Ford produced cars with controls on the left ______.

A. in order to change traffic directions in the U.S.

B. so that passengers could get off conveniently

C. because rules at that time weren't perfect

D. though many countries were strongly against that

4.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Before the French Revolution, all the French people used the right.

B. People in Britain and the U.S. travel on the same side nowadays.

C. The Burmese began to travel on the right in 1970.

D. All the Asian nations use the left at present.

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容（不多于3個單詞）或括號內(nèi)單詞的正確形式。

Almost everyone has some kind of hobby. 1. may be anything from collecting stamps to making model planes. Some hobbies are very expensive, but 2. are valuable only to their owners. I know a man who has a coin collection worth several thousand dollars. A short time ago he bought a seldom 3. (see) fifty-cent piece worth $250! He was very happy about what he bought and thought the price was 4. (reason). 5. the other hand my youngest brother collects match boxes. He has almost 600 of them but I doubt 6. they are worth any money. However, to my brother they are very valuable. Nothing makes him 7. (happy) than to find a new match box for his collection. That’s8. a hobby means, I guess. It is something we like to do in our spare time simply 9. the fun of it. The value in dollars is not important, but the 10. (pleased) it gives is.

短文改錯

Grandma Moses was crazy about painting soon before she picked it up and worked hard at it. She painted careful and her works were nice. She first painted only to please oneself, and then began to sell her works with a little money. In 1993, a collector, Louis Caldor happen to see several of Grandma Moses’ work hanging in a shop. He liked them, buying them at once, and set out to look for less. Caldor held a show to introduce the works of Grandma Moses other artists. Grandma Moses, who was world-famous, was died on December 13, 1961, at the age of 101．

It is now generally believed that a good teacher should be ________ to his/her students.

A. convenient B. adequate

C. accessible D. suitable

Each application letter should be ________ by a stamped and addressed envelope, so that we can reply to you in time.

A. stored B. bought C. kept D. accompanied

The classical Chinese folk music ________ a wave of homesickness among the overseas students.

A. set out B. set off

C. set about D. set on

It is reported that more than half of ________ surveyed on the website say they are content with their current life.

A. whom B. them C. ones D. those

When the news came that China’s football team ranked ________ 2nd and qualified itself for ________ 2nd round, we all jumped up with excitement.

A. the; the B. the; a C. /; the D. a; /

An ideal job should be one that _____ what you are good at with what you are interested in.

A. combines B. connects

C. contacts D. concentrates