The stock exchange is a market place for the buying and selling of shares, or government securities (有價證券). Buying and selling in the stock exchange are carried out by two kinds of dealers: brokers and jobbers .

Members of the public cannot transact (交易) business in the stock exchange. Anyone wishing to buy or sell shares must employ a stock-broker who will charge fee for the service. Jobbers work within the exchange and do not deal directly with the public. All their business is transacted with brokers and they act as principals rather than agents. This means that they buy and sell shares on their account and their profits depend on the success of their trading. They hope to judge the market trends so that they sell shares at higher prices than those that they paid for them. These are the differences between the responsibilities of a broker and a jobber.

There is, therefore, competition between the jobbers who must adjust their prices according to changes in supply and demand. If they set their buying prices too high, they will find themselves buying huge quantities of shares that they might have to get rid of at a loss. If they fix their prices too low , they will find themselves taking large orders for shares that they do not possess. They must , however , buy the shares that they have agreed to supply to the brokers. It could happen that they will find themselves paying higher prices than those at which they have agreed to sell. Jobbers tend to specialize in shares of companies in particular industries such as shipping, mines (礦藏), oil, land, property and so on. The largest single market in the stock exchange, however, is that in government securities.

1．The dealing of the buying and selling stocks is done in the circulation of ________ .

A．the broker —— the jobber —— the exchange —— the public

B．the jobber —— the exchange —— the broker —— the public

C．the public —— the broker —— the exchange —— the jobber

D．the exchange —— the jobber —— the broker —— the public 

2．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．In stock exchange, both shares and securities are bought and sold.

B．Concerning responsibilities, brokers and jobbers play the same role in the stock exchange.

C．A stockbroker buys and sells shares mainly for fees.

D．Successful jobbers must have a wide range of knowledge of the companies on the market.

3．According to the passage, business transaction in the stock market is mainly done by

_________.

A．the government                                 B．the public

C．both the brokers and the jobbers            D．only the stockbrokers 

4．Which of the following is true about brokers and jobbers?

A．Jobbers work outside the exchange but deal directly with the public.

B．Brokers work inside the exchange but deal directly with the public.

C．Brokers work outside the exchange and deal directly with the public.

D．Jobbers work inside the exchange and deal directly with the public.

Bill Javis took over our village news-agency at a time of life when most of us only want to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.

Every day he opened his shop at six a.m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his door-step before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometime in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doormat, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.

He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.

“What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.

For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right.”

I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock round with him before.

1．Bill opened the shop so early in the day because ___________.

A．he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work

B．the shop had to be open when the morning papers came

C．he was never sure of the time

D．it was then that he did a lot of business

2．You might say “hard luck” to someone who __________.

A．has just heard some very good news

B．is less fortunate than he or she ought to be

C．puts great effort into whatever he or she tries

D．fails through his or her own fault entirely

3．On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because ________.

A．he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing

B．he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all

C．Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange

D．Bill stayed in his flat

4．From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?

A．The bell was; it must have gone off at the wrong time.

B．Bill was; he had dropped off to sleep.

C．The writer’s watch was fast.

D．Bill’s clock was wrong; it was very old.

When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying: “We have to go to work now,” you’re left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 21^st century and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in the theatre.

Stage schools often act as agencies to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage schools” are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education.

A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn’t settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?

Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year, those over 13 to 80 days.

The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don’t make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the fact seems to suggest this is not always the case.

1．People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing that the children they’re talking to ____.

A．a(chǎn)ttend a stage school                            B．be going to the theatre

C．have got some work to do                    D．love singing and dancing

2．In the writer’s opinion, a good stage school should ___________.

A．produce star performers

B．help pupils improve their study skills

C．train pupils’ language and perform arts

D．provide a general education and stage training

3．“Professional work” used in the text means __________.

A．ordinary school work                           B．money-making performances

C．stage training at school                      D．a(chǎn)cting, singing or dancing after class

4．Which of the following best describes how the writer feels about stage schools?

A．He thinks highly of what they have to offer.

B．He favours an early start in the training of performing arts.

C．He feels uncomfortable about children putting on night shows.

D．He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached.

William Stone, a spokesman of one of the biggest import & export companies in Yorkshire, Britain, was making an angry speech at a business conference in Berlin for seeking a complete solution to the problem of so called “Mad Cow Disease”, which had been spreading quickly throughout the country and was regarded as a direct cause of the death of a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was said to have eaten some well-done beef and died two weeks later. The death caused great fear among beef-eaters all over the world.

“We don’t believe it since until now I haven’t received even a smallest piece of paper reporting the real cause of the death,” said Mr Stone excitedly facing the thirty representatives from at least twenty countries that had been the biggest import countries of the British beef but now refused to have it. When he saw no signs of anybody being willing to speak out, Mr Stone got madder, adding, “You will have to eat beef every day, won’t you? In the past, to get our beef, you ordered in advance, as much as you could, saying in your thank-you letter, … without the British beef we can’t imagine what a colorless sight would be on our countrymen’s dinner tables.”

“But now, gentlemen, you say ‘Mad Cow Disease…Death frightening … sorry to stop enjoying your beef for the moment!’” Mr Stone let out a shout and then seized a handful of paper out from a paper bag lying beside the microphone, “Here, here … What you are thinking about is all here. Have a look at your telegram, gentlemen!”

His audience looked at each other, still expressionless. “Well, let our beef rot away,” Mr Stone continued. “And let your men go hungry—they’ll be mad one day. Thank you!” He took his handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping off sweat while walking down back to his seat. All of the listeners stayed silent for seconds, then laughter burst out.

They, including Mr Stone himself, laughed so much that the chairman of the conference announced a rest of ten minutes.

1．From Mr Stone’s speech we know that ________.

A．the British beef had been widely enjoyed by people out of the country

B．the British beef had once been widely praised by the people of the country

C．the British beef caused the so-called disease

D．Mr Stone often received letters of thanks from beef-eaters

2．Mr Stone thought that since his government didn’t prove that the death of the girl had been caused by the disease, the countries of which representatives were listening should agree to import __________.

A．beef without disease                                   B．some other beef

C．a(chǎn) kind of beef as he suggested              D．a(chǎn)s much British beef as before

3．The underlined word “mad” means “___________” on Mr Stone’s side, but “________” on the listeners side.

A．hungry; angry         B．bad; good 

C．a(chǎn)ngry; ill in mind     D．ill in mind; hungry

4．The laughter made by both the speaker and the listeners showed _________.

A．the problem of the “Mad Cow Disease” would be solved in an easy manner

B．both sides felt something funny

C．the listeners were making fun of the British speaker, Mr Stone

D．Mr Stone’s speech was a successful one

There is          Miss Doolittle waiting for you at          school gate, Alex.

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

--Adolescents’moral development ought to be paid more attention to as well as their mental development.

--                       .

A. Exactly           B. Properly          C. Doubtfully      D. Simply

What a shame you didn't go to the airport to see Andrew off. You          there. You have been close friends for years after all.                   

A. might have been  B. would have been  C. should have been   D. must have been

He has always kept an ideal          due to constant and regular physical exercise.                                                               

A. body              B. figure             C. appearance      D. form

Two men stood under a tree smoking and chatting for more than an hour, and then        

A. left               B. leaving            C. to leave          D. leave

These old pictures bring to their mind the college days           they spent together,           life was hard but happy.                      

A. which; when     B. when; which      C. which; which    D. when; when