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This is BBC special English program. Today we are going to introduce a money saved product to you.
A British company has made a new product to help us save money. The product is a wristband that gives us an electric shock if we spend too much money. The wristband is called Pavlok. It is linked to our bank account. It knows how much money we have in the bank. If we go shopping and there is not enough money in our bank account, the wristband makes an electric shock to our wrist. This warns us not to overspend. The company is called Intelligent Environment. It wants to work with banks to help customers with their money. So far, no banks in Britain have said they would ask their customers to wear Pavlok. They could start doing this in the future.
The Pavlok wristband is part of the Internet of Things. This is the idea that everything in our life will be connected to the Internet. The CEO of Intelligent Environment, David Webber, said people liked the idea of the Pavlok. Shoppers would rather get a small electric shock in the store from the wristband than get a big shock later when they see their bank account. Mr Webber said the Pavlok would greatlybenefit the people who cannot stop spending because they have no power or their power is weak. He added that many young people have the “ostrich effect”. This is when people put their heads in the sand and buy things rather than look at how much money they have in their bank.
1.The company made the product to help itself___________
A. make money B. save money C. offer help D. benefit customers
2.Mr. Webber thinks the wristband is _________
A. helpless B. great C. a big surprise D. cheap
3.You can read this passage in a ___________
A. health magazine B. medical journal C. science magazine D. travel guide
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The human nose has given to the languages of the world many interesting expressions. Of course, this is not surprising. Without the nose, we could not breather or smell. It is part of the face that gives a person special character. Cyranode Bergerac said that a large nose showed a great man----brave, polite, manly and intellectual.
Afamous women poet wished that she had two noses to smell a rose! Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher, made an interesting comment about the Cleopatra’s nose. If it had been shorter, he said, it would have changed the whole face of the world.
Historically, man’s nose had had a principalrole in his imagination. Man has referred to the nose in many ways to express his emotions. Expressions concerning the noserefer to human weakness: anger, pride, jealousyand revenge.
In English there are a number of phrases about the nose. For example, to hold up one’s nose expresses a basic human feeling----pride. People can hold up their noses at people, things and places.
The phrase, to be led around by the nose, shows man’s weakness. Aperson who is led around by the nose lets other people control him. On the other hand, a person who follows his nose lets his instinct guide him.
For the human emotion of rejection, the phrase, to have one’s nose put out of joint, is very descriptive. The expression applies to persons who have been turned aside because of a competitor. Their pride is hurt and they feel rejected. This expression is not new. It was used by Erassmus in 1542.
This is only a sample of expressions in English dealing withthe nose. There are a number of others. however, it should be as plain as the nose on the face that the nose is more than an organ for breathing and smelling!
1.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. A person who holds up his nose is easier to get angry.
B. A person who is proud of himself is to hold up his nose.
C. A person who is satisfied with himself always follows others.
D. A person who hopes to have two noses is strong-minded.
2.What does the underlined phrase “to be led around by the nose”mean?
A. To be followed by somebody.
B. To be controlled by somebody.
C. To be under your nose.
D. To pay through the nose.
3.How does a person who has his nose put out of joint feel?
A. Worried. B. Pleased. C. Proud and happy. D. Hurt and unaccepted.
4.What do you know from the last sentence of this passage?
A. It is hard to know that the nose is not only for smelling.
B. The nose is really just an organ for breathing and smelling.
C. It’s clear that a nose’s function is more than breathing and smelling.
D. Itis not important that a nose has other functions except these two.
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One new discovery after another has been over and over again plunging a hard-to-accept idea into scientists’ minds: there might have been an even more advanced super prehistoric civilization in the remote past.
Discovery One: Kept in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey is a unique ancient map, which was first discovered in the 18th century. On the map, only the Mediterranean area is accurately mapped while other places, such as America and Africa, are well out of shape. When studying in a deeper way, however, the scientists were amazed at finding the ancient map was actually a bird’s-eye map. Compared with the pictures of the earth taken by the Apollo 8 spacecraft, the Turkey map is exactly the repeat of them and the deformable boundaries of America and Africa agree well with those of the Apollo 8’s pictures. To scientists’ astonishment, the map even describes the complex landforms of the Antarctic covered with several-kilometer- thick ice, which is as like as two peas with the map made by the 1952 Antarctica expedition with the help of the sonic echo sounder. But the old map was made in the remote ancient times!
Discovery Two: On the Lake Titicaca Plateau of South America lies the ruin of an ancient city, at the centre of which stands a huge red sandstone statue. Printed on it is a complete star map with hundreds of signs. Through years of study, scientists finally decoded the map and signs. This is a star map describing the starry sky 27,000 years ago. The signs record the extremely deep astronomic knowledge, which is even beyond the modern people’s understanding.
Discovery Three: In 1921, people happened to find an ancient Nied man’s skull in Zambia, Africa. In the right of the skull there is an edge-smooth round hole, which scientists have decided only a bullet can make. But the ancient Nied people lived about 70,000 years ago, when mankind is supposed to have just learnt to use axes.
Was there really a prehistoric super civilization? God knows!
1.The Turkey map was made in _______.
A. the 18th century B. the 20th century C. the 1950s D. the remote past
2.What is the most important discovery of Discovery Two?
A. An ancient city. B. A huge statue. C. A star map D. Astronomic knowledge.
3.The hole in the ancient Nied man’s skull suggests that the ancient Nied people _______.
A. could make something like guns
B. were very cruel
C. made much use of men’s skulls
D. could use axes skillfully
4.The author uses the three discoveries to prove that _______.
A. ancient people were much cleverer than present people
B. there might be a super civilization in the remote past
C. the ancient civilization might come from outer space
D. God made everything, including the super civilization
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In ancient Egypt, a shopkeeper discovered that he could attract customers to his shop simply by making changes to its environment. Modern businesses have been following his lead, with more tactics (策略).
One tactic involves where to display the goods. For example, stores place fruits and vegetables in the first section. They know that customers who buy the healthy food first will feel happy so that they will buy more junk food (垃圾食品) later in their trip. In department stores, the women’s shoe section is generally next to the women’s cosmetics (化妆品) section: while the shop assistant is going back to find the right size shoe, bored customers are likely to wander over and find some cosmetics they might want to try later.
Besides, businesses seek to appeal to customers’ senses. Stores notice that the smell of baked goods encourages shopping, so they make their own bread each morning and then fan the bread smell into the store throughout the day. Music sells goods, too. Researchers in Britain found that when French music was played, sales of French wines went up.
When it comes to the selling of houses, businesses also use highly rewarding tactics. They find that customers make decisions in the first few seconds upon walking in the door, and turn it into a business opportunity. A California builder designed the structure of its houses smartly. When entering the house, the customer would see the Pacific Ocean through the windows, and then the pool through an open stairway leading to the lower level. The instant view of water on both levels helped sell these $ 10 million houses.
1.Why do stores usually display fruits and vegetables in the first section?
A. To save customers time. B. To show they are high quality foods.
C. To help sell junk food. D. To sell them at discount prices.
2.According to Paragraph 3, which of the following encourages customers to buy?
A. Opening the store early in the morning. B. Displaying British wines next to French ones.
C. Inviting customers to play music. D. Filling the store with the smell of fresh bread.
3.What is the California builder’s story intended to prove?
A. The house structure is a key factor customers consider.
B. The more costly the house is, the better it sells.
C. An ocean view is much to the customers’ taste.
D. A good first impression increases sales.
4.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To explain how businesses turn people into their customers.
B. To introduce how businesses have grown from the past.
C. To report researches on customer behavior.
D. To show dishonest business practices.
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