If you want to learn why everything is usually cheaper, and what items are the best deals at your local or chain dollar or discount store, store employees have a lot of useful information. They tend to know what shoppers want — even before shoppers know themselves.
Everyone buys unnecessary things
Whether you shop at a chain dollar store such as Dollar Tree, Family Dollar or your local 99 cents store, not everything that’s on sale is necessarily worth purchasing. Bryan Waring, a former Dollar Tree employee, says that you’re not alone in buying more than necessary from these stores. “It seems basic, but everyone falls for this trap,” he says. “You go into a store where everything is cheap, and you walk out with things you don't need.” He suggests going into a store — yes, even the dollar store — with a checklist of things you truly need.
Everything is cheaper after the holiday season
Patricia, a seasonal worker at a Dollar Tree, says that the post-Christmas season means even more deals on everything from decorations to sweets. “After Christmas, all the gift wrap paper went to 50 cents, and all Christmas items were half price,” she says. “Even candy bars are 89 cents versus $ 1.”
Products are less expensive because of their size
In order for dollar stores to keep their prices low, product sizes are usually smaller than normal, according to Cheapism. Dollar stores area t the only ones guilty of this trick. Cheapism also reports Walmart is guilty of doing the same thing to attract customers.
1.What is Bryan’s advice against buying unnecessary things?
A.Making a purchase alone.
B.Writing a to-buy list ahead.
C.Shopping at your local store.
D.Buying basic things separately.
2.Which of the following is a better time for shopping according to Patricia?
A.In the Christmas sales.
B.At a particular discount.
C.After the Christmas season.
D.During some holiday seasons.
3.How do stores make their products cheaper?
A.By reducing product sizes.
B.By lowering product costs.
C.By adopting discount strategies.
D.By attracting more customers.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
It was just a normal day for Ruth Miller, a 63-year-old woman until everything went horribly wrong. She was walking to her car after shopping when the unthinkable happened.
Right as she was unlocking her car, a man quickly came up behind her and tried to wrestle her purse away. She was in shock. Luckily she remembered she had her Safe Personal Alarm (SPA) on her purse, and since she was too scared to scream for help, she quickly reached for the alarm and pulled the pin (保险栓). Immediately her SPA started just screaming. The man didn't know what to do! He froze for a second, and then ran away like a bat out of hell!
SPA is a safety device capable of creating a 125db sound that attracts attention and scares away potential attackers. To compare, it's the same volume as a military jet during takeoff.
Paul Davidson, the inventor of SPA, knows all too well the type of situation that Ruth found herself in. But that's not the only type of situation that SPA helps protect against. Parents can give it to their kids as an extra means of protection. Teenagers can use it so they can feel safe walking home. Women can know it's there when they have to use the parking lot at night. “My mother, who is 76 years old, carries it around in case she falls and needs to ask people for help. I only wish I'd have thought of it earlier,” said Paul.
The police have been recommending SPA since it first hit the market. In fact, since its launch, SPA has been in a state, shifting between in stock to sold out nearly every other week, and it's also got tons of loyal followers worldwide.
1.What does the underlined part “the unthinkable” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
A.An attempted robbery. B.A wrestling match.
C.An angry argument. D.A car accident.
2.How did Ruth react to the unexpected situation?
A.She fought violently. B.She froze in great fear.
C.She cried desperately for help. D.She sounded her safety device.
3.Why does Paul mention his mother?
A.To imply the elderly need more care. B.To suggest he cares about his mother.
C.To show SPA can be widely used. D.To make an advertisement for SPA.
4.What can be learned from the text?
A.SPA is well received in the market. B.People hesitate to pay for security.
C.SPA was sold out in the first two weeks. D.SPA is not important in life.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Like clockwork, nearly every fourth February includes one extra day. February 29th, otherwise known as Leap Day, isn’t exactly a holiday. Instead, it’s there to keep your calendar consistent with the earth’s rotation (旋转) around the sun.
According to History, com, Roman emperor Julius Caesar is the “father” of Leap Year. Until he came along, people used a 355-day calendar, which was 10.25 days shorter than the solar year. Roman officials were supposed add an extra month every now and then to keep the seasons exactly where they should be. But that didn’t work out all that well. When special occasions started shifting into different seasons around 45 BCE, Caesar consulted with astronomers and decreed (下令) that the empire should use a 12-month, 365-day calendar, which he named after himself, Caesar’s Julian calendar included a Leap Day every four years.
Though Leap Day keeps your calendar in line with the earth’s rotation around the sun, it causes a different kind of problem for leapsters. When should these February 29th babies celebrate their birthdays during the other three-quarters of their lives? Some party on February 28th, while others prefer a two-day celebration that spans the last day of February and the first day of March.
Leap Day can be a nuisance in the legal system. In 2006, a court in Massachusetts was deciding whether criminal John Melo could be released a day early since his 10-year sentence included a Leap Day. In the case, the judge decided that since the man was sentenced to prison for years, not days. Leap Day didn’t make a bit of difference.
Though a few timekeepers have pushed for calendars that don’t include Leap Day, almost all astronomers and societies agree that Leap Day is the best method to keep the calendar on track.
1.Why was Leap Day created?
A.To celebrate special occasions. B.To honor Emperor Julius Caesar.
C.To keep pace with the solar year. D.To keep track of all the seasons.
2.What is the problem with the birthday celebration of February 29th babies?
A.It is sometimes delayed. B.It lasts at least two days.
C.It has to be held every other year. D.It may take place on different dates.
3.What does the underlined word “nuisance” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.Joke. B.Topic.
C.Trouble. D.Mistake.
4.what is the attitude of most astronomers towards Leap Day?
A.Critical. B.Supportive.
C.Doubtful. D.Cautious.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Scientists have developed a new type of smart bandage (绷带) that can signal the type of bacterial (细菌的) infection it’s protecting, just like a traffic light, as well as release the right type of drugs on demand. The traffic light system works just like this: Green means no bacteria or a low concentration of bacteria, yellow means drug-sensitive (DS) bacteria responsive to standard antibiotics (抗生素) and causes antibiotic release, and red means drug-resistant (DR) bacteria that need extra help to be wiped out.
In testing the bandage on mice, the research team was able to successfully treat both DS and DR infections using the new method. However, the common methods of sensing resistance are limited by time, the requirement for professional personnel, and expensive instruments. Moreover, the abuse of antibiotics causes the accelerated process of bacterial resistance.
It’s easy to see how a simple bandage and light could overcome some of these limitations. Treatment doesn’t have to wait for a doctor to make a diagnosis, and the bandage can get the right sort of drugs applied at the earliest opportunity. What’s more, the person wearing the bandage gets real-time feedback on what’s happening with the infection, if there’s an infection at all. The researchers say it offers numerous benefits over existing treatments that make use of light, including photodynamic therapy or PDT.
We’ve been seeing quite a few upgrades to the traditional bandage in recent years, thanks to advances in science — like the nanofiber mesh that attracts bacteria and draws some of it out, speeding up the healing process. Then there’s the novel bandage for treating burns, which stops bacteria from multiplying and lowers the risk of infection.
The more work that a bandage can do while it’s protecting a wound, the better. Efforts to improve bandages continue and now we've got a bandage that not only releases antibiotics, but also tells the patient exactly what’s going on too.
1.What is the smart bandage mainly designed to do?
A.Avoid the use of antibiotics. B.Clear out harmful bacteria.
C.Detect bacterial infections. D.Increase treatment options.
2.What is the advantage of the smart bandage?
A.It saves much time and cost. B.It removes the risk of infection.
C.It prevents the bacterial resistance. D.It improves doctor-patient relationship.
3.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
A.Traditional bandages are out of use now.
B.More smart bandages will be developed.
C.Progress in science calls for more research.
D.People are urged to study medical science.
4.What does the text focus on?
A.A successful test on mice. B.A colour-changing bandage.
C.Sensing drug-resistant bacteria. D.Preventing abuse of antibiotics.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Handwriting is quickly becoming a dying art. Few businesses can run nowadays without computers. 1. Researchers from Princeton University conducted a study to demonstrate the differences between students who wrote out their notes and those who typed notes on a lecture. 2. Participants were tested on the material 30 minutes after the lecture and again a week later. And handwriting emerged as the champion.
3. The typers had a significant edge when it came to note-taking efficiency. The typers could copy down significantly many more words than the writers, sometimes even transcribing the contents of the lecture word-for-word.
But while more of the lecture's content was retained (保留) on paper when typing, it wasn’t necessarily retained in participants’ heads. 4. On the test 30 minutes after the lecture, typers and writers did more or less equally well on questions about the basic facts of the lecture, but typers fell behind when it came to more conceptual questions.
As for the later quiz, the results were similar. Students with handwritten notes were able to remember and still understand the concepts of the lecture after a week had passed. These participants were also more open to understanding new ideas. 5.
A.The tests that the participants took proved this.
B.The efficiency of handwriting might best benefit you.
C.That’s not to say that typing doesn't have its benefits.
D.In this study, the laptops were only used to take notes.
E.Generally speaking, typing also has its own disadvantages.
F.But what are we losing as handwriting loses its significance in society?
G.Clearly, writing by hand is one of the things that can make you smarter.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
As the temperature approached as high as 90 °F last July 4th, three police officers went into a Foods Market to get something _______ to drink. Once inside, they were asked by a security guard to help with a _______ woman. The woman in question was obviously _______, and her cheeks were wet with tears. The officers looked inside her bag. All they saw were containers of _______.
“I’m hungry,” she explained _______. Caught red-handed, the woman no doubt expected to be treated as a _______. But the police had other _______. “We’ll pay for her food.” One of them told the _______ security guard. She would not be _______.
Drying her wet __________, the woman repeated, “Thank you, thank you.” She wasn’t the only one touched by this act of __________. Customers at the store were so impressed by what they’d __________ that some even posted a photo on Twitter. __________, attention was never what the officers sought. They were __________ by a far more common emotion. When we look at someone’s face and see that they need you, it’s pretty __________ as a human being to walk away from something like this.
1.A.safe B.sweet C.clean D.cold
2.A.wounded B.suspected C.reported D.wronged
3.A.scared B.disappointed C.puzzled D.annoyed
4.A.clothes B.medicine C.toys D.food
5.A.politely B.loudly C.seriously D.helplessly
6.A.thief B.beggar C.victim D.customer
7.A.facts B.secrets C.ideas D.reasons
8.A.rude B.surprised C.patient D.embarrassed
9.A.arrested B.employed C.kept D.doubted
10.A.bag B.hands C.packet D.cheeks
11.A.caution B.sympathy C.justice D.faith
12.A.ignored B.expected C.witnessed D.recognized
13.A.However B.Therefore C.Besides D.Instead
14.A.attracted B.controlled C.required D.driven
15.A.typical B.amazing C.difficult D.silly
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The wildfires in Australia became considerably worse in January, 2020. The disaster faced by 1.country is far from over. Many of the fires 2. (send) smoke high into the atmosphere and some smoke turned into pyrocumulonimbus clouds. The clouds can help a fire draw in more air and shift surface winds, 3. (result) in fire tornadoes (龙卷风). Fires have destroyed habitats for animals that 4.(find) only in Australia, including koalas and rare birds. It will take time to fully know how much harm the fires have done 5. wildlife. The wildfires are expected 6. (continue) burning for months as Australia entered its dry season.
This past year, 2019, is the hottest and driest year on record. Fires happen 7.(regular) during the Australian dry season. However, climate and natural changes are making the situation 8. (bad). At least 12 million acres have been burned so far in Victoria and New South Wales alone. Smoke from the fires has made 9.to South
America. There is so much smoke that it may stay in the air for months, 10. could have a small effect on the planet’s climate.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Frank来信询问你的寒假生活情况。请根据以下要点给他回信：
1. 由于冠状病毒病爆发，假期被迫延长；
2. 寒假生活（在线上课、读书、锻炼身体等）；
3. 期盼开学。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 信的开头已为你写好。
参考词汇：冠状病毒病COVID-19
Dear Frank,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数为150左右。
Arthur was messy. He didn’t try to make messes, but he didn’t try to clean up much, either. There were always small pieces of food on the table when he was done eating. His socks never made it into the hamper (洗衣篮). And he only picked up his toys when Mom threatened to throw them away. Most days, Mom followed Arthur around the house and cleaned up after him. She brushed the crumbs (碎屑) into her hand and threw them away after meals. She picked up his socks and made sure they got washed, dried and folded neatly before going back in the drawer. She often picked up his toys when he left them to do something else.
One day, Mom asked Arthur to pick up his toy trains. “Not right now,” Arthur said. He was reading a comic book. The trains had been on the living room floor since the morning.
“You know what, Arthur? I’m not going to ask you again. I’m done cleaning today.” And with that. Mom put her feet up on the sofa and picked up a book to read.
At dinner time, Arthur noticed that there was a big pile of crumbs at his place at the table. Mom’s spot was nice and clean. Arthur didn’t like the crumbs very much. After dinner, Arthur’s feet felt cold. He went to his room and opened his drawer, but the drawer was empty. “Mom, where are my socks?” Arthur called.
“There weren’t any socks in your hamper, so I didn’t wash them,” Mom said. Arthur felt unhappy. Now his feet would be cold, unless he wanted to wear dirty socks from the floor. He decided to stay barefoot.
When it was time for bed, Arthur said good night to Mom and turned to go upstairs. Arthur stepped right on his toy train in his bare feet. “Ouch!” cried Arthur. “That really hurt !”
Paragraph 1:
However, Mom was still reading and said nothing.
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Paragraph 2:
“Mom?” said Arthur. “Tomorrow can you show me how to do the washing so I can wash my socks?”
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析