A
Why must we pay taxes? The answer is that the government needs money for many things, for example to pay its soldiers, sailors and airmen, to build roads, bridges, offices, schools, etc, and to buy goods from abroad; and only the people of the country can supply the money. One of the most important taxes is income-tax which a person pays according to the amount of his income-tax. Whether he is a merchant, a doctor, a lawyer, a shopkeeper, a miner, or anything else. This is called a “direct” tax, because it is paid in money direct to the government.
Another tax is paid on goods such as watches, jewellery, new clothes, tobacco, wine, etc, when they are brought into a country, such a tax is paid as part of the price of these goods if they are later sold in shops. We call it “indirect” tax, because it is paid indirectly through the shopkeeper.
People usually complain about having to pay taxes, but they forget that the money is spent on things that they and their families need. We need policemen to catch thieves, to see that men obey the laws, to direct traffic, etc, and they must be paid what they earn; children need education and there must be schools and teachers; we want our streets to be kept clean, and the wages of men who do this kind of work have to be paid. Above all, the country must always be ready to defend itself against attacking enemies, and we cannot have an army without paying for it.
Taxes, therefore, cannot be avoided. We buy our own food and clothes and pay for our own amusements; but, there are several things that the State finds the money for, and that are necessary for us if our society is to continue. We have no real cause to complain, therefore, when we are asked to supply money to be spent for the good of ourselves and for our fellow-citizens. 56. Indirect tax means .
A. tax that one pays directly to the government B. tax that is not paid directly to the government
C. tax that is paid as an extra amount added to the price of certain goods D. both B and C
57. Which of the following is right?
A. Taxes are paid to the sellers. B. Income-tax is an indirect tax.
C. The tax on new clothes is paid in money direct to the government.
D. Tax is amount of money that you pay to the government for public services. 58. People have no real reason to complain about having to pay taxes because .
A. some shopkeepers are very rich
B. they need money to buy goods from abroad C. their children need education
D. the money is spent on things that they and their families need 59. “Taxes cannot be avoided”means .
A. people have to pay taxes to the government B. you do not have to pay tax on some goods C. soldiers do not have to pay taxes D. all goods have to be taxed
B
A businessman must keep records of the money he takes in and the money he spends. The work of keeping such records is called bookkeeping. The work of deciding how the records should be set up is called accounting. An accountant also finds out, by studying the records, whether or not a business is doing well. The accountant must know many things about the business.
Suppose a man owns a small clothing store, he keeps records that show that he spent money for newspaper advertising, and for suits, shirts, shoes, and neckties to sell to his customers. He had to pay a young man to help him in the store. He also paid rent and had other expenses.
At the end of the year, he must take an inventory. That is, he counts how many pieces of clothing he has on hand. Then he must find out exactly how many he sold, how much money he took in, and how much money he spent in running the business. If he took in more than he spent, he made a profit for the year. If he spent more than he took in, he suffered a loss. He depends on his store accounting records to get all this information.
The owner of a small clothing store can keep records without much trouble. But a big oil company, or a big bank has many difficult accounting problems. The company must know how much money is to be paid by its debtors and how much it owes other companies for supplies. It must know how much it has lost in depreciation, or wear and tear of its equipment. All of this information must be kept in the company's accounts. Big companies employ many accountants.
After a company's accountants finish their yearly count, their work must be officially examined. Experts from outside company double-check the records to be sure the accounts are correct.
60. According to the passage, a clothing store owner needs to keep records of the money he spends for .
A. clothing only B. newspaper advertising C. all necessary expenses D. housing
61. After taking an inventory, if the owner found that he had got more money than he had spent, he made .
A. a profit B. a loss C. an income D. an interest 62. A small store owner can usually keep records .
A. with difficulty B. easily C. without any help D. without working
63. In big companies, after the accountants finish the yearly count, .
A. the work will be well done B. no one will check it
C. the records will be finished D. experts will check the records
C
You may think that inventions are far away from your everyday life. But in fact, almost everyone can invent. It's just that they do not recognize that their idea could be the start of an invention. Once inventors see their ideas have some practical value, they don't let them slip away. For example, the inventor of the dishwasher, American Josephine Cochrane, loved to give dinner parties. But she found it took too long to wash her dishes by hand and too many of them broke. She decided that a machine could do the job faster and with fewer mistakes. So, in 1886, she set out to
make one for herself.
Like Cochrane's, most inventions are created to solve a problem. So, the first and most important step is to find the problem.
You can start by looking at what is wrong with things you use now. You can ask grandparents or neighbours if they remember ever saying: \"I wish someone would invent something for...\" Or you can look at people in different areas such as on the street, or at school. Then you might notice situations or things in need of improvement.
Remember to record your ideas and work. This will help you develop your invention and protect it when it is completed.
The next step is to think about possible solutions. An invention is a new way of solving a problem. So think of many, varied, and unusual ways.
You can often come up with a solution for a problem by looking at it from a different angle (角度) or thinking about it in a new way.
Example 1 — instead of thinking of shoes as protecting your feet from the ground, think of
using something to protect the ground from your feet.
Example 2 — instead of thinking about how you can carry oranges home from a store, think of
how they can come to you by delivery or growing your own.
Example 3 — instead of experimenting with only one solution, can you put two or three
solutions together, or arrange them in different orders?
And if one solution doesn't work, can it be put to other uses? That was how yellow post-it notes (N次贴) came about — a \"failed\" adhesive (粘合剂) experiment proved a weak adhesive had good uses too!
After all, most inventions are not brand new. They do not come out of nowhere, but come out of things or ideas that already exist (存在).
And the hardest part of inventing, even for a lot of inventors, is coming up with a problem and finding a solution. Once you have an idea, you can always get help building your invention.
This problem-solving technique can also work in your everyday lives. So, why not try it in your studies, in your relationship with others, or even in the way you look at the world? 64. The main idea of this story is ________.
A. how to improve the world around you
B. that you can invent and how you will be able to do so C. problem-solving technique
D. how inventors invent
65. What makes inventors different from other people is probably that __________. A. they consider every new idea as an invention
B. they are full of creative ideas C. they enjoy solving problems
D. they look for problems and try to solve them in a new and better way 66. What made Josephine Cochrane decide to invent the dishwasher? A. Her love of parties.
B. Her dislike of dishwashing.
C. Her desire for something that could do the dishwashing better.
D. Her love of inventing.
67. Which of the following is one of the ways to find a problem?
A. Look at the world from a different angle.
B. Find out things that people are not satisfied with. C. Do experiments.
D. Never let a practical idea slip away.
68.The underlined phrase \"come about\" probably means to _______. A. come into being B. put to use C. work D. become
D
When dinning in restaurants, Americans usually order drinks first, then soup, salad, main course or entree(主菜), and dessert at last. This is somewhat a different order way from that in Europe.
Until about the middle of the nineteenth century, Americans didn’t have to worry about whether the salad came before or after the main course since they didn’t eat salad at all. Chomping(大声地咀嚼) on greens was once considered sissy(女人气的), and Americans preferred to get their greens indirectly, after they had been processed by rabbits or deer. The shift of public taste toward the salad may be attributed to New York’s Delmonico brothers, who originally introduced smorgasbord from Europe, and served it in their restaurant. Such novelties(新奇的东西) became so popular that by the end of the nineteenth century, the Waldorf salad has swept the country.
Europeans still chomp on greens after the main course, as a way of clearing the palate(味觉), and being ready for the cheese. Why Americans eat their salad first is uncertain. The following joking suggestions might make sense: The custom may be related to the slimming craze, for “salad first” may fill you up without any worry about fattening; to avoid customers’ impatience with waiting, the restaurant serves salad first to keep them busy while the main courses are being prepared; eating raw food while one is waiting for the cooked food may be a way of announcing that one is not wasting time, which is seen as a virtue; probably unfair to the restaurant, this custom has been encouraged by the merchant as trick-the meagerness(不足量) of a meal is less noticeable if it comes after “free” salad-after all, rabbit food is much cheaper than the rabbit. 69. Before the middle of the nineteenth century, _________ . A. Americans ate the salad before the main course
B. Americans ate the salad after the main course
C. Americans ate the salad either before or after the main course
D. Americans didn’t eat salad at all
70. In the last sentence of the passage, “rabbit food” refers to_______ . A. the salad B. food made of rabbit meat
C. junk food D. food prepared for the rabbit 71. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Salad first appeared in America, and then was introduce to Europe.
B. The American tradition of eating salad before the
main course was formed mainly due to health.
C. In less than fifty years, salad became popular throughout the United States.
D. Serving Salad before the entree by the restaurants is a way of cheating the diners.
E
A century ago in the United States, when an individual brought suit（起诉） against a company, public opinion tended to protect that company. But perhaps this phenomenon was most striking in the case of the railroads. Nearly half of all carelessness cases decided through 1896 involved railroads. And the railroads usually won.
Most of the cases were decided in sate courts, when the railroads had the climate of the times on their sides. Government supported the railroad industry; the progress railroads represented was not to be slowed down by requiring them often to pay damages to those unlucky enough to be hurt working for them.
Court decisions always went against railroad workers. A Mr. Farwell, an engineer, lost his right hand when a switchman carelessly ran his engine off the track. The court reasoned that since Farwell had taken the job of an engineer voluntarily at good pay, he had accepted the risk.
Therefore the accident, though avoidable had the switchmen acted carefully, was a \"pure accident\". In effect a railroad could never be held responsible for injury to one employee caused by the mistake of another.
In one case where a Pennsylvania Railroad worker had started a fire at a warehouse and the fire had spread several blocks, causing widespread damage, a jury found the company responsible for all the damage. But the court overturned the jury's decision because it argued that the railroad's carelessness was the immediate cause of damage only to the nearest buildings. Beyond them the connection was too far-off to consider.
As the century wore on, public feeling began to turn against the railroads -- against their economic and political power and high fares as well as against their coldness toward individuals. 72. Which of the following is NOT true in Farwell's case?
A. Farwell was injured because he carelessly ran his engine off the track.
B. Farwell would not have been injured if the switchman had been more careful.
C. The court argued that the victim had accepted the risk since he had willingly taken his job. D. The court decided that the railroad should not be held responsible. 73. What must have happened after the fire case was settled in court?
A. The railroad compensated（赔偿）for the damage to the immediate buildings. B. The railroad compensated for all the damage by the fire. C. The railroad paid nothing for the damaged building.
D. The railroad worker paid for the property damage himself. 74. The following aroused public anger EXCEPT _____. A. political power B. high fares C. economic loss D. indifference
75. What does the passage mainly discuss? A. Railroad oppressing individuals in the US. B. History of the US railroads.
C. Railroad workers' working rights. D. Law cases concerning the railroads.
参考答案56-60 DDDAC 61-65 ABDBD 66-70 CBADA 71-75CAACD
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