Nowadays, most of us live a busy life. What do you do to keep yourself relaxed? Besides spending time with family, having a glass of wine with friends or reading a book, how about a hobby?

   Personally, I’m a collector. I like blue and white pieces the best---blue and white anything﹗Plates，jars，vases, cups, bowls---I love them all. Collecting items is like something you can’t get enough of. You get one, and you want to have more.

   I find collecting to be a fun and inspirational hobby. In many ways, it’s like a puzzle I’m never tired of solving. I look high and low for new pieces to add to my collection. I can often be found visiting Marshell’s, looking over their inexpensive offerings. In fact, I found one of my favorite pieces there.

   I’ve mixed inexpensive pieces from Marshell’s with more expensive finds. A lot of times, it’s the piece I’m not looking for that falls into my lap; I find a way to make it part of my blue and white family. What I love about my collection is that when I get inspired, I can move them around the house, mix and match and make things look fresh and new.

Ever since I was a little girl, blue has been my favorite color. I think I got it from my aunt in Mexico. Some of my earliest memories are visiting her in Mexico and sitting on a chair in her kitchen, which had blue and white tiles(瓷磚)from the floor to the ceiling. I would spend countless hours admiring all the beautiful blue and white plates and shiny blue tiles around her kitchen. Once I had a home, I began to build my own blue and white collection.

51. We can infer that in the writer’s opinion,_____________.

  A. having a hobby can help us relax

  B. reading a book alone is really boring

  C. keeping a hobby is not easy for most of people

  D. having a glass of wine with friends is not a good idea

52. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

  A. Collecting things requires a lot of money.

  B. People always want more than they need.

  C. People may not know what they want to collect.

  D. Once you start collecting things, it’s hard to stop.

53. If something falls into your lap, it means you_________.

  A. have been looking for it             B. don’t know what it is

  C. get it unexpectedly                 D. like it very much

54. What’s the last paragraph mainly about?

  A. When the writer started collecting things.

  B. When the writer started liking blue things.

  C. What kind of thing the writer collected first.

  D. Why the writer liked her aunt’s things so much.

                         Several years ago, I read a book Your Money or Your Life, written by Joe Domingguez and Vicki Robin. The major theme of the book is the idea that if you want to cut your spending, you’ll have to begin by stopping trying to impress other people.

     The authors divide people into two groups : people whose opinions you care about, and people whose opinions you don’t care about one way or another. It’s easy to stop caring about people whose opinions you don’t care about. Who cares what they think ? As long as you’re not doing something truly immoral —— something that might potentially create a negative reputation for you —— it doesn’t matter what they think.

     But shouldn’t you impress other people whose opinions you do care about ? Anyway, they are people you want to meet : customers, friends and family.

     The answer is that you don’t need to impress those people with expensive, shiny things. The relationship you’ve built with them —— or you’re going to build with them —— is based on you, not on the material items. They’ll either like you for you or they won’t.

    To put it simply, take care of the basics. Keep yourself clean. Keep your weight under control. Wear reasonable clothing. Work on your communication skills. If you have them covered, you don’t need to invest time and money in impressing other people.

     Coming to this realization is incredibly valuable. It drops your clothing budget. It drops your automobile budget. It drops your electronics budget. It drops your housing budget. You don’t need a shiny car, an iPhone, or a ＄50 haircut.

     Yes , you may actually still want one or two of these things, but the impetus(動力) comes from what your personal values are, not what other people around you seem to value or what marketing messages you receive.

     For some people, it seems impossible. Their social cues come from advertising-laden media and from friends who also get their cues from advertising-laden media.They believe they need a slick cellphone and ＄100 casual clothes. Their self-worth revolves around that little burst they get from impressing others.

      People should learn to break through that situation. In short, don’t play socially by the tiring old rules that revolve around needing to impress people. Instead, spend your time on things that bring real value to you and give real value to others.

46. Which of the following behaviours is “immoral”according to the second paragraph ?

   A.  Caring about other people’s opinion.

   B.  Dropping your clothing budget.

   C.  Copying existing works.

   D.  Obeying the traffic rule.

47. To build relationship with others, you should pay attention to the following EXEPT _______.

   A.  dressing casually

   B.  learning about weight control

   C.  improving communication skills

   D.  being a tidy person

48. As for people we care about, what does the author advise us to do ?

   A.  To impress them in a proper way.

   B.  To buy them special gifts.

   C.  To spare more time to be with them.

   D.  To impress them with shiny things.

49. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?

   A.  An iPhone is totally unnecessary in our life.

   B.  Your family members’ opinions are always worth caring about.

   C.  Learning how to impress others helps people save money.

   D.  You should always be aware of what other people around you seem to value.

50. What is the best title for the passage ?

   A.  Whose opinions do you care about ?

   B.  Two different groups of people.

   C.  My favorite book : Your Money or Your Life

   D.  Stop trying to impress other people.

Several years ago, I read a book Your Money or Your Life, written by Joe Domingguez and Vicki Robin. The major theme of the book is the idea that if you want to cut your spending, you’ll have to begin by stopping trying to impress other people.

     The authors divide people into two groups : people whose opinions you care about, and people whose opinions you don’t care about one way or another. It’s easy to stop caring about people whose opinions you don’t care about. Who cares what they think ? As long as you’re not doing something truly immoral —— something that might potentially create a negative reputation for you —— it doesn’t matter what they think.

     But shouldn’t you impress other people whose opinions you do care about ? Anyway, they are people you want to meet : customers, friends and family.

     The answer is that you don’t need to impress those people with expensive, shiny things. The relationship you’ve built with them —— or you’re going to build with them —— is based on you, not on the material items. They’ll either like you for you or they won’t.

    To put it simply, take care of the basics. Keep yourself clean. Keep your weight under control. Wear reasonable clothing. Work on your communication skills. If you have them covered, you don’t need to invest time and money in impressing other people.

     Coming to this realization is incredibly valuable. It drops your clothing budget. It drops your automobile budget. It drops your electronics budget. It drops your housing budget. You don’t need a shiny car, an iPhone, or a ＄50 haircut.

     Yes , you may actually still want one or two of these things, but the impetus(動力) comes from what your personal values are, not what other people around you seem to value or what marketing messages you receive.

     For some people, it seems impossible. Their social cues come from advertising-laden media and from friends who also get their cues from advertising-laden media.They believe they need a slick cellphone and ＄100 casual clothes. Their self-worth revolves around that little burst they get from impressing others.

      People should learn to break through that situation. In short, don’t play socially by the tiring old rules that revolve around needing to impress people. Instead, spend your time on things that bring real value to you and give real value to others.

66. Which of the following behaviours is “immoral”according to the second paragraph ?

   A. Caring about other people’s opinion.      B. Dropping your clothing budget.

   C. Copying existing works.                 D. Obeying the traffic rule. 67. To build relationship with others, you should pay attention to the following EXEPT _______.

   A. dressing casually                       B. learning about weight control

   C. improving communication skills           D. being a tidy person

68. As for people we care about, what does the author advise us to do ?

   A. To impress them in a proper way.          B. To buy them special gifts.

   C. To spare more time to be with them.     D. To impress them with shiny things.

69. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?

   A. An iPhone is totally unnecessary in our life.

   B. Your family members’opinions are always worth caring about.

   C. Learning how to impress others helps people save money.

   D. You should always be aware of what other people around you seem to value.

70. What is the best title for the passage ?

   A. Whose opinions do you care about ?           B. Two different groups of people.

   C. My favorite book : Your Money or Your Life    D. Stop trying to impress other people.

Several years ago, I read a book Your Money or Your Life, written by Joe Domingguez and Vicki Robin. The major theme of the book is the idea that if you want to cut your spending, you’ll have to begin by stopping trying to impress other people.

     The authors divide people into two groups : people whose opinions you care about, and people whose opinions you don’t care about one way or another. It’s easy to stop caring about people whose opinions you don’t care about. Who cares what they think ? As long as you’re not doing something truly immoral —— something that might potentially create a negative reputation for you —— it doesn’t matter what they think.

     But shouldn’t you impress other people whose opinions you do care about ? Anyway, they are people you want to meet : customers, friends and family.

     The answer is that you don’t need to impress those people with expensive, shiny things. The relationship you’ve built with them —— or you’re going to build with them —— is based on you, not on the material items. They’ll either like you for you or they won’t.

    To put it simply, take care of the basics. Keep yourself clean. Keep your weight under control. Wear reasonable clothing. Work on your communication skills. If you have them covered, you don’t need to invest time and money in impressing other people.

     Coming to this realization is incredibly valuable. It drops your clothing budget. It drops your automobile budget. It drops your electronics budget. It drops your housing budget. You don’t need a shiny car, an iPhone, or a ＄50 haircut.

     Yes , you may actually still want one or two of these things, but the impetus(動力) comes from what your personal values are, not what other people around you seem to value or what marketing messages you receive.

     For some people, it seems impossible. Their social cues come from advertising-laden media and from friends who also get their cues from advertising-laden media.They believe they need a slick cellphone and ＄100 casual clothes. Their self-worth revolves around that little burst they get from impressing others.

      People should learn to break through that situation. In short, don’t play socially by the tiring old rules that revolve around needing to impress people. Instead, spend your time on things that bring real value to you and give real value to others.

66. Which of the following behaviours is “immoral”according to the second paragraph ?

   A. Caring about other people’s opinion.      B. Dropping your clothing budget.

   C. Copying existing works.                 D. Obeying the traffic rule.

67. To build relationship with others, you should pay attention to the following EXEPT _______.

   A. dressing casually                       B. learning about weight control

   C. improving communication skills           D. being a tidy person

68. As for people we care about, what does the author advise us to do ?

   A. To impress them in a proper way.          B. To buy them special gifts.

   C. To spare more time to be with them.        D. To impress them with shiny things.

69. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?

   A. An iPhone is totally unnecessary in our life.

   B. Your family members’opinions are always worth caring about.

   C. Learning how to impress others helps people save money.

   D. You should always be aware of what other people around you seem to value.

70. What is the best title for the passage ?

   A. Whose opinions do you care about ?           B. Two different groups of people.

   C. My favorite book : Your Money or Your Life    D. Stop trying to impress other people.