People value money desperately because they value one another desperately; thus the cause of panic in the stock-market plunge is not that people will lose their dollars but that they will lose their sense of community. For the past couple of weeks, the nation has watched itself roll toward ruin because people were losing their money in bales. If one were tasteless enough to ask a big loser what exactly he was losing, he would sputter, "What am I losing？ My car! My beautiful home! My children's education! My clothes! My dinner! My dollars!" They are all true. People have been mourning the passing of their money for all the things that money can do, and what money can do is impressive. Money can build cities, cure diseases, and win wars. The sudden acquisition of the stuff can toss our spirits into the air like a hat.
Money can do considerably more. It offers power, an almost unique form. of power, not simply because it allows us to acquire and possess things but because it is we who determine its worth; we who say a ruby costs more than an apple~ we who decide that a tennis court is more valuable than a book. Paradoxically, money creates a deep sense of powerlessness as well, since technically we cannot provide money for ourselves; someone or something else must do that for us—our employers or, until recently, our stocks. All that, money can do. and when such essential, familiar functions are snatched from one's life, small wonder that people may grow wild, frantic, and even murderous.
What money can do, however, is not the same as what money is. Let's return for a moment to the theory, people value money because they value one another. In other words, the usefulness of money is directly related to and established by continuous mutual need. People work for money to buy things that other people make or do, things that they cannot or will not make or do for themselves but that they deem necessary for some definition of self-improvement.
Abstractly, money is one of the ways, indeed a universally accepted way, by which we make connections. Cash is cold. So the connections may feel cold, but real blood flows through them. These connections constitute one of the central means by which societies coheres by which they sustain and characterize themselves.
When the coin begins to wobble, as it has in the past weeks, a fear seizes the mind that is disorienting. The fear is not merely that of the loss of possessions but of self-possession, which in some sense is bought and sold from person to person in infinite daily bargains. To lose money is frightening. To lose touch with others is more frightening still. Losing touch may cause the panic of the times.
This passage mainly discusses ______.
A．the functions of money
B．the stock-market plunge
C．a new theory of investment
D．a cold characteristic of cash

Dear Sir,
Thank you for your business. You are currently represented in our directory. This is the only directory of its kind which reaches all companies in the building and construction industry in the UK. Advertising in our directory was a wise move on your part. We are currently compiling a new edition of the directory which will be published in May 2010. The new edition will be expanded to include major manufacturers of plumbing equipment in the European Community. For proper coverage in the directory, you ought to appear in more than one category. If you do opt for a multiple listing, you will be able to buy space in additional categories at half price. You can be assured that the new edition will be on the desks of all the major decision makers in the building and hardware trades. Please complete the enclosed form. and return it with the appropriate fee. We assure you of our best services at all times. Enclosure; Forms to finish
Yours Sincerely,
Equipment Magazine
Why does the Equipment Magazine write the letter？
A．To make an advertisement on the new edition
B．To search for further cooperation
C．To ask for the fee
D．To make sure the fulfillment of the form

Last month, upon hearing that a neighbor had been burgled, my husband voiced a desire to beef up our home security. I was largely unresponsive. The previous owners of our house installed a burglar alarm system, but we never got it switched on, because, quoting Ed, I apparently care more about the $ 29 monthly fee than I do about our home security. In the end, I gave in.
The alarm company sent over a sales representative, a well-coiffed professional in a suit and heels. She recommended adding some infrared motion sensors. I was not wild about this. I like to keep things simple. My idea of home security is to hire cheap, disreputable painters who can be counted upon to paint the windows shut. "Besides, can't the motion sensors be set off by a pet？" I said.
Ed leaned in close to the sales rep. "We don't have any pets," he whispered. "We don't have a pet now," I said. "But we might someday." I knew this to be a lie. Ed is a dog person, and I'm a cat person. We cancel each other out.
I pointed out that every now and then, the neighbors' cat, Sprinkles, will sneak into the house when the back door is open. The alarm woman started talking about "pet resistance." This was a feature of the motion sensor whereby it was set to cover the room from the waist up only. "Though of course …, "she hesitated, "the cat would have to stay on the ground at all times."
We got the sensors, and we got the system switched on. We never got a pet, each of us practicing his or her own particular brand of pet resistance, but we did, after many years of cost-based bickering, get a housecleaner. Every other month, Natalia can be seen making her way through the filth and cobwebs. I gave her the alarm code but promised to leave the alarm off the day she came.
Naturally, I forgot. Later that morning, my work phone rang. It was Natalia, yelling in harmony with the shrieking of the alarm. She couldn't find the code. On top of all this, my cell phone started ringing. This was the alarm company, responding to the alarm and calling me to get the secret password — which was different from the shutoff code — required for them to shut off the system and prevent the police from rushing over to arrest Natalia for breaking and entering.
Some weeks back, Ed and I had spent 15 minutes arguing over the secret password for the alarm. Ed is a fan of the complicated, hacker-proof, identity-theft-foiling password, the kind that involves alternating capital and lowercase letters with obscure foreign accent marks, whereas I'll use my name. I had no recollection of what we'd settled on. "Ummmm." The alarm, and Natalia, continued to go off. This went on for some time.
Meanwhile, Natalia had dug through her bag, found the piece of paper I'd given her with the shutoff code and quieted the screaming alarm. I don't know how effective these alarms are against burglars, but Sprinkles hasn't been seen on the property in weeks.
Why didn't the writer get the burglar alarm system switched on？
A．Because she didn't like its design.
B．Because the burglar alarm system had broken down.
C．Because she considered monthly fee unnecessary.
D．Because she thought their home security was not a problem.

If the company paid $250 for one category, how much would be for the other？
A．$120
B．$125
C．$150
D．$250

According to the author, what can be a regular source of money provided for us？
A．Possessions.
B．Bargains.
C．Stocks.
D．Employers.

According to the sales representative, the motion sensor ______.
A．is pet resistant
B．is set to cover the room floor
C．could be set off by a pet if it was near
D．could be set off by a pet if it jumped high enough