With prices（ ）so much, it’s hard to plan a budget.
A.frustrating B.fluctuating C.overflowing D.overloading
They hurried to the theatre（ ）that the play had already begun.
A.finding B.just in time C.only to find D.right in case
In order to “change lives for the better” and reduce “dependency,” George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “upfront work search” scheme. Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV, register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit—and then they should report weekly rather than fortnightly. What could be more reasonable?More apparent reasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker's allowance. “Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not looking to sign on,” he claimed. “We’re doing these things because we know they help people stay off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster.” Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms” to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsidises laziness. What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness”—protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.Losing a job is hurting: you don't skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. It is financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are
In such a changing, complex society formerly simple solutions to informational needs become complicated. Many of life’s problems which were solved by asking family members, friends or colleagues are beyond the capability of the extended family to resolve. Where to turn for expert information and how to determine which expert advice to accept are questions facing many people today.In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War II. As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable. The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut off. Thus, things once learned subconsciously through the casual communications of the extended family must be consciously learned.Adding to societal changes today is an enormous stockpile of information. The individual now has more information available than any generation, and the task of finding that one piece of information relevant to his or her specific problem is complicated, time-consuming and sometimes even overwhelming.Coupled with the growing quantity of information is the development of technologies which enable the storage and delivery of more information with greater speed to more locations than has ever been possible before. Computer technology makes it possible to store vast amounts of data in machine-readable files, and to program computers to locate specific information. Telecommunication developments enable the sending of messages via television, radio, and very shortly, electronic mail to bombard people with multitudes of messages.Satellites have extended the power of communications to report events at the instant of occurrence. Expertise can be shared worldwide through teleconferencing, and problems in dispute can be settled without the participants leaving their homes and/or jobs to travel to a distant conference site. Technology has facilitated the sharing of information and the storage and delivery of information, thus making more information available to more people.In this world of change and complexity, the need for information is of greatest importance.Those people who have accurate, reliable up-to-date information to solve the day-to-day problems, the critical problems of their business, social and family life, will survive and succeed. “Knowledge is power” may well be the truest saying and access to information may be the most critical requirement of all people.1.The word “it” (Line 3, Para. 2) most probably refers to（ ）.2.The main problem people nay encounter today arises from the fact that（ ）.3.From the passage we can infer that （ ）.4.We can learn from the last paragraph that（ ）.
A.the lack of stable communities B.the breakdown of informal information channels C.the increased mobility of families D.the growing number of people moving from place to place
问题2：
A.they have to learn new things consciously B.they lack the confidence of securing reliable and trustworthy information C.they have difficulty obtaining the needed information readily D.they can hardly carry out casual communications with an extended family
问题3：
A.electronic mail will soon play a dominant role in transmitting messages B.it will become more difficult for people to keep secrets in an information era C.people will spend less time holding meetings or conferences D.events will be reported on the spot mainly through satellites
问题4：
A.it is necessary to obtain as much B.people should make the best use of the information C.we should realize the importance of accumulating information D.it is of vital importance to acquire needed information efficiently
Falling sales and rising overheads have obliged the company to review each customer’s（ ）limit.
A.credit B.currency C.check D.certificate
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese.
With its theme that “Mind is the master weaver,” creating our inner character and outer circumstances, the book As a Man Thinking by James Allen is an in-depth exploration of the central idea of self-help writing. （1）Allen's contribution was to take an assumption we all share—that because we are not robots we therefore control our thoughts—and reveal its erroneous nature. Because most of us believe that mind is separate from matter, we think that thoughts can be hidden and made powerless; this allows us to think one way and act another. However, Allen believed that the unconscious mind generates as much action as the conscious mind, and （2）while we may be able to sustain the illusion of control through the conscious mind alone, in reality we are continually faced with a question: “Why cannot I make myself do this or achieve that?”Since desire and will are damaged by the presence of thoughts that do not accord with desire, Allen concluded: “We do not attract what we want, but what we are.” Achievement happens because you as a person embody the external achievement; you don't “get” success but become it. There is no gap between mind and matter. Part of the fame of Allen's book is its contention that “Circumstances do not make a person, they reveal him.” （3）This seems a justification for neglect of those in need, and a rationalization of exploitation, of the superiority of those at the top and the inferiority of those at the bottom.This, however, would be a knee-jerk reaction to a subtle argument. Each set of circumstances, however bad, offers a unique opportunity for growth. If circumstances always determined the life and prospects of people, then humanity would never have progressed. In fact, （4）circumstances seem to be designed to bring out the best in us and if we feel that we have been “