Checks have largely taken the place of money as a means of 　 36　 , for they are widely accepted everywhere. 　37　 this is very 　38　 for both buyer and seller, it should not be forgotten that checks are not real money: they are quite 　39 in themselves. A shop-keeper runs a certain 40 when he accepts a check and he is quite 　41 his rights if, on occasion, he 　42 to do so. People do not always know this and are 　43　 if their good faith is called in question. A wealthy friend of mine told me he had an extremely 　44 experience.

One day he decided to buy a particularly fine pearl necklace at a famous jewelry shop which keeps a large__45 of precious stones and asked if he could pay 　46 check, the assistant said that this was quite 47 . But the moment my friend signed his name, he was invited into the manager’s office. The manager was very polite, but he explained that someone 　48 exactly the same name had presented them with a worthless check not long ago. My friend got very angry at it and said he would buy a necklace 　49 . When he got up to go, the manager told him that the police would arrive at any moment and he had better stay 　50 he wanted to get into serious trouble. Sure enough the police arrived, __51 to my friend for the 　52 , but explained that a person who had used the same name as his 53 for a number of recent robberies. Then the police asked my friend to 　 54　 out a note which had been used by the thief in a number of shops. The note read, “I have a gun in my pocket, ask no questions and give all the money in the safe.” Fortunately, my friend’s handwriting was quite__55__ the thief’s. He was not only allowed to go without further delay, but to take the pearl necklace with him.

36. A. change 　　 　　 B. exchange　　　　 　　 C. trade 　　　　　　　 　　 D. business

37. A. Because　　　　　　 　　 B. If 　　　　　　　　 　　 C. Though　　　　　　　　　 D. Since

　　38. A. favourite　　　　　　 B. popular　　　　　 　　 C. profitable 　　　　　　　 D. convenient

　　39. A. dangerous 　　 B. priceless 　　　 　　 C. unimportant 　　　　　 D. valueless

　　40. A. chance 　　　　　　 　　 B. risk 　　　　　　　 　　 C. opportunity 　 　　　 D. danger

41. A. within 　　　　　　　 B. out of　　　　　　　　　　 C. without　　　　　　 　 D. beyond

42. A. refuses 　　　　　　 　　 B. agrees 　　　　　 　　 C. fails 　　　　　　　　　　　 D. hates

43. A. unhappy 　　 　　 B. ashamed 　　　 　　 C. shocked　　　　　 　 D. puzzled

44. A. uninteresting 　　 B. unreasonable 　　 C. unforgettable　　 　　　 D. unpleasant

　　45. A. amount　　　 　　 B. accident 　　　　 　　 C. stock 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. number

46. A. in 　　　　　　　　　　 　　 B. by 　　　　　　　　 　　 C. with　　　　　　　　 　 D. on

　　47. A. in need 　　　　　　 B. in common 　　 　　 C. in use 　　　　　　　　　　 D. in order

48. A. used 　　　　 　　 B. with 　　　　　　　　　　 　　 C. named 　　　　　　　　　 D. by

49. A. anywhere 　 　　 B. somewhere 　 　　 C. somewhere else 　　　 D. everywhere

50. A. unless 　　　 　　 B. otherwise 　　　 　　 C. if 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. whether

51. A. coming 　　　　　　 B. sticking　 　　　 　　 C. apologizing 　　　　　　 D. checking

52. A. manner 　　　　　　 B. behavior 　　　　 　　 C. inconvenience　 　　　 D. treatment

　　53. A. responsible 　　 B. answered 　　　　　　 　　 C. charged 　　　　　　　 D. blamed

　 54. A. copy 　　　　 　　 B. read 　　　　　　　 　　 C. take 　　　　　　　　　　　 D. bring

　 55. A. unlike 　　　　 　　 B. different 　　　　 　　 C. dissimilar 　　　　　　　 D. dislike

閱讀理解

閱讀下面短文，從每題所給四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中選出最佳答案。

　　Crossroads International

　　How does Crossroads work?

　　Crossroads is a resource network. We take goods Hong Kong doesn't want and give them to people who badly need them. We collect those goods and give them out in the welfare arena(福利院) in Hong Kong, Mainland China, elsewhere in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. So Crossroads is just that：a Crossroads between need and resource.

　　Who do we help?

　　The welfare agencies we help do not run on large budgets(預(yù)算). They are grass－root groups who have seen a need and tried to meet it. They can't get the job done without back－up, though, so our task is to help them do their task. Our warehouse is full of goods, from computers to high chairs, clothing to books, stationery to medical provision, cupboards to dining sets. They send us a list of their needs and we try to match it with the resource we have in stock.

　　How do we operate?

　　Crossroads itself also operates on a low budget. We do not buy the goods we send. They are donated(捐贈(zèng)). Similarly, rather than raising funds for freight (貨運(yùn)), we ask transport companies to donate their services. Nobody in our organization receives a salary. Even our full－time staff work on a voluntary basis.

　　Those that donate goods and services:

　　●Factories

　　●Manufacturers

　　●Hospitals

　　●Hotels

　　●Educational Institutions

　　●Householders

　　●Transport Companies

　　●Offices

　　●Other Charities

　　One resource that we are always in need of is people. While we receive large quantities of goods and there is never a short supply of requests for them, we are always in need of hands to help sort and prepare them for shipping.

What can I do?

　　We are always in need of people. We have a lot of tasks. If you are volunteering regularly, we can offer work in some of the following categories, some of the time. You are welcome to number your top three choices and we will do our best to accommodate(提供) them.

　　●Clothing categorization

　　●Sewing

　　●Toy categorization

　　●Furniture handling

　　●Book categorization

　　●Driving

　　●Household goods categorization

　　●Office work

　　●Electrical goods categorization

　　●Book keeping

　　●Stationery categorization

　　●Fund－raising

　　●Medical categorization

　　Where to find us

　　All volunteer work is done at our warehouse:

　　Located in Basement Zone M of the Kai Tak Government Building. Our warehouse hours :

　　Tues－Sat.: l0am－5 : 30pm

　　Postal Address：16Man Tong, Silvermine Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong

　　Office details：Ph：2984 9309, 2740 9657 Fax：2984 7452

　　Email：106122. 2524 @ compuserve. Com

1．Crossroads International is ________.

[　　]

A．a(chǎn) welfare agency

B．a(chǎn) place to store goods donated

C．a(chǎn)n organization to collect goods for those who need them

D．a(chǎn)n organization run by the government

2．People in poor areas can't get help from the Crossroads if they need ________.

A．toys and books

B．furniture and computers

C．fresh water and food

D．clothes and washing machines

3．The purpose of this brochure(小冊(cè)子) is mainly to ________.

[　　]

A．look for volunteers to work for Crossroads

B．call on people to donate more goods

C．let people know what Crossroads International is

D．tell people what Crossroads can provide

4．From the above brochure, we can conclude that ________.

[　　]

A．people who work at Crossroads get low pay from it

B．Crossroads doesn't give goods directly to the people who need them

C．you can do whatever you like if you offer help at Crossroads

D．Crossroads has collected more goods than needed

I don’t want such books as ______ on those shelves．

[　　]

Who owns the large American companies that produce cars, washing machines, and television sets? They are owned by a large group of people called stockholders.
　　A company must have money to build factories and to buy machinery. To get this money, it sells shares of stock（股份）. Each share of stock is a share in the ownership of the company. The person who buys a share of stock becomes a part owner of the company. He is called a stockholder. A company can have thousands of stockholders. Sometimes a very large company is owned by millions of stockholders.
　　Few persons can afford to buy a whole company, but the average individual can become part owner of a business. He can save his dollars and buy a share of stock in a large company. A person does not have to be wealthy to be a stockholder.
　　When a company makes money, each stockholder may receive a dividend(股息) check, which is his share of the profits（利潤）. Parts of a company’s profits are not paid out to the stockholders. This money is used by the company so it can grow larger. If the company does well, its shares of stock become more valuable.
　　More than 20 million people own shares of stock in America’s companies. By owning stock, they are helping America’s businesses grow. They are also putting their money to work to earn more money.
【小題1】The story makes you think that _____.