4 . The week my eldest son finished pre-school education, I decided to clear out the playroom filled with his toys. Toys had kept him company whenever his mother and I were busy with other duties, and over the years we had collected a really large number of them. Here are some of what I found: 13 puzzles, 4 games for practising maths, and a speaker box that could play Mozart to develop musical ability.

Our masses of playthings may have been extreme, but it was by no means unusual. American families spend, on average, around 600 dollars every year on toys; a 10-year-old child in the UK may have owned 238 toys, totaling about 6,500 pounds.

During the past two centuries, educators, toy companies and parents like us have acted as if the purpose of play is to prepare children for adulthood. The more book learning we could pack up as play, and then give to our children, the better. Then, in the second half of the 20th century, toys were increasingly bought for the purpose of building better brains in order to build more competitive and successful grownups. By 2020, the different kinds of educational toys had made nearly $65 billion worldwide. Toys that teach — from the Speak & Spell to the See & Say — are now a part of many young lives.

“This generation of parents is asking toys to provide an end product, and that end product is success,” Richard Gottlieb, an influential toy industry advisor, commented. “They want toys to get their children into Harvard.”

“The model has been, ‘If I get toys that do schoolish things, then that’s good,’” Alison Gopnik, a leading developmental psychologist, said. “But that really goes against what the developmental science is telling us. For a long time, we’ve been getting our children, and their toys, all wrong.”

1. Why does the author mention toys in his house?

A．To present the varieties of toys.

B．To advise others to buy fewer toys.

C．To show parents’ craziness for toys.

D．To complain of too many toys in his house.

2. How does the author show his point in paragraph 2?

A．By listing numbers.	B．By quoting opinions.
C．By providing examples.	D．By drawing comparisons.

3. What is parents’ misunderstanding about toys?

A．They can keep children happy.

B．They can make children positive.

C．They can reduce children’s stress.

D．They can promote children’s success.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Do We Need to Buy Toys?	B．Are Toys a Part of Our Life?
C．Can Toys Bring Us Happiness?	D．Have We Got Toys All Wrong?

5 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why does Tom need a shirt?

A．To meet work requirements.

B．To match his jacket.

C．To attend a party.

2. How many pieces of clothes did Lola buy?

A．6.

B．5.

C．4.

3. What color shirt does Lola advise Tom to try on?

A．Purple.

B．Red.

C．Blue.

4. What does Tom want to buy for his wife?

A．A jacket.

B．A dress.

C．A skirt.

6 . Ways to Save Money on Tech

You may be filled with fears when you think about the time your laptop can not work, or your child drops your mobile phone down the toilet.     1     Hopefully from the few tips below you will have some ideas on how to save money when it comes to buying tech.

Wait for sale seasons

Wait for shopping sales to see if you can get a good deal, but at the same time don’t be cheated by overhyped (夸大的) sales prices that don’t really save you that much money.     2    

Shop around

    3     Look at various different retailers to compare costs, even consider using a comparison site to make sure you are getting the best for your money.

Check reviews

Read reviews for whatever you are considering to buy, regardless of the price.     4     If you’re going to spend money freely on something that will only need to be replaced in a couple of years, is it really worth the expense?

Think about what you need

    5     And then, get a device that will cover those needs rather than a more expensive one that has features you won’t use. Consider the storage, capabilities and features you need in relation to the purpose you will be using the device for.

While technology is never going to be especially cheap, there are things you can do to cut costs and save yourself some money.

A．At the same time, our lives depend on access to technology.

B．This will help you to make sure you are getting value for your money.

C．First of all, make a priority list of the features and specifications you really need.

D．It’s good for the environment too as the old device you trade in can be recycled.

E．What can you do to save money on tech when it comes to needing to replace it?

F．Don’t go for the first deal you see but shop around before you purchase a new device.

G．Check a device before a sale as well as during to see if you are actually getting a bargain or not.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why won’t the man buy an evening dress for his wife?

A．It’s too expensive.

B．She has already got a lot.

C．He doesn’t know if she’ll like it.

2. What does the man think of the jewelry?

A．Unique.

B．Beautiful.

C．Fashionable.

3. What do we know about the man?

A．He wants to buy his wife a birthday gift.

B．He will go to Paris on Christmas.

C．He will pay by cheque.

9 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When does Black Friday date back to?

A．The 1950s.

B．The 1990s.

C．The 2000s.

2. What does Black Friday refer to now?

A．An event within stores.

B．An event only for online sales.

C．An online and offline shopping festival.

3. What kind of goods is usually sold on Cyber Monday?

A．Small parts.

B．Technology items.

C．Home devices.

4. How much did Singles Day earn last year?

A．$7.16 billion.

B．$9.4 billion.

C．$38.4 billion.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What will Rachel do?

A．Get married.

B．Give birth to a baby.

C．Hold a house-warming party.

2. What does the woman mean in the end?

A．She will spend much on gifts.

B．She will buy some expensive gifts.

C．She can’t work out the cost of gifts.