2 . The first clue came when I got my hair cut. The stylist offered not just the usual coffee or tea but a complimentary nail-polish change while I waited for my hair to dry. Maybe she hoped this little amenity (便利) would slow the growing inclination of women to stretch each haircut to last four months while nursing our hair back to whatever natural colour we long ago forgot.

Then there was the appliance salesman who offered to carry my bags as we toured the microwave aisle. When I called my husband to ask him to check some specs online, the salesman offered a pre-emptive discount, lest the surfing turn up the same model cheaper in another store. That night, for the first time, I saw the Hyundai ad promising shoppers that if they buy a car and then lose their job in the next year, they can return it.

Suddenly everything's on sale. The upside to the economic downturn is the immense incentive it gives retailers to treat you like a queen for a day. During the flush times, salespeople were surly, waiters snobby. But now the customer rules, just for showing up. There's more room to stretch out on the flight, even in a coach. The malls have that serene aura (氛围) of undisturbed wilderness, with scarcely a shopper in sight. Every conversation with anyone selling anything is a pantomime (闹剧) of pain and bluff. Finger the scarf, then start to walk away, and its price floats silkily downward. When the mechanic calls to tell you that brakes and a timing belt and other services will run close to $2,000, it's time to break out the newly perfected art of the considered pause. You really don't even have to say anything pitiful before he'll offer to knock a few hundred dollars off.

Restaurants are also caught in a fit of ardent hospitality, especially around Wall Street: Trinity Place offers $3 drinks at happy hour any day the market goes down, with the slogan “Market tanked? Get tanked!” — which ensures a lively crowd for the closing bell. The “21” Club has decided that men no longer need to wear ties, so long as they bring their wallets. Food itself is friendlier: you notice more comfort food, a truce between chef and patron that is easier to enjoy now that you can get a table practically anywhere, New York Times restaurant reviewer Frank   Bruni characterizes the new restaurant demeanor as “extreme enthusiasm tinged with outright desperation.” “You need to hug the customer,” one owner told him.

There is a chance that eventually well return all this kindness with the extravagant spending that was once decried (t) but now everyone is hoping will restart the economy. But human nature is funny that way. In dangerous times, we clench and squint at the deal that looks too good to miss, suspecting that it must be too good to be true. Is the store with the super cheap flat screens going to go bust and thus not be there to honor the “free” extended warranty? Is there something wrong with that free cheese? Store owners will tell you horror stories about shoppers with attitude, who walk in demanding discounts and flaunt their new power at every turn. These store owners wince as they sense bad habit forming: Will people expect discounts forever? Will their hard-won brand luster be forever cheapened, especially for items whose allure depends on their being ridiculously priced?

There will surely come a day when things go back to “normal”; retail sales even inched up in January after sinking for the previous six months. But I wonder what it will take for US to see those $545 Sigerson Morrison studded toe — ring sandals as reasonable? Bargain-hunting can be addictive regardless of the state of the markets, and haggling is a low-risk, high-value contact sport. Trauma digs deep into habit, like my 85-year-old mother still calling her canned-goods cabinet “ the bomb shelter.” The children of the First Depression were saving string and preaching sacrifice long after the skies cleared. They came to be called the “greatest generation.” As we learn to be decent stewards of our resources, who knows what might come of it? We have lived in an age of wanton waste, and there is value in practicing conservation that goes far beyond our own bottom line.

1. According to the passage, what does “the first clue” suggest?

A．Shops, large or small, are offering big discounts.

B．Women tend to have their hair cut less frequently.

C．Shops try all kinds of means to please customers.

D．Customers refrain from buying things impulsively.

2. Which of the following best depicts the retailers now?

A．Bad-tempered.

B．Highly motivated.

C．Over-friendly.

D．Deeply frustrated.

3. What does the author mean by "the newly perfected art of the considered pause"?

A．Customers now rush to buy things on sale.

B．Customers have got a sense of superiority.

C．Customers have learned how to bargain.

D．Customers have higher demands for service.

4. What is the author's main message in the last two paragraphs?

A．Extravagant spending would boost economic growth.

B．One's life experience would turn into lifelong habits.

C．Customers should expect discounts for luxury goods.

D．The practice of being economical is of great importance.

3 . 假如你是某中学英语报的小记者，请你以“Follow Traffic Rules”为题，写一篇英语短文投稿给你校英语报。内容主要包括：1. 行人不遵守交通规则的现象及危害；2. 举例说明你是如何遵守交通规则；3. 呼吁大家遵守交通规则。
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 题目和首句已为你写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：pedestrian crossing人行横道

Follow Traffic Rules

Nowadays, breaking traffic rules is not uncommon in our city.

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5 . After 40 years, I met my childhood hero. Not a sporting god or an ageing popstar. Judy Blume, the beloved children’s author, at this year’s Sydney Writer’s Festival.

Still I am uneasy. As a primary school teacher and mum, what of today’s children’s inner lives? And their books? For them, “electronics have changed everything about the how of communication,” says Blume. “But not what they’re feeling.” Screens lure (诱惑) Australian children for up to seven hours a day. Screen time may involve reading and positive social interactions.

Reading books connects us in spirit. It unites generations and shapes children’s identity, their own voice. Reading books fired our imaginations. Characters filled our hearts. They were good company.

Will this generation feel the same? Surely “intelligent digital beings” like Siri, Alexa or Google Home could never replace children’s imaginary social companions?

Psychology Professor Sandra Calvert thinks it’s possible. She writes in the Journal of Children and Media although young children may understand that “artificial beings” are not biologically alive, children’s “personification and treatment of them ‘as if’ they are alive, may be enough to make them valuable social partners, who can serve as trusted teachers and friends”. Robots? Digital imitations can’t connect children with what it means to be human.

And books smell good. “How can we encourage children to read?” I asked my childhood hero. “Go to a bookstore with your child,” says Blume. “Sit on the floor. Turn the pages. Read the first page, a middle page, or don’t, but help your child find a voice they can connect with.” You can do that at the library or with a teacher. Me, I will be heading to the attic to dust off a few favourites.

1. What makes the author uneasy?

A．Children’s reading less and less.	B．Being a stressed teacher.
C．An unhealthy lifestyle.	D．The effect of screen on children’s eyesight.

2. What does Sandra Calvert say about Children?

A．They lack encouragement.	B．They spend much time on screen.
C．They demand trusted companions.	D．They are likely to be influenced by electronics.

3. According to Blume, the way to encourage children to read mainly lies in ________.

A．enabling them to have interest.

B．parents’ serving as role models.

C．accompanying them to a bookstore.

D．helping feel inner lives of themselves.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．My Childhood Hero—Judy Blume.

B．Reading Books’ Disadvantages.

C．Reading Books—More Positive Effects on Children

D．The Methods Helping Children Read More.

7 . How Does the Media Influence People?

The media has both positive and negative influences on people. The media can make a person more aware of what is happening.     1    . The media has the capacity to ruin society by encouraging false ideals, praising selfishness and build the wrong values.

According to the Canadian Academy, some media messages have been linked to the cause of numerous health concerns.     2    , causing people to develop bad habits. Images used in entertainment can provide negative ideas of life. Young people are especially influenced by the media. Youth of all ages and cultures try desperately to imitate the role models they observe in the media.     3    . They are likely to develop eating disorders, low self-esteem, and psychological diseases. Negative media influences can mislead youth in the wrong direction.

The media influences the public by sharing news with an opinionated perspective. The personal values of media businesses impact the information shared. The reporters can add personal ideas to the stories they cover.     4    . Another problem is that technological advances provide venues to reach a larger audience than before.

    5    , but we can't deny that media changes our ways of thinking and living. It also promotes the transformation of personality and the formation of new beliefs through the information delivered and education available easily. What we should do is develop the critical thinking ability.

A．Media is a major piece within society often linked to the social influence

B．Obvious problems exist there

C．Negative ideas found in movies, television, radio and advertisements are harmful to the youth

D．But an individual shouldn't make the choice for young people

E．But their opinions sometimes are arbitrary

F．On the other hand, it can twist the truth

G．Television will encourage people to take alcohol

8 . We live in a town with three beaches. There are two parts less than 10 minutes’ walk from home where neighborhood children gather to play. However, what my children want to do after school is pick up a screen — any screen — and stare at it for hours. They are not alone. Today’s children spend an average of four and a half hours a day looking at screens, split between watching television and using the Internet.

In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend. A couple of years ago film-maker David Bond realised that his children, then aged five and three, were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say “chocolate” into his three-year-old son’s ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself “marketing director from Nature”. He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to be marketed to young people. The result was Project Wild Thing, a film which charts the birth of the World Network, a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.

“Just five more minutes outdoors can make a difference,” David Bond says. “There is a lot of really interesting evidence which seems to be suggesting that if children are inspired up to the age of seven, then being outdoors will be on habit for life.” His own children have got into the habit of playing outside now: “We just send them out into the garden and tell them not to come back in for a while.”

Summer is upon us. There is an amazing world out there, and it needs our children as much as they need it. Let us get them out and let them play.

1. What is the problem with the author’s children?

A．They often annoy their neighbours.	B．They are tired of doing their homework.
C．They have no friends to play with	D．They stay in front of screens for too long.

2. How did David Bond advocate his idea?

A．By making a documentary film.	B．By organizing outdoor activities.
C．By advertising in London media.	D．By creating a network of friends.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “charts” in paragraph 2?

A．records

B．predicts

C．delays

D．confirms

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Let Children Have Fun	B．Young Children Need More Free Time
C．Market Nature to Children	D．David Bond: A Role Model for Children