Peter loved to shop used articles. Almost a month ago, he bought popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was purchasing it, the salesgirl said, “Uh, look, the game box haven’t even been opened yet. That might be worth some money. ”
Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1973 on the back of the box.
“You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens.”the salesgirl said.
“Yes, you’re right. People like something rare.” Peter agreed, “I can’t imagine there being very many unopened boxes of this game still around 40 years later.”
“Don’t forget to tell me if you sell it.” the salesgirl smiled.
“No problem.” Peter said.
After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn’t find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.
Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop.
“Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?”
The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, “Oh, hi!”
“I’ve got something for you,” Peter said. “I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion.” He handed her three $ 100 bills.
“Wow!” the salesgirl cried out. “Thank you, I never expected it.”
【小题1】Which of the following best describes Peter’s word game?

A．It was made around 40 years ago.

B．It had game boards in different sizes.

C．It was kept in a plastic bag with a seal.

D．It had little pieces of wood in different colors.

【小题2】What did the salesgirl probably think of Peter’s word game?

A．Old and handy.

B．Rare and valuable.

C．Classic and attractive.

D．Colorful and interesting

【小题3】Peter got the names of the game fans from _________.

A．an auction

B．the Internet

C．a game shop

D．the second-hand shop

【小题4】What happened at the end of the story?

A．Peter gave the girl $300 as a reward.

B．The salesgirl became Peter’s friend.

C．Peter returned the word game for $ 1,000.

D．The salesgirl felt confused to see Peter again.

【小题5】What is the main theme of the story?

A．It’s important to keep a promise.

B．It’s great to share in other people’s happiness.

C．We should be grateful for the help from others.

D．Something rare is worth a large amount of money.

It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.
In recent years, many writers have begun to speak of the ‘decline of class ’ and ‘classless society ’ in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.
But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging study of pubic opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in a particular class; 73 percent agreeed that class was still a vital part of British society.; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an imprtant part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.
One unchanging aspect of a British person’s class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during the 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice. Most people said this accent sounds ‘educated ’ and ‘soft ’. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional(地区的) city accents. These accents were seen as ‘common ’ and ‘ugly ’. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.
In recent years, however, young upper midder-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song ‘ Common People ’ puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may ‘ want to live like common people ’ they can never appreciate the reality of a working class life.
【小题1】A recent study of pubic opinion shows that in modern Britain_________.

A．it is time to end class distinction

B．most people belong to middle class

C．it is easy to recognize a person’s class

D．people regard themselves socially different

【小题2】The word stratification in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to_________.

A．variety	B．division
C．authority	D．qualification

【小题3】The study in the US showed that BBC English was regarded as _________.

A．regional	B．educated
C．prejudiced	D．unattractive

【小题4】British attitudes towards accent_________.

A．have a long tradition

B．are based on regional status

C．are shared by the Americans

D．have changed in recent years

【小题5】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The middle class is expanding.

B．A person’s accent reflects his class.

C．Class is a key part of British society.

D．Each class has unique characteristics.