Question

“Everybody loves a bargain.” One person's useless, ugly, or broken object can be another person's bargain. That is why so many Americans do not throw things away. They put them outside their houses. They put on a “For Sale” sign. And, as simple as that, they have a yard sale.

The sellers put a paid announcement(付費(fèi)通告) in a local newspaper. It tells when and where the yard sale will take place. These sales are very popular during weekends in spring, summer, and autumn. Early in the morning, all the things to be sold are carried out of the house. Then they sit all day in the sunlight----like tired guests at a party----waiting for someone to take them home.

Just about anything can be sold at a yard sale. Sometimes, there are more clothes than anything else. Cooking equipment is also popular. So are old toys, tools, books, tables and chairs. Then there are objects called “white elephants”. A white elephant is something you think is extremely ugly or useless. It may be an electric light shaped like a fish. You feel a sharp pain whenever you look at it. To someone else, however, it might be a thing of beauty and joy.

Some people go to yard sales to find a special thing that they collect. It may be old toy trains, for example, or painting of dogs. Experts say more Americans are collecting old things now than ever before. Most people who go to yard sales, however, are not looking for anything special. They might buy an object simply because it costs so little. They enjoy negotiating(談判) over prices, even if they really do not need the object. Later, they may hold their own yard to sell all the things they have bought.

1.What kind of things will go to a yard sale?

A. Cheap and ugly things.

B. Things people no longer use.

C. Things out of season.

D. Things of great value.

2.A white elephant refers to _________.

A. something that can cause a feeling of pain

B. something disliked by the owners while appreciated by others

C. something sold at the lowest prices

D. a toy shaped like a fish

3.Most people go to yard sales to________.

A. find valuable paintings

B. look for something special

C. find a bargain

D. kill their time

4.We can infer from the last paragraph that__________.

A. people may find something of great value on a yard sale

B. yard sales only attract those who have a low income

C. things on a yard sale can cost people a lot

D. most people don’t want to go to yard sales.

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.A

【解析】

試題分析：本文是一片記敘文。把自己家里沒有用的東西拿到舊貨市場去賣，在春、夏、秋三個季節(jié)的每個周末，人們在室外的舊貨市場待一整天去賣自己的東西。有的人買東西是為了收藏，有的人是為了買是便宜的東西。

1.One person's useless, ugly, or broken object can be another person's bargain.

They put them outside their houses. They put on a “For Sale” sign. And, as simple as that, they have a yard sale”可知，人們把認(rèn)為用不上的東西擺在房外出售，故選B。

2.A white elephant is something you think is extremely ugly or useless. ...To someone else, however, it might be a thing of beauty and joy”可知，自己認(rèn)為沒有用處的，他人卻很喜歡的東西叫作“A white elephant”，故選A。

3.Most people who go to yard sales, however, are not looking for anything special. They might buy an object simply because it costs so little.”可知，大多數(shù)人來舊貨市場是為了花很少的錢買到滿意的東西，即買到便宜貨，故選C。

4.They enjoy negotiating(談判) over prices, even if they really do not need the object.”可排除B項，不是只有低收入者才去庭院舊貨市場；根據(jù)“They might buy an object simply because it costs so little.”排除C，市場上賣的舊貨價格低廉；根據(jù)“Experts say more Americans are collecting old things now than ever before.”可知，越來越多的人喜歡收藏舊物，說明去庭院市場淘貨的人不少，排除D，故選A。

考點(diǎn)：社會類短文閱讀