Everyone's at it,even my neighbors. I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn't done an eBay deal. So,I decided to try my hand at online auction .      Buying for beginners:Sign up on  _ .  Most items(e.g. tables, computers, and books) ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description;others may be marked with "Buy It Now" and have a fixed price. You can buy these right away.     If the item is being auctioned,you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids for you. The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid,then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again. Auctions last up to 10 days and when they finish you get an email telling you whether you have won the item.     How to pay: Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a cheque or postal orders. The easiest way is through PayPal,an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card  .      Selling made simple:If you plan to sell on eBay,it helps to include a picture of the item. I followed my friends' advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction,starting on a Thursday. This way, buyers had two weekends to bid. The big things in life:It' s easy to post a small item,but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collected or sent by deliverymen  . Check the ways of delivery before you bid. What is the passage mainly about? A) How to make payment online. B) Ways of making delivery online C) Advantages of an online-auction system. D) How to use an online-auction system.
D

Over the past 20 years, AIDS and war have claimed the parents of 2.4 million Ugandan children.When Alexis Hefley first visited the country,, in 1993, she saw the children's sorrow, but the former Texas banker also spotted "a world of possibility".She watched as they danced for tourists to earn money, and she had a thought: If people in America could see them perform, they'd support them too. The children's passion and talent inspired Hefley to work with the kids at an orphanage in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, to organize a traveling dance troupe .The goals: to give the problems in Uganda a human face, to raise awareness and to raise money. The first tour touched down at six American cities in 1994.Today, the 22-member troupe, known as the Spirit of Uganda, travels across America every two years.The young performers bring their energy and joy to audiences across the U.S.and help support hundreds of Ugandan orphans back home.Among the young dancers, some earn scholarships to attend the U.S.colleges, and then return to their country to help rebuild it. Photojournalist Douglas Menuez first photographed the troupe in 2006 -?a project that led to his new book, Transcendent Spirit, from which these images are drawn.At each performance, the dancers' faces show pure joy, quite an achievement given the hardships they've faced."They look to the future, not the past," explains Menuez."They embrace beauty and good in the world." As one dancer puts it, "People think we have lost our parents.We've had so many problems.But then they see us perform.They see our smiles.And they learn that life goes on." What might be the most suitable title for the passage? A) Ugandan orphans turn tragedy into dance B) Transcendent Spirit: A close look at Uganda C) AIDS and war are claiming people's lives D) Lots of people are helping Ugandan orphans
A

In Britain and other countries,young people sometimes take a"gap year",a year off between high school and college.This idea never gained a big following in America.Recent news reports have suggested that interest may be growing,though there are no official numbers. Charles Deacon,.Dean of Admissions at Georgetown University in Washington,D.C.,estimates that in the current first-year class of 1,600 students,only about 25 decided to take a year off.He says this number hasn't changed much over the years. Mr.Deacon says the most common reason for taking a"gap year"is to have a chance to travel,but he says international students may take a"gap year"to meet requirements at home for military duty. Some high school graduates see a year off as a chance to recover after twelve years of required education,but it can also give students a chance to explore their interests.Students hoping to be doctors,for example,could learn about the profession by volunteering in a hospital. Many colleges and universities support gap-year projects by permitting students to delay their admission.Expels say students can grow emotionally and intellectually as they work at something they enjoy. The Harvard admissions office has an essay on its Web site called"Time Out or Bum Out for the Next Generation.''It praises the idea of taking time off to step back,think and enjoy gaining life experiences outside the pressure of studies.It also notes that students are sometimes admitted to Harvard or other colleges partly because they did something unusual with that time. Of course,a gap year is not for everyone.Students might miss their friends who go on directly to college,and parents might worry that their children will decide not to go to college once they take time off.Another concern is money.A year off,away from home,can be costly. Holly Bull's job is to specialize in helping students plan their gap year.She notes that several books have been written about this subject.She says these books along with media attention and the availability of... What can we learn from the passage? A) Charles Deacon doesn't support the idea of the students'taking a"gap year" B) Parents might disagree with the program,concerned about their children's future. C) Books and media have contributed to the students'interest in school learning. D) Experts agree taking a year off will benefit the students emotionally and physically.
B

Hu Li's heart sank due to the color of the air.Driving 140 kilometers from Tianjin City to Beijing last week,she held her breath as the air became a charcoal grey haze .The 39yearold businesswoman has lived in Beijing for a decade,and this past month,she said,brought the worst air pollution she has ever seen.It gave her husband a cough and left her sevenyearold daughter housebound ."My husband as well as I is working here,so we have no choice," she said."But if we had a choice,we'd like to escape from Beijing." The extended heavy pollution over the last month,which caused punishment in return for a day last week-called the "airpocalypse" by internet users- has largely changed the way that Chinese think about the country's air.On one day,pollution levels were 30 times higher than levels considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO).Flights were cancelled.Roads were closed.One hospital in east Beijing reported they had treated more than 900 children for breathing issues.Bloomberg found that for most of January,Beijing's air was worse than that of an airport smoking area. The smog's  most threatening aspect is its high concentration  of PM 2.5 - particulate matter that is small enough to breathe deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream,causing breathing infections,lung cancer and possibly damaging children's development.The WHO has estimated that outdoor air pollution accounts for two million deaths per year,65% of them in Asia. From the passage we know high concentration of PM 2.5  _  . A) can lead to choke B) can cause heart cancer C) will damage children's development D) will damage people's organ

D