They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-date accessories . Yet these are not girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies. A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favoring the same high street looks worn by those half their age.     Professor Julia Twigg, a social policy expert, said, "Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more frequently than they did when they were young in the 1960s. In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter. It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years -- now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to. Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly."     Professor Twigg analyzed family expending data and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same -- about 5 or 6 percent of spending -- the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply.     The professor said, "Clothes are now 70 percent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East. In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from, but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere. Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them."     Fashion designer Angela Barnard, who runs her own fashion business in London, said older women were much more affected by celebrity  style than in previous years.     She said, "When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive and fashionable in their sixties, they want to follow them. Older women are much more aware of celebrities. There's also the boom in TV programmes showing people how they can change their look, and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties. When I started my business a few years ago, my older customers tended to be very rich, but now they are what I would... What can we learn about old women in terms of fashion? A) They are often ignored by fashion designers. B) They are now more easily influenced by stars. C) They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion. D) They are more interested in clothes because of their old age.
B

Wilson,       At college, when I try speaking with anyone, I just feel very nervous. I have no trouble talking when I'm alone. However, when I talk with others, my voice sounds different, and sometimes there is a pause   between each word I pronounce. Sometimes I can't pronounce a word even with my own family members. My voice becomes deeper and sounds totally different than it usually does. Can you please give me some good advice?                                                                           John John,      If you have trouble pronouncing words, simply accept the fact. Many other readers have such experiences, and so do I. You don't need to get stressed about it.    You are apparently getting nervous because you feel like you are under some pressure when speaking to other people. Take your time and don't worry about pauses. Speak slowly, opening your mouth to enunciate your words clearly. Listen to powerful leaders on the television and note that they speak slowly and carefully and learn to master their speaking techniques.     When you speak to others in college, try to ask questions that will get the other person to talk. Listening carefully and then filling in during the conversation takes the pressure off you and you will feel more relaxed when you talk. You make more of an impression when you are interested in what the other person is saying than when you try to lead a conversation.     Remember that the more you worry about how your voice sounds, about pronouncing words and about pauses, the worse it gets. So accept the way you speak now and relax in your conversations.     I hope these ideas can help take the pressure off you when you talk to other people.                                                                       Wilson According to Wilson, which of the following tips will be useful to John? A) Choose easy questions to answer. B) Read some books about great people. C) Take the lead in a conversation. D) Improve his speaking skills.
D

Since I started working part-time at a grocery store, I have learned that a customer is more than someone who buys things. To me, a customer is a person whose memory fails entirely once he or she starts to push a shopping cart. One of the first things customers forget is how to count. There is no other way to explain how so many people get in their express line, which is clearly marked 15 items  or less, with 20, 25 or even a cart load of items. Customers also forget why they came to the store in the first place. Just as I finish ringing up an order, a customer will say, "Oops, I forgot to pick up a fresh loaf of bread. I hope you don't mind waiting, while I go to get it."Five minutes later, he's back with the bread, a bottle of milk, and three rolls of paper towels. What is strange is that customers also seem to forget that they have to pay for their groceries. Instead of writing a check or looking for a credit card while I am ringing up the groceries, a customer will wait until I announce the total. Then, in surprise, she says, " Oh no, what did I do with my check book?" After 5 minutes of digging through her purse, she borrows my pen because she has forgotten hers. But I have to tolerate customers because they pay my salary, and that's something I can't afford to forget. What does the author say about his customers? A) They cannot count numbers. B) They sometimes jump the queue. C) They don't know how to express themselves. D) They behave as if their memories had totally failed.
D

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition . Some value it highly , believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity . Others say that competition is bad ; that it sets one person against another ; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people . I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied  on how well they performed at tennis and other skills . For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit ( )of success , the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten . However ,while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed , others take an opposite attitude .In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players , they strongly blame competition . Among _ are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society . Teaching these young people . I often observe in them a desire to fail . They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success . By not trying , they always have an excuse : "I may have lost . but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try . "What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot . Such a loss would be a measure of their worth . Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves . Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others . Both are afraid of not being valued . Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve   can we discover a new meaning in competition . What does this passage mainly talk about ? A) Competition helps to set up self-respect . B) Opinions about competition are different among people C) Competition is harmful to personal quality development . D) Failures are necessary experiences in competition

B