C. they say a lot about human history                        D. they offer good topics for discussion
46. What does the author enjoy most from re-organizing his books?
A. Finding some missing books.                       
B. Putting books in good order.
C. Learning something new from the books.       
D. Rediscovering interesting stories behind some books.
47. The underlined word “résumé” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
A. personal history               B. precious notes           C. good companion              D. simple life forms
D
Spending beyond one’s means is becoming a national problem for Americans. Borrowing has become so easy that it takes great willpower for people to refuse it. “I received a number of gold MasterCard and gold Visa card offers in the mail during the past two months,” said one computer engineer at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Chicago. “I got three of them in one day last week.”
Lenders are providing easy credit (信贷) for borrowers. Many banks now offer every borrower a great variety of credit, a service once offered almost only to big companies. Norwest Bank Minneapolis offers lending programs for cars and boats that can cut monthly payments nearly in half. Carmakers, too, are lengthening easier terms. Ford Motor Credit states that 45% of its recent lending has been for sixty months, rather than the thirty-six-month period that was usual before.
The total consumer debt (债务) in the United States rose 173 percent between 1974 and 1984, as the debt for each man, woman, and child increased from $10,264 to $26,566. Huge debt now is present in our economy (经济) at all levels. As a nation, we are more than $7 trillion in debt, and the total keeps increasing astonishingly.
As we have overborrowed, so have we overspent. In late 1986, the share of after-tax income that Americans saved sank below 2 percent for a short time, less than half the figure at which we saved only 10 years ago. Americans now are buying from foreigners between about $50 and $100 billion more Mercedes and Toyotas, Paris fashions, and tours to Europe than the Boeing 747s, agriculture machinery, or Kansas wheat that the foreigners bought from America. The country could not produce and pay for all the things it wanted.
To make a long story short, we Americans have serious problems in keeping down spending and keeping up personal savings. It is high time for us American people to learn the basics of long-term money management.
48. According to the author, what is a main reason for Americans to overspend?
A. Americans buy a lot of foreign products.               B. It is easy for Americans to manage their debts.
C. Borrowing money has become a simple matter.      D. Americans have more extra money than before.
49. Ford Motor Credit lengthens 45% of its lending to 60 months in order to ________.
A. help more Americans to settle their debts               B. encourage people to buy foreign cars
C. make better use of its money                                D. attract more customers
50. What does the author suggest as a way to deal with overborrowing?
A. Teaching people how to manage money.                B. Advising people on what to buy.
C. Limiting the use of credit cards.                                   D. Reducing average incomes.
51. Which of the following points does the author wish to make?
A. America should sell more of its products abroad.
B. A healthy society has to learn to live within its means.
C. People’s income determines their money management.
D. Government should prevent people from overborrowing.
E
Every person leaves a footprint. That’s what I learnt when I started to work as a private investigator 10 years ago. People pay restaurant bills with their bank card, check into hotels or travel around. In every case, they leave a trace. And because of this, I’m able to track them down even when they don’t want to be found.
The first thing I do when I want to find out where someone is staying is to go to the neighbourhood where he used to live. It’s human nature to tell stories — which is why neighbours will tell me all they know when I ring at their houses. Sometimes, someone even talks about his friend’s dishonesty. Then I produce a pattern of my subject’s life: if he likes to have a holiday in Spain or in Italy, if he prefers two- or three-star hotels and where he might hide his assets(资产) .When I’ve got this life pattern, I start my research.
Nine times out of 10, I find the people I’m looking for. I once investigated a lorry supplier who owed £500,000 to a subcontractor (分包商). The subcontractor wanted to find out if it was worth bringing charges against the supplier. I found out the supplier had moved assets to his son, who founded a new company offering the same product. It was all done within the law. There was no money to be got from that operation.
However, I asked the son if I could speak to his father and he told me that his parent was on a long holiday in Spain and wouldn’t be back for a while. It didn’t take me long to find out that the father wasn’t in Spain.
I went back to the son and this time he told me that his father might in Bulgaria, and I found him doing winter sports in a beautiful mountain area. He was living in a big house on a large piece of land he had bought for €400,000. This was exactly the kind of asset my customer was looking for.
52. We learn from the text that a private investigator is one who ________.
A. follows people and reports on what they do           B. helps people start businesses
C. gives advice to people about the law                      D. settles arguments between companies
53. Why does the author visit the place where his subject used to stay?
A. To find out his hidden assets.                                B. To gather information about him.
C. To discover why he is dishonest.                           D. To find out where he spends his holiday.
54. The lorry supplier moved his assets to his son in order to ________.
A. pass on his debt to his son                                    B. double the business of his company

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