E
However wealthy we may be, we can never find enough hours in the day to do everything we want. Economics deals with this problem through the concept of opportunity cost, which simply refers to whether someone’s time or money could be better spent on something else.
Every hour of our time has a value. For every hour we work at one job we could quite easily be doing another, or be sleeping or watching a film. Each of these options has a different opportunity cost—namely, what they cost us in missed opportunities.
Say you intend to watch a football match but the tickets are expensive and it will take you a couple of hours to get to and from the stadium. Why not, you might reason, watch the game from home and use the leftover money and time to have dinner with friends? This—the alternative use of your cash and time—is the opportunity cost.
For economists, every decision is made by knowledge of what one must forgo—in terms of money and enjoyment—in order to take it up. By knowing precisely what you are receiving and what you are missing out on, you ought to be able to make better-informed, more reasonable decisions. Consider that most famous economic rule of all: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Even if someone offers to take you out to lunch for free, the time you will spend in the restaurant still costs you something in terms of forgone opportunities.
Some people find the idea of opportunity cost extremely discouraging: imagine spending your entire life calculating whether your time would be better spent elsewhere doing something more profitable or enjoyable. Yet, in a sense it’s human nature to do precisely that we assess the advantages and disadvantages of decisions all the time.
In the business world, a popular phrase is “value for money.” People want their cash to go as far as possible. However, another is fast obtaining an advantage: “value for time.” The biggest restriction on our resources is the number of hours we can devote to something, so we look to maximize the return we get on our investment of time. By reading this passage you are giving over a bit of your time which could be spent doing other activities, such as sleeping and eating. In return, however, this passage will help you to think like an economist, closely considering the opportunity cost of each of your decisions.

72. According to the passage, the concept of “opportunity cost” is applied to ________.
A. weighing the choice of opportunities   B. reducing missed opportunities 
C. making more money                   D. taking more opportunities
73. The “leftover ... time” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to the time ________.
A. taken to have dinner with friends         B. spared for watching the match at home
C. saved from not going to watch the match    D. spent on the way to and from the match 
74. What are forgone opportunities?
A. Opportunities you make up for.             B. Opportunities you forget in decision-making. 
C. Opportunities you give up for better ones.  D. Opportunities you miss accidentally.
75. What is the author’s attitude towards the concept of “opportunity cost”?
A. Indifferent    B. Negative   C. Subjective   D. Objective
 
第二卷（非选择题   共35分）
第四部分 写作 （共两节， 满分35分）
第一节   任务型读写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。   
It doesn’t matter if books are delivered in printed or electronic forms; the main thing is to get lost in reading them. Reading books is vital for human development. 
Why should we bother reading a book? People cannot figure out the meaning of reading. In a world of accelerating technology, lacking time and decreasing attention, should they invest precious time sinking into a good book? 
The discovery that our brains are physically changed by the experience of reading is something many of us will understand instinctively, as we think back to the way an extraordinary book had a transformative effect on the world view of people. This transformation only takes place when we lose ourselves in a book. That’s why studies have found this kind of deep reading gives us a better understanding of the inner lives of others.   
Rationally, we know that reading is the foundation stone of all education, and therefore an important basis of the economic benefits. But perhaps even more significant is its emotional role as the starting point for individual voyages of personal development and emotional pleasure. They can help create and strengthen our sense of self. If reading were to decline significantly, it would change the nature of our species. If we, in the future, are no longer wired for self-reflection and creative thought, we will die out. 
Technology let the readers experience more adventures from more books. Publishers need to get better at using the ability of the Internet to inform readers, and potential readers, about all the extraordinary new books that are published every year. 
The research shows the benefits of reading clearly. So there can hardly be a better reason for fighting to protect the future of the book.

第二节  书面表达（满分25分）
下图描述了一种令家长和老师担忧的现象，部分学生（甚至是即将面临高考的学生）在学习过程中，为了不费精力脑力地完成作业而利用网络抄袭的现象。请根据你对该图的理解写一篇英语短文，词数120左右。内容包括（可适当增加细节，使行文连贯）：

（1）简要阐述图片反映的现象；  （2）分析造成该现象的原因（至少两点）；  （3）提出自己的看法。
英语学习  http://www.yggk.net/english/