How could Ponzi make so much money for people? This is what he did with the money people gave him: He used some of that money to pay other people who gave him money. However, he also kept a lot of the money for himself. Soon he had $250 million. This was a kind of theft, and it was against the law. The people who gave him their money didn't think anything was wrong. Ponzi paid them every month, just like a bank. Ponzi continued this way of working for two years. Then one day, he didn't have enough money to pay all the people. They discovered his crime, and he went to prison for fraud.
Ninety years later, people began to hear about a businessman in New York named Bernard Madoff. People said he gave good advice about money. They said when they gave him their money, he paid them a lot more than the bank. Madoff helped hospitals, schools, and individuals earn money. Over a period of 40 years, people gave him $170 billion. However, no one investigated what he did with the money. The people who gave Madoff their money also didn't think anything was wrong because he paid them every month.
One day, Madoff didn't have enough money to pay all the people he needed to pay. That's when people discovered how Madoff worked: He was taking money from some people to pay other people, just the way Charles Ponzi did. However, this time, instead of losing millions of dollars, people lost billions.
Madoff was accused of fraud, and United States government officials arrested him. He didn't have to go on trial because he said he was guilty. In 2009, a judge sentenced him t0 150 years in prison. Bernard Madoff's crime was even bigger than Ponzi's. It was the biggest fraud in history. The lesson of this story is clear: When something seems too good to be true, it probably is!
31. For every $100, Ponzi promised to pay people
A. $5 a year.
B. $20 a year.
C. $40 a year.
D. $100 a year.
【参考答案】：C
32. What did Ponzi do with the money people gave him?
A. He spent it all on things for himself.
B. He used some of it to pay other people.
C. He deposited it all in a bank.
D. He kept it all to save for a good plan.
【参考答案】：B
33. What was Ponzi's crime?
A. He robbed the banks of millions of dollars.
B. He gave people more than the bank did.
C. He kept a lot of other people's money for himself.
D. He did not pay people their interests.
【参考答案】：D
34. How long did Madoffs tricks last?
A. Forty years.
B. Four year.
C. Nine years.
D. Ninety years.
【参考答案】：A
35. Why didn't Madoff have to go on trial?
A. The officiais couldn't find any evidence against him.
B. He had friends in the government who helped him.
C. He admitted he was guilty.
D. He returned all the illegal money.
【参考答案】：C
第二篇
Puerto Rican Cuisine（菜肴）
Puerto Rico, a Caribbean (加勒比海区) island rich in history and remarkable natural beauty, has a cuisine all its own. Immigration（移民） to the island has helped to shape its cuisine, with people from all over the world making various contributions to it. However, before the arrival of these immigrants, the Taino people lived on the island of Puerto Rico. Taino cuisine included such foods as rodents (啮齿动物), fresh shellfish and fish fried in corn oil.
Many aspects of Taino cuisine continue today in Puerto Rican cooking, but it has been heavily influenced by the Spanish, who invaded Puerto Rico in 1508, and Africans, who were initially brought to Puerto Rico to work as slaves. Taino cooking styles were mixed with ideas brought by the Spanish and Africans to create new dishes. The Spanish extended food choices by bringing cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep to the island. Africans also added to the island's food culture by introducing powerful, contrasting tastes in dishes. In fact, much of the food Puerto Rico is now famous for - coffee, coconuts, and oranges - was actually imported by foreigners to the island.
A common assumption many people make about Puerto Rican food is that it is very spicy(辛辣的). lt's true that chili peppers are popular; aij caballero in particular is a very hot chili pepper that Puerto Ricans enjoy. However, milder(微辣的) tastes are popular too, such as sofrito. As the base of many Puerto Rican dishes, sofrito is a sauce made from chopped onions, green bell peppers, sweet chili peppers, and a handful of other spices. It is fried in oil and then added to other dishes.
36、who lived in Puerto Rico first
A．the Africans
B．the Spanish
C．the Americans
D．the Taino people
【参考答案】：D
37、In the first paragraph the word “it” refers to
A．immigration
B．Caribbean history
C．the island’s natural beauty |
