题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
山东省济南市济南外国语学校2020届高三上学期英语9月月考试卷
On a recent spring morning. Susan Alexander, a retired government intelligence analyst, left her Maryland home, climbed into her Volkswagen Passat and drove about three miles to pick up two strangers. She battled rush-hour traffic on the Capital Beltway and George Washington Memorial Parkway before dropping them off at Reagan National Airport. She didn't earn a cent for her trouble, and that was the point.
Alexander is a member of the Silver Spring Time Bank-one of more than 100 such exchanges around the world trying to build community by exchanging time credits for services instead of dollars and cents. "I have time," she said. "I like giving the gift of time to other people."
In Alexander's case, passengers Mary and Al Liepold were grateful for the ride, but it wasn't charity. Mary, a retired writer and editor for nonprofit organizations, used time credits she banked for editing work and baking. Senior citizens who don't drive, the Liepolds cashed in their credits to catch a flight to Montreal for a five-day vacation.
Without money changing hands or shifting between virtual accounts, the airport drop-off was more like a coffee party than a taxi ride. Driver and passengers chatted about projects they've completed for the time bank, and no one raised an eyebrow when Mary said she likes "to avoid the conventional economy."
"The beauty of this is that you make friends," Mary Liepold said. "You don't just get services."
The Silver Spring Time Bank formed in 2015 and has about 300 members, said co-founder Mary Murphy. Last year, she said, l,000 hours were exchanged for basic home repairs, dog walking, cooking and tailoring, among other services, without the exchange of money." You get to save that money that you would have spent," she said. "You get to meet somebody else in your community and get to know that person. That's a bonus that's part of an exchange. "
A deal performed partly to make friends would seem to go against classical economics and one of Benjamin Franklin's most memorable sayings: "Time is money." To those at the forefront of modem time-banking, that is the appeal.
Legal information on call
What is Dial-A-Law? Dial-A-Law is a collection of pre-recorded messages to provide general information on specific topics of law. You can call this service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and listen to any tape of pre-recorded messages. Dial-A-Law provides information, not legal advice. Each legal problem is different so if you have a legal problem you should talk to a lawyer. If you don't have a lawyer, the Legal Referral Service can refer you to a lawyer in your area. While the Dial-A-Law information service is available 24 hours a day, the Legal Referral Service is open only during normal business hours. What if I need a lawyer? If you listen to a Dial-A-Law message after business hours, you can phone the Legal Referral Service during business hours the following day on the number given to you at the end of the message. If you listen to a Dial-A-Law message during business hours and want to set up an appointment with a lawyer, press the appropriate number you hear and you will be automatically transferred to the Legal Referral Service. You will be given the names of up to three lawyers in your suburb. You can just arrange an appointment with one of these lawyers. Then you must contact the Legal Referral Service to obtain a recommendation letter. You must hand this to the lawyer at the beginning of your interview. He or she will give you the first interview of up to 30 minutes free of charge. During the interview the lawyer will tell you what is involved, how long it should take to solve the problem, and how much it is likely to cost. Then, if you and the lawyer agree, you may hire him or her to handle your problem at his or her normal fee. |
试题篮