Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least
affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble (气泡) and main
sadness. Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply. According to a
recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator (赤道) to Australia to find
the priciest homes.
The report measured a city"s housing market along the following guidelines. An "affordable" home
required three times or less of the average family"s income to purchase. At four times earnings, a home fell into the "unaffordable" category. And a "seriously unaffordable" home needed five times a family"s income. In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9. 5 times the average income. Sydney,
Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure.
Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings. These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable. Land
rationing (配给制) and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be
solved through urgent action by the Rudd government.
Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California. America is still involved in a mortgage(抵押)crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes. Yet a
number of US cities garnered "affordable" status, namely Dallas and Kansas. Australia had no cities listed
in the top fifty places with affordable homes.
The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you"re Australian and choose to live down under.
1. To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____.
A. 3 times or less of the average family"s income
B. 4 times or less of the average family"s income
C. 5 times or less of the average family"s income
D. 9. 5 times or less of the average family"s income
2. What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?
A. The rising family"s income.
B. The demand over supply.
C. The excessive development charges.
D. The decrease of land.
3. The underlined word "dismal" in Paragraph 3 may mean _____.
A. cheerful
B. satisfactory
C. difficult
D. gloomy
4. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
A. Affordable Houses
B. A House is a Dream First
C. Housing Bubble
D. Homes Too Expensive
Getting your children to study can be a little like getting them to eat their vegetables. __1__ Make a
study time and have it at the same time every day. This will help your kid to learn to schedule their day and will give them a sense of control over how they spend their time.
Allow them to study in block of time, such as for half an hour with a five-minute break in the middle.
__2_ Ideal (理想的) study times are after dinner or right after school before dinner .
Never allow your children to study in front of the television, as that will encourage passive activity.
__3__
__4__You"ll also need to help your kids find the right place to study. After you"ve set up a good study
time for little learners, set up a good place where they can get those creative juices flowing .
Make sure there is a table or a desk and a comfortable chair.
__5__ This includes helping them out with their homework sometimes and being there for them with the answers to any questions. The input you give your children during study periods will help form a bond and help make studying enjoyable.
A. Pick a place where your children can study properly
B. Hold them to the schedule they create for themselves.
C. Finally, spend time with your kids when they"re studying.
D. Keep the atmosphere light and offer lots of encouragement, too.
E. Instead, use TV as a treat or a reward when the homework is completed.
F. Try to stop this bad habit by offering some sort of reward.
G. One of the best ways to from good study habits for your kids is to design a schedule that they keep to.
Recently our classmates have had a heated discussion about the topic "Environment or economy, must we choose?" .Some students are in 1._______ of the development of environment, while others put
economy above environment.
The students 2.______ are worried about the environment say that many plants and animals have died and fish are even given no time to lay eggs. Besides, water and air are seriously polluted, causing people
sick. While we damage our environment, we keep producing more and more people who need more land
to live 3.________ and more food to eat.
As to the students for economy, they think, first of all, people are more important 4.______ plants and animals. As a matter of fact, many companies and factories are very concerned 5._______ the
environment and have a sense of responsibility. In addition, with the development of economy, more jobs will be created.
In my opinion, firstly, we should produce more things from recycled materials, and less 6._______ raw materials. 7._________, more effective laws to preserve the environment should be made, which controls the scale(规模)of trees-cutting and fish-catching. Thirdly, we try to live an environmentally friendly way of
life and pay slightly higher prices for things 8.______ are environmentally friendly. Finally, companies
producing chemical waste should pay higher taxes. With these measures, I believe that a healthy
environment and a stable(稳定的)economy should be possible at the same time.
Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences.
Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars(伤疤). Often
they relive(在想像中再体验)these experiences.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which help people forget bad
memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might
reduce, or possibly erase(抹去)the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body
releasing(发放出)chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far, the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it. Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers" troubling memories after wars.
They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories. "Some memories can ruin
people"s lives. They come back to you when you don"t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare.
They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at Harvard Medical School,"This could relieve(减轻)a lot of that suffering."
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because
memories give us our identity. They also help us avoid the mistakes in the past. "All of us can think of bad
events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I am not sure whether we"d want to wipe those memories out." said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.
1. The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 4 refers to "_____".
A. the new drug
B. the research into the drug
C. the bad memory
D. the chemical in the drug
2.Which of the following is NOT the opinion of the opponents(反对者)?
A. Our memories give us our identity.
B. The memories help human avoid mistakes of the past.
C. The drug should be used in only very serious cases.
D. People may not be sure whether they want to wipe the memories out.
3. What"s the main idea of this passage?
A. People often suffer from bad memories.
B. American researchers have developed a pill.
C. Forget bad memories, and be happy.
D. Developing pills for helping forget bad memories has caused a heated argument.
I believe in miracles because I"ve seen so many of them.One day,a patient was referred to me who was
one hundred and two years old."There"s a 1 in my upper jaw,"she said."I told my own dentist it"s
nothing,but he 2 I come to see you."
Her eighty-year-old son accompanied her.He would 3 to add something,but she stopped him.She
wanted to tell everything hereslf.I found a large cancer that spread over much of the 4 of her mouth.A
careful examination later 5 that it was a particularly bad sort of cancer.
During her next appointment,I explained to her the 6 of the problem.She clasped my hand in hers
and said,"I know you"re worried about me,but I"m just 7 ."
I thought otherwise.After considerable 8 on my part,and kindness on her part because she wanted
to 9 me,she agreed to have me refer her to a cancer surgeon.She saw him,but as I expected, 10
treatment.About six months later she retarned to my office,still energetic and 11
"How are you?"I asked.
"I"m just fine,honey,"she responded 12 high spirits."When can I get started on fixing my dentures(假牙)?"
Surprised to see her at all,I answered 13 ,"Let me take a look in your mouth and we"ll see about it."
I couldn"t believe my eyes.The cancer that had 14 nearly the entire roof of her mouth was gone-only onesmall area of redness 15 .
I had read of such things happening,but had 16 seen them with my own eyes.That was my first
miracle.
Since then I"ve seen many others,because they keep getting 17 to see.In fact,miracles are daily
events for me now.And people are a miracle, 18 through them we have a chance to know ourselves
and to 19 the miracles of one another.
Since my first miracle,I"ve come to understand that the time and place for a miracle is 20 we choose
to find it.
( )1.A.pain ( )2.A.declared ( )3.A.manage ( )4.A.corner ( )5.A.considered ( )6.A.possibility ( )7.A.old ( )8.A.permission ( )9.A.persuade ( )10.A.received ( )11.A.healthy ( )12.A.to ( )13.A.worriedly ( )14.A.reached ( )15.A.left ( )16.A.ever ( )17.A.easier ( )18.A.for ( )19.A.read ( )20.A.whatever | B.wound B.promised B.continue B.roof B.convinced B.seriousness B.sick B.effort B.encourage B.provided B.elegant B.in B.patiently B.covered B.faded B.also B.rarer B.so B.keep B.wherever | C.cut C.insisted C.keep C.bottom C.confirmed C.importance C.glad C.approval C.please C.refused C.optimistic C.with C.confusedly C.spread C.expanded C.never C.happier C.yet C.see C.whoever | D.cancer D.suspected D.attempt D.surface D.concluded D.resolution D.fine D.support D.astonish D.required D.humorous D.by D.confidently D.grown D.remained D.already D.closer D.or D.make D.whichever |
阅读理解 | |||
Betty and Harold have been married for years.But one thing still puzzles old Harold.How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa,talking,go out to a ballgame,come back three and a half hours later,and they"re still sitting on the sofa?Talking? What in the world,Harold wonders,do they have to talk about? Betty shrugs.Talk?We"re friends. Researching this matter called friendship,psychologist Lilian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men.No matter what their age,their job,their sex,the results were completely clear:women have more friendships than men,and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is "marked and unmistakable." More than two-thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend.Those who could were likely to name a woman.Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend,and almost always it was a woman.More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend,most trusted person,or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress(感情危机). "Most women,"says Rubin,"identified at least one,usually more,trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment,and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives." "In general,"writes Rubin in her new book,"women"s friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support,but men"s relationships are marked by shared activities."For the most part,Rubin says, interactions(交往)between men are emotionally controlled-a good fit with the social requirements of "manly behavior." "Even when a man is said to be a best friend,"Robin writes,"the two share little about their innermost feelings.Whereas a woman"s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage, it wasn"t unusual to hear a man say he didn"t know his friend"s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa." 1.What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that_____. A.he is treated as an outsider rather than a husband B.women show little interest in ballgames C.women have so much to share D.he finds his wife difficult to talk to 2.Rubin"s study shows that for emotional support a married woman is more likely to turn to _____. A.a male friend B.her parents C.a female friend D.her husband 3.According to the text,which type of behavior is NOT expected of a man by society? A.Ending his marriage without good reason. B.Complaining about his marriage trouble. C.Spending too much time with his friends. D.Going out to ballgames too often. 4.Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph? A.Women are more serious than men about marriage. B.Men keep their innermost feelings to themselves. C.Men often take sudden action to end their marriage. D.Women depend on others in making decisions. 5.The research done by psychologist Rubin centers around_____. A.friendships of men and women B.happy and successful marriages C.emotional problems in marriage D.interactions between men and women |