Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices going up, up, and up. “How high can they go?” is the question on everyone’s lips? “As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, there’s no telling,” remarked one realtor in Santa Monica, California.
“It’s crazy,” said Tim, who is looking for a house near the beach. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom condominium in Venice, for $70,000. My friends thought then that I was overpaying. Five years later, I had to move. I sold it for $230,000, which was a nice profit. Last year, while visiting friends here, I saw in the local paper that the exact same condo was for sale for $510,000!”
It is a seller’s market. Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price. Donna, a new owner of a one-bedroom condo in Venice Beach, said, “That’s what I did. I told the owner that whatever anyone offers you, I’ll give you $20,000 more, under the table, so you don’t have to pay your realtor any of it. I was tired of looking.”
Tim says he hopes he doesn’t get that desperate. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the wrong decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great opportunity.”
Everyone says the bubble(泡沫) has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day after they sell their house. Even government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that, inevitably, these things go in cycles,” said the state director of housing. “What goes up must come down. But, as we all know, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down. So you can’t lose over the long run. Twenty years down the road, your house is always worth more than you paid for it.”
60．If Tim had sold his flat last year, he could have earned .
A．$ 510,000 B．$ 440,000 C．$ 280,000 D．$ 160,000
61．Donna paid another $ 20,000 to the owner secretly because .
A．she felt like offering 10% more B．secret money made low price
C．the owner asked for the money D．she was bored with bargaining
62．We can infer from Tim’s words in paragraph 4 that .
A．homebuyers feel hesitate facing rising house prices
B．buying a house is always a great opportunity
C．homebuyers never make the right decision
D．both sellers and buyers become desperate
63．What is the author’s opinion about the housing bubble?
A．It is something everyone hates to see
B．Only experts know when it will burst
C．It is unavoidable in the regular circles
D．It usually stays for about twenty years
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live．
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole．And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．
16．Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A．The man’s job was bike racing． B．It was their only possession．
C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed． D．They used it for work and daily life．
17．We can infer from the text that ____________．
A．the couple worked 60 hours a week． B．people were busy before Christmas
C．the stranger brought over the bike D．life was hard for the young family．
18．How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A．From radio broadcasts． B．From a newspaper．
C．From TV news． D．From a stranger．
19．What do the couple learn from their experience?
A．Strangers are usually of little help． B．One should take care of their bike．
C．News reports make people famous． D．An act of kindness can mean a lot．
I don't think there is anything wrong with your blood. The key to your problem is that long nap（打盹,小睡）after dinner. If you didn't sleep for hours during the early part of the evening, you would be more ready to sleep at bedtime. If you didn't nap after dinner, you would not want to stay up so late, and you would not feel the need to take a sleeping pill. The pill is still working in your system when you get up in the morning. This helps account for the fact that you feel tired all day. You should get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening. Right after your evening meal, engage in some sort of physical activity - a sport such as bowling, perhaps. Or get together with friends for an evening of cards and conversation. Then go to bed at your usual time or a little earlier, and you should be able to get a good nights rest without taking a pill.
If you can get into the habit of spending your evenings this way, I am sure you will feel less tired during the day. At first it may be hard for you to go to sleep without taking a pill. If so, get up and watch television or do some jobs around your house until you feel sleepy. If you fall asleep and then wake up a few hours later, get up but do not take a sleeping pill. Read a while or listen to the radio, and make yourself a few hours'sleep that night, you will feel better in the morning than you usually feel after taking a pill. The next night you will be ready to sleep at an earlier hour.
The most important thing is to avoid taking that nap right after dinner and avoid taking pills.
1. According to the writer, it is difficult for you to go to sleep because .
A. you get the habit of staying up late B. you haven't taken sleeping pills
C. you sleep for hours after dinner D. you fail to do some exercises
2. Which of the following is NOT true if you want to get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening?
A. Go to bed earlier than usual. B. Talk with friends after dinner.
C. Stay with friends after dinner. D. Do some physical labor.
3. You feel tired all day probably because .
A. you stay up too late B. you get up too early in the morning
C. you take sleeping pills D. you wake up too frequently at night
4. Which of the following is true according to the passage
A. You mustn't take sleeping pills in order to get a good night's sleep.
B. You should stay up if you want to sleep effectively.
C. Food is necessary at night if you fail to go to sleep.
D. It is very important to get out of the habit of taking a nap after dinner.
5. We may infer that the author is most probably a .
A. doctor B. scientist C. reporter D. professor
In the United States, it is not usual to telephone someone early in the morning. If you telephone early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and requires immediate attention. So it is with the telephone calls made after 11:00 pm. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he may think that it’s a matter of life and death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.
In social life, time plays a very important part. In the USA guests tend to feel they are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party reaches them only three or four days before the party date. But it is not true in all countries. In other areas of the world, it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten. The meaning of time is not the same in different cultures that treat time differently; being on time is valued highly in American life, for example. If people are not on time, they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible. In the USA no one would think of keeping a business friend for an hour; it would be too impolite. A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to make a shout apology. It he is less than 5 minutes late, he will say a few words of explanation, though perhaps he will not complete the sentence.
1．A call at midnight would mean_________.
A. the matter is less important B. the matter is too difficult to handle
C. the matter requires immediate attention D. it is a matter of life and death
2．According to the passage, time plays a very important part in_______.
A. everyday life B. private life
C. getting along with others D. business
3．In the passage, the author suggests that invitation cards should be sent________.
A. three or four days before the party date in all cultures
B. three or four days before the party date in some cultures
C. three or four days before the party date in the USA
D. at your chosen time
The Peales were a famous family of American artists. Charles Willson Peale is best remembered for his portraits of leading figures of the American Revolution. He painted portraits of Franklin and Jefferson and over a dozen of George Washington. His life-size portrait of his sons Raphaelle and Titian was so realistic that George Washington reportedly once tipped his hat to the figures in the picture.
Charles Willson Peale gave up painting in his middle age and devoted his life to the Peale museum, which he founded in Philadelphia. The world’s first popular museum of art and natural science mainly covered paintings by Peale and his family as well as displays of animals in their natural settings. Peale found the animals himself and found a method to make the exhibits more lifelike. The museum’s most popular display was the skeleton (骷髅) of a huge, extinct（灭绝的）elephant, which Peale unearthed on a New York farm in 1801.
Three of Peale’s seventeen children were also famous artists. Paphaelle Peale often painted still lives of flowers, fruit, and cheese. His brother Rembrandt studied under his father and painted portraits of many noted people, including one of George Washington. Another brother, Rubens Peale, painted mostly landscapes and portraits.
James Peale, the brother of Charles Willson Peale, specialized in miniatures (小画像). His daughter Sarah Miriam Peale was probably the first professional female portrait painter in America.
1. What is the main topic of the passage?
A. The life of Charles Willson Peale. B. Portraits in the 18th century.
C. The Peale Museum. D. A family of artists.
2. The author mentions in Paragraph 1 that Washington tipped his hat to the figures in the painting to show that ________.
A. Charles Willson Peale’s painting was very lifelike
B. Washington respected Charles Willson Peale’s work
C. Washington was friendly with Raphaelle and Titian Peale
D. the painting of the two brothers was very large
3. The underlined word “unearthed” is closest in meaning to“ ______”.
A. showed B. dug upC. inventedD. looked over
4. Which of the following is NOT the child of Charles Willson Peale?
A. Titian Peale.B. Rubens Peale. C. Raphaelle Peale. D. Sarah Miriam Peale.
5. The author’s attitude toward the Peales is in general _______.
A. puzzled B. excited C. admiring D. disappointed
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. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will 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 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 war. 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 at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve 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 (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of 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'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.
1. The passage is mainly about_____________.
A. a new medical invention B. a new research on the pill
C. a way of erasing painful memories D. an argument about the research on the pill
2. The drug tested on people can_____________.
A. cause the brain to fix memories
B. stop people remembering bad experiences
C. prevent body producing certain chemicals
D. Wipe out the emotional effects of memories
3. We can infer from the passage that_____________.
A. people doubt the effects of the pills
B. the pill will stop people's bad experiences
C. taking the pill will do harm to people's health
D. the pill has probably been produced in America
4. Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with?
A. Some memories can ruin people's lives.
B. People want to get rid of bad memories.
C. Experiencing bad events makes us different from others.
D. The pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories.