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
Since the 1990s, education has been required for all South Africans from age seven to fifteen. Last December, the government announced that 70% of students passed their final examination to finish high school. In 2008, the pass rate was about 63%. There have been increases each year since then.
Professor Shireen Motala says basic education is no longer a problem in South Africa. Most children stay in school until they are about sixteen. The problem is that large numbers of them leave without completing high school.
Students take an examination known as the “matric”(高考) in Grade Twelve. Professor Motala says, “Less than half of the children who started school in 2000 sat for the matric last year. Many dropped out of school, so only around 45% took the matric. And the worry is where those students actually go.” Those who drop out have to compete with better educated people for jobs.
Educational researchers also point to another problem. South African schools do not produce enough students with the skills for higher education in maths and science. Many schools are not well-equipped. Children do not see laboratories, and, as a result, their science marks are not very good. They do not have libraries at school. Also, many teachers do not have the skills or training to do their jobs.
In South Africa, a number of teachers were poorly trained before. Secondly, teachers have been confused by the many educational reform efforts in the last fifteen years. Finally, language differences in the classroom have not got as much attention as they should, which is a huge problem. Subjects such as maths and science are taught in English starting at about the age of ten. But South Africa has eleven official languages.
South Africa’s minister of basic education promises a number of improvements. Angie Motshega says teacher development efforts will focus on subject and content knowledge, making sure that the correct teachers are in the correct jobs.From the first paragraph we can learn that ______.
| A．South Africans are badly in need of education |
| B．South African teenagers do very well at school |
| C．the South African government takes education seriously |
| D．South African teenagers have become more clever |
What is the real concern of Shireen Motala?
| A．Something is wrong with the country’s basic education system. |
| B．Most children have to find a job at an early age. |
| C．The final exam is too difficult for most children. |
| D．Most children cannot complete high school until they are 16. |
South African students perform poorly in science for all of the following reasons, EXCEPT ______.
| A．they don’t work hard enough |
| B．their schools do not have laboratories |
| C．they cannot get help from libraries |
| D．there are not enough skilled teachers |
With which of the following would Shireen Motala most probably agree?
| A．Schools should focus more on maths and science than any other subject. |
| B．More educational reforms should be carried out in South African schools. |
| C．The more teachers teach maths and science, the better marks students may get. |
| D．More attention should be paid to language differences in maths and science classes. |
However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing ever more rapidly. Some of this growth has happened in the developed world, but the most dramatic increase has been in the Third World. Almost all the world’s population growth over the next 30 years will take place in the cities of developing countries.
By the year 2030, for the first time in history, 60 percent of the world’s people will be living in cities.
This is actually good news in some ways. “Cities are the fundamental building blocks of prosperity(繁荣),” says Marc Weiss, chairman of the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development, “both for the nation and for families.” Industrial and commercial activities in urban areas account for between 50 and 80 percent of the GDP(国内生产总值) in most countries of the world. “There’s the crazy idea that the way to deal with a city’s problems is to keep people out of them.” Weiss continued. “But the problems of the rural life are even more serious than those of the city.” For better or worse, urban-watchers are clear on one point: The quality of life for most people in the future will be determined by the quality of cities. Those cities will be bigger than ever. And yet, population numbers by themselves don’t determine a city’s prospects; after all, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Hamburg, Germany, have the same population. Nor is explosive growth necessarily the determining factor. “City problems,” one authority points out, “mostly have to do with weak, ineffective, and usually unrepresentative city governments.”According to the passage, in the year of 2030 _______.
| A．there will be many cities having a population of more than 10 million. |
| B．rural area will be extinct (灭绝). |
| C．most people will live in cities. |
| D．the third world will keep up with the developed world. |
In the author’s opinion, _________.
| A．better city, better life |
| B．both urban and rural areas will have a large population |
| C．the larger the population is, the faster a city develops |
| D．both urban and rural areas have larger GDP |
The last paragraph implies that ____________.
| A．Public services are ineffective. |
| B．Cities are increasing too fast. |
| C．Population is not linked with development. |
| D．Government should be responsible for the problems in the cities. |
Museums in Germany
Germany is one of the most important countries in Europe. You can visit many museums in Germany and learn about the country, its culture and people.
If you are interested in learning about the history of the country, then you can have a look at the displays in the wonderful museum in the Roman Open Air Museum in Hechingen Stein. This museum, with its large numbers of artifacts (手工艺品) like paintings, pieces of pottery, tools, jewelry and other items, provides a complete picture of Roman history in Germany. The museum is built inside an ancient Roman house called “Villa Rustica”.
Apart from this, another German museum that is worth visiting is the DB Museum, or the German Railway Museum. It is the oldest railway museum in the country, and it offers a comprehensive insight into the history of the railways in Germany. Here, you can see models of trains and engines from an ancient era. If this interests you, you can also visit the Museum of Communication, where you can learn a lot about the transport in Germany. It is a great place to visit with your family.
Another famous museum in Germany, where you can learn a lot about the culture, is the Gutenberg Museum. This museum is filled with ancient memorabilia and artifacts that deal with the history of printing, not only of Germany, but of the whole world. This, in fact, is the oldest printing museum in the world. Amongst the many displays of interesting objects, the most famous is the second Gutenberg Bible. Apart from the museums mentioned above, other museums that are worth visiting include the German Leather Museum, Kingspor Museum, Optical Museum Jena, Deutsches Museums and others. Each of the museums in Germany deals with a different theme.
You can visit the museums in Germany with your family and have a good time looking at the displays.Which of the following is not displayed in the Roman Open Air Museum?
| A．Pieces of pottery. | B．Jewelry. | C．Paintings. | D．Models of trains. |
What can we learn about the German Railway Museum?
| A．It is the oldest railway museum in Europe. |
| B．It covers the history of the railways in Germany. |
| C．It offers information about the transport in Germany. |
| D．It is built inside an ancient Roman house. |
If you want to learn about the history of Germany, you can go to the _______.
| A．Roman Open Air Museum | B．Kingspor Museum |
| C．Optical Museum Jena | D．Deutsches Museums |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To attract more visitors to the museums. |
| B．To act as an introduction to the history of Germany. |
| C．To make Germany more popular. |
| D．To call on people to do something for the museums. |
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And he who doesn’t exist cannot have the job. ”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and returned late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers(零售商) in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker(保险业经纪人) and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire(帝国). Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”Why can’t the man have the job at Microsoft?
| A．Because he was lazy. | B．Because he didn’t pass the test. |
| C．Because he didn’t have an e-mail. | D．Because he didn’t have a computer. |
The underlined word “triple” can be replaced by ______.
| A．become large | B．become 3 times | C．increase quickly | D．decrease quickly |
The man can be described as _______.
| A．helpful and grateful | B．positive and generous |
| C．smart and hardworking | D．stubborn and unselfish |
Which proverb can best describe the story?
| A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing. | B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Accidents will happen. | D．No pains , no gains. |
Public schools in Washington, D.C. provide students with musical instruments for free. When something goes wrong with an instrument, Charles West and Larry Jernigan do the repairs. Both men approach their work with a passion(激情). For them, it’s important that students have a joyful experience with music.
The two have worked together for almost 20 years. This year alone, they’ve fixed about 450 instruments. Both men are musicians and music lovers, so learning to do repairs came naturally.
“I have been a musician all my life.” says West. “I played in an orchestra here in the city. I majored in music in college. I played in an army band.”
Jernigan’s musical interests are varied. “I was formerly trained in the piano and guitar. The alto sax, and the flute, I picked up while working here.”
In addition to fixing instruments, the two also go to schools to instruct teachers and students on how to make minor repairs on their own.
West believes if children start early and stay concerned with music, it enriches other areas of their lives. “I see that in other kids. I see it in myself. I have seen it hundreds of times and it works,” he says. “They learn teamwork. They learn patience and respect.”
But West has concerns about the future of music in the electronic age.
“This instant age has taken away from the sit-down, the patience. And to learn to play an instrument, it takes patience, it takes diligence, it takes time.”
Being able to enjoy music on the job is one of the benefits of the job. Both men agree their best rewards are the students’ performances. What’s the job of West and Jernigan at school?
| A．Teaching music. | B．Writing music. |
| C．Making musical instruments. | D．Repairing musical instruments. |
They love the job because they can .
| A．earn more money | B．learn repair skills |
| C．enjoy music | D．watch performances |
Which of the following is true of the two men?
| A．They have fixed 450 instruments in the past 20 years. |
| B．They can play and repair musical instruments. |
| C．Jernigan used to play in an army band. |
| D．West was trained to play the piano. |
According to West, what can people learn from music?
| A．Teamwork and patience. | B．The value of time. |
| C．The truth of society. | D．Diligence and confidence. |
What is mainly talked about in the text?
| A．How to repair musical instruments. |
| B．Learning experiences of two repairmen. |
| C．How to prepare a musical performance. |
| D．The enjoyable job of two music lovers. |