China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. T
o many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market
, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered. What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8000 yuan | B．10000 yuan | C．7000 yuan | D．It’s not mentioned here |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality,environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
| D．There are more people who need houses in China. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
A．The hous ing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it. |
| B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States |
D．Chinese governmen t issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
| A．Four | B．Three | C．Five | D．Two |
Half of all bosses say a lack of sleep makes them irritable (易怒的) and prone to(有……倾向的) shout at their staff, a study said.
One in five managers also said being kept awake at night meant they were more likely to make mistakes, the Mori poll of 1,006 people revealed(显示).
Some 48% of people aged 35 to 44 said they did not get enough sleep compared to a national average 39%.
Among that age group, people with young children and managerial (管理的) jobs were most likely to suffer.
The report, commissioned (委托) by the think tank Demos and Ikea, said the issue of sleep had been forgotten in the work / life balance debate.
Report author Charles Leadbeater said, "On any working day, a quarter of all managers in Britain are likely to be in a bad mood because they have not slept well. "
"These sleep-deprived and shouty managers with a tendency to make mistakes are responsible for millions of British workers. It’s hardly a recipe for good management. "
And Mr. Leadbeater called on the government and employers to take action.
A small loss of sleep is likely to have a big impact on people who lead stressful lives.
"Stressed out parents are already not sleeping enough. They are the people most likely to have their sleep disrupted and they are least able to recover."
Apart from children keeping their parents awake, worrying about work is the biggest cause of wakefulness at night among managers.
Women are five times more likely than men to lose sleep because their partners snore (打呼噜).
The report predicted that there was likely to be a growing market of sleep-deprived people, with an increase in "public napping".
Opportunities to take a nap at work are also likely to increase, and the report recommended that employers take their responsibility for ensuring employees were well slept more seriously.
Peter Jelkeby, marketing manager at Ikea, said the research confirmed suspicions Britons were not getting enough sleep.
And he added: "This is having a detrimental effect on our society as a whole. "
9. Which of following is true according to the text?
A. Half of the people say a lack of sleep makes them irritable.
B. 20% managers said being kept awake at night meant they were more likely to make mistakes.
C. Some 48% of people said they did not get enough sleep.
D. People with young children and managerial jobs were most likely to suffer.
10. What does the underlined word "detrimental" mean?
A 良好的. B.有害的 C.片面的 D.致命的
11. Who that suffered sleep disrupted are least able to recover?
A. The bosses. B. Managers.
C. People aged 35 to 44.D. Stressed out parents.
12. Apart from children keeping: their parents awake, ________is the biggest cause of wakefulness at night among managers.
A. worrying about work B. their partners’ snoring
C. the relationship D. working conditions
Land, unlike labor and capital, has a special feature: It is in strictly fixed supply in total. Because of this, we say that its price is demand-determined. In other words, the price of land is determined completely by what families and firms are willing to pay for it. But not all the land is the same. Some land is more valuable than other land. The value of land to a potential user may depend upon the characteristics of the land itself or upon its location.
Consider the potential uses of a piece of land in a suburb of Kansas City, Allan wants to build a clothing store in that place. He estimates that he can earn economic profits of $ 10,000 per year there because of the land’s excellent location. Bella, another person interested in buying the comer, believes that she can earn $ 35,000 in economic profits if she builds a drug store there. Clearly, Bella will be more likely to get the land.
Because location is often the key to profits, ‘landowners are frequently able to squeeze their renters. One of the most popular locations in the Boston area, for example, is Harvard Square. There are dozens of restaurants in and around the square, and most of them are full most of the time. Despite this seeming success, most Harvard Square restaurant owners are not getting rich, because they must pay very high rents for the locations of their restaurants. A large part of the restaurant’s revenues goes to rent the land.
Although the supply of land is generally perfectly fixed, the supply of land in a given use may not be so. As the population of a city grows, housing developers find themselves willing to pay more and more for land. As land becomes more valuable for development, some farmers sell out, and the supply of land that can be used for development increases.
5. What’s the difference between land and other resources?
A. Land’s supply is strictly fixed. B. The prices of other resources are lower.
C. Land can’t be used up. D. Land is more useful.
6. Which of the following can’t determine the price of a piece of land?
A. Its location. B. Its purchasers’ purpose.
C. The total amount of its supply for general use. D. Its features.
7. Which of the following is wrong according to the passage?
A. The price of a piece of land is changeable.
B. The profit of a shop is often determined by its location.
C. Most Harvard Square restaurant owners would be getting rich, if they paid lower rents for the locations of their restaurants.
D. The supply of land for development might fall down.
8. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. The Use of Land B. The Natural Resources
C. The Land Market D. The Land Development
Within fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes (结合)for the recycling of waste. The word "rubbish" could lose its meaning because everything that goes into the dumps would be made into something useful. Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else.
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out. The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city. This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber.
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish. When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken. Finally the rubbish will pass under magnets, which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage.
The first full-scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away. Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long.
1. The main purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to show us a future way of recycling wastes B. to tell the importance of recycling wastes
C. to warn people the danger of some wastes D. to introduce a new recycling plant
2. How many stages are there in the recycling process?
A. 3. B. 4. C. 5. D. 6.
3. What is the main reason for big cities to build their own recycling plants?
A. To deal with wastes in a better way. B. It’s a good way to gain profits.
C. It’s more economical than to dump wastes in some distant places.
D. Energy can be got at a lower price.
4. The first full-scale huge recycling plants ________.
A. have been in existence for 15 years B. takes 15 years to build
C. can’t be built until 15 years later D. will remain functioning for 15 years
The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space showed it as a solid ball covered by brown land masses and blue-green oceans. We had never seen the Earth from that distance before. To us, it appeared as though the Earth had always looked that way and always would. Scientists now know, however, that the surface of the Earth is not as permanent as we had thought.
Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents moves about the Earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the Earth’s outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again.
Only since the 1960s have scientists really began to understand that the planet Earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents—a science called plate tectonics.
The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War One, Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He proposed that the two continents might have been one and then split apart.
Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago, explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and South Africa. What the explorers did not do, but Wegener did, was to investigate the idea that the continents move.
4. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage?
A. The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space.
B. Human’s recognition of the earth’s surface.
C. The German scientist Alfred Wegener.
D. The early explorers’ discovery.
5. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. We didn’t see the Earth from far away until we saw the picture taken in the space.
B. Our ancient thought that the surface of the earth is still.
C. Alfred Wegener was not the first person to investigate the idea that the continents move.
D. The coastline of India and Africa fit together.
6. The last word of the third paragraph “tectonics” mean “________”.
A. study of construction B. study of architecture
C. earth surface D. structural geology
7. What did the explorers find?
A. The coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together.
B. The coastlines of North America and Africa could fit together.
C. The east coastlines of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together.
D. The coastlines of North America and India could fit together.
To Chinese immigrants, in the mid-1800s, California was “The Land of the Golden Mountain.” In their homeland they had heard the words, “There’s gold in California.” They sailed 7,000miles to join the gold rush and strike it rich. Between 1849 and 1882, more than 30,000 Chinese came to California. Most were men. They had been farmers in China. They came here to be miners and laborers. They ended up doing many other jobs, too.
Like many other immigrants, they did not plan to stay in America. They came because of their ties to their homeland and their families. They planned to return to China with their fortunes and help their families.
Only a few Chinese gold miners struck it rich. Most picked over the areas that had been mined already. But still, white miners resented the Chinese. Slowly, they drove the “yellow peril” from the mining camps.
By the end of the 1850s, many Chinese returned home. Those who stayed found other jobs.
Few women had come west in the gold rush. The Chinese saw a good business opportunity. They began doing the jobs women would have done. Many became house servants. Many more opened laundries.
The Chinese opened restaurants. Chop suey and show mein are popular Chinese-American dishes. The Chinese probably created these dishes to serve to the white miners.
Other Chinese became fishermen, farmers, and even cigar makers.
1. Why did Chinese go to America in the mid-1800s?
A. Because they could find good jobs there. B. Because they had found gold there.
C. Because they could open laundries and restaurants there.
2. The underlined word “resented” mean “________”.
A. liked B. helped C. hated D. served
3. Which should be the title of the passage?
A. Early Chinese immigrants in America B. Dream to strike it rich
C. The difference between men and women D. Gold miners in America