Buying a house for most of the people is a once in a lifetime decision, which means people decide to do so only after coming across the ideal house. Surprisingly, eight in every 10 home buyers are unhappy with their houses.
A survey conducted by the Beijing Consumers’ Association (BCA) recently shows about 80 percent of the 2,315 respondents in 23 residential complexes of Beijing are dissatisfied with the soaring house prices.
They think the reasonable price in Beijing should be between 3,000 yuan and 7,000 yuan per square meter.
The quality of the buildings, the surrounding environment and traffic and property management(物业管理)are the other factors that play a role in people’s decision to buy a house.
The BCA has suggested strict sales regulations and contracts to ease house-owners’ sufferings. It has urged the authorities to impose severe punishment on developers found violating building and other rules and joining hands with others to bid up property prices, About 41.2 percent of the respondents have complained that their house have defective designs, while nearly 40 percent say the lighting and ventilation(通风)are far from satisfactory.
The landscapes in the residential areas are a source of unhappiness for 43.2 percent of the respondents, and about one-third say they were “bluffed” into buying “third grade” house. And more than half are not satisfied with the sport and entertainment facilities in their neighborhood.
Property management in the buildings, 56.5 percent of the respondents say, is way below standard compared to the high fee charged by the complexes.
60 percent of the consumers doubt the contents of developers’ advertisements, with only 6.3 percent being satisfied.
Experts have suggested consumers gather thorough knowledge about a developer and their work before deciding to buy a house from it. They should check the day-light conditions and ventilation in different weather conditions in advance, if possible. According to the passage________ of the buyers are NOT content with their houses.
| A．80％ | B．60％ | C．56.5 ％ | D．41.2％ |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．Most Home Buyers Are Unhappy with Their House. |
| B．Buying a House Is an Important Decision. |
| C．Thinking Carefully Before Buying a House. |
| D．The Environment Is Important When Making a Decision. |
The meaning of the underlined word probably means “_______”.
| A．fooled | B．cheated | C．asked | D．forced |
If you want to buy a flat, according to the survey, you will consider the following EXCEPT_______.
| A．property management | B．the surrounding environment |
| C．the quality of the buildings | D．the height of the building |
Most young people enjoy some form of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, or swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be games of football, hockey, golf, or tennis. It may be mountaineering.
Those who have a passion for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks on high mountains? This astonishment is caused probably by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their relaxation.
Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of a different kind which it would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.
If we compare mountaineering and other more familiar sports, we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a “team game”. We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no “matches” between “teams” of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.
The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities.
A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year after year. A skier (滑雪者) is probably past his best by the age of thirty, and most international tennis champions are in their early twenties. But it is not unusual for a man of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they probably climb with more skill and less waste of effort, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment. The main difference between a sport and a game lies in .
| A．activity | B．uniform | C．rules | D．skills |
Mountaineering can be called a team sport because .
| A．mountaineers depend on each other while climbing |
| B．teams compete against each other |
| C．it is an Olympic event |
| D．there are five climbers on each team |
Which of the following might be the best title?
| A．How to Climb High Mountains | B．Mountain Climbers |
| C．Challenging Sports Activities | D．Mountaineering |
A well-known manufacturer of weighing machines produced a new model.
The machine had a computer inside it, and this computer could do wonderful things: it could weigh people very accurately; it could tell them their weight in their own language; and it could tell them what they should eat to reduce their weight.
The manufacturer decided to try out his machine before he sold it to the shops.
He looked around for a good place to put it and finally decided on an airport. There were always people at an airport from many different countries.
The first person to use the machine was an Italian woman. She stood on the machine, put a coin in and waited to hear her weight.
The machine took only a second or two to weigh her, decide on her nationality and the language she spoke, and figure out what kind of food she should eat.
“Good morning, madam,” it said in perfect Italian. “Your weight is 72 kilos, three more than it should be for a woman of your height, age and nationality. This is because you have been eating too much spaghetti. I suggest you eat more fruit and vegetables. Please have a nice day”.
The second person to use the machine was a Chinese girl. She stood on the machine, put a coin in and waited to hear her weight.
“Good morning, Miss," the machine said in perfect Chinese. "Your weight is 38 kilos, exactly the correct weight for your height, age and nationality. Continue to eat what you are eating. Please have a nice day.”
The third person to use the machine was a huge Australian woman. She walked up to the machine and looked at it for a long time. At last she found the courage to stand on the machine and put a coin in. The machine spoke immediately.“Good morning. Will one of you ladies please get off?” What could the computer do?
| A．Weigh and talk to people. | B．Translate information. |
| C．Give them diet pills. | D．Make them lose weight. |
What did the machine say to the Italian woman?
| A．She was a little too light. | B．She was a little too heavy. |
| C．She disliked spaghetti. | D．She couldn’t speak Italian. |
What did the machine say to the Chinese woman?
| A．She should eat more. | B．She could speak Chinese. |
| C．She would have a nice day. | D．She was fine. |
What did the machine suggest about the Australian woman?
| A．She was unwell. | B．She was courageous. |
| C．She was too heavy. | D．She had dieted well. |
Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always told me, “You should have goals like climbing the mountain.” Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed . We couldn’t have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy. I really got a lot from mountain-climbing. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience (耐力).
Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing . I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds’ singing, but as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I wanted to quit climbing. In fact, I hated it at that mountain, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top. Only there at the top, can you see all of the nice things, just like in life.”
At that time, I was too young to understand his words. But later after that, I got knew hope and confidence. I found myself standing at the top of the sky, which was as clear as crystal (水晶). The passage tells us that mountain-climbing was _____for Father and Son.
| A．hard | B．enjoyable | C．painful | D．comfortable |
The word “quit” in the passage means “______”.
| A．carry on | B．put off | C．give up | D．pick up |
Which of the following is the closest (最接近的) in meaning to the father’s words in the second paragraph?
| A．You will get all you need at the top of the mountain. |
| B．The sky is always as clear as crystal. |
| C．You can find life is full of nice things. |
| D．Never give up half-way. |
We can infer (推断) from the last paragraph that ______.
| A．the writer was very successful in his life. |
| B．the writer reached the top of the mountain. |
| C．thought the writer was young, he could understand his father. |
| D．the writer used to stop half-way when he climbed the mountain. |
The best title (题目) for the passage is “______”.
| A．Reaching the Top of the Mountain | B．Standing at the Top of the Mountain |
| C．Conversations between Father and Son | D．How to Get to the Top of the Mountain |
Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
Enough laws have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers' exhibition (展览).There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers' exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves.
Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.Australia is
| A．the largest country in the world | B．larger than China |
| C．as large as Shanghai | D．not so large as China |
Enough laws have been made to__
| A．increase the population | B．grow more plants |
| C．fight against pollution | D．show wild flowers |
Perth is_
| A．the capital of Australia | B．in the west of Australia |
| C．in the east of Australia | D．the biggest city in Australia |
In Perth you may visit a wild flowers' exhibition in
| A．October | B．January | C．May | D．July |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
| A．All the big cities in Australia are seriously polluted. |
| B．Australia .is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and large population. |
| C．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of the white sheep.. |
| D．If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of White sheep. |
Years ago, many zoos kept all kinds of animals in small cages(笼子). Small cages made it easy for people to see the animals, but a small cage is not a good place for an animal to live in.
Today zoos keep animals in different kinds of cages. The cages are very big and open. They usually have plants and a little lake. The cages look like the animals' habitats
Zoos help to protect all kinds of animals. They protect animals in the zoo and they protect animals in the wild. How do they do this? Zoos teach people how animals live in the wild. Zoos want people to help protect the animals' wild habitats.
Many plants and animals are going extinct. Mammoths, which are related (有关联的) with Asia elephants, are now extinct. There are no mammoths in the world today, Scientists say that seventy- four different kinds of living things go extinct every day!
Zoos are working together to stop animals from going extinct. Zoos kept animals in small cages so that people can
| A．protect them | B．see them better | C．feed them | D．save them |
Today, zoos keep animals
| A．in bigger cages | B．in the wild | C．in smaller cages | D．in the field |
To protect animals, zoos
| A．are trying to keep all kinds of animals | B．are trying to free the animals |
| C．teach people more about animals | D．want people to feed the animals |
A mammoth is a kind of__ that has gone extinct.
| A．plant | B．bird | C．animal | D．tree |
An animal or a plant that is going extinct __
| A．no longer exists(存在) in the world | B．comes into this world soon |
| C．becomes very dangerous | D．has fewer and fewer living members |