Homeownership has let us down. For generations, Americans believed that owning a home was undoubtedly good. Our political leaders hammered home the point. Franklin Roosevelt held that a country of homeowners was “unconquerable.” Homeownership could even save babies, save children, save families and save America. A house with a lawn and a fence wasn’t just a nice place to live in or a risk-free investment; it was a way to shape a nation. No wonder leaders of all political types wanted to spend more than $100 billion a year on subsidies（补助）and tax breaks to encourage people to buy.
But the dark side of homeownership is now all too apparent: Indeed, easy lending stimulated（刺激）by the cult of homeownership may have triggered（引起）the financial crisis. Housing remains a drag on the economy. Existing-home sales in April dropped 27% from the previous month, worsening fears of a double-dip. And all that is just the obvious tale of a housing bubble and what happened when it popped. The real story is deeper and darker still.
For the better part of a century, politics, industry and culture lined up to create a fetish of the idea of buying a house. Homeownership has done plenty of good over the decades; it has provided stability to tens of millions of families. Yet by idealizing the act of buying a home, we have ignored the downsides. In the bubble years, lending standards slipped dramatically, allowing many Americans to put far too much of their income into paying for their housing. And we ignored longer-term phenomena too. Homeownership contributed to the hollowing out of cities and kept renters out of the best neighborhoods. It fed America’s overuse of energy and oil. It made it more difficult for those who had lost a job to find another. Perhaps worst of all, it helped us become casually self-deceiving: By telling ourselves that homeownership was a pathway to wealth and stable communities and better test scores, we avoided dealing with these frightening issues head-on.
Now, as the U.S. recovers from the biggest housing bust（破产）since the Great Depression, it is time to rethink how realistic our expectations of homeownership are—and how much money we want to spend chasing them. Many argue that homeownership should not be a goal pursued at all costs.Political leaders wanted to spend money encouraging people to buy houses because______.
| A．owning a home was undoubtedly good |
| B．homeownership could shape a country |
| C．houses could save families and America |
| D．homeownership was unconquerable |
The underlined sentence in Para. 2 means ______.
| A．homeownership has quite a lot of bad effects |
| B．there might be another housing breakdown in the U.S. |
| C．the existing-home sales will keep decreasing in the U.S. |
| D．the result of homeownership is much worse than it appears |
It can be inferred from Para. 3 that ______.
| A．Americans choose to live out of urban areas |
| B．it is the way to wealth to have one’s own house |
| C．it is hard for Americans to get a home loan |
| D．homeownership has made many people out of work |
What is the author’s attitude towards homeownership?
| A．Cautious. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Favorable. | D．Optimistic. |
I am Sergey Brin! I was born in Moscow. In 1979, when I was 5, my family immigrated to the United States. I remember that on my 9th birthday I got my first computer “Commodore 64”.
Later I graduated with honors in the University of Maryland in Mathematics and IT. The main field of my science research was the technologies used to collect data from unsystematic sources as well as large quantities of texts and science data. I was the author of dozens of articles in leading American academic magazines.
The greatest event in my life happened when in 1998 I was preparing for the defense（论文答辩）of my Doctor’s degree in Stanford University. There the fate made me meet Larry Page—a young computer genius. Larry belonged to the intellectual society. Larry and I quickly became friends when we worked together.
We were searching day and night on the Internet. We were finding a lot of information but with the feeling we still couldn’t find enough of what we were looking for. Naturally the idea for a search engine that would allow specific information to be found in the endless pool of data was born like it came to us. It wasn’t our plans but we gave up the education at the university. You know the next part, maybe we managed to turn an ordinary garage in Meplo Park, California, the U. S. A. into our first office, in which Google was born. With excitement we typed the name of the thing which we created with love on September 14th 1998—www. google.com. Now, after those years we bought this garage. As a symbol it will always remind us that everything is possible.Sergey Brin actually graduated from ＿＿＿.
| A．the University of Maryland | B．the University of Moscow |
| C．the University of California | D．Stanford University |
From the passage we know that Larry Page ______.
| A．was Brin’s important partner in starting Google |
| B．was born in a rich merchant family |
| C．was once a student in the University of Maryland |
| D．was a professor from Stanford University |
Which is the right order of what happened?
a. My family moved from Russia to the U. S. A.
b. I met Larry Page.
c. I was given a computer as a present on my 9th birthday.
d. Google was born in an ordinary garage in California.
A. c-a-b-d B. c-b-a-d C. a-c-b-d D. a-c-d-bWhich of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The History of Google | B．The Great Contribution of Google |
| C．The Great Success of Google | D．The Birth of Google |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The main field of my science research was computer. |
| B．I wrote many articles in leading American magazines. |
| C．Larry is one of my classmates. |
| D．When I was 5, I got my first computer “Commodore 64”. |
In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue（烤肉）restaurant, then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new idea: quick service，no waiters or waitresses, and no tips.
Their hamburgers were sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity（一致性）, for the brothers had developed a strict routine（程序）for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks’ sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became surprisingly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundred during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success until they met Ray Kroc.
Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954 when he was selling milkshake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the special attraction of the brothers’ fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise（特许经营）other copies of their restaurants. The agreement included the right to duplicate（复制） the menu, the equipment, even their red and white buildings the golden arches（拱门）.
Today McDonald’s is really a household name. In 1976, McDonald’s had over＄1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most surprising successes in modern American business history.This passage mainly talks about ＿＿＿.
| A．the development of fast food services |
| B．how McDonald’s became a billion-dollar business |
| C．the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonald |
| D．Ray Kroc’s business talent |
Mac and Dick managed all of the following business except ＿＿＿.
| A．a drive-in | B．a theater |
| C．a cinema | D．a barbecue restaurant |
We may infer from this passage that ＿＿＿.
| A．Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy, for they sold their ideas to Kroc |
| B．the place the McDonald brothers chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-in |
| C．forty years ago there were lots of fast-food restaurants |
| D．Ray Kroc was a good businessman |
The passage suggests that ＿＿＿.
| A．creativity is an important element of business success |
| B．Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothers |
| C．Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray Kroc |
| D．California is the best place to go into business |
Which of the following statement is NOT true?
| A．Today McDonald’s is very popular in the world. |
| B．The first twenty-two years of McDonald’s is the most surprising success in American business history. |
| C．Mac and Dick McDonald were content with their business at first. |
| D．It is convenient to eat in a drive-in. |
Many American youngsters earn their own allowance（零花钱）by doing temporary jobs for their neighbors. Babysitting is one of the common of these jobs. Most couples do not have maids or relatives living with them, and they need to have someone watch the children if they want to go out.
Another way is by mowing lawn in summer and clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter. Many people mow their own lawns，but often people prefer to give the job to a neighbor’s child. In winter, snow clearing from streets and highways is the government’s responsibility. Homeowners or tenants, however, must clear sidewalks and driveways. Since clearing snow is very tiring, many people prefer to hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves.
Besides, many American teenagers usually work two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday at the local supermarket. They work as cashiers or stockroom clerks. Or they help customers carry things to their cars. Other favorite jobs are waiting on tables in restaurants or working part-time at stores or gas stations.
By earning their own allowance，teenagers acquire a feeling of independence and a sense of responsibility which prepares them for a productive life in society.What does “babysitting” mean in the first paragraph?
| A．Watching a baby when its parents are out. | B．Working as a maid. |
| C．Sitting with a baby. | D．Selling something. |
How do American youngsters earn their allowance? Which one is NOT one of the ways?
| A．By mowing lawn in summer. |
| B．By clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter. |
| C．By working two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday. |
| D．By doing some housework for the family. |
When it comes to clearing snow，what do many people like to do?
| A．Hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves |
| B．They do it themselves. |
| C．They hire their own children to do so |
| D．They don’t clean it at all. |
What is the advantage of youngsters earning allowance?
| A．They acquire a feeling of independence. |
| B．They acquire a sense of responsibility. |
| C．The actions prepare them for a productive life in society. |
| D．All of the above. |
Who will clear the snow on the streets?
| A．The inhabitants. | B．The neighbors |
| C．The government. | D．The police. |
As a solo artist，Brightman has sold 26 million albums and two million DVDs in 34 countries. Her musical styles put opera, pop and jazz together. She is popular in the States but not here（Britain）—the image of her and her second husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber（he much older, she his muse) seems for ever frozen.
The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the normal and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted （father a property developer who later committed suicide）, she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5 I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞）Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility（敌意） “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the UK, where I now live. I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”The first paragraph tells us that ______.
| A．Brightman is very popular around the world except in America |
| B．Brightman’s musical style is a mixture of opera, pop and jazz |
| C．the British people don’t like her for her style of music |
| D．Brightman is much older than Andrew Lloyd Webber |
Brightman decided to give up having children because ______.
| A．she could adopt one |
| B．her life and career were unbelievably rich without children |
| C．she felt it normal not to have children |
| D．she was too busy |
The following statements are true except ______.
| A．Brightman first appeared in a West End musical at 5 |
| B．Brightman disliked life on campus |
| C．Brightman was very gifted when she was young |
| D．the saucy dance troupe made Brightman famous |
The underlined word in the fourth paragraph probably means ______.
| A．located | B．admired | C．followed | D．found |
What does the author try to say in the last paragraph by quoting Brightman’s words?
| A．Brightman has to accept the fact that she isn’t liked in Britain |
| B．Brightman lives in America but she loves her own country |
| C．The British coldness towards Brightman led to her hatred to her homeland |
| D．Brightman was at a loss why she was not welcome in Britain |
Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes in contact with them. Their values—this can't be repeated too often—are not necessarily our values. Physical comfort, cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important things. The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a flat with decaying(腐烂) food covered by small worms, and an old person lying alone in bed, taking no notice of the worms. But is it interfering (妨碍) with personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their relatives so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers, the ones who clear up the worms, think we are in danger of carrying this concept of personal freedom to the point where serious risks are being taken with the health and safety of the old.
Indeed, the old can be easily hurt or harmed. The body is like a car, it needs more mechanical(机械的）maintenance (保养）as it gets older. You can carry this comparison right through to the provision(提供)of spare parts. But never forget that such operations are painful experiences, however good the results. And at what point should you stop treating the old body? Is it morally right to try to push off death by pursuing the development of drugs to excite the forgetful old mind and to activate the old body, knowing that it is designed to die? You cannot ask doctors or scientists to decide, because so long as they can see the technical opportunities, they will feel bound to give them a try, on the principle that while there's life, there's hope.
When you talk to the old people, however, you are forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or on health than it does on your ability to have fun.It is implied in Paragraph 1 that______.
| A．very old people are able to keep their rooms very clean |
| B．social services have nothing to do with very old people |
| C．very old people enjoy living with their relatives |
| D．very old people would like to live alone so that they can have more personal freedom |
Some social workers think that______.
| A．personal freedom is more important than health and safety |
| B．health and safety are more important than personal freedom |
| C．old people should keep their rooms clean |
| D．one should not take the risk of dealing with old people |
The author thinks that______.
| A．medical decisions for old people should be left to the doctors |
| B．old people can enjoy a happy life only if they are very rich |
| C．it is always morally right to treat old people and push off death |
| D．the opinion that we should try every means possible to save old people is doubtful |