When building houses, people used to think about not only the climate of the areas but also the building materials and the fashions for their houses. However, since electricity became more and more expensive, people began to pay much more attention to the energy they could get for their houses and the new ways they could find to protect their houses from both cold and heat.
Now, houses of an old yet new type have been widely built. In some parts of the world, people share their houses with their livestock（家畜）.During cold weather, they gather their cows, goats, or other animals and keep them on the first floor of their houses. The reasons are that the animals can be protected from the cold and that they can help to heat the houses as well. The body heat given off by the animals rises to the second floor of the houses, where people live. By sharing their houses with their livestock, people gain a source of heat.
People who live in or near cities do not usually keep livestock. However, home builders use the fact that heat rises. This natural law can be used in building houses in these areas. Instead of keeping livestock on the first floor, builders fill it with large rocks. As they are open to the sun’s rays during cold weather, these rocks take in heat. They also give off the heat, and, of course, the warm air rises into the living areas of the houses. So these houses are energy saving.
House building becomes a great challenge（挑战）to building designers and energy engineers. They try to meet this challenge by learning from old traditions and by using modern technology. And someday in the future, people will be able to live in more energy saving houses. What did people begin to consider as electricity was no longer cheap?
| A．The climate of their areas. |
| B．The energy for their houses. |
| C．The fashions for their houses. |
| D．The building materials for their houses. |
People in some areas gain a source of heat by _________.
| A．keeping their livestock downstairs |
| B．protecting their livestock from the cold |
| C．sharing their houses only with their cows |
| D．living on the second floor with their livestock |
The underlined words “natural law” in the third paragraph refer to the fact that ________.
| A．heat raises the temperature in the houses |
| B．heat goes in the upward direction |
| C．heat goes up if temperature is raised |
| D．heat increases the temperature of rocks |
From the passage, we can conclude that __________.
| A．people will no longer consider building materials in the future |
| B．energy saving buildings will become more popular in the future |
| C．almost all people will move into the houses heated by large rocks |
| D．energy engineers will devote themselves only to modern technology. |
Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 am. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak and elderly voice. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It's nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you are such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It's not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I'm in no hurry,” she said. “I'm on my way to a hospice (临终医院). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter (计价器).
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a special building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said, “I'm tired. Let's go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers.” I answered.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”Why did the man help the old woman so much?
| A．He wanted to get more money from the old woman. |
| B．He was out of patience with the woman and wanted to leave quicker. |
| C．The old woman asked him to help. |
| D．He hoped others could also treated his old mother as well as he did. |
The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to .
| A．show she was familiar with the city |
| B．see some places for the last time |
| C．let the driver earn more money |
| D．reach the destination on time |
According to the text, what would the old woman feel after the driver showed her around the city and gave her a warm hug?
| A．Excited. | B．Shocked. |
| C．Grateful. | D．Upset. |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Giving is always a pleasure. |
| B．People should respect each other. |
| C．An act of kindness can bring people great joy. |
| D．People should learn to appreciate others' concern. |
★ Help Wanted
PAINTER
Must have at least 3 years painting experience. Commercial and new construction work. $10/hr. Immediate opening. Call 435-9201 with work history.
SECRETARY
Part time position available in friendly, busy office. Good typing and general office skills. Some
weekends required. High pay. Various duties. Apply (申请) at East Side Management, 500 Park Drive, Dewitt, NY. 13214.
★ Help wanted
VET ASSISTANT
Person needed for busy animal hospital. Some nights and weekends. Apply in person to Johnson Marks Animal Hospital, 404 Snow Road, Syracuse, NY 13224. After 4 p.m. only please.
NURSES' ASSISTANTS
Fulltime and part time positions available for modern nursing home. High pay. Call Mrs. Downes, R.N. at 543 7618.
★ Help Wanted
COOK NEEDED
Immediately. Busy downtown restaurant. Must be good and dependable. Experience preferred. Weekends required. Call 324-9817.
SALESPERSON
Experienced. Must have some knowledge of men's clothing industry. Available to work evenings and some Saturdays. Send resume (简历) to: Martin Apparel, 237 Rockledge St., Syracuse, NY. 13224.
★ Help Wanted
TEACHER
Small private school needs English and maths teachers. Must have BS degree and at least 4 years teaching experience. Send resume to: Wales Charter School 19 South 8th St. NY. 13224.
HOTEL
Needs part time FRONT DESK CLERK No experience necessary. Excellent people and phone skills a must. Some computer skills helpful. $13/hr. Call: Mr. Jones 357-2897. If you wanted to get a job as a maths teacher, send your resume to .
| A．237 Rockledge St. ,Syracuse, NY.13224 |
| B．404 Snow Road Syracuse, NY. 13224 |
| C．500 Park Drive, DeWitt, NY. 13214 |
| D．Wales Charter School 19 South 8th St.NY. 13214 |
If you dislike working on Sundays, being a should be your best choice.
| A．cook | B．secretary | C．salesperson | D．vet assistant |
If you want to get a job at , you must have office skills.
| A．Martin Apparel | B．East Side Management |
| C．Wales Charter School | D．Johnson Marks Animal Hospital |
Can dogs and cats live in peace in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cat are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new way for success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Twothirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn't all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while attacking and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals are just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals attack, while a dog doing the same signals admitting defeat.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour. They are learning how to talk each other's language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk “dog”, and dogs can learn how to talk “cat”.
What's interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn to read each other's body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than was previously thought. Once familiar with each other's presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The advantage of this research on cats and dogs may not only about pets — to people who don't get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to .
| A．early | B．sweetly |
| C．quickly | D．suprisingly |
Some cats and dogs may fight when .
| A．they are cold to each other |
| B．they look away from each other |
| C．they understand each other's signals in a wrong way |
| D．they are introduced at an early age |
What is found surprising about cats and dogs?
| A．They eat and sleep together. |
| B．They observe each other's behaviors. |
| C．They learn to speak each other's language. |
| D．They know something from each other's voices. |
What can we human beings learn from cats and dogs?
| A．We should learn to live in peace. |
| B．We should know more about animals. |
| C．We should live in peace with animals. |
| D．We should learn more body languages. |
The rising costs of health care have become a problem for many countries in the world. To deal with this problem, it is recommended that a big part of the government’s health budget be used for health education and disease prevention instead of treatment. Actually, many kinds of diseases are preventable in many ways and preventing a disease is usually much cheaper than treating it. For example, people could avoid catching a cold if they dressed warmly when the weather starts getting cold. But many people get sick because they fail to do so, and have to spend money seeing a doctor.
Daily habits like eating more healthy food would have kept millions of families from becoming bankrupt if the patients had taken measures for early prevention. For instance, keeping a balanced diet, such as not consuming too much animal fat and insuring a steady intake of vegetables and frits, seems to be quite important.
One very effective and costless way of prevention is regular exercise, which is necessary for a healthy mind and body. Regular exercise, such as running, walking, and playing sports is a good way to make people feel better and reduce stress.
In addition, health education plays a key role in improving people’s health. By giving people more information about health, countries could help people understand the importance of disease prevention and ways to achieve it. For example, knowing one’s family medical history is an effective way to help keep healthy. Information about health problem among close relatives will make them aware of what they should do to prevent certain diseases through lifestyle changes, Which will work before it is too late.
However, stressing disease prevention does not mean medical treatment is unimportant. After all, prevention and treatment are just two different means toward the same effect. In conclusion, we could save money on health care and treat patients more successfully if our country spends more money on health prevention and education.What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Prevention or Education? | B．Prevention or Treatment? |
| C．Health or Illness? | D．Exercise or Illness? |
Which of the following can replace the underlined word “bankrupt”?
| A．Unable to be cured | B．Unable to pay one’s debts |
| C．Stronger than ever before | D．More successful than ever before |
We learn form the passage that _______
| A．dressing warmly can prevent disease |
| B．a balanced diet is cheaper than regular exercise |
| C．the more health education, the better |
| D．the government’s health budget should be increased |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
“Hey, little boy, will you support me when I’m getting old?” Wang Wenshan, 35, asked his newborn baby as he picked him up at home.
The Chinese tradition of raising sons to support parents in their old age has been weakened by the rapidly growing economy and improving standard of living. As is the case with more and more developed countries, China faces an aging society. People are living longer and having fewer children. Therefore, many Chinese families are falling into a 4－2－1 family pattern: a couple raises one child and supports four elderly parents. But few realize that a problem is likely to happen ahead.
The aging of the population is a trend that now affects a growing number of countries. Not long ago, the Information Office of the State Council, China’s cabinet, issued a white paper on measures China is taking to help its elderly population. The paper said China’s population entered the aging period at the end of the 20th century and the proportion of people aged 60 and above accounted for over 10 percent of the entire population. By the end of 2005, China had nearly 144 million people over 60, accounting for 11 percent of population, according to the white paper.
An expanding aged population inevitably means that many issues must be settled, as the problem concerns every aspect of society. It puts more pressure on each family, causing disturbing economic consequences and serious social problems. It also challenges the labor force supply and the pension system.
“I used to think that it’s not an issue for me to provide for the aged,” said Wang, whose parents and parents-in-law all enjoy pensions and medical insurance. But last year Wang’s father suffered a serious illness and afterward Wang began to feel the pressure on his shoulders.
After his father recovered, Wang opened bank accounts for each parent and deposited some money into the account every month to prepare for future uncertainties. In addition, he has to save money every month to provide for his son’s future education. “I’m now breaking my back working to support my family: saving pensions for the parents, my son’s education funds, and living costs.”
Wang also bought some commercial old-age insurance for himself. “We have to take precautions before it is too late, and many of my colleagues share the same view,” he said. Which of the following is not caused by an aging society?
| A．Social problem |
| B．The problem of the pension system |
| C．More pressure on the family |
| D．Unemployment |
From the passage, we can infer _______
| A．the aging people problem is one of the concerns for the Chinese government |
| B．China will encourage young couples to have more than one child |
| C．many people have realized the problem of aging society |
| D．children will not support their parents in an aging society |
Which of the following can be used to replace the underlined word inevitably?
| A．Surprisingly | B．Certainly | C．Hopefully | D．Unluckily |
Form the text we can see that _______
| A．China is the only country to face an aging society |
| B．Most of the developing countries face an aging society |
| C．countries with a large population face an aging society |
| D．more and more developed countries face an aging society |
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