Poster 1
I am a journalist living in Barcelona and I would like to travel exchanging my apartment. I have an apartment in the city center with 2 bedrooms. You can get to the airport by bus or taxi in 20 minutes. And there is a metro station really close to the apartment. The area has many shops, theatres, bars and restaurants.
Poster 2
I am looking forward to exchanging my apartment in Madrid for yours in a nice location in Beijing. It’s a really nice apartment in the centre of Madrid, within walking distance of the main attractions. You can walk to the Puerta del Sol, Royal Palace, Opera, Plaza Mayor, etc. in a few minutes; everything is so close! The apartment has all the facilities（设备）and it is very modern.
Poster 3
Hello, I am a Canadian IT professional and accounting student looking for a room in Wudaokou or other areas near ShangDi (my office location). I want to pay 1,400 RMB to 2,500RMB depending on the room and location. I can sign a contract for at least three months. My email address: vhjvm3584098242@hous.craigslist.org.
Poster 4
My 21-year-old son Matthew would like to visit China in the spring for three to four weeks. If you can offer him a safe, clean, cost-free place to stay, I will offer you or your family a stay at my second home 28 miles outside of Reno, Nevada, USA. This is a single-story home on the edge of the desert. You have access to 70 acres of land, clean air and clean water. Fishing and golfing are available nearby. I will provide transportation to the home, and pick you up when you have finished. My son Matthew is honest, safe and clean-living.
Reply to: hbxdd-3537187673@hous.craigslist.org. Poster 1 mainly focuses on the apartment’s ________.
| A．low rent | B．large space | C．quality facilities | D．convenient location |
Which of the following is TRUE of the Puerta del Sol?
| A．It’s a district of Madrid. | B．It’s a main attraction in Madrid. |
| C．It’s the name of the apartment. | D．It’s an attraction outside of Madrid |
Where is the house in Poster 4 located?
| A．In a stadium. | B．In the centre of desert. |
| C．In the countryside. | D．In an area of the downtown. |
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 involved 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. |
As they migrate（迁移) , butterflies and moths choose the winds they want to fly with, and they change their body positions if they start floating in the wrong direction. This new finding suggests that insects may employ some of the same methods that birds use for traveling long distances. Scientists have long thought that insects were simply at the mercy of the wind.
Fascinating as their skills of flight are, migrating behavior has been difficult to study in insects because many long distant trips happen thousands of feet above ground. Only recently have scientists developed technologies that can detect such little creatures at such great heights.
To their surprise, though, the insects weren't passive travelers on the winds. In autumn, for example, most light winds blew from the east, but the insects somehow sought out ones that carried them south and they positioned themselves to navigate directly to their wintering homes.
Even in the spring, when most winds flowed northward, the insects didn't always go with the flow. If breezes weren't blowing in the exact direction they wanted to go, the insects changed their body positions to compensate. Many migrating birds do the same thing.
The study also found, butterflies and moths actively flew within the air streams that pushed them along. By adding flight speeds to wind speeds, the scientists calculated that butterflies and moths can travel as fast as 100 kilometers an hour. The findings may have real-world applications. With climate warming, migrating insects are growing in number. Knowing how and when these pests move could help when farmers decide when to spray their crops. What's the main idea of the text?
| A．Windsurfing insects have real direction. |
| B．Wind helps insects greatly in migrating. |
| C．Insects migrate with the seasons. |
| D．Scientists have trouble in observing insects. |
Scientists originally thought that _____.
| A．insects were just blown about by the wind |
| B．insects chose the winds they wanted to ride |
| C．insects always waited for their favourable winds |
| D．insects positioned themselves in the winds |
It is not easy to study the migrating behavior of the insects because ______.
| A．the little creatures can fly very fast |
| B．their flight is long and high above ground |
| C．the wind's direction is hard to foresee |
| D．they have no regular migrating courses |
We can learn from the text that _____.
| A．insects never position themselves when flying low |
| B．insects travel more easily in autumn |
| C．insects fly in the way birds do |
| D．insects rest a lot when the wind pushes them along |
The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.
Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.
Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.
Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise. An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.
| A．cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year |
| B．give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds |
| C．decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices |
| D．aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year |
With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.
| A．we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way |
| B．it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank |
| C．it is not wise to change food crops into gas |
| D．biofuels should be developed on a large scale |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds. |
| B．A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor. |
| C．A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather. |
| D．It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not. |
In the passage, the author calls on us to______.
| A．slow down but not to stop economy |
| B．act now so as to relieve the global food shortage |
| C．achieve economic growth and political stability |
| D．develop tree crops, grasses and wood products |
China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To 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 (房地产) 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 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.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A．Chinese ho uses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．There are more people who need houses in China than those in the United States. |
| 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．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
What is the
main idea of this passage?
| A．The Chinese government should do something to control the housing price. | |
| B．The Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. | |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States. | D．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
| A．Four | B．Two | C．Five | D．Three |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______
| A．Ordinary Chinese are looking forward to seeing that the high housing prices will be lowered. |
| B．There will be no bubbles in Chinese real estate after the government raises tax on property industry. |
| C．Housing price in China has lowered since 2007. |
| D．More ordinary Chinese will buy a house in America instead of in China. |
In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solutions without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.
This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.
Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.
You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.
People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ________.
| A．they hadn’t solved the problems thoroughly |
| B．they expected to be paid back in the future. |
| C．they were friends of the worried individual |
| D．they had solved the problems secretly |
The underlined word “pay it forward” means ________.
| A．to repay someone who has helped you |
| B．to help someone else who needs help |
| C．to help someone who has helped you |
| D．to pay someone else who needs help |
What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?
| A．We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help. |
| B．We should work hard to get a good education. |
| C．We should learn to respect our grandparents. |
| D．We should never forget to repay people for their help. |
By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be ________.
| A．honest | B．mysterious | C． unselfish | D．unforgettable |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号