In the US and Britain, the slogan around colleges was “Save water. Shower with a friend.” Now, Wuhan University has come up with another system for the campus bathhouse. It charges students for the amount of time in a shower. Before entering the bathhouse, students pay for the amount of time they want in the shower with cash or their student ID card. The clock starts ticking the minute the tape is turned on. It pauses when a button is pressed for soap. An integrated circuit(IC) card reader at each tap shows the time. No money, no water. The benefits of the new system can be seen with the old system, which charged 1 yuan for each person regardless of time in the shower. The university used about 320 tones of water daily under the old system, but only 160 tons now.
Many students use the new system but opinions on it are divided. Some students say it is bad because bathing had become a sort of race. Many people using it for the first time are not sure how long they need to shower. Some might be embarrassed if their time is up and they’re still covered in soap. They have to ask the bathhouse worker to help them buy extra time.
“It’s a flaw in the system that you can not buy extra time on the ID card,” said Ren, a freshman in Wuhan University. The university is also considering some students’ suggestions that they be allowed to pay after they’ve finished the shower. Not surprisingly, some are complaining about losing the hour shower. But many students say the move helps them develop a water-saving sense.
Without the time limits, most students tended to shower for 30 to an hour in the bathhouse. Some even used the hot water to wash their clothes. “In my experience, 10-20 minutes is enough,” said Dai Zhihua, a third-year student who usually takes 8 minutes. A similar system has been installed in other universities. Shanghai Normal University introduced it at its Fengxiang Campus in September. The bathing fee there is 0.2 yuan per minute. One male student responded by setting a record with a two-minute shower.
1.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Having finished bathing, the student has to pay for it.
B. The clock times all through while the student is bathing except when the bather paused for soap.
C. If money runs out, there will be no water.
D. Students pay for the amount of time they want in the shower.
2. The underlined word “flaw” (Paragraph3) most probably means______.
A. perfection B. advantage C. pity D. fault
3.Since the new system has performed, ______ of water can be saved.
A. a quarter B. one third C. one half D. two thirds
4.It can be inferred from the passage that______.
A. the new operation can solve the water crisis.
B. The new operation can raise students’ environmental awareness.
C. a similar operation has been set in other universities.
D. The university has saved a lot of water by using the new system.
China news, Beijing, July 29 --- 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 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. 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.
1.What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
A. 8000 yuan. B. 10000 yuan. C. 7000 yuan. D. Not mentioned.
2.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 population who need houses in China is larger than in the United States.
D. The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses.
3.How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. The housing 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 government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public.
In 1956 Phoenix, Arizona, was a city with boundless blue skies. One day as I walked around the house with my sister Kathy’s new parakeet （小鹦鹉）on my finger, I wanted to show Perky 36 the sky looked like. Maybe he could make a little bird 37 out there. I took him into the backyard, and then, to my 38 , Perky flew off. The enormous（巨大的）, blue sky swallowed up my sister’s blue 39 and suddenly he had gone, clipped wings and all.
Kathy managed to 40 me. With fake optimism（乐观）, she even tried to reassure（安慰）me that Perky would find a new 41 . But I was far too clever to 42 that such a thing was possible.
Forty years later, I watched my own 43 growing. We shared their activities, spending soccer Saturdays in folding chairs with the 44 of the kids’ friends, the Kissells. The two families went camping around Arizona together. We became the 45 of friends. One evening, the game was to tell Great Pet stories. One person claimed（宣称）to 46 the oldest living goldfish. Someone else had a psychic dog. 47 Barry, the father of the other family, took the floor and 48 that the Greatest Pet of All Time was his blue parakeet, Sweetie Pie.
"The best thing 49 Sweetie Pie," he said, "was the 50 we got him. One day, when I was about eight, out of the clear, blue sky, a little blue parakeet just 51 down and landed on my finger."
When I was finally able to 52 , we examined the amazing evidence（证据）. The dates, the locations and the pictures of the bird all 53 . It seems our two families had been 54 long before we ever met. Forty years later, I ran to my sister and said, "You were 55 ! Perky lived!"
1. A. what B. how C. which D. where
2.A. food B. nest C. friend D. family
3.A. joy B. horror C. disappointment D. satisfaction
4. A. pleasure B. sadness C. treasure D. sense
5.A. forgive B. comfort C. help D. delight
6.A. parent B. home C. master D. life
7.A. imagine B. suppose C. doubt D. believe
8. A. birds B. happiness C. worries D. children
9.A. parents B. birds C. interests D. games
10.A. first B. best C. last D. happiest
11. A. catch B. find C. buy D. have
12.A. Suddenly B. Fortunately C. Then D. However
13.A. announced B. said C. told D. hoped
14. A. in B. about C. of D. on
15. A. day B. place C. way D. story
16. A. floated B. slipped C. settled D. went
17. A. think B. speak C. interrupt D. explain
18.A. came up B. turned up C. turned out D. matched up
19. A. known B. fastened C. connected D. introduced
20.A. right B. wrong C. silly D. mad
If it hadn’t been for the help of my English teacher, I the first prize in the English Writing Competition.
A. would not win B. would not have won C. would win D. would have won
Famous sights in London include London Tower Bridge Buckingham Palace.
A. as well as B. as far as C. as good as D. as long as
–A boy was killed by the tiger in the zoo.
–He was believed into the cage while feeding the tiger without permission.
A. to fall B. to be falling C. to have fallen D. having fallen
