Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is el.ean and cool. Fox Point is a very new47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.
Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy, people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.
ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials. Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.
Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused, by housing. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.
Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.
1. What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?
A. To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.
B. To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.
C. To show how the environment-friendly building works.
D. To compare old and new boiler rooms.
2. What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?
A. Lower running costs.
B. Costing less in construction.
C. Less air to be lost in hot days.
D. Better prices for homeless people.
3. It can be learned from the text that,
A. New York City is seriously polluted
B. people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City
C. a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in
D. some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City
4. What is the main purpose of this text?
A. To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.
B. To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.
C. To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.
D. To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.
第二部分 阅读理解(共两节，满分50分)
第一节 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (观点) by creating worlds we could step into, take part. in. and live in.
With this unshakable belief, I, at. fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.
Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文学作品)．As a. law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.
1. What can be inferred about the author as a child?
A. He never watched TV.
B. He read what he had to.
C. He found reading unbelievable.
D. He considered reading part of his life.
2. The underlined word "voice" in the second paragraph most probably means “____________”.
A. an idea B. a sound quality C. a way of writing D. a world to write about
3. What effect does reading have on the author?
A. It helps him to realize his dream.
B. It opens up a wider world for him.
C. It makes his college life more interesting.
D. It increases his interest in worldwide travel.
4. Which of the following can be the best title of this text?
A. Why do I read? B. How do I read? C. What do I read? D. When do I read?
第二节完形填空(共20小题；每小题l 5分，满分30分)
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Recently，I flew to Las Vegas to attend a meeting. As we were about to arrive，the pilot announced with apology that there would be a slight 2l before setting down. High desert winds had 22 the airport to close all but one runway. He said that we would be 23 L the city for a few minutes waiting t0 24 We were also told to remain in our seats meanwhile with our seat belts fastened 25 there might be a few bumps(颠簸)．We11，that few minutes turned into about four—five minutes，including a ride that would make a roller coaster(过山车) 26 by comparison
The movement was so fierce that several passengers felt 27 and had to use airsickness bags. As you might guess，that’s not good thing to have happen in a(n) 28 space because it only 29 to increase the discomfort of the situation.
About twenty minutes into the adventure，the entire airplane became very 30 .
There was now a sense of anxiety and fear that could be 31 noticed．Every passenger simply held on for dear life …except one. A 32 was having a good time! With each bump of the33!he would let out a giggle(咯咯的笑)of delight As I observed this，I 34 that he didn’t know he was supposed to be afraid and worried about his 35 He neither thought about the past nor about the future Those are what we grown—ups have learned from 36 .He was 37 the ride because had not yet been taught to fear it. Having understood this，I took a deep breath and 38 back into my seat，pretending I was 39 on a roller coaster. I smiled for the rest of the flight. I even 40 to giggle once or twice ,much to the chagrin(随恼)of the man sitting next to me holding the airsickness bag.
21. A. mistake B. delay C. change D. wind
22. A. forced B. warned C. swept D. reminded
23. A. watching B. visiting C. circling D. crossing
24. A. arrive B. enter C. stop D. land
25. A. if B. though C. because D. while
26. A. light B. pale C. easy D. quick
27. A. sick B. nervous C. angry D. afraid
28. A. empty B. narrow C. secret D. open
29. A. happens B. continues C. fails D. serves
30. A. quiet B. hot C. dirty D. crowded
31. A. partly B. gradually C. shortly D. clearly
32. A. pilot B. baby C. guard D. man
33. A. seats B. passengers C. flight D. airplane
34. A. realized B. hoped C. agreed D. insisted
35. A. health B. safety C.joy D. future
36. A. teachers B. books C. experience D. practice
37. A. learning B. taking C. missing D. enjoying
38. A. sat B. lay C. went D. rode
39. A. nearly B. finally C. really D. suddenly
40. A. attempted B. managed C. wanted D. decided
Because of the heavy traffic，it was already time for lunch break______she got to her office．
A．since B．that C．when D．until
If you have a job，____________yourself to it and finally you’ll succeed．
A．do devote B．don't devote C．devoting D．not devoting
．You’ve failed to do what you ____________to and I’m afraid the teacher will blame you．
A．will expect B．will be expected C．expected D．were expected
