Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices going up, up, and up. “How high can they go?” is the question on everyone’s lips? “As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, there’s no telling,” remarked one realtor in Santa Monica, California.
“It’s crazy,” said Tim, who is looking for a house near the beach. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom condominium in Venice, for $70,000. My friends thought then that I was overpaying. Five years later, I had to move. I sold it for $230,000, which was a nice profit. Last year, while visiting friends here, I saw in the local paper that the exact same condo was for sale for $510,000!”
It is a seller’s market. Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price. Donna, a new owner of a one-bedroom condo in Venice Beach, said, “That’s what I did. I told the owner that whatever anyone offers you, I’ll give you $20,000 more, under the table, so you don’t have to pay your realtor any of it. I was tired of looking.”
Tim says he hopes he doesn’t get that desperate. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the wrong decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great opportunity.”
Everyone says the bubble(泡沫) has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day after they sell their house. Even government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that, inevitably, these things go in cycles,” said the state director of housing. “What goes up must come down. But, as we all know, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down. So you can’t lose over the long run. Twenty years down the road, your house is always worth more than you paid for it.”
60．If Tim had sold his flat last year, he could have earned .
A．$ 510,000 B．$ 440,000 C．$ 280,000 D．$ 160,000
61．Donna paid another $ 20,000 to the owner secretly because .
A．she felt like offering 10% more B．secret money made low price
C．the owner asked for the money D．she was bored with bargaining
62．We can infer from Tim’s words in paragraph 4 that .
A．homebuyers feel hesitate facing rising house prices
B．buying a house is always a great opportunity
C．homebuyers never make the right decision
D．both sellers and buyers become desperate
63．What is the author’s opinion about the housing bubble?
A．It is something everyone hates to see
B．Only experts know when it will burst
C．It is unavoidable in the regular circles
D．It usually stays for about twenty years
A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and loved the boy very much. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband.
When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. The husband just said ‘I am with you, Darling’. The husband's totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of viewpoint, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.
56．The uncapped medical bottle was not put back into the cupboard because .
A．the husband was careless B．the husband was busy
C．the wife wasn’t informed of the matter D．the wife ignored the matter
57．What do we know about the bottle? .
A．It contained poison only for adults B．It appeared like a nice drink
C．It was broken by the child D．It was kept in the kitchen
58．The husband’s attitude towards his wife can be described as .
A．optimistic B．confident C．considerate D．generous
59．What did the writer intend to tell us about life? .
A．Let go the negative side and we can enjoy life.
B．It is always useless finding who is responsible
C．Think of nothing and life will be easy
D．Life should give way to responsibility
Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together. However, I was not thinking about the golden chain when I had to help people who 36 their way and parked in front of my house.
I was growing tired of helping so many people. Almost every 37 I was awaken during a sound night’s sleep and had to 38 someone out. Many times I was 39 by some penniless motorists who did not even thank me for the helps that they received and some even complained that I could have done 40 .
One day, a young man with a week – old beard climbed out of a 41 automobile. He had no money and no food. He asked if I could give him some 42 , offer him gasoline and a meal. I told him that if he wanted to work for me, he could cut the grass, but 43 the work wasn’t necessary.
Though sweaty and hungry, he worked hard. After working all day, he sat 44 to cool himself. I thanked him for his work and gave him the money he 45 . I then offered him some 46 money for a task particularly well done, but he shook his head, 47 .
I never saw him again. He probably thinks I helped him out that day, but that is not 48 it was. I didn’t help him. He helped me to 49 people again to repay their trust in me. He helped me to once again want to do something for those who are 50 . I wish I could thank him for 51 some of my belief in the basic 52 of others and for giving me back a little of the 53 I had lost. Because of him, I once again felt part of a golden chain of kindness that 54 us to others.
I may have fed his body that day, but he fed my 55 .
36．A．fought B．found C．made D．lost
37．A．morning B．afternoon C．night D．evening
38．A．bring B．help C．carry D．drive
39．A．taken for grantedB．put up with C．turned down D．taken up with
40．A．less B．more C．worse D．enough
41．A．fashionable B．famous C．flashy D．shabby
42．A．money B．food C．help D．work
43．A．actually B．specially C．particularly D．generally
44．A．in the sun B．in the shade C．in the field D．in the car
45．A．asked B．begged C．needed D．charged
46．A．old B．extra C．small D．good
47．A．accepted B．received C．refused D．denied
48．A．the situation B．the thing C．the issue D．the way
49．A．believe in B．watch over C．look after D．care about
50．A．in trouble B．in danger C．in tears D．in fear
51．A．forgetting B．losing C．restoring D．finding
52．A．goodness B．happiness C．pleasure D．nature
53．A．weakness B．strength C．optimism D．pessimism
54．A．adapts B．adjusts C．devotes D．connects
55．A．heart B．soul C．head D．mouth
Your performance in the exam isn’t that satisfactory. , you failed.
|
A．In a word |
B．In other words |
C．What’s worse |
D．What a pity |
--- I to your birthday party last Sunday.
--- Unfortunately, you were out on business.
|
A．had come |
B．came |
C．would come |
D．would have come |
He can’t be at home now, for I saw him in the gym just now.
|
A．giving out |
B．working out |
C．carrying out |
D．bringing out |
