The United States economy has dipped into economic recession (经济衰退). This caused discomfort and hardship in every level of society; but for many of the nation’s poor, discomfort and hardship turned into misery (苦难).
An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation’s financial disaster. About 3 million Americans were homeless because of a lack of affordable housing. Experts suggest that a family should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing. In fact, in some families housing costs make up 50 percent or more. An unexpected event, such as losing work or illness, can quickly push a family into homelessness.
An article in Time magazine tells a story of one such family. A young couple and their three children rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $350 a month. They could hardly go on with the husband’s $920-a-month take-home pay; so when their rent was raised to $500 a month, they could no longer make ends meet.
Another woman was found dead on a street in Washington D.C., the capital, and she died at a bus-stop across the street from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
People become homeless for different reasons. Some may not be able to pay for housing, because they have lost their job and cannot find another place they can afford. Others have mental diseases, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol, many of whom do not live with their family. And what’s more, there are not enough centers for shelter as the government doesn’t pay enough attention to this social problem.
People are making efforts to solve the problem. However, it will not be easy, because it is a personal and economical problem as well as a social problem.
1.The passage is mainly about __________ in the US.
A. ways of solving economic problems
B. homeless people being taken good care of
C. different reasons for economic recession
D. economic recession leading to social problems
2.In the passage the author supported his view by __________.
A. presenting specific figures B. giving examples
C. explaining in details D. discussing different opinions
3. One main result that economic recession has led to is __________
A. an increase of living costs B. more and more deaths
C. an increase of homeless people D. less centers for poor people
4.How many reasons why people become homeless are listed in the passage?
A. 2. B. 3. C. 4. D. 5.
Joseph Rudyard Kipling, who enjoyed early success with his poems, was born on 30 December 1865 in Bombay, India. Some of Kipling’s earliest and fondest memories are of his and sister Alice’s trips to the fruit market with their woman servant, or walking with his parents alongside the sea at night.
The beautiful days were to end when in 1871 Rudyard and Alice were sent to school in Southsea, England, to live with Captain Holloway and his wife. She ruled the boarding house with punishment and Kipling was often beaten by her and her son. “Then the old Captain died, and I was sorry, for he was the only person in that house as far as I can remember who ever threw me a kind word.” So he wrote in his later books. Kipling soon learned to read and found comfort in literature and poetry.
Freedom from the Holloway household was gained when he spent one month a year in London with his mother’s kind sister Aunt Georgie and her husband, pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne Jones and their children. Those months of December were a really paradise to Kipling.
In 1877 Kipling’s mother returned to England and collected him so that he could attend the United Services College in Devon. Now he was able to settle into the life of a student and in his second year started writing his own Schoolboy Lyric poems printed by his parents. In 1878 his father took him to the Paris Exhibition where he was allowed to wander freely and gained much appreciation for French culture which he wrote about in “Souvenirs of France”.
1. Kipling first left his parents in __________.
A. 1865 B. 1871 C. 1877 D. 1878
2. Kipling fell in love with literature and poetry __________.
A. before the old Holloway died
B. when he was a little boy with his parents
C. when he attended the United Services College
D. when he was in school, living with the Holloways
3. From the underlined sentence in paragraph 3 we learn that __________.
A. he felt free and happy with his aunt’s family
B. he felt terrible when he stayed with the old Captain
C. the death of the old captain influenced him a lot
D. the days at his aunt’s helped him become a successful poet
When Regina Mary' parents refused to let her get a horse ,the smart 15-year-olddidn’t sit in her room and complain. Instead she turned to a cow called Luna to make her riding dreams come true.
Hours of training ,and tons of treats later, the results are impressive: not only do the two regularly go on long rides through the southern German countryside, they can even do some difficult jumps successfully. Regina joked while sitting on her brown-and-white companion: “It’s unbelievable really , She thinks she’s a horse.”
The pairs unlikely friendship started about two years ago, shortly after Luna was born on the Mayer’s farm. They
started off with walks in the woods. Then Mayer slowly got her cow more adapted to human contact and riding equipment.
About six months later, it was time to see how Luna would respond to a rider on her back in a competition for horses. Mayer sat in the saddle(马鞍),and all went as planned. “She was really well behaved and walked normally, but after a couple of meters, she wanted to get me off her back! You could see that she got a bit peeved.” said Mayer.
Luna and Mayer are now soul mates, spending most afternoons together once the teen—who dreams of becoming a nurse one day—come home from school.
1.The underlined word “peeved” in paragraph 4 probably means ________.
A. excited B. sorry C. angry D. puzzled
2. Regina’s plan is to be ________ in the future.
A. an animal trainer B. a horse rider C. a farmer D. a nurse
3. The passage mainly talks about ________.
A. a cow performing in a horse competition
B. a German girl training a cow successfully
C. the way of gaining friendship from a cow
D. the efforts of a cow to adapt to riding equipment
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(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。
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had a large , from Picasso to Van Gogh. They would often sit together and the paintings of great artists. When the Vietnam conflict , the son went to war. he died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was in deep .
A month later, a young man came with a large in his hands. He said, “Sir, I am the soldier for whom your son his life. He often talked about your love for . So please accept it as a gift.” The father opened the package and saw a of his son. The father was so drawn to the picture that his eyes welled up with tears.
A few months later, the wealthy man died. There was to be a great auction (拍卖) of his
. Many people gathered, over having an opportunity to one painting. The auctioneer said, “We will start the bidding (竞拍) with this picture of the son. Who will bid for it?” There was . Then a voice shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Just
it.” “The son! Who’ll take the son?” the auctioneer continued.
Finally, a came from the very back. It was the gardener of the old man. “I’m poor and can only $10 for that.” The auctioneer asked the crowd to bid more. , they still kept silent. So he pounded the gavel (小锤). “SOLD for $10!” A man shouted, “Go on with the collection!” The auctioneer said, “I’m sorry, the auction is . According to will, only the picture of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that picture would be with all of the possessions, including the paintings.”
1.A. library B. collection C. house D. garden
2.A. admire B. process C. sell D. arrange
3.A. broke away B. broke up C. broke out D. broke off
4.A. Unwillingly B. Surprisingly C. Generally D. Unfortunately
5.A. mood B. sorrow C. pressure D. nerve
6.A. package B. book C. box D. case
7.A. cost B. gave C. assessed D. concluded
8.A. music B. smoking C. clothes D. art
9.A. watch B. picture C. gift D. letter
10.A. house B. garden C. paintings D. son
11.A. disappointed B. excited C. puzzled D. stressed
12.A. buy B. search C. steal D. adopt
13.A. noise B. shout C. delight D. silence
14.A. ignore B. defeat C. divide D. tolerate
15.A. seller B. painter C. voice D. scream
16.A. spend B. sponsor C. contribute D. afford
17.A. Thus B. However C. Therefore D. Besides
18.A. over B. on C. apart D. alongside
19.A. the gardener’s B. the son’s C. the young man’s D. the old man’s
20.A. supplied B. appointed C. presented D. equipped
I have no camera to lend to you, but my brother has _____. He bought ___ only a few days ago.
A. it; one B. one; it C. it; it D. one; one
He doesn’t have money now. ____, he would lend it to you.
A. If some B. If any C. If not D. If so
