—Could we go and visit the Summer Palace?
—Yes，________.This should be on our list of things to do in Beijing.
A．a pleasure B．it depends
C．don't mention it D．by all means
For many the idea of your dream home is not buying a bigger home，but a home that you have built by yourself. A house that is unique and fit for your tastes and your lifestyle. It sounds great but where do you begin to design your dream home? Here is a quick guide that can help you make your dreams come true.
The first step is to get an idea of what type of home you want. You can get inspiration from others. Drive around to neighbourhoods that have the styles of homes you like and take pictures. You can also cut out pictures from magazines, newspapers, or print out pictures you find on the Internet.
The next step will be to make two lists of items for yourself. The first list will be those items or features that you feel your new home must have，such as granite counter tops or a hot water heater. The second list will be those items or features that are on your wish list like a fireplace or slate floors.
At this point you will probably have a good idea of what your dream home will look like, so you will need to seek some professional help. You will need to hire an architect to put your ideas down on paper.You may need to interview a few different architects to find one that you are comfortable with. Make sure whomever you choose for final drawings has a full understanding of local building codes and zoning bylaws. In any ease your final plan will need to be approved by the city and a building permit must be obtained before any construction can begin.
It is time to look for a contractor(承包人). Whichever way you can do it in, be sure you are comfortable with your contractor and you have got references from his past clients. Remember the more homework you do in the beginning, the more enjoyable the process will be.
It's hardly surprising that weather is a favorite topic for so many people around the world—it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics.Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it difficult to concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reaction, and hot，dry winds make many people badtempered.
If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly，you could be forgiven for thinking that the weather is random.In fact the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe.In the UK the weather depends on depressions (低压气流), often called lows，and anticyclones(反气旋)，also known as highs.These systems start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east.Highs bring sunny weather, while lows bring rain and wind.In modern times, human activities seem to be altering weather patterns.Gases produced by heavy industry change the temperature of the earth's surface，and affect cloud formation.Some researchers say that factories in Europe and North America may have been one of the causes of the droughts in Africa in the 1980s.
The human race has always tried to guess the weather，especially in areas of the world where there are frequent changes.Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns; popular poems include：
Red sky at night, shepherd's delight；red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning.
Flies will swarm before a storm.
Rain before 7，clear by 11.
While folk wisdom can provide a guide to help forecast weather, today's methods of prediction increasingly rely on technology.Satellites, balloons，ships, aircrafts and weather centers with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers.The data is then processed, and the weather is predicted.However，even this system cannot predict weather for longer than about a week.
1.When weather keeps changing，________.
A．people become badtempered
B．people's reaction slows down
C．people find it hard to focus on their work
D．people find it easy to focus on their work
2.The weather in Britain is________.
A．random B．moist
C．depressing D．satisfying
3.According to a traditional rhyme, if there is a red sky at night, the next day will be________.
A．windy B．rainy
C．fine D．snowy
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．Anticyclones often bring rain and wind.
B．Weather forecasting has been done for a long time.
C．Weather could never be predicted.
D．Modern methods of weather prediction are developed from folk wisdom.
5.What is mainly talked about in the second paragraph?
A．Changes in weather.
B．Weather in Britain.
C．African droughts.
D．Research on weather.
The United States is not part of the Kyoto Protocol.But since 2005 more than 1,000 mayors across the country have agreed to sign their own version of the protocol.
It is called the United States Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement.Local leaders have agreed to follow the suggestions of the Kyoto Protocol in their communities.They have also agreed to urge state and federal governments to follow these suggestions.One goal is to reduce air pollution to the 1990 levels by 2012.
A “green” city might work on several kinds of environmental goals and programs.These include air quality，reducing electricity use, green building, public health, the reuse of materials, water quality and clean transportation.
The Natural Resources Defense Council works to protect the environment through action, law and science.One of its online projects is called Smarter Cities, which lists some cities that have made important environmental steps.
Washington，D.C.is also a leading city for green roofs，with over 92,000 square meters of green rooftops.The city also launched a program called “Skip the Bag，Save the River.”Stores charge people a fivecent tax for using plastic or paper shopping bags instead of reusable bags.Money from the tax will be used to clean up a local river.
New York City is using water as a renewable energy source.For several years, the city has experimented with water in the East River to create energy.Officials operating the program recently asked for permission to put into place 30 river turbine devices.
The people of Portland, Oregon are among the top recyclers in the nation.People living there recycle over half of the waste they throw out.The city has also worked to provide green transportation by providing safe bike paths and free parking spaces where electric cars can get recharged.
In Oakland, California, you can ride on one of several public hydrogenpowered(氢气作燃料的) buses.These buses release zero pollution into the air.However，they cost about five times more than common buses.
1.The United States Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement is aimed at________.
A．reducing energy use
B．reducing air pollution
C．improving public health
D．reusing waste materials
2.Why are shoppers charged a fivecent tax for buying shopping bags?
A．To clean a local lake that has been polluted.
B．To get enough money for the green roof project.
C．To prevent shoppers from using reusable bags.
D．To collect money for an environmental project.
3.New York City is cited as an example of________.
A．building green rooftops
B．making transportation clean
C．being good at recycling waste
D．using renewable energy source
4.Which of the following cities encourage citizens to use bicycles?
A．Washington，D.C. B．New York.
C．Portland. D．Oakland.
5.One obvious disadvantage of adopting hydrogenpowered buses is________.
A．its high cost B．side effect
C．zero pollution D．large space
In a moment of personal crisis, how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver? I began studying this question and answers are interesting.
One morning, I got into three different taxis and announced，“Well，it's my first day back in New York in seven years.I've been in prison.”Not a single driver replied，so I tried again.“Yeah，I shot a man in Reno.”I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, but nobody asked.The only response came from a Ghanaian driver，“Reno? That is in Nevada？”
Taxi drivers were uniform sympathetic when I said I'd just been fired.“This is America，”a Haitian driver said.“One door is closed.Another is open.”He argued against my plan to burn down my boss' s house.A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit from my loss of hope；he refused to take me to the middle of the George Washington Bridge—a $20 trip.“Why do you want to go there? Go home and relax.Don't worry.Take a new job.”
One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask and holding a stuffed pillowcase with the word “BANK” on it, I tried calling a taxi five times outside different banks.The driver picked me up every time.My ride with a Haitian driver was typical of the superb assistance I received.
“Let's go across the park，” I said.“I just robbed the bank there.I got $25,000.”
“$25,000？” he asked.
“Yeah，you think it was wrong to take it？”
“No, man.I work 8 hours and I don't make almost $70.If I can do that，I will do it too.”
As we approached 86th and Lexington, I pointed to the Chemical Bank.
“Hey，there is another bank，”I said，“Could you wait here a minute while I go inside？”
“No，I can't wait.Pay me now.” His unwillingness may have had something to do with money—taxi drivers think the rate for waiting time is too low—but I think he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can't expect unconditional support.
1.From the Ghanaian driver's response, we can infer that________.
A．he was afraid of the author
B．he thought the author was crazy
C．he looked down upon the author
D．he was indifferent to the killing
2.Why did the Pakistani driver refuse to take the author to the middle of the George Washington Bridge?
A. Because he was able to help the author to find a new job.
B．Because he wanted to go home and relax.
C．Because he thought that the author would commit suicide.
D．Because it was far away from his home.
3.In the author's opinion, the driver's unwillingness to wait outside the Chemical Bank indicates________.
A．the driver thought it wrong to support a taxi rider unconditionally
B．the driver was frightened and wanted to leave him as soon as possible
C．the driver did not want to help a suspect to escape from a bank robbery
D．the driver thought that the rate for waiting time was too low
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE about New York taxi drivers?
A．They are ready to help you do whatever you want to.
B．They are sympathetic with those who are out of work.
C．They refuse to pick up those who would kill themselves.
D．They work only for money.
5.The passage mainly discusses________.
A．the way to please taxi riders
B．the way to deal with taxi riders
C．taxi drivers' attitude to riders in personal trouble
D．taxi drivers' attitude to troublesome taxi riders
A mouse looked through a crack(裂缝) in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. “What food might this contain？”The mouse____.He was alarmed to discover that it was a mousetrap(捕鼠夹子)．
Going back to the farmyard the mouse gave a(n)____：“There is a mousetrap！” The chicken raised her head and said: “Mr Mouse, I can tell this is a big____to you, but it is of no consequence to me.I cannot be____by it.”
The mouse turned to the pig. “I am so sorry，”sympathized the pig, “but there is____I can do about it but____.I will make sure that you are in my prayers.”
The mouse turned to the cow.“Mr Mouse, I'm sorry for you，____it's no skin off my nose，” said she.
So he returned to the house, head down and___， to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house，like the sound of a mousetrap____its prey.The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she didn't see that it was a____ snake whose tail the trap had caught.The snake bit her.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital.She returned home with a fever.Now everyone knows you____a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took a knife to the____for the chicken.
His wife's sickness___so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.To feed them the farmer killed the pig.
The farmer's wife didn't get____and died.So many people came for her____that the farmer had the____ killed so as to____meat for all of them to eat.
The mouse looked upon it all from his____in the wall with great____.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember—when one of us is threatened, we are all at____.
1.A.whispered B．shouted
C．wondered D．hesitated
2.A.warning B．message
C．notice D．information
3.A.surprise B．concern
C．result D．deal
4.A.bothered B．cheated
C．murdered D．exchanged
5.．A.anything B．something
C．everything D．nothing
6.A.wait B．pray
C．avoid D．prevent
7.A.so B．and
C．but D．for
8.A.astonished B．puzzled
C．depressed D．satisfied
9.A.catching B．protecting
C．gathering D．collecting
10.．A.poisonous B．nervous
C．fat D．big
11.A.check B．treat
C．abandon D．examine
12.A.room B．farmyard
C．kitchen D．wall
13.A.appeared B．reduced
C．disappeared D．continued
14.A.good B．safe
C．quiet D．well
15.A.funeral B．event
C．farm D．death
16.A.chicken B．cow
C．snake D．pig
17.A.offer B．afford
C．provide D．supply
18.A.house B．position
C．crack D．expression
19.A.happiness B．sadness
C．tiredness D．carelessness
20.A.peace B．risk
C．sight D．work
