A house is the most expensive thing most people will buy. Very few people have enough money of their own to buy a home, so they have to borrow money from a bank. Borrowing money from a bank to buy a house is called “take a mortgage （抵押）”. The bank usually lends money or gives a mortgage for twenty-five years. Houses are so expensive that many people nowadays have to borrow as much as $ 50 000. In other words, they will have a $ 50 000 mortgage.
How can you get a mortgage？ When you find a house you like, you go to a bank. The bank will research you financial history and decide if they think you are a good risk. They will want to know what kind of job you have, what kind of salary you make, and how long you have had the job. They will also want to know how much money you have. In addition，the banks will require a down payment. Depending on which state you live in， the bank may require as much as 30% of the-price of the house as a down payment. The bank will then lend you the rest of the money to buy the house. Many people are never able to buy a house because they cannot save enough money for the down payment.
1.What does a house mean in the United States？
A.It is a dream which many people can hardly realize.
B.It is so expensive that many people cannot really buy them.
C.It is the most important property that many people try to buy.
D.It doesn‘t belong to people if they can’t borrow money from the bank.
2.If American people borrow money from the bank for 25 years，this means that the person who borrows____
A.has twenty-five years to pay back the money
B.has more than twenty-five years to pay back the money
C.has less than twenty-five years to pay back the money
D.has about twenty-five years to pay back the money
3.What does “down payment” refer to in the passage？
A.Money borrowed from a bank as a mortgage.
B.Money paid to a bank before the mortgages is given.
C.Interest received by a person who borrows money as the mortgages.
D.Interest charged by a bank on a mortgage.
4.The most suitable title for this passage would be _______.
A.How to Save Money on the House
B.How to Borrow Money from a Bank
C.How to Take a Mortgage
D.How to Buy a House
There’s one easy thing you can do every day to live longer and happier, according to a recent study, and it has nothing to do with diet, exercise, or cutting out bad habits.
A review of nearly 150 studies with more than 300,000 participants found that having active social circles decreases your chances of dying by 50 percent, regardless of age, gender or medical history. “When we’re social, we live longer.” Dr. Kelli Harding noted, “Loneliness is more of a risk factor to health than other known risk factors, like high blood pressure and obesity.”
The findings are written up in Dr. Harding’s new book，The Rabbit Effect, which is about how kindness, rather than laughter, may be the best medicine. The book gets its title from a famous 1978 study of the relationship between cholesterol（胆固醇）and heart health in rabbits. Researchers accidentally discovered that those rabbits that received the most affection from their human handlers lived much longer than the others.
We live in a world where most of our social interactions happen through our phones. But to get the health benefits of a more active social circle, you don’t have to throw away your device and join a book club. More casual interactions with neighbors, shop owners, and others you meet every day can do the trick. Increasingly，those relationships can start online. That’s where Nextdoor comes in. The stated purpose of the company is “to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can depend on”.
When asked for advice on one thing you can do to live longer and happier, Dr. Harding said it perfectly, “Be kind. It’s actually pretty amazing how much each person can make the world a better，kinder，healthier place. It really takes very little and you never know the impact you have on somebody.”
1.What do we know about The Rabbit Effect?
A.Its title comes from a study. B.It's a report about heart health.
C.Laughter could cure diseases. D.Rabbits could help live longer.
2.What’s the purpose of Nextdoor?
A.To advocate online shopping to save time.
B.To offer the neighborhood sports facilities.
C.To settle the arguments among the families.
D.To create a harmonious community to rely on.
3.What does the underlined phrase “do the trick” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.Improve health and wellness. B.Set up online relationships.
C.Build a happy and warm family. D.Keep away from bad habits.
4.What can be inferred from Dr. Harding’s words in the last paragraph?
A.We can look for a kind neighborhood.
B.We should be kind to animals in the wild.
C.Every small act of kindness can make a difference.
D.All kinds of social activities can make a better world.
Last semester in my final year of high school, I had a kind teacher whom I can never forget. I was not the best student when it came to writing tests. I had to work extra hard to get good marks, although I enjoyed learning. Anyway, this class that I truly enjoyed still had me struggling to do well on my tests. My teacher willingly helped me and was always willing to answer my questions, and I greatly appreciated it. He was a remarkable teacher, always reaching out to students and helping them achieve their greatest potential.
I remember the day of writing my final exam, I was the last one still writing in the exam room as always, reviewing my exam paper, while everyone else had already finished and left the room. After turning in my exam-paper, I started to leave the classroom, but decided to turn around and say what I had meant to say.
What I did right then was that I sincerely thanked my teacher for everything. What I said to him lastly meant a lot more to him than I thought it would —“I really enjoyed this class.” I did not think much about it. I was just being honest with him, but the look on his face was remarkable. He seemed really touched and appreciated my simple comment, just knowing that one of his students had truly enjoyed his class. That is what I call a simple, yet very meaningful act of kindness to brighten a teacher’s day, because they work so hard for us and truly inspire us to learn.
It is what we say and do to show concern to others that can make somebody else’s day extra special. I believe that a simple praise can mean a lot more than one can think.
1.What can we know from the first paragraph?
A.The author was good at learning.
B.The author didn’t do well in writing.
C.The classes had me struggling.
D.The teacher answered all my questions.
2.Why is the author thankful to his teacher?
A.He taught him how to learn.
B.He let him pass the tests.
C.He helped arouse his potential.
D.He listened to him patiently.
3.Which words can describe the teacher?
A.Honest and kind. B.Kind and outstanding.
C.Special and patient. D.Skillful and clever.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.A teacher is always helping his students.
B.We should be honest with others.
C.We should appreciate others’ help.
D.A simple comment matters a lot to others.
Animals in Odd Places
Tree Goats
These goats will do a lot for their favorite snacks-including climbing to the top of a 9-m-tall tree! Every summer the argan trees in southwest Morocco produce bitter-tasting fruit that the local goats can’t resist. And these peckish goats are doing us humans a favour — when they spit (for sometimes poo!) out the indigestible nut inside the argan fruit, the nuts can be collected to make an oil that’s used in hair products and food!
City Whales
They’re not visiting the Empire State Building — they’re on the lookout for food! Humpback whales are swimming back in the waters off the coast of New York City in the USA. Why? Years of cleanup efforts in the Hudson River — a tidal estuary where fresh and salt water meet — have brought back algae, zooplankton and fish. And the humpbacks, which are the ultimate foodie tourists, weren’t far behind! So far this year there have been an incredible 377 sightings.
Forest Penguins
Fiordland crested penguins prefer the warm waters and misty rainforest of southwest New Zealand to the icy Antarctic! With smaller bodies than many cold-weather penguins (such as emperors), the flightless birds live in balmy 21℃. And their eggs stay toasty in this warmer habitat, too, tucked away in caves, bushes and tree stumps where males sit on the nests.
Ocean Sloths
Pygmy three-toed sloths might be slow climbers, but when they get into the water, they’re powerful paddlers! These special sloths, which only live in the mangroves of a tiny island off the coast of Panama in Central America, plop into the sea when they want to move to a new tree. Their tummies are often filled with gas due to their leafy diet, so they stay afloat easily-and they can move three times faster in the water than they can on the ground. But since we’re talking about sloths, that’s really saying much!
1.What’s the function of Tree Goats’ poo?
A.It can improve human’s skin. B.It can be used as an oil.
C.It can be beneficial to our hair and food. D.It can be used as shampoo.
2.What’s the purpose of Humpback whales’ returning?
A.To visit the Empire State Building.
B.To look for food.
C.To clean up the Hudson River.
D.To search for fresh and salt water.
3.Which animals can move much faster in the water than on land?
A.Tree Goats B.City Whales
C.Forest Penguins D.Ocean Sloths
假如你是一家报社的编辑布莱克先生，收到了高一学生李华的来信。近来他在英语的阅读上有些困难，做阅读理解题时常出错，因此他很着急，不知该如何做，请求你给想想办法，尽快调整好，适应高一的学习生活。
请你根据以上的情况写一篇100词左右的回信。信的开头和结尾已给出。
Dear Li Hua,
I’m glad to hear from you. I’m honored to be believed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As far as I’m concerned, if you do like this, I believe you will make great progress.
Best wishes!
Yours,
Mr Black
下列句子中，每句都有一处错误。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(﹨)划掉
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
1.For several billion year after the “Big Bang”, the earth was still just a cloud of dust.
2.How it was to become was uncertain until between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago.
3.The earth became so violently that it was not clear whether the shape would last or not.
4.As a result of this, many scientists believe the earth may become too hot to live.
5.So whether life will continue on the earth for millions of years to come will depend on whether this problem can solve.
6.They are putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which prevent heat from escaping from the earth.
7.Thus they have, in our turn, become the most important animals on the planet.
8.This produced a chain reaction, which made it possible for life develop.
9.That many scientists believe is that the continued presence of water allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas.
10.What is even more important is as the earth cooled down, water began to appear on its surface.
