【小题1】The little boy held his mother’s hand f___________ when crossing the street.
【小题2】The school is within walking d___________ of my house.
【小题3】The time is a_____________ when we must think about buying a new house.
【小题4】It was a great ___________（宽慰） to have rain after a long time of drought.
【小题5】Have you ever read the original v________of the novel?
【小题6】In the 1950s the Chinese government introduced ________(简化) Chinese characters.
【小题7】He discovered the _________(废墟) of the old city in the nearby  countryside.
【小题8】________ by his accent, he comes from the north of the country.(据他的口音判断)
【小题9】How did you p_____ him into joining us? It’s amazing!.
【小题10】I was told that he had made an unpleasant c_________ on my speech.

People often think that having a million dollars would make all their dreams come true. There are TV game shows that give contestants the chance to become millionaires. When asked the question "What would you do with a million dollars?", most people tend to give similar answers: “Quit my job.”, "Buy my dream house," or “Go traveling.” Twenty years ago, it was possible to realize these dreams. However, things are not so easy today.

In many developed countries, the cost of living is higher than ever. Over the last twenty years, for example, housing prices in many of the world's cities have soared. In the U. S., luxury homes in the state of Arizona sold for about $ 800, 000 in 1995. These same homes now cost more than $ 1.5 million. Now, because more people live in the area, the cost of property has risen.

Apartments in many city centers are also more expensive now than in the past. Today, people want to be closer to their workplace, and many are now moving back into the city center. As a result, living in or near this area costs more than ever. Apartments in London's Mayfair district or in Manhattan in New York City often sell for over a million dollars.

Inflation is another important reason for the rise in the cost of living. Over the last 150 years, as prices have gone up, the value of money has gone down, so we now need more money to buy things. In 1850, for example, $50,000 had as much buying power as $1 million dollars does today. Of course, people now earn more money than they did 150 years ago, but they also spend more on necessities such as food, medicine, and housing.

In order to live well after you stop working, you should begin saving for retirement early. Experts suggest that after you retire, you will need 75 percent to 80 percent of your salary to live on every month. This calculation assumes that you have no mortgage on a house to continue paying, or any other major expenses.

Due to increased demand for housing, higher inflation, and longer life expectancy, a million may not be enough to live on. To be able to retire early, travel the world, and build your dream home, you may have to appear on that game show and win more than once!

46. What is the main cause of high housing price?

A. People generally make more money today.

B. There are more luxury homes than apartments.

C. There is less housing available there for sale or rent.

D. People would rather live in the suburbs than in the city.

47. The word "inflation" in the 4th paragraph refers to _____

A. the amount of money required for life's necessities

B. a continuing increase in prices over time

C. a bank loan for a house or piece of land

D. things that one must pay for regularly

48. If you make $ 4,000 per month, you will need _______ per month after you retire.

A. $2,250~$2,400        B. $ 3,000~$ 3,200

C. $3,500~$3,750        D. $2,550~ $ 2,700

49. What does the underlined sentence mean in the last paragraph?

A. You will be so lucky that you can win another million dollars.

B. Don't expect too much for just a million dollars that cannot change your life completely.

C. A million dollars is too little to travel around the world.

D. To win another million dollars is the only way to make you live better after retirement.

50. The passage mainly tells us _______.

A. what a million dollars can buy

B. higher housing prices have become a social problem to deal with

C. how much money you will need in order to live well after retirement

D. we should not neglect the fact that money may not be as that much as before

阅读理解

　　Nine years ago, after Leo had died, people said to me, “I never knew he was your stepfather. ”You see, I never called him that. At first, he was no one special in my life. Then he became my friend. In time, I felt he was my father, too.

　　Leo married my mother when I was seven. Two years later we moved into a house in a new suburban (郊区的) development, where he put down roots. At first our lawn was just a mud piled with wild grass, but Leo saw bright possibilities. “We'll plant trees there to give us shade as well as some flowers. ”he said. And just these little touches made our house different from all the others here. More important, a real family was forming within this house, with its own special traditions. Leo was becoming a full-time parent, and I was learning what it meant to have a father.

　　Weekday mornings when the weather was bad, Leo often drove me to school. Having a father drop you off may have been something my classmates took for granted, but I always thought it was wonderful. Saturday mornings, we went to hardware shop, then stepped into the five-and-ten, buying a sports magazine or something else. Some people might think that doing shopping together is nothing special , but I , who had ever before spent my childhood watching other families do their everyday activities, experienced them now with extreme delight. Looking back, I realize that Leo gave me what I needed most—the experience of doing ordinary things together as a family.

　　Soon after we moved to the suburbs, one of our new neighbours introduced herself to me. She had already met my mother and Leo. “You know,”she said, “you look just like your father.”I knew she was just making conversation—but even so… “Thank you.” I said. Why tell her anything different?

1．The main purpose of the passage is to ________.

[　　]

A．tell some unforgettable experiences

B．show how interesting a person Leo was

C．remind us of our parents

D．explain why they moved to the suburbs

2．Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined part “put down roots”?

[　　]

3．In the writer's opinion, ________.

[　　]

A．it's not easy for stepfamilies to live together

B．not all the stepfathers are as good as Leo

C．the husband and wife must think more about their children before they get divorced

D．in stepfamilies the love and friendship are extremely precious

4．When he said “ Why tell her anything different ” , the writer meant that ________.

[　　]

A．he should have told her the truth

B．he wouldn't tell her the truth

C．he wanted to tell her something that had nothing to do with Leo

D．he'd like to keep silence whenever he met the neighbours