I used to be a mortgage broker(贷款中间人) in the Phoenix area. In April 2007, the company that I had been with for a year went out of business. That was the latest of the four companies that I had worked for since 2000 .They all either went under or let most of the employees go, including me.

  In December 2007, the bank took back my house, and I had no choice but to move in with my parents, five miles away. My sister has three children, and she had no room. My fiancée(未婚妻), Brandi Wetch, and I have been living in my parents’ house for about a year and a half now.

  My mother, Sue, works part-time at a high school library. My father left for a job in the Marshall Islands a few months ago and will be gone for two years.

  I’m trying to be patient with finding a new job, but it’s been hard. I check the Internet for jobs every morning. I have sent countless letters but have never got a job. I have no idea how many other people are applying for the same job.

  I do the housework and washing, and I take care of the garden. Sometimes, I feel like the best part of my life is over. The worst part of the day is when I chat with my friends on the Internet. I’ve talked to about 10 old friends online. The first thing they usually ask is what I’m doing now.

  My mother, who is in her 60s, has been so patient and supportive. She acts like she’s happy to have us, not like we’re crowding her. We have learned what’s important since I lived here.

1. We can infer that the writer is living a _________ life.

A. busy                           B. rich                    C. difficult                D. hopeful

2. How long has the writer been out of work?

A. For more than a year                                  B. For a year and a half

C. For less than two years                                 D. For more than two years

3.Which of the following types of work is NOT done by the writer in his parents’ house?

A. Looking after children                                B. Doing the housework.

C. Washing clothes and dishes                           D. Applying for a job online.

4.It can be learned from the passage that the writer now________.

A. is preparing for his wedding                        B. is fond of doing the housework

C. is patient with job-hunting                           D. is afraid of being asked about work

Ever since Jerusha started her college, she began to write letters. Through a series of letters, from freshman to senior in college, she shared her life and study with an unknown gentleman, who never wrote back. Here is the very first letter.

1.Which of the following is NOT the reason for Jerusha to write the letter to Mr.Kind?

   A. To get her familiar to him.                                 B. To present her thankfulness to him.

   C. To share her brand-new college life with him.

   D. To apologize to him for not writing letters too often.

2.If Mrs. Lippett learned that the writer calls the man she writes to Daddy-long-legs, she would probably         .

A. burst into laughter    B. think it acceptable  

C. criticize the writer  D. inform the man

3.By "when I think about you, my imagination has very little to work upon.", the writer intends to tell us that        .

    A. the man she writes to is dull and boring

    B. she is not familiar with the one she writes to

    C. it is not interesting at all to write to a stranger

    D. she lacks imagination when it comes to writing a letter

4.Jerusha was probably          while she worked on the letter.

   A. curious             B. light-hearted       C. serious            D. skeptical