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

Here's a familiar version of the boy-meets-girl situation. A young man has at last plucked up courage to invite a dazzling young lady out to dinner. She has accepted his invitation and he is overjoyed. He is determined to take her to the best restaurant in town, even if it means that he will have to live on memories and hopes during the month to come. When they get to the restaurant, he discovers that this beautiful creature is on a diet. She mustn’t eat this and she mustn't drink that. Oh, but of course, she doesn't want to spoil his enjoyment. Let him by all means eat as much fattening food as he wants: it’s the surest way to an early grave. They spend a truly memorable evening together and never see each other again.

What a miserable lot dieters are! You can always recognize them from the sour expression on their faces. They spend most of their time turning their noses up at food. They are forever consulting calorie charts; gazing at themselves in mirrors; and leaping on to weighing-machines in the bathroom. They spend a lifetime fighting a losing battle against spreading hips, bigger tummies（肚子） and double chins. Some declare all-out war on FAT. Mere dieting is not enough. They exhaust themselves doing exercises, sweating in sauna baths, being massaged by weird machines. The really wealthy pay vast sums for “health cures”. For two weeks they can enter a nature clinic and be starved to death for a hundred dollars a week. Don’t think it’s only the middle-aged who go in for these fashions either. Many of these bright young things you see are living on nothing but air, water and the goodwill of God.

Dieters undertake to starve themselves of their own free will; so why are they so miserable? Well, for one thing, they’re always hungry. You can't be hungry and happy at the same time. All the horrible foods they eat leave them permanently dissatisfied. “Wonderfood is a complete food”, the advertisement says. “Just dissolve(溶解) a teaspoonful in water…”. A complete food it may be, but not quite as complete as a juicy steak. And, of course, they’re always miserable because they feel so guilty. Hunger just proves too much for them and in the end they may rush to eat five huge cream cakes at a time. And who can blame them? At least three times a day they are exposed to temptation. What torture（折磨） it is always watching others swallowing piles of mouth-watering food while you only have a water biscuit and sip unsweetened lemon juice!

What’s all this torture for? Saintly people keep themselves away from food to achieve a state of grace. Unsaintly people do so to achieve a state of misery. It will be a great day when all the dieters in the world abandon their slimming courses; when they hold out their plates and demand second helpings!

41.   Which of the following would the writer most probably agree with?

A. New ways of controlling weight are needed.   B. We should all have second helpings and grow fat.

C. Many diseases are connected with overweight.       D. Trying to be slim is not an excuse for suffering.

42. How did the boy and the girl most probably feel after the night?

A. Excited.                   B. Awkward.                 C. Nervous.                  D. Hurt.

43.   According to the writer, which of the following are all typical dieters?

A. ① ② ③                  B. ② ④ ⑤                   C. ① ③ ⑥                  D. ③ ④ ⑥

44. Why might the boy have to live on memories and hopes during the month to come (Paragraph 1)？

       A. He knew they would have a wonderful night.

       B. He knew there’s no hope of seeing the girl again.

C. He knew they would meet again and share the good memories.

D. He knew he would have no living expense for the next month.

45.   What is the writer’s attitude towards diet?

A. Supportive .       　　       B. Critical.                    C. Doubtful.          D. Uninterested.

Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmers, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.

In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists (未来学家) predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.

In future, cars will run on new，clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

A number of large companies now use robots instead of people who ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and can not work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050，scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they? 

1.By 2050, people will get information mainly by _______.

2.From the second paragraph, we learn that _______.

3.Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?

4.What will play the biggest part in the quality of life in the future?

Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmers, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.

In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists (未来学家) predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.

In future, cars will run on new，clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

    A number of large companies now use robots instead of people who ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and can not work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

    By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050，scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they? 

By 2050, people will get information mainly by _______.

A. watching TV                                                   B. reading newspapers 

C. listening to the radio                                       D. turning to a website

From the second paragraph, we learn that _______.

A. the demand for water will increase a lot in the future

B. future wars will lead to an increasing need for water

C. there can be no agriculture without enough water

D. the population will decrease for lack of water

Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?

A. Scientists have found out how to control some genes.

B. Cars have computers which tell drivers their positions.

C. People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet.

D. Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories.

What will play the biggest part in the quality of life in the future?

A. Medicine.             B. Technology.        C. Education.                 D. Agriculture

Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmers, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.

In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists (未来学家) predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.

In future, cars will run on new，clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

    A number of large companies now use robots instead of people who ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and can not work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

    By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050，scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they? 

40. By 2050, people will get information mainly by _______.

A. watching TV                                                             B. reading newspapers 

C. listening to the radio                                         D. turning to a website

41. From the second paragraph, we learn that _______.

A. the demand for water will increase a lot in the future

B. future wars will lead to an increasing need for water

C. there can be no agriculture without enough water

D. the population will decrease for lack of water

42. Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?

A. Scientists have found out how to control some genes.

B. Cars have computers which tell drivers their positions.

C. People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet.

D. Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories.

43. What will play the biggest part in the quality of life in the future?

A. Medicine.                   B. Technology.    C. Education.               D. Agriculture.