When you see homework covering the kitchen table and toys are piling up around the sofa, you probably wish there was a bit more space. You are not alone. Nearly a third of parents say they feel squeezed into their homes but cannot afford to move to a bigger property, a report reveals today.

Twenty-nine percent say "their property is too small to fit the size of their family—rising to 40 percent for those 34 and under". One in four children is 'forced to share' a bedroom, according to the Finda-Property. Com website. Property analyst Samantha Baden said: "Afford-ability remains a key issue for families, with the average cost of a three-bedroom home around ￡193,000."Very few can afford to buy or to rent a property of the size they want and in the area they desire to live in, according to Miss Baden.
A recent report, from investment firm LV, also found that many 'space-starved parents’are pushed into a two-bedroom home which was perfect when they were a young couple, but has no space for three or so children. Grown-up children who cannot afford to leave homo are also adding to the problem facing families in Britain's 'big squeeze'.
For a home to be the correct size, which means it is not overcrowded, parents must have their own bedroom. Children under ten can share, as well as same-sex children between ten and 20.Anyone over 21 also needs their own room.
The report comes as official figures, published yesterday by the Land Registry, revealing house prices are falling sharply in every region except London. The worst – hit area is the North East where average house prices have fallen to below ￡100, 000 for the first time in seven years. However, they remain unaffordable for millions.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1, the report reveals        .

从A、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ四个选项中，找出其划线部分与所给单词的划线部分读音相同的选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

telegram A．retire      B．complete   C．cigarette   D．create

diversityA．influence B．prediction C．glimpse    D．identify

approach A．character       B．stomach    C．chance      D．Christmas

basis     A．sofa  B．debate      C．passage     D．balcony

lawyer   A. property     B. hydrogen      C. youth         D. apply

As a solo artist, Brightman has sold 26 million albums and two million DVDs in 34 countries. Her musical styles put opera, pop and jazz together. She is popular in the States but not here(Britain) – the image of her and her second husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber (he much older, she his muse) seems for ever frozen.

The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”

Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5 I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.

Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞） Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.

Brightman says she felt hostility(敌意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live, I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”

The first paragraph tells us that _____.

  A. Brightman is very popular around the world except in America

  B. Brightman’s musical style is a mixture of opera, pop and jazz

  C. the British people don’t like her for her style of music

  D. Brightman is much older than Andrew Lloyd Webber

Brightman decided to give up having children because _____.

  A. she could adopt one    B. her life and career were unbelievably rich without children

  C. she felt it normal not to have children   D. she was too busy

The following statements are true except ______.

  A. Brightman first appeared in a West End musical at 5

  B. Brightman disliked life on the campus

  C. Brightman was very gifted when she was young

  D.The saucy dance troupe made Brightman famous

The underlined word in the fourth paragraph probably means _____.

  A. located     B. admired     C. followed     D. found

What does the author try to say in the last paragraph by quoting Brightman’s words?

  A. Brightman has to accept the fact that she is liked in Britain

  B. Brightman lives in America but she loves her own country

  C. The British coldness towards Brightman led to her hatred to her homeland

  D. Brightman was at a loss why she was not welcome in Britain

The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony（交响乐） that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5，I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞） Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility(敌意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live, I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”
【小题1】The first paragraph tells us that _____.

The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony（交响乐） that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5，I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞） Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility(敌意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live, I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”
【小题1】 The first paragraph tells us that _____.