We thought we had it all---a beautiful house, three healthy children and one more on the way, two cars, a couple of four-wheelers for entertainment---and we loved it. Then, the market turned and my husband’s job at a construction company was gone. The company was closing down for good.We both started looking for jobs right away, but there weren’t any to be found. With each passing day we were getting increasingly worried and we continued to work together in order to pull our family through. The more we pulled together, the closer we got. I felt feelings of admiration for my husband that I hadn’t felt in years.
That’s why it was so hard for me to watch him blame himself for our present situation. I continually asked him to stop, but he seemed to want to punish himself for not having a job.
Finally, one afternoon I pulled him aside and said, “We have four healthy children and each other. That’s what’s important. That makes you a rich man.”
“ But what if we lose the house? They’ll hate me—you’ll hate me,” he replied.
I smiled at him and put my hands on both sides of his face to make him look me in the eye. “No matter where we live I will be happy –as long as I have you.” I smiled again. In all the struggling together I had found that deep love for him that I had on the day we said “I do”.
I could see his shoulders and neck relaxed. He held me close and we were able to talk and plan and dream together in a way that we hadn’t for quite some time. It was a turning point for us as a couple and a family.
We are still struggling for out better life, but I consider us well-off because we have something that money can’t buy and no one can take away from us.
【小题1】The underlined sentence in the second paragraph means that________.

They own two cars, not to _____ a motorbike.?

　　A. speak      B. say?     C. talk       D. mention

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格只填1个单词。

       The Auto Show, which is being held right now in Beijing, has risen to the top ranks of global auto industry events, as China has become the world's biggest auto market．For many Chinese youngsters, having a car has become a new lifestyle reflecting freedom and success

       First, there is the thrill of individual mobility and freedom, going from one place to another in their own time, and on their own terms．

       "I like the speed; I like the freedom; I can't imagine not having a car," Hou Mingxin, 39, owner of two cars, told the Financial Times．

       And these youngsters don't just want freedom through car ownership, but also a larger social circle．Thanks to the Internet, car owners can band together for leisure activities, such as going strawberry picking in the countryside．It is an activity that many car lovers would never have attempted without the benefits of a car．

       In China, the car is also a status symbol．"It's an opportunity to declare personal success," said Michael Dunne, a Shanghai-based managing director of J．D．Power and Associates, an auto industry group．"The small, environmentally-friendly models are not best sellers in China．The Chinese are crazy about big cars, a symbol of achievement," said Dunne．

       Thanks to a growing middle-class, and an increasingly developed network of roads, the number of car owners in China is rapidly increasing. China last year replaced the US and became the world's largest car market with 13.6 million vehicles sold．

       But the car craze(狂热) has raised environmental and traffic concerns. Many worry that car emissions could take pollution to a new level. Heavy traffic also troubles many Chinese cities.

       China is discovering the romance of the road just as developed countries seem to have lost it. “The younger generation in mature markets is unwilling to buy cars, especially in Europe and Japan," says Klaus Paur, of TNS Auto in Shanghai．

       In developed countries, owning a car can be expensive, with the parking fees car insurance and various taxes, said a 2008 article in US magazine Newsweek．

       "Having a car is so 20th century," Kimiyuki Suda, a young white collar worker from Tokyo told Newsweek．He mostly uses subways and trains．"It's not inconvenient at all．"

阅读下列材料, 从所给的六个选项(A、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅ、和F) 中，选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项。选项中有一项是多余选项。

________1. Jack just moved to a new place in Nelson. He wants to buy a house, but he hasn’t much money and his job is not well paid. So he needs a house whose price is about￡50,000 and at least has two bedrooms.

________2. Lucy is now 65 years old. She is not very healthy and it is difficult for her to move. So she now wants to find a bungalow (平房) in Earby so that she can easily go out of the house to enjoy the sun in winter and fresh air outside in summer.

________3 Alice was very poor before, but recently she got a highly paid job and wanted to change her house into a better one. But the house should at least have four bedrooms and two reception rooms. What’s more, it should look like the house in the countryside.

________4. Peter now  lives in Nelson. He dreams of having a house with at least three bedrooms. Besides, he doesn’t like high buildings.

________ 5 Lynne has lived in Newchurch for many years and now she wants to buy a house for a change. She wants the house to be semi-detached (半独立式) or detached. She also wants a separate garage.

A.     Top Barn Lane, Newchurch, Lancashire, ￡49,950, flat on 30_th floor.2 bathrooms with 3-piece suite in white, 1 reception room, 1 large lounge, 1 fully fitted kitchen,2 double bedrooms.

B.      Queensway, Newchurch, Lancashire, ￡109,500, semi-detached house. 2 countryside view fronts, 2 double bedrooms, 1 modern fitted dining room, 1 detached garage opposite.

C.      White Leys Close, Earby, Barnoldswick, ￡129,950, bungalow. 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 living room split into sitting and dining areas, doors to garden, a kitchen with a range of fitted bases. Outside of the front is a road for two cars and a garden area.

D.     Birch Hall Lane, Earby, Barnoldswick, ￡180,000. 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 reception rooms. Traditional stone built houses next to some cottages on one side. There is a small cycle store and a long, beautiful wildlife garden.

E.      Craven View, Nelson, Lancashire, ￡185,000. Bungalow, 3 bedrooms with fitted wardrobe, 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 L-shaped living room with sitting and dining areas, fireplace around, French windows to back gardens, 1 kitchen with bright lighting.

F.      Farrer Street, Nelson, Lancashire, ￡ 45,000. A stone built house. Although requiring a degree of refurbishment (刷新), this two bedroomed house does still offer a good deal. It includes 1 dining kitchen, two bedrooms, three-piece bathroom, gas fired central heating and the yard to the back.

We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if these were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.

Things can go wrong on-a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening, two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly went into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road’. Seeing a cake-flying through the air, a truck driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck and fell onto the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic to move again. In the meanwhile, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident; for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days.

9. What does the writer mainly tell us?

A. Troubles always happen at the same time.

B. Everyone may have trouble every day.

C. A small matter can cause great trouble.

D. Only the lucky man won’t have any trouble every day.

10. According to the passage, what should be the correct order?

(1) The woman driver stopped her car suddenly.

(2) The driver’s wife dropped her cake on the road.

(3) Only two dogs were happy.

(4) Two cars hit each other.

(5) The truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles.

A. (2)(3)(3)(5)(1)     B. (4)(1)(2)(5)(3)   C. (3)(5)(2)(4)(1)      D. (1)(4)(2)(3)(5)

11. Which of the following is true?

A. The woman’s husband brought three guests home to dinner unexpectedly.

B. The meal got burnt.

C. Her baby pulled the table-cloth off the table.

D. It is not strange to experience such accidents.

12. What does the word "these" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refer to?

A. Your husband brings three guests to dinner unexpectedly.

B. The meal gets burnt.

C. The baby pulls the table-cloth off the table.

D. Both B and C.