House buyers have three main choices: building from the ground up, moving into an old house or buying a new one. All the three are very different and should be considered carefully. Your budget will probably have the biggest effect on your choice. Comparing the three will help you make a good decision.

New houses are untouched and fresh, which means they can suit your personality and you know exactly where all of the materials come from. New houses won’t hold many unpleasant surprises, such as weak foundations, or other damaged areas. Most of these modern houses are also far more eco-friendly, with future decoration being just as easy to make and do as you like. Buying new houses is also a great way to save money, and you may find its benefit with the price going up in the future.

Some buildings, such as those that are rare or in certain areas, are of value over the years. Sometimes it is the history that draws more buyers into older houses. A famous person may have lived there, or an important event may have taken place in the house. This may not add any value to the house, but it can add to the attraction. There may be more repairs which will need to be done in the old houses,so before you think you’ve found a great bargain, be sure to get a careful inspection.

There are those who prefer building from the ground up. Building your own house can be a very rewarding, tiring, and expensive experience. While people have many expectations of planning and building their own houses, one thing is sure: it will take a while. There are always difficulties during construction, so you always find the construction time will be longer than your plan, not to mention the budget. Time can add up as well as materials and costs. Building is a good choice for those who are able and qualified.

1.In Paragraph 2, the writer mainly tells readers _____.

A．How to choose a good new house.

B．The benefits of buying a new house

C．Things to consider when they buy a house.

D．How to save money when they buy a new house.

2.What does the writer suggest people do when they are buying an old house?

A．Check whether the price is low

B．Check whether it is a rare house

C．Check carefully whether lots of repairs are needed

D．Check whether a famous person has lived in it

3.The writer seems to believe that building a house of one’s own is ____.

A．easy                                 B．costly

C．interesting                            D．impossible

4.What is the writer’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To encourage readers to build a house of their own

B．To explain why it is hard to decide what house to buy

C．To tell readers how to find a great bargain when they are buying a house

D．To help readers make a better decision when they are buying a house

Dear David,

My daughter will be five years old. She is happy, well-mannered, loving and pretty. She has attended a Montessori school since she was 16 months old and has made two friends. The three girls are always together, or talking with each other.

But recently the girls told my daughter that they would not play with her if she kept playing with the boy who was disliked by most of the class. My daughter always finds good things in others and insisted they play with him, too. Then one of the friends told my daughter she didn’t have straight hair and shouldn’t play with them. Then she started ignoring my daughter. My mother-in-law decided to iron my girl’s beautiful curly hair(卷发).

With her birthday coming, my child decided to invite her friends to her party. When I asked her why, she said because they were always together, but I know one of the girls will not attend her party. 

I’m concerned about her. I feel lost, not knowing how to help my child.

Jenny

Dear Jenny,

It’s always painful to a mother when someone hurts her child. Your daughter’s friends weren’t nice to her, but little kids are still learning how to get along with others. As a result, young friendships are often fleeting, even changing from day to day. Your daughter seems to be remarkably loving, outgoing and mature(成熟的) beyond her years. Perhaps you need to be proud of the way she treats people.

Ironing your daughter’s hair won’t send your daughter or the other girls a good message. It implies that there is something wrong with the way she is. You have no choice but to let your daughter know that one of the girls won’t be attending her birthday party. If she seems upset, remind her that other friends will be there. My guess is that she will rise to the occasion.

Hope this helps.

David

1.What’s the mother’s problem?

A．Her daughter doesn’t respect other kids

B．Her daughter seems to be losing her friends

C．Her daughter cares too much about her friends

D．Her daughter doesn’t know how to deal with others

2.When the daughter was asked not to play with that boy, she probably ____.

A．thought her friends were right.

B．felt lucky to have such good friends.

C．thought her friends shouldn’t have said that.

D．realized her friends were not popular with others.

3.David used the underlined word“fleeting”to show that  _____.

A．kids value friendship B．young friendships don’t last long          C．young friendships are very important D．kids are good at dealing with others

4.In David’s opinion, ironing the daughter’s hair _____.

A．is the right thing to do                    B．will make her more popular.

C．will make her doubt the way she is.          D．will help her win back her friends.

With more and more cars on the road, traffic jams are inevitable. Traffic jams can lead to increased accidents as there are more cars, with more people trying to get to their destination, all the while getting worse. Although it’s impossible to avoid traffic jams altogether, there are some tips you can follow to reduce the amount of time on the road.

Check for traffic jams before you leave. You can listen to the radio for traffic news, or check on the Internet to get up-to-minute information on traffic. If the route you want to take is heavy with traffic, you can choose another.

Look for a different route permanently. Most traffic jams occur on busy roads. Using country roads could see you avoiding a lot of traffic. Although the distance you may have to travel is further, it can work out quicker.

Set your car radio to receive traffic bulletins. Many new car stereo systems (汽车音响系统) are equipped with a radio system by which you can hear the traffic channel. This way you can get the latest traffic information and change your journey if necessary.

_____________________________. Most traffic jams usually occur during rush hour, so try to avoid this time period if possible. Some jobs offer flexible working hours so that you can travel to work outside of rush hour. Some jobs even allow you to work at home so as to avoid commuting altogether. Ask your manager to see what you can do if traffic is a problem for you.

Use public transport alternatives where available. The easiest way to avoid traffic jams is to take buses or the underground instead of driving your own car. Not only will you avoid traffic jams but you will most likely be saving money as the cost of motoring rises.

1.The underlined word “inevitable” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.

A．hard to accept                         B．impossible to avoid

C．getting less serious                      D．seen everywhere

2.The author wrote the text in order to ______.

A．explain why there are traffic jams           B．tell us the negative effects of traffic jams

C．tell us what we can do on the road          D．tell us how to save time on the road

3.To get the latest traffic information, you could do the following EXCEPT ______.

A．surfing the Internet                      B．listening to the radio for traffic news

C．listening to the traffic channel              D．turning to other drivers for information

4.Which of the following can be put in the blank in the text?

A．Choose a job that has flexible working hours   B．Try traveling at different time

C．Make friends with your manager            D．Work from home

Tomorrow was his girlfriend’s birthday and the young man was having a difficult time deciding on a present for her. She already had more clothes than she knew what to do with them, so he couldn’t get any kind of apparel. She never ate sweets, so candy was out of the question. What then? He had a very special reason for wanting to impress her with just the right gift; tomorrow he was going to make an offer of marriage to her.

He finally decided on perfume(香水). All girls liked perfume. That raised another problem, however. What kind did she prefer? He couldn’t ask her because that would ruin the surprise.

At last the young man hit upon a brilliant idea. That afternoon, pretending to take his girlfriend’s fox terrier, a little dog for a walk, the young man and the dog went directly to the perfume counter of the town’s biggest department store. Good! There was a large array (长列) of perfume. He beckoned(招呼) a clerk, instructing her to open a large number of bottles and wave the stoppers under the dog’s nose.

Nestled in the young man’s arms, the terrier began to be restless and bored as this seemingly pointless game went on. Then Fritz suddenly became frisky, wiggling in the young man’s arms and barking excitedly, as the clerk waved one stopper under its nose.

“I’ll take that one,” said the young man to the clerk. The price was high, but it was worth it, he thought.

“My favorite perfume!” said the delighted girl the next evening as she unwrapped the package. “How did you know?” she asked, dabbing some perfume behind each ear.

“Intuition(直觉), I guess.” said the young man, deciding that it wasn’t exactly wrong to tell a lie under the circumstances. One day, after they were married, he would admit that his intuition had really been a little dog named Fritz.

1.Which of the following words best describes the young man in the story ?

A．Kind-hearted                          B．Curious

C．Creative                              D．Mean

2.The underlined word “frisky” in Paragraph 4 means ______.

A．lively                                 B．angry

C．uneasy                               D．puzzled

3.According to the story, the birthday present for the girl was actually decided on by _____.

A．the young man     B．the store clerk      C．the man’s intuition D．the dog Fritz

4.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE ?

A．The young man wanted to give his girlfriend a pleasant surprise.

B．The pet dog Fritz knew what the young man wanted very well.

C．The kind of perfume the young man chose was expensive.

D．The young man told a white lie about his final choice of the perfume.

阅读下列各小题，根据括号内的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子，并将答案写在答题卡上的相应题号后。

1.Nowadays with the development of science, more new technology _____________________ to our daily life.(introduce)

现在随着科学的发展，更多的新技术正在被引进到我们的日常生活中。

2.For the health of other people, you _____________________________ here.(permit)

为了他人的健康，不允许你在这儿抽烟。

3.The couple looked sad. A quarrel ______________________________ between them. (break)

这对夫妇看起来很伤心，他们之间一定爆发了争吵。

4.The government has decided to develop the west of China, _______________ the poor.(benefit )

政府已经决定发展西部，这将使穷人受益。

5.I don’t want to forgive him because ________________________ yesterday really hurt me. (do)

我不想原谅他，因为他昨天所做的事确实伤害了我。

6.Adam said it was his teacher’s letter ________________________ to finish writing his first     book.(encourage)

Adam说是他老师的信鼓励他写完第一本书。

7.This is _______________________________ that I have seen it twice.(so)

这是如此有趣的一部电影以至于我已经看了两次。

8.We were very excited at the news ________________________________.(win)

听到我们队获胜的消息，我们很激动。

9.No wonder you are scolded. You were out enjoying yourself when you ______________.(ought)

难怪你挨了骂，你本应该学习时却出去玩了。

10.We agreed to meet here at 8:00, but he ______________________ so far.(turn)

我们同意八点在这儿见面，但到目前为止他没有出现。

假设你是李华，最近发现你的好友林涛经常不参加学校组织的课间跑操活动(the running during the break time)，也很少在课外参加体育活动，根据以下要点，用英语给他写封信，交流对体育运动的看法。

1.发表自己的看法   2.简要说明原因    3.提供建议和帮助

注意：1.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

2.作文开头已给，不计入词数。词数100--120左右。

Dear Lin Tao,

I’m sorry to find that

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

The difficulties they are facing are just beyond          though they are determined to continue their research.

A．way              B．belief             C．thing             D．matter

 One of our rules is that every student          wear school uniform while at school.

A．shall             B．might             C．will              D．could

You can’t expect yourself to        his trust over the night because it takes time for the damage you have done to him to heal.

A．wipe out          B．turn up           C．depend on        D．win back