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 perc

ent 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. 1.According to Paragraph 1, the report reveals         .

A. children like to do homework in the kitchen

B. some families can’t afford a bigger property

C. only a few families have housing problem

D. people are satisfied with their living condition

2.What Miss Baden said in Paragraph 2 means         .

A. most families don’t have enough money yet

B. no family could afford a three - bedroom home

C. it is common to live in a three - bedroom home

D. the price of a bigger property is still acceptable

3.The report from the investment firm LV shows         .

A. young couples should live in a two - bedroom home

B. families with three or so children couldn’t afford a home

C. parents should buy houses for their grown - up children

D. some grown - up children couldn’t afford a separate home

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. House prices are falling down everywhere.

B. People are able to buy a home of correct size.

C. The house prices in London has not fallen down.

D. The North East is now an area suitable to live in.

I feel very happy to receive your letter and here I’d like to give you

some a     on how to learn English. Above all, don’t lose   1. _______

heart. Many students find it ____ to learn English, especially 2._______

_____write good English compositions. In my opinion, if you3.__________

want to ___ (改善) your writing, you should learn by heart 4. _________

as many English expressions and sentence p        as possible.  5. ____________

And at the same time try to use _______ in your compositions.   6. ____________

think just r       grammar rules is no use. And only by reading and 7. __________

writing a lot ____ you be able to learn English well in an effective  8. _________

way. I definitely _____(相信) the most important thing is that you 9. __________

should _______(继续) writing every day and never give up.  10._________

此题要求改正所给短文的错误。对标有题号的每一行做出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上划一个勾（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（／）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

该行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

One evening two young men were walking in the street.

They tried to find a chance to steal everything. The clock     1. ________

strikes twelve. Most people were in bed. Quickly they came2. __________

to a house so it seemed that everyone in the house had fallen      3. _______

sleeping. Standing at the front gate, one man said in English to4.. __________

the other at a low voice, “You wait here. I will go around to 5. __________

the front door and then get into the house.” Suddenly out          6. __________

of the house ran a dog, barking at them. The two men were         7. __________

very afraid and ran away as fast as possibly. They didn’t stop    8.________

until they had got to a lonely place. One man said to the other9.__________

in surprise, “It’s too bad. I had thought that the dog could10. __________

understand English.”

由于观点和立场的不同,孩子与父母之间时常存在一些矛盾和问题,某英文报社正在就“如何改善孩子与父母之间的关系”这一主题征稿,请你写一篇英语短文,发表自己的观点和看法。

要点如下:

1. 存在问题:

孩子:不信任父母,不愿意与父母交流；经常对父母发脾气……

父母:处理问题的方式简单,把自己的想法强加(impose . . . . . . on)给孩子……

2. 解决办法:

孩子:多和父母沟通；尊敬父母,多体谅父母……

父母:多和孩子相处,耐心听取他们的想法……

注意:可适当增加细节；词数:120左右

It was a sunny day. A city man was driving along a country road with a new wagon（马车）and a beautiful pair of horses. He didn’t pay a lot of  16  to where he was going. Pretty soon he  17_ that he was lost, but he continued to drive, expecting to re-find his way or to  18  someone who could tell him how to get back to the  19  .

    It was a long  20  road. For many __21__ he kept on driving. When it was almostdark ，he saw in a field a tall  22   ploughing（犁地） the land. He stopped his   23  team of horses near the fence and called out，“Hello，farmer.”

    “Hello，yourself，”the farmer___24____，still ploughing .

    “Where does the horse go？”he asked without knowing his language mistakes.

    “I haven’t seen it go anywhere. It   25   stays right where it is，”said the farmer，without stopping his work.

    “How far is it to the next town？” said the city man，speaking a little more   26  .

    “Don’t know. I never　   27  it,” replied the farmer. By this time the city man was getting 28  .“What do you know？You’re the biggest fool I ever saw.”

Finally stopping, the farmer turned and looked for a long time  29  at the city man. Then he said，“Maybe I don’t know much.   30   I am a fool. But at least I’m not lost！” 

1.A. signs            B. orders            C. attention            D. direction

2.A. realized        B. recognized    C. accepted           D. received

3.A. miss             B. meet             C. look                  D. lose

4.A. town            B. country          C. capital             D. village

5.A. lonely          B. busy              C. dirty               D. crowded

6.A seconds      B. minutes      C hours          D years

7.A. driver           B. policeman      C. farmer            D. worker

8.A. strong           B. tired              C. weak               D. tiring

9.A. asked           B. demanded       C. replied           D. ordered

10.A. always          B. often             C. sometimes        D. seldom

11.A .politely      B. friendly        C. loudly          D. angrily

12.A. judged          B. measured        C. saw                D. studied

13.A. sad              B. lovely            C. friendly           D. angry

14.A. gladly          B. immediately     C. silently         D. excitedly

15.A. Generally      B.  Fortunately     C. Certainly         D. Perhaps 

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用口号中词语的正确形式填空。

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m very pleased  31   (see) all of you here because you are my special guests. Welcome to our company’s museum. My name is Brown, George Brown. I’m the general manager of the company. As you all know, we   32   (main) make computers in our company, as well as some other electronic products. But we are also quite interested in  33   (educate). That’s why we have founded this museum,  34   children can learn how computers have been developed, how they are made   35   how they are used in industry, agriculture, scientific research and many other areas. Children can operate the computers, push the buttons and listen to stories about computers, and they can enjoy video shows. I know you are all teachers and you know  36   schoolchildren really need. So I hope you can give me suggestions after you   37   (show) around. I want my museum to be the best of its kind   38   it opens to all schoolchildren. This is Mr Tom Silver, my assistant. He will be your guide now. I’ll be ___39___ you in an hour and a half. Enjoy   40  . See you.

Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.

   Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends（小商品）for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said “FIVE CENTS EACH’. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.

    Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.

    By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always ran his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was : ‘THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”

1.Frank took a short business course in order to __________.

   A. earn more money for his family   B. learn something from a salesman

   C. get away from the farm          D. get enough to eat

2.Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because ________.

   A. he knew how to get people to buy his goods

   B. he cut down the price by half

   C. he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way

   D. the sign he put on the table was well designed

3.The price of the knives was cut down by half because _________.

   A. the factory workers worked 24 hours a day

   B. knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory

   C. the knives were made in German, where labour was cheap

   D. the knives were produced in one factory

4.__________  make Woolworth a world-famous man.

   A. His business skills and his wealth  

B. The low price of the goods he sold

   C. His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives

   D. His natural skill for showing things

5.The belief that “The customer is always right” suggests that __________.

   A. whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right.

   B. If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way

   C. stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money

   D. stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful

Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones. They are connecting to a huge number of other children all over the world. Some are shy “in real life” but are confident to communicate with others online; others find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home.

    Sometimes the online world, just like the real world, can introduce problems, such as bullying or arguments. Going online is great fun, but there are also a few people who use the Internet for offensive (冒犯性的) or illegal aims. Children must be made aware of both the good things and the dangers.

    To keep children safe your management must cover the family computer. Just as you decide which TV pro-grams are suitable, you need to do the same for the websites and chat rooms your children visit. Remind your children that online friends are still strangers. Re-minding them of the risks will keep them alert (警惕).

    Computer studies are part of schoolwork now, so it’s likely that your children may know more than you do. We get left behind when it comes to the latest gad-gets and the interactive areas of websites, like chat rooms and message boards, which are especially strange. The language of chat is strange to many parents, too. Chatters love to use abbreviations (缩写) such as: atb — all the best, bbfn — bye bye for now, cul8er — see you later, gr8 — great, Idk — I don’t know, imbl — it must be love, kit — keep in touch, paw — parents are watching, lol — laugh out loud, xlnt — excellent!

    It seems like another language, and it is!

1.The passage is meant for ______.

A. children         B. parents   C. teachers     D. net bar owners

2.Which of the following will the author probably agree with?

A. The Internet is not good for children.

B. The chat language is strange to adults.

C. Children shouldn’t chat so much online.

D. The Internet is a good place for children.

3.The purpose of writing this passage is to advise ______.

A. people not to use the net language in real life

B. children not to meet online friends freely

C. teachers to have students study on computers

D. parents to protect their children from online dangers

4.In order to keep children safe online, you’d better ______.

A. choose suitable websites and chat rooms for them

B. teach them to use correct net words

C. surf the Internet together with them

D. forbid them to use the Internet

5.If you stand beside him when your son is chatting about something secret online, he may use ______.

A. bbfn       B. lol      C. paw          D. cul8er

The National Dark-Sky Week (NDSW) is a week during which people all over the United States turn off their lights to enjoy the beauty of the night sky without light pollution. This even was started by Jennifer Barlow of Midlothian, Virginia in 2003, and it is becoming more popular each year. It has been supported by the International Dark-Sky Association, the American Astronomical Society, and the Astronomical League.

This even always occurs in April, during the week of the new moon so that the sky can be as dark as possible for the best viewing conditions.

“It is my wish that people could see the night sky without other light in the sky as our ancestors (祖先) saw it hundreds of years ago,” explains Barlow.

 Since it only lasts a week and not everyone in the country will take part in it, how will the National Dark-Sky Week reduce light pollution? The main goal of NDSW is to increase awareness (意识) of the harmful effects of light pollution. It is not possible for all of the light pollution in this part of the world to disappear. However, it is possible to make a small difference in the quality of the night sky. Another goal of this even is to promote (促进) the use of better lighting systems that direct light toward the ground instead of up into the sky.

Jennifer Barlow states, “The night sky is a gift of such beauty that it should not be polluted by wasted light. In this way, our children will not lose touch with the wonder of our universe.”

1.This passage is mainly about ______________.

   A. better lighting systems               B. the beauty of the night sky

   C. the harm of light pollution           D. the National Dark-Sky Week

2.Which of the following statements about the National Dark-Sky Week is WRONG?

   A. It is becoming more and more popular in America.

   B. The event was started in 2003 by Jennifer Barlow.

   C. The event takes place in the first week of every April.

   D. American people are supposed to turn off their lights during that week.

3.What is Jennifer Barlow’s wish?

   A. That light would be directed up into the sky.

   B. That the sky would always be as dark as possible.

   C. That people could see the night sky without light pollution as our ancestors did.

   D. That people could spend time enjoying the beauty of the sky every night.

4.We can infer from the underlined（划线的）sentence in Paragraph 4 that ________.

 A. many people in America hate this event   

B. it may be hard to reduce light pollution

  C. the event should last a month every year 

D. light will no longer pollute the sky soon

5.What is the main goal of the National Dark-Sky Week?

   A. To promote the use of better lighting systems.

   B. To help people realize the harm of light pollution.

   C. To cause all the light pollution in America to disappear.

   D. To help young children enjoy the wonder of our universe.

In England three foreign gentlemen came to a bus stop. They studied the information on the post sign and decided which bus to take. About five minutes later the bus they wanted came along. They prepared to get on. Suddenly people rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way. Someone shouted insulting remarks about the foreigners. The bus conductor came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed. No one had told them about the British custom of lining up for a bus so that the first person who arrived at a bus-stop is the first person to get on the bus.

Learning the language of a country isn’t enough. If you want to ensure a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your hosts. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, You might see a man apparently shaking his head at another and assume (认为) that he is disagreeing. But in many parts of India a rotating (旋转) movement of the head is a gesture that express agreement or acceptance. Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty. In that country you shake your head to express “yes” — a nod means “no”.

In Europe it is quite usual to cross your legs when sitting, talking to someone, even at an important meeting. Doing this when meeting an important person in Thailand, however, could cause offence (冒犯). It is considered too informal an attitude for such an occasion. Also when in Thailand avoid touching the head of an adult — it’s just not done. Attitudes to women vary considerably around the world. In Japan, for example, it is quite usual for men to plan evening entertainments for themselves and leave their wives at home.

Knowing about customs and attitudes is useful when you are travelling, but you also need to know the language used to express different degrees of formality (礼节).

1.The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed because ________.

A. they didn’t know the English language

B. the bus conductor told them to jump the queue

C. they didn’t know the custom of lining up for a bus

D. they thought they were looked down upon

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “insulting” in Para. 1?

A. Modest.   B. Entertaining.      C. Misunderstanding.      D. Rude.

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?

A. In Europe, using the left hand is considered less respected.

B. In India, the left hand is not used as a sign of respect to others.   

C. In Thailand, you’d better cross your legs when sitting or talking.       

D. In Japan, it is considered bad manners to touch the head of an adult.

4.The underlined sentence “Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty” means in Bulgaria _______.

A. you are probably thirsty if you nod your head

B. you’re possibly eager to have a drink if you nod your head

C. you probably refuse to drink when you nod your head

D. you’d like to have a cup of tea because you nod your head

5.We can infer from the passage that _________.

A. in Asian countries, women are equal to men in every field

B. learning a language well is a necessity before going abroad

C. attitudes to women vary from country to country

D. in Japan, men are still the centre of the family