A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.

　　The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, and this is what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home, my parents will be wondering where I am.”

　　She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself to Boungalow 163, where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now, the sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite coat on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... it all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.

She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready, I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jenny would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jenny just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different. She wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her room.

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice. “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared.”

60. The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph refers to ___________.

A. the beautiful scenery　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. the relaxed atmosphere

C. being alone　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. going back home

61. According to the fourth paragraph, which of the statements is TRUE?

A. The girl wore her favourite clothes and felt warm.

B. The girl’s parents worried about her very much and have looked for her for several days.

C. The girl’s father didn’t always keep everything clean and tidy.

D. The girl’s mother dealt with everything at home.

62. The author wrote the passage to show how___________.

A. she got home by overcoming so many difficulties

B. wonderful it was to be home again no matter what happened

C. hardworking her parents are

D. dangerous to get back home

63. It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.

A. the girl’s parents always treat her badly

B. the girl has a miserable childhood

C. the girl got a teenager’s problem

D. the girl has a poor family

What makes a house a home?
Not size, of course．I’ve been in some of the grandest houses in America, and it’s readily apparent no one lives there．Earlier this year, I had dinner in a mud hut in Ethiopia, where we sat on chairs next to the hostess’ bed -- a home that had more warmth than any house I’ve been in since．
Now John Edwards is exploring what makes a house a home in his just-released Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives．There Edwards writes, " This is a book about homes, the values they rest on, the dreams they are filled with, and the people they have shaped．The houses and circumstances are different, but much of what you find inside will be familiar．"     
Whether you’re sitting in an airport right now, waiting to fly to your childhood home for Thanksgiving, or in your own home waiting for the relatives to arrive, you know what he’s talking about．
We’ve lived in our townhouse for 21 years．The loose windows that make noise in the wind．The fireplace so shallow it holds only one log．The kitchen window that offers a view of the world passing by．It’s where friends sit on the kitchen counter drinking wine while dinner is being fixed．I lived there for only 18, but it will always be my true home．Even the lamp in the west living room window, which I could see far down the road when driving home late at night, still shines．
While all this talk about childhood memories can be warm and comforting, home is whom you’re with, not where you are．As Edwards writes, "Home is family．Home is safety．Home is faith．"
Happy homecoming．
【小题1】What would be the best title for the text?

（D）
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have．It’s likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen will have a washing machine and a microwave oven．Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need． You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week．
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for．Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world．They feel that the long-hour work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes．Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting_is one of them．
Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year．One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz．They used to work in central London．He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank．They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs （郊区）, leaving their two children with a nanny（保姆）．Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings．They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by．
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales．“I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift．It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it．We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays．However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier．”
Liz, however, is not quite sure．“I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours．I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals．One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children．My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all．”
68．What do the first two paragraphs tell us?
A．People seldom work long hours to make money．      
B．People hardly buy more things than necessary．
C．People are sure everything they own is in the right place．
D．People realize more is involved in life than just making money．
69．Daniel agrees that the move to the farm __________．
A．was easy to organize               B．has improved family life
C．was extremely expensive           D．has been a total success
70．The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph means ________．
A．repairing your car by yourself
B．spending money carefully
C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life
D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week

What makes a house a home?

Not size, of course．I've been in some of the grandest houses in America, and it's readily apparent no one lives there．Earlier this year, I had dinner in a mud hut in Ethiopia, where we sat on chairs next to the hostess' bed -- a home that had more warmth than any house I've been in since．

Now John Edwards is exploring what makes a house a home in his just-released Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives．There Edwards writes, " This is a book about homes, the values they rest on, the dreams they are filled with, and the people they have shaped．The houses and circumstances are different, but much of what you find inside will be familiar．"     

Whether you're sitting in an airport right now, waiting to fly to your childhood home for Thanksgiving, or in your own home waiting for the relatives to arrive, you know what he's talking about．

We've lived in our townhouse for 21 years．The loose windows that make noise in the wind．The fireplace so shallow it holds only one log．The kitchen window that offers a view of the world passing by．It's where friends sit on the kitchen counter drinking wine while dinner is being fixed．I lived there for only 18, but it will always be my true home．Even the lamp in the west living room window, which I could see far down the road when driving home late at night, still shines．

While all this talk about childhood memories can be warm and comforting, home is whom you're with, not where you are．As Edwards writes, "Home is family．Home is safety．Home is faith．"

Happy homecoming．

1.What would be the best title for the text?

2.The purpose of the second paragraph is to __

3.About the book Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives, we know that __

4.What did the author mainly mean when he mentioned the loose windows and the shallow fireplace ?

5.It can be inferred according to the text that __

（D）

As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have．It’s likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen will have a washing machine and a microwave oven．Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need． You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week．

Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for．Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world．They feel that the long-hour work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes．Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting_is one of them．

Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year．One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz．They used to work in central London．He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank．They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs （郊区）, leaving their two children with a nanny（保姆）．Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings．They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by．

Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales．“I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift．It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it．We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays．However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier．”

Liz, however, is not quite sure．“I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours．I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals．One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children．My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all．”

68．What do the first two paragraphs tell us?

A．People seldom work long hours to make money．      

B．People hardly buy more things than necessary．

C．People are sure everything they own is in the right place．

D．People realize more is involved in life than just making money．

69．Daniel agrees that the move to the farm __________．

A．was easy to organize               B．has improved family life

C．was extremely expensive           D．has been a total success

70．The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph means ________．

A．repairing your car by yourself

B．spending money carefully

C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life

D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week