The United States economy has dipped into economic recession (经济衰退). This caused discomfort and hardship in every level of society; but for many of the nation’s poor, discomfort and hardship turned into misery (苦难).
An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation’s financial disaster. About 3 million Americans were homeless because of a lack of affordable housing. Experts suggest that a family should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing. In fact, in some families housing costs make up 50 percent or more. An unexpected event, such as losing work or illness, can quickly push a family into homelessness.
An article in Time magazine tells a story of one such family. A young couple and their three children rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $350 a month. They could hardly go on with the husband’s $920-a-month take-home pay; so when their rent was raised to $500 a month, they could no longer make ends meet.
Another woman was found dead on a street in Washington D.C., the capital, and she died at a bus-stop across the street from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
People become homeless for different reasons. Some may not be able to pay for housing, because they have lost their job and cannot find another place they can afford. Others have mental diseases, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol, many of whom do not live with their family. And what’s more, there are not enough centers for shelter as the government doesn’t pay enough attention to this social problem.
People are making efforts to solve the problem. However, it will not be easy, because it is a personal and economical problem as well as a social problem.
1.The passage is mainly about __________ in the US.
A. ways of solving economic problems
B. homeless people being taken good care of
C. different reasons for economic recession
D. economic recession leading to social problems
2.In the passage the author supported his view by __________.
A. presenting specific figures B. giving examples
C. explaining in details D. discussing different opinions
3. One main result that economic recession has led to is __________
A. an increase of living costs B. more and more deaths
C. an increase of homeless people D. less centers for poor people
4.How many reasons why people become homeless are listed in the passage?
A. 2. B. 3. C. 4. D. 5.
1.D
2.B
3.C
4.B
【解析】
试题分析：经济衰退造成社会各阶层的不适和苦难。很多人因此无家可归失业和疾病使一个家庭很快就没了家。政府有没有足够的避难所容纳那些人。解决这个问题并非易事。
1.段落大意题。根据文章的第一二行可知，美国的经济衰退造成社会各阶层的不适和苦难。故选D。
2.文章结构题。第二、三段举例说明人们无家可归的原因和惨状。选B（举例说明）。
3.细节理解题。根据An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation’s financial disaster.可知。无家可归的数量的增加可能是一个国家经济灾难最糟糕的结果。与经济衰退造成的最主要的结果导致了无家可归的人数的增加意思一致。所以选C。
4.细节理解题。根据文章最后一句话可知，无家可归的原因有三：个人原因、经济原因、还有社会问题。选B。
考点：生活百味类阅读。
备战中考寒假系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
I have a rule for travel: Never carry a map. I prefer to ask for directions
Foreign visitors are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.” In the countryside of the American Midwest, usually there are not many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat. In many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map: they measure distance by means of time, not miles. “ How far away is the post office?”
You ask. “Oh,” they answer, “ It’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because visitors seldom understand the Greek language. Instead of gibing you the direction, a Greek will often say, “ follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.
Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question. What happens in this situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers, “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan think that “ I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A visitor can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
One thing will help you everywhere ---- in Japan, in the United States, in Greece, in Mexico, or in any other place. You might not understand a person’s words, but maybe you can understand his body language. He or she will usually turn and then point in the correct direction. Go in that direction, and you may find the post office!
The passage mainly tells us that ______________.
A there are not many landmarks in the American Midwest
B never carry a map for travel
C there are different ways to give directions in different parts of the world
D New Yorkers often say, “I have no idea,” but people in Yucatan, Mexico, Never say this
The passage says, “ In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions.” The word “landmark” means _______.
A street names
B building names
C hotels, markets and bus stops
D buildings or places are easily recognized
In which place do people tell distance by means of time?
A Japan B American Midwest
C Los Angeles, California. D Greece
Which of the following is wrong?
A Travelers can learn about people’s customs by asking questions about directions.
B People in some places give directions in miles, but people in other places give directions by means of time.
C A person’s body language can help you understand directions.
D People in different places always give directions in the same way: They use street names.
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Among rich countries, people in the
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP (国内生产总值). So the
It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in its interest. It is too early to explain the
different trends (趋势) in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the
56．From the text we know that the author ___________.
A．believes that longer working hours is better
B．prefers shorter working hours to longer ones
C．says nothing certain about which pattern is better
D．thinks neither of the patterns is good
57．Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?
A．
C．
58．In the last paragraph, the underlined word “which” refers to __________.
A．family life B．situations
C．other values D．trends
59．What message can we get from the text?
A．The GDP of Europe is higher than that of
B．Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the
C．People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer.
D．Americans are happier than Europeans.
60．Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A．Americans and Europeans. B．Staying at Home.
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In the city of Fujisawa, Japan, lives a woman named Atsuko Saeki When she was a teenager, she 36 of going to the United States. Most of what she knew about American 37 was from the textbooks she had read. "I had a 38 in mind: Daddy watching TV in the living room,
Mummy 39 cakes and their teenage daughter off to the cinema with her boyfriend."
Atsuko 40 to attend college in
One of her hardest 43 was physical education. "We played volleyball." she said.
"The other students were 44 it, but I wasn't."
One afternoon, the instructor asked Atsuko to 45 the ball to her teammates so they could knock it 46 the net- NO problem for most people, but it terrified Atsuko. She was afraid of losing face 47 she failed.
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She made it through the class. Perhaps she thanked the young man; she is not 51 .
Six years have passed. Atsuko is back in
She is sure the young man had no idea how much his kindness 53 to her. "He probably doesn't even remember it," she said. That may be the lesson. Whenever you say something to a person cruel or kind---you have no idea how long the words will 54. She's all the way over in
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45. A. kick B. pass C. carry D. hit
46. A. through B. into C. over D. past
47. A. after B. if C. because D. until
48. A. believed B. considered C. wondered D. sensed
49. A. warned B. sighed C. ordered D. whispered
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51. A. interested B. doubtful C. puzzled D. sure
52. A. never B. already C. seldom D. almost
53. A. happened B. applied C. seemed D. meant
54. A. continue B. stay C. exist D. live
55. A. merciful B. bitter C. simple D. easy
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Joe Templer should have known better. After all, he works for a large auto insurance company. It won't hurt to leave the key in the truck this once, he thought, as he filled his gas tank at a self service gas station. But moments later, as he was paying the money, he saw the truck being driven away.
In 1987, 1.6 million motor vehicles were stolen in the United States one every 20 seconds. If _________________, experts predict annual vehicle thefts could exceed two million by the end of the decade.
Vehicle theft is a common phenomenon, which has a direct impact on over four million victims a year. The cost is astonishing.
Many police officials blame professional thieves for the high volume of the thefts. It is a major money maker for organized crime. Typically, stolen cars are taken to pieces and the parts sold to individuals. But as many as 200,000 cars are smuggled out of the country every year. Most go to Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.
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One exception is a Michigan program that assigns 92 police officers to work full time on the state's 65,000 car theft cases a year. Since 1986, when the effort began, the state's auto theft rate has fallen from second in the nation to ninth.
76. What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words.)
___________________________________________________________________________
77 Why do you think Joe Templer should be blamed according to the writer? (Please answer within 10 words.)
___________________________________________________________________________
78 Please fill in the blank with proper words or phrases. (Please answer within 10 words.)
___________________________________________________________________________
79. Put the underlined sentence in the passage into Chinese.
___________________________________________________________________________
80. What suggestions would you give the car owners to prevent the car theft? (Please answer within 20 words.)
____________________________________________________________________________
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阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从下列各各题所给的四个选项（A 、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该项涂黑。
These days, it is common to see 5-gallon bottles of water being sent to homes. Supermarket 21
are filled with all kinds of bottled water from simple 22 bottles containing “pure spring water” to expensive foreign types of mineral water in glass bottles. In Europe, bottled water is as 23 as soft dri
nks which are widely accepted in the United States. People are not only interested in the different choices of drinks, but also in the taste of bottled water and its 24 value.
All bottled water on sale must 25 the content of the water on the bottle. Some companies 26 
minerals to give the water a better taste. But the term “mineral water” is 27 , because all water, except specially purified water, contains minerals. 28 must be made to tell people clearly what kind of water people are exactly buying: spring water, mineral water, or purified water. For example, “spring water” will have to come from a(n) 29 spring.
Many people choose bottled water 30 tap water, because they 31 the safety of public drinking water. Some people worry about city water 32 . We need to pay close attention to the cleanliness of our drinking water. The government should be responsible for tap water 33 . It should be tested and checked 34 .
Keep in mind that bottled water is
35 . In many cases, you are paying for water that is not much different from tap water. If you are not sure of the safety of your tap water, have it 36 . A local health department can be of 37 . Compared with the cost of bottled water, the testing cost will be less expensive. Letting cold water 38 for a minute or so before taking a drink or using it in preparing a meal is a good way to 39 possible water pollution, especially if the water has been 40 for an hour or more.
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