Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble （气泡） and main sadness． Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply． According to a recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator （赤道） to Australia to find the priciest homes．

The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines． An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase． At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category． And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income． In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9．5 times the average income． Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure．

Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings． These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable． Land rationing （配给制） and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government．

Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California． America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes． Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas． Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes．

The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under．

To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____．

   A． 3 times or less of the average family’s income

    B． 4 times or less of the average family’s income

    C． 5 times or less of the average family’s income

    D． 9．5 times or less of the average family’s income

What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?

   A． The rising family’s income．       B． The demand over supply．

   C． The excessive development charges． D． The decrease of land．

The underlined word “dismal” in Paragraph 3 may mean _____．

   A． cheerful       B． satisfactory

   C． difficult           D． gloomy 

What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

    A． Affordable Houses   B． A House is a Dream First

    C． Housing Bubble      D． Homes Too Expensive

书面表达 (满分20分)

研究表明，笑对身体有利。请根据以下要点，用英语写一篇以Laughing is good for health为题的短文。笑的好处：1. 忘却烦恼和忧愁, 减轻痛苦 2. 保持良好的心情, 对生活保持积极的态度； 3.易交友；4. 活得更长久和更有活力。

注意：可根据要点适当发挥，或增加其他观点，使文章自然流畅。

词数：120左右。

第一句已经给出

Laughing is good for health

Many studies show that laughing is good for our health.

You can go out, _________you promise to be back before 11 o'clock.

    A. as far as            B. so far as        C. when         D. so long as

You         your turn so you’ll have to wait.

A. will miss         B. have missed       C. are missing       D. had missed

She said that I could use her car while mine _________________.

   A. was repaired    B. repaired     C. was being repaired    D. would be repaired

All the neighbors think highly of this family, _________ the parents are treating their child like a friend.

A. why          B. where        C. which         D. that

--- It was not until she had arrived home _________ her appointment with the doctor.

A. when she remembered                  B. that she remembered 

C. did she remember                      D. and she remembered

手机给人们的日常生活提供了许多方便。 如：便于与父母和朋友联系；能增加乐趣。但是手机的使用也存在着一些弊端。如：上课时使用手机不利于教师教学和学生听课；课间用过后会分散上课注意力；用手机聊天、发短信费时费钱费精力。作为一名中学生.你对中学生的持有手机有何看法?最好能提出些合理建议。

提示词语: mobile phone. Offer a lot of convenience（便利）. send short messages（短信）. bring come trouble. necessary. in a proper way（以合适的方式）

请根据上述内容请一篇120个字左右的短文，短文的开头已给出(不计入词数中)：

Nowadays mobile phones are very common around us. __________________________________

--- What did he say?   ---- He said he ________ the sentence in his own words.

A. was considering to explain         B. considered how to explaining

C. would consider to explain          D. was considering explaining

Human Capital - How what you know shapes your life

       Version: Print （Paperback） Publication date: 20 Feb 2007

       Language: English ISBN: 9789264029088  Price: ?15  ￡19  1$10

       This book explores the influence of education and learning on our societies and lives and examines what countries are doing to provide education and training to support people throughout their lives．

       Economic Policy Reforms -- Going/or Growth, 2007 Edition

       Version: Print （Paperback） Publication date: 15 Feb 2007

       Language: English ISBN: 9789264030473  Price: ?60| ￡75 |$41

       Based on a broad set of indicators of structural policies and performance, Going for Growth 2007 takes stock of the recent progress made in implementing policy reforms and identifies, for each OECD country, five policy priorities to lift growth．

       Climate Change in the European Alps -- Adapting Winter Tourism and Natural Hazards Management

       Version: Print （Paperback） Publication date: 22 Jan 2007

       Language: English ISBN: 9789264031685  Price: ?24 ￡32$ 17

       The first systematic cross-country analysis of snow-reliability of Alpine ski areas under climate change for five countries in the region: France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Germany．

       OECD in Figures 2006--2007--Statistics on the Member Countries -- OECD Observer

       -- Volume 2006 Supplement 1

       Version: Print （Paperback） Publication date: 05 Jan 2007

       Language: English ISBN: 9789264022638 Price．; ?15 |￡20 |$10

       A handy pocket reference containing key data covering the entire range of OECD

       work including the economy, employment, health, education, migration, the environment, science and technolog y, public finances, agriculture, trade, and development aid．

       OECD Economic Outlook -- December No, 80 -- Volume 2006 Issue 2

       Version: Print （Paperback） Publication date: 26 Jan 2007

       language-English ISBN: 9789264030954 Price: ?80 | ￡97|$55

       OECD's twice yearly assessment and projections for the economies of the OECD area and selected non-members．This edition also looks at the rise in household debt．

Which of the following books was published most lately?

       A．OECD in Figures 2006-2007．

       B．OECD Economic Outlook．

       C．Human Capital．

       D．Climate Change in the European Alps．

We can learn from the passage that Alps is _______ ．

       A．an Austrian interesting place most attractive in summer seasons

       B．an European mountain belonging to three countries

       C．a stadium for skiing lovers from five European countries

       D．an European mountain famous for its winter skiing

From the book with ISBN ____ you can get a wider range of information about OEC  D．

       A．9789264029088                  B．9789264022638

       C．9789264030954                 D．9789264030473

You should afford _______ Euro dollars for a book to know about the recent progress in economic policies in the OECD countries．

       A．60             B．15                  C．55              D．80

All the five books are ______．

       A．written in English

       B．concerned about OECD countries

       C．involved with education and economy

       D．published by the same print