.

For millions ofpeople，the American dream ofowning a home seems to be slipping out of

reach．

“Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,'’

says 40-year-old building instmctor Pat Hennin．“But they can still have a home．Like their pioneer ancestors，they can build it themselves，and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house．”

The owner-builders came from every occupational group，although surprisingly few are professional building workers．Many take the plunge with little or no experience．“l learned how to build my house from reading books，”says John Brown，who built a six-room home for$25，000 in High Falls，New Jersey．“If you have patience and the carpentry(木匠)skill to make a bookcase，you can build a house．”An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail．1ay every pipe，and wire every switch with their own hands．The rest contraet(承包)for some parts of the task．But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent ofwhat a ready-made home would cost．

One survey revealed that 60 percent ofowner-builders also design their homes．Many others

buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U．S． Department ofAgriculture．

49．What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．The cost of having a house built．

B．A comparison between young couples and their parents．

C．The life of owner-builders in America．

D．The American dream of owning a house．

50．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to _______

A．build a house             B．find aready-made house

C．have a good job           D．buy a house

51．The underlined phrase“take the plunge”most probably means“_______”

A．decide to build a house    B．decide to pull down a house

C．decide to buy a house      D．decide to rent a house

52．From the passage we learn that_______．

A．Many house plans are offered free of charge．

B．Most of the house plans arc offered by building instructors

C．Fifty percent of the Amedcan young couples build houses．

D．Must of the owner．builders design their homes．

 

.

    For millions ofpeople，the American dream ofowning a home seems to be slipping out of

  reach．

    “Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,'’

says 40-year-old building instmctor Pat Hennin．“But they can still have a home．Like their pioneer ancestors，they can build it themselves，and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house．”

    The owner-builders came from every occupational group，although surprisingly few are professional building workers．Many take the plunge with little or no experience．“l learned how to build my house from reading books，”says John Brown，who built a six-room home for$25，000 in High Falls，New Jersey．“If you have patience and the carpentry(木匠)skill to make a bookcase，you can build a house．”An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail．1ay every pipe，and wire every switch with their own hands．The rest contraet(承包)for some parts of the task．But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent ofwhat a ready-made home would cost．

    One survey revealed that 60 percent ofowner-builders also design their homes．Many others

 buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U．S． Department ofAgriculture．

49．What does the passage mainly tell us?

    A．The cost of having a house built．

    B．A comparison between young couples and their parents．

    C．The life of owner-builders in America．

D．The American dream of owning a house．

50．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to _______

    A．build a house             B．find aready-made house

    C．have a good job           D．buy a house

51．The underlined phrase“take the plunge”most probably means“_______”

    A．decide to build a house    B．decide to pull down a house

    C．decide to buy a house      D．decide to rent a house

52．From the passage we learn that_______．

    A．Many house plans are offered free of charge．

    B．Most of the house plans arc offered by building instructors

    C．Fifty percent of the Amedcan young couples build houses．

    D．Must of the owner．builders design their homes．

　　阅读理解

　　Work is a very important part of life in the United States. Americans spend most of their lives working. For most Americans, their work defines them. They are what they do. What happens, then, when a person can no longer work?

　　Most Americans stop working at the age of sixty-five or seventy and retire. Because work is such an important part of life in this culture, retirement can be very difficult. Retirees often feel that they are useless and unproductive. Of course, some people are happy to retire, but leaving one's job, whatever it is, is a difficult change, even for those who look forward to retiring. Retirement can also bring financial problems. Many people depend on Social Security (保障) checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage of their salaries to the government. Each employer also gives a certain percentage to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. Senior citizens, those over sixty-five, have to have savings in the bank or other retirement plans to make ends meet. The rate of inflation (物价上涨) is forcing prices higher each year. Social Security checks alone cannot cover these growing expenses. The government offers some assistance, but many serior citizens have to change their life styles after retirement. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel and other necessities.

　　Of course, many senior citizens are happy with their retirement. They have time to spend with their families or to enjoy their hobbies. Some continue to work part time, others do volunteer (志愿者) work. Some, like those in the Retired Business Executives Association, even help young people to get started in new businesses. Many retired citizens also belong to “Golden Age” groups. These organizations plan trips and social events. There are many other opportunities (机会) for retirees.

1．Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?

[　　]

A．“Golden Age” Groups

B．The American Opinion of Work

C．The Importance of Work in America

D．The Problems of Retirement in America

2．Which of the following is NOT true about the retirees?

[　　]

A．Some retirees feel happy as they can have more time to enjoy themselves.

B．Some retirees have to be careful with their money because of the rising prices.

C．Some retirees like to work without being paid.

D．Some retirees find work in new businesses.

3．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．the Americans show their value through their work

B．the American government pays little attention to the life of the retirees

C．the retirees' former employers offer some assistance to the retirees

D．the Americans can find no time to travel before their retirement

4．What does the paragraph following the passage most likely discuss?

[　　]

A．An explanation of why the retirees feel lost.

B．The difficult situation the retirees have.

C．A different opinion of the physical and emotional (感情上的) needs of the retirees.

D．A description of other activities the retirees can have.

Doctors recognize obesity as a health problem. So why is it so hard for them to talk to their patients about it?

The results of two surveys, one of primary care physicians and the other of patients, found that while most doctors want to help patients lose weight and think it is their responsibility to do so, they often don't know what to say.

So while doctors may tell patients they are overweight, the conversation often ends there，said Christine C. Ferguson, director of the Stop_Obesity_Alliance.Without being told about options for diabetes, she said，“Doctors don't feel they have good information to give.They felt they didn't have adequate tools to address this problem.”

The lack of dialogue hurts patients，too.The patient survey, of over 1,000 adults，found that most overweight patients don't even know that they' re too heavy.Only 39 percent of overweight people surveyed had ever been told by a health care provider that they were overweight.

Of those who were told they were obese,90 percent were also told by their doctors to lose weight，the survey found. In fact most have tried to lose weight and may have been successful in the past—and many are still trying，the survey found.And many understand that losing even a small amount of weight can have a positive impact on their health and reduce their risk of obesity?related diseases like hypertension and diabetes.

Dr. William Bestermann Jr.，medical director of Holston Medical Group，in Kingsport, Tenn. , which ranks the 10th in obesity among metropolitan areas in the United States，said the dialogue had to be an ongoing one and could not be dropped after just one mention of the problem.“If you're to be successful with helping your patients lose weight，you have to talk to them at actually every visit about their progress，and find something to encourage them and coach them，” he said.

He acknowledged that many doctors tend to be not optimistic.

“Part of this is that there's this common belief，and doctors are burdened by it，too，that overweight people are weakwilled and just don't have any willpower and are self?indulgent and all that business，”he said.“If you think that way, you're not going to spend time having a productive conversation.”

1．What is the“Stop Obesity Alliance”most probably in Paragraph 3?

A．An organization of doctors specializing in obesity.

B．An organization of patients suffering from obesity.

C．A research group that conducts special surveys about overweight people.

D．A research group dealing with doctor?patient relationship.

2．How many of the patients surveyed have been advised by their doctors to lose weight?

A．About 350.　　　　　　　B．About 390.

C．About 900.　　　　　　 D．1,000.

3．What can be inferred about obesity patients in Paragraph 5?

A．They are not as hopeless as doctors think they are.

B．Most of them have tried hard to lose weight, but in vain.

C．Without their doctors' constant coaching, there is little chance of their succeeding in losing weight.

D．Most of them have just given up their hope of becoming less heavy.

4．According to the passage, which factor contributes to the lack of dialogue between doctors and patients?

A．Most doctors just never think of warning their patients about their weight problem.

B．Many doctors find it difficult to persuade overweight people to lose weight.

C．Most patients are too weak?willed to do anything about their weight.

D．Many patients tend not to trust their doctors about their weight problem.

5．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．Obesity in the US

B．Trouble of Overweight Americans

C．Talk More，Help Better

D．Doctors or Patients—Who to Bear More Blame?