People in the UK often talk about their homes: their mortgages (按揭), the interest rates, and rising prices. Here’s a guide to some of the words and phrases you might come across.
It’s a good idea in the UK to arrange a mortgage with a bank before you start looking. This is when the bank tells you how much money they will lend you so you have a good idea of how much you can afford.
The next step is to go to an estate agent and see what sort of properties they have available in your budget range and in your area. If you see something you like, the estate agent will arrange for you to view the property, so that you can see the house or flat for yourself.
If you see something that takes your eye, you put in an offer. The vendor (卖家) can accept or decline this offer, and if the vendor accepts it, you can move forward with the sale. However, as you don’t pay any money at this point, the offer isn’t legally binding (具有约束力), and in theory, you can pull out of the offer at any time that you like.
Your next step will probably be to get a structural survey done. A qualified surveyor will inspect the house and write a report that illustrates any structural problems, like damp or drainage problems.
If you still want to go ahead with the sale, you need to appoint a lawyer to do the legal paperwork.. If you already own a house, you might also be busy trying to sell it. Many house owners prefer to sell to first-time buyers (those people who don’t already own a home), as they are not in a chain (waiting for other people to buy the house before they can buy their next house).
Finally, once the contracts are signed and exchanged, you complete on your house. You get the keys and you can move in whenever you want. Then you might want to throw a house-warming party. Congratulations!
【小题1】 Which of the following shows the right order of what happens before the people in the UK move into a new house?
a. ask for a company which represents others of properties
b. decide how much to borrow from the bank
c. examine the structure of the house
d. hire a lawyer and make a contract
e. offer the seller the right money
f. visit the house and discuss a price with the seller

A．b, a, f, d, c, e	B．b, a, f, c, d, e
C．b, a, f, e, d, c	D．b, f, d, e, c, a

【小题2】 According to the passage, these statements are correct EXCEPT ___________.

A．People can borrow the whole money for a new house from a bank.

B．People care for mortgages, interest rates and the prices &house.

C．The sellers are more interested in the first-time buyers.

D．After getting the keys, the owners sometimes have a party.

【小题3】Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Owners.	B．Surveyors.
C．Lawyers.	D．Collectors.

【小题4】 The passage is maybe one that _______________.

A．give some advice on the house

B．introduces a book on travelers

C．give some tips to buyers

D．introduces a guide to visitors

根据首字母或英文提示写单词：

1.To our d_________, our football team won.

2. The doctor spent much time c_________ the patient of his cough.

3.He went to London without having _______________ (achieve) any success.

4.One of the ____________ ( testing strength, skill or ability) tasks that all government are facing now is how to develop economy rapidly without doing great harm to the environment.

5.He hurt his legs. There is no p__________ that he will win the game.

6.His cheerful spirit is __________( infect) and so everywhere he goes, people around him feel joyful.

7.Many factories have been constructed in our city since last year, and a power station is under ____________ (construct).

8.Are you satisfied with his ______________ ( arrange) for the meeting?

9.They hurried back home only to find their houses __________ (break) into.

10.___________ (absorb) in his work, Newton boiled his watch when he wanted to boil an egg to eat.

 

三、完型填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，共30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从31~50各题所给的四个选项（A、B 、C 、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

I am a teacher. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I  31  asked my students how their weekend had been. A boy said that his weekend had not been so good. The boy then asked me       32  I always seemed to be so cheerful.

His question  33  me of something I’d read somewhere before, “Every morning when you  34  up, you have a  35  about how you want to face life that day.” I smiled and said to myself, “I choose to be cheerful.”

“Let me give you a(n)  36  ,” I said. “In addition to teaching here, I also teach in another college, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. A few weeks ago, I  37   those 17 miles to the school. I only had to  38   another quarter mile to reach the school, but then my car  39 . I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn’t start. So I took my  40  and walked to school.”

“As soon as I got there, I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck(拖车)to meet me at my car  41  class. The headmaster asked me what had happened. ‘This is my  42  day,’ I replied cheerfully. ‘Your car is broken and today is your lucky day?’ she was  43  . ‘What do you mean?’ ‘I live 17 miles from here,’ I replied. ‘My car could have broken down  44   along the freeway, but it didn't.  45 , it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway and  46   walking distance from here. I’m still able to teach my class, and able to arrange for a tow truck to meet me.’ The headmaster’s eyes were  47   open and then she smiled.”

I  48  the faces in my class. Although it was the early hour, no one seemed to be  49 . My story had  50  them, or maybe it wasn’t the story at all.

31．A．anxiously  B．angrily     C．sadly D．cheerfully

32．A．why  B．how  C．that   D．whether

33．A．warned     B．told   C．reminded  D．thought

34．A．raise  B．keep  C．wash D．get

35．A．problem   B．choice      C．right  D．chance

36．A．example   B．answer      C．story D．explanation

37．A．walked     B．ran    C．drove       D．flew

38．A．stay   B．repair       C．run    D．cover

39．A．burst B．died  C．started      D．hit

40．A．friends     B．books       C．ways D．students

41．A．after        B．during      C．before      D．in

42．A．terrible     B．great C．lucky D．special

43．A．surprised  B．puzzled     C．shocked    D．amazed

44．A．somewhere      B．everywhere      C．nowhere   D．anywhere

45．A．Instead     B．Also  C．Then D．Therefore

46．A．at     B．within      C．beyond     D．off

47．A．hardly      B．almost      C．wide  D．quite

48．A．watched    B．saw   C．made D．scanned

49．A．awake      B．asleep       C．alone D．cheerful

50．A．controlled B．defeated    C．touched    D．educated

 

At the beginning of my 8:00 a.m. class one Monday at UNLV（拉斯维加斯内华达大学）, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been very good. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.
His question reminded me of something I’d read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day,” I said to the young man. “I choose to be cheerful.”
“Let me give you an example,” I continued. “In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson. One day a few weeks ago I drove to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.”
“As soon as I got there, the secretary in the Provost’s office asked me what had happened. ‘This is my lucky day’, I replied, smiling.”
“Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?” She was puzzled, “What do you mean?”
“I live seventeen miles from here. I replied. My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn’t. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn’t have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.”
【小题1】If you want to be cheerful you should ___________.

A．try to succeed in doing everything	B．try to please your boss every day
C．earn a lot of money by working	D．choose to be cheerful every day

【小题2】The underlined phrase “turn over” in the third paragraph means “________”

A．roll over

B．work normally

C．stopped suddenly

D．move around

【小题3】According to this passage we can infer that the teacher’s car broke down ____.

A．near UNLV	B．along the highway
C．near Henderson	D．at the community college

【小题4】Which one of the following is TRUE?

A．The teacher taught not only at UNLV but also at the community college.

B．That was the teacher’s lucky day because the teacher liked walking.

C．The teacher always hoped that the car would break down often.

D．The young man was sad because his car broke down.

 I was advised to arrange for insurance(保险) _______ I needed medical treatment.

A．nevertheless     B．although   C．in case      D．so that