According to the United States government, people are classified as homeless if they have no place to stay and no expectation of finding a place for the next thirty days. Although technically accurate, that is an impersonal assessment of an enormous and very human problem.

    The homeless population represents all of us Americans. It includes men and women, the elderly, children, and infants. Its members are from all ethnic groups. What they have in common is poverty.

    Currently in the U.S., thirty-nine million people live in poverty. When money is really tight, paying the rent or buying food often becomes a choice. Government assistance in the form of food stamps does help but, as one homeless man explains, you can’t pay the rent with food stamps.

    With no money for rent, the streets and homeless shelters become the alternative.

    Although men make up the largest group within the homeless population, homeless women with children are rapidly joining them. In fact, one quarter of the homeless people in the U.S. are teenagers and young children.

    People may become homeless for numerous reasons. However, there are certain factors that many of these individuals have in common. They include a lack of adequate education and job skills. A majority of the teenagers and adults have not completed high school.

    The abuse of alcohol and drugs is also a common factor. One third of the adult homeless population abuses alcohol, while one quarter of the same group uses drugs.

    Some members of this population suffer mental health problems. Within the past several years many institutions for the mentally ill have been closed and their patients sent “home”. Unfortunately, a number of those people have no home to go to and they are unable to adequately look after themselves.

    Job loss in today’s economy has also become a real factor in the loss of people’s homes. The breakup of families through abandonment and divorce is also contributing factors, particularly when there are children involved. The parent who is left to care for the kids with inadequate income may be forced to depend on the homeless shelters to put a roof over their heads.

 

1.The writer thinks that the U.S. government’s definition for the homeless shows _________.

A. an insincere attitude toward the homeless

B. an unbearable attitude toward the homeless

C. an uncivilized attitude toward the homeless

D. an unsympathetic attitude toward the homeless

2.The U.S. government helps the homeless by _________.

A. giving them homeless allowance           B. giving them food stamps

C. finding jobs for them                        D. finding residence (a place to live) for them

3.People become homeless for all the following reasons EXCEPT _________.

A. the lack of adequate education

B. the abuse of alcohol and drugs

C. the closure of institutions for the mentally ill

D. the poor performance of economy

4.The breakup of families is likely to lead to homelessness because a parent with kids may _________.

A. lose his or her job in today’s economy

B. be unable to look after the kids

C. not have enough income

D. find residence at a homeless shelter

 

 

I feel very excited at the thought that in another week I shall be with you again on holiday. I have enjoyed my stay in England very much indeed. Mr Brown and classmates are nice to me, but, as they say in England, “There’s no place like home.” and I think you feel this above all at Christmas time.

I am leaving here early on Thursday, the 23rd, and I shall arrive in Basle on Friday morning, so I shall be home somewhere about lunchtime. Can you meet me at the station, as I shall have a lot of luggage?

In some of my earlier letters I have told you all about the other students here. Well, I want to ask my Polish friend Jan to come and spend Christmas with us. Will that be all right? His father and mother died last year, he can go home for Christmas, and he has no friend in England except the Browns. He is a nice boy. I know you all like him, and I feel sure he will enjoy Christmas with us. It is very short notice, but you are always pleased, I know, if we bring our friends home. however, I have not yet invited him, as I thought it was better to ask you first. Please let me know as soon as possible if it will be all right.

The writer was very excited at the thought that ________.

A. she would be back home with her new friend

B. she would be with her parents in another week

C. her parents wanted to see her very much

D. she would go on staying in England

She wanted some one to meet her because ________.

A. she was told to do so                          B. she would be tired out after the trip

C. she would carry a pile of things            D. she didn’t know where the station was

The underlined sentence “There’s no place like home” means ________.

A. There is not a place that the writer likes     

B. There is no place that the writer can live in

C. The writer’s home is not in London in fact   

D. East and west, home is best

These paragraphs are taken out of a ________.

A. magazine              B. letter                  C. book                  D. newspaper

How the iron of tomorrow (the first Self Clean Iron)can change your lifestyle today?

General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.How? With a push of a magic blue button.

The magic blue button.The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits  that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.

Less chance of brown spotsSure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.Steams much longerCommon sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.What does it mean to youToday you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids. You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better housemaker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.

Lifestlye.We’re with yours. GENERAL ELECTRIC

9.This passage is ______.

A.an introduction to General Electric     B.an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron

C.an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron  D.a description of the change of lifestyle

10.This iron can clean itself by ______.

A.empting itself                       B.washing out mineral deposits 

C.blocking up mineral deposits          D.giving off more steam

11.According to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?

A.It is made by General Electric.            

B.The iron will not produce mineral deposits.

C.There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.

D.Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.

12.Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because ______.

A.you can run your house better         B.you don’t have to run after the kids

C.you can use it while you are working    D.we want you to be a better housemaker

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the largest cities in the world. It is also one of the world’s most modern cities. Twice last century, the city was destroyed and rebuilt. In 1923 a major earthquake struck the city. Thousands of people were killed and millions were left homeless as buildings collapsed and fires broke out throughout Tokyo. It took seven years to rebuild the city. During World War II, Tokyo was destroyed once again. As a result of these disasters, there is nothing of old Tokyo remaining in the downtown area.
After the war, the people of Tokyo began to rebuild their city. Buildings went up at a fantastic rate, and between1945 and 1960, the city’s population more than doubled. Because of the Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964, many new stadiums, parks and hotels were built to treat visitors from all over the world. As a result of this rapid development, however, many problems have risen. Housing shortage, pollution, and waste disposal(处理) have presented serious challenges to the city, but the government has begun several programs to answer them.
【小题1】What kind of city is Tokyo?
A historic city.          　 B. A world famous seaport.
C. A highly modernized city.   D. A most attractive (有吸引力的) city for tourists.
【小题2】What major(主要的) event(s) happened in Tokyo last century?

A．Its population was doubled.

B．It was twice destroyed by natural disasters and was twice rebuilt.

C．Serious social problems emerged.(出现)

D．It was ruined by an earthquake and a war, but was twice rebuilt.

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

A．Housing shortage.	B．Waste disposal.
C．Heavy traffic.	D．Pollution.

【小题4】What has brought so many problems to Tokyo today?

A．A severe (严重) earthquake and the Second World War.

B．The foreign occupation (占领) after the war.

C．The population explosion between 1945 and 1960.

D．The rapid development of the city after the war.

According to the United States government, people are classified as homeless if they have no place to stay and no expectation of finding a place for the next thirty days．Although technically accurate, that is an impersonal assessment of an enormous and very human problem．

       The homeless population represents all of us Americans．It includes men and women, the elderly, children, and infants．Its members are from all ethnic groups．What they have in common is poverty．

       Currently in the U．S．, thirty-nine million people live in poverty．When money is really tight, paying the rent or buying food often becomes a choice．Government assistance in the form of food stamps does help but, as one homeless man explains, you can’t pay the rent with food stamps．

       With no money for rent, the streets and homeless shelters become the alternative．

       Although men constitute the largest group within the homeless population, homeless women with children are rapidly joining them．In fact, one quarter of the homeless people in the U．S．are teenagers and young children．

       People may become homeless for numerous reasons．However, there are certain factors that many of these individuals have in common．They include a lack of adequate education and job skills．A majority of the teenagers and adults have not completed high school．

       The abuse of alcohol and drugs is also a common factor．One third of the adult homeless population abuses alcohol．While one quarter of the same group uses drugs．

       Some members of this population suffer mental health problems．Within the past several years many institutions for the mentally ill have been closed and their patients sent “home”．Unfortunately, a number of those people have no home to go to and they are unable to adequately look after themselves．

       Job loss in today’s economy has also become a real factor in the loss of people’s homes．The breakup of families through abandonment and divorce are also contributing factors, particularly when there are children involved．The parent who is left to care for the kids with inadequate income may be forced to depend on the homeless shelters to put a roof over their heads．

The writer thinks that the U．S．government’s definition for the homeless reveals ________．

       A．an insincere attitude toward the homeless

       B．an unbearable attitude toward the homeless

       C．an uncivilized attitude toward the homeless

       D．an unsympathetic attitude toward the homeless

The U．S．government helps the homeless by ___________．

       A．giving them homeless allowance

       B．giving them food stamps

       C．finding jobs for them

       D．finding residence for them

People become homeless for all the following reasons E  XCEPT __________．

       A．the lack of adequate education

       B．the abuse of alcohol and drugs

       C．the closure of institutions for the mentally ill

       D．the poor performance of economy

The breakup of families is likely to lead to homelessness because a parent with kids may_____．

       A．lose his or her job in today’s economy

       B．be unable to look after the kids

       C．not have enough income

       D．find residence at a homeless shelter