America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history. Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings.
But just a short walk from Manhattan’s skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel.
Brown is homeless——one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street.
During the day, Brown collects aluminum cans and sells them for five cents a piece. At night, he sleeps on the street.
“I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that,” said the 62-year-old former construction worker.
Brown admits he had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine. But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement. He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available.
However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York.
With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand.
A US report shows rents in New York City rose more than 27 per cent, from ＄549 to ＄700 a month.
One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up.
The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help.
But few housing companies are building for the poor. Many small apartments in the city now rent for ＄1,500 a month or more.
Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her. She is angry about his drinking and won’t allow it in her house.
Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he’d like to see more often. “All I’ve got to do is clean up my act,” he said.
【小题1】What kind of life does George Brown lead?

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
A woman in her sixties lived alone in her little cottage（村舍）with a pear tree at her door. She spent all her time taking care of the tree. But the children nearby drove her  36  by making fun of her. They would climb her tree and then run away with pears,  37   “Aunty Misery” at her.  One evening, a passer-by（过路者） asked to  38  for the night. Seeing that he had an 39  face, she let him in and gave him a nice  40  . The next morning the stranger, actually a sorcerer (巫师), thanked her by granting (允准) her  41  that anyone who climbed up her tree  42  not be able to come back down until she  43  it.                                                                                                                                                                                               When the children came back to steal her  44 , she had them stuck（粘）on the tree. They had to beg her long  45  she gave the tree permission to let  46  go. Aunty Misery was free from the  47  at last.                                                                                        One day another man   48  her door. This one did not look trustworthy（值得相信的）to her,   49   she asked who he was . “I am Death, I’ve come to take you   50   me.” said he.                                                   Thinking fast, Aunty Misery said, “Fine, but I’d like to  51  some pears from my dear tree to remember the  52  it brought to me in this life. But I am too  53  to climb high to get the best fruit. Will you be so   54   as to do it for me?” With a deep sigh (叹气), Mr. Death climbed up the tree 55 and was immediately stuck to it. No matter how much he warned or begged, Aunty Misery would not allow the tree to let Death go.                                                               
36．A．hopeless      B．painful           C．dull            D．crazy               
37．A．calling       B．shouting          C．announcing     D．whispering                       
38．A．stay          B．live             C．hide            D．lie               
39．A．interesting     B．honest            C．anxious          D．angry                   
40．A．gift            B．kiss              C．treat           D．smile                   
41．A．suggestion    B．demand           C．permission         D．wish                  
42．A．could        B．should            C．might          D．must                 
43．A．permitted     B．promised         C．answered        D．declared
44．A．branch        B．food             C．tree            D．fruit                     
45．A．after              B．while         C．since              D．before                      
46．A．it               B．them           C．him               D．her                        
47．A．trick               B．question        C．trouble            D．difficulty               
48．A．stepped into         B．left for        C．stopped at          D．walked around   
49．A．so                B．but            C．although          D．because               
50．A．with             B．off            C．upon             D．for                      
51．A．choose           B．pick           C．shake            D．hit                          
52．A．honor             B．pleasure             C．hope             D．excitement                     
53．A．light              B．short         C．old              D．thin                 
54．A．proud             B．kind           C．fine             D．smart
55．A．disappointedly   B．cheerfully         C．unwillingly       D．eagerly

It’s you and I who are to blame for the state of the earth. No question about it. It’s our life-style that is threatening life on Earth, so we must make the changes. The good news is that many of those changes are really quite simple, even enjoyable, but for every careful step we take as individuals , we must press government and industry to take a big step on our benefit . And we must start now. Tomorrow’s too late.
My aim this year is to persuade as many of my friends and colleagues as possible to choose the train, and leave their cars behind too. My gardens have been pesticide(杀虫剂)–free zones for years and I enjoy seeing more wildlife on my doorstep as a result; I’ve tried to reduce my contribution to water pollution too, by using environment-friendly, phosphate(磷)–free washing powder , and by no longer thinking of the toilet as a suitable waste-disposal(处理) point .
I ran after a young lady through town recently to give her back the piece of paper she had carelessly thrown away. She disappeared into a shop, and when I followed her inside and made my presentation, she was doubly embarrassed--she worked there, and the boss gave her a ticking–off too. I’ve started asking fellow drivers at gas stations why they aren’t using unleaded (无铅的) petrol . These are small things, but we have to start somewhere, and every little does help .
【小题1】To help the environment, the author is trying to do everything mentioned below EXCEPT        .

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
    With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was supper time, I walked back home.
“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God, Russell!”
    Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
    Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
    One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
   My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
56、 Why did the boy start his job young?

57、From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

 58、What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

59、 What does the underlined phrase “this battle” refer to?

60、 What is the text mainly about?

第二节 完型填空(共20小题；每小题l.5分。满分30分)
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
I’ve always had strong opinions of how love should be expressed, but others had their own ways of showing care.
What I   36   most about visiting my boyfriend’s parents is the loud tick of the clock in the dining room as we   37   ate our meal. With so little conversation I was quick to   38  his family as cold. When we got into the   39   to go home, his father suddenly appeared. 40   , he began to wash his son’s windscreen. I could feel he is a caring man through the glass.
I learned another lesson about love a few years later. My father often  41   me early in the morning. “Buy Xerox. It’s a good sharp price,” he might say when I answered the phone. No pleasant  42  or inquiry about my life ,just financial instructions. This manner of his  43  me and we often quarreled. But one day, I thought about my father’s success in business and realized that his concern for my financial security lay behind his  44    morning calls. The next time he called and told me to buy a stock, I  45   him.
When my social style has conflicted with that of my friends, I’ve often felt   46  . For example, I always return phone calls   47   and regularly contact with my friends. I expect the same from them. I had one friend who rarely called, answering my messages with short e-mails. I rushed to the   48   : She wasn’t a good friend! My anger   49    as the holidays approached. But then she came to a gathering I   50  and handed me a beautiful dress I had fallen in love with when we did some window-shopping the previous month. I was   51    at her thoughtfulness, and regretful for how I’d considered her to be   52   . Clearly I needed to change my expectations of friends.
Far too often, I ignored their   53    expressions, eagerly expecting them to do things in my   54   .Over the years, however, I’ve learned to   55    other persons, love signs.
36. A. remember      B. enjoy           C. value          D. admire
37. A. excitedly       B. nervously       C. silently         D. instantly
38. A. regard         B. treat            C. take           D. think
39. A. bus           B. train            C. car             D. plane
40. A. Punctually     B. Carefully        C. Proudly         D. Coldly
41. A. visited        B. interrupted       C. warned          D. telephoned
42. A. greeting       B. meeting          C. apology         D. explanation
43. A. interested      B. angered          C. encouraged      D. surprised
44. A. long         B. short            C. warm           D. polite
45. A. praised       B. remembered       C. blamed         D. thanked
46. A. content       B. guilty            C. curious         D. disappointed
47. A. in order      B. in turn            C. without delay    D. without difficulty
48. A. feeling       B. suggestion        C. judgment        D. belief
49. A. disappeared   B. grew             C. helped          D. declined
50. A. opened       B. refused          C. hosted           D. invited
51. A. depressed    B. upset            C. fascinated         D. shocked
52. A. uncaring     B. dishonest         C. unhappy          D. uncooperative
53. A. unique       B. common         C. pleasant         D. familiar
54. A. opinion      B. way              C. mind           D. life
55. A. send         B. read             C. give            D. express