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!

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

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.

3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Owners.                              B．Surveyors.

C．Lawyers.                              D．Collectors.

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

People in Britain 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 buyer 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. Congratulation!

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, e, d, c

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

According to the passage, these statements are correct EXCEPT ___________.

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

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

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

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

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

       A. Collectors.                             B. Owners.

C. Lawyers.                                   D. Surveyors.

The passage is maybe one that _______________.

       A. give some advice on the house         B. give some tips to buyers

       C. introduces a book on travelers         D. introduces a guide to visitors

Bum rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $ 50,000 a month when my new media company started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. “Angel money” it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small.

　　With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital companies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold.

　　As I was searching for “angel money”, I started to build a team who trusted me even though I didn't have money for paychecks yet.

　　Bill Becker was an expert in computer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I.T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology “guy” in-house.

　　Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him.

　　We had some really good people, but we still didn't have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constant companions. She ran a very good business at the time.

　　Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success.

　　She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000.

　　I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven.

　　“I have confidence in your plan,” she said. “You' 11 do well. You're going to work hard for it, but it' s satisfying when you build your own company.”

　　Who would have thought I'd find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed.

1.For a newly-established business, bum rate refers to___________.

A. the salary it pays to its staff　         B. the interest it pays to the bank

C. the way in which it raises capital　  　 D. the speed at which it spends money

2.By "Angel money", the author refers to__________.

A. the money borrowed from banks　  　 B. the money spent to promote sales

C. the money raised from close friends　　 D. the money needed to start a business

3.To get help from a venture-capital company, you may have to__________.

put up with unfair terms　         　B. change your business line

C. enlarge your business scope      　　 D. let them operate your business

4.The author easily built a team for his company because__________.

A. they were underpaid at their previous jobs

B. they were turned down by other companies

C. they were confident of the author and his business

D. they were satisfied with the salaries in his company

5. Louise decided to lend money to the author because__________.

A. she wanted to join his company

B. she knew he would build a team

C. she knew his plan would succeed

D. she wanted to help promote his sales

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节 （共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
A
A businessman walks into a bank in San Francisco and asks for the loan officer. He says he is going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000．The bank officer says  the bank will need some kind of security for such a loan. So the businessman hands over the keys to a Rolls Royce parked on the street in front of the bank. Everything checks out, and the bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. An employee drives the Rolls into the bank’s underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the businessman returns, and repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41.
The loan officer says, “We are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction(业务) has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is that why would you bother to borrow $5,000?”
Laughing, the businessman replies, “Where else in San Francisco can I park my car for two weeks for $15?”
46．The businessman walks into the bank with the true purpose of _________.
A．borrowing $5,000                     B．meeting the loan officer
C．finding a place to park his car        D．showing how rich he is
47．The loan officer is puzzled because _________.
A．he never thought he could meet a multimillionaire in his bank   
B．he thinks the businessman is crazy to leave his car in the bank
C．he never thought the businessman could drive a Rolls Royce  
D．he thinks $5,000 is so small a sum of money to the businessman
48．The underlined word “collateral” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “_________”.
A．security           B．payment       C．reward      D．deal
49．Which of the following words can best describe the businessman according to the story?
A．Honest.          B．Clever.           C．Rich.             D．Kind.

Britain’s seed(种子) bank, the only one in the world aiming to collect all of the planet’s wild plant species, has reached its goal of banking 10 percent by 2010.
The Millennium Seed Bank Project, run by Kew Gardens—one of the oldest botanical(植物的)  gardens—will officially place the 24,200th species on Thursday, a pink, wild banana from China.
More than 50 countries are now on board with Kew's giant task but vast places of the globe, including India and Brazil, still need to join in and donate seeds, director Paul Smith said.                                                                                                                                                            
The seed bank is one of the largest and most diverse(多样的) in the world with more than 1.5 billion seeds. Its goal is to help protect the planet’s bio-diversity during a time of climate change.
The wild banana seed is under threat of extinction(灭绝) in southwest China from agricultural development. It is a vital food source for Asian elephants and important for growing bananas for human eating.
Stored at minus-20 degrees centigrade, so they can last for thousands of years, the seeds await the day that scientists hope never comes—when the species no longer exist in the wild.
It is a race against time, Smith said, because in the last ten years alone, 20 plants held in the bank have already been wiped out in the wild. He estimates that between a third and a quarter will become extinct this century.
"It is pressing and it is happening now. An area, the size of England, is cleared of primary vegetation（植被）every year." Smith said.
Because most of the world's food and medicines come from nature, protecting wild plant species is quite important, scientists say. There are already many other seed banks safeguarding food crops, which only account for 0.6 percent of plant diversity.
For Kew's next goal—to collect a quarter of wild varieties（种类）by 2020—the botanists need 10 million pounds a year, or a further 100 million pounds on top of the 40 million they have already been granted.
【小题1】What’s the final purpose of the Britain’s seed bank?