Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble (气泡) and main sadness. Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply. According to a recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator (赤道) to Australia to find the priciest homes.

The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines. An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase. At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category. And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income. In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9.5 times the average income. Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure.

Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings. These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable. Land rationing (配给制) and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government.

Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California. America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes. Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas. Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes.

The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under.

1.To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____.

A．3 times or less of the average family’s income

B．4 times or less of the average family’s income

C．5 times or less of the average family’s income

D．9.5 times or less of the average family’s income

2.What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?

A．The rising family’s income.

B．The demand over supply.

C．The excessive development charges.

D．The decrease of land.

3.The underlined word “dismal” in Paragraph 3 may mean _____.

A．cheerful

B．satisfactory

C．difficult

D．gloomy

4.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．Affordable Houses

B．A House is a Dream First

C．Housing Bubble

D．Homes Too Expensive

 

阅读下列短文，根据所读内容在文章后的表格中填入恰当的单词。注意：表格中的每个空格只填1个单词。

Of all the emotions（情感）that flow through your head when you go back to college, shyness to be one of the biggest emotions present．Shyness and fear can stop you from becoming the active lcarner that you wish to be．You may be too shy to volunteer to lead a group or too filled with fear to raise your hand when you know the answer to a question．Here are some things you should pay attention to.

Don’t let your mind go elsewhere．You cannot be an active learner if you don’t know what’s going on in your class．There will always be a student or two that can disturb your focus because they are talking while a lesson is going on or their phone is going off constanty．Don’t let this trouble you.

Your voice matters．During class discussions it’s important to become active in the group conversations．Ask questions when proper, but not if they are unnecessary．For example, don’t ask a question that you know the answer to or can find the answer to easily just to become involved （参与）in a group discussion．Answer questions if you can．Try not to guess at the answers．if you get it wrong．you will feel embarrassed．If you feel embarrassed, you will be less likely to keep contributing．Stay involved with the discussion and voice your opinion on a debate.

Don’t just do the least．Check your curriculum and see what’s on it for your next class．Do some extra research that is not required to prepare yourself for possible discussions．Having extra input（输入）that was not in the text book will impress your tutor and your classmates.

Remember that if you are a shy person．it is going to be harder for you to become an active learner in class, but you determine your own level of involvement of involvement．in your education．You are in charge of how much you learn and when you learn it.

Title	I Iow to be an active
Problem	If you are        and fearful, you can’t be an active learner.
	◆Pay       while a lesson is going on. ◆Take part in group discussions               . Don’t ask too easy questions or       answers to questions.        your opinions when neccssary and proper. ◆Prepare yourself for possible discussions      of time.
	Whether you can be an active learner        on yourself, not others．

Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889 in London. Both his father and mother were entertainers and although not of big names, they were doing very well. While the family was by no means rich, the music hall provided the Chaplins with a comfortable living. Unfortunately happy life didn’t last long. Father’s alcoholism was slowly, but surely destroying his marriage. Finally it ended in divorce. His mother managed to keep Charlie and his brother Syney clean and warm, clothed and fed. She would sit at the window watching the passers-by and guess at their characters from the way they looked and behaved, making up tales to delight Charlie and Syney. Charlie took in her skills and went on using them all his life.
Charlie had always believed, even in the worst times, that he had something special locked away inside him. He took his courage and went to one of the top theater agents. With no experience at all, he was offered a plum part (意外得到的好角色) in a new production of “Sherlock Holmes”, which opened on July 27, 1903 at the famous “Pavilion Theatre”. Charlie seemed to change overnight. It was as if he had found the thing he was meant to do. By 1910, Charlie had become “one of the best pantomime (哑剧) artists ever seen ”.
Cinema was born in the same year as Charlie thought people still believed it was a passing fashion, and would never replace live shows. But after using several weeks to watch and to learn, he was determined to master this new medium. It offered him the chance of money and success—and it would set him free from the unpredictability of live audience.
Charlie’s first film, released in February 1914, was called “Making a living”. After that he made another ten. The public loved him and producers were demanding more and more Chaplin films. In an incredibly short time, Charlie had become a very important man in motion picture.
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT true about Charlie Chaplin?

A．Mother had much influence on Charlie Chaplin’s career.

B．“Sherlock Holmes” made Charlie rise to fame overnight.

C．Charlie had been famous when the cinema became a fashion.

D．Charlie’s work in both the theater and the cinema was welcomed.

【小题2】What can you infer from the passage?

A．Charlie Chaplin’s belief in his potential led to his success.

B．Charlie Chaplin got his first role in a film at 14.

C．Cinema was a form of art showing live performance.

D．Motion picture was a passing fashion lasting a short time.

【小题3】The underlined word “unpredictability” in Paragraph 3 means____________.

A．low spirits	B．opposing attitude
C．successful performance	D．changing state

【小题4】What is the passage mainly about?

A．Charlie Chaplin made the cinema industry popular.

B．Charlie Chaplin’s early success in his career.

C．Charlie Chaplin was a best pantomime artist.

D．Charlie Chaplin’s determination to do what he liked.

It often happens that a number of applicants with almost the same qualifications and experience all apply for the same position. In their educational background, special skills and work experience, there is little, if anything, to choose between half a dozen candidates. How then does the employer make a choice? Usually on the basis of an interview.

         There are many arguments for and against the interview as a way of selection. The main argument against it is that it results in a wholly subjective decision. As often as not, employers do not choose the best candidate. They choose the candidate who makes a good first impression on them. Some employers, of course, reply to this argument by saying that they have become so experienced in interviewing staff that they are able to make a good assessment of each candidate’s likely performance. The main argument in favor of the interview is that an employer is concerned not only with a candidate’s ability, but with his or her suitable personality for the particular work situation. Many employers, for example, will overlook occasional mistakes from their secretary if she has a pleasant personality.

         It is perhaps true to say, therefore, that the real purpose of an interview is not to assess the assessable aspects of each candidate but to make a guess at the things that are hard to measure, such as personality, character and social ability. Unfortunately, both for the employers and applicants for jobs, there are many people of great ability who simply do not interview well. There are also, of course, people who interview extremely well, but are later found to be very unsatisfactory employees. Candidates who interview well tend to be quietly confident, but never boastful（自夸的）, direct and straightforward in their questions and answers; cheerful and friendly, but never over-familiar; and sincerely enthusiastic and optimistic. Candidates who interview badly tend to be either very shy or over-confident. They either talk too little or never stop talking. They are either over polite or a bit rude.

1.People argue over the interview mainly because they have    .

A．different purposes in the interview

B．different experiences in interviews

C．different standards of selection

D．different ways of selection

2.The underlined word “subjective” means “based on one’s      rather than facts” ．

A．personality         B．character    C．opinion        D．ability

3.The purpose of the last paragraph is to indicate     

A．a link between success in interview and personality

B．connections between work abilities and personality

C．differences in interview experience

D．differences in personal behavior

4.What is the author’s attitude towards the interview?

A．He thinks it is a good way of selection

B．He doesn’t quite agree with it

C．He is neither for nor against it

D．It is not clear

 

The history of nomenclature (命名) in Britain is so old that no one knows the beginning of the story. Since written history began， people have had names. It is therefore impossible to do more than guess at how the earliest given names were chosen. Most names appear to have had some sort of original meaning， usually descriptive， rather than being simply a pleasing collection of sounds.

These descriptive names developed both from nouns and adjectives. The Irish Gaelic people  used descriptive nouns and adjectives which were meaningful. Early in prehistory some descriptive names began to be used again and again until they formed a name pool for that particular culture. Parents would choose names from the pool of existing names rather than invent new ones for their children.

With the rise of Christianity (基督教)， Christians were encouraged to name their children after the holy people of the church. These early Christian names can be found in many cultures today， in various forms. The pool of names in use in England changed basically after the Norman came in 1066. Then French names of Germanic origin became popular within three generations. As a result names like Emma， Matilda， Richard， and William， became common in English nomenclature. At the same time a few Old English names， like Edward and Alfred remained because they were names of holy people or kings； others were kept because they were used with slight changes by Germanic names from the Normans like Robert.

Surnames developed from bynames， which are additional ones used to differentiate people with the same given name.  These bynames fall into particular patterns.  These started out as specific  to a person and were taken down from father to son between the twelfth and sixteenth century. The noble usually used taken-down surnames early or the peasants did so later.

1.We can infer from the text that　　　　.

A.the first given names had not any actual meanings

B.people probably had names when there was no written language

C.the history of nomenclature is shorter than written history

D.names began to be used long after there was written language

2. The underlined word “they” (in Para.3) refers to “　　　　”.

A.Old English names               B.other names

C.names of Germanic origin  D.names of holy people

3.According to the text， which of the following statements is TRUE？

A.Robert is a Germanic name from the Normans.

B.Church didn’t encourage nomenclature used in the church.

C.Names like Emma and William were the most popular in 1066.

D.Names like Edward and Alfred were French names of Germanic origin.

4. Give the right order of surname development in history.

(a)People used bynames to differ people with the same given names.

(b)People chose given names from the pool of existing names.

(c)Bynames started out as specific to a person.

(d)Surnames became popular with common people.

(e)Surnames were taken down from father to son in noble families.

A.b-a-e-c-d          B.a-b-c-d-e   C.a-b-c-e-d         D.b-a-c-e-d

5. Which group of words can best describe the development of British nomenclature？

A.Additional， Particular and Various

B.Meaningful， Christian and Foreign

C.Descriptive， Meaningful and Germanic

D.Old English-styled， Christian and Original