56. Which of the following can be the greatest character of future houses?

  A. Fit for their owners’ need only.

B. Flexible for all kinds of uses.

  C. Useful to anybody at any time. 

D. Similar to somebody we know.

第II卷  非选择题（共53分）

第四部分  语言运用

Larry is an inventor,

sometimes he works      1     days a week when he’s got an idea.

In the morning,

he makes some      2      after he gets up.

During the daytime,

he doesn’t      3     anything until the evening while working.

In the evening,

he usually      4      at about nine o’clock.

The text mainly tells us

that Larry is good at      5     .

我们班有一个叫Frank的学生。他是个什么样的男孩？他有哪些爱好？他经常帮助父母做哪些家务？请根据所给的提示，选择方框中的词语，并写在答题纸相应的位置上。（只写字母，其中有两个多余选项。）

A. collecting stamps         B. water the flowers          C. join an English club

D. flying kites              E. tall                      F. having breakfast

G. skating                 H. sweep the floor            I. do the dishes

J. friendly                 K. hard-working              L. wash the clothes

55. Future homes will be like a family member because              .

  A. they can make us safe and comfortable

  B. they can offer to help us when possible

  C. they can look after us in many ways

  D. they can do everything a real person does

54. Who probably invented “picture windows”?

  A. Andersen.        B. Libby.              C. Heath.              D. Salas.

53. What is Grace, in fact?

  A. A new kind of house in future.

B. A company to make houses.

  C. A scientist who designs houses.

D. A built-in computer system.

52. How Kraus is now tells us          .

  A. he has achieved all he can

B. he has become a little better

  C. he has been as slow as before

D. he has got as much as possible

（C）

Few builders or scientists can describe what the house of the future might be like. But Grace can tell you. Grace is a talking house. Her high-tech parts and creative uses of everyday things along with advantages in design will change the way we think about our homes ?and live in them. Grace isn’t the only one study how technology (技术) can make our homes more safe, comfortable and fun. Here are some best ideas of home.

Grace is not a real house. More exactly known as the Microsoft Home, she is set inside an office building in Redmond, Washington. But once inside, it’s easy to imagine you’re in a future home.

Picture this: You enter the house, and Grace’s voice, from unseen speakers, retells your messages. In the kitchen, you put down a bag of flour (面粉) on the top of a stone table. Grace sees what you’re doing and projects a list of flour-based food on the tabletop. Once you choose one, Grace tells a list of ingredients (配料). There’s also a notice board in the kitchen that works like a computer. You can stick up postcards or invitations and look through the Internet with a finger (手指).

“The day when your home will be like a family member is not that far off,” says Pam Heath, a leader at Microsoft. This technology is everywhere yet nowhere (except when we want it). At the Andersen window company in Minnesota, new technology leader, Jay Libby, shows windows made of smart glass that can be changed into a television. “Nobody wants a TV set,” says Libby. “You want the service it provides.” If he gets his way, the term “picture window” will be used instead of usual television.

Home entertainment (娱乐) is just one consideration. At the Georgia University of Technology in Atlanta, scientists are designing systems (系统) that will allow older people to continue living alone. So Grandma’s home can be of different parts, such as waking, sleep and movement; any changes of family members would be noticed by computers.

If we’re going to live in our houses longer, they’ll need to be more flexible (可变的). The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) is working on houses that can be easily rebuilt. “As family changes, we want to achieve that, so older parents aren’t stuck with a house made for four kids,” says PATH engineer Glen Salas.

51. What does the underlined (划线的) sentence mean?

  A. Andrew Garud was praising Kraus.

  B. Andrew Garud wanted to make Kraus relaxed.

  C. Andrew Garud was encouraging Kraus.

  D. Andrew Garud wanted to make Kraus calm.

50. Who stopped Kraus from killing himself?

  A. His family members.                     B. The doctor.

  C. The exercise teacher.                      D. He himself.

49. Randy Kraus became paralyzed because of          .

  A. his work           B. his illness         C. his shaking       D. his age

48. The most expensive things are placed in the           places.

  A. middle             B. high                  C. low                  D. near

（B）

Randy Kraus was paralyzed (瘫痪). His left side was useless. But his right hand was good enough to lift a handbag over his head. Once, he had been a police officer in Fresno, California, and owned a small shop. Once, he had been strong and able. Now, he felt he was nothing.

His trouble started with Parkinson’s disease (帕金森病), but it didn’t end there. In July 2002, the 60-year-old Kraus had an operation (手术) to stop him from shaking (抖动). But after the operation he was paralyzed. The man could think but couldn’t move.

“You may never walk again,” the doctor told him. “Maybe you won’t even be able to talk.” At home, he found he couldn’t lift a fork or take a drink by himself. What did he have to live for? So now Kraus held the gun (枪) against his head. Feeling the cold metal on his skin, he began to consider not his pain (疼痛), but the pain he would cause to his wife, daughters and grandchildren. He didn’t pull the trigger (扳机).

And his exercise teacher, Andrew Garud, didn’t let him down. The progress would be slow, but the pain would be real. “As long as you are alive, you are able to get better.”

After three months of work, Kraus wanted to see if he could stand. He could. Then he took three steps, sat down and cried like a baby. One step, as they say, led to another. Next he managed a short walk along the side of a boxing ring in the health club where they worked out. It was the hardest fight of Kraus’ life.

Now, Kraus can brush his teeth, wash his face and get around the house with a walker. Little success only the paralyzed can fully understand.

47. To buy things we use every day in the supermarket, we have to          .

  A. pick up a basket                            B. look up and down

  C. walk along the aisles                      D. keep away from BOGOFs