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.
【小題1】What kind of life does George Brown lead?
| A．Stable. | B．Dangerous. | C．Hard. | D．Comfortable. |
| A．America is short of housing companies |
| B．the poor can’t benefit from the increasing economy |
| C．poor people in America will become rich |
| D．housing companies will build more houses for the poor |
| A．Society. | B．Science. | C．Arts. | D．Business. |
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唐印文化課時測評系列答案科目：高中英語 來源：江西省蓮塘一中2009-2010學年度高二下學期期末終結性測試卷（英語） 題型：閱讀理解
B
You are standing under the most famous neon lights in the centre of London, waiting to cross the road. Suddenly the traffic stops. You hear the distant sounds of cheering, clapping and shouting. Then, like a multi-colored train, 2, 000 people with wheels on their feet zoom past you. You have just witnessed the London Skate, a twice weekly roller-skate(溜旱冰) event that attracts people in their hundreds and thou-
sands London. Skate is a completely free tour of the streets of London -the only condition is that you go along on roller-skates. It lasts between two and three hours and by the end of it you have skated between 10 and 12 miles. The skate snakes round the streets of London along several different routes. Many of the routes pass by tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Marshals (交通協調員) go ahe- of the group, stopping the traffic so that people can skate as safely as possible. Everyone is welcome to take part and people from the age of 4 to 63 years old join the fun. "I love it very much, it is amazing. It feels just like a carnival (狂歡節)，" said Celeste Beverage regular skater.
Roller-skating is really taking off across Europe and America. It is a very good way to keep fit and can be practised anywhere there is a smooth surface. Many big cities in Western Europe and in the US now ha- ve a regular group skating event. The biggest skates take place in Paris and Munich and tens of thousands of fans show up on warm evenings. "Roller-skating is taking over the world," said Julian Grenoble, a 25- year-old ski shop employee from London. Grenoble went to the Paris-Roller (Paris skate) regularly until he moved to Britain.
"It's so exciting to skate in Paris. Everyone skates so fast and puts in their best efforts!" he said. The Paris Roller is well known because of the huge attendance, the presence of marshals and the police protection. Paris is a great city for roller-skating because of its long wide streets and smooth surfaces. Roller-skating is also becoming more popular in China among young people and children. Skating fans' favorite places to practise in China are big squares.
60. We can infer from the passage that London Skate Event ________.
A. is probably supported by the city government
B. attracts a great many tourists from all over the world
C. usually causes a lot of traffic problems
D. draws people of all ages into the sport
61. The underlined phrase "taking off " in the passage means________ .
A. rising from the ground
B. becoming popular
C. setting out
D. getting exciting
62. Paris is regarded as one of the most suitable places for roller-skating because ________.
A. a large number of roller players attend it
B. the police protect the roller skaters
C. the streets are safe, wide and smooth
D. the event usually takes place on warm evenings
63. This article mainly talks about________ .
A. places and streets for roller-skating
B. roller-skating in big cities
C. London Skate Event
D. roller skaters in different countries
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科目：高中英語 來源：2010年廣東省曾憲梓中學高二上學期英語10月月考英語卷 題型：閱讀理解
Michael was a farmer in Texas．His parents moved to the USA from Ireland in the 1940’s， and they became very rich．Michael decided to go back to Ireland to meet his old grandfather， who was still living on the same farm．
Michael booked his ticket，flew to Shannon airport，hired a car and drove to the small village where his parents had been born．He asked for directions to the Ohagan farm，and in the end he drove up a bumpy path．He was shocked by what he saw：a small field，and in the middle of it was an old house，which looked as if it was falling down．Animals were wandering in and out of the front door，and on the porch an old man was smoking a pipe.
“Are you Mr. Ohagan?”asked Michael。
“Yes，”replied the old mall．
“I'm your grandson，Michael，”said Michael．
“A--ha，”replied the old man．
“Is this your farm?”asked Michael．
“Yes，all the way to the wall over there，”said the old man．
Michael was astonished．“Grandfather,”he said，“I have a farm in Texas．I can get into my car and drive all day and I still haven’t reached the end of the farm．”
“Yes，”said his grandfather．“I used to have a car like that．”
【小題1】Michael’s parents _______．
| A．still lived in Ireland alone | B．owned a small farm in Texas |
| C．returned to their birthplace | D．were Irish immigrants（移民）in America |
| A．The farm was small | B．The old house looked like his own． |
| C．Living conditions were poor in the fields． | D．Animals were free in the fields． |
| A．owned a small farm, which extended only to the wall not far away |
| B．had so large a farm that he couldn’t cover it in a day |
| C．hadn’t his modern car any longer |
| D．used to have as good a car as his grandson’s |
| A．Michael owned a large farm in Ireland. |
| B．Michael’s car was in such poor condition that it couldn’t reach the end of the farm within a day． |
| C．Michael’s farm was too large for a car to reach its end in a day． |
| D．Michael didn’t know what to say to his grandfather |
| A．the old man really had a car like that |
| B．the old man knew his son’s farm in the US was quite large |
| C．the old man misunderstood what Michael said |
| D．the old man wanted to buy a car like that |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學年四川省雅安中學高一上學期入學模擬考試英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解
Do you want to live a happier, less stressful (有壓力的) life?
Try laughing for no reason at all. That’s how thousands of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world – and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy.
The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr Madan Kataria. “Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day,” says Dr Kataria. “Everyone’s naturally good at laughing – it’s the universal language. We want people to feel happy with their lives.” There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over 1,300 worldwide.
Many doctors are also interested in the effects (效果) of laughter on our health. According to a 5 – year study in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.
So, what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest – I wasn’t interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking stupid. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say “ho ho ho, ha ha ha,” while looking at each other. However, our bodies can’t tell the difference between fake laughter and real laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects.
Surprisingly, it works! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real – and some people just couldn’t stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed and comfortable I felt. So if you’re under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results!
【小題1】In which country was the first Laughter Club started?
| A．Britain. | B．America. | C．Australia. | D．India. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Pleased. | C．Nervous. | D．Stressful. |
| A．After a few minutes. | B．After a few hours. |
| C．After a few seconds. | D．After a few days. |
| A．Fake laughter and real laughter are both good for health. |
| B．40% of the people in Laughter Clubs are good friends. |
| C．Adults laugh more often than children in a day. |
| D．Laughing is the best way to prevent illness. |
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科目：高中英語 來源：上海市招生統一考試英語試卷 題型：其他題
Section B
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
|
A．additional |
B．producing |
C．regular |
D．predicted E. identified |
E atmosphere G. matched H. reducing I. carried J. increase
Forests in the northern half of the globe could be growing faster now than they were 200 years ago as a result of climate change, according to a study of trees in eastern America. The trees appear to have faster growth rates due to longer growing seasons and higher concentrations (濃度) of carbon dioxide in the ___41___.
Geoffrey Parker, a scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre in Edgewater. Maryland, said that the increase ha the rate of growth was unexpected and might be ___42___ to the higher temperatures and longer growing seasons documented in the region. The growth may also be influenced by the significant ___43___ in atmospheric CO2, he said.
"We made a list of reasons these forests could be growing faster and then excluded half of them," Dr. Parker said. Their study suggests that northern forests may become increasingly important in ___44___ the influence of man-made CO2 on the climate.
Dr. Parker and his colleagues have ___45___ out a detailed record of the trees on a(n) ___46___ basis since 1987. They calculated that due to the global warming the forest is producing ___47___ tons of wood each year.
The scientists ___48___ the land with trees at different stages of growth and found that both young and old trees were showing increased growth rate. More than 90 per cent of the tree groups had grown by between two and four times faster than the scientists had ___49___ from estimates of the long-term rates of growth.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
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