I've been living in the country for more than 10 years. It means quietness, privac

A.poured

B.was pouring

C.was poured

D.pouring

A.A. l' ve been traveling a lot . In fact. l' ve been to threedifferent cities in the past week!

B.B. No , we've been living here for four years.

C.C. We grew up on the same block , so we were pretty used to each other by the time we got marrie

. Then everything changed. During the Fourth of July weekend, residents woke up one morning to find that the lake had disappeared. Some people didn't believe what they were seeing. They looked again, but to their amazement they found they had been right the first time. The lake was simply no longer there. In its place was a big muddy hole, 30 feet deep. It was as if the lake had been a giant bathtub and someone had pulled the plug. The lake's owner, Joseph Unanue, did indeed pull the plug. That's exactly what happened. The dam that held back the water to form. the lake was falling apart, so government officials ordered him to repair it. They issued him a permit to lower the dam level "five feet or more."He did much more. Mr. Unanue found repairs to the dam would cost $100,000. He didn't want to spend that much, so he opened the dam and lowered the water level until the lake was completely emptied. People living above the dam ended up with no lake. People living below the dam ended up with tons of mud and lots of dead fish. Everyone involved was angry with Mr. Unanue. Area residents believed Mr. Unanue acted out of spite(恶意). They said he wanted to get back at them because the town wouldn't let him develop an amusement park on the lakeshore. When he couldn't build his park, he just went away and took his lake with him.(2)、The lake was compared to a bathtub because it could be emptied out. ()

听力原文：W: What do you do for a living, Frank？

M: I am an aerospace engineer. I have been working for NASA for over fifteen years.

W: Wow, that sounds fascinating. What projects have you been involved in？

M: Well, until recently, I was heavily involved in the Cassini mission. I don't know if you're familiar with it or not. It's one of NASA's most expensive and ambitious projects. We are sending a probe to explore Saturn and its moons.

W: That sounds really interesting. Are you in any way involved in the construction of the international space station？

M: Actually, that's what I'm working on now. I'm currently a technical liaison between NASA and several European space agencies. It's an interesting job, but it can be a bit too much at times. The international space station is probably the largest international venture ever attempted, and I am constantly dealing with technical difficulties, budget problems, and delays. It's not easy coordinating the efforts of all those countries. I have been to Europe three times in the last month, and I have to go to Kazakhstan next week.

W: And I understand there's some controversy surrounding the space station. Don't some people worry that NASA is spending too much money on the project？

M: Many experts have complained that the project has grown out of control and become far too expensive. But I look at it as more than a space station; I believe it's helping to foster international scientific cooperation. It's nice to see the scientists of the world working together to create a stepping-stone to the future.

(20)

A．It plans to send a probe to explore the moon.

B．It's NASA's most expensive project so far.

C．It's an ambitious project.

D．It's involved in the construction of the American space station.

24 March

Dear Julie,

I'm sorry I haven't written for a while, but I've been busy at work and have spent almost all my spare time looking for a flat(公寓). I saw a really nice place this morning--a third floor flat with two bedrooms. I have been tired of living in this hotel.

I met a very nice Japanese couple(夫妇) the other night and they've asked me to spend a weekend with them at their house in the country. It'll be nice to get away from Tokyo for a few days. The only problem is that they don't speak much English, and my Japanese is still very poor.

By the way, I can't remember if I thanked you for the things you sent me. Believe me, they'll be really useful when I get a flat and start doing a bit of cooking for myself.

I'm afraid I'll have to finish now. Sorry it's a short letter but I've planned to go out with some friends. I'll write again at the end of the week. Until then, take care of yourself and give my love to Tim.

Love,

John

What does John do most of the time when he is not working？

A．He goes out with friends.

B．He takes Japanese lessons.

C．He looks for a place to live in.

that you don't see, isn't it？ Many Americans spend money that isn't even there and get deeper and deeper in debt. Why do so many people spend more than they have？ "Buy now, pay later" has become an American way of life. Recently, American households spent nearly 11 billion dollars more than they earned, creating a negative saving rate.

There are two ideas—one, living within your means, and the idea that living on debt is a great equalizer(平衡装置). They both have validity because it is important that someone live within their means over their lifetime. When people are young and they are earning money, but they have very little savings, they almost have to borrow in order to own a house or own a car. But as they grow older, they should develop the habit of saving, so that by the time they reach the end of their earning life, they have savings to live on in retirement, and live within their means.

"Buy now, pay later" worked very well for us in the 1990s, but one suspects it won't work forever. The only thing that concerns me is that Americans are so contented, so optimistic, so unconcerned about any bumps in the road that many American households, not all of them, but many American households are very heavily extended in personal credit, a lot of credit card debt. People are paying very high prices for houses and borrowing heavily against those prices; and if we do run into a bump in the road, a recession, there are going to be a lot of households, not all of them, but many households that Ml be severely squeezed. That means we're more vulnerable to serious financial distress than Japan is. Japan has been in financial distress for ten years, but one reason it's been able to weather that is that the households had been very conservative, had a lot of savings, were very liquid, and were able to weather difficult times. And many American households would now be less able to do that because they are so heavily in debt.

We know from the passage that credit cards

A．make Americans get deeper and deeper in debt

B．are likely to be abandoned by more Americans

C．will soon become a symbol of American life

D．will help solve potential financial problems

The English author (writer), Richard Savage, was once living in London in great poverty. In order to earn (make) a little money he had written the story of his life, but not many copies of the book had been sold in the shop, and Savage was living from hand to mouth. As a result of his lack of food he became very ill, but after a time, because of the skill of the doctor who had looked after him, he got well again. After a week or two the doctor sent a bill to Savage for his visits, but poor Savage hadn't any money and couldn't pay it. The doctor waited for another month and sent the bill again. But still no money came. After several weeks he sent it to him again asking for his money. In the end he came to Savage's house and asked him for payment, saying to Savage, "You know you owe your life to me and I expected some gratitude (thankfulness) from you."

"I agree," said Savage, "that I owe my life to you, and to prove to you that I am not ungrateful for your work I will give my life to you." With these words he handed to him two copies entitle, THE LIFE OF RICHARD SAVES.

The best title for this text should be "______".

A．A Poor English Writer

B．A Skilled Doctor

C．A Life for a Life

D．The Life of Richard Savage

A．used to live

B．used to living

C．was used to live

D．was used to living

Procrastination(犹豫不决) is a disease of the mind. A scientific study in recent years has shown that it is a close relative of sadness and attention disorder; that procrastinators tend to be the result of low self-confidence and are likely to experience anxiety.

The research has shown, what is more, that the illness has become quite common. Susan Robert, a behavioral psychologist who has written a book called Living With Procrastination., says that about a quarter of the adult population of the United States and Canada is reported to have serious problems with procrastination. " when we say 'serious' we mean people for whom procrastination causes great discomfort and suffering. We 've found that such people are more troubled by daily life than others, that possibility of anxieiy is much higher among them than in the rest of the population.

In a society driven by achievement, it is little wonder that not being able to work at full steam will bring people sadness. Surely, in the land of opportunity, this anxiety has produced an industry of experts offering solutions. Many books and specialist solutions have appeared. In exchange for $19. 95, Dr. Jerome Murray will send out an audio-cassette called "Protect your future from the thief of procrastination. " Dr. Murray promises that if you follow his step-by-step rules you will be empowered to "turn self-defeat into self-realization". "Since the start of the 1990s, procrastination has been taken more and more seriously , " said Dr. Roberts, who has been treating patients troubled by the condition for more than 20 years. "It is now recognized as a true mental heath problem and is being seen more as a psychological problem and less as a moral issue.

What is the main topic of this passage？

A．Don't hesitate to give up smoking.

B．Don't regard depression as not important.

C．Delay can be a sign of illness.

D．Don't work too hard to stay healthy.