My fiance (未婚夫）and I were excited about shopping for our first home. But our funds (资金) were _______, and none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory.
One agent (代理人)_______ a house in particular. Although her description sounded wonderful, the price was _______ our range, so we declined (拒绝). But she kept urging (催促) us to have a look _______.
We finally did and it was _______ at first sight. It was Our Home, small and charming, overlooking a quiet lake. Walking through the rooms and talking with the owners, a nice elderly couple, we felt the warmth and _______ of the marriage within that home. As perfect as it was, the price remained too high for us. But every day, we would sit by the lake, looking at the house and dreaming of _______ it would be like to live there.
Days later, we made a(n)_______ —far below the asking price. Surprisingly, they didn’t _______ us. They renewed their offer ________. It was also much more than we could afford but far ________ than the original asking price.
The next day, we got a ________ message that another buyer had offered a much higher price. Even so, we decided to talk with the ________ directly. We made our final offer, which ________ was thousands of dollars less than the other buyer’s bid. We knew it,________ we had to try.
“Sold!” said the owner. Then he ________: He’d seen us sitting by the lake all those times; he knew how much we loved the place and that we’d ________ the years of work they had put into their home; he realized he would take a ________ by selling it to us, but it was worthwhile; we were the people they wanted to live there. He told us to consider the ________ in the price as “an early wedding present.”
That’s how we found our home and how I learned that when people are ________ they are not strangers, only friends we haven’t yet met.

【小题1】

A．needed B．limited C．enough D．large

【小题2】

A．recommended (推荐) B．decorated C．sold D．rented

【小题3】

A．below B．within C．beyond D．between

【小题4】

A．at least B．at most C．at times D．at band

【小题5】

A．relief B．concern C．love D．curiosity

【小题6】

A．pride B．happiness C．challenge D．desire

【小题7】

A．which B．why C．that D．what

【小题8】

A．effort B．offer C．promise D．profit

【小题9】

A．come across B．look after C．depend on D．laugh at

【小题10】

A．instead B．indeed C．aside D．apart

【小题11】

A．worse B．better C．less D．higher

【小题12】

A．relaxing B．disappointing C．pleasant D．regular

【小题13】

A．agents B．buyers C．managers D．owners

【小题14】

A．already B．still C．generally D．ever

【小题15】

A．so B．or C．for D．but

【小题16】

A．apologized B．complained C．criticized D．explained

【小题17】

A．check B．analyze C．appreciate D．ignore

【小题18】

A．loss B．risk C．chance D．lead

【小题19】

A．increase B．difference C．interest D．average

【小题20】

A．kind B．polite C．smart D．energetic

语法填空

Mike is a specialist in algebra and geometry. His only recreation is 【小题1】 (science) and technical inventions. He has published many articles in many famous journals and won several patents.

One day, he was invited to a seminar held by 【小题2】 enterprise. The participants were from all walks of life, 【小题3】 (include) officials, software programmers and futurologists.

Shortly after the seminar began, many issues were put forward, such as 【小题4】 (starve) in African countries, race discrimination in America and the conflicts in the Mid East. Permanent peace, 【小题5】 (equal) and happiness were what all the people wished for. Meanwhile, some digital 【小题6】 electronic products were presented.

Finally, Mike declared that he brought two new inventions. One was a kind of liquid 【小题7】 could remove stains on garments quickly; the other was a kind of material that could deal with poisonous chemicals in rivers. He was very outspoken. He said that pollution was very serious worldwide and that if we permitted the situation to go on, the outcome 【小题8】 (be) hard to imagine.

The organisation also encouraged people 【小题9】 (invest) money in poor countries. After the seminar, all the participants got some beautiful 【小题10】 (souvenir).

短文改错

In our life, everyone is surely to have difficulties. It is the same with me. I still remember how worried I am about my English learning three years ago. I had difficulty follow my teacher in the English class. With my classmates often laughing at me because of my poor English, I decided to do anything. Firstly, I took a part in the English Corner that I met many friends. They shared their methods of learning English with me. Beside, I also found it useful keep English diaries. What’s more, I talked with friends on the Internet and exchanged emails with English. As a result, I made great progresses in learning English.

   A ten-year-old boy from Howell, Michigan is being praised as a hero thanks to his persistence (坚持) that led to saving the life of an elderly neighbor. The event happened late in an evening when Danny DiPietro was being driven home from hockey practice by his mom.

That’s when the young boy noticed an open garage (车库) and a figure that he believed was a dog outside an apartment building near his house. Given the freezing weather, the young boy got a feeling that something was not right. But instead of dismissing it like most kids at his age, he insisted that his mother, Dawn, find out what was going on. Dawn tried to make Danny believe that no one would leave a dog out in such cold weather, but he refused to take no for an answer.

Dawn finally gave in and decided to drive to the area with the family dog and see if there was any truth in Danny’ s hunch (直觉). Sure enough, as she got closer to the apartment building she noticed a garage that was wide open and someone waving madly for help. Upon getting there, she realized that it was not a dog the young boy had seen, but Kathleen St. Onge. The 80-year-old woman had fallen down on some ice in front of her garage and had been lying there for two hours, unable to get up.

Dawn rushed home to get her husband to help and called 911. The two then returned with some blankets to cover Ms. St. Onge, while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Though still in hospital, the elderly woman is recovering well and forever grateful to Danny for following his hunch!

【小题1】When seeing a figure in front of an open garage, Danny ________.

A．recognized it was an old woman

B．thought it was a homeless dog

C．realized something was wrong

D．believed it was nothing important

【小题2】When Dawn got closer to the garage, she ________.

A．noticed the dog had gone away

B．knew Danny’s hunch was wrong

C．found an old lady waving for help

D．felt something must have been stolen

【小题3】Which of the following can best describe Danny?

A．Brave and patient.

B．Friendly and honest.

C．Considerate and positive.

D．Persistent and warm-hearted.

【小题4】What could be the best title for the passage?

A．Always Follow Your Hunch

B．Be Ready to Help Save the Elderly

C．An unknown Hero Brings Love and Hope

D．A 10-year-old Boy Saved His Elderly Neighbor’s Life

语法填空

A lot of people, who spend half their time dreaming up ways 【小题1】 (become) rich, are determined to become a millionaire. In fact, even if some of them get rich, they are not content with 【小题2】 (they) lives at all. 【小题3】, Charles Gray isn’t such 【小题4】 person. Today Charles Gray, who used to be a college professor with a huge six-bedroom house, lives in a small dormitory room 【小题5】 there is only second-hand furniture. But Charles appreciates this change. He feels happy to give 【小题6】 the lifestyle of a rich man, 【小题7】 (get) clothes or other things from charity shops.

A few years ago, Charles 【小题8】 (be) aware that there were a lot of people who were lacking in food, so he donated all his money to charity 【小题9】 (organization). In Charles’s opinion, most people never make much money and having only a little money 【小题10】 (make) one freer and happier.