Nobody Benefits
NEW YORK—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 aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece．At night, he sleeps on the street．w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m
"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's 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 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $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 have been built for the poor．Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $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．
【小题1】What kind of life does George Brown lead?

A．Homeless and dangerous．

B．Homeless and childish．

C．Homeless and miserable （痛苦的）．

D．Homeless and sleepless．

【小题2】From George Brown's life we can find that ______.

A．old Americans lead a hard life

B．old Americans want to live alone

C．American cities are crowded with poor people w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

D．bad habits play a role in some poor people's Life

【小题3】It can be inferred from this passage that ______.

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

【小题4】If this passage comes from a paper, on which page would it be?

A．Society．

B．Science．

C．Economy．

D．Business．

Going to school from 8 am until 5 pm may sound terrible，but Sydney Shaw，a seventh grader at the Alain Locke Charter Academy on Chicago's West Side，has come to like it—as well as the extra 20 or so days that she's in class every year．“I'm sure every kid at this school says bad things about the schedule sometimes，”says Sydney, who was at school on Columbus Day, when most Chicago schools had a holiday．“But we all know it's for our benefit.”
Finding ways to give kids more classroom time，through longer hours，a longer school year，or both，is getting more attention．“If you want to look at schools where the achievement gap is narrowing, they're saying they couldn't do it without the added time，”says Jennifer Davis．“Even when you get good teachers into schools，you also need more time．”
According to studies, low-income students fall back more than two months in their reading skills over summer vacations．“It's over the summer months that poor kids fall behind，”says Karl Alexander，a sociologist．“If you have parents who themselves didn't succeed at school and aren't highly educated，kids aren't going to get those skills at home．”
Schools are asked to take a full year to plan how to best use the extra time—a process involving teachers，principals，students and parents．They are given outside support to help them base their plans on the best available analyses of student needs．It's still early，but officials are already seeing stronger test scores and a narrowing achievement gap．
But some critics are worried．“We risk producing something that's very expensive and time-consuming, and that will give educators a lot of trouble，”says Frederick Hess．“Before we spend all that extra money，I'd much rather see if we can figure out how to get 50 percent more instructional time out of the current school day．”
【小题1】From the first paragraph，we learn that      ．

A．the longer schedule is harmful to kid's health

B．all Chicago students had a holiday on Columbus Day

C．Sydney Shaw supports the added time

D．few kids are bored with the lack of holidays

【小题2】Low-income students fall behind in summer because      ．

A．no good teachers are willing to teach them

B．they can't get help from their parents

C．their parents are unwilling to hire private teachers

D．they themselves have no desire to learn

【小题3】Some people are worried about adding school hours mainly because      ．

A．it will have a bad effect on the kids’ futures

B．the current school day has been too busy

C．no one supports the idea

D．it will be costly and time-consuming

【小题4】The text is mainly about      ．

A．whether a longer school day will help narrow the achievement gap

B．how students have benefited from additional school hours

C．why the achievement gap among students needs to be narrowed

D．what causes the achievement gap among students

Can you imagine living in a house built by recycled waste?
Texas home builder Dan Phillips transforms trash into artful treasures, creating beautiful floors with wood pieces, kitchen counters from ivory -colored bones and roofs out of license plates （牌照）．
The fantastic houses which spring from his imagination are made almost entirely of materials which would otherwise have ended up in a garbage area．
" People have been doing this for hundreds of thousands of years; using whatever is available to build shelter, " Phillips said．"If you think about carefully what could be used, then building materials are everywhere．
The thirteen homes he has built so far would fit better in an art museum than the residential streets of Huntsville, a conservative town of about 35 ,000 people．
Living in these houses is a bit like living in a roadside attraction．"Almost every day, somebody knocks on the door and says ' Is there any way that we could see?' "said Edie Wells, an artist who rents a room in the Bone House．Her home features a stairway made of bones, floors covered in wine corks （软木塞） and beer bottle caps．Wells said visitors are most impressed when they see a bathroom with its walls, floor and ceiling entirely covered with broken mirror pieces．
In addition, each house is highly energy efficient with plenty insulation （隔热材料） , an on-demand solar hot water heater and a system that can collect and recycle rainwater to clean the toilet and wash clothes．
Phillips founded Phoenix Commotion 12 years ago with the aim of creating a new model for sustainable housing．For as little as $ 10,000 it builds affordable homes for single parents, low-income families and artists．
The company has used hundreds of tons of construction waste by recycling the materials into habitable buildings．
Phillips tries to spread his recycled-house idea by speaking at events across the United States, and by using the Internet to reach out to like-minded individuals．Phillips said: "I'm not going to be saving the world anytime soon．But there needs to be at least some visibility for this model in this century．
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT the advantage of the homes built by Phillips?

A．environmentally-friendly	B．energy efficient
C．convenient	D．cheap

【小题2】What do we know about Dan Phillips?

A．He is serious and hard-working．

B．He is full of imagination and intelligence．

C．It didn't take him long to build the houses．

D．He didn't give speeches in the United States．

【小题3】According to the passage, the houses are like artful treasures because they are           .

A．made of bones	B．museums
C．admired by people	D．made of various trash

【小题4】Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．Home Builder Dan Phillips

B．Green Homes

C．Home Builder Dan Phillips Tunis Trash into Green Homes

D．A Home Builder' s Life

Salvation Army Angel Program
Angel Tree collects gifts for children and families in need. Participate by selecting an angel from any Angel Tree at all Cyprus Credit Union location or any Utah Macy's Department store. Shop for your angel, then return your new, unwrapped gift to the same Angel Tree. Gifts must be returned before December 14. For more information, call (801) 988-5678 in the Salt Lake area,(801) 374-2588 in the Provo area. 
Utah Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities Holiday Gift Box Program
The program serves primarily low-income adults with intellectual disabilities who don't qualify for other programs because of age limits, said Joyce Whalen, the association's board president. To donate, visit the association at 1326 S.2100 East from 9am to about 5:30 pm to choose an ornament(装饰物) that provides information about an individual who will benefit from the program. Shop for new items and return them by December 14. Donations of generic items, such as towels, socks and hygiene products also accepted, as are monetary donations. For more information, call 801-440-1674.
Utah Foster Care Foundation's Giving Tree Program
The program seeks new gifts and cash donations to fulfill the holiday wishes of more than 1,000 children in state-licensed foster homes." Many of the children in care have been removed from their biological homes because of neglect or abuse," said Nikki Mackay, the foundation's director. " Christmas can be a difficult time for them." To learn how to support the program, call 877-505-5437.
Utah State Hospital Forgotten Patient Program
The program provides Christmas gifts for hundreds of patients with mental illness. In the history of the program--which may go back as far as 60 years, organizer Shawna Peterson said, "we've never had a forgotten patient." And she doesn't want this year to change that. To support the program, contact Peterson at 801-344-6088. 
【小题1】After you buy an angel, you should ________.

A．post it to where you bought	B．open its package to examine it
C．send it to families in need for yourself	D．bring it back in its original form

【小题2】If you want to help adults with intellectual disabilities, you should call_____.

A．801-440-1674	B．801-988-5678
C．877-505-5437	D．801-344-6088

【小题3】   The underlined phrases "biological homes" in the third program refers to ______.

A．homes where they are just brought up

B．homes where their natural parents live

C．homes where they learn biology

D．homes where are related to bacteria

【小题4】   From the last program, we can infer that ______.
A. the patients often forgot to come to the hospital
B. the patients are often forgotten to be looked after
C. the patients are being taken good care of
the patients had a poor memory in the hospital

The $586 billion economic stimulus(刺激)package that China announced on Sunday may not be quite as large as it seemed at first sight, but it shows just how seriously the authorities in Beijing take the threat of a slowdown following the international financial crisis. On the face of it, the package of tax cuts, higher public spending, and easier credit makes up the largest such stimulus in history.

The new policy gives President Hu Jintao something to show fellow world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Washington on Saturday as they seek ways out of the financial crisis.

“We must carry out the measures to ensure fast and stable economic development ,” Premier Wen Jiabao told government leaders on Monday. “They are not only for the needs of our own development but also our biggest contribution to the world.”

At first, stock markets(股市) jumped on news of the package, in the hope that if China’s economy continues to grow, it might help other nations go through the expected global decline in economy by offering a market for their exports.

The stimulus package is designed to reduce the effects of falling exports  on China’s own economy, encouraging investment （投资）and consumption （消费）at home. That, the government says, should keep the world’s fastest-growing economy on a “steady and relatively fast” growth track despite the depressing international climate.

The State Council（国务院），China’s cabinet， said it would target spending over the next two years on low-income housing, rural construction, water and electricity supplies, technological innovation(创新)，and recovery from disasters such as the May 12 earthquake. If the plan is carried out, its focus on projects benefiting China’s poorer citizens, rather than on traditional large-scale industrial development, will strengthen the government’s policy of building a “harmonious society” that bridges the present gap between the rich and the poor.

72. China’s economic stimulus package  ______ .

A. shows its serious attitude towards the international financial crisis

B. has stimulated the world’s economy greatly

C. mainly focuses on higher public spending

D. is as large as it seemed at first sight

73. According to Wen jiabao, China’s measures will ______.

A. make the world’s economy grow faster

B. ensure fast economic and cultural development in China

C. be only needed for China’s own development

D. be its biggest contribution to the world

74. How can the new policy reduce the effects of falling exports on China’s own economy? ______

A. By keeping China’s economy one of the world’s fastest growing ones.

B. By making China’s economy the fastest growing one in the world.

C. By encouraging investment and consumption at home.

D. By getting rid of the depressing international climate.

75. What’s the final aim of the new policy? ______

A. To build traditional large-scale industries.

B. To reconstruct the earthquake-hit area.

C. To build a harmonious society throughout China.

D. To provide housing for low-income people.