No budget for your vacation? Try home exchanges ---- swapping houses with strangers. Agree to use each other’s cars, and you can save dollars on car rentals (租賃費), too.
Home exchanges are not new. At least one group, Intervac, has been facilitating such an arrangement since 1953. But trading online is gaining popularity these days, with several sites in operation, including Home Exchanges. Founded in 1992, with some 28,000 listings, this company bills itself as the world’s largest home exchange club, reporting that membership has increased 30% this year.
The annual fee is usually less than US$100. Members can access thousands of listings for apartments, villas, suburban homes and farms around the world. Initial contact is made via e-mail, with subsequent communication usually by phone. Before a match is made, potential swappers tend to discuss a lot.
However, the concept may sound risky to some people. What about theft? Damage? These are reasonable causes for concern, but equally unlikely. As one swapper puts it, “Nobody is going to fly across the ocean or drive 600 miles to come steal your TV. Besides, at the same time they’re staying in your home, you are staying in their home.”
Exchange sites recommend that swappers discuss such matters ahead of time. They may fill out an agreement spelling out who shoulders which responsibilities if a problem arises. It does not matter if the agreement would hold up in court, but it does give the exchangers a little satisfaction.
Generally, the biggest complaint among home exchangers has to do with different standards of cleanliness. Swappers are supposed to make sure their home is in order before they depart, but one person’s idea of “clean” may be more forgiving than another’s. Some owners say if they come back to a less-than-sparkling kitchen, it may be inconvenient but would not sour them on future exchanges.
小題1:What is the second paragraph mainly about? 
A．How to exchange homes.
B．The biggest home exchange agency Intervac.
C．The fact that home exchanges are not new.
D．A contrast between Intervac and Home Exchanges.
小題2:How do home exchangers normally begin their communication?
A．By phone.B．Via a matchmaker.
C．By e-mail.D．Via a face-to-face meeting.
小題3:What is recommended in the passage to deal with the concerns about theft and damage?
A．One can file a lawsuit in court.
B．Both parties can trade online.
C．One can damage the home of the other party in return.
D．Both parties can sign an agreement beforehand.

小題1:C
小題2:C
小題3:D

試題分析：文章大意：文章論述了假期時人們?yōu)榱藴p少開支，相互簽訂協(xié)議交換房子住的事。
小題1:C主旨大意題。第二段主要講述了“交換房子住”這種現(xiàn)象是如何越來越流行的。故C正確。
小題2:C細節(jié)理解題。由文章第三段第三句Initial contact is made via e-mail,  with subsequent communication usually by phone可知。故C正確。
小題3:D細節(jié)理解題。由文章第五段前兩句. . . swappers discuss such matters ahead of time. They may fill out an agreement. . . 可知。故D正確。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But Venezuela, whose beauty queens have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times, doesn’t leave it to chance. In Venezuela, girls as young as four can be found attending beauty schools, where they can learn a range of skills from how to walk to the correct way to hold a wine glass.
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Beauty contests are treated in Venezuela much as sporting competitions are elsewhere. Many Venezuelan parents believe that if their daughters can succeed and get the beauty crown, their future as famous and public persons is sure to come. As a result, the girls are trained to compete at a young age.
Among former beauty queens are Irene Saez, who went on to compete for the country’s president, and Eva Ekvall, whose battle with cancer helped to make more people know about the illness in Venezuela.
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A．Attending beauty schools as early as possible.
B．Wearing high-heels at times.
C．Washing your hair quite often.
D．Fighting against cancer bravely.
小題2:Girls try to win in the beauty contest to__________.
A．try plastic surgery
B．practice the country’s “machista” view
C．earn a good future
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小題3:We can learn from the passage that__________.
A．Venezuela girls have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times by chance
B．In Venezuela, people judge men and women in quite different ways
C．Eva Ekvall once competed for the country’s president
D．Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has spoken out against beauty contests
小題4:What does the underlined word “runner-up” in the last paragraph mean?
A．the news reporter covering the beauty contest
B．the organizer of the beauty contest
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Two weeks, 30 hours of instruction, three hours per day for children 11-14 years old. Pre-training in lifeguarding, and customer service ($45 per child)
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B. begins training at 6 A.M.
C. has to practice for two months
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A．To introduce Joe’ s hobbies.
B．To introduce a new website.
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小題1:The underlined phrase “reflecting on” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to      .
A．keeping onB．giving up C．thinking aboutD．getting angry
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D．You often refuse to answer your friend’s phone calls.
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A．a(chǎn)sk your friends whose fault on earth it is
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In this recent vacation, it wasn’t that we        enjoyed the various fun and new activities, the break away from routine, the pleasure of touring different countries and cultures, the         to do what we wanted when we wanted or the leisurely      of each day that was significant. What was significant was that we didn’t       fear the last day of vacation. You see, we know that we were        what we love to do not what we had to do.
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A．moments B．possibilities C．situations D．ways
小題2:
A．discouraging B．bitter C．wonderful D．funny
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A．come up B．count downC．give out D．die away
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A．opportunity B．desire C．possibility D．right
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A．a(chǎn)lthough B．a(chǎn)nd C．because D．if
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小題20:
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Earlier this year I traveled to Turkana in Kenya. I was there to take pictures of the “broken food system”.
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Sadly, the same can be heard in almost any developing country around the world. Almost one billion people go to bed hungry each night. The food system is broken. In Turkana, not enough rain has fallen since 2005. They measure(測量) rainfall not in days or weeks but in minutes. More and more people are being forced to rely on food aid, but people like Tede don’t want food aid. They want to work and develop their country. It’s our responsibility(責(zé)任) to change the situation so that they can support themselves.
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小題1: Why do people in Turkana no longer sing or dance any more?
A．Because they have no time.
B．Because they are tired of them.
C．Because they are always hungry.
D．Because they have other interesting things to do.
小題2:During the drought Tede had experienced, ______of his goats were killed.
A．200B．193C．7D．6
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A．He was a farmer in Kenya.
B．He has never received any food aid.
C．His traditional way of life ha s been changed.
D．He found it hard to raise animals after the drought.
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B．To tell readers the serious situation of food shortage(短缺).
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Have you got a Facebook account? Are you thinking of getting one? Jamie Simmonds has just signed up. Let's see how she's getting along.
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TUESDAY: I've received lots of nice welcoming messages on my wall. Later, I meet up with Steve for a drink after not seeing him for five years. We get on really well! Then, he uses his Facebook app for iPhone to suggest me as a friend to some other former classmates. Some of them even come to the pub and it's just like old times – possibly a bit too much like old times. During the night, photos are uploaded to Facebook.
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THURSDAY: There's a message from my boyfriend, “so, it's over then, is it?” Obviously I haven't changed my settings to show I'm “in a relationship”, and I haven't even added him as a friend. Ah, well, I wonder what my ex-boyfriend is doing… Whoops! I accidentally type his name into my status box instead of the search  and now every one can see it on their news feed.
FRIDAY: Time to update my status: “Work is boring. Can't wait for the weekend!” Oh, look, I've received a comment! Someone must feel the same way. Lots of my friends now “l(fā)ike” this status.
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In July 2010, Facebook had more than 500 million active users. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. Facebook is translated into more than 70 different languages. The world spends 700 billion minutes a month on Facebook. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook page says he's a Harvard graduate, even though he actually dropped out to focus on Facebook. The site is valued at between $7.9 and $11 billion.
小題1:Why did Jamie's boyfriend ask her whether she had broken up with him?
A．He had seen photos of Jamie dancing on the table.
B．She showed in her Facebook that she was still not dating anyone.
C．Her boyfriend was angry that she refused to add him as her friend.
D．He saw the name of her ex-boyfriend on his news feed.
小題2:Which of the following is expressed in this article?
A．Visiting Facebook website took up a large part of Jamie's time and energy.
B．Jamie is enthusiastic about her present job.
C．Facebook was created by a Harvard graduate, Mark Zuckerberg.
D．Compared with Facebook, Twitter is a better choice for Jamie.
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A．Being unfriendly to others.
B．Having a quarrel with somebody.
C．Removing a name from the friend list.
D．Ending friendship with somebody.
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A．Steve was Jamie's boyfriend in the university.
B．People all over the world spend 700 billion minutes a week on Facebook.
C．Jamie's mother saw her dancing on the table last night.
D．Jamie felt enthusiastic about Facebook at first.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

As demand for power and fuel grows steadily in the coming decades, we must consider every possible energy source（來源）on hand if we're to meet the world's needs. And because clean natural gas is found in great plenty, there is little doubt that it will play a major role on the world energy stage in this century, much like oil did in the last. But, like oil, gas reserves are concentrated in just a few places in the world, usually far from where they're needed most. And that's only part of the challenge. The world has had well over 100 years to search for oil and to build the necessary facilities（設(shè)施）to bring it to market; the natural gas facilities, particularly when it comes to liquefied（液化）natural gas（LNG）, are not nearly as developed.
So what needs to be done? On the supply side, producing nations need policies that allow for better development of their natural gas in an open, stable business environment, not one in which the rules of the game change without warning. The governments of consuming nations, on the other hand, must make policies for sustainable（可持續(xù)的）development to ensure they'll have enough supplies in the future. That means building the related facilities, including LNG stations. This, in turn, will require coastal areas to allow these necessary, but not necessarily pretty, facilities to be built in their backyards. And energy companies have a responsibility to be good neighbors in those areas by operating these facilities responsibly and safely. They must also continue to put in the billions of dollars needed to build the complex transport and storage facilities required to bring more gas to market.
Expanding and diversifying（使多樣化）energy sources by using more natural gas could lead to lower fuel prices and to greater energy security. We've taken some of the steps to get started, but we need your help to get the rest of the way.
小題1:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Gas played a major part in the 20th century.
B．Natural gas facilities are far from satisfactory.
C．Gas reserves are widely spread around the world.
D．Necessary facilities are ready to bring gas to market.
小題2: The underlined word "one"（in Paragraph 2）refers to _____________.
A．a(chǎn) gas supply sideB．a(chǎn) business environment
C．a(chǎn) gas consuming nationD．a(chǎn) policy for gas development
小題3:Consuming nations of natural gas need to ___________.
A．change the rules of the game
B．open markets in their backyards
C．build pretty facilities along the coast
D．have long-term policies for gas supply
小題4: The main purpose of the passage is to _______.
A．warn people of the lack of power and fuel
B．discuss the importance of oil and natural gas
C．call for better use and development of natural gas
D．instruct people how to make use of energy sources
小題5: The passage might be followed by a paragraph about
A．what kind of help you can offer
B．where energy sources are concentrated
C．which countries are in great need of gas
D．what problems of energy sources we may face

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

“Have a nice day!” may be a pleasant gesture or a meaningless expression. When my friend Maxie says “Have a nice day” with a smile, I know she sincerely cares about what happens to me. I feel loved and secure since another person cares about me and wishes me well.
“Have a nice day. Next!” This version of the expression is spoken by a salesgirl at the supermarket who is rushing me and my groceries out the door. The words come out in the same tone(腔調(diào))with a fixed procedure. They are spoken at me, not to me. Obviously, the concern for my day and everyone else’s is the management’s attempt to increase business.
The expression is one of those behaviors that help people get along with each other. Sometimes it indicates the end of a meeting. As soon as you hear it, you know the meeting is at an end. Sometimes the expression saves us when we don’t know what to say. “Oh, you just had a tooth out? I’m terribly sorry, but have a nice day.”
The expression can be pleasant. If a stranger says “Have a nice day” to you, you may find it heart-warming because someone you don’t know has tried to be nice to you.
Although the use of the expression is an insincere, meaningless social custom at times, there is nothing wrong with the sentence except that it is a little uninteresting. The salesgirl, the waitress, the teacher, and all the countless others who speak it without thinking may not really care about my day. But in a strange and comfortable way, it’s nice to know they care enough to pretend they care when they really don’t care all that much. While the expression may not often be sincere, it is always spoken. The point is that people say it all the time when they like.
小題1: How does the author understand Maxie’s words?
A．Maxie shows her anxiety to the author.
B．Maxie really wishes the author a good day.
C．Maxie encourages the author to stay happy.
D．Maxie really worries about the author’s security.
小題2: What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?
A．The salesgirl is rude.
B．The salesgirl is bored.
C．The salesgirl cares about me.
D．The salesgirl says the words as a routine.
小題3:By saying “Have a nice day,” a stranger may 　　　. 
A．try to be polite to youB．express respect to you
C．give his blessing to youD．share his pleasure with you
小題4:According to the last paragraph, people say “Have a nice day” 　　　. 
A．sincerelyB．a(chǎn)s thanks
C．a(chǎn)s a habitD．encouragingly
小題5: What is the best title of the passage?
A．Have a Nice Day — a Social Custom
B．Have a Nice Day — a Pleasant Gesture
C．Have a Nice Day — a Heart-warming Greeting
D．Have a Nice Day — a Polite Ending of a Conversation

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