For millions of people, the American dream of owning a home seems to be slipping out of reach.

    “Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,’’ says 40-year-old building instructor Pat Hennin. “But they can still have a home. Like their pioneer ancestors, they can build it themselves, and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house.”

    The owner-builders came from every occupational group, although surprisingly few are professional building workers. Many take the plunge with little or no experience. “I learned how to build my house from reading books,” says John Brown, who built a six-room home for $25, 000 in High Falls, New Jersey. “If you have patience and the carpentry（木匠）skill to make a bookcase, you can build a house.” An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail, 1ay every pipe, and wire every switch with their own hands. The rest contract（承包）for some parts of the task. But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent of what a ready-made home would cost.

    One survey revealed that 60 percent of owner-builders also design their homes. Many others buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

 

56．What does the passage mainly tell us?

       A．The cost of having a house built.

       B．The American dream of owning a house.

       C．The life of owner-builders in America.

       D．A comparison between young couples and their parents.

57．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to         .

    A．build a house                                       B．find a ready-made house

    C．have a good job                                   D．buy a house

58．The underlined phrase “take the plunge” in paragraph 3 most probably means “         .”

    A．decide to build a house                             B．decide to pull down a house

    C．decide to buy a house                              D．decide to rent a house

59．From the passage we learn that           .

    A．Many house plans are offered free of charge.

    B．Most of the house plans are offered by building instructors.

    C．Most of the owner-builders design their homes.

    D．Fifty percent of the American young couples build houses.

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Biofuels

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A．Because he wants to test people’s sense of creativity．
B．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people．
C．Because he thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion．
D．Because he can’t design this kind of things himself．
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B．can turn human waste into charcoal
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B. switching to low-polluting cars would save 160 lives in London every year

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C．It stores the energy from the sun.           D．It produces zero carBon dioxide.

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B．there was a rapid growth of electricity production

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C．To reduce pollution.                     D．To save money.

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1.What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

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B．Deciding the conditions.

C．Fixing the time.

D．Worsening the state.

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A．giving examples

B．showing the effect and then explaining the causes

C．pointing out similarities and differences

D．describing the changes in space order

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A．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

B．The eating habit of African elephants.

C．Disappearance of African elephants

D．The effect of African elephants’ search for food

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