閱讀理解：

　　Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want,which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner,Brian Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical-parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside,it looks too old,even something horrible,but open the door and you are in a wide,open courtyard,lined on three sides with rusting (生銹的)walls.

　　In 2000,Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947,the structure had been abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right,so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (拆除),pulling rubbish out through the roof,because it was too dangerous to go inside the building. The demolition was hard work,but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do,and“to treasure what was there—the walls,the rust,the light. “ Yocum said. “Every season,more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation (裝置)in there—a slow-motion show. “

　　Since the back building had been constructed without windows,an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard,and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer (緩沖) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom,a kitchen and a mechanical room,and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.

　　Yocum and Bell,who have just completed an art gallery for the city,feel that the experience from the decoration of their building,focusing on the inside rather than the outside,has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.

　　1. According to the passage,it is　　　for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.

　　A. easy　　　B. unnecessary　　　C. unrealistic　　　D. common

　　2. Yocum bought the old building because　　　.

　　A. it was a bargain to him B. it was still in good condition

　　C. it was located in the city center D. it looked attractive from the outside

　　3. Working on the old building,Yocum and Bell　　　.

　　A. pulled rubbish out through the roof

　　B. removed the skylights from the bathroom

　　C. presented a slow-motion show in an art gallery

　　D. built a kitchen at the back part of the old building

　　4. It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell　　　.

　　A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof

　　B. turned more old buildings into art galleries

　　C. got inspiration from decorating their old building

　　D. paid more attention to the outside of the art gallery

　　5. The main idea of the passage is that　　　.

　　A. people can learn a lot from their failures

　　B. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building

　　C. people should not judge things by their appearance

　　D. creative people can make the best of what they have

　　【參考答案】1--5 、CAACD

　　閱讀理解

　　Actually we have known a lot of examples and meaningful words to support the fact that we should try our best to ease the bad impression of others. Just like the old saying goes, we should give a better assumption to the one than we think he was. But many of us always fail to do this.

　　Take the situation of my class for example. Right at the beginning of the first semester when we were freshmen we all showed great favor to each other. And when there was an activity that needed some people to join, we would be willing to attend whether it was interesting or not. And we were really like brothers and sisters, and our class was just like a family, a warm family. But now, I feel tired of those meaningless activities not only because of the boring activities themselves but also the cool response of our classmates.

　　I think the reasons why the passion of most classmates is so low may be as follows：

　　To start with, many of us take part in more than one organization, which will certainly make us tired. Also, in the study fields, many of us may find that our courses are sometimes difficult to understand or comprehend, especially the specialized subjects.

　　Moreover，“history” teaches us that if one does not study hard, it is possible to fail in the exams. So it is a big and good excuse to say that “I do really want to attend, but I have a lot of homework to do, so...”.

　　Last but not least, some people believe that some of our leaders should not be regarded as a leader, maybe I should say we, as leaders, lost the reputation, support and trust of yours. At least I am the warm­hearted one, although I cannot promise you that your advice will be adopted surely, at least I will spare no effort to “give” you the right to be heard, and to serve you.

　　Be active to show your talents and abilities and to create a better image of our class. Most important of all, work pains takingly for a better condition that we should have reached.

　　【語篇解讀】 昔日熱衷于參加各類活動(dòng)的雀躍而又溫馨的場面已成為美好的回憶，如今取而代之的是冷漠。創(chuàng)建優(yōu)秀的班集體需要全體學(xué)生的共同努力，班干部要起好帶頭作用。

　　1.At the beginning of the first semester the students were________each other.

　　A.quite curious about B.active and kind to

　　C.full of sympathy to D.specially tired of

　　解析　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。結(jié)合第二段第二、三、四句的內(nèi)容可知，學(xué)生在第一學(xué)期開始的時(shí)候非�；钴S，并且彼此之間非常友好。

　　答案　B

　　2.Now the students are unwilling to get involved in the activities because they are________.

　　A.not easy to organize B.costing too much time

　　C.difficult to comprehend D.meaningless and boring

　　解析　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段最后一句的內(nèi)容可知，現(xiàn)在學(xué)生不愿參加各種活動(dòng)的原因是這些活動(dòng)既沒有意義又枯燥乏味。

　　答案　D

　　3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　A.Students' passion for activities was high at first but weakened gradually.

　　B.Students' passion for activities grew gradually because they were interesting.

　　C.Students were too busy to take part in activities after their classes.

　　D.Students were unwilling to participate in activities because of their leaders.

　　解析　推理判斷題。第二段提到新生在第一學(xué)期開始的時(shí)候熱衷于各種各樣的活動(dòng)，而現(xiàn)在已對(duì)這些活動(dòng)毫無興趣，由此可推斷學(xué)生對(duì)活動(dòng)的熱情度起初很高，但是后來逐漸減弱了。

　　答案　A

　　4.We can infer from the passage that the writer must be________.

　　A.a supporter of activities B.a responsible teacher

　　C.a top student in class D.a devoted class leader

　　解析　推理判斷題。結(jié)合倒數(shù)第二段前半部分中的“...maybe I should say we，as leaders...”以及本段后半部分的內(nèi)容可推知，作者是一位忠誠的班干部。

　　答案　D