Tony Wrench and his wife Faith, wearing the traditional woolly jacket, have set up their home in the shadows of Preseli Mountains.
They built the house in the winter of 1997 with the dream of living what they call“low-impact lives”. Their dream is to get close to nature, have little pollution and prove they can change the world. But their action was stopped almost a year later by the local government. Eventually, a new rule about environment protection was brought and the government encouraged the couple to carry on their “low-impact lives”.
The completed house is built around a frame of 200 firs(冷杉木)and made entirely of natural materials, in a style that is part-native American, part-ancient Celt. Mr. Wrench said this house was more like a sort of large basket. The most expensive part of the building was the rubber (橡膠 ) pond-liner for the roof at ￡650—all in it cost a grand total of￡3, 000, the labor being supplied by the couple and a few good friends. The idea is to try to make the most of the natural resources around them, reducing their impact as much as possible on the environment.
Electricity is generated from three solar panels on the roof and a small windmill. Food is mostly home-grown (自產的) and they even make their own wine from a vine（藤）on the roof. Drinking water comes from the mountain stream and hot water is more or less on-tap through a back-boiler system fixed up to the back of the fire by the old whisky barrel(桶).
Waste is dealt with by being rotted, which in turn provides fertilizer for the corns and vegetables etc. . They are by no means tired of life; on the contrary they like it. Mr. Wrench in particular likes nothing better than a nice hot bath. They wait for enough wind to charge the laptop so they can watch a DVD in the evening.
Their life is not a challenge of existence; they say—just an attempt to keep their footsteps on the planet as light as possible.
55. What can we know from the passage?
A. Mr. Wrench planned to run a wine factory when he was young.
B. Mr. Wrench and Faith love their house and have been in it for twenty years.
C. Mr. Wrench and Faith’s behavior once was forbidden by the local government.
D. Mr. Wrench and Faith can’t watch TV in their house because there’s no electricity.
56. From the text we learn that the couple’s house______.
A. cost them 3, 650 pounds in all
B. is only made of about 200 firs
C. is not strong enough to resist the wind
D. was built by them and some of their friends
57. The food that the couple eat is mostly______.
A. produced by themselves
B. bought from a supermarket
C. offered by the government
D. grown on the roof of their house
58. According to the passage, the waste is______.
A. dealt with to help crops grow better
B. thrown away
C. buried deeply
D. sold to other farmers
55. 【解析】選C。細節理解題。由文章第二段的“But their action was stopped almost a year later by the local government. ”可知，他們的行為曾經被當地政府禁止過。
56. 【解析】選D。細節理解題。由文章第三段的“. . . the labor being supplied by the couple and a few good friends. ”可知，Mr. Wrench和妻子的房子是由他們和朋友一起建的。
57. 【解析】選A。細節理解題。由文章第四段的“Food is mostly home-grown”可知，他們吃的食物主要是他們自己生產的。
58. 【解析】選A。細節理解題。由文章倒數第二段的“Waste is dealt with by being rotted, which in turn provides fertilizer for the corns and vegetables etc. . ”可知他們把垃圾堆在一起腐爛，變成肥料提供給農作物。
科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
請選出與所給句子或劃線部分意思最接近的答案：（共20小題，每小題1分，滿分20分）
Was it by accident or by design?
A. Was it on purpose or not? B. Was it designed by somebody?
C. Was it an accident? D. Did it happen accidently?
Did I really hear a voice or was it only my fancy?
A. Did I really hear a voice or was it only my image？
B. Did I really hear a voice or was it only what I like?
C. Did I hear a voice or someone crying in my dream?
D. Did I notice a voice or it is not the really one?
He is above stealing.
A. He is good at stealing. B. He never steals.
C. He likes stealing. D. He is forced to steal.
He is a bad actor.
A. He is not good at performance. B. He is a little good at performance.
C. He is a very dangerous person to do anything. D. He is not fit for being an actor.
He is lacking animal force.
A. His energy is not full enough. B. He is as strong as an animal.
C. He can do something with his own force. D. He has enough energy.
He is anything but a doctor.
A. He is only a doctor. B. He is not a doctor.
C. He is somebody else. D. What he does isn’t like a doctor.
Anything is at your service.
A. Your work is to serve everything. B. You can serve everybody with your own effort.
C. We all want to get your service. D. You can use everything you need as you like.
68. You’ve tried three times. Tony’s been standing for two hours; let the dog see the rabbit!
A. let the dog run after a rabbit B. ask the dog to watch rabbits
C. it’s Tony’s turn to do something D. it’s your turn to do something.
What price going for a walk?
A. What about going for a walk? B. How much do you need for going for a walk?
C. How much could I get for a walk? D. What is the price you’ll pay for a walking?
He talked and talked but never came to the point.
A. He talked a lot on the key point. B. He talked a lot but didn’t focus on the key point.
C. He talked less than he need to. D. He talked more than he really needed to.
He began to smell a rat in the matter.
A. feel that there was a rat near him B. feel something not going so good
C. feel a rat would make something wrong D. smell a rat’s smell in the matter
John is always reasonable.
A. John is open-minded and easy to get along with.
B. John always has a reason to do what he wants.
C. John is always good at reasoning in some case.
D. John can reason something others couldn’t.
I must pop off now.
A. I must go now. B. My pop music life is ended now.
C. I am not popular. D. I must make my corn pop.
He doesn’t care a pin for her.
A. He doesn’t like a needle for her. B. He wasn’t a pin to her.
C. He doesn’t care about her. D. He doesn’t want to throw a pin on her.
You mustn’t take everything so personally.
A. You mustn’t want to take everything as his own.
B. You may not think of everything as yours.
C. You couldn’t gain everything which doesn’t belong to you.
D. You mustn’t think that somebody is criticizing you when he is not.
What a peach of a room!
A. HhHHHHHHh HhhhWhat a wonderful room which holds so many peaches!
B. What a big peach in the room!
C. What a big peach room it is!
D. What a nice room it is!
Your number comes up.
A. Your number becomes larger and larger. B. Your number keeps going up.
C. You are lucky. D. You are unfortunate.
Somebody’s number is up / goes up.
A. Somebody’s number is end. B. Somebody’s number may keeps going up.
C. It’s time for somebody to go west. D. It’s time for somebody to add up his number.
It feels nice and soft.
A. It is nice and soft. B. It is nice but soft.
C. It is soft except nice. D. It feels very soft.
We see more of Blair these days.
A. These days we can watch more about Blair.
B. We know more about Blair these days.
C. We have seen Blair more times these times.
D. These days found we could see Blair.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Bestsellers for last week
A Special Relationship
This novel is about a woman whose entire life is turned upside down in a very foreign place despite the fact that people there speak her language. Sally Good child is a 37-year-old American who, after nearly two decades as a highly independent journalist, finds herself pregnant and in London. She married an English foreign correspondent, Tony Thompson, whom she met while they were both on assignment in Cairo. From the beginning, Sally’s relationship with both Tony and London is an uneasy one: She finds her husband and his city to be far more foreign than imagined. But her adjustment problems soon turn into a nightmare(噩夢). She discovers that everything can be taken down and used against you, especially by a spouse (配偶) who now considers you an unfit mother and wants to prevent you from ever seeing your child again.
Born in 1955, Douglas Kennedy is the bestselling author of romances such as “The Big Picture”. He is also the author of several praised travel books.
White Hot
Sayre Lynch decided never to return to her hometown Destiny, after she changed her last name and finally escaped from the influence of her controlling father, Huff Hoyle, who owns the iron foundry that the town is built around.
But when Danny, her younger brother, is found dead with a shotgun in his mouth, Sayre unwillingly goes back for his funeral and is annoyed when her father’s handsome lawyer, Beck Merchant, tries to please her.
When the young officer investigating(調查) the case notes that some of the evidence points to murder rather than suicide(自殺), Sayre finds herself unable to leave Destiny. She’s annoyed by Beck’s constant presence, and she is not sure if he’s trying to help or throw her off the trail. Nor does she trust her father or her older brother, Chris, who is as prime suspect in Danny’s murder.
As she tries to figure out how the handsome, charming Beck fits into the picture, she finds herself deeply attracted to him.]
Sandra Brown is the author of 51 New York Times top-five bestsellers. She began her writing career in 1981 and has since published 65 novels.
From the brief introduction of “A Special Relationship” we can imagine _____.
A. Sally and Tony’s marriage is pleasant. B. Sally and Tony may break up.
C. Sally and Tony often quarrel about their jobs. D. Sally is hard to get on with.
The story of Sally and Tony mainly happens in _____.
A. America B. London C. Cairo D. Cairo & London
It can be learned from the passage that______.
A. Chris killed Danny. B. Lynch is Sayre’s real family name.
C. Huff Hoyle knows who killed Danny. D. Sayre fell in love with Beck.
In the introduction of White Hot, the underlined phrase suggests_____.
A. Sayre thinks Beck has something to do with Danny’s death.
B. Sayre thinks Beck is the right person she wants to marry.
C. Sayre likes the handsome Beck in the picture.
D. Sayre doesn’t know whether Beck likes her.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have pros and cons.
Good news
Free museums: No charge for outstanding collections of art and antiquities(古董).
Pop music: Britain is the only country to rival (與……比敵)the US on this score.
Black cabs: London taxi drivers know where they are going even if there are never enough of them at weekends or night.
Choice of food: Visitors can find everything from Ethiopian to Swedish restaurants.
Fashion: Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.
Bad news
Poor service: “It’s part of the image of the place. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.
Poor public transport: Trains and buses are promised to defeat the keenest tourists, although the over-crowded London tube is inexplicably(不可解的) popular.
Lack of language: Speaking slowly and clearly may not get many foreign visitors very far, even in the tourist traps.
Rain: Still in the number one complaint.
No air-conditioning: So that even splendidly hot summer become as unbearable as the downpours.
Overpriced hotels: The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.
Licensing hours: Alcohol is in short supply after 11 p.m. even in 24-hour cities.
What do tourists complain most?
A. Poor service.
B. Poor public transport.
C. Rain.
D. Overpriced hotels.
What do we learn about pop music in Britain and the US through this passage?
A. Pop music in Britain is better than that in the US.
B. Pop music in Britain is as good as that in the US.
C. Pop music in Britain is worse than that in the US.
D. Pop music in Britain is quite different from that in the US.
When is alcohol not able to get?
A. At 9:00p.m. B. At 10:00p.m. C. At 11:00p.m. D. At 12:00p.m.
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. You have to pay to visit the museums. B. It’s very cheap to travel by taxi there.
C. You cannot find Chinese food there. D. The public transport is poor there.
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科目：高中英語 來源：2015屆河北省邯鄲市高二上學期期末考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：單項填空
What _______shame that Tony missed _______ concert by Li Yundi in Han Dan last week.
A. a; a B. a; the C. the; a D. the; the
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