1 . The Australian Outback town of Quilpie is home to 800 people. The town hoped its offer of free land might draw five new families to the community. In less than two weeks, the town has received more than 250 requests for information about the offer from around Australia and other countries around the world. The town leaders came up with the idea to deal with a housing shortage. The lack of housing made it difficult to fill jobs in the remote area of western Queensland state. People who buy land, build a house on it for less than 560,000 dollars, and live in it for six months can receive a 9,400 dollars payment, known as a grant. A block of land in Quilpie, about 1,000-square meters, sells for around the same amount as the grant. It means the town is effectively giving the land away.
The idea for the grant offer came from Justin Hancock, head of the town council. The 30-year-old spent six months in a retirement (退休) home when he first arrived in Quilpie this year because of the area’s housing shortage. Quilpie has recently needed workers in healthcare and education. It also needs people who can fix cars and prepare meat and many other kinds of workers. Questions about the free land program came from as far away as Britain, India, and New Zealand. But home buyers need to be Australian citizens or permanent (永久) residents to be a candidate for the grant.
Hancock said recently that getting five new families to the area would be a big success. “To see the interest,” he added, “it was a little overwhelming (难以处理的事情).” Real estate prices have increased greatly across much of Australia throughout the coronavirus crisis. Lockdowns in the largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and low interest rates have sent people to search for larger homes in smaller towns. Most of the interest in coronavirus-free Quilpie has come from the state capital, Brisbane, a city of 2.4 million on the Pacific Ocean 1,000 kilometers to the east. But there is also interest from Melbourne, Newcastle, and Western Australia state. Both young families and retired people are considering the Quilpie move. They have different reasons. “People who are coming out of lockdown (锁定) are saying I want wide open spaces, and we have plenty of that,” Hancock said.
The area that Quilpie is in, known as a shire, covers 68,000 square kilometers. Two grants will be received by Quilpie locals, one by council employee Tom Hennessy, 23, and his 24-year-old school teacher fiancee (未婚妻), Tessa McDougall. The couple bought a block of land in August. “I love Quilpie. It’s a great place. Everyone’s friendly,” Hennessy said. Hennessy was born in Quilpie and his fiancee came a year ago from Brisbane.
1. Why does Quilpie attract so many people to live here?| A．Quilpie has a lot of abandoned houses. |
| B．Good jobs can be found in Quilpie. |
| C．Quilpie is close to the capital of Australia. |
| D．Quilpie offered the land free of charge. |
| A．To have a villa of your own in Australia. |
| B．The real estate has to be $20 million. |
| C．Applicants need to recommend five families to move to town. |
| D．Must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. |
| A．房产 | B．性质 | C．情况 | D．遗产 |
| A．boring | B．disappointing | C．full of happiness | D．dissatisfying |
Imagine you live in your green dream home: extremely energy-saving, beautiful, cozy and perfectly satisfatory. Maybe you are picturing such a brand new smart house, but actually you can redecorate your current house with green concept in a simple way.
Wright Rudy, a builder and energy-efficiency expert who has done a number of home designs, says you can save more energy than you might think. He helps homeowners get energy savings of up to 75 percent when he’s able to rework a house perfectly. A series of energy-saving designs in one neighborhood has been done to cut some homes’ energy use in half, resulting in an average cost savings of $100 per month on energy bills.
If you’re doing a major home upgrade, you can go further and add solar design features to improve your home’s natural heating and cooling. Wright suggests you bring both pleasant living space and heat to your home by adding a sunroom. This strategy makes full use of solar energy.
Similarly, cooling issues can be addressed by improving natural ventilation (通风). Instead of using the traditional way—ceiling fans, Wright suggests careful arrangements of windows and skylights as one option. Skylights are terrific because they’re located at a high point in the room, which allows warm air to rise out while cooler outdoor air comes in through an open window.
Wright says green concept for homes is the wave of the future. “I believe that within the next few years we needn’t burn fuels inside our houses any more. Our designs are cost-effective and environmentally safe. In this sense, our designs will surely address the future. Realistically, we need to be planning for that now.”
1. What benefit can Wright’s green house bring?2. What does Wright advise us to do to keep the house cool?
3. Which word can replace “addressed” in the paragraph 4?
4. Why does Wright have the idea of green homes?
3 . The way people decorate their homes can tell a lot about themselves. Obviously the way we decorate our homes is very personal. And while many of us have plenty of options, there are always people who go that little bit further. So, when it comes to minimalism (极简主义) and maximalism (极繁主义) , which one appeals to you more?
Minimalism was an art movement that started in the 1950s. Its basic principles come from a concept of less is more, reducing things to their most basic. Some people took that art style and used it as a way of living. Their houses are usually decorated in simple colors, often just black and white. For some, especially maximalists, it may seem a bit boring or depressing. However, living in this way is seen by many as more organized and practical.
Maximalism started in the 1970s. It embraces the core ideals that “more is more”. While minimalism centres around the principle of removing, if it’s easy to imagine that a maximalists’ home is piled with items—but that’s not the basic idea. It’s more about making the most of the area. Organized excess and bright colors combined with mixed patterns is what you will see in a home like this. For a minimalist, being used to more simple designs, it could be uneasy. But for those who embrace it, those things give a space personality.
The way you have your home is up to you! But, if you choose maximalism, you may need to prepare for a bit more dusting.
1. What may maximalists think of minimalists’ lifestyle?| A．Interesting. | B．Practical. | C．Amazing. | D．Dull. |
| A．It was an art movement at first. |
| B．It focuses on using the space fully. |
| C．It is criticized for wasting resources. |
| D．It dates back to as early as the 1950s. |
| A．By making comparison. |
| B．By explaining causes. |
| C．By giving examples. |
| D．By listing facts. |
| A．Love me, love my dog. |
| B．Whatever you like depends on yourself. |
| C．Birds of a feather flock together. |
| D．Cut your coat according to your cloth. |
4 . Given the high price of housing, many of us are living in smaller space than we’d like. However, living in a small space is not that bad; it has some advantages.
It’s cheaper to decorate. It can take thousands of dollars worth of decoration simply to make large space look inviting.
It’s easier to clean. This must be one of your favorite things about living in small space. The bigger the space, the longer it takes to organize and tidy up.
It’s easier to personalize. Ever have you walked into a large home that feels more like a museum than the small home of someone you know? It’s usually not the most familiar or welcoming atmosphere.
| A．It’s more organized and comfortable. |
| B．No one wants to spend hours just cleaning. |
| C．Living in a small homes makes your life in mess. |
| D．It’s financially and environmentally friendly. |
| E．So it also does good to our beloved Mother Nature. |
| F．Actually, you want your home to show your personal style. |
| G．Small space, however, makes decorating more simple and affordable. |
5 . Roughly the size of a soda can, sitting on a bookshelf, a relatively harmless device(设备) may be turning friends away from your home. The elephant in your living room is your Internet-connected camera, a device people are increasingly using for peace of mind in their homes. But few stop to think about the effect these devices may have on house guests. Should you tell your friends, for instance, that they’re being recorded while you all watch the big game together?
"It’s certainly new territory, especially as home security cameras become easier to fix," says Lizzie Post, president of the Emily Post Institute, America’s distinguished manners advisors. " I think it will be very interesting to see what manners appear in terms of whether you tell people you have a camera or not, and whether guests have a right to ask that it be turned off, if it’s not a security issue. "Post wants to make clear that she’s not talking about legal rights, but rather personal preference.
When it comes to security cameras, Post says it’s a host’s responsibility to make sure guests feel comfortable within their home. If the host casually acknowledges that there is a camera in the room by telling a story about it, that may be enough to provide an opening for a guest to say if they are uncomfortable.
However, if a contractor(合约工)is working in your home, you don’t need to tell them that there are cameras watching. Then again, the camera can also work in contractors’ favor. "If anything does go wrong while they’re in the house, they don’t want to be blamed for it," she says. "In fact, the camera could be the thing that proves that they didn’t steal the $20, or knock the vase off the table.
1. The visitors are concerned that the security camera may .| A．threaten their health | B．spoil their peace of mind |
| C．disturb their privacy | D．affect their preference |
| A．Indicating its position. | B．Making their guests feel at ease |
| C．Turning it oil in time. | D．Having a casual talk with guests. |
| A．It can prevent the accidents happening. | B．It can prove their innocence. |
| C．It can record their working progress. | D．It can make their work more enjoyable. |
| A．Negative. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
