单选题
Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs of reaching, heating and cooling homes on the distant edges of metropolitan areas. Just off Singing Hills Road, in one of hundreds of two-story homes dotting a former cattle ranch beyond the southern fringes of Denver, Phil Boyle and his family openly wonder if they will have to move close to town to get some relief. They still revel in the space and quiet that has drawn a steady exodus from American cities toward places like this for more than half a century. But life on the edges of suburbia is beginning to feel untenable. Mr. Boyle and his wife must drive nearly an hour to their jobs in the high-tech corridor of southern Denver. With gasoline at more than $ 4 a gallon, Mr. Boyle recently paid $121 to fill his pickup truck with diesel fuel. In March, the last time he filled his propane tank to heat his spacious house, he paid $ 566, more than twice the price of 5 years ago. Though Mr. Boyle finds city life unappealing, it is now up for reconsideration. "Living closer in, in a smaller space, where you don't have that commute," he said, "It's definitely something we talk about. Before it was'we spend too much time driving.' Now, it's 'we spend too much time and money driving.' " Across the nation, the realization is taking hold that rising energy prices are less a momentary blip than a change with lasting consequences. The shift to costlier fuel is threatening to slow the decades-old migration away from cities, while exacerbating the 'housing downturn by diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs. In Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minneapolis, homes beyond the urban core have been falling in value faster than those within, according to an analysis by Moody's Economy. com. In Denver, housing prices in the urban core rose steadily from 2003 until late last year compared with previous years, before dipping nearly 5 percent in the last three months of last year, according to Economy. com. But house prices in the suburbs began falling earlier, in the middle of 2006, and then accelerated, dropping by 7 percent during the last three months of the year from a year earlier. Many factors have propelled the unraveling of American real estate, from the mortgage crisis to a staggering excess of home construction. But economists and real estate agents are growing convinced that the rising cost of energy is now a primary factor pushing home prices down in the suburbs. More than three-fourths of prospective home buyers are now more inclined to live in an urban area because of fuel prices, according to a recent survey of 903 real estate agents with Coldwell Banker, the national brokerage firm.
单选题From the first two paragraphs we can learn that______. [A] soaring energy prices caused inflation in America [B] rising energy prices are threatening Phil's cattle business [C] jumping fuel prices make suburban life costlier [D] shooting fuel costs make urban life unappealing
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节 [解析]此题考查对文章中相关细节的理解。问题问的是“从前两段可以得知什么”，这种题事实上是一种开放式问题，需要辨别每一个选项的正确性。根据题干的信息我们锁定前两段：首段以波义尔一家为例，提出能源价格上涨影响到了郊区的生活成本；第二段描述波义尔在从郊区到城市的通勤路程上所花的时间和燃油代价不菲，能源价格上涨后更是不堪重负，正确选项应该与这样的主旨信息一致。从微观线索来看，第一段的“...suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs...”就道明了这一切趋势，文中的skyrocketing energy prices就对应了C选项中的jumping fuel prices，而inflate the costs就对应了C选项中的costlier；这一观点在第二段中也有所体现：life on the edges of suburbia is beginning to feel untenable，句中life on the edges of suburbia就对应了C选项中的suburban life，untenable(难以维持)是costlier(更加昂贵)带来的感受。综合这些宏观线索和微观线索，可知C选项正是这些内容的概括，因此C选项正确。 [干扰项分析] A选项内容中的“通货膨胀”(inflation)是对文中inflate the costs of...(使郊区生活成本更高)的错误理解。B选项内容中的“危及菲尔的家畜生意”(threatening Phil’s cattle business)是断章取义的内容，从文中我们得知菲尔过去从事家畜养殖(a former cattle ranch)，现在能源涨价和他过去的生意无关。D选项是上下两段不相关内容的简单拼凑，从第二段可知，城市生活无吸引力是菲尔一家的感受，而不是能源涨价所导致的结果。
单选题By saying "Now, it's' we spend too much time and money driving.'" (Line 3, Paragraph 3), Phil implies______. [A] driving is not only time-costing but luxurious [B] it could be time-saving to live in smaller places [C] costlier fuel leads to more expensive commutation [D] driving to a remote city is costly and unappealing
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[考点] 推理判断 [解析] 此题考查考生根据上下文理解句子的能力。解答此类问题不可只看字面含义，需要结合句子所在段落的语境和主旨来查看各个选项。本段主旨是“菲尔一家对城市生活并不感兴趣，但迫于能源涨价，也得重新考虑城市生活”。本段通过菲尔夫妇开车上班的例子来证明燃油涨价给他们带来的苦恼。从微观角度来看：Before it was“we spend too much time driving．”Now，it’s“we spend too much time and money driving．”句中第一个it指的是“能源涨价”，而文中的driving指的是上一段所述的开车上班，也就是本段的“通勤”(commute)。该句子前后两部分进行对比：“燃料涨价前后花的时间不变，但涨价后花钱多了”，突现燃料涨价带来的新效应是 花费增加。而选项C中costlier fuel对应着燃料涨价，more expensive commutation对应着通勤费用增加，与原文吻合，因此C选项正确。 [干扰项分析] A选项只不过是该句字面的含义，没有解释清楚其中driving所指代的实际内容，而且抛弃了语境，未能突现涨价前后的对比。B选项只片面地涉及时间耗费，未能突现涨价前后燃油花费的对比。D选项是东拼西凑的答案，其中的unappealing是用来描述菲尔一家对城市生活的感受的，与驾车去城市无关。
单选题What can we infer from the fourth paragraph? [A] People would reject suburban housing because of costlier fuel. [B] With ever-increasing fuel prices, suburban houses would devalue for a long time. [C] Being far from suburbs diminishes the appeal of downtown houses. [D] House prices will drop continuously because of fuel shortage.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[考点] 推理判断 [解析] 此题考查基于原文的多处细节的推理及理解句子之句关系的能力，着重考查考生对第四段信息的综合理解。第四段首句指出“燃料价格上涨并非临时现象，而会带来长期的影响”(rising energy prices are less a momentary blip than a change with lasting consequences)；后文中详述了所造成的影响：人们对郊外的大房子失去兴趣(diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs)及房价下跌(homes...have been falling in value)等。综合这些信息可以得知，燃料价格上涨(ever-increasing fuel prices)会使郊区房价长期下跌(suburban houses would devalue for a long time)。因此B选项正确。 [干扰项分析] A选项的内容“人们会拒绝(reject)在郊区购房”与原文内容“减缓向城外迁移(slow the...migration away from cities)”的程度不同，属于过度推理的选项。C选项所述的“离郊区太远，使得市区的房子吸引力减小”是在原文内容的基础上偷换概念，原文为“离城市工作地点太远，城外的房子吸引力减小(diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs)”。D选项中的“燃料短缺(fuel shortage)”的概念在原文中不能得到印证。因此A、C、D三个选项错误。
单选题The key factor contributing to the downturn of American suburban real estate is______. [A] crisis of loan [B] excessive home construction [C] buyers'inclination to live in an urban area [D] the constant rise of fuel prices
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节 [解析]此题考查对文章中相关细节的理解。问题问的是郊区房地产市场低迷的关键原因，根据题干信息“factor”及“American suburban real estate”我们可以定位至最后一段。首句指出揭示房地产界现象的两个因素：抵押贷款危机(mortgage crisis)和房地产过度开发(excess of home construction)；紧接着出现了转折，but的出现说明前面说的因素都是次要的，真正重要的因素在转折之后，后文中的a primary factor对应了问题中的key factor，pushing home prices down in the suburbs是问题中contributing to the downturn of American suburban real estate的同义转述，因此文中的rising cost of energy就是答案信息，而D选项正是这一信息的同义转述，因此D选项正确。 [干扰项分析] 正如上文分析，A选项和B选项所述的内容都是次要因素，故排除这两项；C选项所述的“购买者倾向”和“郊区房价低迷”都是“燃料价格上涨”带来的结果，两者不是因果关系，故C选项也排除。
单选题 According to the text, which of the following statements is true? [A] Fuel prices shift math for life in far suburbs. [B] Energy crisis hit American real estate. [C] Better life is not available in suburbia any more. [D] More buyers prefer urban houses for job opportunities.