2015哈三中一模英语科.docVIP

哈尔滨三中2015年第一次模拟考试 英语试卷 笔试部分 第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分） A One hometown owner in Detroit is intending to exchange his villa for the latest iPhone 6. The owner has dropped the asking price from $ 5,000 to a new iPhone 6 as the owner is desperate to sell before the tax auction (拍卖) season where “thousands” of homes near foreclosure () will flood into the market, a real estate broker (房地产经纪人) Larry Else told ABC News. “This house is really not worth much at all,” Else said. The windows are broken and there is no front door. The broker himself has not been inside the home because his company has a policy of not going in unsecured houses alone. Detroit’s declining fortunes have left its population about a third of what it used to be in its peak, according to the U.S. Census Bureau（人口普查办公室）. Now, the property has accrued (拖欠) more than $6,000 in back taxes (退税款) and will enter foreclosure next year if that debt is not settled. So while the owner is asking for an iPhone 6, the true cost of the sale comes from the buyer including the cost of the back taxes. That attracted great interest in the property, as Else said that he received four offers today alone. One woman said she was interested in the house for the wood. Another said that they would be willing to hand over an iPhone 5, and another offered $ 850. But Else hinted that the most likely buyer is someone who already lives on the block and put in a $ 700 bid（出价）, and their familiarity with the area appeared to put them at the head of the pack. He said he expects one of the four offers to work out, and may even confirm the sale tonight. This is not the end of his bartering (物物交换) business, however, as Else said that he’s already gotten another call from a homeowner who has had trouble selling their property. Why did the owner drop his price for the house? Because the house was too old. Because there is a boom in economy. Because he wanted to sell the house quickly. Because the population in Detroit is small. Larry Else hasn’