One agent __2__a house in particular.Although her description sounded wonderful，the price was __3__our range，so we declined.But she kept urging us to have a look __4__.

　　We finally did and it was __5__at first sight.It was Our Home，small and charming，overlooking a quiet lake.Walking through the rooms and talking with the owners，a nice elderly couple，we felt the warmth and __6__ of the marriage within that home.As perfect as it was，the price remained too high for us.But every day，we would sit by the lake，looking at the house and dreaming of __7__it would be like to live there.

　　Days later，we made a(n) __8__—far below the asking price.Surprisingly，they didn't __9__us.They renewed their offer __10__.It was also much more than we could afford，but far __11__than the original asking price.

　　The next day，we got a __12__message that another buyer had offered a much higher price.Even so，we decided to talk with the __13__ directly.We made our final offer，which __14__was thousands of dollars less than the other buyer's bid.We knew it，__15__ we had to try.

　　“Sold!” said the owner.Then he __16__：He'd seen us sitting by the lake all those times;he knew how much we loved the place and that we'd __17__the years of work they had put into their home;he realized he would take a __18__by selling it to us，but it was worthwhile;we were the people they wanted to live there.He told us to consider the __19__in the price “an early wedding present”.

　　That's how we found our home and how I learned that when people are __20__，they are not strangers, only friends we haven't yet met.

　　文章大意：本文講述了一對新婚夫婦以低價位買到滿意的房子的經歷。

　　1.A.needed B.limited

　　C.enough D.large

　　答案：B　根據第三段中的...the price remained too high for us.可知夫婦二人資金有限，limited意為“有限的;被限制的”，符合語境。needed意為“被需要的”;enough意為“足夠的;充分的”;large意為“大的”，均不符合語境。

　　2.A.recommended B.decorated

　　C.sold D.rented

　　答案：A　recommend意為“推薦”;decorate意為“裝修”;sell意為“銷售”;rent意為“租賃”。根據下文she kept urging us to have a look可知這位房產經紀人是給“我們”推薦房子，故選A項。

　　3.A.below B.within

　　C.beyond D.between

　　答案：C　上文提到作者夫婦資金受限，這里說房產經紀人對房子的描述聽起來很不錯，但空后提到so we declined，可知此價格超出了作者的承受范圍，故用beyond，意為“超出”。

　　4.A.at least B.at most

　　C.at times D.at hand

　　答案：A　句意為：不過她勸我們至少看一看。at least意為“至少”;at most意為“至多”;at times意為“不時;偶爾”;at hand意為“在手邊;即將到來”。只有A項符合語境邏輯。

　　5.A.relief B.concern

　　C.love D.curiosity

　　答案：C　根據該句后面Our Home以及charming等描述可知作者夫婦一眼就喜歡上了這套房子，故選C項。relief意為“緩解;解脫”，concern意為“關心;關注”，curiosity意為“好奇心”，均不符合語境。

　　6.A.pride B.happiness

　　C.challenge D.desire

　　答案：B　根據上文的描述可知作者對房子非常滿意，設空處所填詞應與and前的并列成分warmth的感情色彩一致，故選happiness。pride意為“自豪”，challenge意為“挑戰”，desire意為“渴望”，均不符合語境。

　　7.A.which B.why

　　C.that D.what

　　答案：D　分析句子結構可知，dreaming of后的賓語從句中介詞like后缺賓語，故此處用連接代詞what引導賓語從句。句意為：但是我們每天都會坐在湖邊，看著這套房子，夢想著我們住在那里會是什么樣子。

　　8.A.effort B.offer

　　C.promise D.profit

　　答案：B　根據破折號后面的far below the asking price可知作者夫婦給出了報價。make an offer是固定搭配，意為“出價”。

　　9.A.come across B.look after

　　C.depend on D.laugh at

　　答案：D　由上文可知作者夫婦出價很低，根據surprisingly以及下文的They renewed their offer...可知，這對老夫婦并沒有因為作者夫婦出價低而嘲笑(laugh at)他們，而是重新定了房價。come across意為“偶然碰到”，look after意為“照顧，照料”，depend on意為“依靠，依賴”，均不符合語境。

　　10.A.instead B.indeed

　　C.aside D.apart

　　答案：A　上文提到老夫婦沒有嘲笑作者夫婦的價格，而是重新要價，可知此處的副詞表示轉折的意義，故用instead，意為“反之;而是”。

　　11.A.worse B.better

　　C.less D.higher

　　答案：C　背景常識題。根據轉折連詞but可知第二次的要價比第一次低很多，故選C項。句意為：這個價格仍然遠遠超出我們能夠負擔得起的價位，但是它遠遠低于最初的要價。

　　12.A.relaxing B.disappointing

　　C.pleasant D.regular

　　答案：B　根據message的同位語從句that another buyer had offered a much higher price可知有人出價比作者夫婦高得多，對于他們來說，這當然是一個令人失望的(disappointing)消息，故選B項。relaxing意為“令人放松的”，pleasant意為“令人愉快的”，regular意為“有規律的”，均不符合句意。

　　13.A.agents B.buyers

　　C.managers D.owners

　　答案：D　根據下文“Sold!” said the owner.可知作者夫婦是與房主直接談的，故選D項。

　　14.A.already B.still

　　C.generally D.ever

　　答案：B　根據設空處后面的thousands of dollars less than the other buyer'sbid可知作者夫婦的最終報價仍然比另一位買主的出價少，故用still，表示強調。

　　15.A.so B.or

　　C.for D.but

　　答案：D　背景常識題。設空處前后兩個分句之間是轉折關系，故用轉折連詞but。

　　16.A.apologized B.complained

　　C.criticized D.explained

　　答案：D　根據冒號后面房主說的一系列內容可知，房主在“成交”后向作者夫婦說明了他之所以這樣做的原因。explain意為“解釋”，符合語境。apologize意為“道歉”，complain意為“抱怨”，criticize意為“批評”，均不符合語境。

　　17.A.check B.analyze

　　C.appreciate D.ignore

　　答案：C　句意為：……他知道我們有多愛這個地方，他知道我們會感激(appreciate)他們這些年為這所房子的付出。check意為“檢查”，analyze意為“分析”，ignore意為“忽略”，均不符合語境。

　　18.A.loss B.risk

　　C.chance D.lead

　　答案：A　因為房子是低價賣給作者的，所以說是一個損失(loss)。risk意為“風險”，chance意為“機會”，lead意為“引導”，均不符合語境。

　　19.A.increase B.difference

　　C.interest D.average

　　答案：B　句意為：他告訴我們就把價格的差異看成是提前送給我們的結婚禮物吧。根據上文內容可知房價的變化是“減少”，或者說是“不同”，但不是增加(increase)。interest意為“利潤;興趣”，average意為“平均水平”，均不符合語境。

　　20.A.kind B.polite

　　C.smart D.energetic

　　答案：A　根據空格后面的they are not strangers，only friends we haven't yet met以及上文中對于房東夫婦的描述，可知這類人應該用kind(好心的;善良的)形容。而polite(禮貌的)，smart(聰明的)與energetic(精力充沛的)均不適合。