My fiance(未婚夫) and I were excited about shopping for our first home. But our funds were  16 , and none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory. 

One agent  17  a house in particular. Although her description sounded wonderful, the price was  18  our range, so we declined. But she kept urging us to have a look  19 . 

We finally did and it was  20  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  21  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  22  it would be like to live there. 

Days later, we made a(n)  23 —far below the asking price. Surprisingly, they didn't  24  us. They renewed their offer  25 . It was also much more than we could afford, but far  26  than the original asking price. 

The next day, we got a  27  message that another buyer had offered a much higher price. Even so, we decided to talk with the  28  directly. We made our final offer, which  29  was thousands of dollars less than the other buyer's bid. We knew it,  30  we had to try. 

“Sold!” said the owner. Then he  31 : He'd seen us sitting by the lake all those times; he knew how much we loved the place and that we'd  32  the years of work they had put into their home; he realized he would take a  33  by selling it to us, but it was worthwhile; we were the people they wanted to live there. He told us to consider the  34  in the price “an early wedding present. ”

That's how we found our home and how I learned that when people are  35 , they are not strangers, only friends we haven't yet met. 

1.

A needed

B limited

C enough

D large

解析：选B。答案B　考查形容词。A．needed需要的；B．limited 有限的；C．enough足够的；D．large大的。根据前面的But和后面的none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory可知，我们的钱很有限，在我们价格范围内的房子都令人不满意。故选择B选项。

2.

A recommended

B decorated

C sold

D rented

解析：选A。答案A　考查动词。A．recommended 推荐，介绍；B．decorated装饰；C．sold卖；D．rented出租。一个代理商特别为我们推荐了一个房子。故选择A选项。

3.

A below

B within

C beyond

D between

解析：选C。答案C　考查介词。A．below在……下面；B．within在……内；C．beyond (表示范围)超出，非……所能及；D．between在……之间（两者）。根据后面的so we declined可知，这所房子的价格超出了我们的承受范围。故选择C选项。

4.

A at least

B at most

C at times

D at hand

解析：选A。答案A　考查介词短语。A.at least至少；B.at most最多；C.at times有时；D.at hand在手边，在附近，即将来临。但她力劝我们至少去看一看。故选择A选项。

5.

A relief

B concern

C love

D curiosity

解析：选C。答案C　考查名词。A．relief安慰、松了一口气；B．concern关心；C．love，love at first sight固定用法，一见钟情；D．curiosity好奇；根据后面的It was Our Home, small and charming可知，我们对这所房子一见钟情。故选择C选项。

6.

A pride

B happiness

C challenge

D desire

解析：选B。答案B　考查名词。A．pride自豪，骄傲；B．happiness幸福、快乐；C．challenge 挑战；D．desire渴望、愿望；根据前面的warmth和后面的of the marriage可知，在这所房子里我们感受到了婚姻的温暖和幸福。故选择B选项。

7.

A which

B why

C that

D what

解析：选D。答案D　考查宾语从句。梦想着生活在那里是什么样子。作be like的宾语要用what，而that在宾语从句中只作连词，不能在充当宾语。故选择D选项。

8.

A effort

B offer

C promise

D profit

解析：选B。答案B　考查名词。A．make an effort 努力；B．make an offer还价，出价；C．make a promise承诺；D．make a profit。几天后，我们出价远远低于要价。故选择B选项。

9.

A come across

B look after

C depend on

D laugh at

解析：选D。答案D　考查动词短语。A．come across 遇见；B．look after照顾；C．depend on依靠； D．laugh at嘲笑。根据Surprisingly可知，我们出价太低，但他们没有嘲笑我们，这令我们感到很惊讶。故选择D选项。

10.

A instead

B indeed

C aside

D apart

解析：选A。答案A　考查副词。A．instead代替，而是；B．indeed确实；C．aside在…..一边；D．apart与……分开。他们没有嘲笑我们，而是修改了价格。故选择A选项。

11.

A worse

B better

C less

D higher

解析：选C。答案C　考查形容词。A．worse 更糟的； B．better更好的； C．less更少的； D．higher更高的。这一价格仍然远远超出我们的承受能力，但比原来的要价低多了。故选择C选项。

12.

A relaxing

B disappointing

C pleasant

D regular

解析：选B。答案B　考查形容词。A．relaxing令人放松的；B．disappointing令人失望的；C．pleasant高兴的；D．regular正规的，有规律的。根据后面的another buyer had offered a much higher price可知，这是一个令人失望的消息。故选择B选项。

13.

A agents

B buyers

C managers

D owners

解析：选D。答案D　考查名词。A．agents代理商；B．buyers买主；C．managers经理；D．owners主人。谈价格当然要找房子的主人。故选择D选项。

14.

A already

B still

C generally

D ever

解析：选B。答案B　考查副词。A．already已经；B．still仍然；C．generally总的来说；D．ever曾经。我们最终的出价仍然比其他购买者的出价低好几千美元。故选择B选项。

15.

A so

B or

C for

D but

解析：选D。答案D　考查连词。A．so因此；B．or或者；C．for因为；D．but但是。我们明白这一点，但我们必须尽力争取一下。前后之间为转折关系。故选择D选项。

16.

A apologized

B complained

C criticized

D explained

解析：选D。答案D　考查动词。A．apologized道歉；B．complained抱怨；C．criticized批评； D．explained解释。根据后面的内容可知，他卖给了我们，然后解释其中的原因。故选择D选项。

17.

A check

B analyze

C appreciate

D ignore

解析：选C。答案C　考查动词。A．check 检查；B．analyze分析；C．appreciate欣赏，赏识，重视；D．ignore忽略。他知道我们很喜爱这所房子，我们将会赏识他们为这所房子所付出的劳动。故选择C选项。

18.

A loss

B risk

C chance

D lead

解析：选A。答案A　考查名词。A．loss 损失；B．risk冒险；C．chance机会；D．lead领先。 卖给我们他会遭受金钱上的损失，但这是值得的。故选择A选项。

19.

A increase

B difference

C interest

D average

解析：选B。答案B　考查名词。A．increase增加；B．difference 差别；C．interest兴趣；D．average平均。他告诉我们考虑一下价格方面的差别。故选择B选项。

20.

A kind

B polite

C smart

D energetic

解析：选A。答案A　考查形容词。A．kind友好的；B．polite有礼貌的；C．smart 聪明的；D．energetic精力充沛的。当人们友好的时候，他们不是陌生人，只是我们还没有认识的朋友。