Centuries ago, man discovered that removing moisture from food helps to store it, and that the easiest way to do this is to expose the food to sun and wind.
All foods including water — cabbage and other leaf vegetables contains as much as 93% water, potatoes and other root vegetables 80%, lean (瘦的) meat 75% and fish, anything from 80% to 60%, depending on how fatty it is. If this water is removed, the activity of the bacteria which cause food to go bad is controlled.
Nowadays most foods are dried mechanically. The conventional method of such dehydration (脱水) is to put food in chambers (室) through which hot air is blown at temperature of about ll0'C at entry to about 43'C at exit. This is the usual method for drying such things as vegetables, minced meat, and fish.
Liquids such as milk, coffee, tea, soups and eggs may be dried by pouring them over a heated steel cylinder (圆筒), then put them into a chamber through which a current of hot air passes. In the first process, the dried material comes off the roller (滚筒) as a thin film which is then broken up into small, though still relatively flakes (薄片). In the second process it falls to the bottom of the chamber as small powder. Where recognizable pieces of meat and vegetables are required, as in soup, the ingredients (成分) are dried separately and then mixed.
Dried foods take up less room and weigh less than the same food packed in cans or
frozen, and they do not need to be stored in special conditions. For these reasons they
are invaluable to the climbers, explorers and soldiers in battle, who have little storage
space. They are also popular with housewives because it takes so little time to cook
them.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．the rattier fish contain as much water as the lean one |
| B．the rattier the fish is, the more water it may contain |
| C．a fatty fish holds less water than a lean one |
| D．the water content of fish has nothing to do with the content of their fat |
The underlined word "conventional" in Paragraph 3 can most probably be replaced by _________.
| A．particular | B．scientific | C．usual | D．special |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about drying food?
| A．The removal of water in food helps prevent it from going rotten. |
| B．The open-air method of drying food has been known for hundreds of years. |
| C．In the course of dehydration, the temperature of hot current coming from entry to exit is gradually going up. |
| D．The process of drying liquids is much more complex than that of drying solid food. |
The last paragraph mainly talks about __________.
| A．the reason why housewives like dried food |
| B．the general convenience of dried food |
| C．the methods of storing food |
| D．the advantages of dried, canned and frozen food |
There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckets(桶). One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and worn-out one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled(溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed（惭愧的） because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, “see how able I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don’t know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”
And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I am not very useful, but I can only do my best. I am happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “you both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare(光秃秃的)earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.What was the old bucket ashamed of?
| A．His past. | B．His aging. |
| C．His manner | D．His leaking. |
The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to ______ .
| A．laugh at the old one |
| B．take pity on the old one |
| C．show off its beautiful looks |
| D．praise the gardener’s kindness |
Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?
| A．Because it was used to keep a balance |
| B．Because it stayed in its best condition |
| C．Because it had its own function |
| D．Because it was taken as a treasure(宝物). |
In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl going to Howard University, aiming at a law career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different story to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a mix of adopted(收养)and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To put eyes on him was wonderful---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy then followed son No.3. in 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how engaged I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term
The hardest part was feeling sorry about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you are looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you are in the middle of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process(过程). Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ________ .
| A．a judge | B．a teacher |
| C．a writer | D．a doctor |
Why did the author give up school in her second year of college?
| A．She wanted to study by herself. |
| B．She fell in love and got married. |
| C．She suffered from a serious illness |
| D．She decided to look after her grandma. |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
| A．She was busy yet happy with her family life. |
| B．She ignored her sorry feeling for her sons. |
| C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife. |
| D．She was too confused to make a correct choice. |
What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．failure is the mother of success. |
| B．little by little, one goes far. |
| C．every coin has two sides. |
| D．well begun, half done |
Exploit your parking space
An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement（广告）for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.
Rent（出租）a room
Spare room? Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax (税) on the first £4，500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.
Make money during special events
Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space.
Live on set
Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register（注册、登记） your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.
Use your roof
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign（签）a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.If you earn ￡5，000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.
| A．￡300 | B．￡500 | C．￡4,500 | D．5,000 |
Where can you put an advertisement to rent out a room during a big event?
| A．On Letpark. | B．On Roomspare. |
| C．On Grashpadder. | D．On Roommateeasy. |
If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.
| A．sign an agreement with the government |
| B．pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment |
| C．sell the roof to some energy companies |
| D．keep the roof unchanged within 25 years |
For whom is the text most probably written?
| A．Lodgers. | B．Advertisers. |
| C．House owners. | D．Online companies |
It’s 5:00 in the morning when the alarm (闹钟) rings in my ears. I get out of bed and walk blindly through the dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favorite exercise DVD Insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I force my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise, I feel extremely tired, but a smile is on my face. It’s not a smile because the DVD is over, but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit.
Some people enjoy shopping, smoking, food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get through each day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try just one bite of their grandmother’s chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my “no thank you,” or by my choice to have a salad. Over the years, I have learned it’s okay to just say “no.” I shouldn’t feel sorry for refusing food that I don’t want to eat.
So what drives me to get out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say no to ice cream? Commitment. A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily worry, increases self -confidence and energy, extends (延长) life and above all improves my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It’s through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.Why is there a smile on the author’s face in the morning?
| A．Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully. |
| B．Because she finishes her favorite exercise |
| C．Because she enjoys the interesting DVD |
| D．Because she feels a sense of achievement |
Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?
| A．She doesn’t treat others politely |
| B．She likes to make others surprised |
| C．Others don’t understand what she does |
| D．Others try to help her by offering her food |
What does the underlined word “commitment” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Good health | B．Strong belief |
| C．strong power | D．good habits |
What can we learn about the author from the text?
| A．She acts in a strange way |
| B．She wants to look different from others |
| C．She aims to develop a good body shape |
| D．She has difficulty getting along with others |
Mobile Phones in Schools
Mobile phones have become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have forbidden(禁止) students to carry mobile phones during school hours.
Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts and more students will want them.
Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone use is a distraction(分心的事) to students during school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
She said some schools had tried to forbid mobile phones to be used at school. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children. Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school office. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction from studies.
Many people say that they understood why parents would want their children to have mobile phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.
| A．because they are students | B．when they are free |
| C．when they are at school | D．because they are children |
| A．the makers and sellers | B．the passers-by and strangers |
| C．their parents and friends | D．some mobile phone users |
| A．聊天 | B．核对 | C．查询 | D．作弊 |
| A．use their mobile phones |
| B．leave their mobile phones at school office |
| C．help the teachers with their work |
| D．get in touch with their children |
| A．students shouldn’t have mobile phones at school except for some special reasons |
| B．it is impossible to forbid students to use mobile phones at school |
| C．some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t use their phones at school |
| D．parents should teach their children how to use mobile phones during school hours |