People living more than three thousand meters above sea level find it difficult to raise vegetables all year long. People living in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia, for example, cannot grow vegetables outdoors during the months of May through September. It is very cold in the highlands at that time of year. If traditional farming methods are used, vegetables will not survive.
However, there is another way to grow vegetables throughout the year in cold areas. It is a method of gardening developed by a private agency called World Neighbors. The method uses “hot houses” built below ground. A hot house is a building covered with plastic or glass in which vegetables or flowers are grown. The traditional hot house is built above ground.
The air temperature is cold in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia during the winter. But, the winter sun is hot. So, World Neighbors advises farmers there to build hot houses below ground. The design is simple. The material does not cost much. Here is how World Neighbors says to build it: Dig a hole two and one-half meters wide and six meters long. Make it about two meters deep. Build wall with a door in one end of the hole. Dig steps from the ground down to the door.
Now, build a wall along the top edge of the hole. Make it about one-half meters tall. Earth bricks work fine. Build two shorter walls on the ends. These will be uneven; one side will be as high as the existing wall. The other side will be at ground level. Leave a small opening in each of these sloping walls. This prevents the hot house from becoming too hot. Now, make the roof. Build a wood frame. Cover it with clear plastic. Connect it to the brick walls.
The underground hot house we have described is large enough for two raised vegetable beds. Each is one meter wide and six meters long. Each is seeded and watered just as if it were in a garden above ground.
The dirt walls protect the growing plants from the cold. The clear plastic roof permits the sun’s heat to enter. At night, the roof should be covered with straw. This helps prevent cold air from entering. An under ground hot house this size will provide enough vegetables for one family. Groups needing more vegetables can make it bigger.
66. If you lived in Peru, you _______.
A. should raise the special kinds of vegetables that can endure cold
B. could not plant at all
C. had to work out some new unusual plans
D. would not have many vegetables to eat
67. To our surprise, the “hot houses” invented by World Neighbors are _______.
A. covered with a transparent plastic ceiling
B. built under ground
C. quite small
D. hotter than traditional ones
68. The hot house can be kept warm by using _______.
A. a big oven B. an electricity heater
C. the heat of the earth’s interior D. the sun shine
69. The measure to prevent the hot house from becoming too hot is to _______.
A. make the roof sloped B. dig holes on the walls
C. make the wall not vertical D. make the walls shorter than the ground level
70. According to the passage, the method suggested by World Neighbors is _______.
A. new and difficult B. uneasy to explain
C. at trial step D. simple and practical
There are little cars that may some day take the place of today’s automobiles(汽车). If everyone drives such a little car in the future, there will be less pollution in the air, there will be more parking space in cities, and the streets will be less crowded. The space now for one car of the usual size can hold at least three such little cars.
The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive. Driving will be safer, too, as these little cars can go only 65 kilometers an hour.
The cars of the future will be fine for going around the city, but they will not be useful for going far away. If the car is powered by electricity, it will have two batteries—one battery for the motor and the other for the horn (喇叭), signals (信号灯), etc. Little cars which are powered by gas will go 45 kilometers before needing to stop for more gas.
If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed to set up in the future. Some roads will be used for the big, fast cars, and other roads will be needed for the small, slower ones. What’s the advantage (优势) of the small cars?
A.There won’t be so much pollution and the small cars won’t be so expensive as the big ones. |
B.It will be safer to drive these small cars. |
C.There will be more space for cars to park. |
D.All of the above. |
Two sets of roads are necessary in the future in order to .
A.prevent car accidents |
B.make the city more beautiful |
C.let small cars run fast |
D.limit the speed of the cars |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.A car of the usual size now is three times as big as the small car. |
B.The small car with a speed of 65 kilometers an hour is much more useless than a car of the usual size. |
C.the little car will be safer but cost more. |
D.The little car will need more gas. |
The best title for this passage should be .
A.Big Cars and Small Cars | B.How to Drive Small Cars |
C.Cars for Tomorrow | D.Cars for Everyone |
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Dear Boris,
1
After I had spent a week with my English family, I slowly began to understand their English a little better. 2Students in my group are from different cities of Britain and their dialects are different too! Some of their accents are quite strong and they also have their own words and expressions.
3Before I came to England I had thought that fish and chips were eaten every day. That’s quite wrong! I get rather annoyed now when I hear all the foolish words about typical English food.
I had expected to see “London fog”. Do you remember our texts about it? We had no idea that most of this “thick fog” disappeared many years ago when people stopped using coal in their homes. But the idea to speak about weather was very helpful. 4On the other hand, habits are different. People tell me what is typical British here in London is not always typical in Wales or Scotland. 5
But what is ordinary for all British is that they follow traditions(传统). Probably Britain has more living signs of its past than many other countries. And people have always been proud of having ancient (古老的) buildings in capitals, big cities and the countryside.
I will tell you more about Britain in my other letters.
Love from Britain.
A.The weather in London is really changeable. |
B.I have difficulty in understanding my classmates. |
C.Thanks for your nice letter. |
D.The family I live with are friendly. |
E. It’s very different from what I learned at school.
F. Local habits and traditions are not the same as what we knew.
G. But it’s not the language that’s different and surprising.
For many years, artists have flocked to Paris, France, to paint or to learn to paint. Perhaps artists first went there because of the city′s beauty. They went to paint pictures of the broad, tree-lined streets, the great churches, and the graceful river bridges.
The artists felt comfortable in Paris because the people of the city had always enjoyed art. Paris had great art museums, filled with famous paintings and statues(雕像)from many countries. And the people of Paris had always welcomed new ideas. In this city, artists felt free to experiment with new ways of painting.
As soon as famous artists painted in Paris, students came to learn from them. People came to buy paintings. People called art dealers set up galleries where paintings were bought and sold. Others kept shops that sold artists′ paints and supplies.
Students and artists who were not yet famous could live in Paris for very little money. They learned by studying great art in the museums, and they learned from one another. They held art fairs, hanging their paintings outdoors along the streets.
Today, New York City and Florence, Italy, are also famous art centers. But the world’s main art exhibits are still held in Paris. Important judges of art live there. Most of the new ways of painting that have started in the last hundred years began in Paris. So artists and art dealers still go to Paris because it is the world′s leading art center.The story does not say so, but it makes you think that.
A.Paris is famous for its artists’ paints and supplies |
B.there is more than one way to paint |
C.art fairs are held in galleries |
D.Florence is the center of world art exhibits |
Which of the following statement is not a reason why so many artists prefer to stay in Pairs?
A.Pairs is a beautiful city. |
B.The French are willing to accept any new things. |
C.All the museums are free of charge in Pairs. |
D.Artists can make an easier life in Pairs. |
On the whole, this story is about.
A.the world′s most famous art center |
B.how to buy a painting in Paris |
C.the famous art centers of New York and Florence |
D.where to set up galleries |
Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp,US researchers said.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles ,studied people doing web searches by recording their brain activity.
“What we saw was people who had Internet experience used more of their brain during the search,”Dr.Gary Small, a UCLA expert on aging, said,“This suggests that just searching on the Internet may train the brain and that it may keep it active and healthy.”
“This is the first time anyone has simulated(模拟)an Internet search task while scanning the brain,”Small said. His team studied 24 normal volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. Half were experienced at searching the Internet and the other half had no web experience. However, the two groups were similar in age, gender and education.
Both groups were asked to do Internet searches and book reading tasks while their brain activity was monitored.
“We found that in the book reading task, the visual cortex— the part of the brain that controls reading and language — was activated,”Small said,“In doing the Internet search task, there was much greater activity, but only in the Internet-savvy(了解)group.”
He said it appears that people who are familiar with the Internet can engage in much deeper level of brain activity. Activities that keep the brain engaged can preserve brain health and thinking ability. Small thinks learning to do Internet searches may be one of those activities.Researcherswhen volunteers were doing web searches.
A.studied the Internet |
B.activated the brain |
C.recorded their memories |
D.monitored the brain activity |
The two volunteer groups were.
A.similar in education |
B.of the same age |
C.good at the computer |
D.book lovers |
According to the passage, we can learn that.
A.reading books keeps the brain more engaged |
B.searching the web keeps the brain more engaged |
C.watching TV keeps the brain more engaged |
D.chatting online keeps the brain more engaged |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.When you read, the whole brain will be activated. |
B.Dr.Gary Small is a UCLA expert on brain health. |
C.Internet searches can preserve brain health and thinking ability |
D.People who read books may have a better memory. |
To me, life without music would not be exciting. I realize that this is not true for everybody. Many people get along quite well without going to the concert, and listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone's life, whether he realizes it or not. Try to imagine, for example, what films or TV plays would be like without music. Would the feelings, the moving plot, and the greatest interests, be so exciting or dramatic? I'm not sure about it.
Now, we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning----the kind of music we hear in the concert hall. But if we look at some parts of music more closely, we discover them in our everyday life too----in the rhythm of the sea, the melody of a bird in the woods and so on. So music surely has meaning for everyone, in some way or other. And, of course, it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.
It is well said, “Through music a child enters into a world of beauty, expresses himself from his heart, feels the joy of doing things alone, learns to take care of others, develops his mind and makes his body strong.” What dose the writer say more about in the text?
A.Life full of music. |
B.Life without music. |
C.The importance of music. |
D.The development of music. |
From the text, we learn that many people________.
A.don't realize the importance of music |
B.get along quite well without music |
C.go to the concert instead of enjoying music |
D.think music would be less exciting than films |
What does the underlined word “melody” mean in the text?
A.flying | B.looking | C.singing | D.living |
From the last paragraph, we learn that music________.
A.is very important, especially for children |
B.is very necessary for our everyday life |
C.can make our life exciting and dramatic |
D.can enter into another beautiful world |