The website FarmersOnly.com calls itself an online dating and friendship finder. The idea started in the mind of a man, Jerry Miller in Ohio. He wondered how farmers could meet new people who understand the life of a farmer. Jerry Miller is not a farmer but he represents a lot of farmers.
As he tells it, the idea for the site was planted when a farmer told him one day that she was recently divorced and would like to date. But someone would invite her to meet for coffee at nine o’clock at night, when she had to start her day at five the next morning.
So, in 2005, Jerry Miller launched his website. “You don’t have to be a farmer to be on FarmersOnly.com, but you do have to have the good old-fashioned traditional values of America’s Heartland.”
You also have to live in the United States or Canada to be a member of the site. Some services are free, but a full membership costs fifty dollars for a year. As of last week the site listed more than 58,000 members. Many of them are farmers in the United States. Others are students or workers involved in some way with agriculture. Jerry Miller tells us about thirty marriages in the last year have resulted from his website.
Some farmers have also found love through a group, Singles in Agriculture, which was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1986. It organizes gatherings that usually end with a dance, but is not a dating service. The purpose is to support educational and social activities that offer people a chance for friendship. Its website, singlesinag.org, says there are more than 1,000 members across the nation and as far away as France. Jerry Miller started singlesinag.org in order to .
| A．help farmers | B．support traditions |
C．un derstand farmers |
D．represent farmers |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate?
| A．She dislikes city lifestyle. |
| B．She prefers late night coffee |
| C．Country life isn’t well understood. |
| D．It’s tiring to get up early. |
Which of the following is true of singlesinag.org?
| A．Its services are free. |
| B．It provides dating services. |
| C．Only farmers can become its members. |
| D．Farmers in France can’t benefit from it. |
The author of the text intends to .
| A．advertise for the two websites |
| B．introduce two websites |
| C．encourage social activities |
| D．urge readers to help farmers |
It can be inferred from the text that .
| A．all farmers desire marriage |
| B．farmers are easy to meet new people |
| C．more farmers get divorced in the USA |
| D．the Internet helps improve farmers’ social life |
Alan Izhar-Bodner, an Israeli inventor, has developed a swimming suit for divers to breathe underwater without carrying heavy oxygen tanks. His suit makes use of the air that is dissolved（溶解）in water, just like fish do.
The system uses the Henry Law which states that the amount of gas that can be dissolved in a liquid is proportional (成比例的)to the pressure on the liquid. Raise the pressure ---more gas can be dissolved in the liquid. Decrease the pressure --- less gas dissolved in the liquid releases the gas. This is exactly what happens when you open a can of soda; carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid and is under pressure in the can. Open the can, releasing the pressure, and the gas fizzes(嘶撕作响)out.
Bodner's System obviously uses a special machine to lower pressure in part of a small amount of seawater taken into the system; dissolved gas is taken out. The patent（专利）reads: A self-contained open-circuit（循环）breathing instrument for use within a body of water naturally containing dissolved air. The instrument is adapted to provide breathable(可吸入的)air. The instrument contains an inlet for taking out a quantity of water from the body of water. It further contains a separator for separating the dissolved air from the quantity of water, thus gaining the breathable air. The instrument further contains an outlet for expelling (驱逐)the separated water back into the body of water, and another outlet for removing the breathable air and supplying it for breathing. The air is supplied so as to enable it to be expelled back into the body of water after it has been breathed .
Human beings have been thinking about how to breathe underwater since they started swimming. This long-held desire plays an important part in one of the first great science fiction novels, Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.It can be inferred from the passage that____________ .
| A．the less pressure it is, the less carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid |
| B．the deeper one dives into the ocean, the less gas is dissolved in the water |
| C．the greater pressure it is, the more carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid |
| D．the deeper one dives into the ocean, the more gas is dissolved in the water |
This passage is mainly about __________.
| A．how Bodner invented the instrument for breathing underwater |
| B．why Bodner invented the instrument for breathing underwater |
| C．how Bodner's instrument for breathing underwater works |
| D．how Bodner's instrument is used by divers for breathing underwater |
From the passage we learn that __________.
| A．a separator is used to expel breathable air back into the body of water |
| B．a separator is used to separate the air from the water so as to make use of the water |
| C．The breathable air removed from an outlet will eventually go back to the body of water. |
| D．The breathable air removed from an outlet will immediately go back to the body of water. |
A few days ago, I went to school with lots of books，hoping to get a locker (锁柜). Suddenly, it started raining heavily. I hurried to pay for my locker, but I was disappointed when they informed me they only accepted cash. I was $ 7.00 short, which meant I had to carry the books back home. It would be an exhausting (令人精疲力竭的) two-hour journey back home with all those books.
An elderly gentleman nearby noticed my problem. He asked how much cash I needed. When I told him I was $7 short, he quickly took out the money from his wallet .“You don’t have to pay me back ,”he said. I was speechless; I didn't know whether to take the money or come back with the books the next day. A young student who was working there noticed my hesitation. “He’s really nice ,”said the student. I was starving this morning and he bought breakfast for me. He always helps people in different ways.
The next day, I went to him and thanked him for trusting me and lending me the money. He said he forgot about it and didn't expect I would give it back. “I’m very happy,” he said,“not because I’m getting my money back, but because this is the right way to go---whatever you get from this world, give it back as much as you possibly can. Spread kindness around the world with the smallest things you can do.”
Later, I found out he wasn’t involved with any charity（慈善）organizations. He has been performing these types of acts for years. Earlier, someone had done something incredibly kind for him and he has been spreading the kindness ever since.
He taught me a very important lesson in life. We come to this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing. Whatever we own, it will become somebody else’s and whatever we leave, it will become somebody else’s.Why did the writer need a locker in the school?
| A．To help him get away from the sudden rain. |
| B．To store his large quantity of books. |
| C．To carry it back home with his books inside. |
| D．To make it easier for him to go on a trip. |
When the old gentleman offered the money, the writer was________.
| A．touched | B．amazed | C．hesitant | D．embarrassed |
From Paragraph 3 we learn that ________.
| A．the gentleman worked in the school |
| B．the gentleman was kind but forgetful |
| C．the gentleman thought it right to give back to society |
| D．the gentleman refused to take back the money |
From the passage we can conclude that_______.
| A．people shouldn't focus too much on money |
| B．the writer often takes many books to school |
| C．there was only $ 7 in the writer's wallet |
| D．the writer lived not far from the school |
Last year, on report card day, my son and a group of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald's. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A's, and Laurie got a cell-phone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she's only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $10 for each A.”
I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cell-phone, and the DVD player?
I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle disappear before my eyes---no more of those $5 bags of already-peeled organic（施有机肥料的）carrots. No more organic anything!
I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal achieved by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns（橄榄球底线得分）? What about the orchestra（管弦乐队）? Would first chair pay more than second? I'd be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.
“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that's about it.”
Don't you just hate that? We're all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation. And what about the primary grades? What do these students get? “When the teacher asked if anyone got rewards for good grades, everyone in my class raised their hands and said they got ice cream cones (蛋卷),” said one third-grader.What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Tips on Paying Kids for Good Grades |
| B．New Trends in Paying Kids for Good Grades |
| C．Good Grades Mean Good Rewards |
| D．Don't Pay Kids for Good Grades |
What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably mean?
| A．Taking care of my children would influence my work. |
| B．I would spend less money on my children's good grades. |
| C．More rewards would be needed as my children grow up. |
| D．Reducing my children's homework load would cost me a lot. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．if you buy children pizza as a reward, they will work harder |
| B．if you pay kids for good grades, they will take it for granted |
| C．children will not ask for rewards when they enter high school |
| D．good grades won't help kids make great progress in the future |
The author takes her neighbor as an example to show _______.
| A．pizza is the best way to motivate children |
| B．it is necessary to reward children for their good grades. |
| C．getting rewards for good grades is common nowadays |
| D．rewards are not the only way to motivate children |
As computers become more and more popular in China, Chinese are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes(笔画) of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more widespread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer. All the students interviewed say they usually use computers.
It's faster and easier to correct the mistakes if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being used more and more often in modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can’t remember how to write a character, though I feel I'm familiar with it.”
“I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don’t feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and efficient to type on a computer, why bother to write by hand?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei , the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. Besides, handwriting contains the writer's emotion. Through one's handwriting, people can learn one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression.”
To encourage students to write more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Importance of Typing |
| B．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters |
| C．Writing by Computer Will Replace Writing by Hand |
| D．To Type or to Write by Hand |
The students interviewed prefer to type on a computer mainly because_______.
| A．they can correct the mistakes quickly and conveniently |
| B．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and essays |
| C．they find it hard to remember how to write a character |
| D．computers have become a trend and fashion in China |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about advantages of handwriting?
| A．Handwriting contains the writer's emotion. |
| B．Handwriting can impress people well and build their self-confidence. |
| C．The writer's thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting. |
| D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
The underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 probably means________.
| A．getting bored with | B．becoming crazy about |
| C．becoming dependent on | D．getting curious about |
根据短文内容，从下框的A—F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余项．
A．Join learning communities and help each other.
B．Expect problems, never be disappointed, and gradually you’ll make it.
C．Anytime is learning time.
D．Get interested and arouse（唤起） your desire for knowledge.
E．Cover the same ground from different angles(角度).
F．Try to be a good and effective learner.
As a student, how we can learn our lessons effectively is a common problem which is always puzzling us．If you follow suggestions below, I'm sure you'll find the solution easily.Your interest in the subject is the essential driver of success. You can' t learn what you do not want to learn. Emotion is an important part of the learning process. If you are even moderately interested in a subject, give yourself a chance. The key is to get started. If you can create some pleasurable routines, you may find that the subject grows on you. You must always remember learning is just like eating. You don' t expect to enjoy your food without appetite（食欲）.Therefore, you should always try to arouse your interest and desire for knowledge if you want to learn well.
Don't expect to understand things, or remember too much, the first time you study them．Think about what problem you will meet with in your study, so that you are well-prepared for it. Never be disappointed no matter what happens. Trust that things will get clearer as your brain comes to get new information. It is like a jig-saw puzzle or a cross-word puzzle（纵横填字游戏）. As you start to put the pieces together, or string the words together, the full picture becomes clearer. The brain learns all the time, but on its own schedule．Learning does not take place according to a schedule laid down by a curriculum or teacher. Keep at it, and you will gradually find that things that seem difficult at first, will become second nature with time.
Your brain is struggling to form patterns to cope with new input from your learning activities．Sometimes, no matter how long you focus on one subject, your brain is not going to pick it up．If you are stuck, move on．Then cover the same general information from a different source, a different book, or a blog, or an online lecture or a video．Try to become a grazing learner, wandering about the countryside, rather than a feed-lot learner, just standing there in one spot, chewing the same bale of hay．The broader your base, the easier it is to learn．Just as the "rich get richer" , the more you know, the more you can learn．
Take full advantage of the Internet, blogs, and various mobile devices, not to mention good old-fashioned books and magazines．Learn during "dead time". Listen in your car, on the train, or while jogging. Have your learning with you while waiting in the doctor's office, or listen while checking out at the supermarket. Anytime is learning time．Remember, you are learning through exposure, not by nailing things down. It is more like moisture accumulation in a cloud, rather than building a brick wall．
The "loneliness of the distance learner" is a thing of the past．Join a learning community on the web, where members share their knowledge and experience. Search for the communities that suit your interests and learning styles. You will find encouragement, advice and stimulus from fellow learners, as well as from tutors, teachers and coaches．In these communities, you can measure your progress against your own goals, or compare your experience with that of other learners．You can even teach and help others, which is a great way to learn.