Recently, some concerns have been raised about the health of the world's banana plants. Many media reports have said that bananas may completely disappear in the coming ten years.
Bananas are one of the world's most important food crops. They are also the fourth most valuable export. Bananas do not grow from seeds. Instead, they grow from existing plants. Bananas are threatened by disease because all the plants on a farm are copies of each other. They all share the same genetic weaknesses.
For example, the Cavendish banana is most popular in American markets. It is an important export crop. However, some kinds of fungus (真菌) organisms easily infect the Cavendish. Black Sigatoka disease affects the leaves of Cavendish banana plants. The disease is controlled on large farms by putting chemicals on the plant's leaves. Farmers put anti-fungal chemicals on their crops up to once a week.
Another fungal disease is more serious. Panama disease attacks the roots of the banana plant. There is no chemical treatment for this disease. Infected plants must be destroyed. Panama disease has affected crops in Southeast Asia, Australia and South Africa. There is concern that it may spread to bananas grown in the Americas. This could threaten an important export product for Central and South America.
The International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain, whose headquarter lies in France, supports research on bananas. The group says that more research must be done to develop improved kinds of bananas.
The group says that fungal diseases mainly affect only one kind of banana. In fact, there are five-hundred different kinds of bananas. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the Cavendish banana represents only ten percent of world production.
The UN agency says farmers should grow different kinds of bananas. This protects against diseases that affect only one kind. Experts warn that disease may cause the Cavendish banana to disappear. This has already happened to one popular banana because of its genetic weakness against disease. (words: 335) What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Bananas are the world’s most important food crops. |
| B．There are five hundred different kinds of bananas. |
| C．The risk to a popular banana shows need to grow other kinds. |
| D．How to grow bananas in different countries. |
Bananas are threatened by diseases because __________.
| A．they have genetic weaknesses against disease. |
| B．they are one of the most valuable exports. |
| C．the only way to prevent it is to put chemicals on their leaves. |
| D．they grow from the seed |
Panama disease__________.
| A．doesn’t belong to fungal disease. |
| B．has spread to bananas in the world. |
| C．affects the leaves of banana plants. |
| D．destroys the bananas more seriously than Black Sigatoka disease. |
We can infer from Paragraph 6 that ____________.
| A．the center of the group is in the US. |
| B．the key to solving the disease is to research all kinds of bananas. |
| C．the Cavendish banana covers only a small part of the output of bananas. |
| D．each fungal disease affects five hundred different kinds of bananas. |
According to the passage, which information is right?
| A．The Cavendish banana can be mainly imported from North America and Europe. |
| B．Fungal diseases mainly affect the Cavendish banana. |
| C．The Cavendish banana won’t die out in the future. |
| D．Panama disease affects the leaves of banana plants. |
The standard Outward Bound course lasts for three or four weeks. During that time the students live in the wilderness and go through many physical activities of ever increasing difficulty.
The first few days are given to physical conditioning and to the teaching of basic skills such as first aid, map and compass reading, rope climbing, and other similar activities.
During the second part of the course students learn how to climb rocks and cliffs, how to use canoes and rafts in swift water, and in some schools how to sail, ski, climb mountains, and make long-distance hikes.
The first two parts of the course are done in groups. Members work together and help each other to overcome the increasing number of challenges. In the third part of the course, students are sent out alone for three days to survive in the wilderness with only a few necessities.
Who are the students of Outward Bound? They are both young people and adults, men and women. The minimum age is 16.5 years. There is no maximum age. About one-third of the 6,000 persons completing the course each year are women. Businessmen, housewives, university students, professors, doctors, and lawyers are among those taking part in the course.
In recent years special courses for the busy business managers have gained in popularity. These courses last from five to ten days rather than the usual three to four weeks of the normal course.
Not all students complete the Outward Bound course. In some cases the individual cannot meet the physical challenges. In its own words Outward Bound literature says: "Make no mistake, Outward Bound is not for everybody. The courses aren't easy and are not meant to be."
Most students who finish the course share a common experience. They are surprised at themselves that they finish the course and they feel great pride in doing the impossible! The Outward Bound experience makes them feel that they are better than they know!Where are Outward Bound courses given?
| A．In the classroom. |
| B．On the playground. |
| C．In the wilderness. |
| D．In canoes and rafts. |
All of the following are true EXCEPT __________.
| A．Special courses for business executives last five to ten days longer |
| B．All of the students have to live outdoors |
| C．The students of Outward Bound are composed of both sexes over 16.5 years |
| D．More and more businessmen like the Outward Bound course |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Around 6,000 people attend the course each year. |
| B．About 2,000 women attend the course each year. |
| C．About 2,000 women overcome the challenges each year. |
| D．Approximately 2,000 people overcome the challenges each year. |
When students are sent out alone for the last three days in the course, they .
| A．take anything they think necessary with them |
| B．take the equipment they found useful |
| C．are provided with everything to make them comfortable |
| D．are provided with only a few articles which are absolutely necessary |
After sunset on our last day at the farm I walked out into the desert. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long hot hours, I thought I was the only thing out of doors. Suddenly I stopped. Before me a rattlesnake lay fixed, its head not yet drawn back to strike but only turned a little to watch what I would do. Many snakes will run away at the sight of a man but this rattlesnake felt no necessity to get out of any-body's way. He held his ground in calm watch-fullness waiting for me to show my intentions. My first aim was to take no notice of him; I had never killed an animal if I was not forced to kill. But I remembered that there were children, dogs and horses at the farm as well as men and women with thin clothes on; my duty was to kill the snake. I went back to the farm and returned with a stick. The rattlesnake had not moved; he lay like a wire but more quickly than I could stride he shot into a bush and set up his rattling, warning me by this that I had made an unreasonable attack and attempted to take his life and that if I insisted he would have no choice but to take mine if he could. For a moment I listened to this terrifying sound and then I struck into the bush with my stick and, chop-ping about, dragged him out of the bush with his back broken.
He struck once more at the stick but a moment later his neck was broken and he was soon dead although when I picked him up by the tail his mouth opened, proving that a dead snake may still bite. There was blood in his mouth and poison was dropping; it was not only a dis-gusting(令人作呕的) sight but a pitiful one too. I dropped the body into a green bush and, as I did so, I saw him in my imagination, crawling over the sands as he might have done if I had let him go.At the sight of the author, the rattlesnake .
| A．shot into a bush |
| B．lay motionless but got ready to meet danger |
| C．drew itself up to strike |
| D．took no notice of his presence |
The author had to kill the rattlesnake because .
| A．it stood in his way |
| B．it attempted to take his life |
| C．it presented a disgusting sight |
| D．its presence was a danger to the people and animals at the farm |
Which of the following best describes the rattlesnake?
| A．It attacked man without any reason. |
| B．It would not attack unless it was attacked. |
| C．It ran away at the sight of man. |
| D．It exposed itself to danger. |
It is implied at the end of the passage that the author____.
| A．regretted having killed the snake |
| B．was glad that he had killed the snake |
| C．felt a little sorry for the snake |
| D．could not help thinking about the dead snake |
Use your American Express Card to enjoy one-day privileges at four America’s greatest museums. Note the participating museums, and their exciting special exhibitions that will not want to miss, listed below.
Boston
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Chairs
February 11-May 8,2005
Italian furniture expert Fausto Calderai and Indian photographer Dayanita Singh present an exhibition of chairs from the museum’s collection and “chair photographs” from around the world presented in a Venetian-style hall housing world-famous masterpieces.
For more information: www. gardnermuseum. org
New York
The Noguchi Museum
Noguchi and Graham
December 1,2004-May 1,2005
Noguchi’s long-term collaboration with dancer Martha Graham is regarded by many as a high point in the history of both modern dance and art. The exhibition highlights nine of the sets created through this collaboration.
For more information: www. noguchi. org
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
In Full View: American Painting(1720—2005)
January 11—April 10,2005
Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy has been home to America’s artists for 200 years. The Academy collects and exhibits the words of famous American artists , and is well-known for training fine artists.2005 at the Academy begins with the largest exhibition of the Academy’s distinguished American collection in the institution’s history.
For more information: www. pafa.org
Seattle
Seattle Museum of glass
Murano: Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection
Through November 7,2004
This exhibition includes over 200 pieces of beautiful glass from Murano, the island of glassblowers near Venice, Italy. Watch live glass-blowing shows in the Hot Shop and see other modern glass exhibitions.
For more information: www. museumofglass. orgWhich of the following websites offers information about the furniture show?
| A．www. pafa. org |
| B．www. noguchi. org |
| C．www. museumofglass. org |
| D．www. gardnermuseum. org |
We learn from the text that Martha graham is____.
| A．a dancer | B．a painter | C．a glassblower | D．a photographer |
If you want to know the history of American painting, you may visit____.
| A．The Noguchi Museum | B．Seattle Museum of Glass |
| C．Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum | D．Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
Language is a way to communicate with each other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don’t have the same native language. Also, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful. Because of this situation, their children are losing their identity and, even more, they are ignoring their parents whose English is not very good.
I think most immigrants are trying to preserve their native language in their new country, but this doesn’t help very much in getting a good job. My aunt taught Korean to her children not to help hem succeed in the U.S. she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity. Though the second generation was born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parents’ country, they will probably feel different from other people there too. My cousins told me that when they visited Korea a few years ago, they felt different from other Koreans. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothes and walked differently.
We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children understand their background by teaching them the parents’ language. This is very important, not only for the harmony of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity.According to the text, what is the problem of the first generation immigrants?
| A．They have lost their identity. |
| B．Their children are losing their identity. |
| C．Their children speak different languages. |
| D．They cannot speak their native language. |
My aunt taught her children Korean____.
| A．so that they knew they were of Korean origin |
| B．so that they would be more successful in the U.S. |
| C．because she didn’t want them to speak English |
| D．because she wanted them to respect her |
The writer’s cousins felt different in their parents’ country because they____.
| A．had never been there before | B．behaved quite differently |
| C．couldn’t understand the language | D．had different facial appearance |
According to the text, the native language is important and valuable to immigrants in that____.
A. it gives them self-confidence and better chance
B. t makes the second generation love motherland
C. it helps the second generation to understand their parents
D. it strengthens the family ties and reminds them of their identity (BCABD)
Beijing, January 25 ( Xinhuanet)—Air Canada announced that effective June 2, 2005 it will introduce non—stop service between Toronto and Beijing, further building its main Toronto hub with more non-stop flights to Asia and creating the first—ever direct link between eastern Canada and the Chinese mainland.
Air Canada will operate four non-stop flights per week from Toronto to the Chinese capital of Beijing, complementing its daily non-stop flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Vancouver, and twice daily Hong Kong flights including a new non—stop service from Toronto.
In addition, in response to increased demand on its Vancouver—Shanghai route, Air Canada will replace its 189-seat Boeing 767-300ER service with larger 282-seat A340-300 aircraft during the demand season beginning June 1,2005. With these new services, Air Canada is boosting seating capacity between Canada and China by 16 percent and providing freight forwarders with 45 percent more cargo tonnage( 货运 ) from one year ago.
“China is the fastest growing aviation(航空 )market in the world, and Air Canada’s global network is well positioned to meet the needs of international travelers and freight senders,” said Duncan Dee, senior vice president of Air Canada. “With the introduction of the first non-stop service to Beijing from our main Toronto hub, Air Canada is bringing the Americas that much closer to the Chinese mainland.” Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．There was no non-stop service between Canada and China mainland. |
| B．People in our country can fly to Canada from Beijing directly now. |
| C．More people will fly to Canada from China directly. |
| D．Air Canada is increasing the capacity of goods transportation for the first time. |
We can fly to Canada directly from ____cities in our countries.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
According to this passage, Air Canada will take measures except that____.
| A．it will introduce non-stop service between Toronto and Beijing. |
| B．It will replace its 189—seat Boeing 767-300ER service with 282-seat A340-300 aircraft forever. |
| C．It will increase the capacity of cargo tonnage. |
| D．It will increase the number of flights. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Air Canada will open non-stop flight between China and Canada. |
| B．Air Canada will open non-stop flight between Beijing and Toronto. |
| C．China is becoming the largest aviation market in the world. |
| D．The distance between Canada and China will become short. |