A community garden is a shared garden. A group of people get together and share a piece of land for their garden. This could be an empty place, or simply one at a neighbor's house.
Community gardens are not limited to urban locations. Many rural communities share garden space as well . Some communities will divide their garden into individual plots and others will work on the entire garden together. You may find some community gardens on rooftops. This provides a platform for city citizen, where they can communicate with nature even when there no yard space.
community garden can be used to grow flowers and other plants as well as produce. Some community gardeners choose to sell their homegrown goods. Others choose to use it themselves and some do a combination of both . Some community gardeners donate part of their produce to local food banks . Besides, homegrown produce is also much fresher and tastier.
When you belong to a community garden it also gives you a chance to socialize with your neighbor. You'll develop a better sense of involvement and belonging. You'll be communicating with people of similar interests, as well as people with different ideas .Community gardening often leads to setting up other community projects.
It brings a sense of achievement to know that you've taken apiece of waste land and turned it into something beautiful .The entire neighborhood will enjoy the benefits of your bard work.
A community garden is an opportunity for education as well .You may learn from your fellow gardeners .You can also ask local children to join you .This gives them a way to show their creativity and keep them busy, and points them in the right direction.People can find a community garden________
A.near the river |
B.only in rural areas |
C.only in urban locations |
D.both in rural and urban communities |
Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of the community garden?
A.A sense of achievement. |
B.A sense of involvement and belonging |
C.An opportunity for education |
D.A method to ease urban crowdedness |
According to the passage, a community garden_________
A.will replace other community projects |
B.is especially suitable for rural areas |
C.can sometimes be on the top of a roof |
D.can only be shared where there is no yard space |
What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk abort?
A. The produce of a community garden.
B. The location of a community garden.
C The definition of a community garden
D. The popularity of a community garden.It can be learned from the passage that a community garden can __________
A. make it unnecessary to go shopping
B improve your study a lot at school
C. make you richer and healthier
D. help you to avoid feeling lonely
friends come to visit us in the evening, they spend their time telling us they are in a hurry and looking at their watches. It isn’t that our friends are all very busy, it is just that When we haven’t got a television. People think that we are very strange. “But what do you do in the evening?”,they are always asking. The answer is very simple. Both my wife and I have hobbies. We certainly don’t spend our evenings staring at the walls. My wife enjoys cooking and painting and often attends evening classes in foreign languages. This is particularly useful as we often go abroad for our holidays. I collect stamps and I’m always busy with my collection. Both of us enjoy listening to the music and playing chess together.
Sometimes there are power cuts and we have no electricity in the house. This does not worry us, we just light candles and carry on with what we were doing before. Our friends, however, are lost---no television!---So they don’t know what to do. On such evenings our house is very full ---they all come to us. They all have a good time. Instead of sitting in silence in front of the television, everybody talks and plays games. The couple have not got a television, because .
A.they are not rich enough |
B.they are strange people |
C.they enjoy spending evenings in their own ways |
D.they don’t know what to do when there are power cuts |
Both of them are interested in.
A.learning languages | B.traveling |
C.staying home alone | D.watching people play games |
At night when there is no electricity, the couple.
A.have to stare at the walls | B.can do nothing but sit in silence |
C.will have many visitors | D.have to go out for candles |
The best title for this passage is _____.
A.Why Do We Need a Television? |
B.Candle! But No Electricity! |
C.Different Friends, Different Hobbies. |
D.We Go Without Televisions! |
One day a lawyer’s wife fell ill, and he went to get a doctor. The doctor willingly came to see the woman and to do what he could for her, but before he went into the house, he made a short stop. He knew that the lawyer was famous for not paying his bills, even if they were due(正当的).He therefore said to the man.“But if I save your wife, I am afraid you may not pay me.”
“Sir,”replied the lawyer. “Here I have$500,,whether you cure my wife or you kill her. I'll give you all this.”
The doctor was reassured(使安心) and went into the house. When he reached the woman's bedside, it soon became clear to him that he could do little. She was seriously ill, and though he prescribed(开药方) her medicine, she soon died.
He told the lawyer he was very sorry, and then asked for the money which he had promised. “Did you kill my wife?”asked the lawyer. “Of course I didn't,” said the doctor. “Well! Did you cure my wife?” asked the man. “I'm afraid that was impossible,” replied the doctor.“Well, then since you neither killed my wife nor cured her, I have nothing to pay you.”One day a lawyer’s wife fell ill, and the lawyer_____ .
A.cured his wife |
B.got a doctor for her |
C.got some medicine for her illness |
D.promised to pay$500 to the doctor |
Before entering the lawyer’s house the doctor stopped for a while, because_____ .
A.the doctor wanted to ask something about his wife's illness |
B.the doctor thought it impossible to save the woman |
C.the doctor was afraid that the lawyer would refuse to pay him |
D. the lawyer was too poor to pay his bills |
Because the lawyer’s wife was seriously ill, the doctor_____ .
A.couldn’ t do much and didn't save her life |
B.tried his best and saved her at last |
C.had to do everything he could for her |
D.had to spend a lot of time to cure her |
From the story, we know_____ .
A.the lawyer was very clever |
B.how the lawyer's wife died |
C.the doctor was stupid enough to be fooled |
D.the lawyer was dishonest and that he fooled the doctor |
Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels (元音) being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact (接触) with many people from around the world. This meant that lots of new vocabulary entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary came out.
Early Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words. Late Modern English has many more words, mainly because of the following two reasons: First, the Industrial Revolution (工业革命) led to the need for new words. Second, the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth’s surface, and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.
From around 1600, the English colonization (殖民地化) of North America led to American English. Some English pronunciations and words “froze” when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English. Some expressions that are called “American English” are in fact from British expressions. They were kept in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain. Spanish also had an influence (影响) on American English. For example, words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante are from Spanish. They entered English by the people of Spain who settled in the American West. French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today, American English has a greater influence, because of the USA’s movies, television, popular music, trade and technology. The main difference between Early and Late Modern English lies in _____.
A.vocabulary | B.pronunciation |
C.spelling | D.grammar |
What helped to increase the vocabulary of Late Modern English?
a. the invention of printing
b. the Industrial Revolution
c. the colonization
d. the contact with other countries
A.a, b, c | B.a, c, d | C.a, b, d | D.b, c, d |
From the passage, we can learn the word “canyon” is from _____.
A.American dialect | B.African dialect |
C.Spanish | D.French |
The third paragraph mainly talks about _____.
A.English colonies in North America |
B.the development of American English |
C.other languages influence on American English |
D.the difference between American English and British English |
The underlined word “froze” can best be replaced by _____.
A.remained unchanged | B.disappeared |
C.improved | D.kept active |
People think that writing short stories is easy because they are short. But in fact they are hard to write well. There are only a few writers of good short stories and the American writer O. Henry is one of them.
His real name was William Sydney Porter and he grew up in North Carolina. He was not very successful at school but he loved reading. When he was about twenty years old he left North Carolina and moved to Texas. He thought there would be more opportunities for work there. At first he worked on a newspaper but as this did not provide enough money he changed his job. He decided to work in a bank. All went well until some money went missing. William was believed to have stolen it and was sent to prison. Although this was a horrible experience it helped in one way because he realized that he could write well. William began writing short stories and O. Henry was born! When he left prison he began writing as a career and published many of his stories. They were mostly about the people that he met or he knew in New York and they had interesting or surprising endings. People enjoyed reading them. His life, however, was not a happy one. He drank too much and died in 1910 in New York but he left behind stories that are still read and enjoyed by millions of people. In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank.
c. Travelled to Texas. d. Was put in prison.
e. Had a newspaper job. f. Learned to write stories.
A.e, c, f, b, d, a | B.c, e, b, d, f, a |
C.e, b, d, c, a, f | D.c, b, e, d, a, f |
People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because .
A.they had surprise endings |
B.they were easy to understand |
C.they showed his love for the poor |
D.they were about New York City |
O. Henry went to prison because .
A.people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper |
B.he broke the law by using violence |
C.he wanted to write stories about prisoners |
D.people thought he had taken money that was not his |
What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
A.He was well-educated. | B.He was not serious about his work. |
C.He was devoted to the poor. | D.He loved reading. |
Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
A.His life inside the prison. |
B.The newspaper articles he wrote. |
C.The city and people of New York. |
D.His exciting early life as a boy. |
Mr. Backer is a kind-hearted man. Once he gave some food to a poor woman . Mr White, the boss of the restaurant, found it and became angry. He often gave the leftovers(剩饭菜) to some poor workers. Mr. Backers lost his work for it. It was difficult for him to find work in the small country though he was an able cook. The war made all stop. Children couldn't go to school, most shops were closed, even some farmers were hungry. Some people were made to leave their houses and they had to find the safe places. It was an autumn night. Mr Backer hadn't any food to eat and went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep, because he was very hungry . suddenly he heard a noise in his room. He saw a man looking for something useful there. He said nothing and watched it carefully. At last the man took a few old clothes out of a broken paper box and took them away. He got up from his bed quickly and followed him gently(文雅地), with his quilt on his back. The man didn't find him and went into a small and wet house. Mr. Backer also went in and saw there was nothing in the room. The thief(贼) saw him and was surprised. He asked, “What did you come here for?” “You have carried my things here,” said Mr. Backer. “I have to move here, too!”Mr White sent Mr. Backer away because .
A.he couldn't cook |
B.he didn't work hard |
C.he didn't like him at all |
D.he gave some leftovers to the poor woman |
, so the people in the small country got into trouble.
A.The war broke out(爆发) |
B.It didn't rain |
C.Children couldn't go to school |
D.Shops and factories were closed |
Mr. Backer couldn't go to sleep because.
A.the weather was cold | B.the weather was hot |
C.he was hungry | D.he was ill |
Mr. Backer said nothing when the thief went into his room because .
A.he wanted to send him to the police station |
B.there was nothing expensive there |
C.he was afraid the man could hurt him |
D.he hoped the man could help him |
The underlined word“quilt” in this story means .
A.珠宝 | B.钱箱 | C.被子 | D.鞋带 |