Eco City Farms are becoming more popular in cities and towns around the Unites States.
Eco City Farms in Edmonton, Maryland, is located near shopping centers, car repair shops and homes. The neighborhood is a working-class community. People do not have very much money. And they have limited access to fresh food in markets.
Over the past two years, the farm has attracted volunteers form the community like Marcy Clark. She schools her four children at home. On a recent day she brought them to Eco City Farms for a lesson, her son Alston Clark thinks his experience is very valuable. “I like coming out here,” he says, “You know, you connect with the earth, where your food comes from. You appreciate the food a little bit more.”
Margaret Morgan started Eco City Farms. She thinks of it as a place where people can learn to live healthier lives. “Growing food in a community brings people together, ”she continues, “Every piece of what we do here is a demonstration (范例) to show people everything about how to have an eco-friendly community.” she says. From the Eco City Farms people come to know that they are not only growing food and raising chickens and bees, but improving the soil with compost (肥料) made from food waste.
Eco City Farms is an experimental operation. The farm gets its power not from the local electricity networks, but from the sun with solar panels (板). In winter, the green house use a geothermal (地热) system.
Vegetables can be grown all year. So once a week, all winter long, neighbors like Chris Moss and her three children bike to the farm to pick up a share of the harvest.
“I like eating the vegetables” say five-year-old Owen Moss.What is mainly talked about in the passage?
| A．Eco City Farms save a lot of energy. |
| B．Eco City Farms are influencing community life. |
| C．Eco City Farms helps the working-class live better. |
| D．Eco City Farms are gaining popularity. |
What is the author’s attitude toward Eco City Farms?
| A．Enthusiastic. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Doubtful. |
According to the passage, Eco City Farms are close to the following places EXCEPT______.
| A．shopping centers |
| B．car repair shops |
| C．fast-food restaurants |
| D．working-class community |
In which of a newspaper can you most probably read this article?
| A．People. | B．Travel. |
| C．Environment. | D．Education. |
Plants, like animals, are subject to diseases of various kinds．It has been estimated that some 30,000 different diseases attack our economic plants; forty are known to attack corn, and about as many attack wheat．The results of unchecked plant disease are all too obvious in countries which have marginal food supplies．The problem will soon be more widespread as the population of the world increases at its frightening rate．Even in countries which are now amply fed by their agricultural products there could soon be the major crops; the resulting famines(饥荒) could kill millions of people, and the resulting hardship on other millions could cause political upheavals(动乱) disastrous to the order of the world．
Some plants have relative immunity to a great many diseases, while others have a susceptibility to them．A blight (萎菌病) may be but a local infection easily controlled; on the other hand it can attack particular plants in a whole region or nation．An example is the blight which killed virtually every chestnut tree in North America．Another is the famous potato blight in Ireland in the last century．As a result of that, it was estimated that one million people died of starvation and related ailments．
Plant pathologists have made remarkable strides in identifying the pathogens of the various diseases．Bacteria may invade a plant through an infestation of insect parasites carrying the pathogen．A plant can also be inoculated by man．Other diseases might be caused by fungus which attacks the plant in the form of a model or smut or rust．Frequently such a primary infection will weaken the plant so that a secondary infection may result form its lack of tolerance．The symptoms(症状) shown may cause an error in diagnosis, so that treatment may be directed toward bacteria(细菌) which could be the result of a susceptibility caused by a primary virus infection．How many diseases are known to attack wheat?
| A．Around 30000 | B．Forty |
| C．Around 29960 | D．Around 40 |
Unchecked plant disease won't result in_______．
| A．food shortages in poor country | B．food shortages in rich country |
| C．increase of world population | D．disaster in world politics |
What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
| A．Some plants have relative immunity to a great many diseases． |
| B．Some other plants have a susceptibility to a great many diseases． |
| C．The tolerance of a particular plant changes as the growing conditions change． |
| D．A blight can be a national infection． |
According to the passage, some plant diseases can__________．
| A．infect people |
| B．be prevented by inoculation（接种疫苗） |
| C．be prevented by killing insects |
| D．be prevented by improving the growing conditions |
Which of the following won’t cause plant disease ?
| A．Fungus | B．Mold | C．Smut | D．Rust |
Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up．The sense of humour is mysteriously(神秘地)connected with national characteristics．A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke．In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears．
Most funny stories are based on comic situations．In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request．No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin’s early films．However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion．It is called “sick humour”．Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents．Many people find this sort of joke distasteful．The following example of “sick humour” will enable you to judge for yourself．
A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas．From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering(纠缠) his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home．He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital ．Though the doctor did his best, the patient’s recovery was slow．On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled(安慰)him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good．The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year’s Eve he was able to hobble(跛行) along to a party．To compensate(补偿)for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him．In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals．He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg．Whether you find “sick humour” funny or not will depend on ________．
| A．your having been brought up in America |
| B．the joke being related to a really comic situation |
| C．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event |
| D．your ability to laugh until you cry |
The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________．
| A．the doctor had failed to cure him |
| B．he was not able to be with his friends |
| C．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital |
| D．he thought he might also miss the New Year’s Eve celebration |
The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humour” is that ________．
| A．no sooner was the out of hospital than he had to go back in again． |
| B．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals |
| C．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life |
| D．the man had not got a leg to stand on |
What can you learn from this story ?
| A．On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party． |
| B．At the party , he enjoyed himself but only drank a little． |
| C．He had to go to hospital again though he hated it． |
| D．The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him． |
In Britain arrangements for inviting and entertaining guests at a wedding are usually the responsibility of the bride's family．In most cases it is mainly friends and relations of both families who are invited but when bride's father is a businessman of some kind, the wedding reception may provide a useful occasion for establishing social connections with clients or customers and other people whose goodwill may be of advantage to him．it is, however, the bride's mother who has the job of sending out the formal printed invitation cards．
In the case of a church wedding, the vicar of each parish(教区) in which the bride and bridegroom live is normally informed about a month in advance of the ceremony so that an announcement of the coming wedding can be made in church on each of three Sundays before it takes place．Anyone who may know of an existing marriage of either partner is ordered to give information, though this means of avoiding bigamy must have been more effective in the days when people attend the religious service and the bride usually wears the traditional long white dress and veil, while her bridesmaids, who are children, wear long dresses in attractive colors．This may also happen in the case of a civil wedding in a register office but is probably less usual．
The reception which follows may be held in a restaurant, a local hall or, when there are few guests, in the bride’s own home．Refreshments are provided, a special iced wedding-cake is cut(usually to the accompaniment of speeches)and distributed to the guests, toasts are drunk and dancing may follow．At some point in the celebrations, the bride goes off to change into everyday clothes and then leaves the party with her husband to go on their honeymoon, the journey they will make together, often in romantic surrounding abroad．It is the bride's parents who normally have to________．
| A．make all the arrangements for the wedding |
| B．provide hospitality for the people attending |
| C．decide who shall be invited |
| D．pay all expenses involved |
What possible difference is suggested between a church and a civil wedding?
| A．Civil weddings are less commonly followed by a reception． |
| B．It is less usual for guests to attend the civil wedding formalities． |
| C．Guests at civil weddings are less formally dressed． |
| D．There could be less attention paid at the latter to convention and picturesque effect． |
The reception normally takes place in the bride’s home if________．
| A．this is a large one． |
| B．there is enough room to entertain the people invited． |
| C．the parents cannot afford to hire a hall． |
| D．there is to be no party afterwards． |
The couple leave for their honeymoon________．
| A．after the church or register office ceremony |
| B．immediately after the cake has been cut and the speeches made |
| C．at the end of the reception |
| D．as soon as the bride is ready |
All plant cells are able to take up water. Even dead ones do to a certain degree. Absorption of water by dead cell walls makes wood swell(肿胀). In common land plants, the living cells of roots take up most of the water. Land plants without roots do exist, however. Those greenish-yellow lichens(苔藓)you see on tree trunks and on rocks in the high mountains have no roots. Half a billion years ago, when water plant started to invade the land, the first primitive land plants did not have roots; they were marsh (沼泽) plants.
Even among the flowering plants, one finds rootless forms. These flowering plants are the so-called higher plants because they evolved more recently and are thus considered higher on the evolutionary scale. In the Peruvian desert, there grows one of these rootless higher plants, a bromeliad. It is a relative of the pineapple. Even if this plant had roots, they would be of no use, because where the plant grows, it never rains. The plant gets its water exclusively from the dew it collects at night, when its leaves cool off. Such rootless plants, of course, can be moved with ease, but they will only grow when they are placed out in the open. If they are placed too near a house, the radiation from the heat of the house prevents the leaves from cooling and so prevents dew from forming, and the plant dies. In the southern United States and in Puerto Rico, one sees bromeliads growing high above the streets on the insulation of electric wires. These plants get their water from rain, and the only soil they ever come in contact with is the dust that may blow on their leaves.Wood swells because of _______.
| A．the dead cell walls | B．tiny drops of water entering the dead cell |
| C．the growth of the cell | D．the death of the cell |
From the passage we know that the evolutionary scale is arranged according to ______.
| A．evolutionary cycles | B．heights and depths |
| C．time | D．kinds |
The bromeliad is a plant that _______.
| A．has useless roots | B．is a pineapple |
| C．can grow anywhere | D．takes up water through its leaves |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Water plants existed before land plants. |
| B．Only living plant cells take up water. |
| C．The greenish-yellow lichens are uncommon land plants. |
| D．The living cells of roots absorb more water than the rest of the plant. |
The most suitable title for this passage is ______.
| A．water intake by cells | B．rootless plants | C．plant in the desert | D．higher plants |
When you buy a T-shirt, or a fur coat in a store , it often carries a label(标签) telling who made it or from what store it was bought. Indeed, some labels show the dress is famous and it is very expensive, so buyers who deal with the cheapest products would be pleased to do away with labels entirely.
However, there is another label more important than the one showing from which store the dress was bought. When a person buys a fur coat, or a jacket , from a store , a label telling what the product is made of should be carried to it.
This label is required by law. Besides telling what the product on show is made of , the label should be in clear English and be where one can find it easily. The information on the label must be the truth.
The reason for this label is that most buyers today aren’t expert enough to know exactly what kind of fur or material they are buying. The buyer must believe in the store that sells the products or in what the labels say.The author doesn’t agree that_______.
| A．some clothes may carry more than one label |
| B．some clothing stores sell cheap dresses |
| C．shops can sell products with or without labels |
| D．buyers will believe what the label says |
This article mainly refers to__________.
| A．making furs and clothes | B．protecting buyers with law |
| C．keeping the buyers informed | D．businessmen and sellers |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Not all buyers know the materials they are buying. |
| B．A fur coat with a high price often carries a false label. |
| C．A label only says what material the product is made of . |
| D．A T-shirt seldom carries a label. |