Lettuce (莴苣)has been eaten for over 4,500 years, and was known to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Now, people in some countries start the meal with lettuce as part of a salad. There are hundreds of kinds of lettuce. The main ones include head lettuce, such as iceberg, leaf lettuce ,Boston, bibb and romaine.
Experts say lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow in your garden. The best time to plant the seeds is during cool weather. The University of Illinois Extension advises that the best planting temperature is 15 0C.
Lettuce seeds are small, so do not place them too deep in the ground. If you plant some seeds every week or two, you will have crops ready to eat one after another.
To start the seeds inside, you can use a seed tray in your home or other shelter. This container should be deep enough to hold at least three centimeters of soil or more. There should be about one centimeter of space between the soil and the top of the container. The container should have holes in the bottom so the extra water can flow out. Drop the seeds over the surface and cover them lightly with soil. If the soil is not already a little wet, give it some water. But do not drown the seeds.
Next, cover the seed tray with paper. When the seedlings have come up far enough to touch the paper, take it off. You can transplant the seedlings into the garden when they are about two to three centimeters tall. Do this when the weather is not too hot and not too cold. Take out as much soil as you can with the seedlings, Then dig a hole in the ground bigger thanthe lettuce roots. Water the plants but not too heavily.
Harvest leaf lettuces when the leaves are big enough to eat. Pull the leaves from the outside of the planting so the inside leaves will keep growing. Or, you can cut off the whole plant. Leave about two or three centimeters above the ground so the plant will re-grow. Cut off head lettuces at ground level.
Lettuce is best when served fresh, so make a salad and enjoy. Experts say lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow in your garden.Which of the following shows the right order of planting lettuces?
a.Dig a hole in the ground bigger than the lettuce roots.
b.Drop the seeds over the surface.
c.Water the plants.
d.Cover the seed with soil.
e.Take off the paper.
f.Transplant the seedlings into the garden.
| A．b, d, e ，f, a, c | B．a, b ，c, d ，e, f |
| C．d, e，f, b，a，c | D．b，c, d，e，f，a |
The underlined word “seedlings” in paragraph 5 means______.
| A．containers | B．seeds | C．young plants | D．layers |
When eating Iettuce5 you’d better ______ so that it tastes best.
| A．store it in plastic bags | B．eat the inside leaves |
| C．wrap it in paper | D．eat while it is fresh |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Lettuce is the easiest crop to grow in your garden. |
| B．The lettuce is not hard to plant and store. |
| C．We can plant lettuce in a two-centimeter-high tray. |
| D．We should water lettuce at least twice a day. |
In his 1930 essay "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren ", John Keynes, a famous economist, wrote that human needs fall into two classes: absolute needs ,which are independent of what others have , and relative needs ,which make us feel superior to our fellows. He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable (无止境的) , this is not true of absolute needs.
Keynes was surely correct that only a small part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority. He was greatly mistaken, however, in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands.
Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demands for almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner, for example, the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals.
There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demand for quality. For example, Porsche, a famous car producer, has a model which was considered perhaps the best sport car on the market Priced at over $120,000, it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration. But in 2004, the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling and acceleration. People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting. To get them, however, they must pay almost four times the price.
By placing the desire to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands, Keynes actually reduced such demands. However, the desire for higher quality has no natural limits.
| 1． |
According to the passage, John Keynes believed that.
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| 2． |
What do we know about the couple in Paragraph 3?
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| 3． |
What does the underlined word "escalation" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
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| 4． |
The author of the passage argues that.
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To take the apple as a forbidden fruit is the most unlikely story the Christians（基督教徒）ever cooked up. For them, the forbidden fruit from Eden is evil（邪恶的）. So when Columbus brought the tomato back from South America, a land mistakenly considered to be Eden, everyone jumped to be the obvious conclusion. Wrongly taken as the apple of Eden, the tomato was shut out of the door of Europeans.
What made it particularly terrifying was its similarity to the mandrake, a plant that was thought to have come from Hell（地狱）.What earned the plant its awful reputation was its roots which looked like a dried-up human body occupied by evil spirits. Tough the tomato and the mandrake were quite different except that both had bright red or yellow fruit, the general population considered them one and the same, too terrible to touch.
Cautious Europeans long ignored the tomato, and until the early 1700s most of the Western people continued to drag their feet. In the 1880s, the daughter of a well-known plant expert wrote that the most interesting part of an afternoon tea at her father’s house had been the “introduction of this wonderful new fruit—or is it a vegetable?” As late as the twentieth century some writers still classed tomatoes with mandrakes as an “evil fruit”.
But in the end tomatoes carried the day. The hero of the tomato was an American named Robert Johnson, and when he was publicly going to eat the tomato in 1820, people journeyed for hundreds of miles to watch him drop dead. “What are you afraid of?” he shouted. “I’ll show you fools that these things are good to eat!” Then he bit into the tomato. Some people fainted. But he survived and, according to a local story, set up a tomato-canning factory.The tomato was shut out of the door of early Europeans mainly because ______.
| A．it made Christians evil. |
| B．it was the apple of Eden |
| C．it came from a forbidden land |
| D．it was religiously unacceptable |
What can we infer the underlined part in Paragraph 3 ?
| A．The process of ignoring the tomato slowed down |
| B．There was little progress in the study of the tomato |
| C．The tomato was still refused in most western countries |
| D．Most western people continued to get rid of the tomato |
What is the main reason for Robert Johnson to eat the tomato publicly?
| A．To make himself a hero |
| B．To remove people’s fear of the tomato |
| C．To speed up the popularity of the tomato |
| D．To persuade people to buy products from his factory |
What is the main purpose of the passage ?
| A．To challenge people’s fixed concepts of the tomato |
| B．To give an explanation to people’s dislike of the tomato |
| C．To present the change of people’s attitudes to the tomato |
| D．To show the process of freeing the tomato from religious influence |
There is no better way to enjoy Scottish traditions than going fishing and tasting a little bit of whisky(威士忌)at a quiet place like the Inverlochy Castle. When Queen Victoria visited the castle in 1873, she wrote in her diary, “I never saw a lovelier spot ,” And she didn’t even go fishing.
Scotland is not easily defined. In certain moments, this quiet land of lakes and grasses and mountains changes before your very eyes. When evening gently sweeps the hillside into orange light, the rivers, teeming with fish, can turn into streams of gold . As you settle down with just a fishing pole and a basket on the bank of River Orchy, near the Inverlochy Castle , any frustration(烦恼) will float away as gently as the circling water. It’s just you and purple, pink, white flowers, seeking a perfect harmony. If you are a new comer to fishing, learning the basics from a fishing guide may leave you with a lifetime’s fun. For many, fishing is more than a sport; it is an art.
Scotland offers interesting place where you can rest after a long day’s fishing. Set against a wild mountain and hidden behind woodland, the beautiful Inverlochy Castle Hotel below the Nevis is a perfect place to see the beauty of Scotland’s mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest of all British mountains, and reaching its 1343-metre top is a challenge. But it’s not just what goes up matters; what comes down is unique. More than 900 metres high, on the mountain’s north face, lies an all-important source of pure water. Its name comes from the Gaelic language “usquebaugh” or “water of life”; and it is the single most important ingredient(原料) in Scotland’s best known drink: whisky.The story of Queen Victoria is to show that _____.
| A．the queen is rich in tour experience |
| B．the Castle is a good place to go in Scotland |
| C．tasting whisky is better than going fishing |
| D．1873 is a special year for the queen |
How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?
| A．By giving descriptions. | B．By following time order. |
| C．By analyzing causes. | D．By making comparisons. |
What is Ben Nevis special for?
| A．The Inverlochy Castle Hotel . |
| B．The beauty of its surroundings. |
| C．The water from the mountain. |
| D．The challenge up to its top. |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To introduce Scottish traditions to tourists. |
| B．To show the attractions of Scotland to readers. |
| C．To explore geographical characteristics of Scotland. |
| D．To describe the pleasures of life in Scotland. |
Top lists are lecturing people on everything from “100 places to visit” to “100 books to read ”.
Aren't you just tired of being told what to do with your time?
Now you have a list to end all lists!
Take a look at the following two examples from the list of “101 things not to do”:
Swim with Dolphins（海豚）？
Swimming with dolphins is one of the world’s most profitable tourist activities. However, every dolphin will welcome having their busy, tiring day interrupted by tourists screaming and pushing around them in the water. Worse yet, when dolphins get too near to the boats loaded with tourists, they could get caught up in ropes and killed by propellers(螺旋桨).
Here’s a little secret. Dolphins look like smiling at you, but actually they’re just opening their mouths.
Go to See the Mona Lisa?
There must be something about the mysterious(神秘的)smile. The 6 million people who visit the lady in the Louvre every year can’t all be wrong, after all. But they can be quite annoying, standing in front of you, holding up their cameras to prevent you from seeing anything. In fact, it is hard for you to see the painting clearly because you have to stay away from it for security reasons. After queuing for hours, many tourists can remain in front of the painting only for 15 seconds at most.
If the mysterious lady in the picture knew her fate, she wouldn’t just be smiling, she’d be laughing.
So, still long to see the Mona Lisa? If you want to find out more about the list, read 101 Things NOT to Do Before You Die. Visit www.not2dobeforeidie.co.uk and buy the book at a 20％ discount.According to the passage, swimming with dolphins________.
| A．is the world’s most popular tourist activity |
| B．gives fun to both tourists and dolphins |
| C．will make tourists busy and tired |
| D．can cause danger to dolphins |
What does the author think about going to see the Mona Lisa?
| A．It is wrong to go and see the mysterious smile. |
| B．It is not as satisfying as expected. |
| C．Fifteen seconds in front of the painting is enough. |
| D．Queuing for hours is worthwhile. |
The list of “101 things not to do” is made most probably because its author_______.
| A．thinks it boring to do the things suggested by other lists |
| B．believes other lists are not humorous enough |
| C．intends to persuade people to read more lists |
| D．wants to provide a list different from other lists |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To advertise a book |
| B．To introduce a website |
| C．To comment on popular lists |
| D．To recommend tourist activities. |
One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift . Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装).
On September 11th ，1958，Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift , and here it is.” What an honor！I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories .I told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing bad been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days I Heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. “If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before .
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home !”
“Thank God !” I heard Mum cry .
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!what happened to the author on September 11th , 1958?
| A．He got a baby brother. | B．He got a Christmas gift |
| C．He became four years old. | D．He received a doll. |
What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean？
| A．Impossible. | B．Boring | C．Difficult | D．Fearful |
Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?
| A．Excitement. | B．Happiness. | C．Sadness. | D．Disappointment. |
What is the passage mainly about ?
| A．A sad Christmas day | B．Life with a lovely baby |
| C．A special Christmas gift. | D．Memories of a happy family |