More than 30 million kids buy school lunch each day. This year, many schools raised lunch prices to fight raising costs. Students pay about $2 a meal now. That is 27 cents more than last year. But they still get a good deal. The average cost for schools to produce one meal has gone up 30 cents, and is now $3.
So, how do schools neither make money nor lose money? To start, the government pays for a small part of the difference. Schools have to make up the rest. Peggy Eller, a leader of school nutrition (营养) service in Hudson, Wisconsin, said her district is cutting costs by using fewer paper products and serving smaller portion(份额). Well, portion control is one key to healthful eating!
The push for more healthful food has grown in recent years. One in five kids aged 6 to 19 is overweight. Being overweight can cause health problems. Many states passed laws that require schools to serve nutritious meals.
Since 2004, more than 90% of all U.S. Schools have removed the fat from lunches. Foods high in fat, salt and sugar have been replaced by low-fat milk, fresh fruits and vegetables. These new items on lunch menus have encouraged kids to change their eating habits. “It makes easier to try new things at home, “said Savanna Mackey, a Florida fifth-grader.
Students need healthful meals to grow strong and do well in school. “Rising prices won’t stand in the way,”says school nutritionist Jane Thornton. “We’ll just be more clever in how we do things.”In the first paragraph, the author aims to tell us .
| A．the large number of kids buying school lunch |
| B．the average price of school lunch |
| C．the school's ways to deal with school lunch |
| D．the fact of school lunch's getting more expensive |
Many school districts raised lunch prices because .
| A．there is less healthful food on the menus |
| B．the cost of food has gone up |
| C．kids often forget to bring lunch money |
| D．some school dining-halls are serving smaller portions |
According to Paragraph 4, Savanna Mackey .
| A．doesn't like the new items on the lunch menus |
| B．always enjoys foods like fresh and vegetables |
| C．becomes interested in eating healthy food at home |
| D．prefers eating at school to eating at home |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．American schools solve the problem of high food prices by themselves. |
| B．American schools are very concerned about their students’ health. |
| C．Almost all schools are forced by the government to serve healthy foods. |
| D．American childhood overweight is mainly caused by the present lunch foods. |
Before the opening of the Cape Cod Canal in 1914，the only way ships could leave Boston was on a route around Race Point—the northern tip of Cape Cod.However，navigation during the 18th century was a nightmare，because the floating cross current(交叉气流) around Race Point caused countless accidents.So building a lighthouse to lighten the place was very necessary.
As early as 1808，the people of Provincetown requested a lighthouse on Race Point，but it took Congress eight years to react when they finally paid $ 8,000 on April 27,1816 to build a lighthouse —Race Point Light，which was located in the town of Provincetown，Massachusetts.It was first built of stone 25 feet high with no foundation and its light was 30 feet above the sea.It was equipped with one of the nation's earliest revolving lights.
Actually，there were two other lighthouses on Cape Cod，but they were hit by a storm in October 1841.In the following year，Race Point Light was examined by I．W.P.Lewis，who realized the light's importance.He said，“The light should be useful to all ships leaving Boston.However，its illuminating power is so weak that people would hardly be able to differentiate it from the lights set on the ships which stay in the bay，or close by.It hasn't played its role as a lighthouse well.”
The result was that old lighthouse was destroyed and a new iron lighthouse with a proper foundation was put up to take its place.The new lighthouse was 45 feet high.Although the original keeper's house was in good repair，it was destroyed too and a new one was built.Today the lighthouse has been automated(自动化)and Race Point Light is still an active aid to navigation.
You can park at Race Point Beach and walk about 45 minutes to the lighthouse.Sunset at Race Point Light is one of the Cape Cod's most popular scenes.And at times whales can be seen in the lighthouse.For reservations to stay one night in the keeper's house at Race Point call(508)487－9930.The underlined word “illuminating” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
| A．preventing accidents | B．cooling the air |
| C．providing light | D．predicting weather |
Why was the original Race Point Light replaced by a new one?
| A．It was too old to repair properly. |
| B．It hadn't done a good job in helping the passing ships. |
| C．It was destroyed in a storm in October 1841. |
| D．It wasn't high enough and had no foundation. |
According to the passage，Race Point Light ________.
| A．is also a tourist spot now |
| B．stopped working after 1914 |
| C．was built by I．W.P.Lewis |
| D．has been automated since 1841 |
What can be learned from the passage?
| A．The keeper's house is open to the public now. |
| B．The present keeper's house is the original one. |
| C．The two other lighthouses had revolving lights too. |
| D．The government didn't agree to build Race Point Light. |
What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．The building process of Race Point Light. |
| B．The tourism value of Race Point Light. |
| C．The three lighthouses on Cape Cod. |
| D．The history of Race Point Light. |
After spending a year in Brazil on a student exchange program，her mother recalled，Marie Colvin returned home to find that her classmates had narrowed down their college choices.“Everyone else was already admitted to college，” her mother，Rosemarie Colvin，said from the family home.“So she took our car and drove up to Yale and said，‘You_have_to_let_me_in.'”
“Impressed—she was a National Merit (全国英才) finalist who had picked up Portuguese in Brazil—Yale did, admitting her to the class of 1978，where she started writing for the Yale Daily News and decided to be a journalist，” her mother said.
On Wednesday，Marie Colvin,56，an experienced journalist for The Sunday Times of London，was killed as Syrian forces shelled the city of Homs.She was working in a temporary media center that was destroyed in the attack.
“She was supposed to leave Syria on Wednesday”，Mrs.Colvin said.“Her editor told me he called her yesterday and said it was getting too dangerous and they wanted to take her out.She said she was doing a story and she wanted to finish it.”
Mrs.Colvin said it was pointless to try to prevent her daughter from going to conflict zones.“If you knew my daughter，” she said，“it would have been such a waste of words.She was determined，she was enthusiastic about what she did，it was her life.There was no saying ‘Don't do this.' This is who she was，absolutely who she was and what she believed in：cover the story，not just have pictures of it，but bring it to life in the deepest way you could.”“So it was not a surprise when she took an interest in journalism，” her mother said.From the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1，we can infer that ________.
| A．Yale was her last choice |
| B．Yale must keep its promise to Marie Colvin |
| C．Marie Colvin was confident of herself |
| D．Marie Colvin was good at persuading |
Marie Colvin's story suggests some of the best qualities of being a journalist are ________.
| A．patience and confidence |
| B．honesty and curiosity |
| C．flexibility and creativity |
| D．determination and courage |
Which of the following is the correct order to describe Marie Colvin's life?
a．She was doing a story in Syria and got killed.
b．She was admitted to Yale University.
c．She studied in Brazil as an exchange student.
d．She was hired by The Sunday Times of London.
e．She began to take an interest in journalism.
| A．d→e→c→a→b | B．c→b→e→d→a |
| C．e→d→c→b→a | D．b→c→d→e→a |
From the last paragraph we can know that Mrs.Colvin ________.
| A．knows her daughter very well |
| B．cares little about her daughter |
| C．dislikes the choice of her daughter |
| D．doesn't fully appreciate her daughter |
What can be the best title of the text?
| A．Covering Stories in a Dangerous Conflict Area |
| B．Applying for Top Universities，a Successful Case |
| C．Recalling Her Daughter，a Journalist Killed in Syria |
| D．Choosing Lifelong Careers Based on Your Own Interest |
Suppose you don't need your car today.And suppose，as it happens that a stranger in your area does need a car.Would you be willing to rent yours out?
Several carsharing startups，including Getaround，RelayRides and JustSharelt，are eager to connect car owners with renters this way.The companies have different rules，but participating owners receive，generally speaking，about twothirds of the rental earnings.RelayRides says an owner of a midsize，latemodel sedan who rents out a car for 10 hours a week could expect to clear about $ 3,000 a year.
Peertopeer carsharing remains in the trial stage；it can be found in San Francisco and a few other places.It has a long way to go before it becomes the auto equivalent of Airbnb，the surprise success story for peertopeer sharing of space in apartments and houses.
Shelby Clark，founder of RelayRides，says potential investors in his company have been concerned that owners will be afraid to hand their car over to strangers.To address that，he points to Airbnb，saying，“Letting people sleep in your living room is much more of a disturbance into your personal space than letting someone use your car.”
All of these companies offer their own insurance coverage for their renters，which are supposed to put owners' minds at ease.But only two states—California and Oregon—have passed laws to clarify that an owner will not suffer any consequences should a carsharing renter have an accident.
“In all the other states，legal ambiguity remains，” Shelby Clark says.“If a renter should be involved in a serious accident in those states，the victim can be expected to go after every party possible，including the car's owner.”
Also to remove the worries of car owners，the driving records of renters are checked for recent serious violations..What does the underlined word “sedan” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to?
| A．A kind of car. |
| B．An owner of a car. |
| C．A renting company. |
| D．A carsharing renter. |
Which of the following is true of Aribnb?
| A．It cares little about personal privacy. |
| B．It deals with housesharing successfully. |
| C．It is a very popular carsharing company. |
| D．Its ideas are being tried out in some states. |
If a carsharing renter should have an accident in California，the car's owner ________.
| A．has to take legal responsibility |
| B．will not suffer the consequence |
| C．is not covered by health insurance |
| D．must pay the insurance for the renter |
According to the text，more carowners will participate in the service，if ________.
| A．legal ambiguity is clarified in all the states |
| B．renters are warned not to violate traffic rules |
| C．more money is given to participating owners |
| D．people are aware of the importance of sharing |
It can be learned from the text that carsharing ________.
| A．makes no profit |
| B．remains in popularity |
| C．is against the state law |
| D．is a new business model |
Technology is making life easier for some dairy farmers.They use robotic systems to milk their cows.Cows are trained to follow a series of paths that lead to milking stations.Only one cow at a time can enter a station.
Once inside，the cow is rewarded with food.As the cow eats，a robotic arm cleans and connects the animal to the milking machine.A few minutes later，milking is complete.The gate is opened，the cow is released and the next cow enters.
The robotic systems are designed to operate 24 hours a day.The cows get to decide when they want to be milked.Cows are milked an average of about three times a day.Some are milked four to six times a day.
The cows wear collars around their necks that identify them to the system.A computer keeps records on their eating and milking.A cow is released from the station if the computer decides it should not be milked.
The automated system also measures the temperature and color of freshly produced milk.Milk is thrown away if it does not pass the tests.
Professor Plaut believes the systems will appeal especially to the next generation of farmers.She means young people who are more interested in technology and less interested in working all the time on the farm.Still，she says the price of robotic milking systems will continue to limit their use.
Doug and Tina Suhr have more than 100 cows on their family farm.Last year it became the fourth farm in southeast Minnesota to get a robotic milking system.A recent story in a local agricultural newspaper said the first robot costs 175,000 dollars.The second costs 150,000 dollars.
Doug told AgriNews that wages that would have been paid for one employee in five years will pay for one robot.He says the increase in milk production reaches a high of more than six kilograms per cow per day.From the first paragraph，we can infer ________.
| A．the robotic system is designed to reduce labor |
| B．cows can be raised by robots in the future |
| C．robots direct cows into milking stations |
| D．cows are kept clean by robots on some farms |
Besides milking cows，the robotic system also can ________.
| A．adjust the temperature of milking stations |
| B．judge the quality of fresh milk |
| C．improve the appetite of cows |
| D．keep fresh milk for two weeks |
Why is the robotic system not popular now?
| A．Because young people have no interest in it. |
| B．Because it is difficult to learn how to use it. |
| C．Because people can't afford to buy it. |
| D．Because it usually causes the waste of milk. |
According to Doug，what is the wage of an employee per year?
| A．$150,000～$175,000. |
| B．over $75,000. |
| C．$150,000～$30,000. |
| D．$30,000～$35,000. |
Europe’s deadly outbreak of a rare form of E. coli bacteria (大肠杆菌) has brought new attention to food safety issues. One of the problems when people get sick from food is that the simplest question is often difficult or even impossible to answer. Just what did the people eat that made them sick?
Of course, one way to avoid these medical mysteries is to keep dangerous organisms out of the food supply. This is easier said than done, but scientists keep looking for new ways.
Scientists in the United States have developed an experimental system that uses a high-tech optical scanner. The system is designed to identify the presence of contaminants(致污物) like soil or animal waste on fresh produce. These can be sources of E. coli. E. coli bacteria naturally live in the intestines(肠) of humans and many animals. Most kinds of E. coli are harmless but some can make people sick.
The new scanner can also show damage and imperfections that might make the produce unappealing to shoppers.
Scientists designed the system at a Department of Agriculture research center in Beltsville, Maryland. Moon Kim of the Agricultural Research Service led the team.
MOON KIM: “We were requested, we were asked, to develop a method to detect contamination in produce. So we started with the apple as the model sample.”
The scanner uses a high-speed camera placed over the conveyer belt that moves the produce along. As the apples move along the belt, the scanner captures images of each piece of fruit.
Moon Kim says the team hopes the system will be available before long.
MOON KIM: “We are targeting for development in commercial plants for the next several years.”
The scanner can direct a sorting machine to separate the bad apples from the good ones. The system is currently able to show the surface of only half the apple as it speeds by. The inventers hope to improve the process so it can show the whole surface.What is the main topic of the text?
| A．Bacteria. | B．A high-tech scanner. | C．A camera | D．Food safety. |
E. coli bacteria ______.
| A．broke out all over the world | B．comes from soil or animal waste |
| C．is extremely harmful to health | D．does not cause illness |
The high-tech scanner ______.
| A．can help to sort out different fruits |
| B．make the produce appeal to shoppers |
| C．can only capture images of the whole apple |
| D．can identify the presence of contaminants |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．The scanner needs to be improved. |
| B．The scanner will be available in the next several years. |
| C．Moon Kim is unwilling to develop the scanner. |
| D．The scanner is connected to a sorting machine. |