Eco City Farms(生态城市农场) 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(社区). 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 from 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(示范) 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. 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 gaining popularity. |
| C．Eco City Farms are influencing community life. |
| D．Eco City Farms helps the working-class live better. |
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 |
What is the author’s attitude toward Eco City Farms?
| A．Enthusiastic(热心的). | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Doubtful. |
In which column(专栏) of a newspaper can you most probably read this article?
| A．People. | B．Travel. | C．Environment. | D．Education. |
A few months ago I was at a bus stop in town in the evening. The bus came on time and I took the window seat. The bus route was by the seashore and I was enjoying the breeze (微风) while watching the sea waves. After a few minutes the bus made its next stop. A young boy and a girl got on. They were standing on my left when the bus pulled off. I looked at them curiously and realized that all the window seats were occupied (占据). They could sit but not together. Suddenly a different wave passed through my body and my inner mind gave me the advice to get up. I got up and offered them my seat. The young lady smiled kindly and said thanks. I occupied another seat and we parted our ways. I don’t remember whether I got off the bus before them or not.
Months passed by. Suddenly one day while I was standing at the same bus stop waiting some time for the bus to arrive I heard a voice.
“Excuse me, Uncle.” I looked in the direction of the voice. It was a beautiful young lady.
Puzzled, I said, “I do not recognize you.”
She said, “Do you remember you gave us your window seat?”
Puzzled, I said, “Maybe, but what is so great in that?”
She said, “If you had not given your seat that day, perhaps I would have not sat with my friend. By sitting together it helped us bridge a misunderstanding that had been between us forever. Do you know we are getting married next month?”
“Good! God bless both of you,” I replied.
The young lady again said thank you and went on her journey. I realized the importance of giving that day. Why were the young boy and the girl standing on the bus?
| A．Because they wanted to enjoy the sea view. |
| B．Because they couldn’t sit together. |
| C．Because there were no empty seats. |
| D．Because they preferred to stand. |
The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means that the author had a feeling that ______.
| A．he wanted to do something special |
| B．the sea wave made him upset |
| C．a wave from the sea flooded him |
| D．he wanted to make a sea wave in his heart |
From the story, we can conclude that ______.
| A．small things can create great happenings in life |
| B．it is giving rather than receiving that matters |
| C．offering one’s seat to others may win respect |
| D．we sometimes forget what happened in the past |
Warning: reading too much Cinderella to your daughter may damage her emotional health in later life. A paper to be developed at the international congress of cognitive psychotherapy(认知心理疗法) in Gothenburg suggests a link between the attitudes of women abused by their parents and early exposure to the wrong sort of fairy tales. It says girls who identified with Cinderella, Rapunzel and Beauty in Beauty and the Beast were more likely to say in destructive relationships as adults.
The theory was developed by Susan Darker Smith, a psychotherapist at the University of Derby. She interviewed 67 female abuse survivors and found that 61 put up with severe abuse because they believed they could change their partners with patience, composition and love
. The same view was taken by male survivors who had been abused as children. Hardly any of the women in a control group, who had not experienced abuse, thought they could change their partners in this way.
The same view was taken by male survivors who had been abused as children. These women and men said they would leave a relationship rather than put up with abuse from a partner. Ms Darker Smith found the abused women were much more likely to identify with Cinderella and other submissive female characters in fairytales, who were later rescued by a stranger prince or hero.
Although most girls heard the stories, damage appeared to be done to those who adopted the characters as role models. “They believe if their love is strong enough they can change their parents’ behaviors,” she said.” Overexposure in children to stories that emphasize the transformational qualities of love may make women believe they can change their partners.” For example, they might never have understood the obvious flaw in the story of Rapunzel, who remained locked in a high tower until rescued by a knight on a white horse, who broke the door down. “The question,” said Ms Darker Smith, “is why she did not break the door down herself.”The passage is especially intended for _________.
| A．parents with young daughters |
B．girls who like reading  fairy stories |
| C．girls who think they can change their partners |
| D．parents with grown-up daughters |
Cinderella, Rapunzel and Beauty in Beauty and the Beast are similar in that _________.
| A．They all married some princes |
| B．They all changed their partners with love |
| C．They were all abused by their partners |
| D．They all put up with abuse |
Which of the following statements is true of the women in a control group?
| A．They don’t believe in fairy tales. |
| B．They don’t believe in the transformational qualities of love. |
| C．They have also experienced abuse. |
| D．They survived abuse. |
What does the underlined word “submissive”in the 3rd paragraph probably mean?
| A．kind-hearted | B．passive | C．gentle | D．easy-going |
The Best Rice Cookers
☆☆☆☆Tefal Automatic 2W3 Classic Rice Cooker
One of the largest rice cookers on the market, with a 2-litre capacity （容量）（up to 12 servings）．It looks "rather utilitarian", but gives "the least sticky results" and its removable power cord means it can be taken outdoors or to the table．It comes with eight recipes and once cooking is completed it automatically switches to "keep-warm mode"．Price; $29．99．Call 0800-616413 for stockists．
☆☆☆ Keiswood Rice Cooker and Steamer RC310
A "stylish looking machine with a heavy glass lid and a steam tray for steaming fish and vegetables．It cooks up to ten portions of rice（l．8-litre capacity）, and produces "good results" although the rice tends to get sticky on the bottom layer．It keeps the rice warm once cooking is completed, but the power cord is not removable．Price:$34．99．Ca
ll 01705-392333 for stockists．
☆☆☆Zojurushi Rice Cooker / Warmer NDAQ – N10W
This cooker has a one – litre capacity (five portions of rice) and keeps rice warm for up to 12 hours after cooking. The lid has a clip – lock and is sealed so cooking is pressurized. It cooks rice “perfectly”, though “at a price”. Price: $ 109.90. Call 0181 – 9982100 for stockists.
☆☆☆Magimix – 2 – Tier Steamer
A double – layer steamer with two large stainless – steel steam baskets. Rice is cooked in a heat – proff dish which is inserted in the bottom tier (层). It is “perfectly done” in just 20 minutes, with “no stickiness or scorching (烧焦).” The rice can also be kept warm on half power. Price: $ 89.95. Call 04183 – 427411 for stockiest.
☆☆☆Lakeland Ltd Microwave Multi – Steamer (Raf 4241)
A four – portion steamer which takes just ten mantes in the microwave to cook four “fluffy” portions of rice. It is alos suitable for vegetables, noodles and pasta and is “great for smallest quantities”. Price: $ 5.95. Call 015394 – 88100 to order.
☆☆Hinari Steam Supreme
A double – layer steamer which comes with an additional rice bowl and lid. Its main drawbacks are “time and capacity”; the rice bowl can only hold two portions and this takes 55 minutes to cool. The instructions are also confusing. “Good as a general steamer, mediocre as a rice cooker”. Price: $ 19.99. Call Alba Ltd on 0181 – 7873111 for stockiest.Which of the following is unlikely to be considered by a housewife who hates washing sticky cookers?
| A．Tefal Automatic 2003 Classic Rice Cooker |
| B．Kenwood Rice Cooker and Steamer RC 310 |
| C．magimix 2 – Tier Steamer |
| D．Lakeland Ltd Microwave Multi – Steamer (Ref 4241) |
may not be so popular with customers as others because it is time – consuming, low in cap
acity and vague in instructions.
| A．Zojurushi Rice Cooker / Warmer NDAQ – N10W |
| B．Lakeland Ltd Microwave Multi – Steamer (Ref4241) |
| C．Hinari Steam Supreme |
| D．Kenwood Rice Cooker and Steamer RC 310 |
The phrase “at a price” describing Zojurushi Rice Cooker / Warmer NDAQ – N10W implies that its price is .
| A．low | B．high | C．above average | D．reasonable |
The temperature of the sun is over 5000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface, but it rises to perhaps more than 16 million degrees at the center．The sun is so much h
otter than die earth that matter can exist only as a gas, except at the core．In the core of the sun, the pressures are so great against the gases that, despite the high temperature, there may be a small solid core．However, no one really knows, since the center of the sun can never be directly observed．
Solar astronomers do know that the sun is divided into five layers or zones．Starting at the outside and going down into the sun, the zones are the corona, chromosphere, photosphere, convection zone and finally the core．The first three zones are regarded as the sun's atmosphere．
But since the sun has no solid surface, it is hard to tell where the atmosphere ends and the main
body of the sun begins．
The sun's outermost layer begins about 10000 miles above the visible surface and goes outward for mllions of miles．This is the only part of the sun that can be seen during an eclipse（日食） such as the one in February 1979．At any other time, the corona can be seen only when special instruments are used on cameras and telescopes to shut out the glare of the sun's rays．
The corona is a brilliant, pearly white, filmy light, about as bright as the full moon．Its beautiful rays are a sensational sight during an eclipse．The corona's rays flash out in a brilliant fan that has wispy spikelike（一束束穗状） rays near the sun's north and south poles．The corona is thickest at the sun's equator．
The corona rays are made up of gases streaming outward at tremendous speeds sad reaching a temperature of more than 2 million degrees Fahrenheit．The rays of gas thin out as they reach the space around the planets．By the time the sun's corona rays reach the Earth, they are weak and invisible．Matter on the aim can exist only in fee form of gas because of the sun's ___．
| A．size | B．age | C．location | D．temperature |
All of the following are parts of the sun's atmosphere EXCEPT the ___．
| A．corona | B．chromosphere | C．photosphere | D．core |
According to the passage, as the corona ra5,'s reach -die plaasts, they become ___．
| A．hotter | B．clearer | C．thinner | D．stronger |
Which of 'die following do the paragraphs following the passage most likely discuss?
| A．The remaining layers of the sun． |
| B．The evolution of the sun to its present form． |
| C．The eclipse of February 1979． |
| D．All the above． |
Many people like the feeling of the gentle wind in spring. Many like to see the falling leaves dancing in the wind in autumn. But sometimes, when the wind becomes a storm, it can be very destructive (毁灭性的).
A series of such storms struck the US last month and caused very serious damage and human pain.
Every year, major storms cause many problems around the world. There is nothing people can do to stop these powerful forces of nature. But new techniques are helping scientists to predict how, when, and where big storms will happen. The more exact scientists’ warnings are, the better people can prepare for the storms.
Predictions are improving. “We’ve gotten better over the years, especially the last few years,” says Phil Klotzback, a scientist at an American university. How is a storm formed? Even if scientists know where a storm will happen, winds can suddenly change, carrying the storm to a new direction. “For a hurricane to happen, conditions have to be just right,” Klotzback says.
First, the ocean water needs to be warm enough so that it evaporates and rises into the air. As it rises, the air containing drops of water cools and turns back into liquid. This process gives off heat. This produces energy like an engine that causes winds to increase. It drives the formation of a hurricane.
If wind speeds reach 40 miles per hour, the system is called a “ tropical storm”, and it gets a name. At 75 miles per hour, it becomes a hurricane. Hurricanes that hit the US start when a thunderstorm forms off the coast Africa. Storms also develop over tropical waters in other parts of the world.
On average, 60 or 70 storms form off Africa every year. About 10 of them get names. There are usually about six hurricanes. Two tend to be very big, with winds of 115 miles per hour or a bit higher.
The hurricane season lasts from June to November. Ninety percent of all hurricanes hit in August, September and October.According to the text, hurricanes usually ________.
| A．form off the coast of Africa and America |
| B．hit parts of the world in summer and autumn |
| C．cause sea winds to rise and blow over the sea |
| D．strike the US but cause no damage |
The underlined word “evaporates” (in Paragraph 5) probably means “________ .”
| A．begins to move | B．gets lost | C．becomes hot | D．changes into a gas |
Which of the following about the information of a hurricane is the correct order?
a. The ocean water evaporates and goes into the air.
b. Heat creates energy and causes winds to increase.
c. The vapor cools.
d. The ocean water is warm enough.
e. The vapor changes back into liquid.
f. This course gives out heat.
| A．a, d, e, b, c, f | B．a, b, c, f, d, e | C．d, a, c, e, f, b | D．d, a, b, c, e, f |