Jackie Heinricher's love affair with bamboo started in her backyard. “As a child, I remember playing among the golden bamboo my dad had planted, and when there was a slight wind, the bamboos sounded really musical.”
A fisheries biologist, Heinricher, 47, planned to work in the salmon industry in Seattle, where she lived with her husband, Guy Thornburgh, but she found it too competitive. Then her garden gave her the idea for a business: She'd planted 20 bamboo forests on their seven-acre farm.
Heinricher started Boo-Shoot Gardens in 1998. She realized early on what is just now beginning to be known to the rest of the world. It can be used to make fishing poles, skateboards, buildings, furniture, floors, and even clothing. An added bonus: Bamboo absorbs four times as much carbon dioxide as a group of hardwood trees and releases 35 percent more oxygen.
First she had to find a way to mass-produce the plants—a tough task, since bamboo flowers create seed only once every 50 to 100 years. And dividing a bamboo plant frequently kills it.
Heinricher appealed to Randy Burr, a tissue culture expert, to help her. “People kept telling us we'd never figure it out,” says Heinricher.“Others had worked on it for 27 years! I believed in what we were doing, though, so I just kept going.”
She was right to feel a sense of urgency. Bamboo forests are being rapidly used up, and a United Nations report showed that even though bamboo is highly renewable, as many as half of the world's species are threatened with dying out. Heinricher knew that bamboo could make a significant impact on carbon emissions(排放)and world economies, but only if huge numbers could be produced. And that's just what she and Burr figured out after nine years of experiments—a way to grow millions of plants. By placing cuttings in test tubes with salts, vitamins, plant hormones, and seaweed gel, they got the plants to grow and then raised them in soil in greenhouses.
Not long after it, Burr's lab hit financial difficulties. Heinricher had no experience running a tissue culture operation, but she wasn't prepared to quit. So she bought the lab.
Today Heinricher heads up a profitable multimillion-dollar company, working on species from all over the world and selling them to wholesalers(批发商). “If you want to farm bamboo, it's hard to do without the young plants, and that's what we have，” she says proudly.What was the main problem with planting bamboo widely?
| A．They didn't have enough young bamboo. |
| B．They were short of money and experience. |
| C．They didn't have a big enough farm to do it. |
| D．They were not understood by other people. |
What does Heinricher think of bamboo?
| A．Fragile and affordable. |
| B．Productive and flexible. |
| C．Useful and earth-friendly. |
| D．Strong and profitable. |
The underlined word “renewable” in Paragraph 6 probably means “________”．
| A．able to be replaced naturally |
| B．able to be raised difficultly |
| C．able to be shaped easily |
| D．able to be recycled conveniently |
What do you learn from the passage?
| A．Heinricher's love for bamboo led to her experiments in the lab. |
| B．Heinricher's determination helped her to succeed in her work. |
| C．Heinricher struggled to prevent bamboo from disappearing. |
| D．Heinricher finally succeeded in realizing her childhood dream. |
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his father’s warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colours, shifting and changing, and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead!” A new message appeared on the screen:
“ENTER NAMES
VOYAGE １
VOYAGE ２
Mark’s finger flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED.
START TRANSPORT PROGRAM.
AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED(自动回收程序已启动).”
The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled out in terror, reaching for the power switch. A beam(光束) of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒)，until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed：
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL．
DESTINATION: MARS.
RETRIEVE DATE: 2025Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?
| A．He wanted to take a voyage. | B．He wanted to practice his skills. |
| C．He was so much attracted by it. | D．He was eager to do an experiment. |
Where did the boy’s father most likely work?
| A．In an electronic factory. | B．In a computer company. |
| C．In a scientific research center. | D．In an information processing center. |
Mark thought “SPACE TRANSPORTER” on the screen was the name of ________.
| A．a computer game | B．a company website |
| C．a software producer | D．an astronomy program |
Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?
| A．He was afraid of being scolded. |
| B．He didn’t like the loud noise and light. |
| C．He didn’t want to play games. |
| D．He was afraid something dangerous might happen. |
What happened to the boys at the end of the story?
| A．They were blown into the air. |
| B．They were sent to another planet. |
| C．They were hidden in the strong light. |
| D．They were carried away to another country. |
When I was young, I went looking for gold in California. I never found enough to make a rich strike. But I did discover a beautiful part of the country called Stanislau. Like Heaven on Earth, it had bright green hills and deep forests where soft winds touched the trees. By the time I arrived, the charming paradise had been deserted because miners’ good luck didn’t last.
Then, I realized I was not alone after all.
A man was smiling at me as he stood in front of his little house. Its front yard was full of blue and yellow flowers. White curtains hung from the windows and floated in the soft summer wind.
Still smiling, the man invited me inside. My spirit seemed to come to life again. I saw a bright rug on the shining wooden floor. And on little tables there were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers. A woman had made this house into a home. The delight in my heart showed on my face. The man read my thoughts. “All her work.” He said affectionately, “Nothing here hasn’t felt the touch of her hand.”
One picture on the wall was not hanging straight. He went to fix it. He stepped back several times to make sure the picture was straight. Then he gave it a gentle touch. “She always does that,” he explained, “It is like the finishing pat a mother gives her child’s hair after she has brushed it. I don’t know why I do it. I just do it.”
As he talked, I went to a little black-walnut shelf that held a small picture of the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. There was a sweetness and softness in the woman’s expression. The man stared at the picture. “Nineteen her last birthday. That was the day we married. When you see her...ah, just wait until you meet her!” “Where is she now?” I asked. “Oh, she is away visiting her parents. This is Wednesday,” he said slowly. “She will be back on Saturday, in the evening.”
That night, I stayed. The man told me his name was Henry.
Thursday evening we had two visitors, Tom and Joe. “We just drop over to ask when little madam is coming home. Any news from her?” “Oh yes,” the man replied. “A letter.” He took a yellowed letter out of his wallet and read it. It was full of loving messages. While reading, he glimpsed his friends and cried out, “Oh no, you are doing it again, Tom! Take your hands away and let me see your eyes. I’m going to tell her this time!” “No, you mustn’t do that, Henry,” the grey-haired miner said. “I am getting old. And any little sorrow makes me cry. Lord, we miss her so.”
Saturday finally came.
I was glad to see his two friends, Tom and Joe, with guitars, coming down the road as the sun began to set. They put the flowers they brought in vases and began to play some fast and lively songs.
Henry’s friends kept giving him glasses of whiskey. When I reached for one of the two remaining glasses, Tom stopped my arm. “Drop that! Take the other.” he whispered. I did so. Henry was served last. He had hardly swallowed his drink when the clock struck midnight. His face grew pale and paler. “Boys,” he said, “I am sick with fear. Help! I want to lie down.” Henry was asleep almost before the words were out of his mouth.
In a moment, those handy men had his clothes off and tucked him into his bed. They seemed to be getting ready to leave. So I said, “Please don’t go, gentlemen. She won’t know me. I am a stranger.” They glanced at each other. Then Joe said, “She? Poor thing, she’s been dead nineteen years!” “Dead?” I whispered. “That or worse.” he said.
“She went to see her folks half a year after she got married. On her way back, on a Saturday evening in June, when she was almost here, the Indians captured her. She’s never been heard of since. Henry went insane. But he only gets bad when that time of year comes round. Then we drop in here, three days before she’s due, to encourage him up and listen to him read the letter. Saturday we all come and get everything ready for a dance. We’ve done it for nineteen years. The first Saturday there were twenty-seven of us, but only two now. We drug him to sleep through the night. Then he’s all right for another year.”
The two old men opened the door and disappeared into the darkness of Stanislau.You can sense the existence of a woman from the following sentences EXCEPT “______”.
| A．Soft winds touched the trees in Stanislau. |
| B．There was a bright rug on the shining wooden floor. |
| C．There were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers. |
| D．A little black shelf held a small picture of a woman. |
Tom cried when Henry read the yellowed letter, because ______.
| A．he was getting older and older |
| B．he was moved by the loving messages in the letter |
| C．he felt sad at the thought of Henry’s wife |
| D．he was disappointed that Henry’s wife would arrive so late |
Tom stopped my reaching for whiskey because ______.
| A．there was not enough whiskey for Henry | B．he didn’t want me to get drunk |
| C．that glass of whiskey was drugged | D．it was for Henry’s wife |
The underlined word “insane” probably means “______”.
| A．depressed | B．disappointed | C．mad | D．sick |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A．Henry’s wife was 38 when she was last seen |
| B．Tom and Joe have heard the letter many times |
| C．the author stayed in Henry’s house because he was lost |
| D．the two miners came on Saturday to share past memories |
The story is mainly about ______.
| A．ever-lasting love | B．lifelong friendship |
| C．an unforgettable experience | D．charming Stanislau |
SAN FRANCISCO—A phone app (应用程序) in San Francisco gives information about open parking spots. City officials in San Francisco introduced the app to try to reduce traffic jams in the city, but some say it raises safety concerns.
In this city, drivers searching for parking spots lead to 30 percent of all downtown jams, city officials think. Now San Francisco has found a solution—a phone app for spot-seekers that displays information about areas with available spaces. The system, introduced last month, relies on wireless sensors (感应器) fixed in streets and city garages that can tell within seconds if a spot has opened up.
Monique Soltani, a TV reporter, said she and her sister spent 25 minutes on Friday trying to park. “We were praying to the parking god that we’d find a spot,” she said. “If we had the app, we would not have to pray to the parking god.” But the system could come with serious consequences.
Some people say that drivers searching for parking could end up focusing on their phones, not the road. “It could be really distracting (使分心的),” said Daniel Simons, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois.
City officials acknowledge the potential problem. They are urging drivers to pull over before they use the city’s iPhone app, or to do so before they leave home. Nathaniel Ford, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said safety could actually improve if drivers quickly found a spot instead of circling and getting frustrated.
San Francisco has put sensors into 7,000 parking spots and 12,250 spots in city garages. If spaces in an area open up, the sensors communicate wirelessly with computers that in turn make the information available to app users within a minute, said Mr. Ford, of the transportation agency. On the app, a map shows which blocks have lots of places (blue) and which are full (red).
More than 12,000 people have downloaded San Francisco’s app, which is available now only for the iPhone but which city officials say they hope to bring to all similar devices.
When it is started up, the city’s parking app warns drivers not to use the system while in motion. But safety advocates said that might not be sufficient. After all, they say, texting while driving is illegal in California and in many states, but a number of surveys, including one by the Pew Research Center, show that many Americans do it anyway.
Elizabeth Stampe, executive director of Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian advocacy group, said she hoped the new parking app would lead to fewer accidents.
“It’s an innovative idea,” she said. “The safe way for people to use the device is for them to pull over, which they know they should do. The question is whether they will.”
But Ms. Soltani, the TV reporter, said using the app would probably join the group of activities already performed by drivers.
“We’re already looking at Google Maps and Facebook on the phone while we drive,” she said. “Aren’t we always looking at something on our phone, or changing the radio, or drinking coffee? You’re always slightly distracted when you’re driving.”What is the phone app mentioned in the text mainly aimed at?
| A．Making full use of the parking spots. |
| B．Making the traffic flow smoothly. |
| C．Preventing traffic accidents. |
| D．Benefiting iPhone users. |
According to the text, San Francisco city officials ______.
| A．don’t consider the app distracting |
| B．advise drivers to park cars slowly |
| C．are aware of the app’s disadvantages |
| D．believe more parking spots are needed |
How do drivers locate the parking spots?
| A．Sensors"computers"app. | B．App"computers"sensors. |
| C．Sensors"app"computers. | D．Computers"app"sensors. |
The phone app mentioned in the text ______.
| A．is a bit slow in reacting |
| B．hasn’t been put into service |
| C．was introduced several years ago |
| D．can’t be downloaded to all phones |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Daniel Simons thinks the app convenient. |
| B．San Francisco will put more sensors into use. |
| C．Most drivers open the app once they start their cars. |
| D．Nathaniel Ford doesn’t doubt the practical use of the app. |
Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential (居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
♢ Continental Breakfast
♢ Breakfast and Dinner
♢ Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal (谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.The passage is probably written for ______.
| A．hosts willing to receive foreign students |
| B．foreigners hoping to know British culture |
| C．travelers planning to visit families in London |
| D．English learners applying to live in English homes |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Room cleaning. | B．Medical care. |
| C．Free transport. | D．Physical training. |
According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee. | B．Fruit and vegetables. |
| C．Bread and fruit juice. | D．Cereal and cold meat. |
Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
| A．To experience a warmer family atmosphere. |
| B．To enrich their knowledge of English. |
| C．To entertain friends as they like. |
| D．To enjoy much more freedom. |
Think about the last time you felt a negative emotion—like stress, anger, or frustration. What was going through your mind as you were going through that negativity? Was your mind cluttered with (充斥) different kinds of thoughts? Or was it paralyzed, unable to think?
The next time you find yourself in the middle of a very stressful time, or you feel angry or frustrated, stop. Yes, that’s right, stop. Whatever you’re doing, stop and sit for one minute. While you’re sitting there, completely immerse yourself in the negative emotion. Allow that emotion to consume you. Allow yourself one minute to truly feel that emotion. Don’t cheat yourself here. Take the entire minute—but only one minute—to do nothing else but feel that emotion.
When the minute is over, ask yourself, “Am I willing to keep holding on to this negative emotion as I go through the rest of the day?” Once you’ve allowed yourself to be totally immersed in the emotion and really feel it, you will be surprised to find that the emotion clears rather quickly.
If you feel you need to hold on to the emotion for a little longer, that is OK. Allow yourself another minute to feel the emotion. When you feel you’ve had enough of the emotion, ask yourself if you’re willing to carry that negativity with you for the rest of the day. If not, take a deep breath. As you exhale, release all that negativity with your breath.
This exercise seems simple—almost too simple. But, it is very effective. By allowing that negative emotion the space to be truly felt, you are dealing with the emotion rather than stuffing it down and trying not to feel it. You are actually taking away the power of the emotion by giving it the space and attention it needs. When you immerse yourself in the emotion, and realize that it is only emotion, it loses its control. You can clear your head and proceed with your task.Which one does not belong to the negative emotion?
| A．anxiety | B．confusion | C．depression | D．sorrow |
What should you do when you are into negativity according to the article?
| A．Listen to some music. |
| B．Ignore it and do something else. |
| C．Just do nothing and truly feel that emotion. |
| D．Think about it and try to deal with it immediately. |
The underlined word “immerse” (Paragraph 2) most probably means ______.
| A．break down | B．get rid of | C．cut off | D．throw into |
What’s the best title of this text?
| A．Clear Your Mental Space. |
| B．Deep Breath, Trouble Away. |
| C．Try to Avoid the Negative Emotion. |
| D．Hold on to Negative Emotion as Long as Possible. |
The author’s opinion towards negative emotion is ______.
| A．doubtful | B．optimistic | C．frightened | D．confused |