The freezing Northeast hasn’t been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part- particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers’ market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.
The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m, rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries, the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.
Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they’re unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.
Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where- luckily for me- I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.What did the author think of her winter life in New York?
| A．Exciting. | B．Boring. |
| C．Relaxing. | D．Annoying. |
What made the author’s getting up late early worthwhile?
| A．Having a swim. |
| B．Breathing in fresh air. |
| C．Walking in the morning sun. |
| D．Visiting a local farmer’s market. |
What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?
| A．They are soft. |
| B．They look nice. |
| C．They taste great. |
| D．They are juicy. |
What was the author going to that evening?
| A．Go to a farm. |
| B．Check into a hotel. |
| C．Eat in a restaurant. |
| D．Buy fresh vegetable |
China needs to set absolute restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions(释放) if it is to fulfill its aim to set up a carbon market over the next five years, a cabinet office think tank said in a paper.
“It is only under an absolute emissions cap that carbon emission permits will become a scarce resource and possess the qualities of a commodity,” the State Council‟s Development and Research Center said in a paper in Seeking Truth, a magazine published by the ruling party.
China has traditionally baulked(犹豫) at the idea of emissions caps either on a regional basis or for industrial sectors, invoking a key Kyoto protocol principle that puts most of the burden of cutting green-house gases on developed countries.
China, the world ‘s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has also been under external pressure to make stronger commitments in the battle against global warming .The country has been the biggest beneficiary(受益人) of the Clean Development Mechanism, a UN-backed scheme that allows industrialized countries to meet their CO2 reduction targets by purchasing certified emission reductions or CERs from low-carbon projects launched in developing nations.
However, the European Union, the biggest buyer of CERs, has said it will not accept CERs generated by Chinese projects once the first phase of its Emissions Trading Scheme ends in 2012, though projects already registered will remain valid. What does China hope to do in the next five years?
| A．to cut its emissions by 45% |
| B．to set up a carbon market |
| C．to have lower emissions than other countries |
| D．to increase both emissions and production |
China agreeing to limit emissions now because______
| A．they care about the environment |
| B．emissions harm people’s health |
| C．of pressure from other countries |
| D．they want more profit for their factories |
How does the CER scheme work?
| A．Countries can buy the right to produce as much carbon emissions as they like. |
| B．All countries are required to set a carbon emissions cap and can then get certificates on how developed their environmental programme is. |
| C．Developed countries are allowed to produce more emissions than industrial countries. |
| D．Developed countries can buy the right to produce more carbon emissions from developing countries that produce less. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Air pollution is still increasing the problem of climate change all over the world. |
| B．China is still resisting cutting emissions as it is necessary for the manufacturing industry. |
| C．China believes that it is free from meeting international standards on emissions. |
| D．China will need to cut its emissions in the near future in order to keep up with the international community |
The letter is probably from __________.
A. Supervisor Management Unit B Thames Valley Police
C. Criminal Justice System D. Crime Reduction Committee What’s the purpose of this letter?
| A．To thank Ms. Adamczak for her contribution to the security of her community. |
| B．To inform Ms. Adamczak of how the investigation of the crime she reported was going |
| C．To respond to Ms. Adamczak’s crime report |
| D．To inform Ms. Adamczak of the investigation result of crime she reported |
Which one is not the possible result of this reported crime?
| A．The police will pay a visit to Ms. Adamczak’s . |
| B．The police will contact Ms. Adamczak and give her an update. |
| C．The police will not send Ms. Adamczak any further letters. |
| D．Your report will be held on file as an undetected crime. |
What does the word “leads” most probably mean?
| A．Clue. | B．Darkness. | C．Investigation. | D．Contact. |
Expressing emotions is important rather than hiding them or keeping them inside. Everyone feels negative emotions such as anger and needs to deal with them. But there are healthy ways to express anger and ways to control it.
Shouting bad words at someone will hurt the other person or make them angry too. If you feel angry, it is best to think before you speak. Some people in the UK use the expression “take a deep breath and count to 10”, meaning take a pause, breathe deeply and let yourself calm down instead of getting angry.
Another expression people use to say they are controlling their anger is “biting their lip”. This means not letting the bad words come out of their mouth. If you cannot think of anything but bad words, it is probably best to “bite your lip.”
But sometimes letting all your anger out can be cathartic(宣泄情绪), as long as you do it at the right place and time. If you have just had a bad day, you could go into a room by yourself and scream or yell very loudly. Or if you want to hit someone or smash something, you could hit a pillow instead. Then after you let your frustration out this way, you’ll be able to deal with your problems more calmly.
If you do lose your temper with someone and swear at them, though, you need to apologize. One way to do this is to say “pardon my French”. This expression has been used for many years as an apology for bad language. Then you can calmly explain what made you upset. According to the passage, what does the expression “pardon my French” mean?
A. “Please let me through”.
B “I can’t speak French well”.
C. “Sorry I said a bad word”.
D. “I’m very angry with you”.What does letting out your frustration help you to do?
| A．Make others more upset. |
| B．Feel happier about yourself . |
| C．Solve a problem calmly. |
| D．It is no help at all. |
Who is this passage most likely written for?
| A．All kinds of people |
| B．Young children |
| C．Very angry people |
| D．People who like to swear |
How does this passage view expressing emotions?
| A．They should be kept very private. |
| B．They need to be expressed but in a way that hurts no one. |
| C．They should be expressed any way you like. |
| D．They should only be expressed if they are positive. |
Over 60﹪of pupils in South African schools choose English for learning and teaching, but only 7﹪of pupils speak English as their home language, a recent South Africa survey shows.
Out of the country’s 12.2 million pupils only 851,536 speak English at home, yet 7.6 million pupils choose English as their favorite language of learning and teaching. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language, spoken by over 3.1 million pupils. However, less than a third of them choose to be taught in Zulu. The same thing is true of Pedi-speaking pupils, only a third of such pupils choosing to be taught in their home language. Besides English,
Afrikaans is the only language that has more pupils choosing it as their language of instruction than it has pupils who speak it at home. In primary schools, most pupils will choose African languages. As early as grade four, many would choose English or Afrikaans in their lessons.
The rising number of English-learning pupils is mainly caused by social and cultural reasons. English is the most common spoken language in official and public life in South Africa, the survey reports. In April 2011, the leaders of higher education and training said that they would take some steps to improve the university teaching and prevent the continuing decline of African languages. They suggested that in future every South African university student could be required to learn at least one African language in order to complete their studies at school. We can learn from the passage that most South African pupils__________.
| A．speak English both at home and at school |
| B．are required to learn two languages at school |
| C．choose English as their primary school language |
| D．are expected to speak their native language at home. |
It can be inferred from the passage that__________________.
| A．Afrikaans is the most popular home language in South Africa |
| B．it’s easier for South African pupils to learn Afrikaans at school. |
| C．the number of South African pupils learning Afrikaans has increased |
| D．many South African pupils use Afrikaans at school instead of at home. |
The underlined word “decline” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “_________”.
| A．going downhill |
| B．spreading widely |
| C．growing upwards |
| D．developing further |
What is the survey in the passage mainly about?
| A．The use of native languages in South African families. |
| B．The language choice and use among South African pupils. |
| C．The progress in South Africa’s language teaching education |
| D．The spread of English at schools in South Africa. |
Pasta is the world’s favorite food. Asurveytaken in 17 countriesconfirmedthat pasta is what people like to eat most. Not only is pasta the number one food in its home country -Italy, but is alsoenjoyedin faraway places like the Philippines, Mexico andSouth Africa.
Pasta has become popular, for one thing, because it is cheap and easy to prepare. Just cook noodles or other forms of pasta, make a sauce to go with it and you’re finished. Many different types of meals can becreatedwith pasta. It tastes good and fills your stomach. It produces energy in the form ofcarbohydrates(碳水化合物)， which is whyathleteseat pasta regularly. Pasta can also be kept for a longer time. You don’t have to use it up at once.
Pasta has also become popular because it stands for the Italian way of life. People all over the world like it because it’s so simple. It has two basic ingredients(成分), wheatand water, just like bread.
Legend has itthat Marco Polo brought pasta back to Italy with him but this is not true. Arabs probably brought a noodle-likedishtoSicilyin the 8th century. Farmers have been growing wheat, the mainingredientof pasta, there for ages.
The worldwide sales of pasta have risen sharply over the past decade. Italy leads the pasta-eatingcommunityof the world. The Italians are the number one consumers followed by Venezuela and Tunisia.In which country do people eat pasta most?
| A．Mexico | B．Venezuela | C．The Philippines | D．South Africa |
Sports people often have pasta because_________.
| A．it costs less money |
| B．it can be kept longer |
| C．it provides proper energy |
| D．it contains no carbohydrates |
One reason why pasta is favored is that_______.
| A．people like a simple lifestyle |
| B．it smells just like bread |
| C．it is rich in nutrition |
| D．Italian food stands for fansition. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The origin of pasta |
| B．Italians’ love for pasta |
| C．Pasta is changing people’s way of life |
| D．Pasta—the world’s favorite food |