阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出-优题课

The popularity of farmers’ markets combined with concerns over food security is making the number of school leavers taking agriculture courses increase rapidly, according to a study.
Large numbers of 16- to 18-year-olds are going to study subjects such as agriculture, food and gamekeeping despite having no background in farming. Jeanette Dawson, principal of Bishop Burton College, said women were also taking up courses at an increasing rate.
She said it was related to a series of food scandals (丑闻)such as the discovery of horsemeat in frozen meals stocked by major supermarkets.
But the movement was also promoted by an increased awareness of the importance of local food and produce, she said. The number of students taking courses in “land-based subjects” has increased by a quarter in the last 12 months alone – from 5,138 to 6,482.
Mrs. Dawson said there were a lot of young people who weren’t from farming backgrounds. But there had been a growth in the number of them accessing agriculture programes with a view to a career in the industry. She said agriculture was an “applied science, with the great outdoors as its laboratory”. And it was increasingly seen as an attractive job for school leavers.
“I never underestimate (低估) the ability of teenagers to pick up on it. The more it is in the media, the more it interests young people. Whenever I go in my local pub, it has on the blackboard where the sausages (香肠) are from. Everyone is interested in buying local food and knowing where their food is from.
The comments were made as Bishop Burton prepares to expand, with a ￡I3 million project to build a new campus in Lincolnshire. The site – due to open in September 20l5 – will be the college’s second in the county, in addition to one at nearby Riseholme.
What is making large numbers of students take agriculture courses?

A．Agriculture is very important to a country.

B．People are increasingly concerned about food security.

C．Many colleges are offering agriculture courses.

D．Agriculture is an applied science.

The example of horsemeat in the third paragraph illustrates(证明) the necessity of_________ .

A．protecting animals

B．strengthening food safety

C．protecting the environment

D．forming healthy eating habits

What does the writer mainly discuss in the passage?

A．Why the government should strengthen agriculture.

B．How to strengthen food safety.

C．Why agriculture courses are becoming popular among students.

D．How to do well in agriculture courses.

The historical documentary, Mr. Deng Goes to Washington, which was first shown in the capital on May 12, not only reveals the details of an attempted assassination(刺杀) of Deng, but is also the first time that animated (动画的) images of China’s leaders have appeared on the silver screen. The film tells the story of Deng’s nine-day visit to the US in 1979, only a month after China established diplomatic(外交的) relations with the US for the first time after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
Lv Muzi, the film’s producer, said the film includes 12 animated sequences of Deng, drawn in French, American and Japanese styles, as well as China’s traditional shadow puppetry(皮影) style.
Hu Yuchen, who has drawn cartoons for leaders including former premier, Wen Jiabao, is the artist behind the animated images of Deng. Among the three versions of images he drew, director, Fu Hongxing, chose to use the version which was moderately realistic.
“Deng’s animated images are not static(静止的) in the film. When he’s at meetings, the images are more serious, and when he’s at a party, he’s portrayed in a more lively way,” said Zhu.
For the young animator, animation can tell the story of that period of history better to younger viewers. “At first glance, animation may seem simple, but in reality, we need to do a large amount of homework, like checking what dishes were served at a dinner or what paintings were displayed in a particular room.” Zhu said he and the team went through a lot of historical documents and reviewed video clips (录像片段) in the process of creation.
Fu said the film is in honor of Deng’s contribution to China as well as his influence on generations of Chinese people. Production was completed last year, which marked the l10th anniversary of Deng’s birth and also the 35thanniversary of Sino-US diplomatic relations.
Mr. Deng Goes to Washington uses all of the following styles EXCEPT_______ .

A．French and American styles

B．Japanese style

C．traditional Chinese style

D．Korean style

What does the underlined word in the fourth paragraph, “portrayed “, probably mean?

A．painted.	B．acted.
C．imagined.	D．decorated.

Which of the following is NOT true about the documentary?

A．The version of Deng’s image that was chosen was moderately realistic.

B．This is the first time a documentary has been made of a Chinese leader.

C．The animator did lots of work in the process of creation.

D．It contains 12 animated sequences of Deng.

Why was the documentary made ?

A．To help younger viewers remember that period of history.

B．To honor Deng’s contribution to China.

C．To entertain the Chinese people

D．To emphasize the importance Sino-US diplomatic relations.

Plastic surgery(整容手术) is not only popular in the US, but is also sweeping across Asia. It is reported that South Korea is now the world’s largest market for plastic surgery.
In order to change their looks, 20 percent of women aged between 19 and 49 in Seoul said they had gone under the knife. The growth of South Korea’s pop music industry increases the popularity. Many patients visit clinics (诊所)with photos of singers, asking doctors to copy their noses or eyes.
Joo Kwon, who founded one of the largest clinics in Seoul, recently opened a hotel to better serve customers. People will spend about US$I7,675 in a single visit. An increasing number of clients are non-Koreans, from China, Japan, the Middle East and even Africa. Leaders in South Korea say that this will help the Korean economy.
However, Mr. Kwon warned that young people should be careful when seeking such operations. “I think South Korea doesn’t understand the word “beauty”, because everyone looks pretty much the same. It is also related to low self-confidence. I think the situation will somewhat become better in future as the society becomes more different. But it will take quite a bit of time until we get there,” he told reporters.
Last year, a booklet was given out to Korean high school students by the government. There is a story that a local woman who was crazy about plastic surgery ended up with an ugly face.
What is the main cause of the increase in plastic surgery in South Korea?

A．The increasing understanding of beauty.

B．The increasing number of clinics.

C．The rise of the pop music industry.

D．The rise of the Korean economy.

What is Mr. Kwon’s attitude towards plastic surgery?

A．He feels it is worth a try

B．He is strongly against it.

C．He is not interested in it.

D．He is objective about it

We can learn from the last paragraph that ____ .

A．plastic surgery is supported by the government

B．high school students are encouraged to have plastic surgery

C．high school students in South Korea are fond of plastic surgery

D．plastic surgery is bad for people’s health

What is the main idea of the text?

A．How to have plastic surgery.

B．Why women have plastic surgery.

C．The famous singers in South Korea.

D．Rapid growth of plastic surgery in South Korea.

My darling daughter,
Recently I saw a diary of years. It was written when you were nine. I read your goals in the diary, and one little goal was really surprising for me. It was “to make Mom happy”.
I was so moved, and I would have told you that you made me happy every day of my life. My first thoughts in the morning were of you. When I got home from work, I couldn’t wait to see you. I liked talking to you very much and I wanted to know what your day was like. You kept my spirit alive, my mind challenged and my body active. You were, and still are, the light of my life. Without you, my life would have been boring. You made me happy and you continue to do so.
You are a mother now, with a child of your own. I know you love her, so I think you should tell her how happy she makes you. Sometimes we forget to say the words that are in our hearts. These words can be very important to a child. They can change their world completely. They can create a beautiful world for them.
You are my joy in life, my little one. You always have been, and you always will be. Never forget that, and tell that to your child. Tell her that she is the most important thing in the world for you, because she makes things joyful in your life! I love you, my dearest daughter.
Mom
What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．The diary was written when the daughter was young

B．The mother was not close to her daughter.

C．The daughter had been dead for many years.

D．The mother often heard from her daughter.

The mother ______ according to the text.

A．thought her life was boring

B．has a granddaughter

C．was a housewife

D．used to get up early

According to the third paragraph, the mother advised her daughter to ______ .

A．try her best to make her child happy

B．take her child traveling around the world

C．let her child do whatever she wants

D．tell her child her feelings

The text has most likely been taken from

A．a report	B．a letter
C．a piece of news	D．a poster

Are people less happy or more happy the older they get ? A study found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age 50. In fact, it found that by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were at 18.
The finding came from a Gallup survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States in 2008. At that time, the people were between the age of 18 an 85.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 22 and 25. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. But the people least likely to report feeling negative emotions(消极情绪) were those in their seventies and eighties. The survey also found that men and women had similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
So why would happiness increase with age ? One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
The original(最初的) goal of the study was to confirm the popular belief that aging is connected with increased sleep problems. The survey did find an increase during middle age, especially in women. But except for that , people reported that they felt their sleep quality improved as they got older.
Old people may be happier probably because _________

A．their children have grown up.

B．they don’t have to work every day.

C．they can do whatever they like best.

D．they are most likely satisfied with life.

According to the survey, when will adults feel most stressful?

A．In their twenties.	B．In their fifties.
C．In their seventies.	D．In their eighties.

What may make Arthur Stone a bit surprised?

A．Women usually live longer than men.

B．Middle-age men mostly are very rich.

C．Old people usually have a better sleep.

D．Most of old people can’t sleep well at night.

Which of the following may be the topic of this passage ?

A．The difference between men and women.

B．Old people’s feeling of happiness.

C．The young people and the old people.

D．The connection of sleep and happiness.