Strawberry (草莓) fields dotted with hunched-over workers picking and packaging, then pushing the delicate red fruit to waiting trucks — it is a typical winter scene embedded in the patchwork of homes and farms that make up eastern Hillsborough County.
That scene is changing, though, as the labor pool shrinks and technology comes knocking. Wish Farms owner Gary Wishnatzki and his engineer partner Bob Pitzer are banking on technology.
As strawberry season wrapped up in February, their driverless strawberry-picking machine drove into the fields for some test runs. The results were impressive and enlightening（有启迪作用的）, Wishnatzki said.
For some three years now, farmers have been forced to abandon millions of dollars worth of strawberries in fields, mostly in Hillsborough and Manatee counties, because they lacked laborers, industry experts say. The problem has been just as serious in California, Arizona and other farm communities.
The reasons for the shrinking worker pool are numerous. Migrant（移民）workers who have picked the fields for years are aging. Young adults in migrant families already in the United States are getting better educations and have more choices these days, including the construction industry, which again is on the upswing. Stricter security is allowing fewer undocumented workers to cross the border from Mexico. And Mexicans are having much smaller families now — just over two children per family, compared with 7.3 per family in 1960, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report released in 2012.
And since Mexico’s economy bounced back faster than that of the U.S., more Mexicans have been able to find work closer to home, according to the study.
“We came up with a concept we perceive as a necessity,” Wishnatzki said. “The labor pool has been shrinking for over 10 years now. It has been pretty harmful.” So in 2012, he and Pitzer formed their partnership, Harvest CROO Robotics, to develop a mechanical picker.
The Harvest CROO design has multiple picking heads that will move across a field, picking 25 acres over a three-day period, the typical time for picking fruit as it ripens. It has a “vision system” to distinguish between red and green strawberries and is able to get under the leaves to find and pick the ripe berries.
Picking strawberries is nothing like using a combine on a corn field, coming through and thrashing down the plants. Strawberries are delicate and ripen in various intervals, which Harvest CROO is taking into account in developing its machine.
A strawberry-picking machine will never completely replace the need for human labor in the fields, Wishnatzki said, but if the machines can supplement（补充）labor enough to keep the industry profitable, he and Pitzer will have met their goal.
Which of the following describes the typical winter scene of eastern Hillsborough County?
| A．Farmers work hard on a corn field. |
| B．Workers pick and package strawberries. |
| C．Scientists test machines in strawberry fields. |
| D．Farmers operate strawberry-picking machines. |
The mechanical picker is introduced due to ______.
| A．the labor shortage |
| B．the market demand |
| C．the aging of the local population |
| D．the new concept of farming |
Which of the following statements about Mexicans is true according to the passage?
| A．Mexicans like to find jobs far away from home. |
| B．There are more Mexican laborers than needed in Arizona. |
| C．Security regulations now make it easier to employ Mexicans. |
| D．Young people from migrant Mexican families now have access to more career choices. |
The “vision system” is designed to ______.
| A．take pictures |
| B．locate leaves |
| C．find the ripe berries |
| D．help the color-blind |
The goal of developing the strawberry-picking machine is to ______.
| A．get rid of human labor |
| B．help farmers make money |
| C．show the power of robots |
| D．compete with the corn industry |
Want to be a happy married couple? Consider having kids．
A new study found that having children boosts happiness．And the more, literally, the merrier．
But unmarried couples shouldn’t expect to find greater happiness through child-raising．The study, published in the Oct．14 online edition of the Journal of Happiness Studies, suggests that having children has little or no effect on boosting happiness among couples who aren’t hitched(和谐)．
The findings contradict previous research that suggested that having more offspring doesn't lead to greater happiness and might even make people less satisfied with their lives．One theory behind the conclusion is that parents don’t receive many rewards in return for the hard work of raising children．
The new study, however, notes that parents say children are one of the most important things in their lives, if not the most important．
The study found that life satisfaction for married people -- women especially -- goes up the more kids they have．Single, separated and co-habiting people, by contrast, report negative experiences．
“One is tempted to advance that children make people rich under the ‘right conditions’ -- a time in life when people feel that they are ready, or at least willing, to enter parenthood,” Dr．Luis Angeles, of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, said in a news release from the journal’s publisher．“This time can come at very different moments for different individuals, but a likely signal of its approach may well be the act of marriage．”he underlined word “offspring” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by _____．
| A．generation | B．children | C．mothers | D．marriage |
The best title of this passage should be _______．
| A．Children Are the Source of Happiness |
| B．Are You Happy Married Couple? |
| C．Married with Children Paves Way to Happiness |
| D．The Right Conditions of Having Children |
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The more children women have, the happier they are． |
| B．The more children the married women have, the more unsatisfied they become． |
| C．Raising kids can give any person happiness． |
| D．Without marriage, one woman had better not raise kids． |
In the passage, the underlined part ‘right conditions’ refers to _______．
| A．a time when the couple are ready and willing to become parents |
| B．the situation where the family is rich enough to raise a child |
| C．the situation where the couple are very happy |
| D．a time when the couple thinks raising children can boost happiness |
The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all aroud you and that it proves down upon you．Air pressure is a wonderful force．When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body．The air all around you does the same．However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this ．The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere．This layer surrounds the Earth , extending to about five kilometers above the Earth’s surface．
The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home．But make sure that you are supervised , because you will need to use matches．Now for the experiment！
What you need
·A hard-boiled egg without the shell
·A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg
·A piece of paper
·A match
Metheod
1) Check that the egg will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle．
2) Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle．
3) Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle．
4) Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle．
Result
Astonishingly,the egg will be sucked into the bottle．Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment．But be careful when you handle matches．
Why it happened
As the paper burns,it needs oxyen and uses up the oxygen(air) in the bottle．The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle,so no more air can get inside ．This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle．The air pressure must equalize,so more air from outside must enter the bottle．The outside air pressure against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle!The proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on it．When you do the experiment, why need you a person beside you?
| A．You couldn’t place the egg on the bottle by yourself． |
| B．The egg needs to be shelled． |
| C．You need to use matches． |
| D．The bottle can’t sit firmly on the desk． |
The purpose of doing this experiment is to prove ______．
| A．air pressure is a wonderful force |
| B．water can push down your body when you swim underwater |
| C．the air pressure is not equalized around us |
| D．the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere |
How did the egg put into the bottle？
| A．The oxygen inside the bottle suckde the egg in． |
| B．It became solt without the shell． |
| C．The neck of the bottle was wide enough． |
| D．The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle． |
The passage is ______．
| A．an experiment report | B．a scientific story |
| C．a research report | D．an interesting novel |
The amazing image shows the world’s largest ever cruise ship, complete with beach pool, shopping mall, rock-climbing walls, outdoor amphitheater（圆形剧场）and New York-style loft suites（套间）．The “traveling city” is being built on dry-docks in Finland by Royal Caribbean International, and she is named Oasis of the Seas．
Almost 1,200 feet long, 154 feet wide and rising 213 feet above the water line, the Oasis of the Seas will be able to host 3,000 crew to service every passenger’s need．In addition to the size, the Oasis of the Seas will also be the first ship that attracts people by the cruise line’s new neighborhood concept: 7 distinct themed areas, including Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, the Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone．Of all these areas, the excellent zone will be “Central Park”．
Protected from the weather by a clear screen to let in the light, the Central Park area will be themed on Caribbean plants and leaves reflecting the area which the ship will eventually cruise in．And the park zone will have different restaurants, bars and boutique shops, bringing the idea of “floating city” to reality．
In addition, Oasis of the Seas will also include a rock wall, over 15 restaurants and bars, a casino(娱乐场), a theatre, two night-clubs and the largest freshwater pool on any cruise liner．
“Royal Caribbean is proud to introduce a number of ‘firsts’ that the world has never seen before,” said Adam Goldstein, “Oasis of the Seas is the ultimate expression of the creativity and imagination found on all of our ships, providing guests with a collection of experiences that will offer an incredible cruise vacation．”In the passage, Oasis of the Seas refers to ______．
| A．a traveling city | B．a cruise ship | C．a deserted island | D．an ocean park |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______．
| A．the Oasis of the Seas hasn’t been built well so far |
| B．7 distinct themed areas are being built on dry-docks |
| C．the “traveling city” can hold 3,000 passengers |
| D．the “traveling city” is a beauty spot |
The main idea of the third paragraph would be _____．
| A．what the Central Park is | B．the location of the Central Park |
| C．the features of the Central Park | D．the theme of the Central Park |
The Oasis of the Seas includes a number of ‘firsts’ EXCEPT _____．
| A．the world’s largest ever cruise ship |
| B．its way of attracting tourists |
| C．the largest freshwater pool on any cruise liner |
| D．its most delicious food in the world |
What kind of life do you want? And what would you do if you were born with an illness like Cystic Fibrosis (囊胞性纤维症)?Charley was such a man．He was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a serious disease of the muscles．Without properly functioning muscles, eventually you’re unable to breathe．However, Charley was fortunate to have many care- givers, including his wife who helped him a lot．He became an engineer and helped plan structures that would allow streets and buildings to give better access to the disabled．Charley couldn’t live without a wheelchair, and could only use one hand to move it．His speech was also difficult to understand．However, Charley had a sharp mind．He could see, hear, use a few fingers and think, and that was enough to allow him to make an important contribution to his city．He made those around him more aware of their physical health．
In the movie JackandJillvs．theWorld, Jill is a 25-year-old girl who has just arrived in New York City．She has Cystic Fibrosis, but she doesn’t let it control her life．She’s happy, in fact! She meets a young man, Jack, and changes his life forever．One day she has to tell him about her illness．He’s angry and disappointed, but later he realizes that it’s their relationship that matters．They decide to be together, and live as happily as possible．
Charley’s story is true．Jack and Jill’s story is made up．How do you want to live your life? Use your imagination, and enjoy your life and all its wonders．Create your picture of a happy life．The writer uses the two questions at the beginning of the passage to _____．
| A．test the readers’ attitude about life |
| B．draw the readers’ attention to the topic |
| C．invite the readers to answer them |
| D．tell readers how to make a living |
About Charley, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．He is a father of two boys． |
| B．He can live well without wheelchair． |
| C．He is a lucky because many people give him care． |
| D．He can speak as others do． |
From the passage, we can infer that _____．
| A．health is the origin of happiness |
| B．the attitude to life decides your happiness |
| C．Cystic Fibrosis a serious disease of the muscles |
| D．Charley’s story is made up |
The film JackandJill vs．theWorld is set in _____．
| A．three young people | B．New York City |
| C．Paris | D．a place that we don’t know |
When I was going home to India last year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from China．
When India had not opened up its markets to the world, I carried suitcase loads of dark glasses and jeans．Thankfully, we can get all these anywhere in India now．
Still, her answer surprised me: “Green tea．”
As long as I can remember she didn’t even drink Indian tea ．
I dutifully bought a big packet of Longjing and headed home to hear the story．My mother and her brother, both regular newspaper readers, believed that Chinese green tea was the wonder drug for all illnesses．
At the turn of the century, China was not really familiar to the average Indian．It was a strange country．
How things change! And how soon!
Now every town of any size seems to have a “China Market”．And everyone is talking about China．
The govemment of Indin has planned to send a team to China to see how things are done．A minister once said that India must open the doors for more foreign investment(投资)and such a step would “work wonders as it did for China”．
But it’s a two-way street．I just heard about a thousand Shenzhen office workers who have gone to Bangalore to train in software．Meanwhile, all the Indian IT majors are setting up a strong presence in China．
No wonder that trade, which was only in the millions just ten years ago, is expected to hit about US $15 billion for last year and US $20 billion by 2008, a goal set by both governments．
No wonder, my colleague wrote some weeks ago about this being the Sino-Indian(中印)century as the two countries started on January 1 the Sino-Indian Friendship Year．
But what is still a wonder to me is my mother drinking Chinese tea．According to the passage, the author left _____ for ______．
| A．India; China | B．China; India |
| C．China; Longjing | D．India; Shenzhen |
The reason why the writer’s mother asked for Chinese green tea is that_____．
| A．she had a son working in China | B．she believed it had a curing effect |
| C．she enjoyed Chinese products | D．she was tired of Indian tea |
The underlined part “it’s a two-way street” in Paragraph 10 probably means ____．
| A．The exchanges between Indian and China benefit both． |
| B．China and India have different traffic rules． |
| C．Tea trade works wonders in both India and China． |
| D．Chinese produces are popular in both China and India． |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______．
| A．the author was concerned for his mother’s health |
| B．the author was in favor of drinking Chinese green tea |
| C．the author was surprised at China’s recent development |
| D．the author was curious about the growth of India’s IT industry |