For the past year, the World Food Program has operated a project to prevent hunger in twenty-one countries in Africa. In the project, the United Nations agency works with small farmers to grow more and better produce.
The World Food Program buys the produce through local cooperative associations. Then it distributes the products within the country or area. The project works mainly with women. Sheila Sisulu from the World Food Program says the project aims to break a cycle that keeps people hungry. The situation is that farmers have to sell their produce at low prices after harvest, when supplies are greatest. Then they have to pay high prices to buy food for themselves during the "lean season," when supplies are limited.
But when farmers produce more food, they can sell more. And when they produce high-quality food, they can get higher prices. They can also store food for themselves, and have enough money to buy food if they need to during the lean season. Sheila Sisulu says the farmers are now starting to earn profits through the project.
The Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development help the farmers choose the best seeds and fertilizers. They also advise the farmers on the quality levels that the World Food Program requires to buy their produce.
Two other groups recently launched a separate effort to increase food security in Africa. The groups are the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. They say African governments have to increase their investment in agriculture in order to fight problems related to climate change. The groups want the governments to develop programs in seeds, soil health, policy and markets.
Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is the chairman of AGRA. The group's president, Namanga Ngongi, says many African governments are not meeting a target of spending ten percent of their national budgets on agriculture. But he says investment has risen from four percent of national budgets to probably five and a half percent today.
1. The underlined word “lean” in Paragraph 2 probably has the same meaning with ______.
A. He is a tall, lean and handsome boy, liked by many girls.
B. The changes made the company leaner and more competitive.
C. The company recovered well after going through several lean years.
D. The doctor told him that lean meat was healthier for his mother than fatty meat.
2. According to Sheila Sisulu, the project _____.
A. distributes the products within the whole world
B. has benefited few African farmers during the past year
C. enables the African farmers to sell their produce at low prices after harvest
D. can help the farmers to get away from the situation that keeps them hungry
3. The problem of hunger in Africa can possibly be relieved by ______.
A. United Nations chief
B. the World Food Program
C. African governments and farmers
D. the Food and Agriculture Organization
4. Which can be the best title?
A. Hunger, the most serious problem in Africa
B. Two efforts seek to increase food security in Africa
C. A project to grow more and better produce in Africa
D. More investments in agriculture by African governments
If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.
Some doctors now think that the internal(内部的) fat surrounding important organs like the heart or liver could be as dangerous as the external fat which can be noticed more easily.
“Being thin doesn’t surely mean you are not fat,” said Dr Jimmy Bell at Imperial College. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.
According to the result, people who keep their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are slim.
Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside. Of the women, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had too high levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.
According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are actually on the edge of being fat. They eat too many fatty and sugary foods, but they are not eating enough to be fat. Scientists believe we naturally store fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.
Doctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some think it has something to do with heart disease and diabetes. They want to prove that internal fat damages the body’s communication systems.
The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “If you want to be healthy, there is no short cut. Exercise has to be an important part of your lifestyle,” Bell said.According to the pass age, which of the following is WRONG?
| A．People with heart disease all have internal fat. |
| B．People can get rid of internal fat by improving diet. |
| C．Men are more likely to have too much internal fat. |
| D．Exercise can help to reduce the internal fat. |
From the last paragraph, we can find that ______.
| A．whether internal fat can lead to disease has been proved |
| B．exercise plays an important role in people’s life for keeping healthy |
| C．thin people usually have internal fat even if they are slim |
| D．it is easier to burn off internal fat than external fat |
Doctors have found ______.
| A．the exact dangers of internal fat |
| B．internal fat is the cause of heart disease and diabetes |
| C．being slim doesn’t mean you are not fat inside |
| D．being slim is not dangerous at all |
The underlined part in the last paragraph means ______.
| A．a long road | B．a clear difference |
| C．an easy way | D．a short distance |
The common Chinese greeting of “Ni chi le ma?” may soon be replaced by a new greeting: “Have you cleaned your plate?”
Over the Spring Festival holiday there was a big effort to get people to curb their habit of ordering too much food in restaurants because a lot of that food ended up being wasted. Holiday eaters were urged to “clean their plates” and were asked to take leftover food home in “doggy bags.”
The impetus behind the campaign was the startling government statistic that over 200 billion yuan is spent every year on food that ends up in the garbage bin. And in the midst of all this waste, statistics show that 128 million people are living below the poverty line and going hungry.
The “clean your plate” campaign is part of a worldwide effort to stop precious food from being wasted. The United Nations estimates that $1trillion (yes, that’s a very big number) worth of food is wasted each year. Most of that is lost during food production and transportation, but a significant percentage is attributed to waste by consumers. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has launched a campaign called “Think. Eat. Save.” to make people aware of the problem.
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing is an ambassador for UNEP and she encouraged people to upload pictures of their “clean plates” to show their support for the program. Thousands of people responded and demonstrated that they had a clear conscience to go along with their full stomachs.
Xi Jinping, the incoming Chinese president, is also urging people to be less wasteful and he told Party members to cut back on extravagant holiday banquets and to be more careful when spending the people’s money.
For some, though, Xi Jinping’s and Fan Bingbing’s admonitions don’t go far enough. Yuan Longping, an agricultural scientist, caused a stir by saying that wasting food should be treated as a crime. (Jail time for leftover chicken feet!?)
If not a crime, wasting food is certainly a sin and it goes against what Xi Jinping calls, “the Chinese tradition of being diligent and thrifty.” Having a “clean plate” is just a traditional and responsible thing to do. Which statement is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Over 200 billion yuan is wasted every year on food around China. |
| B．It’s quite common for Chinese people to order more food than they need in restaurants. |
| C．It’s universally acknowledged that wasting food is a crime. |
| D．Fan did something to promote people’s awareness of saving food. |
What’ the best title for the passage?
| A．Food is important. | B．Have you cleaned your plate? |
| C．Jail time for leftover chicken feet!? | D．Wasting food is crime. |
Eating foods high in trans-fats(fats present in artificial form in industrially-produced cakes and fast food...) and saturated (饱和的) fats increases the risk of depression, according to a Spanish study, confirming previous studies that linked “junk food” with the disease. Researchers also showed that some products, such as olive oil, can fight against the risk of mental illness.
Authors of the wide-reaching study, from the universities of Navarra and Las Palmas, followed and analyzed the diet and lifestyle of over l2,000 volunteers over six years. When the study began, none of the participants had been diagnosed with depression; by the end, 657 of them were new sufferers.
“Participants with an increased consumption of trans-fats presented up to a 48 percent increase in the risk of depression when they were compared to participants who did not consume these fats,” the head study author said. “The more trans-fats were consumed, the greater harmful effect they produced in the volunteers.”
The research team found, at the same time, that after assessing the effect of polyunsaturated fats made up of larger amounts of fish and vegetable oils and olive oil, these products are associated with a lower risk of suffering depression.
The report, published in the online journal PLOS ONE, noted the research was performed on a European population that enjoys a relatively low intake of trans-fats—making up only 0.4 percent of the total energy taken in by the volunteers. “Despite this, we observed an increase in the risk of suffering depression of nearly 50 percent,” said researcher Miguel Martinez. “On this basis we think it of great importance to take this effect into account in countries like the United States, where the percentage of energy derived from these fats is around 2.5 percent.”
The report pointed out that the current number of depression sufferers in the world is around l50 million people, and has increased in recent years. This rise is attributable, according to the authors, “to great changes in the sources of fats consumed in Western diets, where we have replaced certain types of beneficial fats in nuts, vegetable oils and fish with the saturated and trans-fats found in meats, butter and other products such as mass-produced cakes and fast food.”What's the best title of the text?
| A．Junk Food and Depression | B．Depression Prevention |
| C．Types of Fats and Depression | D．Depression Research |
Which of the following increases the risk of suffering depression?
| A．Fish. | B．Vegetable oil. | C．Olive oil. | D．Butter. |
The study tells us that .
| A．2.5% Americans suffer mental illness |
| B．l2,000 volunteers in Navarra took part |
| C．a minority of participants became new sufferers |
| D．l50 million Europeans enjoy a healthier lifestyle |
The underlined word “derived” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to .
| A．obtained | B．chosen | C．separated | D．preserved |
More and more Westerners are suffering depression because .
| A．they have less time for exercise |
| B．they eat more nuts, vegetable oils and fish |
| C．the sources of fats in their diets have changed |
| D．less meat, butter, and cakes are included in their diets |
Whenever anyone measures educational success, East Asian countries are always top scorers. But in a recent league table, a European country, Finland, was top of the class. South Korea was still in second place, though. Britain was at number 6.
In Korea the school day is long—typically 7 or 8 hours, followed by hours of private tutoring in the evenings. All this hothousing leaves Korean students so tired, they sometimes fall asleep in class next day. Worries about the effects of late night cramming(填鸭式) led the government to force cramming schools to close by 10 pm. Finnish children spend the least time in class in the developed world, often finishing just after lunch, with about one hour of homework a day. Private tuition is uncommon. The British and American school day is quite long in comparison, around 6 hours, and secondary school pupils do 2 or 3 hours of self-study a night.
The Korean education system, like many in Asia, is intensely competitive, with students even competing to get into the best cramming schools, to help them get ahead. Finnish education is far less cut-throat. Classes are all mixed ability, and there are no league tables. British schools again occupy the middle ground, with quite high levels of competition for places at university, and schools and universities battling to come top of league tables for everything from exam results to student satisfaction. Korea and Finland both do well, yet their education systems are so different.
However, there are some similarities in Korea and Finland. In those countries, teachers have high status in society, and education is very highly valued. Those attitudes can't change quickly. But it can be done. They might be the star pupils now, but until the l970s, Finland's educational system was poor. Their thoroughly different approach to schooling has taken them to the top in just a generation.The students spend the least time in school in .
| A．the UK | B．Finland | C．the USA | D．Korea |
According to the text, we think in Korea .
| A．students spend more time in studying |
| B．students are tired of studying in class |
| C．students leave their school early |
| D．students are always top scorers |
The underlined phrase “all this hothousing” in Paragragh 2 probably refers to .
| A．private evening tutoring | B．self-study at home |
| C．long-hour study | D．school study |
From Paragragh 3, we can know that .
| A．Finnish students are less stressed in study |
| B．there're also many cramming schools in Britain |
| C．students in Korea are the most competitive in Asia |
| D．British schools are less competitive than universities |
According to the author, the key to improving education is .
| A．the attitude | B．the schooling time |
| C．star pupils | D．new teaching approach |
Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity. But, it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. In her biography, she remembers with great fondness when her good friend, Sean, whom she met in secondary school, became the first person to encourage her and help build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Despite many setbacks Rowling persevered in her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first conceived the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my immense frustration(沮丧), I didn't have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four(delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother passed away after a ten-year battle with multiple sclerosis, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression. Unemployed, she completed her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being rejected by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her commitment to writing that was fostered by the confidence of a friend !Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?
| A．Her friend Sean. | B．Her mother. | C．Her daughter. | D．Her husband. |
Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter .
| A．at the age of 6 | B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother's death | D．in her secondary school |
She felt frustrated on the train because .
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn't have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is .
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted | C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us .
| A．hardship makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement contributes to one's success |
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