Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic (流行病) sweeping across America’s farmland. It has little to do with the usual challenges, such as flood, rising fuel prices and crop-eating insects. The country’s farmers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place. National agricultural census (普查) figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers is the part over 65. Merrigan is afraid the average age will be even higher when the 2012 statistics are completed.
Merrigan, a former college professor, is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture. Aside from trying to stop the graying of America’s farmers, her work is made tougher by a recent blog posting that put agriculture at No. 1 on a list of “useless” college degrees. Top federal agriculture officials are talking about the posting, and it has the attention of agricultural organizations across the country.
“There couldn’t be anything that’s more incorrect,” Merrigan said. “We know that there aren’t enough qualified graduates to fill the jobs that are out there in American agriculture.”
In addition, a growing world population that some experts predict will require 70% more food production by 2050, she said.
“I truly believe we’re at a golden age of agriculture. Global demand is at an all-time record high, and global supplies are at all-time record lows,” said Matt Rush, director of the Texas Farm Bureau. “Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture. “
The Department of Agriculture has programs aimed at developing more farmers and at increasing interest in locally grown food. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition has also been pushing for state and federal policy changes to make it easier for new farmers.
Ryan Best, president of Future Farmers of America, has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the country and visiting with high school students about careers in agriculture. The 21-year-old Best hopes his message --that this is a new time in agriculture-- will motivate the next generation to turn around the statistics. “Never before have we had the innovations (创新) in technology which have led to agriculture in this country being the most efficient it has ever been,” he said. “There’s really a place for everybody to fit in. “ What is the new challenge to American agriculture?
| A．Fewer and older farmers. | B．Higher fuel prices. |
| C．More natural disasters. | D．Lower agricultural output. |
Why is Merrigan visiting universities across the country?
| A．To draw federal agriculture officials’ attention. |
| B．To select qualified agriculture graduates. |
| C．To clarify a recent blog posting. |
| D．To talk more students into farming careers. |
According to Matt Rush, American agriculture will provide opportunities for younger people because ________.
| A．the government will cover production costs |
| B．global food supplies will be even lower |
| C．investment in agriculture will be profitable |
| D．America will increase its food export |
What do the underlined words “to turn around the statistics” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．To re-analyze the result of the national census. |
| B．To increase agricultural production. |
| C．To bring down the average age of farmers. |
| D．To invest more in agriculture. |
In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. Her first experiments began with Alex. Alex was a one-year-old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts. They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel. Of course, if you own a pet, you probably disagree. But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves.
“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”
Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities. Sheep can recognize faces. Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt. And Alex, the parrot became a very good talker.
Thirty years after, the Alex studies began. Irene was still giving him English lessons until his recent death. For example, if Alex was hungry, he could say “want grape”. Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight. “He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row. Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g.wood and metal). Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.
Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico. He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011. Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones. When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were. Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.
One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have been close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化). While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance. Irene wanted to find out __________.
| A．what a parrot thinks | B．why a parrot can speak |
| C．how parrots make sounds | D．if parrots speak English |
Alex learnt new words by __________.
| A．singing them | B．reading them |
| C．writing them | D．rehearing them |
The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.
| A．understand some words |
| B．recognize strange voices |
| C．copy human gestures |
| D．tell different colors |
The article concludes that ___________.
| A．our pets understand what we say |
| B．dogs may speak to humans one day |
| C．humans are related to chimpanzees |
| D．mental ability can evolve in animals |
Elizabeth Mitchell’s new “Liberty’s Torch” is the fascinating story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be. The Statue of Liberty’s rough history is explored in “Liberty’s Torch”.
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is an all-but-forgotten figure in American history. He was, however, responsible for one of the most enduring symbols of the United States: the Statue of Liberty. A Frenchman from Alsace, he designed and built the Statue of Liberty which stood on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. How this statue came to be is the fascinating subject of Elizabeth Michell’s new book “Liberty’s Torch”.
The power of Mitchell’s narrative is convincing(令人信服的). We recognize the Statue of Liberty now as a symbol of hope and opportunity for a nation of immigrants. At the time, though, people could not see that－nor did they even imagine that. Instead, the construction of the statue was born of one man’s desire to set up a great monument.
For this reason, perhaps, “Liberty’s Torch” relies on Bartholdi as the connecting thread. Bartholdi went to Egypt to make photographic copies of the main monuments. On the boat, Bartholdi met and began a lifelong relationship with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who would build the Suez Canal. Maybe it was this friendship, or maybe it was seeing Egypt’s huge monuments, but finally the trip inspired Bartholdi’s dream to create the largest statue ever built. Failure to bring this to completion in Egypt, followed by his exile (流放) from Paris, led Bartholdi to sail to America.
By explaining the Statue of Liberty’s hard history and showing Bartholdi’s brave spirit, Mitchell has done a great service.It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．American people have never forgotten Frederic August Bartholdi |
| B．the Statue of Liberty wasn’t originally regarded as a symbol of hope |
| C．Bartholdi finished the Suez Canal |
| D．Bartholdi was a famous architect from Egypt. |
What was the main reason for Bartholdi to build the Statue of Liberty?
| A．To finish his education in the arts. |
| B．To mark his friendship with Ferdinand. |
| C．To create something better than Egyptian monuments. |
| D．To achieve his dream to create the largest statue. |
What type of writing is the passage?
| A．A travel guide. | B．A book review |
| C．An announcement | D．An architecture report. |
Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.
I see people trapped in a pathological（病态的）relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for proclaiming(声明) the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection, people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.
The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
| A．advantage | B．attraction |
| C．adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______.
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______.
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral. | B．Sceptical. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
Hello. I’m Jan from Mrs. Lake’s class. My class wants to work together to help the public. We think we have found a great way to do this. Last month we did a class project on the highways near our town. We learned about the Adopt-a-Highway Program. This program brings people together to pick up litter along the roads. We think it would be a great idea for all students in our school to join the program and adopt a highway.
Adopting a highway is not like adopting a pet. When a highway is adopted, only part of the highway is cared for by a group of people. The group agrees to work every week to keep its part of the highway clean. Each group gets its own sign that has the name of the group printed on it. The sign is put up at the side of the road. This sign lets drivers know who is keeping that area of the road clean.
The Adopt-a-Highway Program is a great way for people to help their environment look nicer. Also, the government does not have to send out as many road workers. This saves money. Finally, people may try harder to keep roads clean if they see people, especially teenagers like us, cleaning them up.
We will need helpers to care for our adopted highway. If you want to feel great and keep our roads clean，please come with your parents to the meeting next week. We will meet in Mrs. Lake’ room on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M. At the meeting, we will talk about which roads are the dirtiest as a result of people's unkind acts. Then we' ll try to pick an area to adopt and clean.
I look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Remember to keep our roads clean!What is the Adopt-a-Highway Program about?
| A．Giving names to the highways. |
| B．Drawing pictures of highways. |
| C．Picking up litter along the roads. |
| D．Putting up signs near the roads. |
What should the students do first if they want to join the program?
| A．Pick a spot to care for. |
| B．Call Mrs. Lake next week. |
| C．Write a letter to their parents. |
| D．Go to a meeting on Wednesday. |
What is the purpose of this speech?
| A．To encourage students to join the program. |
| B．To introduce the traffic system. |
| C．To show drivers how to drive safely. |
| D．To tell a story about adopting a pet. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Adopt-a-Pet |
| B．Adopt-a-Highway |
| C．Ways to Protect the Environment |
| D．Volunteers on Roads |
When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized(崇拜) basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s. Not him.
“I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr.,” he says of his father.
So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. “I'm jumping up and down,” saying, “Mom, can I go? Can I go?”
The experience changed Dekalb's life, he tells his dad on a visit to StoryCorps. “My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off.” the younger Dekalb says. “This is the life that I want to live someday. ”
Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together — father supervising(监督) son.
“You know, it's everything for me to watch you grow,”his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced.
“I received a phone call that night. And they said, 'Well, your son was at this fire.' I said, 'OK, which way is this conversation going to go?' ” Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.
“And they said, 'But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him.'”And the word went around, 'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on Earth for a dad."
Dekalb Walcott Jr. retired in 2009. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second
-generation firefighter. "You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son."
The underlined phrase “tag along” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．put out fire | B．watch basketball |
| C．ask his mother’s permission | D．follow his father |
Dekalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of _________
| A．8 | B．21 | C．35 | D．27 |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Dekalb Walcott Jr is proud to be a second-generation firefighter. |
| B．Dekalb Walcott III wants his son to become a firefighter too. |
| C．Dekalb Walcott Jr wants to pass the torch to Dekalb Walcott III. |
| D．Dekalb Walcott III is proud that his son has become an excellent firefighter. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Putting Out Fire: A Challenging Job for Father and son |
| B．Passing The Torch: A Firefighter Dad's Legacy |
| C．Dekalb Walcott III: A Second-generation Firefighter |
| D．Dekalb Walcott Jr.: A Chicago Fire Chief |
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