Nowadays, the increase in the prices of agricultural products is one of the greatest concerns of the people and the government. The government has announced a series of policies(政策) to prevent the prices from rising further. Rising housing prices is still a big concern for the people, but since farm products are needed every day, the increase in their prices has made life very difficult for them.
Many people may think the increase will help farmers. But have higher prices of farm products really benefited the farmers?
Take the increase in vegetable prices in the first half of this year for example. Though natural disasters such as droughts and spring frost did not cause the prices of farm products to increase greatly—in fact, prices of some products did not increase at all—vegetables have become dearer by as much as 20 percent compared to that of last year. This means only a small part (or even none) of the extra money that city people have paid to buy farm products has gone to the farmers. The extra cost actually has gone to middlemen.
As the fact shows, just increasing prices of farm products will have negative influence on the entire economy. On one hand, the price increase has created some abnormal phenomena, which hurts farmers’ interests. On the other hand, resources will enter the agriculture because of the high price of farm products, which would finally create negative effect on the whole economy.
In such a case, it would be better to leave the market to decide the prices instead of raising farm products’ prices to protect the interests of farmers. Actually, such a way will be better for farmers in the long run. What does the author mainly want to tell us by writing the passage?
| A．Farmers benefit a lot from the price increase. |
| B．Price increase has not helped farmers. |
| C．We should be sorry for farmers. |
| D．Price increase has a bad effect on economy. |
Many people think the increase in the prices of farm products benefits ______ .
| A． nobody | B．the country | C．middlemen | D．farmers |
The following statements are true EXCEPT ______ .
| A．the government has done something to prevent the prices from rising further |
| B．it is better for farmers to leave the market to decide the prices in the long run |
| C．natural disasters did not cause the prices of farm products to increase greatly |
| D．rising housing prices has made life very difficult for people |
What is probably the author’s attitude to raising the farm products’ prices?
| A．Negative. | B．Indifferent.(漠不关心的) |
| C．Enthusiastic. | D．Positive. |
A girl became a volunteer in the activities of Deathbed Care, which meant visiting and taking care of a patient suffering from an incurable disease with days numbered.
The girl was assigned to look after an old man suffering from cancer whose children lived abroad. Their living conditions were not satisfactory while the old man had a lot of savings. She was expected to comfort him and keep up his spirits.
Every Saturday the girl came on time to keep him company, telling him stories. When he was having an intravenous drip (静脉滴注), she would help massage his arms. The doctor found the patient much improved mentally. The old man began to involve himself actively in the medical treatment and he seldom shouted at others.
But something that happened made the doctor uneasy and puzzled. Each time the girl left, the old man would give her some money. The doctor did nothing to interfere (干涉), unwilling to offend the old man. A month later the old man showed evident signs of decline after suffering coma (昏迷) a few times.
When rescued from the latest coma, the old man told the doctor his last wish, “I have deep sympathy for the girl. Will you be kind enough to help her finish her studies？”
But the doctor knew that her family was welloff and she had no difficulty pursuing her studies. Sometimes she even came to the hospital in her father’s car.
When the girl came at the weekend after the death of the old man, the doctor told her the bad news. She was very sad and burst into tears. Then she handed $ 500 to the doctor, saying, “The old man had all along thought I came to do the job because of poverty. He gave me money so that I could continue my schooling.” Now he got the answer to the puzzle. In the last period of his life, the old man found it a real pleasure to be able to help a girl badly in need.If you’re a volunteer in the activities of Deathbed Care, what kind of people do you have to attend to?
| A．Patients with a lot of money. |
| B．Patients suffering from cancer. |
| C．Patients without many days left. |
| D．Patients living alone. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The doctor told the old man the truth. |
| B．The old man’s children were wealthy. |
| C．The girl’s father encouraged her to accept the money. |
| D．The girl didn’t accompany the old man when he died. |
What is the real reason resulting in the old man’s mental improvement?
| A．The girl’s love and great care. |
| B．The pleasure of helping people in need. |
| C．The doctor’s medical treatment. |
| D．His children’s progress in life. |
I’m glad to find this comment which has some sort of support in this quest（寻求）I have to eat raw（未煮熟的）foods. I’m an unhealthy 49 years old and have come to the conclusion that it’s now or never, so I am taking a dive into the raw eating lifestyle.
I have to cook for my family and prepare what they want to eat. I’m trying to plan out this better so I have some of these unusual foods ready for myself.
I’ve read several books written by Ann Wigmore and like her approach to the living foods.
Last week I attempted fasting（禁食）and failed. I lasted five days by having carrots, spinach, apples and other vegetarian diets I could get my hands on. I was doing fine until I drank some coffee. I kind of proved it in my mind to have the coffee but it only made me excited and then I couldn’t sleep well and felt hungry and weak. So I stopped and went back to the old way of eating with the family.
This week I started to make a drink called rejuvelac made of sprouted wheat（芽麦）. This is fairly new to do for me and the drink smelled sort of musty（发霉的）and tasted kind of like a musty lemon. The kids tasted it and almost threw up but surprisingly it tasted good to me. It is supposed to help in digestion（消化）.
I’ve made some attempts to grow wheat grass. I think I have figured that out as long as I keep it away from birds and our horses. I have two habits to get rid of, drinking coffee and smoking. I quit smoking last month but something happened, so I started up again. I’m very frustrated(受挫的) with the smoking and really have a desire to quit for good. Anyhow I will keep this updated on my progress.The author must have ________ before she wrote this article.
| A．hesitated at whether she should eat raw foods |
| B．never eaten raw foods |
| C．made up her mind to eat raw foods instead of cooked ones |
| D．been discouraged by her family from fasting |
The books written by Ann Wigmore which the author has read are probably about ________.
| A．fasting |
| B．losing weight |
| C．how to be on a diet |
| D．approaches to eating raw foods |
To the author, the drink made of sprouted wheat ________.
| A．might help in digestion |
| B．might make people who drank it throw up |
| C．tasted good to anybody |
| D．was welcomed by the whole family |
We can learn from the passage that ________ smoking.
| A．the author has given up |
| B．the author will never give up |
| C．it’s hard for the author to quit |
| D．it’s easy for the author to quit |
The author’s biggest worry at present is most probably ________.
| A．that she can’t eat with her family |
| B．that she can’t get rid of drinking coffee and smoking |
| C．how to get used to raw foods |
| D．that she doesn’t know whether she should eat raw foods |
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. Parents often give their children an amount of money that they may spend as they wish. The purpose is to let the children learn from experience at an early age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
A child may receive an allowance each week or each month. The amount is not so important. But parents should make clear what the child is expected to pay for with the money.
At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents should not offer more money until the next allowance is to be given.
Older children may be responsible enough to budget larger costs like those for clothing. The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving.
Many people who have written on the subject say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the home, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving it to organizations. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer free savings accounts for young people with small amounts of money.The functions of allowances given to children are the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．they can save more money for their future business |
| B．they can give them to charities |
| C．they may spend them on what they like |
| D．they can learn to deal with money |
The underlined word "sacrifice" in the last paragraph means "_____".
| A．牺牲 | B．计划 | C．选择 | D．放弃 |
What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Children should save part of their allowance. |
| B．Don’t pay your child for work around the home. |
| C．Allowance helps teach children early about money. |
| D．Parents should allow children to spend money as they wish. |
How many advantages of saving has the passage mentioned?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Children are advised to buy anything they wish to with the allowance. |
| B．Parents should offer children more money if they spend all of their allowance soon after they get it. |
| C．It can be useful to pay children to do extra work around the home. |
| D．It is unnecessary for the children to save part of the allowance. |
A Tchaikovsky concerto（协奏曲）is what made Romel Joseph fall in love with the violin.
He learned how to play in Haiti, where he was born, but a Fulbright scholarship brought him to the United States, and he finally earned a master’s degree, reports CBS News reporter Katie Couric. Music had changed his life. He wanted to do the same for the children of Haiti.
Joseph built a school in Port-au-Prince nearly 20 years ago. He was on the third floor when suddenly “It was like boom boom boom and everything just opened,” Joseph said. “And the next thing I knew I was on the ground.”
Blind since birth, Joseph tried to feel his way out, but was pinned（夹）beneath heavy concrete（混凝土）. He remained trapped for 18 hours. He prays that his new wife, seven months pregnant（怀孕的）, will be found.
He is now being treated at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital for two injured legs and an arm.
Joseph wonders if he’ll ever play the violin again. He can feel sensation（知觉）in his fingertips. He said, “If you were to give me a violin and if I didn’t have to fold the fingers, I would be able to play.”
Joseph’s daughter Victoria spent three terrifying days unsure of her father’s fate. For her, having him home is the sweetest music.
“Can you imagine your dad not being able to play the violin?” Couric asked.
“No, I can’t,” Victoria Joseph said. “But I will love him all the same if he can’t.”
Romel doesn’t know how many of his 300 students died in the quake. As he waits for news about his wife, Romel Joseph is already planning a return to Haiti to rebuild the school and continue teaching there.
“We can save two children, 20, 200, 300, 500 through education and music, and these children will make a difference,” Romel Joseph said.Romel began to like music ________.
| A．because he was blind since birth |
| B．after he had listened to a famous piece of music |
| C．when he got a scholarship to study in America |
| D．since he was born in Haiti |
From what Romel said in Paragraph 6, we can infer that he was ________.
| A．upset | B．fearful | C．excited | D．optimistic |
To Victoria, the best thing is ________.
| A．to see her father recover from the injury quickly |
| B．to listen to her father playing the sweetest music |
| C．to play the violin as well as her father |
| D．to be sure that her father could play the violin |
Why does Romel want to go back to Haiti?
| A．To save his students from the earthquake. |
| B．To change the life of children by teaching music. |
| C．To find out how seriously his school was damaged. |
| D．To look for his wife who is pregnant. |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Music education: keep your creativity alive |
| B．A great blind musician and his students |
| C．Haiti earthquake: a story of a music teacher |
| D．How did some Haiti earthquake victims survive |
Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world—Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey—rats will soon be man’s new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We sent in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal (信号). This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “‘Robots ’noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that.” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity(电)!
The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to and a rat would get out of it if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can .
| A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs |
| B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings |
| C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings. |
| D．get into small spaces |
In doing rescue jobs, .
| A．rats smell better than dogs |
| B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people |
| C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around |
| D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots |
Rats have all the following advantages EXCEPT that .
| A．they are more fantastic than other animals |
| B．they are less expensive to train than dogs |
| C．they don’t need electricity |
| D．they are small and can get into small places |
After reading the passage we can know .
| A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people |
| B．the “rat project” has been completed |
| C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building |
| D．now people still use dogs and robots in performing rescues |
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