Charlotte Hollins faces a battle. The 23-year-old British farmer and her 21-year-old brother Ben are fighting to save farm that their father worked on since he was 14. Although confident they will succeed, she is aware of farming’s many challenges.
“You don’t often get a day off. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on farmers to keep prices low. With fewer people working on farms it can be isolating,” she said. “There is a high rate of suicide and farming will never make you rich!”
Like others around the world, Charlotte’s generation tend to leave the farm for cities.
Oliver Robinson, 25, grew up in Yorkshire. But he never considered staying on his father and grandfather’s land. “I’m sure Dad hoped I’d stay,” he said. “I guess it’s a nice, straightforward life, but it doesn’t appeal to me. For young, ambitious people, farm life is hard.”
For Robinson, farming doesn’t offer much “in terms of money or lifestyle”. Hollins agrees that economic factors stop people from enjoying the rewards of farming. He describes it as a career that provides “for a vital human need”, allowing people to work “outdoors with nature.”
Farming is a big political issue in the UK. The “Buy British” campaigns urge consumers not to purchase cheaper imported foods. The 2001 foot and mouth crisis closed thousands of farms, stopped meat exports, and raised public consciousness about the troubles on UK farms.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s 2005 campaign to get children eating healthily also highlighted the issue.
This national concern gives hope to farmers competing with powerful supermarkets. While most people buy food from the big supermarkets, hundreds of independent Farmers’ Markets are becoming popular.
“I started going to Farmers’ Markets in direct defiance(违抗) of the big supermarkets. I seriously objected to the super-sizing of everything－what exactly do they put on our apples to make them so big and red? It’s terrible,” said Londoner Michaela Samson, 31.What are the challenges that British farmers face according to Charlotte Hollins?
a. loneliness b. thin profits
c. a lack of good equipment d. long working hours but slow results
| A．abc | B．abd | C．acd | D．bcd |
Why did Oliver Robinson refuse to stay on the farm?
| A．He hoped for a simpler life |
| B．He was fed up with a hard farm life. |
| C．Farm life was too demanding though he liked it. |
| D．He hoped for something challenging and rewarding. |
What happened in 2001 to the British beef farmers?
| A．British people ate more British beef. |
| B．To be a beef farmer became profitable. |
| C．Diseaes dramatically reduced the amount of beef available. |
| D．Foreign farmers stopped selling beef to Britain. |
Which of the following is an advantage of Farmers’ Markets?
| A．Lower prices. | B．Flexible sizes. |
| C．Convenient location. | D．Healthier food. |
What can we conclude from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Things are improving for independent farms in the UK. |
| B．Farming in the UK can now match the powerful supermarkets. |
| C．Most British people are doubtful of food in supermarkets. |
| D．Most British people have realized the problems facing farms and begun to help save them. |
One morning, a young man leading a goat lost his way due to the thick mist．Then he met a blind man and asked whether he also lost his way．The blind man said, “I cannot see anything．Therefore, the mist doesn’t affect me．I followed the path in my memory and it never goes wrong.”
Happily the young man led the goat following him forward．The blind man asked where he was going．He said he wanted to sell his goat．“Male or female? How many years have you kept it?” The young man spoke without too much thought, “A female goat of 3 years!”
The young man was still following the blind man when he was grasped the hand by the blind man．He shouted ,“Here is the police station! Go into it and elaborate on how you stole the goat!”
The young man had been a thief for a long time and admitted the goat was stolen by him．He asked the blind man puzzlingly, “But how do you know I am a thief?”
The blind man smiled, “I have been keeping goats for decades and can tell one of them is male or female as well as their age according to their voices．The goat you led just now is obviously a male goat, but you said female．The goat is simply a little more than one year old, but you said you had kept it for three years．Moreover, the goat will bleat totally differently when he is led by a stranger instead of his owner．So I can tell the goat does not belong to you!” Only then did the thief understand the whole thing with his head dropped down．The blind man didn’t lost his way because _________
| A．he didn’t lead a goat |
| B．he couldn’t see anything |
| C．he wasn’t affected by the thick mist |
| D．he had a better memory than the young man |
According to the dialogue in Paragraph 2, we can know that ______
| A．the blind man was a detective |
| B．the young man was an honest man |
| C．the young man familiar with the goat |
| D．the blind man was very careful |
The underlined word “elaborate” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______
| A．express in detail | B．tell a lie |
| C．learn by heart | D．make up one’s mind |
We can infer that the young man was ______after hearing the blind man’s explanation．
| A．humorous | B．nervous | C．depressed | D．satisfied |
Jones worked so hard that made the sparks fly from his hammer．The son of Mr．Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith and he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked．"Why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks?" said the blacksmith．"Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you." The lazy boy began to see what he could do．But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr．Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods．He had to leave home and was forced to take up residence in another country．It so happened that in this village there were numerous shoemakers who were spending a lot of money to buy tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Young Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers．He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in his workshop．The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer．"How funny it seems," he used to say, "even making tacks can bring a fortune．My trade is more useful to me than were all my former riches."From Paragraph 1 we can refer that _______
| A．Jones was a blacksmith from another country |
| B．Old Smith wanted his son to learn skill from Jones |
| C．Young Smith was too lazy to learn to make shoe tacks |
| D．Young Smith was good at making shoe tacks by accident |
The reason why young Smith was forced to leave his home town is that ______
| A．he was lazy and wasted all the money from his father |
| B．the price of shoe tacks in another country was high |
| C．his father died and left nothing for him |
| D．there was a terrible which broke his peace |
We can learn from the last paragraph that Young Smith _______
| A．made a living in the village by selling bread |
| B．worked in the workshop as a shoemakers |
| C．was good at making soldier shoes |
| D．lived a better life in the village than before |
Which of the following well-known sayings can best tell the main idea of the passage?
| A．Knowledge is no burden. |
| B．Where there’s a will, there’s a way. |
| C．You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
| D．Time lost cannot be recalled. |
Julio loves to visit his grandmother．He doesn’t get to visit her very often because his family lives in a city that is six hours away．His grandmother lives in a big wooden house on a farm .It is old and looks as if it has secret hiding places .
On the third Sunday of June ,Julio’s parents took him to his grandmother’s .Since it was summer vacation ,he was going to stay at grandmother’s for a whole mother ! His cousins Mario and Linda would soon be arriving .They would also be staying at their grandmother’s this summer.
A big porch（走廊）wraps around two sides of the house .Julio sat in the porch swing .He could see the trees that circle the house．They had been planted as a windbreak .They protect the house from the wind and blowing dirt .The house is in the middle of a large ,flat field.
Julio watched the dirt road that leads to the house .He couldn’t wait for his cousins to get there !Mario was his age ,and Linda was a year younger .They had fun together .Last summer they spent one whole morning making a fort out of sacks of seed .Then Uncle Henry had taken them on a tractor ride.
Julio remembered another time with his cousins .They had gone out to explode the fields．Julio touched an electric fence and got a shock .Then they found an old snakeskin .Nothing like that ever happened at his own home!
Julio could smell the dinner that his grandmother was cooking .It made him hungry.
Finally he saw a cloud of dust coming up the road．“They ‘re here! There’re here!” He shouted.The story tells about Julio and his cousins doing all of the following except_______．
| A．watching old movies |
B．taking a tractor ride |
| C．finding a snakeskin |
D．making a fort from seed sacks |
How do you think Julio felt when he saw his cousins arriving?
| A．He was worried |
B．He was excited |
C．He was angry |
D．He was sad. |
After Julio’s cousins arrived ,what would probably happen next?______．
| A．They would build a fort on the hill. |
| B．They would look for snake skins. |
| C．They would climb the trees in their grandmother’s yard |
| D．They would eat dinner at their grandmother’s house. |
These boxes show events that happened in the story .What is in box 2?
| Julio went to Grandmother’s house |
|
Julio thought about Another visit to grandmother’s |
| A．Julio’s cousins arrived at Grandmother’s house. |
| B．Julio could smell dinner cooking. |
| C．Julio sat in the porch swing. |
| D．Julio saw a cloud of dust coming up the road. |
If you have been joining in chat room conversations, or trading email with web pals （网友） , you have become one of the millions who write in a peculiarly short form of English.
And you’ve got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF （=" sense" of humor failure） to describe Internet newcomers who don’t understand you.
Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are “talking online”, many of them all talking at the same time.
It’s fast: try talking to six people at once．It’s brief: three or four words per exchange．It takes wit, concentration, and quick fingers.
And it requires tremendous linguistic economy （语言省略）．There’s neither time nor space for explanations．Why consume precious key-strokes （键盘敲击） telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB（ =" be" right back） will do?
Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI （=" pardon" me for jumping in）.
Interested in whom you are talking to? Type A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal’s age, sex and location．You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you are OTF （=" on" the floor）, or LOL （=" laughing" out loud）, or combing the two into ROTFL （ =" rolling" on the floor laughing） .
And when it is time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG （=" got" to go） or TTYL （="talk" to you later）.
People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can．Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing emotion, as it takes, more time to hold down the “shift” key and capitals．Punctuation （标点） is going, too．Many people talk on the Internet ______.
| A．by sending short emails |
| B．by using a particular short form of English |
| C．by using peculiar English words and expression |
| D．in a funny way |
In order to talk to several people at the same time on the Internet ______.
| A．you have to speak fast and fluently |
| B．you should speak with wit and humor |
| C．you have to express your ideas in a brief way |
| D．one should pay much attention to the accuracy of words |
If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means______.
| A．the person on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine |
| B．you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York |
| C．you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York |
| D．the person who you are talking to is a 17-foot tall New York girl |
To save time on the Internet, __________.
| A．some people leave their letters in the dustbin |
| B．some people never use “shift” in their writing |
| C．many people leave the capital and punctuation |
| D．people seldom use capital letters or punctuation |
Talking to Teachers—Teachers are just people．Behind that desk, is a living, breathing human being．And just like any human being, they will probably be friendly to people who talk nicely to them．Teachers also seem to get along better with children who take schoolwork seriously and are prepared for class．And, just like any other human being, teachers like to be appreciated．The next time your teacher helps you solve a math problem or figure out a science project, say thank you with a smile.
Talking to Parents—Parents can be very supportive if their children ask for help．If you think there’s something your parents can do to help you socialize more or feel more comfortable around people, then ask them．Very often, parents want very much to help, but really don’t know what to do．Pick a quiet time of the day and ask to talk．Tell them how you feel．Maybe they had the same trouble when they were kids.
This Stranger Thing—This is always a tough one．How do you deal with a neighbor, the mail carrier, or someone walking down your street—situations that often seem to cause arguments between kids and parents．The answer to these questions will vary from kid to kid, from parent to parent because all cultures are different．Some folks live in small towns where a hello to everyone is “what’s done”．Then there are kids who live in the city who may have been taught not to speak to anyone they don’t know．If you’re having trouble with this and always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, you might want to talk to your parents or a teacher about it．Where do they think you should draw the line? When is silence rude and when is it wise?From the first paragraph we may learn that teachers dislike____ .
| A．being talked to nicely |
| B．their students to be serious with the schoolwork |
| C．the students’ appreciation |
| D．the students who are not ready for classes |
If your parents are not supportive and you are not getting along quite well with your parents, who or what is to blame?
| A．Your parents. | B．Yourself. |
| C．Lack of communication. | D．Your teachers. |
The underlined word in the third paragraph is close in meaning to____.
| A．afraid | B．puzzled | C．strange | D．familiar |
The passage doesn’t say but it implies that in daily communication____.
| A．arguments often happen between kids and parents |
| B．we should talk to the neighbors and other people according to different cultures |
| C．city people and country people greet in the same way |
| D．we should fit our words with proper situations |
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