Eco City Farms are becoming more popular in cities and towns around the Unites States.
Eco City Farms in Edmonton, Maryland, is located near shopping centers, car repair shops and homes. The neighborhood is a working-class community. People do not have very much money. And they have limited access to fresh food in markets.
Over the past two years, the farm has attracted volunteers form the community like Marcy Clark. She schools her four children at home. On a recent day she brought them to Eco City Farms for a lesson, her son Alston Clark thinks his experience is very valuable. “I like coming out here,” he says, “You know, you connect with the earth, where your food comes from. You appreciate the food a little bit more.”
Margaret Morgan started Eco City Farms. She thinks of it as a place where people can learn to live healthier lives. “Growing food in a community brings people together, ”she continues, “Every piece of what we do here is a demonstration (范例) to show people everything about how to have an eco-friendly community.” she says. From the Eco City Farms people come to know that they are not only growing food and raising chickens and bees, but improving the soil with compost (肥料) made from food waste.
Eco City Farms is an experimental operation. The farm gets its power not from the local electricity networks, but from the sun with solar panels (板). In winter, the green house use a geothermal (地热) system.
Vegetables can be grown all year. So once a week, all winter long, neighbors like Chris Moss and her three children bike to the farm to pick up a share of the harvest.
“I like eating the vegetables” say five-year-old Owen Moss.What is mainly talked about in the passage?
| A．Eco City Farms save a lot of energy. |
| B．Eco City Farms are influencing community life. |
| C．Eco City Farms helps the working-class live better. |
| D．Eco City Farms are gaining popularity. |
What is the author’s attitude toward Eco City Farms?
| A．Enthusiastic. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Doubtful. |
According to the passage, Eco City Farms are close to the following places EXCEPT______.
| A．shopping centers |
| B．car repair shops |
| C．fast-food restaurants |
| D．working-class community |
In which of a newspaper can you most probably read this article?
| A．People. | B．Travel. |
| C．Environment. | D．Education. |
A new report says only about half of all students in the main school systems of America’s largest cities finish high school. The report notes higher rates of graduation — over 70% —in areas surrounding the cities. Researchers studied high school graduation rates from the 2003, 2004 school year. They also identified the nation’s fifty largest cities. The largest, New York City, had a population of more than eight million. The smallest city was Wichita, Kansas. It had about three hundred and sixty thousand people.
Researchers used a system of measurement called the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates. School officials in many of the cities studied said the resulting numbers were too low. That is because different areas use different methods to find graduation rates. Critics say many methods do not give a true picture of the number of students who leave high school before finishing.
Other studies have put the national graduation rate at about 70%. But experts agree that too many students are not completing high school. They estimate the number at more than one million each year. The report was prepared for America’s Promise Alliance. The private group aims to help children receive services they need to succeed.
General Colin Powell was chairman of America’s Promise Alliance when it was formed in 1997. He attended the press conference Tuesday where the report was released. He said studies have shown that the US must do more to educate the leaders and work force of the future.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings also spoke. She said the government will propose that states use the same methods when reporting graduation rates. Alliance officials also announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates. It is to include a series of meetings to be held in every state over the next two years. The meetings will bring together elected leaders, business owners, students, parents and education officials. They will develop plans to increase the number of Americans who finish high school.The author wants to tell us ___________.
| A．too many Americans do not finish high school |
| B．different methods to find graduation rates |
| C．services American children need to receive |
| D．the increase of the number of Americans who finish their high school |
From Paragraph 1 we can infer that __________.
| A．there are 8,360,000 people in the US’ fifty largest cities |
| B．Wichita in Kansas is the smallest city in the US |
| C．50% of the people in the US don’t finish their high school education |
| D．high school graduation rates in or near the biggest cities are higher |
The underlined word “picture” probably can be replaced by “_______”.
| A．situation |
B．scene |
C．image |
D．mood |
From the last paragraph, we can draw a conclusion that _______-.
| A．secretary of Education Margaret Spellings didn’t believe that number from the report |
| B．the government will stop using the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates |
| C．secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates |
| D．the low graduation rates should be paid attention to by the government and the society |
Born in a fishing village in Japan, Fujiyama, 25, recalls a childhood dominated by health concerns. Doctors told his parents that he had a hole in his heart and “they didn’t think I had a lot longer to live”. But during a later visit to the doctor, his family learned the hole had closed. “Somehow I was cured and I became a normal kid,” Fujiyama says. “And I had a second chance.”
During his second year at the University of Mary Washington, he volunteered in Honduras with a campus group and was struck by the extreme poverty he saw—barefoot children collecting cans and sleeping in the streets. Fujiyama realized he could help give other children their own second chance.
Today, his organization, Students Helping Honduras, brings education and community projects to children and families in need.
He started by telling his friends about his experience and collecting spare change at his two campus jobs. “When I had my very first meeting, only two people showed up,” he says. “I knew I had to keep fighting.” He persuaded his younger sister, Cosmo, to join the cause. “She’s dynamite,.” He says. “When she talks in front of a crowd, she can move mountains. Knowing that she was behind it, I knew I could do anything.” Since 2006, the siblings’ organization has grown to 25 campuses and raised more than $750,000 to fund projects, including the construction of two schools and the establishment of scholarships to help young women attend college.
Fujiyama says students are deeply committed to the organization. They raise money and then travel to Honduras to help building houses. While Fujiyama spends his summers in Honduras working alongside volunteers, he spends a large portion of the year on the road visiting colleges to raise funds. Cosmo Fujiyama, 23, lives in Honduras full time to coordinate（协调）the group’s building efforts on the ground.
Students Helping Honduras is working with community members of Siete de Abril to build a new village. Many of the families lost their belongings in Hurricane Mitch in 1998. A lot of them didn’t have access to clean water or health care, and they didn’t have a school. Fujiyama’s group helped build 44 homes in the village named “Sunshine Village”. The organization is also raising funds to build a water tower, an eco-friendly sanitation system and a library.At the beginning of his organization, ________.
| A．Fujiyama was supported by many friends | B．things didn’t go on smoothly |
| C．Fujiyama had little idea of Honduras | D．many famous people joined in |
We can infer that Fujiyama is a _______ man.
| A．diligent | B．mean | C．sympathetic | D．cheerful |
The underlined word “siblings’” can be replaced by __________.
| A．brothers’ | B．brother and sister’s | C．friends’ | D．couple’s |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Help the people in need |
| B．Students lend a hand in America |
| C．Fujiyama helps build “Sunshine Village” |
| D．Fujiyama gives poor people in Honduras a second chance |
Please look at the Flight Timetable and choose the right answers.
| Flight No. Departure Arrival From To Stop CA907 07:45 12:10 Beijing Moscow Chengdu CA981 01:58 18:35 Beijing New York Shanghai CA158 10:20 23:10 Beijing London Chengdu CA149 11:35 22:10 Beijing Sydney Hong Kong CA923 12:35 17:10 Beijing Moscow / CA167 13:15 02:40 Beijing Paris Moscow CA147 15:55 10:15 Beijing Sydney Guangzhou CA949 17:25 07:35 Beijing Paris Shanghai CA173 19:20 01:50 Beijing Moscow Urumqi CA937 21:25 08:10 Beijing London Hong Kong |
(departure=leaving)You’ll go to Australia. You can only take
when you reach Beijing Airport at eleven forty.
| A．CA923 | B．CA149 | C．CA147 | D．CA167 |
If you spend fourteen hours and ten minutes going to France, you must stay in on the way.
| A．Hong Kong | B．Shanghai | C．Moscow | D．Chengdu |
It will take you to reach England if you stop in Hong Kong.
| A．nine hours and twenty | B．ten hours and thirty-five |
| C． twelve hours and fifty | D．ten hours and forty-five |
ou may in Beijing if you want to go to America.
| A．take one plane | B．take two planes |
| C．take three plane | D．not take any planes |
How many planes may you take in Beijing if you want to go to Australia?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four. |
Bruno was a boy of eight. His father worked in a cinema and his mother worked in a shop. He lived not far from his school. He always walked there and walked home. On his way to school, he had to pass a playground. It was very wet after it rained. One day, when he got home, his clothes were all wet. His mother became angry(生气的)and said, “Don’t play in the water on your way home from school!”
On the next day Bruno came home with wet and dirty(脏的)clothes. His mother became even angrier. “I’ll tell your father if you come back wet again,” said his mother. “He’ll punish(惩罚)You, you know.”
The third day the little boy was dry when he came home.
“You’re a good boy today”, his mother said happily. “You didn’t play in the water.”
“No,” the boy said unhappily. “There were too many older boys in the water when I got there this afternoon. There wasn’t any room(空地方)for me at all!”
根据文章内容选择正确答案Bruno went to school every day.
| A．by bike | B．by bus | C．by car | D．on foot |
The playground was between(在……之间) 。
| A．two classrooms | B．the cinema and shop |
| C．Bruno’s house and school | D．the shop and Bruno’s school |
The little boy liked to play on the playground .
| A．when it snowed |
| B．when there was some water there |
| C．when the children played football there |
| D．when his father was busy with his work |
54.Bruno was afraid of the most.
| A．his father | B．his mother | C．his teacher | D．the older boys |
That afternoon, the boy’s clothes were dry because .
| A．nobody made room（地方）for him in the water |
| B．there was no water on the playground |
| C．he took off his clothes before he played there |
| D．he played in the water carefully |
University is generally regarded as one of the most important times in a person’s life, yet the function of this institution continues to arouse debate. Many believe that arts subjects are too easy, that practical skills are more useful and that a chosen subject for study should be clearly linked to a career. However, this view is far too simplistic. Arts subjects are very difficult. They can prepare students for any number of careers as well as allowing the student to take time to make a decision. The function of the modern university is to cater to different types of student.
Arts subjects are not easy. For example, a degree in Literature is not an easy option. No question in a Literature class has a single, simple answer. Debate is conducted in a spirit of openness, texts are very closely analyzed and skills in close reading are developed. Literature is about language, our primary means of communication. Arts subjects require the same concentrated study as any other subject.
Arts subjects can prepare students for any number of careers. A degree in an arts subject teaches skills in well organized debates and defence of a position through the provision of evidence. These are applicable to many types of career. Law, for example. The point is that an undergraduate degree in any Arts subject trains the student in analysis and structure. Therefore, Arts graduates can pursue any number of careers.
Arts subjects allow the student to take time to choose a career. Love of the subject for its own sake may well be the initial motivation for the Arts undergraduate but because the subject they have chosen is not so clearly linked to a career they have time to reflect, making a decision only when they are absolutely certain. Students who pursue Arts subjects therefore have the leisure to make a carefully considered choice.
In conclusion, it is clear that Arts subjects are not a waste of time. They are flexible when it comes to relating them to a career and they allow the student to discover an appropriate career path. Many industries now acknowledge that a degree in Literature can be just as valuable as any other subject, especially when it is evident that Arts graduates tend to think more creatively. Not all undergraduates have clearly defined goals and not all subjects can be simply matched to a career. Acknowledging this difference should be the main function of a modern university What does the author mainly argue in this article?
| A．Universities should be aware of diversity | B．Universities should focus on practical courses. |
| C．Arts courses should be promoted. | D．Arts subjects are inappropriate for work. |
What does the author imply about universities’ attitude to students?
| A．They need to be more understanding of students’ needs. |
| B．They need to keep out arts students. |
| C．They need to link courses to careers. |
| D．They need to offer more arts courses. |
The author suggests that technical subjects ____________.
| A．are more important than arts subjects. | B．are more useful to the modern world. |
| C．have equal value to arts subjects. | D．are not as important as arts subjects. |
From the article, we know skills acquired by arts undergraduates include___________.
| A．Perception and investigation | B．Technique and motivation |
| C．Appreciation and dedication | D．Analysis and structure |
According to the author, the students choose arts courses initially because ___________.
| A．they are unsure about a career | B．they are interested in the subject |
| C．they hate technical subjects | D．they are creative people |
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