Bees may soon need to add protein shakes to their diet. Pollen (花粉) normally provides their protein (蛋白质). But rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air have reduced the protein in pollen. That’s what a new study finds.
Scientists compared recently collected flowers from Canada goldenrod. Then they compared pollen in them to pollen in goldenrod reserved at a museum in Washington, DC. They found today's plants have less protein. Protein levels in pollen from the older flowers were 18 percent. Today's goldenrod pollen has only about 12 percent protein. That's about one-third less than 172 years ago. Over that same period, CO2 levels have gone up by more than one-third. Back more than 170 years ago, they were about 280 parts per million in air. Today they are about 398 ppm.
To test whether CO2 changes had played a role in the falling protein levels, the researchers did some tests. They grew goldenrod for two years at CO2 levels of up to 500 ppm. More CO2 in the air led to lower levels of protein in the flowers’ pollen.
Joan Edwards, one of the researchers, says that this drop in pollen protein could affect a bee’s diet and health. It would be like eating junk food, tasting good but offering less nutrition (营养).
Honeybees need to eat lots of protein. They use it to feed their young. They also need it to keep their immune systems healthy, says Cédric Alaux, a bee biologist at the French agricultural research agency.
Bee populations have been decreasing worldwide in recent years. A drop in their food quality might play a role, Edwards says. And that drop might affect crops too. “The health of the bee population is not just for the flowers and the bees and biodiversity.” She worries it also could play a role in “human health and well-being.”
1.The second paragraph is mainly developed by __________.
A. giving examples B. following the time order
C. explaining reasons D. providing numbers
2.According to the text, Joan Edwards might agree that ____________.
A. the drop of protein in pollen has a good influence on bees
B. today’s flowers can provide bees with enough nutrition
C. the drop of protein in pollen leads to a smaller population of bees
D. the smaller population of bees has nothing to do with the human race
3.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Today’s flowers contain more protein.
B. Protein levels in pollen connect with CO2 levels.
C. Drop of protein in pollen affects bees.
D. Bee population is becoming smaller recently.
When Joanne Morton and Lydia Shaw came across the Boston Public Market, which features only New England businesspersons, they knew they had to stop in. The women, visiting from southeastern Connecticut, always try to buy local. “We always try to support our local farmers and businessmen,” says Ms. Shaw. “We’re not into big companies,” adds Ms. Morton.
They aren’t alone. A great number of Americans continue to be attracted by “local” food and to buy it, according to recent surveys from the International Food Information Council Foundation, the Pew Research Center, and British polling firm Ipsos. But what does it mean to shop local? For some, local is still a matter of geography. For others, it is about supporting their local economy (经济). And for still others, it is about knowing where their food comes from and how it is made, even if it is coffee shipped from a Costa Rican company. In 2008, Congress passed a bill that gave money to support local food. According to the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act, a product that can be considered local has to travel less than 400 miles.
But Lydia Zepeda, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has found the largest agreement about what is local is any product that comes from within an hour’s drive. “But is that with or without traffic?” She asks. “What if it crosses state lines?” adds John Hayes, a food science professor at Pennsylvania State University. “A customer might like to buy local to help an old town,” he says. “Or maybe it’s just because local food tastes better.” It is for Kaitlin Bohon. “I taste a difference,” she says at the Boston Public Market. For Ms. Bohon, buying local is both about supporting New England business and knowing who grew and handled her food.
1.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. We never go into big companies.
B. We’re not interested in big companies.
C. Big companies don’t support local farmers.
D. Big companies are not good shopping places.
2.According to the passage, buying local ___________ in America.
A. is becoming more and more popular
B. is a way to support big companies
C. means people will spend much less
D. allows people to know about their food
3.What can be inferred about Kaitlin Bohon according to the text?
A. She is from New England. B. She knows every cook in her town.
C. She likes to taste different foods. D. She works at the Boston Public Market.
4.The purpose of the passage is ___________.
A. to introduce how popular buying local is
B. to attract more people to buying local
C. to explain why people like buying local
D. to discuss the meaning of buying local
Little Women is the best-known work of author Louisa May Alcott. Published after the end of the Civil War, the book is about the lives of the author and her sisters. Although it was her most successful work, it was not her first.
Alcott began writing at the age of 20, when she published her poem “Sunlight”. Throughout her early career, she wrote many poems and short stories for magazines. At the age of 22, she began to write fairy tales, romantic thrillers, and other novels, mostly to earn money. At a time when few opportunities were open to women, Alcott supported women’s right to work. With her small income, she had long provided for her family.
When the Civil War broke out, Alcott, at the age of 30, joined the war effort to fight against slavery. She had originally wished to serve as a soldier. However, women were not allowed in battle at that time. As a result, she became a Civil War nurse. Alcott’s work as a nurse served as a milestone (里程碑) in her writing career.
In December of 1862, she left New England to work in the Union Hotel Hospital in Washington, DC. There were few supplies, and doctors performed operations without painkillers. The conditions for patients and doctors were terrible. Within a few weeks, Alcott herself became so ill that she nearly died. She returned home and recovered slowly over a period of months.
As soon as her health improved, Alcott started a new project. The letters she had sent home became the basis of a newspaper series about her experience as a Civil War nurse. She wrote about her tasks, the wounded soldiers she looked after, and the difficulties they faced. The series, Hospital Sketches, was a success, which received praise from readers and critics (批评) at the same time. Although her best-known work was yet to come, the success of Hospital Sketches marked the achievement of her dream to become a popular author.
1.In her early 20s, Alcott wrote mostly to ________.
A. make money to support her family
B. fight against slavery
C. remember her experiences in the war
D. set up a milestone in her career
2.Why was Alcott’s experience as a nurse important to her writing?
A. Because she saved many wounded soldiers.
B. Because she almost lost her life in the hospital.
C. Because she won the right to fight against slavery.
D. Because she got many materials for her later book.
3.What can we know about Alcott from the last two paragraphs?
A. Her hospital was well equipped. B. She didn’t return to the hospital after recovery.
C. She wrote letters for a newspaper. D. No one thought badly of her Hospital Sketches.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What can we learn from the news?
A. No villager was killed.
B. 15 houses were badly damaged.
C. Over 200 people became homeless.
2.How many people were badly injured in the storm?
A. Seven. B. Nine. C. Ten.
3.What do we know about the farmer?
A. His house was destroyed. B. His wife was missing. C. A child of his was killed.
4.What did the woman do when she saw her house shaking?
A. She tried to take something out.
B. She rushed out with her children.
C. She told her husband not to leave.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Where does the conversation take place?
A. At home. B. At school. C. At a store.
2.How did the man get the mud?
A. He went to the Dead Sea.
B. He dug it up from the backyard.
C. He bought it online.
3.What is the main color of the mud in the backyard?
A. Brown B. Grey. C. Black.
4.Why does the girl agree to use the mud?
A. She has some skin problems.
B. She wants her skin to feel younger.
C. She is starting to get wrinkles.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What is probably the woman speaker?
A. A college student. B. A hotel waitress. C. A housewife.
2.What kind of job would the woman most like to do?
A. Babysitting her neighbor’s kids.
B. Typing letters in the office.
C. Working for a road-building company.
3.What is good with the job at the Friendship Hotel?
A. The pay is good.
B. Many tips are offered.
C. It is in the open air.
