Seeds on Ice
Close to the North Pole，remote and rocky Plateau Mountain in the Norwegian archipelago of
Svalbard seems an unlikely spot for any global effort to safeguard agriculture. In this cold and deserted environment，no grains，no gardens，no trees can grow. Yet at the end of a 130-meter-long tunnel cut out of solid stone is a room filled with humanity’s most precious treasure, the largest and most diverse seed collection—more than a half-billion seeds.
A quiet rescue mission is under way. With growing evidence that unchecked climate change-will seriously affect food production and threaten the diversity （多样性） of crops around the world，the Svalbard Global Seed Vault （地窖） represents a major step towards ensuring the preservation （贮藏） of hundreds of thousands of crop varieties. This is a seed collection, but more importantly, it is a collection of the traits found within the seeds：the genes that give one variety resistance to a particular pest and another variety tolerance for hot，dry weather.
Few people will ever see or come into contact with the contents of this vault. In sealed boxes，behind multiple locked doors，monitored by electronic security systems, enveloped in below—zero temperatures, and surrounded by tons of rock, hundreds of millions of seeds are protected in their mountain fortress. Frozen in such conditions inside the mountain, seeds of most major crops will remain viable for hundreds of years, or longer. Seeds of some are capable of retaining （保留） their ability to grow for thousands of years.
Everyone can look back now and say that the Seed Vault was a good and obvious idea, and that of course the Norwegian government should have approved and funded it. But back in 2004, when the Seed Vault was proposed, it was viewed as a crazy，impractical, and expensive idea.
We knew that nothing would provide a definite guarantee. But we were tired，fed up，and frankly scared of the steady, greater losses of crop diversity. The Seed Vault was built by optimists who wanted to do something to preserve options so that humanity and its crops might be better prepared for change. If it simply resupplied seed gene banks with samples those gene banks had lost, this would repay our efforts.
The Seed Vault is about hope and commitrnent - about what can be done if countries come together and work cooperatively to accomplish something significant，long-lasting，and worthy of who we are and wish to be.
1.According to the passage, the Seed Vault is ___________.
A.a tunnel where the collected seeds are displayed
B.a stone room that contains the seeds of endangered crops
C.a seed gene bank that stores diverse seeds for future agriculture
D.a lab where researchers study how to maintain the diversity of crops
2.The underlined word“viable”in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
A.mature B.clean
C.alive D.valuable
3.Paragraph 3 mainly tells us __________.
A.how the seeds are preserved B.where people keep the seeds
C.why the seeds are protected D.what people do to study the seeds
4.We can know from the passage that _________.
A.the Seed Vault offers a solution to climate change
B.most countries took part in rescuing the seed varieties
C.the Seed Vault guarantees to prevent the loss of crop diversity
D.many people originally considered building the Seed Vault unwise
At a bright new building in Landover, Maryland, students are getting a crash course(速成课), in which they are learning how to spend，save and look after their money responsibly.
Tuesday marked the grand opening of the newest Junior Achievement Finance Park， where eighth-graders from Prince George’s County schools will use tablet computers to practice personal finance skills they have learned in class. An international study last year clearly showed that more than 1 in 6 U. S. teens is unable to make simple choices about how to spend their money.
The center, a mini city of stores, was created by Prince George’s County schools, Capital One Bank and Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. In fact the first Washington-area Finance Park opened in Fairfax County, Virginia, five years ago. Altogether there are 17 finance parks nationwide, and one is planned to open in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Before coming to a finance park, students have lessons on how to save and invest, how to read a bank statement and how to make sense of debit (借记）and credit cards. They put their skills to the test when they walk inside. Students are given a career, salary, debt and family situation, and then they are required to have to put together a monthly budget (预算）.
Budgeting can be tricky. Students need to figure out how much to spend on groceries, rent, transportation and even entertainment. They shop with virtual (虚拟的）money，making a change in their budgets according to different situations they may go into.
When asked about the practice，LaChelle King，a teacher at Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie, said the center was exciting and surprising for her students. One of the kids said, " Now I know why my mom gets mad at me when I ask her to buy me things!"
1.In the crash course，students learn to ___________.
A.make money B.spend money
C.develop finance knowledge D.make a monthly budget
2.The finance park is________________________.
A.a center where students practice finance skills
B.a park where people can buy what they need
C.a bank where people can borrow or save money
D.a classroom where students learn finance skills
3.The underlined phrase“make sense of”in the fourth paragraph means "___________ ’’ .
A.stand up for B.keep away from
C.get ready for D.have an understanding of
4.The last paragraph tries to tell us___________ .
A.U.S. teens need a lot of things in daily life
B.U. S. mothers don’t know how to spend money
C.teachers also learn a lot from the crash courses
D.the crash courses have a good effect on students
My first trip to Greece took place in the 1960s. There I accepted a challenge to hitchhike(搭便车)with a group of English friends from my university in Birmingham to Athens with little money.For me, a 20-year-old girl, I had not done anything like this before. It was so hard on the road.We slept in the open air, ate little more than bread and cheese, and depended heavily on the help of strangers. But it helped me learn about European society.
One day, my Greek friend came to see me at the youth hostel and asked me to step outside.He was angry with me. He reminded me of my social background and asked what my parents would say if they saw me living in these conditions like these “dirty” English. After several weeks on the road, we did look tired; but his choice of the word “dirty” interested me. He was showing a historic dislike of the English that some Europeans had. In that part of Europe,both the Turks and the Greeks, who dislike each other to this day, blamed(责怪) the English for their national disasters. He ignored my explanations of having accepted the challenge of hitchhiking.He took me home and his family, especially his mother and sisters, showed me Greek hospitality(好客) at its best.
My experience in Greece could not have differed more from the situation facing Pakistanis—and others seeking shelter —in Greece today.On recent visits to Greece in connection with my study on Islam in Europe, I saw the trouble of the refugees(难民). Some said that they had been physically beaten. However, there are good stories of ordinary Greeks giving shelter to some hopeless refugees. The sense of Greek hospitality that I experienced as a student does exist.
1.What was the author's purpose of taking a trip to Greece in the 1960s?
A.To visit a friend in Greece.
B.To complete a challenge bravely.
C.To learn how to hitchhike to other countries.
D.To increase her knowledge about European society.
2.What did the author find during her recent visits to Greece?
A.Many Greeks lived a very bad life.
B.The country hadn’t changed much.
C.Some refugees were badly treated.
D.Many people were leaving the country.
3.What does the author want to show by giving the example in the last paragraph?
A.Many Greek people still love helping others.
B.Many people in Greece need help.
C.Greece is a safe country for refugees.
D.Helping others is very important.
假定你是李华，你的留学生朋友Jack发邮件向你咨询当地即将举办的民间美食节（the Folk Food Festival）的情况，请给他回一封电子邮件。内容包括：
1. 举办时间和目的；
2. 活动内容（展示传统美食，品尝美食等）；
3. 邀请他参加。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Every country has its own culture and way of life, and many people wonder that it would be like to living in a country like Australia. It’s the six biggest country in the world. Surrounding by the ocean, Australia has population of about twenty-two million. It’s a country of deserts, beaches, mountains, rivers and lakes, mostly on a hugely scale. It’s a country of blue skies and large farrr1s that measured thousands of square kilometers. It’s a country whose population consists in of natives and people from many other country. It’s also a country of kangaroos but koalas.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Why does autumn have two names? According to Merriam-Webster, “autumn” appeared first in English in the 1300s, coming from the Lation word “autumnus”. “Autumn” caught on quickly, likely because it replaced the 1. (origin) name—”harvest”. As you might imagine, when crops were collected from the fields, calling the season “harvest” might make people 2. (confuse) because “harvest” is also the name for the act 3. (it).
So “autumn” appeared instead of “harvest”. Then the term, “autumn”, 4. was referred to the season between summer and winter, lasted for a couple of 5. (century). “Fall” as a name for the season came about sometime in the 1500s, a shortened version of the very poetic phrase for “the fall of leaves”. The English phrase had true meaning of the season without leading 6. any confusion. Not even a century later, the phrase became a simple word: fall.
Around this same time, the English language was traveling across the globe as Britain expanded, and it was 7. (go) through some changes, as many languages did. This was 8. (particular) true in the American colonies (殖民地). Some English words changed in the US, whether in terms of spelling 9. in terms of general usage. In the mid-1800s, British and American English speakers further developed in different ways and “fall” was the common word for “autumn” in the US, while autumn 10. (regard) as the word for fall in England.
