A cup of coffee helps for a quieter life...

    You don’t have to break your back to create a yard that’s both beautiful and kind to Mother Nature. These environmentally smart ideas will turn your home turf(草地)into a little slice of Eden. 1.

Let the grass grow. Cut grass less often, so it gets a few inches longer than you’re used to. 2. That’s because roots will grow deeper and grass thicker, which means fewer pests, less disease, and a decreased need for chemical intervention.

Water the grass right way. Water before 10 a. m. , when the air is cool and not as much moisture will be lost to evaporation. 3. Water near the base of plants, slowly delivering the good stuff right to the roots. For lawns, water long and deep once a week.

Get keen on composting(制堆肥). Compost isn’t called gardener’s gold for nothing. It keeps kitchen leftover out of landfills and enriches soil with much-needed nutrients. 4. Veggie and tea bags, eggshells, dry leaves, and untreated grass clippings are all fair game.

5. Honeybees help pollinate(授粉) 75 percent of our flowering plants and nearly 75 percent of our food crops. There is increasing evidence that many of the vital pollinators are in decline. Creating a garden that includes plants that flower at different times of the year will benefit pollinators throughout the growing season. Whenever possible, choose native plants with a variety of flower colors and shapes.

A.Many will save your money, too.

B.Dry leaves add nutrients to the soil.

C.Give bees the green-carpet treatment.

D.Make the backyard as beautiful as possible.

E.Watering in late afternoon is the next best option.

F.It also reduces dependency on chemical fertilizers.

G.It will help it survive dry periods of time in warmer months.

    As to the question what is a best age to learn a language, many would rush to the conclusion that it’s best to start young. Though it is true to some extent, now science offers a much more complex view of how our relationship with languages evolves over a lifetime-and there is much to encourage late beginners.

Broadly speaking, different life stages give us different advantages in language learning. As babies, we have a better ear for different sounds s as toddlers(幼儿), we can pick up native accents with astonishing speed. As adults, we have longer attention spans and important skills like literacy that allow us to continually expand our vocabulary, even in our own language. And a wealth of factors beyond ageing—like social circumstances, teaching methods, and even love and friendship—can affect how many languages we speak and how well.

“Not everything goes downhill with age, “says Antonella Sorace, a professor of developmental linguistics and director of the Bilingualism Matters Centre at the University of Edinburgh. She gives the example of what is known as “explicit learning”: studying a language in a classroom with a teacher explaining the rules. “Young children are very bad at explicit learning, because they don’t have the cognitive(认知) control and the attention and memory capabilities,” Sorace says. “Adults are much better at that. So that can be something that improves with age.”

A study by researchers in Israel found, for example, that adults were better at grasping an artificial language rule and applying it to new words in a lab setting. The scientists compared three separate groups: 8-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and young adults. The adults scored higher than both younger groups, and the 12-year-olds also did better than the younger children. They suggested that their older participants may have benefited from skills that come with maturity—like more advanced problem-solving strategies—and greater linguistic experience. In other words, older learners tend to already know quite a lot about themselves and the world and can use this knowledge to process new information.

1.What is the correct understanding of the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?

A.We should stay up late to learn a language.

B.Late beginners strive hard to learn a language.

C.Late beginners can also learn a language well.

D.We should give much encouragement to late beginners.

2.According to the passage, language learning is NOT affected by          .

A.our inborn abilities B.our native accents

C.our cognitive control D.our attention spans

3.Why do the adults score higher than both younger groups in the test?

A.They have already known quite a lot about the words.

B.They draw upon their existing knowledge to help.

C.They have been taught the way to learn a language.

D.They are better at learning artificial language rules.

4.What is the purpose of the passage?

A.To compare and evaluate. B.To examine and assess.

C.To argue and discuss. D.To inform and explain.

    NANCHANG - In the Chinese Lunar Year of the Pig, pigs have attracted a large amount of attention as there has been a huge rise in the price of pork, China’s major meat, resulting in high living costs. China’s pig herd(群) has shrunk considerably due to multiple factors including an outbreak of African swine fever(非洲猪瘟) and the bad effect of the last market cycle when low pork prices drove many out of business.

Xiong Lijiao, a resident in Nanchang, a major pig-breeding region, said her family eats less pork now. “Prices of pork have doubled, making it much more expensive.” said Xiong. The weekly average price of a carcass-weight hog(胭体瘦肉型生猪) in 16 provincial-level regions was 37. 57 yuan($5. 3) per kg in mid-September, up 94. 1 percent year-on-year, according to the information center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. It is not only pork prices that are being affected, demand for soybeans, used as food for hogs, as well as other kinds of meat prices are also being affected.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said favorable government policies and market conditions have boosted some farmers’ confidence in restoring production. China has rolled out 17 measures to support hog production since the end of August, and most of them have been carried out. To meet the market gap, China is increasing imports and releasing frozen pork from its central reserves. But eyeing a long-term solution, China is encouraging large-scale pig farming. The industry concentration will further increase with many small and medium-sized breeding companies leaving the business. Despite the current challenges, China’s pig breeding industry is heading toward a more intensive, environmental-friendly and risk-resistant growth model.

1.Which is NOT a cause of the rise of the price of pork?

A.The spread of African swine fever.

B.A supply shortage of pork.

C.The high living cost in recent years.

D.Marketable hogs on the decline.

2.What kind of phenomenon is described in paragraph 2?

A.Butterfly effect—small change leads to great variation.

B.Buckets effect—the weakest influences the whole.

C.Pygmalion effect—expectation influences performance.

D.Anchoring effect—first information affects later decisions.

3.Which of the following measures can get to the root of the problem?

A.Releasing frozen pork from the stock.

B.Importing pork from overseas markets.

C.Establishing industrial-scale pig farms.

D.Encouraging small breeding companies.

4.In which section of the newspaper can you read this article?

A.Editorial & Opinion. B.Health & Wellbeing.

C.Home & International News. D.Celebrities & Social.

    I’d been trying for weeks to come up with an idea for my next book. And then suddenly the idea came: Why not write about a celebrity reporter signing up as a hospital volunteer so she could gain access to a movie star who was a patient of the hospital? The heroine would be motivated totally by her career until she learned that in helping others, we help ourselves.

Sounded like a romantic comedy with uplifting message, but first, there was the matter of research. I’d have to observe hospital volunteers. I headed over to my nearby hospital and asked the director of volunteers if I might hang around for a day or two just to research my story. Her answer, “No. If you really want to see what it’s like to be a volunteer, you should become one.”

Become a volunteer? I was not wild about being in close to people with germs (细菌). I would just skip the research, I thought, then reminded myself that I did need to spend quality time at the hospital if I wanted to write credibly about my heroine’s journey. So I signed up, was given my uniform and ID badge (徽章), and reported for duty. My “job” was to wheel a magazine cart throughout the large facility and, in the process, be a shoulder to lean on.

At the beginning, my focus was on my novel. And then a funny thing happened: I stopped researching and started realizing that I might actually be making a difference in people’s lives. A woman who’d just been diagnosed with lung cancer thanked me for brushing her hair and applying her lipstick. A man who was wasting away from AIDS called me his “angel”, simply because I took twenty minutes to note down the letter he dictated to his mother.

Now long after finishing my book, I continued to volunteer. Friends would ask, “Isn’t it depressing at that place?” “On the contrary,” I’d say and mean it.

1.Why did the author want to observe hospital volunteers?

A.She intended to write stories about them.

B.She was preparing for her volunteering jobs.

C.She hoped to gain access to a movie star.

D.She wanted to make her heroine’s story realistic.

2.What can we infer from paragraphs 3&4?

A.The author was determined to become a volunteer in the beginning.

B.The author was meant to shoulder the responsibility of the patients.

C.The patients the author met and the appreciation she received changed her.

D.The patients relied on the author to help them survive in the hospital.

3.In what way is the author similar to the heroine of her book?

A.Motivated by their career, they succeed.

B.By lifting other’s spirits, they lift their own.

C.Being volunteers, they spread uplifting messages.

D.By providing support to others, they are appreciated.

4.What can be a suitable title of the passage?

A.My Turn: Life as a Hospital Volunteer.

B.My Discovery: I Can Make a Difference.

C.My Investigation: Celebrities in Hospital.

D.My Identity: a Volunteer in a Hospital.

    There are so many breathtaking famous castles in the world and it’s very hard to make a list. Here are some director’s picks. You’re welcome to add a comment with your favorite castles.

Castle Howard, Yorkshire

C. Howard, Yorkshire is one of the grandest and most famous castles as well as the private residence in Britain. This beautiful palace of Europe has been home to the Howard family for over 300 years. It is 15 miles north of York. Today, it is part of the Treasure Houses group of heritage houses.

 Location: Castle Howard, York Y060 7DA, UK

 Timing: The Garden is open daily from loam－4pm

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

This castle is one of the most famous castles in the world. This Castle was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a personal refuge. After he died in 1886, Neuschwanstein opens to the paying public and has over 60 million visitors in a year. Neuschwanstein is a 120-year-old luxury Castle, which has a remarkable view of two lakes, two castles, towns, and localities.

Tickets can be reserved online or you can buy at the Ticket center in the village of Hohenschwangau below the castle.

 Location: Neuschwansteinstra Be 20, 87645 Schwangau, Germany

 Timing: Sunday to Saturday 8am-5pm

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

This castle is a historic fortress (城堡) which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh. In this castle, different parts of the castle were constructed in different centuries, from the 12th to the 20th century. It is the most famous landmark and one of the most famous castles in the world. The castle is still in use today for ceremonial and military purposes and also rented for wedding receptions.

 Location: Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NG, UK

 Timing: Sunday to Saturday 9:30am-5pm

1.Which of the following demand(s) admission fees?

A.Castle Howard, Yorkshire. B.Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany.

C.Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. D.All of them.

2.What do we know about Castle Howard?

A.It boasts lake view. B.It is the landmark of the UK.

C.It once served as a private house. D.It has the longest opening hours.

3.Which is NOT available in Edinburgh Castle?

A.Having a good view of Edinburgh.

B.Holding a wedding ceremony there.

C.Appreciating ancient art and architecture.

D.Honoring the nation’s military tradition.