In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and started austerity （紧缩） programs to reduce their imports．The result was a sharp drop in farm prices．This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient．They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods．The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell．These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1939s．
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized．It established the principle of direct interference （干预） with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers．
President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem．One of the first measures proposed by President FranklinD．Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was later passed by Congress．This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use．A deliberate shortage of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices．This law was declared unconstitutional （违背宪法的） by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people．However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation．The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation’s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens．Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid （杂交） grain, and fertilizers．
1.What caused the problem in the demand for American farm products?
A．The effect of the Great Depression．
B．The shrinking of overseas markets．
C．The destruction caused by the First World War．
D．The increased exports of European countries．
2.The word “successor” refers to ______．
A．President Hoover B．US Secretary of State
C．President Franklin D．US Secretary of Agriculture
3.The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to ______．
A．reduce their scale of production
B．make full use of their land
C．adjust the prices of their farm products
D．be self-sufficient in agricultural production
4.The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act ______．
A．might cause greater shortage of farm products
B．didn't give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power
C．would benefit neither the government nor the farmers
D．benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar．It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X---or Nibiru---heads toward or collides with the Earth．
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”．“There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website．“If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye．Obviously, it does not exist．Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted．“After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA．
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA．
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar．
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward．
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible（unimportant）”, NASA said．
“And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted．The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs．
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said．
1.______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors．
A．A new book B．The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C．NASA D．An Indian calendar
2.We can infer that ______．
A．people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B．Planet X --- or Nibiru does exist
C．astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D．the rumor caused a panic among some people
3.NASA thinks that Eris ______．
A．might have a threat to the Earth B．doesn’t have any threat to the Earth
C．is too far away to be visible D．is similar to our planet, where life might exist
4.Which of the following is the best title?
A．New Hollywood movie 2012
B．December 21, 2012, Not the end of the world
C．End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D．How rumors came into being
Fun-loving Paul Johnson earned the title of the Scarborough Evening News Teacher of the Year 2008．Mr Johnson, of Hinderwell School, was presented with the award after four of his pupils nominated（recommended） him for the prestigious title．
Evening News editor Ed Asquith presented Mr Johnson with his certificate — and a cheque for £100．His class is also set to enjoy a free trip to the Sea Life Centre which includes being picked up by a complimentary Shoreline Suncruisers open-top bus．
The 30-year-old, who lives in Hunmanby, said: “I am just so shocked．I have been nominated for this award for a few years and I never thought I would win it．It is fantastic．It is completely out of the blue．”
Mr Johnson has worked as a Year 5 teacher at the school for seven years．He also works as an advanced teacher, which involves visiting other schools in the county once a week to offer cross-curricular teaching．
He was chosen as the winner because of his dynamic but educationally engaging approach to teaching, and based on the real way he has demonstrated that every child matters．Each term he picks a theme for his class and the curriculum is based around it．This term they are studying medieval times — and his classroom has a castle in one corner．He also treated his class to a three-day trip to London earlier this year．
His nominators were Lucy and Emily Desborough, Rachel Laverick and Rebecca Miller．Classmate Callum Macdonald, 10, said: “He is the best teacher in the world and he deserves this．He is brilliant with us and he is just so funny．He tells lots of jokes which always make us laugh．” Beth Lawty, nine, added: “Our classroom is the best ever．We have really enjoyed being in his class and I will miss him next year．”
1.Paul Johnson visits other schools in the county to ______．
A．show his teaching experience B．learn from other teachers
C．improve his teaching skills D．offer a different course
2.Why is there a castle in one corner of Paul Johnson’s classroom?
A．It is used to train the students’ imagination．
B．It is a prize from the Scarborough Evening News
C．The students can play in it after class．
D．It is probably a symbol of medieval times．
3.The underlined part “out of the blue” probably means ______．
A．of surprise B．frustrating
C．of great fame D．within easy reach
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出适合填入对应空白处的最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
I arrived in the classroom, ready to share my knowledge and experience with 75 students who would be my English Literature class．Having taught in 1for 17 years, I had no 2about my ability to hold their attention and to 3on them my admiration for the literature of my mother tongue．
I was shocked when the monitor shouted, “ 4!”
The entire class rose as I entered the room, and I was somewhat 5about how to get them to sit down again, but once that awkwardness was over, I quickly 6my calmness and began what I thought was a fact-packed lecture, sure to gain their respect --- perhaps 7their admiration．I went back to my office with the rosy glow which comes from a sense of achievement．
My students 8diaries．However, as I read them, the rosy glow was gradually 9by a strong sense of sadness．The first diary said, “Our literature teacher didn’t teach us anything today． 10her next lecture will be better．” Greatly surprised, I read diary after diary, each expressing a 11theme．“Didn’t I teach them anything? I described the entire philosophical framework of Western thought and laid the historical 12for all the works we will study in class,” I complained．“How 13they say I didn’t teach them anything?”
It was a long term, and it 14became clear that my ideas about education were not the same as 15of my students．I thought a teacher’s job was to raise 16questions and provide enough background so that students could 17their own conclusions．My students thought a teacher’s job was to provide 18information as directly and clearly as possible．What a difference!
19, I also learned a lot, and my experience with my Chinese students has made me a 20American teacher, knowing how to teach in a different culture．
1.A．the UK B．the US C．China D．Australia
2.A．worry B．idea C．doubt D．experience
3.A．impress B．put C．leave D．fix
4.A．Attention B．Look out C．At ease D．Stand up
5.A．puzzled B．sure C．depressed D．worried
6.A．found B．returned C．regained D．followed
7.A．more B．even C．yet D．still
8.A．passed B．borrowed C．kept D．read
9.A．replaced B．taken C．caught D．moved
10.A．Naturally B．Perhaps C．Fortunately D．Reasonably
11.A．different B．strong C．similar D．usual
12.A．happenings B．characters C．development D．background
13.A．should B．need C．will D．must
14.A．immediately B．certainly C．simply D．gradually
15.A．that B．what C．those D．ones
16.A．difficult B．interesting C．ordinary D．unusual
17.A．draw B．get C．decide D．give
18.A．strange B．standard C．exact D．serious
19.A．Therefore B．However C．But D．Though
20.A．normal B．happy C．good D．better
---I’d like to invite you to dinner this Sunday, Mr．Smith．
---_____．
A．Oh, no．Let’s not B．I’m very sorry, but I have other plans
C．I’d rather stay at home D．Oh, no．That’ll be too much trouble
While reading, you can make a mark _____ you have a question．
A．the place where B．what C．that D．where
