Can you imagine a world without chocolate? It's not something I'd 1ike to do．so I was relieved to read that there’s a university with a program me to safeguard the future of chocolate!
The University of Reading，in England，has just opened a new clearing house for all the world’s new cocoa varieties．They must be quarantined(隔离检疫)before they can be grown．Why? Cocoa production hit a record high of 4．4 million tons last year but about 30％of the precious crop is regularly lost to pests and diseases．Now we don’t want that，do we?
Demand for chocolate has been increasing faster than the world supply of cocoa and researchers think that new varieties are key to solving this problem．
The University of Reading has been protecting the quality of the new crops since 1985，after it took over the task from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew，London．And it has improved its facilities．The leader of the institution’s cocoa project，Professor Paul Hadley，says，“One of the main issues concerning cocoa improvement is the supply of reliably clean，healthy，interesting cocoa material．”
The cocoa centre has a collection of 400 plant varieties and their greenhouse uses a lot of energy to keep them in tropical conditions．After up to two years in quarantine，clean and safe seeds are sent to some 20 countries，including several in West Africa．That’s where 75％of the cocoa used for chocolate worldwide comes from．The crop is extremely important for the local economy：it employs about two million people.
Professor Hadley says he works with a small team of skilled technicians who look after the collection．And more of us seem to count on them now．
The scientist says，“there is some concern within the industry that demand is increasing constantly，particularly in countries like China，where the standard of living is increasing and people are getting a taste for different chocolates．”
1.What is the text mainly about?
A．Safeguarding cocoa seeds．
B．Planting cocoa worldwide．
C．Keeping cocoa in greenhouse．
D．Finding the new market for cocoa．
2.The institution’s cocoa project is to_______．
A．have cocoa skin removed
B．offer more jobs to people
C．ensure the quality of cocoa
D．supply cocoa for two million people
3.What does the last paragraph tell us?
A．The taste of chocolates is changing．
B．Demand for cocoa is increasing fast．
C．People are concerned about cocoa varieties．
D．Chinese have a long history of eating chocolates．
4.What’s the purpose of the text?
A．To educate． B．To advertise．
C．To warn． D．To inform．
For decades，the San Francisco Bay area has been the heart of the computer technology industry．Many of the biggest technology companies have their headquarters in the area called Silicon Valley．But the area has not always been associated with charity(慈善)．
Now，a new generation of entrepreneurs(企业家)appears to be changing Silicon Valley．One example is Marc Benioff，a donor(捐赠者)，who has called on wealthy donors to give more to their communities．He also is the founder of Salesforce．com，a computer services company in San Francisco who has helped build a children’s hospital and given millions of dollars to non-profit organizations in the city．
Money from the technology industry has also started to change the face of charity．Benjamin Soskis writes about the history and ideas behind charity in America．His articles have appeared in The Atlantic magazine and a number of major publications．He says，traditionally，donors have given after they spent much of their lives building up wealth．Usually donors are in their 70s．But an increasing number of people appearing on the list of top donors are younger than 40 years of age．Benjamin Soskis says that is something new．“There’s a whole new model that’s appearing in which people give and accumulate at the same time．”
Some of the young donors on this year's top 50 list have started to change in the way people see charity．That is especially the case in the San Francisco area，where giving money and making money appear to be coming together．“I think it's fair to say that charity is now a part of the Silicon Valley identity．”
1.What is true of Marc Benioff?
A．He joined a non-profit organization．
B．He advised donors to build hospitals．
C．He made San Francisco a city of charity．
D．He set up the company of Salesforce．com．
2.What is special about the donors of Silicon Valley?
A．They prefer to give rather than make money．
B．They give after accumulating a lot of wealth．
C．They are much younger than the usual donors．
D．They donate more money to their communities．
3.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A．The age of charity
B．The changing faces of charity
C．In search of new faces
D．From computer base to charity centre
Shake Shack is a new kind of restaurant becoming more popular in the U S．The restaurants are not“fast food．”They are known as“fast casual．”
Observers say Americans want more choices and fresh food when choosing where and what to eat．This trend is one reason why the fast food restaurant McDonald’s has struggled financially．In the last quarter of 2014，McDonald’s net income dropped by about$300 million．The January earnings report brought more bad news．Worldwide sales dropped for the eighth month in a row and even more than expected．While McDonald’s is struggling to get their customers back，Shake Shack，is doing well in making money．The New York-based burger chain had a very successful IPO，or initial public offering，of shares at the end of January．On its first day of trading，Shake Shack went from$21 a share to just under$46 a share．Being part of the“fast casual”trend has helped Shake Shack．Other fast casual restaurants in the U．S．include Chipotle and Panera．
Bonnie Riggs，a restaurant expert with NPD has studied Americans’restaurant habits for almost 30 years．She says one reason why Americans like fast casual food is that it’s new．It is creative，it is something different and people like to try new things．Her study shows Americans made 61 billion visits to restaurants last year．Three out of four visits were to fast food restaurants，like McDonald’s．Fast casual is still a small percentage of restaurant visits，but it has developed fast．Just as Ms．Riggs says，“It’s growing by leaps and bounds，because they meet consumers’needs．They know it's being prepared while they wait，it’s fresh，quality food，good tasting food at what they say are reasonable and affordable prices．”
Many Americans still like their fast food．They just are not going as often．They are finding other ways to have a meal．
1.What is the trouble with McDonald’s?
A．Its share goes down to$21．
B．Shake Shack has taken its place．
C．It’s not popular with Americans．
D．Its sales and income have dropped．
2.We can learn from Bonnie Riggs that Americans____________．
A．1ike to try something new
B．care only about the quality
C．don’t like fast food any more
D．pay more restaurant visits to fast casual
3.What does the underlined phrase“by leaps and bounds”in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．Steadily． B．Rapidly．
C．Slowly． D．Normally．
4.Which of the following best describes fast casual?
A．Fresh-made and tasty．
B．High-quality and expensive．
C．Farm-to-table and traditional．
D．Time-consuming and special．
请 观 察 所 给 的 图 画 并 根 据 你 对 该 图 画 的 理 解 写 一 篇 英 语 短 文 ,
内 容 包 括 :
(1)简 要 描 述 图 片 ,并 说 明 该 图 片 所 揭 露 的 现 象 ;
(2)分 析 该 现 象 的 利 弊 (至 少 各 一 点 ) ;
(3)提 出 自 己 的 看 法 ｡
要 求 : 1. 词 数 100 左 右 ｡开 头 已 经 给 出 ,不 计 入 词 数 ｡
2. 文 章 中 不 得 提 及 考 生 所 在 学 校 及 本 人 姓 名 ｡
As is vividly shown in the picture, a boy is happy with the fact that
假 如 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 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 (∧) ,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 画 一 横 线 ,并 在 该 词 下 面 写 上 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 给 分 ｡
When I first learn to write in English, I ran into much difficulties. The main problem was that I always thought in Chinese and tried to translate into my own language everything which I came across while I was reading. My teacher advised myself to keep a diary. I followed his advices and put down 100 words or so each day.
Soon I began to enjoy talk to myself as I was learning to express myself with simple English. One day I wrote a story and showed to my teacher. He liked it very much that he read it to the class. All said that the story was a good one. Their words were an great encouragement to me.
阅 读 下 面 材 料 ,在 空 白 处 填 入 适 当 的 内 容 ( 1 个 单 词 )或 括 号 内 单
词 的 正 确 形 式 ｡
Over the years I’ve been teaching the 1. ( Britain)kids about a simple but powerful concept— the ant philosophy(哲 学 ) , an 2. ( amaze)four-part philosophy.
First, ants never quit. If they’re heading somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll climb over, they’ll climb under, or they’ll climb around. They never quit 3. ( look) for a way to get where they 4. ( suppose )to go! Second, ants think about winter and summer. They are always gathering in their winter food in the middle of summer and they are making 5. ( prepare)for the long cold winter. So you have to think about storms in summer ; think about rocks 6. you enjoy the sand and sun. Third, ants think about summer all winter. During the winter, they remind 7. ,“ This won’ t last long and we’ll soon be out of here. ”On the first warm day, the ants are out. If it 8. ( turn)cold again, they’ll dive back down. But they come out again if it is warm. Last, how much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All that it 9. ( possible) can. 10. you can learn from the ant philosophy is: Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.
