Rain and cold weather this summer saw honey yields from hives(巢)fall by almost three-quarters, the British Beekeepers Association(BBKA)said today. The average crop per hive was down 72% compared to last year, with just 3.6kg (81b) of honey produced compared to an annual average, the annual honey survey by the BBKA revealed.
The survey of 2,712 beekeepers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales found that 88% said this summer’s bad weather caused the descent in honey yields. The bad weather made it difficult for bees to excrete(排泄),which led to disease easily, and the bad weather also increased the risk o
f keeping bees for heavy rain caused the places which bees regularly visited to meet natural disasters. The bad weather also influenced the plants flowering which increased the cost of keeping bees. The BBKA issued a midsummer warning to feed bees if necessary to avoid dying from hunger. But in London, which recorded the worst results with just 2.5kg (5.61b)of honey harvested on average, beekeeping experts said that in addition to the bad weather there was a lack of food for bees in the city.
Angela Woods, secretary of the London Beekeepers Association, said, “Rather than putting beehives on office roofs, we encourage companies in London that want to help to look at different ways of supporting bees and beekeepers. We need more food for the bees and better-educated beekeepers.”
Elsewhere, the weather was the main problem. Peter Hutton, a beekeeper in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said, “It has been the most difficult year I have known in my 53 years of beekeeping. Bad weather in spring prevented bees in many areas from collecting nectar(花蜜)from early-flowering crops such as oilseed rape(油菜),and the rain continued in many places throughout June and July, preventing honeybees from searching for food on later crops.”
The BBKA warned that as well as reducing the honey harvest, the bad weather is likely to have a longer-term influence as it will have affected the normal process of breeding for t
he queens, which mate(交配)on the wing on fine, still summer days. As a result they may have mated poorly and be unable to produce enough new babies to see groups through the winter.
1.According to the passage, last year the average crop per hive might be____.
A.5 kg
B.7.2 kg
C.10kg
D.13 kg
2.The underlined word “descent” means_____.
A. fall B. rise
C. disease D. variety
3.What caused the lack of food?
A. The bad weather in both autumn and winter.
B. The bad weather in both winter and spring.
C. The bad weather in both spring and summer.
D. The bad weather in both summer and autumn.
4.What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A. The bad weather just affects honey harvest.
B. The bad weather has effect on bees’ breeding.
C. The bad weather only has a short-term impact on bees.
D. The bad weather has effect on bees’ life in winter.
5. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The quality of the honeybees is influenced by the bad weather.
B. London companies are encouraged to take part in helping bees and beekeepers.
C. Both the cost and the risk of keeping bees are increased because of the bad weather.
D. Better-educated beekeepers are needed to improve the bad situations that the bad weather brought to bees.
Cell phone use and 
texting are increasingly common, especially among teens. And that could be a problem. Texting affects learning and performing on test, a new study finds. So a Montana teen, Colin decided to test that.
They asked 47 classmates to take part in a two-part experiment. The goal was to test how well these students understood written material. Each one had to read a paragraph or two about a certain topic, then answer questions about it.
In the first part, the participants had 15 minutes to understand and then answer questions about six readings. Throughout this test, they met no distractions.
During a new set of readings, the brothers sent messages to the participants’ cell phones every 90 seconds. In each message, there were questions that required a reply.
Participants should have scored better on the second test because it was easier. In fact, they scored worse when distracted by messages. Only a few students scored as well when replying to messages as they did when undistracted. But importantly, nobody performed better during the texting part.
The brothers presented details of their findings at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Boys and girls scored equally poorly while texting, the brothers noticed. Older participants didn’t do any better than younger ones. And it didn’t matter if a student thought he was good at multitasking. On average, the brothers found that even students who were confident of their abilities did just as poorly while texting. Surprisingly, even though the students remembered less of what they read while texting, most of them answered questions in messages perfectly.
“Our teachers are very happy to see these results,” says Coler. The teens’ new data strongly support their teachers’ opinion that texting while studying is a serious distraction.
1. What did Colter and Colin want to test?
A. Cell phone use and texting are more common.
B. Teens should avoid cell phone use and texting.
C. Texting affects students’ performance on test.
D. The effect of texting differs from person to person.
2.What can we learn from the two-part experiment?
A. The written material in the two parts was the same.
B. Participants in part 2 received more than one message.
C. The time of the test in two parts was the same.
D. All the participants were distracted by messages.
3.The brothers’ findings were related to participants’ ________.
A. reading performance B. quality
C. writing ability D. reading speed
4. From the results of the experiment, we can find _________.
A. boys were better at multitasking than girls
B. the easier the tests were, the more mistakes were made
C. nobody did good jobs in the two-part experiment
D. some students’ test results were not affected by texting
5.What’s Colter’s teachers’ attitude toward the results?
A. Surprised. B. Worried.
C. Satisfied. D. Serious.
I’d like to share a little story with you about something that happened when I was four. I remember it clearly. Our loving family dog was nearing the end of his life. My father picked him up and put him in a little bed we had made for him. Our dog, my companion, whom we had cared for, bit my father when he attempted to help him. How could he? Why? I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t like him anymore.
I hadn’t thought about that story for a long time but something that happened last week brought it back to me. I went to speak with a friend. When I knocked on the door, I met in an instant an angry look and a few harsh(尖刻的)words. When the door was slammed(砰地关上)in my face, I stood there shocked, and in a rush, I was reminded of my dog bit my father 20 years ago or so. What brought that story back was that same feeling of betrayal.
Both stories taught me something the next day. You see, when I got up in the morning and was told my dog had died, it became clear to me that he must have been in great pain. For him to have bitten a family member, he could not have been himself. Much the same for the other story when I learned that my friend’s wife had just left him.
We are all beings of our environments, our opinions and feelings. And all of those things can cause you to say and do things that can’t be understood by those who are not in the same situation with you.
If you meet someone either behaving out of character or acting in a way that doesn’t seem to fit the situation, put out your hand and be patient when you think it is least possible for him to do so. You may turn around a story that has a sad ending simply by your actions.
1.The incident that happened when the author was four______.
A. hurt the author’s feeling deeply
B. has puzzled the author ever since
C. left a deep impression on the author
D. made the author dislike dogs
2.What made the author think about the story of about 20 years ago?
A. His friend’s attitude.
B. The photo of the dog.
C. His father’s wound.
D. His friend’s suffering.
3.The author's friend said harsh words to the author because______.
A. he was bad-tempered
B. he was suffering the pain of losing his wife
C. he was bothered by an unexpected visit
D. they once quarreled and he couldn’t forgive the author
4.What conclusion did the author get from the two stories?
A. Misunderstanding should be removed in time.
B. Sometimes one will be hurt without any reason.
C. Many people think more of themselves and less of others.
D. Many factors will affect one’s behavior.
5.What’s the author’s advice to us?
A. Help those in need.
B. Look before you leap.
C. Learn to understand others.
D. Tolerance is a kind of virtue.
Summer Camps
About us
Summer Camps offer many programs that develop athletic skills, teamwork and healthy habits to kids. We create a safe and noncompetitive environment for learning and making friends. Our counselors(指导老师)are required to complete much training. Directors and head counselors are certified in CPR (心肺复苏)and First Aid and so on.
Full-day Camp (ages6-13)
A typical camp starts with soccer, kickball, basketball or field games. After lunch, the kids do three activities. Depending on location, there are swimming, science and nature, arts and crafts, rope courses.
Li'1 Rascals Day Camp (ages3-5)
Preschoolers get all the fun of full-day camp in half the time. Activities include arts and crafts, sports, games and relays. Each week has different themes. All participants must be able to be taught to use a patty(便壶).
Specialty(专长)camps (ages14-16)
These specialty camps build many athletes. Our experienced staff will help your child be excellent in his or her favorite sport.
·Tennis
·Basketball
·Soccer
·Dance
·Cheerleading
Fee: $120
Contact Information
Call: 068-990-3224; E-mail:summercampsforkids@hotmail.com
or
Write to: 125 Seventh Avenue South New York, NY 10014
What the parents from last year say about the camps:
“All the activities were perfect. My son definitely wants to return next year and I will recommend the camp to others.”
— Kate
“I think this is one of the best camps that my children have attended. The counselors and directors are enthusiastic and friendly. The programs are excellent and it is the only camp that they ask to go back to.”
—Jack
“My children had an excellent time at your camp. I was very impressed by both your friendly, helpful counselors and directors and the excellent way that the entire camp was organized and run. I will consider next year! Many thanks.”
—Mary
1.What do you know from the passage?
A. The camps are free for little children.
B. There are mainly three activities at Full-day Camp.
C. Specialty camps are only open to young athletes.
D. The counselors at Summer Camps all have rich experience.
2.The children in Summer Camps may do the following EXCEPT________.
A. learn how to make a small beautiful house
B. know how to survive in the wild
C. experience what a real competition is
D. dance together with other children
3.Children who join Li’1 Rascals Day Camp must_________.
A. go home alone
B. express themselves clearly
C. receive a complete physical examination
D. go to the toilet by themselves
4.How did the parents feel about the camp?
A. Satisfied. B. Bored.
C. Excited. D. Terrible.
5.It can be known from the parents that______.
A. the spaces of Summer Camps are limited
B. the workers at the camps are responsible ones
C. the campground of Summer Camps are tidy and comfortable
D. Kate’s son will attend the camps with his friends next time
“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they're given after all. Choices can be hard.”
I got the to start Amazon 16 years ago. I the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year.I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew so fast. And the idea of building an bookstore with millions of titles was very to me. I had just turned 30, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife that I wanted to my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t ,and I wasn’t sure what to .She told me I should 38the idea. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my .
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a boss that I admired very much. I went to my boss and with him that I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park and listened to me, and finally sa
id, “That sounds like a really good idea, it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.”That logic made some to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult , but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret and failing. And I suspected I would always be troubled by the decision not to try at all. After much , I took the less .path to follow my dream, and I’m of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices．
1.A. idea B. support C. fund D. message
2.A. got through B. set aside C. came across D. turned down
3.A. online B. available C. intelligent D. expensive
4.A. practical B. exciting C. flexible D. productive
5.A. take B. 1and C. exchange D. quit
6.A. matter B. work C. fail D. exist
7.A. do B. achieve C. plan D. expect
8.A. give up B. set up C. stick to D. put off
9.A. passion B. pace C. hobby D. example
10.A. cruel B. brilliant C. greedy D. modest
11.A. shared B. argued C. reasoned D. enquired
12.A. gradually B. eventually C. carefully D. generously
13.A. so B. and C. otherwise D. but
14.A. sense B. difference C. bet D. bargain
15.A. while B. before C. once D. since
16.A. puzzle B. suggestion C. choice D. report
17.A. managing B. requesting C. changing D. trying
18.A. consideration B. determination C. conversation D. Application
19.A. stable B. secure C. amusing D. interesting
20.A. confident B. regretful C. hopeful D. proud
It was not until dark ________ he found ________ he thought was the correct way to solve the problem.
A. when; that B. that; that C. when; what D. that; what
