Fruit farmers in Okayama, Japan, have managed to make peeling (去皮) a banana optional by developing a special variety with eatable skin. The peel of their “Mongee bananas” isn’t particularly tasty, but it’s much thinner and far less bitter than that of regular bananas, making it 100% eatable.
Scientists at D&T Farm in the country’s Okayama Prefecture released the social media-ready news following months of experimenting with a freezing-and-thawing (解冻) method, which keeps the banana tree at extremely cold temperatures followed by a dramatic heat increase. The result is soft and thin skin that hasn’t fully developed. They froze young banana trees to -60 degrees Celsius, planting them again as they began to thaw. This apparently activated an ancient part of their DNA, which not only allows the plant to grow in Japan’s cool climate, but also speeds up its development. While tropical varieties of bananas require two years to grow large enough for consumption (消费), the Mongee banana needs just four months.
The first bunch of Mongee bananas hit department stores’ shelves in the November of last year, but getting your hand on one of these incredible fruits remains a huge challenge. D&T Farm only produces 10 bananas per week, and they only deliver them to the Fruit Corner of Tenmanya Okayama, a local department store. But even if you happen to find one available, you’d probably be a bit put off by the price – 648 yen ($5.70) per fruit.
Banana peel is an excellent ingredient that can contain vitamin B6 and magnesium related to the production of serotonin (血清素). At the same time, it has a positive effect on both brain and sleep. Research results that ripe fruit peels have a good effect on treating prostatic hypertrophy (前列腺肥大) have also been published.
John Guterman, a botanist, says, “And what about shipping? For most of the fruit’s history, the peel has provided protection, allowing it to travel long distances. A softer, more bruise-prone banana would be a step back from hardy banana varieties that travel thousands of miles. In this sense, the day we all stop peeling bananas and instead bite straight through their skin may still be a long way away.
1.Compared with regular bananas, Mongee bananas ________.
A.are far easier to peel B.have much sweeter flesh
C.are much more thin-skinned D.have a longer growth period
2.Why is it hard to buy a Mongee banana now?
A.It isn’t affordable at all. B.It hasn’t come into the market yet.
C.It is made for certain people. D.Its production ability is still limited.
3.What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
A.The medical value of banana peel.
B.The nutrition (营养) of banana peel.
C.The way of making banana peel sweeter.
D.The studies about how to make banana peel eatable.
4.What does John think of the Mongee banana?
A.It should not be widely grown.
B.It won’t be spread widely soon.
C.It indicates the future of fruits with skin.
D.It has no advantage over regular bananas.
In Britain, business leaders are becoming increasingly concerned that growing numbers of new employees are unable to divide a real pie into eight equal slices.
There are so many examples of the shortage of basic literacy and numeration (读写和计算) skills among many school and university leavers.
A report from the Confederation of British Industry says the problem is so bad that one in three employers has to send staff for training to learn the English and maths they did not learn at school.
“Employers’ views on numeration and literacy are clear — people must read and write fluently and must be able to carry out basic mental arithmetic (算术).” Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, said.
The CBI report, Working on the Three R’s, which was sponsored by the Department for Education, found that poor literacy was a problem in all fields, while poor numeration was of particular concern in the manufacturing and construction field.
One company manager complained of a “total lack of knowledge of timetables” among staff, which meant many were unable to carry out simple calculations.
A personnel manager for a construction firm said that many applicants were unable to construct a sentence and that grammar, and their handwriting and spelling were often “awful”. He also mentioned the case of an employee who became very expert at hiding his lack of literacy by getting his wife to write his reports for him. The problems are not limited to school leavers, but extend to higher levels of the education system, the CBI said.
1.What would be the best title for the text?
A.How to Divide a Pie into Eight Parts
B.How to Grasp Basic Literacy and Numeration Skills
C.British School Leavers Lack Basic Literacy and Numeration Skills
D.Train School Leavers to Learn English and Maths
2.According to the last paragraph, we can know that ________.
A.literacy problems go beyond the education system.
B.an employee asked his mother to write reports for him
C.the schools were to blame for the lack of literacy skills
D.the applicants were poor students in school
3.The purpose of writing this passage is to _________.
A.offer ways to improve the school leavers’ basic skill
B.criticize the existing education system
C.present some information about school leavers
D.make comments on employment
Like many, I felt pressure from my parents and teachers to go to university and study something academic. With top grades I received at the end of high school, I was almost able to enter any course of my pick. Yet the thought of spending the next few years facing the four walls of a classroom caused a lump (肿块) in my throat.
After a year majoring in photography at university, which was not just what I expected, I made the decision to take a break and go on a gap year. In fact, I gained more knowledge in the real world in four months than I did from my entire schooling, but most importantly, I learnt so much about myself.
One day, my posted photos were noticed by Topdeck Travel, and they asked if they could use some of my travel pictures for their posters. This really was the beginning of my career. I began developing my relationship with Topdeck Travel, and before long, I got my first pay travel overseas to take photographs.
Soon I reached the point where I had to make a decision— either to play it safe, go back to university and settle down like everyone else, or to follow my heart and go my own way— a path with an uncertain future. I chose the latter, and it was the scariest and best decision I have ever made.
Five years after leaving school, I might not have a university degree, a well-paid job, a husband or a house with a white fence. Instead, I’m sitting at my office, with a cafe by a beach at Goa, India. As I stare past my laptop screen at the sun setting beyond the waves, a salty breeze touches my face.
To me, success is about pursuing my dreams and creating my own path instead of trying to follow someone else’s. Somehow, I feel like my life is exactly where it is meant to be.
1.What did the author think of going to university?
A.She took it seriously. B.She showed little interest.
C.She looked forward to it. D.She thought it was a must.
2.What benefit did the author gain from her gap year?
A.The knowledge about the real world.
B.Her paid overseas travel experience.
C.Realizing what she really wanted in her life.
D.Knowing what really mattered at university.
3.What can we infer about the author from the passage?
A.She regrets not going back to university.
B.She gets less knowledge in the real world.
C.She feels quite satisfied with her present life.
D.She misses the days working for Topdeck Travel.
假如你是李华，是校学生会主席,学校打算举办“中华好诗词"(Chinese Classic poet)古典 诗歌诵读比赛。你的外教Darren对中国古典诗歌很感兴趣，请你用英语写一封电子邮件邀请 他来参加此次活动,了解中国古典诗歌。内容包括：
1. 活动举办的意义；
2. 活动内容；
3.时间和地点。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头语已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Darren,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改同桌写的以下作文。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。
When I was in high school, there was the time when I fail to recognize the importance of learning. I even thought useless to study at school. So my English teacher Lester made me to change my mind. He provided a new view of learning for us and tried hardly to pull us out of our comfort zone. He opened our eyes to a world big than before. And we realized that learn school could be more than just knowledge from textbooks and endless homeworks. I want to express my sincere thanks to him, without who I can't I be a strong-willed person.
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。
Kofi Atta Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and the winner of Nobel Peace Prize died 1. the age of 80. Annan, who was born in Ghana in 1938, served as the 2.(seven) UN Secretary-General, from 1997 to 2006, and was the first 3. (rise) from within the ranks of the United Nations staff. Annan 4.( award) the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the United Nations in 2001 for their work for a better organized and more easeful world.
Annan was the chief architect of 5. became known as the Millennium Development Goals, and played a central role in 6.( create) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the UN' s first counter-terrorism strategy.
Annan kept connections to many international 7.( organize). He was president of the University of Ghana, a fellow at New York 's Columbia University, and the professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
Former President George W. Bush released 8. statement saying, " Laura and I send our sympathies to Nane and the Annan family on the passing of Kofi Annan. He was a gentle man and a 9. (tire) leader of the United Nations. 10. (he) voice of experience will be missed around the world."
