Farmers, as we all know, have been having a hard time of it lately, and have turned to new ways of earning income from their land. This involves not only planting new kinds of crops, but some __1__ ways of making money, the most unusual of which has got to be sheep racing. Yes, you heard me __2__! A farmer now holds sheep races on a regular basis, and during the past year over 100 000 people have __3__ to watch the race. “I was passing the farm on my way to the sea for a holiday,” one punter (赛马经纪人) told me, “and I thought I’d have a look. I didn’t believe it was serious, to tell you the truth.” According to a regular visitor, betting on sheep is more interesting than betting on horses. “At proper horse races everyone has already studied the form of the horse __4__, and there are clear favourites. __5__ nobody has heard anything about these __6__! Most people find it difficult to tell one from another in any case.” I stayed to watch the races, and I must admit that I found it quite __7__. In a usual sheep race, half a dozen sheep race down hill over a course of about half a mile. Food is waiting for them at the other end of the __8__ just to give them some encouragement, I ought to add! The sheep run surprisingly fast. __9__ they have probably not eaten for a while. Anyway, the crowd around me were obviously enjoying their day out at the races, __10__ by their happy faces and the sense of excitement.
A. common B. strange C. swift D. illegal
A. honestly B. surprisingly C. completely D. correctly
A. looked forward B. brought up C. turned up D. showed off
A. behind time B. in progress C. in advance D. in time
A. But B. Therefore C. Moreover D. Otherwise
A. horses B. sheep C. races D. stories
A. exciting B. dangerous C. boring D. peculiar
A. race B. hill C. track D. field
A. If B. So C. Yet D. Although
A. observing B. judging C. considering D. inferring
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.
Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.
Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.
Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.
An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.
A. cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year
B. give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds
C. decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices
D. aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year
With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.
A. we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way
B. it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank
C. it is not wise to change food crops into gas
D. biofuels should be developed on a large scale
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds.
B. A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor.
C. A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather.
D. It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not.
In the passage, the author calls on us to______.
A. slow down but not to stop economy
B. act now so as to relieve the global food shortage
C. achieve economic growth and political stability
D. develop tree crops, grasses and wood products
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科目：高中英语 来源：2013届山西康杰中学高三第三次模拟英语卷（带解析） 题型：阅读理解
Charlotte Hollins faces a battle. The 23-year-old British farmer and her 21-year-old brother Ben are fighting to save farm that their father worked on since he was 14. Although confident they will succeed, she is aware of farming’s many challenges.
“You don’t often get a day off. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on farmers to keep prices low. With fewer people working on farms it can be isolating,” she said. “There is a high rate of suicide and farming will never make you rich!”
Like others around the world, Charlotte’s generation tend to leave the farm for cities.
Oliver Robinson, 25, grew up in Yorkshire. But he never considered staying on his father and grandfather’s land. “I’m sure Dad hoped I’d stay,” he said. “I guess it’s a nice, straightforward life, but it doesn’t appeal to me. For young, ambitious people, farm life is hard.”
For Robinson, farming doesn’t offer much “in terms of money or lifestyle”. Hollins agrees that economic factors stop people from enjoying the rewards of farming. He describes it as a career that provides “for a vital human need”, allowing people to work “outdoors with nature.”
Farming is a big political issue in the UK. The “Buy British” campaigns urge consumers not to purchase cheaper imported foods. The 2001 foot and mouth crisis closed thousands of farms, stopped meat exports, and raised public consciousness about the troubles on UK farms.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s 2005 campaign to get children eating healthily also highlighted the issue.
This national concern gives hope to farmers competing with powerful supermarkets. While most people buy food from the big supermarkets, hundreds of independent Farmers’ Markets are becoming popular.
“I started going to Farmers’ Markets in direct defiance(违抗) of the big supermarkets. I seriously objected to the super-sizing of everything－what exactly do they put on our apples to make them so big and red? It’s terrible,” said Londoner Michaela Samson, 31.
【小题1】What are the challenges that British farmers face according to Charlotte Hollins?
a. loneliness b. thin profits
c. a lack of good equipment d. long working hours but slow results
| A．abc | B．abd | C．acd | D．bcd |
| A．He hoped for a simpler life |
| B．He was fed up with a hard farm life. |
| C．Farm life was too demanding though he liked it. |
| D．He hoped for something challenging and rewarding. |
| A．British people ate more British beef. |
| B．To be a beef farmer became profitable. |
| C．Diseaes dramatically reduced the amount of beef available. |
| D．Foreign farmers stopped selling beef to Britain. |
| A．Lower prices. | B．Flexible sizes. |
| C．Convenient location. | D．Healthier food. |
| A．Things are improving for independent farms in the UK. |
| B．Farming in the UK can now match the powerful supermarkets. |
| C．Most British people are doubtful of food in supermarkets. |
| D．Most British people have realized the problems facing farms and begun to help save them. |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2013-2014学年高考第二轮专题复习提分训练专题十九阅读补全英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Urbanization
(2013·高考北京卷)Until relatively recently，the vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city.The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago.__ 1.__In fact，nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages.It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history—a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.
Britain was only the beginning. 2.__The process of urbanization—the migration (迁徙) of people from the countryside to the city—was the result of modernization，which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.
In 1990，fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas.Today，over 82% of Americans live in cities.Only about 2% live on farms.__ 3.__
Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized.Even in advanced agricultural societies，it took about ninety?five people on farms to feed five people in cities._ 4._Until modern times，those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite(精英) and the servants，laborers and professionals who served them.Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.
Over the past two centuries，the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 5._Today，instead of needing ninety?five farmers to feed five city people，one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred non?farmers.
A．That kept cities very small.
B．The rest live in small towns.
C．The effects of urban living on people should be considered.
D．Soon many other industrial nations became urban societies.
E．But even 200 years ago，only a few people could live in cities.
F．Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.
G．Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2015届四川省高二上学期期中考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：单项填空
We have the most population in the world, most of it _____ farmers.
A. to be B. is C. are D. being
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014届江西南昌第二中学高三第一次月考英语卷（解析版） 题型：单词拼写
根据句子意思和所给首字母或中文提示，在标有题号的横线上写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式，使句意通顺。
1.He has developed his f____________ in English from his childhood and now he can communicate freely with natives from English-speaking countries.
2.As most of the population in China are farmers, a____________ plays an important part.
3.In order to reduce the toll of death and disease from tobacco, they have r____________ its production.
4.This is an e____________ tough task, but I think you can fulfill it.
5.At the news of Qian Xuesheng's death, the whole n____________ was in deep sorrow.
6.It was their wisdom and ____________ (勇气) that helped them win over the hardship.
7.They are hardworking and ____________ (因此) they have done a good job.
8.____________（逐渐地）, the children began to understand.
9.Tom o____________ (欠) me 500 Yuan.
10.I persuaded my mother to buy me a/an ____________ (便携的，手提的) computer.
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