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Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic (流行病) sweeping across America’s farmland. It has little to do with the usual challenges, such as flood, rising fuel prices and crop-eating insects. The country’s farmers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place. National agricultural census (普查) figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers is the part over 65. Merrigan is afraid the average age will be even higher when the 2012 statistics are completed.
Merrigan, a former college professor, is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture. Aside from trying to stop the graying of America’s farmers, her work is made tougher by a recent blog posting that put agriculture at No. 1 on a list of “useless” college degrees. Top federal agriculture officials are talking about the posting, and it has the attention of agricultural organizations across the country.
“There couldn’t be anything that’s more incorrect,” Merrigan said. “We know that there aren’t enough qualified graduates to fill the jobs that are out there in American agriculture.”
In addition, a growing world population that some experts predict will require 70% more food production by 2050, she said.
“I truly believe we’re at a golden age of agriculture. Global demand is at an all-time record high, and global supplies are at all-time record lows,” said Matt Rush, director of the Texas Farm Bureau. “Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture.”
The Department of Agriculture has programs aimed at developing more farmers and at increasing interest in locally grown food. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition has also been pushing for state and federal policy changes to make it easier for new farmers.
Ryan Best, president of Future Farmers of America, has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the country and visiting with high school students about careers in agriculture. The 21-year-old Best hopes his message—that this is a new time in agriculture—will motivate the next generation to turn around the statistics. “Never before have we had the innovations (创新) in technology which have led to agriculture in this country being the most efficient it has ever been,” he said. “There’s really a place for everybody to fit in.”
小题1:What is the new challenge to American agriculture?
A.Fewer and older farmers.B.Higher fuel prices.
C.More natural disasters.D.Lower agricultural output.
小题2:Why is Merrigan visiting universities across the country?
A.To draw federal agriculture officials’ attention.
B.To select qualified agriculture graduates.
C.To clarify a recent blog posting.
D.To talk more students into farming careers.
小题3:According to Matt Rush, American agriculture will provide opportunities for younger people
because__________..
A.the government will cover production costs
B.global food supplies will be even lower
C.investment in agriculture will be profitable
D.America will increase its food export
小题4:What do the underlined words “to turn around the statistics” in the last paragraph mean?
A.To re-analyze the result of the national census.
B.To increase agricultural production.
C.To bring down the average age of farmers.
D.To invest more in agriculture.

小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:C
这是一篇新闻报道,报道了“美国农业缺少专业大学生从事农业生产”的问题。
小题1:细节理解题。根据首段第二、三句“It has little to do with…The country’s farmers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place.”可知答案是A。
小题2:细节理解题。根据第二段首句“Merrigan, …is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture.”可知答案是D。
小题3:细节理解题。根据第五段最后一句“Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be invloved in agriculture.”可知答案是C。
小题4:短语意思猜测题。根据尾段关键词“a new time in agriculture”“innovations in technology”“for everybody to fit in”结合目前美国农业现状“fewer and older farmers”可知答案是C(降低农民平均年龄)。
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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解

We all remember seeing hitchhikers(搭便车的人), standing by the side of the road, thumb sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picked me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red,
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The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers. org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out(actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people-wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people-will stop.
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小题1:The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because_____________ .
A.they were not heading towards Manchester
B.they thought most hitchhikers were dangerous
C.hitchhiking had been forbidden and they didn’t want to break the law
D.he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous
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A.That some people refuse hitchhikers may reflect the safety fear.
B.Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK.
C.40% of UK people don’t have access to cars.
D.Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking.
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A.murderous hitchhikers
B.friendly and talkative hitchhikers
C.typical hitchhikers
D.strange hitchhikers like the author
小题4:According to the author, future hitchhikers are more likely to                 .
A.visit websites and find people to share cars with
B.stand by roads with their thumbs sticking out
C.stick out signs with their destinations written on
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小题5:From the last paragraph, we know that the author                    .
A.frequently hitchhikes in Britain
B.plans to hitchhike across Europe
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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解

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B.their teachers are too strict with them
C.their parents put much pressure on them
D.they can’t get on well with their friends
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A.They are a set of effective rules.
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D.They stress the importance of sense of moral values.
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A.The schools.B.The students.
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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解


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小题1:Which of the following may trick a shopper into buying a product according to the text?
A.The cost of its package.
B.The price of the product.
C.The color of its package.
D.The brand name of the product.
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A.attracted the customers strongly
B.had weak effect on the customers
C.tricked the customers into shopping
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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解


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While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought.  It’s nothing personal.  Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
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Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
小题1:The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________
A. provide some key facts about Confucius
B.attract the readers’ interest in the subject
C.show great respect for the ancient thinker
D.prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations
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A. have a great interest in studying Chinese
B.take an active part in Chinese competitions
C.try to get high scores in Chinese exams
D.fight for a chance to learn Chinese
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A.Forgotten Wisdom in America
B.Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
C.Chinese Culture for Westerners
D.Old Thinker with a Big Future
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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解


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Japan
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Untied States
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Australia
Meat pies, sausage rolls and hotdogs are all traditional dishes in Australian school shops. But as the nation pays more attention to children’s health, healthier foods have started to find their way onto school menus.
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In some schools, students have a choice of up to 89 foods to choose from, including popcorn and rice.
South Africa
Most of South Africa’s schools do not serve meals at all. Classes end at 1:30pm and students get their own lunches. Many students bring food from home, usually sandwiches.
Fast food and fried food sell the best among students, which has led to a rise in obesity among children. But as more people began to realize the fact that being too fat may cause different diseases, some schools in towns have led the way towards better nutrition. Now students at these schools are provided with lunches of porridge with vegetables, such as cabbages, onions, beans, carrots and tomatoes.
小题1:What does the underlined word “obesity” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Nutrition.B.Addiction.C.Food shortage.D.Overweight.
小题2:We can infer from the passage that ________.
A.a typical menu from a US school consists of enough nutrition.
B.most students in South Africa eat their lunch at home.
C.many schools in Australia have traffic lights outside their school.
D.you can have whatever you like in school canteens in Japan.
小题3:What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Schools should try to satisfy the needs of students.
B.Schools serve different foods from country to country.
C.Food served in the US is the best of all.
D.School children all over the world dislike their school food.
小题4:The article is written for ________.
A.parentsB.schoolmasters
C.students of your ageD.nutritionists

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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解


Our lives were supposed to be more flexible and family-friendly thanks to the technology at our fingertips. But in this age of BlackBerrys, recession pressures, working at home after hours and on weekends, family time may not be working out the way we thought.
Busy parents who expected more time with the kids are Finding that more work hours at home don't necessarily translate into quality time with them.
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This time with children pays off,” Brandon says. He notes that good parent-child relationships result in children being happier and more successful, including at school.
As parents struggle to be more available to their kids, new research on work and family  schedules to be presented Friday at the meeting in Dallas includes a study that shows parents' availability is on the decline because more parents are in the workforce. Although parents today may be spending more time on child care, they are less available overall.
Working parents who spend less time with their children should try to make sure the time they do spend is communicating with them, vs. doing the dishes or spending more time on themselves, Brandon says “The trade-off is not necessarily taking away time from your kid,” he says "You're taking away time from other things”
小题1:The first paragraph mainly intends to tell us that            .
A.technology lets parents work at home
B.parents are satisfied with their work
C.technology makes our lives much easier
D.the family time is not always satisfying
小题2:We can learn from the third paragraph that               .
A.some families are not experiencing quality time
B.it's enough for parents to stay with their children
C.parents enjoy engaging in work-at-home activities
D.working hours at home can transform into quality time
小题3: According to Brandon, the quality time means
A.just, being around with children
B.work time is separate from family time
C.spending instructive time with children
D.letting the children do whatever they want to do
小题4:The underlined sentence “This time with children pays” off means            .
A.the time with children is of little value
B.the time with children costs quite a lot
C.the time with children leads to good result
D.the time with children has a bad effect on them
小题5:What will the author most probably talk about in next part of the passage?
A.How to spend more time at home
B.How to do the dishes in a proper way.
C.How to spend more time on working at home.
D.How to take away time in a much proper way.

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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解

People hold the belief that a fun-filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people don’t like the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, commitment(承担的义务),self-improvement.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment, for commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most obvious features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word “fun” to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting true happiness is one of the most liberating realizations because true happiness has nothing to do with fun. It liberates(解放) time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actully may not be happy at all.
小题1:According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because____
A.he is unwilling to take family responsibilities
B.he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C.he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
D.he fears it will put an end to all his fun, adventure and excitement
小题2: The underlined word bachelor means_________
A.a married manB.a college student
C.a single manD.an academic degree
小题3:From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes results from______
A.hatredB.misunderstandingC.prejudiceD.ignorance
小题4:To understand what true happiness, one must________
A.have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime.
B.make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
C.put up with pain under all circumstances
D.be able to distinguish happiness from fun
小题5:What is the author trying to tell us?
A.Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.
B.One must know how to attain happiness.
C.It is important to make commitments.
D.It is pain that leads to happiness.

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科目:高中英语 来源:不详 题型:阅读理解

Internet dating has become one of the biggest and most successful business ventures on the Internet.Basically, Internet dating is a way to meet people for either friendship or dating without actually having to meet them in person first.
The first thing to do it you decide to try Internet dating is to build your profile (简介) which can include your hobbies, hopes for the future, and so on.A photograph is optional, but many sites claim that a photograph increases the number of people who look at your profile.Many Internet dating sites will charge a one-lime registration fee to use their services.
Internet dating makes it possible to meet people from all over the world.You can even narrow the search down to your area by zip code.Another advantage is that you can communicate by e-mail before you meet in person.Thousands of people have met, fallen in love, and married through Internet dating.It is an excellent way for shy people to meet.It is also a way for people with busy lives to connect with others, and an easy way to meet people who share your interests.
Just as in traditional dating and love, there are some pitfalls to be aware of in Internet dating.The person you have been talking to on the Net may not be who they say they are, Be very aware that there are some people who misrepresent their appearance or private details, such as marital status, income, and so on, for their own reasons.It would not be the first time that someone has been taken in, and talk shows are full of cheating partners who have been caught dating over the Internet in their spare time.Nevertheless, taking a few simple precautions should help ensure that your Internet dating experience is fun.
小题1:The purpose of writing the passage is to _____.
A.persuade readers to go dating on the Internet
B.inform us how to date on the Internet
C.warn readers against web love
D.introduce Internet dating to us
小题2:Which of the following is a must to make an Internet dating possible?
A.A photo.B.A profile.C.Money.D.Business experience.
小题3:One advantage of Internet dating is that _____.
A.you can avoid a face-to-face meeting in the beginning
B.you’re sure to find a partner with the same interests
C.you’ll find absolutely dependable information of others
D.you’ll gain fame and money overnight
小题4:What is probably talked about following the last paragraph?
A.Traditional dating.B.Hidden advantages.
C.Safety measures.D.Romantic love.
小题5:The underlined word "pitfalls" in Paragraph  4 most probably means ______
A.rulesB.trendsC.problems D.skills

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