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.

Most drinks stating that they are fruit­flavored (水果味道的) contain no fruit at all, while most of the rest contain only a small quantity of fruit, according to a study carried by the British Food Commission.

“Shoppers need to check the labels (标签) before buying drinks, though sometimes the actual content can be non­existent，” said Food Commission spokesperson Ian Tokelove. “Food production is highly competitive. __1.__ It will increase profits, and consumers won't always realize they are being tricked.”

Flavorings are focused on the flavors of natural food products such as fruits, meats and vegetables, or creating flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors. Researchers analyzed the contents of 28 strawberry­flavored products sold in stores.  __2.__ Of the 11 products that did contain strawberries, five of them contained less than one percent real fruit. In addition, each juice box contained nearly eight teaspoons of sugar.

__3.__ Let's take jam as an example. Some strawberry­flavored jam was labeled as containing no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners, but it contained absolutely no strawberries at all.

__4.__ Consumers have the rights to know clearly about what they have bought. Under current UK law, food packages do not have to distinguish between natural and artificial flavoring. “Describing a product as strawberry flavor and covering the surface of the packet with pictures of strawberries is misleading.  __5.__ Unfortunately, it is also legal and widespread,” Tokelove said. “It's time to take measures to protect the consumers' rights.”

A. The products which contain real fruit are popular with people.

B. Even products advertised as more natural often contained no fruit.

C. They found that about 60 percent of them didn't contain any fruit at all.

D. If companies can cut their costs by using flavoring, they are likely to do so.

E. It is important and necessary to demand a small amount of flavoring in the products.

F. Actually the product contains just a tiny percentage of strawberry or even no fruit at all.

G. The Food Commission suggested all flavors used in a product should be listed on the packaging.

 

The following are the results of the tests done by “Family and Home Magazine” on some Pocket Tape-Recorders on the market now.

Pearlcorder S702 $64
This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording. Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn’t turn off automatically.
Tape length: 30minutes per side. Weight: 240g.
Sony M9   $49.95
Small and very good looking, Sony’s latest offering scored most for its appearance. Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise. The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders. It doesn’t switch off automatically, but a red light shows if the machine is still running.
Tape length: 60minutes per side. Weight: 195g.
Sony M400  $115
Lots of little control buttons that make a noise are difficult to use. Recording is good but machine noise loses points. Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful.
Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 230g.
Imperial OEM MC7 $ 29.95
Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording is good as long as there is no background noise. Use only its own-make of cassette. No light to show it is on; no fast-forward button and the record button makes a loud noise.
Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 285g.
Philips 585 $80
Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation. No recording light.
Tape length: 15 minutes per side. Weight: 220g.
【小题1】The machine that produces the best recording with the least unwanted noise is _____.

A．Pearlcorder S 702

B．Sony M9

C．Sony M400

D．Imperial OEM MC7

【小题2】If you want a machine which turns off automatically and weighs very little you should choose _____.

A．Pearlcorder S 702

B．Sony M9

C．Sony M400

D．Philips 585

【小题3】Which of the following allows you to record longest but costs you least?

A．Philips 585

B．Imperial OEM MC7

C．Sony M400

D．Sony M9

【小题4】What disadvantage does only the Imperial OEM MC7 have?

A．No light shows when it is on.

B．It requires a special cassette.

C．It picks up background noise .

D．The record button makes a noise.

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.
A new generation of parents needs to discover the meaning of "quality time," researchers say. “Personally, just given the life I lead, I think there is something to this idea of quality time- spending productive time with children vs. just being around,” says Peter Brandon, a professor at Carleton College. He says engaging or interacting with a child in activities such as reading or playing counts as quality time rather than "passive monitoring," such as washing the dishes while the child is watching TV.
“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.

After a week-long vacation, U.S. President Barack Obama will focus on proposals to strengthen the still-recovering American economy. The agenda includes the reform of the nation’s health care system.

The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as some call it, expands federal health care programs for the needy and encourages Americans of all income groups to purchase private health care insurance.

“If you do not have insurance, beginning on October 1st, private plans will actually compete for your business. You can comparison--shop in an online marketplace, just like you would for cell phone plans or plane tickets. You may be eligible for new tax credits to help you afford the plan that’s right for you. And if you are in the up to half of all Americans who have been sick or have a preexisting condition, this law means that beginning January 1st, insurance companies have to cover you," Obama said.

Health-care spending accounts for one-seventh of U.S. economic activity, and is projected to increase to one-fifth in coming years. The cost has a direct bearing on America’s economic and financial well--being. Drawn up in 2010, the Affordable Care Act aims to control costs and expand access to health care. The effort is a big failure, according to Republican law makers like Tim Griffin and Todd Young.

“Republicans will continue to do everything we can to protect all Americans from the president's top-down, one-size-fits-all, Washington-knows-best approach to health care that is driving up costs and hurting our economy," said Griffin. “The sooner we can delay, oppose and cancel the president's health-care law, the sooner we can get people back to work and focus on expanding opportunity for everyone.”

The president accuses Republicans of putting partisanship(党派偏见) ahead of Americans’ health-care needs. “A lot of Republicans seem to believe that if they can gum up the works and make this law fail, they will somehow be sticking it to me. But they would just be sticking it to you. Your health insurance is not something to play politics with. Our economy is not something to play politics with," he said.

As a matter of fact，the success or failure of Obamacare could shape the president’s legacy long after he leaves office.

1.It is implied in Obama’s words in Paragraph 3 that       .

A. health care insurance will be of great benefit to Americans

B. health care insurance will help recover American economy

C. insurance companies don’t expect him to carry out the law

D. insurance companies will cover Americans in all aspects

2.According to Tim Griffin，Obama’s health-care law       .

A. will be strongly opposed to by the Republicans

B. will cause fewer economic problems in America

C. will be cancelled sooner or later by the government

D. will never work without the help of the Republicans.

3.What does Obama accuse Republicans of according to the passage?

A. They don’t know what Americans are in need of.

B. They tend to put their own benefit ahead of Americans’.

C. They know nothing about health insurance and economy.

D. They like to play politics with economy and health insurance

4.What is the author’s tone in this passage?

A.Subjective                        B.Critical            C.Unconcerned                   D.Objective