Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is the color of most growing plants, too.
Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet finished or plants that are not ripe.
For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in war (战争). By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today--a person who is new in a job.
About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west. Old-timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities in the east. The greenhorn didn’t have the skills that he would need to live in the hard, rough country.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds.
A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.
The Green Revolution (革命) is the name which was given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural (农业的) scientists who had green thumbs

1. 1.

   According to the passage, a greenhorn means________ now

   1. A.
      a young cow or ox whose horns have not yet developed
   2. B.
      a soldier who has not had any experience in war
   3. C.
      a person who is new in a job
   4. D.
      a man who doesn’t have the skills to live in the country
2. 2.

   The meaning of the underlined word “ripe” in the second paragraph is ________

   1. A.
      未完成的
   2. B.
      成熟的
   3. C.
      青涩的
   4. D.
      老练的
3. 3.

   Which of the following about the Green Revolution is NOT right?

   1. A.
      If there weren’t the Green Revolution, we would have no rice to eat
   2. B.
      The expression “the Green Revolution” appeared several years ago
   3. C.
      Because of the Green Revolution, we have more kinds of rice and other grains
   4. D.
      Agricultural scientists with green thumbs started the Green Revolution
4. 4.

   We can know from the passage that _______

   1. A.
      all growing plants is green
   2. B.
      green is the most important color in nature
   3. C.
      a person with a green thumb can make plants grow well
   4. D.
      the expression “a green thumb” has a history of two hundred years
5. 5.

   The main idea of the passage is ________

   1. A.
      a greenhorn
   2. B.
      a green thumb
   3. C.
      the Green Revolution
   4. D.
      the word “green” and its story

I’m lying on my back in my grandfather’s orchard(果园)，looking up at the branches above me.It is one of the last days of summer.Already the days are shorter and the nights are cooler.Some kinds of apples are already ripe(成熟的).Others will be ready to pick soon.I think of my grandmother’s apple pie，and how I used to make it with her.She died last year，before the apple harvest，and I have not had her pie since.I really miss her.I hear bees busily humming about，visiting the late summer flowers.The gentle hum of their wings nearly sends me to sleep.

The sky is as blue as my grandfather’s eyes.Above me，big white clouds race across the sky like pieces of cotton blowing in the w ind.School starts in another week，and time seems to have slowed down.

“Sophie！”calls my  grandfather.“Is that you？”I stand up，take his hand，and tell him all about my day as we walk through the orchard.We talk about apples，and bees，and Grandma.He tells me that he misses her too.

He puts his rough，brown farmer’s hand around my shoulder and pulls me close.“You know，Sophie，”he says，“I spent the morning in the attic(阁楼)，and you’ll never guess what I found.It’s the recipe(烹饪法) for Grandma’s apple pie.I used to help her make it sometimes.I can’t do it all alone，but you used to help her too.Maybe between the two of us，we ca n work it out.Want to try？”

“But it won’t be the same without Grandma，” I tell him.

“That’s true，”he says，“but nothing_is_the_same_without_Grandma.Still，I don’t think that she would want us never to have another apple pie.What do you say？” I nod yes，and we walk towards home...towards an afternoon in the farmhouse kitchen，making Grandma’s famous apple pie.

1.We learn from the passage that Sophie　　　　.

A．likes to watch clouds in the attic

B．comes to the orchard after school

C．enjoys Grandma’s apple pie very much

D．picks many apples in the orchard

2.Sophie’s grandfather spent the morning in the attic______　　　.

A．looking for Grandma’s recipe for apple pie

B．helping Sophie’s grandmother make apple pie

C．trying to make apple pie all alone for Sophie

D．talking about apples，and bees，and Grandma with Sophie

3.The underlined part in the last paragraph shows

A．how much Sophie’s grandmother loved Sophie

B．how much Sophie’s grandfather likes apple pies

C．how much Sophie loves her grandfather’s orchard

D．how much Sophie’s grandfather misses Grandma

4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．My grandfather’s orchard           B．My grandmother’s apple pie

C．A morning in the attic              D．The last days of summer

You Mi, a lovely and confident 17-year-old student, is the first Chinese high school student to appear on the cover of the popular young adults’ fashion magazine Seventeen.

　　“You is IN,” said Wang Lihua, Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. “She is active and mature(成熟的) because of her knowledge on everything from academic studies, to books on art, to movies. We found she’s the very style we’re looking for to represent young people’s attitudes.”

　　You also impressed Wang with her fluent English when they first met last year. As the hostess of an English broadcasting programme at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, You is always praised for speaking English almost like a native speaker. “I’ve built up my English by watching thousands of English DVDs since I was 10,” she explained.

　　But for You, watching isn’t enough. Last year, while in Senior 1, she met a talented boy who showed self-made DV movies at the English Corner in her school.

　　“I thought it was so cool and I knew that I should start making my own films,” she said. So she wrote a campus(校园) story, persuaded schoolmates to star in it and then began shooting a 30-minute DV movie, all in English. “I played one of the leading roles, actually I was everything in my film. I worked on it every single day during the SARS holidays,” she recalled. The movie finally became a big hit on campus, earning You a strong reputation(名气) as a DV movie director.

　　But this is not the only field she wants to master. Despite being a science student, You likes art, literature and fashion design very much.

　　“There are people who can be artists, there are people who edit books, and there are people who become film producers. But I just hope to mix all the things up!” she said. “There is an old saying I believe: Chance favours only the prepared mind.”

1. You Mi was chosen to be a cover of Seventeen, mainly because she _____.

A. is beautiful                           B. she is lovely and full of confidence

C. is active and mature                    D. has rich knowledge

2. You Mi’s fluent English is based on _____.

A. her chance to host an English broadcasting programme     B. the influence of her parents

C. her deep interest in it                                D. her making DV movie

3. The author mentioned a talented boy to show _____.

A. the great influence he had on You Mi            

B. he was admired by his schoolmates

C. the young can do things as well as the adults do

D. self-made DV movies are popular at school

4.In the 30-minute DV movie, You Mi didn’t act as a(n) _____.

A. director        B. musician           C. actress         D. producer

5. We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. You Mi hopes to be a mixed talent                 

B. the success of a 30-minute DV movie shocked You Mi

C. You Mi dreams of becoming a scientist             

D. the outbreak of SARS delayed You Mi’s studies

四、阅读理解（共16小题；每小题2分，满分32分）

You Mi, a lovely and confident 17-year-old student, is the first Chinese high school student to appear on the cover of the popular young adults’ fashion magazine Seventeen.

     “You is IN,” said Wang Lihua, Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. “She is active and mature(成熟的) because of her knowledge on everything from academic studies, to books on art, to movies. We found she’s the very style we’re looking for to represent young people’s attitudes.”

    You also impressed Wang with her fluent English when they first met last year. As the hostess of an English broadcasting programme at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, You is always praised for speaking English almost like a native speaker. “I’ve built up my English by watching thousands of English DVDs since I was 10,” she explained.

    But for You, watching isn’t enough. Last year, while in Senior 1, she met a talented boy who showed self-made DV movies at the English Corner in her school.

   　“I thought it was so cool and I knew that I should start making my own films,” she said. So she wrote a campus(校园) story, persuaded schoolmates to star in it and then began shooting a 30-minute DV movie, all in English. “I played one of the leading roles, actually I was everything in my film. I worked on it every single day during the SARS holidays,” she recalled. The movie finally became a big hit on campus, earning You a strong reputation(名气) as a DV movie director.

　　But this is not the only field she wants to master. Despite being a science student, You likes art, literature and fashion design very much.

  　“There are people who can be artists, there are people who edit books, and there are people who become film producers. But I just hope to mix all the things up!” she said. “There is an old saying I believe: Chance favours only the prepared mind.”

1. You Mi’s fluent English is based on _____.

    A. her chance to host an English broadcasting programme

    B. the influence of her parents

    C. her deep interest in it

    D. her making DV movie

2. The author mentioned a talented boy to show _____.

    A. the great influence he had on You Mi

    B. he was admired by his schoolmates

    C. the young can do things as well as the adults do

    D. self-made DV movies are popular at school

3.In the 30-minute DV movie, You Mi didn’t act as a(n) _____.

     A. director            B. musician         C. actress             D. producer

4. We can learn from the passage that _____.

　　A. You Mi hopes to be a mixed talent

　　B. the success of a 30-minute DV movie shocked You Mi

　　C. You Mi dreams of becoming a scientist

　　D. the outbreak of SARS delayed You Mi’s studies