What will we be eating in the future? Here are the top factors that will be affecting the food that ends up on our tables in the new century.

Genetically engineered food Many crops are already genetically engineered, often to produce more food, fight against pests or improve nutrition. But concern is growing over the lasting effects of changing nature. While existing research has found little harm in genetic engineering, a recent study found the flower powder of a genetically engineered corn can kill the normal butterfly. This finding made many people nervous and brought attention to the topic.

Dining out Americans are increasingly eating meals away from home, both in sit-down restaurants and in fast food outlets. In the last decade alone there was a 14 percent decrease in the number of meals eaten at home. At the same time, restaurants are just beginning to really open their doors on the Internet. Websites exist to make restaurant reservations (预约), view menus, and get tips from your favorite chefs. The dining out trend and the demand for high-quality, chef-prepared food have encouraged chefs to spend time out of the kitchen — teaching classes, appearing on TV, and writing cookbooks.

Eating in Eating in doesn’t always mean cooking. Ready-made meals and frozen food sold in supermarkets taste better all the time. Restaurants are offering neatly packaged “food to go”, and meals can be ordered over the Internet. Cooking is not as much as a necessity, as it is a hobby or a special treat.

Agriculture Although American farmers have been hit hard recently by bad weather, low prices and decreasing government help, they can increase grain production not using old farming methods.

1.Which of the following is the main reason for genetically engineered crops?

A. To lead to more food and better nutrition.       B. To kill the normal butterfly.

C. To reduce the harm done by insects.          D. To change the nature of the crops.

2.From the passage, we learn that _________.

A. eating out is not popular among the old people in USA

B. it is now easier for people to get information about eating out

C. it is popular for restaurants to send out information on the Internet

D. the trend of eating out is causing many chefs to give up their jobs

3.In the future, cooking at home will probably _________.

A. still be the job of most housewives

B. take up most of people’s free time

C. bring much joy to more people

D. lead to many restaurants closing down

4.According to the passage, farmers should _________ to get a higher grain production.

A. turn to better farming methods           B. ask for the support of the government

C. raise the prices of crops                D. not care about the effects of bad weather

What will we be eating in the future? Here are the top factors that will be affecting the food that ends up on our tables in the new century.

Genetically engineered food Many crops are already genetically engineered, often to produce more food, fight against pests or improve nutrition. But concern is growing over the lasting effects of changing nature. While existing research has found little harm in genetic engineering, a recent study found the flower powder of a genetically engineered corn can kill the normal butterfly. This finding made many people nervous and brought attention to the topic.

Dining out Americans are increasingly eating meals away from home, both in sit-down restaurants and in fast food outlets. In the last decade alone there was a 14 percent decrease in the number of meals eaten at home. At the same time, restaurants are just beginning to really open their doors on the Internet. Websites exist to make restaurant reservations (预约), view menus, and get tips from your favorite chefs. The dining out trend and the demand for high-quality, chef-prepared food have encouraged chefs to spend time out of the kitchen — teaching classes, appearing on TV, and writing cookbooks.

Eating in Eating in doesn’t always mean cooking. Ready-made meals and frozen food sold in supermarkets taste better all the time. Restaurants are offering neatly packaged “food to go”, and meals can be ordered over the Internet. Cooking is not as much as a necessity, as it is a hobby or a special treat.

Agriculture Although American farmers have been hit hard recently by bad weather, low prices and decreasing government help, they can increase grain production not using old farming methods.

Which of the following is the main reason for genetically engineered crops?

A. To lead to more food and better nutrition.       B. To kill the normal butterfly.

C. To reduce the harm done by insects.          D. To change the nature of the crops.

From the passage, we learn that _________.

A. eating out is not popular among the old people in USA

B. it is now easier for people to get information about eating out

C. it is popular for restaurants to send out information on the Internet

D. the trend of eating out is causing many chefs to give up their jobs

In the future, cooking at home will probably _________.

A. still be the job of most housewives

B. take up most of people’s free time

C. bring much joy to more people

D. lead to many restaurants closing down

According to the passage, farmers should _________ to get a higher grain production.

A. turn to better farming methods           B. ask for the support of the government

C. raise the prices of crops                D. not care about the effects of bad weather

IV. 阅读理解（30%）

The future is time that is to come. The future is not the present or the past. It is later. We have seen many possible futures in science fiction. They range from the world’s polar ice caps melting to nuclear winters. But not all futures are this morbid. We have seen the human race spread all over our universe, humans and aliens living in harmony together all over the universe.

It is very likely that we will make some kind of breakthrough in our ability to travel through space sometime in the next 150 years. This would give us the ability to rule other planets. Ultimately, the earth will die whether it be 1,000 years or 100,000 years. We will be forced to move to another planet then. It’s really just a matter of time. When we do so, what will we discover?

Personally, I think everyone will be speaking the same language in 200 years. A world government definitely seems to be in our future. It is stable and has few wars. Indeed, the only type of wars that can happen is the civil war.

And what if we face aliens? If they are friendly, we would probably benefit a lot from putting our knowledge together. They must have advanced technology to travel for great distances. We could seriously benefit from their technology. But if they aren’t friendly, then we are in trouble. Hope that we have become advanced enough, smart enough, and generally a better race by the time we meet them. But this is all probably being discussed for nothing, because any race out there among the stars is probably as curious as we are about other creatures.

1. The underlined word in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by ___________.

A. unpleasant           B. shocking                C. expected               D. serious

2. What will humans do if the earth dies?

A. Humans have to face death.                          B. Humans will travel and live in space.

C. Humans will move to another planet.                   D. Humans will go back to the past time.

3. According to the author, the following statements are right about aliens EXCEPT that _________.

A. we can learn from aliens if they are friendly

B. when aliens arrive, humans will be smarter than them

C. aliens may be as curious as we human beings about other planets

D. aliens have more advanced technology than us

4. After reading the passage, we can know that the passage is based on_________.

A. scientific facts                            B. time and space

C. advanced technology                     D. the author’s imagination

Two weeks before Christmas，Mother told me we were going to my grandmother's house for the holiday.Grandma and Uncle Henry lived on a farm some 15 miles out of town.They had no electricity or running water and__1__what I considered the “good things” in life.They__2__made no plans for Christmas.When Christmas Eve arrived，Mom told me in her “I-mean-it” voice to__3__all the decorations(装饰物)from our tree.She packed those up，__4__all the trimmings(配料)for a __5__turkey dinner.

Christmas morning__6__perfectly，with the sun shining brightly across a fresh blanket of snow.__7__I sulked(生气)silently in the backseat of the car as we made our__8__to grandma's.This was going to be the __9__Christmas ever!

Grandma was__10__to see us as we walked up to her door.“What on earth are you doing here？”she stammered.“We weren't expecting__11__.It's Christmas，and I don't even have a turkey to cook for you.”“I knew__12__.”Mom said as we set boxes of goodies on the kitchen table.“That's__13__we brought one with us.”“We__14__have a tree，”Mom insisted.“__15__，what will we do with all these decorations？”

Uncle Henry quickly caught Mom's spirit.He called me to join him，and we found a perfect Christmas tree in the woods.Soon the house __16__fresh and piney as we decorated the tree，and the day__17__a festive air.The turkey dinner was very good，too.I was actually beginning to enjoy this unusual Christmas day!

Dessert was forgotten__18__Mom came out with the final surprise—a flaming(燃烧的)pudding! “Merry Christmas，Mother，”Mom said.“Dear me！” Grandma gasped.“I haven't seen a flaming pudding since I left England before I was married.”Tears of__19__filled her eyes.

I could not keep the tears__20__my eyes，either.I knew then that Mom had also given me the best Christmas present ever—she had taught me what a beautiful thing it is to give.

1．A.prepared      B．lacked 

C．refused  D．desired

2．A.also      B．still 

C．never      D．hardly

3．A.replace        B．collect 

C．remove  D．show

4．A.instead of    B．by the side of

C．along with      D．in spite of

5．A.normal        B．complete 

C．fresh       D．separate

6．A.dawned       B．passed 

C．broke      D．happened

7．A.But      B．So 

C．And        D．Then

8．A.decision       B．way 

C．wish       D．plan

9．A.last      B．busiest 

C．best        D．worst

10．A.expected    B．eager 

C．surprised        D．ready

11．A.anyone       B．others 

C．someone        D．no one

12．A.you    B．it 

C．that         D．this

13．A.how  B．why 

C．where     D．when

14．A.may  B．will 

C．can         D．must

15．A.Meanwhile        B．Therefore

C．However        D．Otherwise

16．A.improved  B．smelled 

C．became  D．changed

17．A.showed up        B．carried on

18．A.until  B．after 

C．because  D．unless

19．A.sadness     B．joy 

C．regret      D．worry

20．A.inside        B．back 

C．into         D．from

第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题, 第二节5小题；每小题2分, 满分50分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
A
Nate suffered a hard blow when he lost his job. His boss had spoken rudely, “Your services are no longer needed.” Nate left the building filled with despair. By the time he reached home, he was in a deep depression. When he entered his house, he blurted out to his wife Sophia, “I lost my job. I am a complete, utter failure.” A tense silence followed. Then a smile crept across Sophia’s face. “What great news!” she responded.
“Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write.”
“But I have no job and no prospect of a job,” YC he objected, completely without hope. “If I struggle to be an author, then what will we live on? Where will the money come from?” Sophia took her husband by the hand and led him to the kitchen. Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of cash. “Where on earth did you get this?” Nate gasped. “To whom does it belong?”
“It’s ours!” Sophia replied. “I always knew that one day you would become a great writer if only you were given the chance. From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have saved as much as I could so you would have your chance. Now there is enough to last us a whole year.”
What a surprise! What encouragement! What a wife! The unemployed husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary masterpiece. The book is The Scarlet Letter. Sophia had an even greater achievement, and she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous master.   
41．Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A．Sophia was very disappointed to hear the news  
B．Nate was too sad to speak any more
C．Sophia was thinking of how to encourage Nate  
D．Neither husband nor wife had any idea what to do
42．Sophia saved money because ______.
A．she knew her husband would lose his job one day  
B．she knew their life would be in difficulty
C．she was very careful with money  
D．she was trying to help her husband in every possible way
43．From the passage we can know that Sophia was ______.
A．kind and brave                                    B．careful and encouraging
C．friendly and warm-hearted                    D．honest and determined
44．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Sophia’s Achievement.                        B．A great writer’s struggle to success.
C．Great encouragement in hard times.      D．Failure is the mother of success.