A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed. purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture.
But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete (已废弃的). Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.
The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns. When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves.The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say.
He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you."
A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.
In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle.
【小题1】All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except     .

A few degrees can make a big difference when it comes to food storage. Foods can go bad if they get too warm. But for many of the world’s poor, finding a good way to keep food cool is difficult. Refrigerators are costly and they need electricity.

   Yet spoiled food not only creates health risks but also economic losses. Farmers lose money when they have to throw away products that they cannot sell quickly.

    But in nineteen ninety-five a teacher in northern Nigeria named Mohammed Bah Abba found a solution. He developed the “Pot-in-Pot Preservation/Cooling System.” It uses two round containers made of clay. A smaller pot is placed inside a larger one. The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand. The inner pot can be filled with fruit, vegetables or drinks. A wet cloth covers the whole cooling system.

    Food stored in the smaller pot is kept from spoiling through a simple evaporation(蒸发) process. Water in the sand between the two pots evaporates through the surface of the larger pot, where drier outside air is moving.

    The evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of several degrees. This cools the inner pot and helps keep food safe from harmful bacteria. Some foods can be kept fresh this way for several weeks.

    People throughout Nigeria began using the invention. And it became popular with farmers in other African countries. Mohammed Bah Abba personally financed the first five thousand pot-in-pot systems for his own community and five villages nearby.

    In two thousand, the Rolex Watch Company of Switzerland honored him with the Rolex Award for Enterprise. This award recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed at improving human knowledge and well-being. A committee considers projects in science and medicine, technology, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural history. Winners receive financial assistance to help develop and extend their projects.

1.Which is the best title of the passage?

A.  A Few Degrees can Make a Big Difference for Storage

B.  A Cool Way to Keep Food from Spoiling

C.  Spoiled Food Creates Health Risks and Economic Losses

D.  The Evaporation Process Creates a Drop in Temperature

2.What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A. the structure of the invention

B. the usage of the invention

C. the cost of the invention

D. the inspiration of the invention

3.What is it that essentially keeps the food in the container from spoiling?

A. the wet cloth covering the cooling system.

B. the moving drier air outside the container

C. the wet sand between the containers

D. a drop in temperature by evaporation

4.According to the passage, where can we possibly see the invention?

A. rich and advanced families

B. scientific experiment laboratory

C. poor and underdeveloped area

D. supermarket needing to store goods

5.We can know from the passage that Mohammed Bah Abba ____________.

A. invented the controversial cooling system

B. financed the systems in all communities

C. received financial assistance for his invention

D. invented more complicated cooling system later

A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed. purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture.

But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete (已废弃的). Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.

The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns. When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves.The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say.

He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you."

A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.

In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle.

1.All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except     .

2.The underlined sentence in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to       .

3.Why did Tom Urban remove his jacket, loosen his tie, undo his collar and roll up his sleeves before he spoke?

4.What did the employees feel after Tom Urban apologized to them?

A few months ago, I had the responsibility of delivering some donations (捐赠物) to the local City Mission, a place where the homeless, and often the injured can find shelter from a life that has been turned upside down for them.

It was late autumn, and already the promise of winter was whispering through the open windows of the Mission's storage area.

After setting the donations near the sorting table, I said goodbye to the worker, and headed back through the dining area towards the door.

I was careful not to notice the people sitting at the tables, choosing to leave before feeling the guilt (罪过) of my " having", in the midst of so many who have nothing.

But it was not to be.

"Not yet," I heard a woman's voice say. "Not till we pray (祈祷)."

I was behind them when the mother bowed her head and began one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard, and I stopped where I was to look over at the table.  A young mother was there with her two young boys, one about three years old on her left, the other, about five, on her right. Both were waiting, heads bowed, eyes closed.

My heart broke as I watched and listened. She was in a leg cast (腿上打着石膏), and scars (伤疤) covered her arms, her face and head.

One of the younger ladies working at the Mission had come to stand beside me, and she whispered, "She's a single mom; her husband just took off one day and didn't come back. She came here when their apartment caught fire. She was burned getting her kids out."

She started to say something else but stopped.

We were silent ... and the words this young mother said in our silence will always follow me, "... and thanks for the fruit on the ground, when I just can't reach the tree."

54. By saying "Not yet", the woman probably wanted to______.

A. thank the author for sending the food   B. ask her children to pray before eating

C. blame those who have too much       D. pray for the happiness of her children

55. Why did the woman come to the City Mission?

A. Because her husband left her and her children.

B. Because she suffered from a serious disease.

C. Because her house caught fire suddenly.

D. Because she was out of work.

56. From the last paragraph, we can infer that the woman was ______.

A. happy to find the fallen fruit on the ground

B. regretful for not climbing the tree for the fruit

C. satisfied to pick up the fruit for her children

D. grateful very much for the help she received

A few months ago, I had the responsibility of delivering some donations (捐赠物) to the local City Mission, a place where the homeless, and often the injured can find shelter from a life that has been turned upside down for them.
It was late autumn, and already the promise of winter was whispering through the open windows of the Mission's storage area.
After setting the donations near the sorting table, I said goodbye to the worker, and headed back through the dining area towards the door.
I was careful not to notice the people sitting at the tables, choosing to leave before feeling the guilt (罪过) of my " having", in the midst of so many who have nothing.
But it was not to be.
"Not yet," I heard a woman's voice say. "Not till we pray (祈祷)."
I was behind them when the mother bowed her head and began one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard, and I stopped where I was to look over at the table.  A young mother was there with her two young boys, one about three years old on her left, the other, about five, on her right. Both were waiting, heads bowed, eyes closed.
My heart broke as I watched and listened. She was in a leg cast (腿上打着石膏), and scars (伤疤) covered her arms, her face and head.
One of the younger ladies working at the Mission had come to stand beside me, and she whispered, "She's a single mom; her husband just took off one day and didn't come back. She came here when their apartment caught fire. She was burned getting her kids out."
She started to say something else but stopped.
We were silent ... and the words this young mother said in our silence will always follow me, "... and thanks for the fruit on the ground, when I just can't reach the tree."

1. 1.

   By saying "Not yet", the woman probably wanted to______.

   1. A.
      thank the author for sending the food  
   2. B.
      ask her children to pray before eating
   3. C.
      blame those who have too much      
   4. D.
      pray for the happiness of her children
2. 2.

   Why did the woman come to the City Mission?

   1. A.
      Because her husband left her and her children.
   2. B.
      Because she suffered from a serious disease.
   3. C.
      Because her house caught fire suddenly.
   4. D.
      Because she was out of work.
3. 3.

   From the last paragraph, we can infer that the woman was ______.

   1. A.
      happy to find the fallen fruit on the ground
   2. B.
      regretful for not climbing the tree for the fruit
   3. C.
      satisfied to pick up the fruit for her children
   4. D.
      grateful very much for the help she received