Snowy was a little cat. He lived with a little old lady who loved Snowy very much. Sometimes the old lady would sit in her rocking chair, rocking backwards and forwards until she fell asleep or sometimes she would play little tunes(曲子) on her piano.

One sunny day, Snowy jumped up on the window sill(窗台). Snowy wanted to go out and play with the pretty butterflies, but the window was shut and the old lady had fallen asleep in her rocking chair.

He ran to the door but that was shut, too. He sat down near the old lady's feet and said,“Miaou?” That was his way of saying, “May I go out to play, please?” The old lady didn't hear him but stayed fast asleep.

He rubbed his soft head against the old lady's legs. Still the old lady slept. So Snowy sat down and thought hard. Then he had an idea. He would jump up on the piano and play a tune. That might wake her up. So Snowy jumped up onto the piano and was a little scared of the loud, big, deep drum sound he made as he landed.

He took another little step. It wasn't quite such a loud note(调子). Up and down the notes he walked until he reached the very high notes which sounded like lots of bells. But the old lady woke up.

“What are you doing, Snowy?” She asked but she wasn't angry. “Miaou,” said Snowy, running to the closed door. “How clever you are to wake me up by playing the piano!” said the old lady as she let Snowy out into the sunshine.

1.Where did the old lady often fall asleep?(within 4 words)

_________________

2.What did Snowy want to do by jumping onto the window sill?(within 10 words)

_________________

3.What did Snowy jump on the piano to do?(within 10 words)

_________________

4.How did Snowy feel when he landed on the piano?(within 5 words)

_________________

5.What did the old lady do in the end?(within 10 words)

_________________

Nowadays, the food that you buy comes from many different countries. Have a look in your fridge, cupboard, and fruit bowl and check the origins(来源) of the food. Perhaps there are apples from California, lamb from New Zealand, or potatoes from Egypt? You will probably be surprised how far food travels to get to your plate. This journey, from “field to plate”, is called “food miles”. A food mile is the distance that food travels from the farmer's field to the person who buys the food. Nowadays, food often travels thousands of miles to get to the consumer(消费者). Why is this, and what are the effects(影响) of these long distances?

Traditionally, farmers sold their food in the local market, so the food didn't have to travel very far. The consumers also did not travel very far because they went to their local market to buy the food. This was a good system for farmers and consumers. However, there were some disadvantages. For example, consumers could only buy food that farmers produced locally. In addition, they could only get food that was in season. Now, because of modern technology, food comes from all over the world. We do not have to wait for spring or summer to buy strawberries or tomatoes. They are available in winter if we want.

Some countries have to import(进口) most of their food. This is because they have difficult climates. The United Arab Emirates(UAE), for example, gets 85% of its food from other countries. Even food made in the UAE often uses imported materials.

What's wrong with “food miles”? Is this not a good way of increasing international trade? I believe these miles are worrying for a number of reasons. First of all, because food travels such long distances, we need more planes, lorries, and ships to move the food. This means we use more oil or petrol, so there is more pollution and more global(全球的) warming. In addition, food that travels a long way is not fresh and usually not very tasty. Tomatoes, for example, are picked early and stored for their long journeys. For this reason, they are usually tasteless when they get to the consumer. Local food has a better taste, and it also reduces the amount of global pollution. We need to buy more local food.

1.What is called “food miles” according to this passage?

A. The origins of the food.

B. The effects of longs distances .

C. The journey from field to plate.

D. The disadvantages of imported food.

2.The underlined word “available” in Paragraph 2 most probably means “________”.

A. easy to get B. not busy

C. willing to talk D. Impossible to get

3.Some countries, like the United Arab Emirates, have to import most of their food because of ________.

A. long distances B. difficult climates

C. fresh and tasty food D. modern technology

4.The writer uses the LAST paragraph mostly to encourage readers to ________.

A. buy more local food B. increase international trade

C. travel long distances D. use imported materials

5.This passage is mainly about ________.

A. how local food travels from field to plate

B. what “food miles” is and its effects

C. how some countries import their food

D. where different kinds of food come from

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