Plant scientists consider them as fruit．Most other people think of them as vegetables．Whatever you call tomatoes, there are many different kinds of this popular and healthy food．
There are two groups of the plants．Small tomato plants grow to about one meter．They can be planted rather close together．Some short kinds do not require special care and are often gotten crop by machines．Large tomato plants can grow over two meters tall．They also produce larger fruits．
People who grow only a few plants can place wire cages around each one．The cage can be made of wire fence material．The cage helps the plant grow taller and produce a better crop．
Tomatoes often need extra calcium(Ca), or the fruits may be ruined．Add lime to the soil can solve this problem．Dry lands may also ruin the fruits．Tomatoes need water regularly．The soil should never dry out completely．Dried grass or leaves placed around the plant can help hold water in the soil and stop the growth of unwanted plants．
Tomatoes are native to South America．The tomato is a member of the potato family．The leaves of the plant are poisonous, like the leaves of its relatives．Before the 18th century, people grew tomatoes only as pretty plants．They called the bright red fruit a “love apple”, but would not eat it．
(1)
Which of the following is right about the small tomato plants?
[ ]
A．
They can grow to about 2 meters．
B．
They can’t be planted close together．
C．
Some of them don’t require special care．
(2)
People place wire cages around the plant in order to _________．
[ ]
A．
protect the plant from being taken by others．
B．
help the plant grow taller and produce a better crop
C．
keep the plant from being eaten by animals
(3)
The underlined word “ruin” probably means “_________”．
[ ]
A．
grow
B．
destroy
C．
stop
(4)
People often give tomatoes extra calcium by _________．
[ ]
A．
adding lime to the soil
B．
watering the plant regularly
C．
putting dried grass around the plant
(5)
What can we learn from the passage?
[ ]
A．
Tomatoes are native to North America．
B．
The leaves of the plant can also be eaten．
C．
Americans began to eat tomatoes from the 18th century．
What will the house of the future look like? Could it have gardens on its walls, or a pool with fish for dinner? Architects believe that they are all possibilities．The only thing for sure is that the houses will be as green as possible．
The tree house
Many architects in the world would like to build a “tree house．” Like a leaf, the surface of the house collects sunlight during the day．The energy can be used to heat water, produce electricity, and even create fresh air for the home．The “root”(根)of the house is deep under the ground．It uses the soil(土壤)to the home’s temperature．
The Lizard house
Like a lizard(蜥蜴), changing color with the weather is the most important design of a lizard house．When it’s in the bright sun, the cover of the house will turn dark to protect it from strong heat．During dark days, it turns white and takes in as much light and heat as possible to produce energy．
Meals at home
This design is perhaps as much about the future of food production as architecture(建筑风格)．It has gardens on the outside wall of the house．People can plant tomatoes, carrots and green tea on them．So every day in the morning, you just need to walk outside and collect your meals．
Learning from the past
Looking to the future isn’t the only way to be green．Sometimes, ancient techniques(古老的技术)can also help cut down energy use．For example, a chimney(烟囱)can be a useful air conditioner because it is easier of hot air to flow out at the chimney．
(1)
What is the best title(标题)of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Green house of the future．
B．
The greener, the better．
C．
How to build green houses．
D．
Changes of the houses．
(2)
We can heat water, produce electricity or create fresh air for the home．
[ ]
A．
with the root of a leaf．
B．
with the energy from sunlight．
C．
with the soil under the ground
D．
with gardens on its walls．
(3)
What will happen to the cover of the lizard house when it’s in the bright sun?
[ ]
A．
It will take in light．
B．
It will produce energy．
C．
It will turn dark．
D．
It will turn white．
(4)
The passage seems to tell us that meals at home in the future．
[ ]
A．
will be more delicious．
B．
need more cooks．
C．
cost as much as possible．
D．
will be greener．
(5)
A chimney can be a useful air conditioner but it used to cause ________．
[ ]
A．
pollution．
B．
accident．
C．
noise．
D．
techniques．
阅读理解
As the sun rose, a dewdrop(露珠)woke up．There it sat on a leaf, catching the sunlight．Proud of its simple beauty, it was very happy．Around it were other dewdrops, some on the same leaf and some on other leaves．The dewdrop was sure that it was the best, the most special dewdrop of them all．
Ah, it was good to be a dewdrop．
The wind blew and the plant began to shake, tipping(使倾斜)the leaf．The dewdrop became frightened as it started to move towards the edge of the leaf．Why was this happening? Things were comfortable．Things were safe．Why did they have to change? Why? Why?
The dewdrop reached the edge of the leaf．It was sure that this was the end．The day had only just begun and the end had come so quickly．It seemed so unfair．It seemed so meaningless．It tried hard to do whatever it could to stay on the leaf, but it was no use．
Finally, it fell．Below there was a mirror．A reflection(反射)of the dewdrop seemed to be coming up to meet it．Closer and closer they came together until finally…the little dewdrop became a part of the great pond(池塘)．Now the dewdrop was no more, but it was not destroyed．
It had become one with the whole．
(1)
According to Paragraph 1, we know that the dewdrop ________．
[ ]
A．
didn't get on well with other dewdrops
B．
thought its beauty was too simple
C．
regarded itself as the best dewdrop
D．
couldn't get any sunlight
(2)
The dewdrop became ________ as it started to move towards the edge of the leaf．
[ ]
A．
afraid
B．
happy
C．
proud
D．
comfortable
(3)
Which of the following is TRUE according to the story?
[ ]
A．
There was only one dewdrop on the leaf．
B．
The dewdrop did nothing before falling．
C．
The mirror in the story refers to(指)the pond．
D．
The dewdrop was actually destroyed．
(4)
The story mainly tells us that ________．
[ ]
A．
we should work together against difficulties
B．
people should not be too proud of themselves
C．
one should work hard for his/her goals
D．
it's good to become one with the whole
阅读理解
Can plants eat people? Probably(可能)not, but there are many plants that eat meat．Some of them are big, and they can eat small animals．One famous(著名的)meat-eating plant is the Venus flytrap(捕蝇草)．
The Venus flytrap is a very strange(奇怪的)plant．It grows in dry parts of the USA．Its leaves(叶子)are like the pages of a book．They can open and close very quickly．Inside the leaves, there are three small hairs．If a fly(苍蝇)touches(触及)one of the hairs, the leaf closes quickly．The fly cannot get out．In about half an hour, the leaf presses the fly until it is dead(死亡)．Then, the plant covers the fly．Slowly, the plant eats the fly．
Why do plants do it? Most plants get what they need from the sun, the air, and the ground．In some places, the ground is very poor．It doesn't have all these important things, especially(特别)nitrogen(氮), Animal meat has a lot of nitrogen, so some plants eat meat to get what they need．Let's hope that some of the bigger plants don't get the same idea!
(1)
The Venus flytrap is a kind of ________．
[ ]
A．
plant
B．
animal
C．
food
D．
meat
(2)
The Venus flytrap grows in ________．
[ ]
A．
most parts of the world
B．
some parts of Japan
C．
dry parts of the USA
D．
wet parts of England
(3)
From the passage, we learn that ________．
[ ]
A．
all plants can eat people
B．
all plants can eat animals
C．
some plants can eat people
D．
some plants can eat animals
(4)
The underlined word "presses" probably means ________ in Chinese．
[ ]
A．
挤压
B．
关上
C．
打开
D．
松开
(5)
Why do some plants eat animal meat? Because ________．
[ ]
A．
plants are dangerous(危险的)to animals
B．
animals are dangerous to plants
C．
plants want to get what they need from animal meat
D．
plants want to protect(保护)themselves against animals
阅读理解
Most American children eat potatoes．But many children don't know what of the potato is the best for food．Take a knife and cut from the middle of the potato a piece as thin as paper．Hold the piece between your eyes and light．You will see that the potato has skin(皮)，an outside rim(边缘) and an inside part．The outside rim which is right under the skin of the potato，is the most valuable part of all．But this is often thrown away with the skin．Even the skin itself is better for food than the inside．When eating a cooked potato，if you choose the inside and leave the outside，you are throwing the best part of it．If you can't eat the whole potato，eating the outside rim and leaving the inside will do．
(1)
How many parts does the potato have?
A．It has only one part，outside rim．
B．It has two parts，skin and outside rim．
C．It has three parts，skin，outside rim and an inside part．
D．It has four parts，middle，skin，outside rim and an inside part．
[ ]
(2)
What is the best part of a potato?
A．Outside rim． B．Inside part． C．Middle． D．Skin．
[ ]
(3)
What should you eat first if you can't eat the whole potato?
A．Skin only． B．Inside． C．Outside rim． D．Part of it．
[ ]
(4)
In fact the skin is ______．
A．no good at all
B．better than the inside part
C．better than the outside rim
D．as good as the outside rim
[ ]
(5)
What does this passage tell about potatoes?
A．How to cook them．
B．How to plant them．
C．What is made up of a potato．
D．How to eat them．
[ ]
阅读理解
How many of us have looked up at the stars and wondered about other worlds?Of course，we know a great deal about the universe now but for people living thousands of years ago，the stars were a mystery(神秘的事物)．Astrology(占星术) is one of the world's most ancient (古代的) ideas．It started 3,000 years ago and was used to predict (预言) what would happen to countries and to people in the future．
Horoscopes and astrology were developed by the ancient Greeks．They believed that the position(位置) of the sun and the planets could affect a person's life and what would happen to them in the future．Astrology is actually a Greek word that means“science of the stars”．Even famous Greek thinkers like Plato thought astrology was important and he studied it carefully．Later Europeans thought that Plato was a genius so they continued to follow his ideas about the stars．
Some people think that farmers started the horoscope to help them decide when to plant and harvest their crops．They needed to know what time of the year it was．For example，Scorpio can only be seen in the evening sky in the summer．Some historians (历史学家) think that many of the myths (神话) associated with star signs were invented to help farmers remember cultures．People who spent their lives moving from one place to another，like the Mongols，used the stars to tell them when and where to go．
The Catholic Church(教堂)，which was very powerful a long time ago，told people not to take notice of horoscopes．It was not until the seventeenth century that people were able to freely use the horoscope again．Today many people think the horoscope is just fun but some people take it very seriously．
(1)
What did people long ago know about the stars?
A．How far away they were． B．How many there were．
C．Not very much．D．That they were not real．
[ ]
(2)
Which best describes how old astrology is?
A．It is a recent idea． B．It is a very old idea．
C．It is modern idea．D．It is something from the future．
[ ]
(3)
What did later Europeans think about Plato?
A．That he was really clever．
B．That he was able to tell them what would happen in the future．
C．That he was a star．
D．That he should be ignored in the seventeenth century．
[ ]
(4)
What might astrology have started for?
A．Farmers needed to know when to move．
B．Farmers needed to know when to rest．
C．Farmers needed to manage their crops．
D．Farmers needed to study．
[ ]
(5)
Why were myths for the horoscope invented?
A．To make them more fun． B．To sell newspapers．
C．To help people remember them．D．To make them easier to see．
