When I left home for college, I sought to escape the limited world of farmers, small towns, and country life. I long for the excitement of the city, for the fast pace that rural life lacked, for adventure beyond the horizon. I dreamed of exploring the city, living within a new culture and landscape, and becoming part of the pulse of an urban jungle.

Yet some of my best times were driving home, leaving the city behind and slipping back into the valley. As city life disappeared and traffic thinned, I could see the faces of the other drivers relax. Then, around a bend in the highway, the grassland of the valley would come into being, offering a view of gentle rolling hills. The land seemed permanent. I felt as if I had stepped back in time.

I took comfort in the stability of the valley. Driving through small farm communities, I imagined the founding families still rooted in their grand homes, generations working the same lands, neighbors remaining neighbors for generations. I allowed familiar farmhouse landmarks to guide me.

Close to home, I often turned off the main highway and took a different, getting familiar farms again and testing my memory. Friends lived in those houses. I had eaten meals and spent time there; I had worked on some of these farms, lending a hand during a peak harvest, helping a family friend for a day or two. The houses and lands looked the same, and I could picture the gentle faces and hear familiar voices as if little had been changed. As I eased into our driveway I’d returned to old ways, becoming a son once again, a child on the family farm. My feelings were honest and real. How I longed for a land where life stood still and my memories could be relived. When I left the farm for college, I could only return as visitor to the valley, a traveler looking for home.

Now the farm is once again my true home. I live in that farmhouse and work the permanent lands. My world may seem unchanged to casual observers, but they are wrong. I know this: if there’s a constant on these farms, it’s the constant of change.

The good observer will recognize the differences. A farmer replants an orchard (果园) with a new variety of peaches. Irrigation is added to block of old grapes, so I imagine the vineyard has a new owner. Occasionally the changes are clearly evident, like a FOR SALE sign. But I need to read the small print in order to make sure that a bank has taken possession of the farm. Most of the changes contain two stories. One is the physical change of the farm, the other involves the people on that land, the human story behind the change.

I’ve been back on the farm for a decade and still haven’t heard all the stories behind the changes around me. But once I add my stories to the landscape, I can call this place my home, a home that continues to evolve and changes as I add more and more of my stories.

A poet returns to the valley and says, “Little has changed in the valley, and how closed–minded you all are!” He comments about the lack of interest in sports, social and environmental issues in the poverty and inequality of our life. He was born and raised here, so he might have the right to criticize and lecture us. Yet he speaks for many who think they know the valley. How differently would others think of us if they knew the stories of a grape harvest in a wet year or a peach without a home?

1.The most important reason why the writer wanted to move to the city is that_________.

A. he did not want to work on the farm

B. he wanted to make new friends

C. he was eager for a different life there

D. there were more things to do there

2.What made the writer relax as he drove from the city to the country?

A. He could see for miles and miles.

B. The traffic moved more slowly.

C. The people he passed seemed to be calmer.

D. The land seemed familiar to him.

3.When driving through the valley the writer was guided home by________ .

A. familiar farmhouses which left him a good memory

B. houses that had sheltered generations of the same family

C. land that had been worked by a family for generations

D. large farms which stretched out right before him.

4.When he was in college, why was the writer sad when he returned to his family home?

A. He remembered how hard he used to work.

B. He realized that he was only a visitor.

C. He recognized the old housed and land.

D. He remembered his next door neighbors.

5.Which of the following most likely indicates that there is a sad human story behind a physical change on the farm?

A. A new variety of peach is being planted.

B. Irrigation is being added to a grape operation.

C. A piece of land is being sold by a bank.

D. A farm is being sold to a large corporation.

6.The fact that most upsets the writer with the poet is that________.

A. the poet prefers to live in the urban area

B. the poet thinks that the folk people are backward

C. the poet says that little has changed in the valley

D. the poet’s criticism and comments are not objective

Can food be free, fresh and easily accessible? That’s the bold (大胆) question that the city of Seattle is hoping to answer with a new experimental farm not far from the city’s downtown area that will have fruits and vegetables for anyone to harvest this fall.

On Beacon Hill, just south of central Seattle, landscape developers and a few affordable-food advocates are building an eatable food forest. Everything grown in the area will be eatable. And it’ll be open around the clock to anyone who wants to come and pick some fresh blueberries or pears.

Organizers shared with National Geographic a list of the crop offerings. Many are expected: apples, berries and tomatoes. But others are pretty far-out. A large Asian community in the area suggested things like Asian pears and honeyberries. A European influence led to the planting of medlar trees.

The concept is modeled on permaculture, a design system and school of thought emphasizing the use of renewable nature resources and the enrichment of local ecosystems. Offering people free, fresh food is one motivation, but making the land useful and ecologically enriched is the larger goal.

That being said, some potential problems come to mind. What if all of one fruit is gone the first weekend when it’s ripe? What if people pick things too early and spoil the potential for everyone?

Organizers aren’t concerned about those questions. “We’ve had many discussions about what would happen if someone comes and picks all the blueberries,” says Margarett Harrison, the landscape architect designing the project.” But that’s been considered as a good thing. We’ll just plant more.”

Anything related to agriculture and good food — in large quantities — takes time. Most of the trees won’t be mature enough for a few more years. But a few decades could make the area impressively productive.

Idealistic? Perhaps. But it’s the kind of idealism that anyone who likes to eat fresh things from time to time can get behind. And that’s the type of motivation that organizers hope will keep going.

1. Paragraph 3 is mainly about _______.

A. the crops that will be harvested this fall

B. people’s attitude towards the project

C. which communities live in the area

D. how the food selection was made

2.What’s Margarett Hrrison’s attitude towards the potential problems the forest may face?

A. Concerned. B. Cautious.

C. Optimistic. D. Uninterested

3.The text is mainly about ______.

A. Seattle’s free food experiment

B. what the future of forests will be

C. agricultural development in Seattle

D. how to keep in harmony with nature

Humans may not have landed on Mars (火星) just yet, but that isn’t stopping a European company from devising a plan to send four people to the Red Planet within the next few years. This project, called Mars One, aims to send a small group of people to Mars in 2022 and eventually establish a permanent colony on the planet.

“Everything we need to go to Mars exists,” said Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp in March 2014. “We have the rockets to send people to Mars, the equipment to land on Mars, the robots to prepare the settlement for humans. For a one-way mission, all the technology exists.” Yet the four astronauts chosen for the trip will be stuck on Mars—forever. And despite Mars One’s thorough planning, there are a number of challenges that may prevent the mission from ever taking place. The biggest road block could be the mission's huge cost ($6 billion). However, Lansdorp is confident that Mars One will be able to fund the project by selling the broadcast rights for the mission and subsequent experiences living on the planet.

Those broadcast rights will also play a part in helping to select the people who will be sent to Mars. Lansdorp said the company will hold a selection process similar to a reality show. Lansdorp is expecting at least 1 million applications from people around the world. In addition to the cost, several other potential problems could inhibit (阻止) the mission to Mars.

“It’s even more challenging to send people there with life support, with food, with air, with all the other things like books, entertainment, means of communication and of providing for their own resources for a long stay on Mars,” said Adam Baker, senior lecturer in space engineering at Kingston University in London. “The size of the rockets you’d need to do this would be absolutely colossal.

1.According to Project Mars One, humans could send four people to Mars within the next ________years.

A.seven B.eight C.ten D.six

2.According to Bas Lansdorp, which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A.Robots are prepared for the settlement for humans.

B.He could not come up with the fund for Mars One.

C.We humans have the rockets to send people to Mars.

D.The equipment is ready for humans to land on Mars.

3.The word “colossal” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ___________.

A.very large B.very small

C.medium D.average

4.Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?

A.Ready for a Round Trip to Mars

B.Ready for a Short Visit to Mars

C.Ready for a One-way Trip to Mars

D.Ready for a Walk on Mars

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