In the early days of human history,people survived by hunting wild ani?mals,or gathering wild grains and plants for food. Then,some people learn?ed to grow crops and raise animals for food. They were the first farmers.

  Since the 16th century,the word "farm" has meant agricultural land. But a much older meaning of the word " farm" is linked to economics. The word "farm" comes from the Latin word, "firma", which means an unchanging payment.

  Experts say the earliest meaning of the English word "farm" was a yearly payment made as a tax or rent.

  Farmers in early England did not own their land. They paid every year to use agricultural land.

  Farmers know that it is necessary to make hay (干草) while the sun shines.

Hay has to be cut and gathered when it is dry. So a wise farmer never postpones gathering his hay when the sun is shining. Rain may soon appear.

  A wise person copies the farmer. He works when conditions are right.

  A new mother,for example,quickly learns to try to sleep when her baby is quiet,even in the middle of the day. If the mother delays,she may lose her chance to .sleep. So,the mother learns "to make hay while the sun shines".

  Beans are a popular farm crop. But beans are used to describe something of very little value in the expression "not worth a hill of beans". The expres?sion is often used today.

  You could say,for example,that a bad idea is " not worth a hill of beans". Language expert Charles Earle Funk said the expression was first used almost seven hundred years ago. He said Robert of Gloucester described a message from the King of Germany to King John of England as altogether "not worth a bean.”

1. Which of the following is NOT the meaning of "farm"?

   A. Agricultural land.

   B. An unchanging payment.

   C. A yearly payment.

   D. Different kinds of businesses.

2. Which can explain the meaning of "to make hay while the sun shines"?

   A. To make hay dry when it is fine.

   B. To make good use of an opportunity.

   C. To cut grass to feed animals.

   D. To gather hay when it is fine.

3. What does the expression "not worth a hill of beans" mean?

   A. Very little value.

   B. Proper conditions.

   C. A possible loss.

   D. A bad idea.

4. How is the passage developed?

   A. By giving the facts.

   B. By giving examples.

   C. By comparing.

   D. By the order of time.

5. What can we know from the passage?

   A. Charles Earle Funk was an ancient language expert.

   B. Robert of Gloucester is a German language expert.

   C. The word "farm" got its new meaning since the 18th century.

   D. The phrase "not worth a hill of beans" was used about 700 years ago.

 

 I was just 13 when my mother left this world. It was a time when I didn't even know the meaning of re?lations and the effect of losing someone close to heart. Like anyone else,I also love my mother so much. Still remember I was so young and every afternoon used to play with other children in my playground. Just a few days before that incident she used to call me to stay at home and to be with her but most of the time   I ignored or just said " I am coming. I am coming. " like any other kid of that age and continued to play with friends. Obviously I just could even think in my dream what was going to happen in next few days. My friends and badminton were more important at that time. I still used to see her in my dream in the same situation call?ing me to stay at home but I am busy in playground. Now whenever I wake up with this dream I spend my entire day in tears and blaming myself for not being there with her when she needed me and now when I need her she is no longer with me.

  This incident had a great effect on my life. I real?ized that never ignore anyone who needs you especially if they are your loved ones. In the last 17 years,I un?derstood the value of each relation,and this is a big reason now why I care everyone so much. I know how much it pains when you lose someone close to your heart. With this,I just want to say that you should love every person you connect with and value each rela?tion as we never know what is going to happen in the next moment. Life is too short so just keep smiling and live happily.

1,What happened to the writer when she was 13 years old?

   A. She began to love playing badminton.

   B. She lost her mother forever.

   C. She started to hate staying at home.

   D. She enjoyed playing with classmates.

2. What were more important to the writer when she was a child?

   A. Her mother and father.

   B. Her friends and badminton.

   C. The playground and football.

   D. Her family and friends.

3. Why does the writer always spend the whole day in tears when she dreams her mother?

   A. She regretted not staying with her mother.

   B. She missed her mother very much.

   C. Her mother didn't love her any longer.

   D. She felt very sad at losing her mother.

4. How old is the writer now?

   A. She is 17 years old.

   B. She is 30 years old.

   C. She is 27 years old.

   D. She is 33 years old.

5. What does the incident teach the writer?

   A. Don't ignore anyone you love.

   B. Realize that life is too short.

   C. Keeping smile is very important in life.

   D. Love me,love my dog.

  There are three reasons why I don't think that we are ready for cloning.

  Firstly,we don't know exactly what the consequences of cloning would be. For example,if scientists cloned a man,they might know what he would look like,but they wouldn't know his dominant traits. What would happen if scientists cloned another Hitler or others like him? Do you really think we would survive if this became a reality?

  Secondly,cloning raises many ethical questions. Look back at the cloned man I presented and ask yourself these questions :

  "Do you really think that he would be a man?"

  "Who would be responsible for him?"

  "Do you think he should have the same rights as we have?" I don't think that we can answer these questions now.

  Lastly,we don't know exactly what the meaning of life is. In my opinion,creating life is the duty of nature,and we must not interfere with that task be?cause we can't understand the extremely complicated relationships among lives that are defined by nature. Usually these relationships are extremely complex. Sometimes,they seem to be so untouchable that they cannot be changed. From my point of view,we have to look at the natural environment around us. We can see that an ecosystem (生态系统) is composed of a lot of different kinds of life,and each life has its own function within the system. If we inter?fere with that,I think it could lead to our extinction.

  Even though cloning may have a lot of benefits for humans,I think we should stop cloning because we do not understand it and can't control all of its effects. Maybe in future,we will be ready to do it,but that time has not yet arrived.

1. According to the author,we are not ready for cloning because        .

   A. two or more people would have the same appearance

   B. scientists wouldn't be sure about the personalities of the cloned people

   C. people may not function properly if there are more cloned human beings

   D. cloning has not been permitted by the government

2. According to the author,ethical questions refer to        .

   A. the rights and responsibilities of the cloned man

   B. the relationships among people

   C. whether a person's personality is good or not

   D. the education and academic qualifications of a person

3. In the third argument the author fears that we will        if we create life at will.

   A. change the natural environment around us

   B. disturb the ecosystem in nature

   C. suffer from overpopulation

   D. accelerate the extinction of animals

4. According to the passage,what's the author's attitude towards cloning?

   A. Positive.

   B. Critical.

   C. Indifferent.

   D. Ironic.

5. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

   A. To clone or not

   B. Why should we stop cloning?

   C. A scientific research on cloning

   D. The advantages and disadvantages of cloning

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