Nowadays, the increase in the prices of agricultural products is one of the greatest concerns of the people and the government. The government has announced a series of policies(政策) to prevent the prices from rising further. Rising housing prices is still a big concern for the people, but since farm products are needed every day, the increase in their prices has made life very difficult for them.
Many people may think the increase will help farmers. But have higher prices of farm products really benefited the farmers? 
Take the increase in vegetable prices in the first half of this year for example. Though natural disasters such as droughts and spring frost did not cause the prices of farm products to increase greatly—in fact, prices of some products did not increase at all—vegetables have become dearer by as much as 20 percent compared to that of last year. This means only a small part (or even none) of the extra money that city people have paid to buy farm products has gone to the farmers. The extra cost actually has gone to middlemen.
As the fact shows, just increasing prices of farm products will have negative influence on the entire economy. On one hand, the price increase has created some abnormal phenomena, which hurts farmers’ interests. On the other hand, resources will enter the agriculture because of the high price of farm products, which would finally create negative effect on the whole economy.
In such a case, it would be better to leave the market to decide the prices instead of raising farm products’ prices to protect the interests of farmers. Actually, such a way will be better for farmers in the long run.
【小题1】What does the author mainly want to tell us by writing the passage? 

A.Farmers benefit a lot from the price increase.
B.Price increase has not helped farmers.
C.We should be sorry for farmers.
D.Price increase has a bad effect on economy.
【小题2】 Many people think the increase in the prices of farm products benefits ______ .
A. nobodyB.the countryC.middlemenD.farmers
【小题3】The following statements are true EXCEPT ______ .
A.the government has done something to prevent the prices from rising further
B.it is better for farmers to leave the market to decide the prices in the long run
C.natural disasters did not cause the prices of farm products to increase greatly
D.rising housing prices has made life very difficult for people
【小题4】What is probably the author’s attitude to raising the farm products’ prices? 
A.Negative.B.Indifferent.(漠不关心的)
C.Enthusiastic.D.Positive.


If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit.
But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee: public education.
At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing.
The United States does a good job enrolling (招生) teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree.
So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that. Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos. The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive. About half of the low-income students with a grade-point average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. “I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr. Bowen.
In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel(擅长)in producing drop-outs. “It’s really a waste,” Mr. Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country.” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen.
What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer.
71. Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?
A. The government.                          B. Public education
C. The Detroit automakers.                   D. The Wall Street firms.
72. What is a big problem with American higher education?
A. It is hard to enroll enough students into college.
B. Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation.
C. Many college students stay away from classes.
D. It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government.  
73. The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______.
A. running to the end of the line              B. going to college
C. finishing college education              D. working hard in college
74. Why do some students under--match ?
A. Because they have financial difficulty.       B. Because they face ambition crisis.
C. Because they lack confidence.               D. Because they can’t get guidance.
75. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. problems with secondary American education and possible solutions
B. America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence
C. low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence
D. relationship between American education and its economy


Nothing says love like a dozen long – stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. More than a million roses will be sold during this festival for lovers, the biggest day of the year for the nation’s rose industry. It’s going to remain the most popular flower because love never goes out of style.
Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose. But selling them is no longer a beautiful experience for traditional flower shops. Supermarkets now offer convenience to the busy and discount rose shops help those hopelessly in love save money. Roses only is a good example of a discount rose retailer that was transformed from a traditional shop to answer the challenge in the’ 90s.
Inside this store on Sixth Avenue near 40 th Street, contemporary white furniture and wall – to – wall mirrors give it an expensive look. Customers move about freely among the counters, looking eagerly at the roses in more than 50 colors from shelf to shelf. Some customers say it’s the high quality of the roses that attracts them there. “I spent $ 20 but the flowers looked like I paid 60 or 70 dollars,” says one customer.
Studies show more people are buying roses in ones, two and threes these days. In fact, more than half of all roses are sold in bunches of fewer than a dozen. But Roses Only's low prices encourage people to spend. Even on Valentine's Day, when the price of a dozen roses and delivery can soar as high as $150, 12 of Roses Only's most expensive flowers sell for just $35. The company's key to success is to hold prices down by controlling every link in the rose chain. It grows its own roses in the sunshine of the Andes Mountains. In addition, the company also sells other items such as ballons and stuffed animals.    
While discount rose retailers are witnessing their business bloom, U.S. rose growers aren’t able to compete with the fierce foreign competition. More than 57% of roses sold in the USA are grown in other countries. The biggest foreign producers are Colombia and Ecuador, which accounted for almost 90% of the total imported last year. The trend has hurt domestic rose growers such as Johnson Flowers of California, considered to be this country's leading producer.
Now, instead of fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. "We have a few big fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. “We may also widen our business to include the service area and be a representative for overseas flower producers.”
As a result of severe competition, those in the rose business long for the good old days, whereas ordinary people benefit from the low price.
60.What is the central theme of this text?
A.The US rose business is going from bad to worse in spite of the efforts made.
B.The rose will remain the most popular flower as love never goes out of date.
C.The rose business is trying to meet the challenges in the market to succeed.
D.The rose industry plays an important role in American economy.
61.How does Roses Only obtain success in the discount rose retailing field?
A.By setting up more chain stores across the country.
B.By selling roses in supermarkets.
C.By selling high quality roses at a low price.
D.By selling roses by the dozen.


 
62.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

(①to ⑦ represent paragraphs 1 to 7)
63.After reading the passage, we learn all of the following EXCEPT________.
A.Selling roses is no longer as easy for traditional flower shops as it was.
B.Almost 90% of roses sold in US are imported from Colombia and Ecuador.
C.US rose growers are faced with intense foreign competition.
D.the Johnsons are trying to co-operate with foreign competitors instead of fighting them.

In high school I joined the girl athletic club. At our first track meet, I entered for the long jump, but was made an alternate(替补)for the 50 yard dash. I didn’t like it, since I was better at long distance, but they assured me I would never have to run; they just ran out of alternate.
As I walked up to the start line, I saw my Dad on the sidelines. He was watching. Position, ready, set and off went the starting gun. Believe it or not, I closed my eyes and ran like I’d never run before.
I knew I didn’t have a chance of winning. But I started to hear cheering and thought for a minute, was it possible? I opened my eyes and to my disappointment, everyone else was crossing the finish line, inches away from each other and I was only half the distance.
That moment felt like days. I felt so stupid. I just wanted to melt into the ground and disappeared. Worse than that, my Dad was watching and then I felt ashamed. I kept running hard as I could, crying all the way towards the finish line. It seemed no one noticed me as I crossed the finish line. I saw my Dad standing there looking at me. I was ashamed to look at him. He walked over to me and said, “I’m so proud of you.” I was surprised, “For what? Everyone else finished before I even got halfway. I looked like a fool.” “Because you didn’t give up, not even when you realized what had happened. You gave it your all and finished.” I laughed and cried at the same time.
I find I can face what seems impossible, even alone and afraid, and, that winning does not always come in as you expect. I give my best effort to all I do, win or lose. I don’t give up in the middle of anything.
【小题1】The author meant to compete in        .

A.the 50 yard dashB.the long jumpC.the long-distance runD.the high jump
【小题2】When the author heard cheering, she thought        .
A.she had the chance to win the game
B.she left others inches away halfway
C.other competitors were encouraging her
D.somebody had won the game
【小题3】What happened after the author crossed the finish line?
A.She cried at the sight of her father.
B.Everyone cheered her for her success.
C.Her farther came up and comforted her.
D.She felt ashamed to meet her classmates.
【小题4】What lesson can we learn form the author’s experience?
A.What seems impossible always becomes possible.
B.Don’t lose heart halfway whatever you do.
C.Success will come as long as you expect it.
D.Try to do everything until you win in the end.

It is natural that children are curious (好奇的) about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.
  As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.
  Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world. Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry .
  These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world. For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.
  Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.
  We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A.People are curious in the same way.
B.People in different countries are interested in different things.
C.Men and women are curious about different things.
D.People of different ages are interested in different things
【小题2】Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.
A.the earth , the oceans and the sky B.man-made things
C.plants and animals D.ocean water
【小题3】When you run, your muscles need ____.
A.more nutrition and oxygenB.more signals
C.more saltD.water
【小题4】A rock cracks _____.
A.in wet regions B.in dry regions
C.at very high or very low temperaturesD.when salty water falls in
【小题5】People are always curious because ____.
A.they cannot explain many thingsB.they know nothing about the world
C.they know little about the world D.they want to be scientists

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网