Reader Janet Maynard has a lot of young bushes in her garden and is suffering from “watering can elbow”．So for Janet and anyone else who doesn't want to waste time, effort and water, here are my top tips for keeping plants refreshed in thirsty times．
Water in the evening if possible, rather than leaving it till you see things suffer．That way the roots can take up the water in cool soil overnight．
Violently jetting hoses(皮管)mess up the soil structure and may expose delicate roots．Use a rose(喷头)on a can．Aim low – don't waste water wetting leaves, even though they look pretty and "refreshed"．
The most valuable and easily damaged plants need the most attention, such as newly planted trees, bushes and climbers．Remove any water-keeping mulch(护根物)you may have put around the base, then water it thoroughly at least two gallons, slowly．Don't aim your can rose at the stem – which we all usually tend to do．Aim the water in a wide circle so that the whole of the area under the plant is watered．You could even make a channel in the soil right around the plant so that the water is held in place as it soaks(浸透)in．Replace the mulch．Repeat each week even in showery weather for the first summer．
How much water for pots? Fill up the gap between the top of the soil and the top of the pot．Let the water soak right in and then fill it again．Do this daily in hot weather for most summer potted plants．
Stand pots in saucers(垫盘)– it makes a big difference．But remember to check that the plants are not sitting in water for days on end when the weather turns wet．Roots will rot．
If the fertilizer in pots really dries out, the water may get straight out of the pot without being absorbed．Correct this by standing or floating the pot in a bucket of deep water until it sinks and no bubbles rise．
A push-button watering can makes for more efficient watering, and recycled water bottles upside down with a needle which has a hole on the end are useful, too, for pots．
(1)
What does the underlined part “watering can elbow” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?
[ ]
A．
A certain kind of mental disease
B．
The extreme thirst for water．
C．
The power of water．
D．
Tiredness or pain in part of the body．
(2)
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
It would be better to water the plant in the evening than in the morning．
B．
It’s necessary to water newly-planted trees once a week in the first summer．
C．
Put potted plants in saucers in case the roots rot in damp weather．
D．
Make sure fertilizer in the pot doesn’t dry out, otherwise the water would not be fully absorbed．
(3)
We may easily learn from the passage that _________．
[ ]
A．
potted plants need to be watered every week even in rainy weather．
B．
we’d better put water on the leaves and stems to keep the plants refreshed．
C．
It’s better to use a rose on a can to water than jetting hoses．
D．
people usually don’t want to waste time, effort and water in raising plants．
My father made a deal with me that he would match whatever I could come up with to buy my fir st car．From the time I wa s a saver．My allowance, back in tho se day s, wa s twenty five cent s a week．I grew up on a farm near a small town called Ventura．In tho se day s the area wa s mo stly agricultural．The climate wa s and still i s a s clo se to perfect a s you could get．I earned some of my money picking one crop or another．When I wa s about ten, a school friend' s family owned walnut orchard s(果园)and it wa s harve st time．She told me we could earn five dollar s for every bag of walnut s we picked．I certainly learned about picking walnut s that day．Not surprisingly, that wa s my fir st and la st time a s a walnut picker．
In 1960 my grandmother pa s sed away．She left me 100 share s of AT＆T．One hundred share s of stock don't seem like much today but back then tho se share s paid me＄240 per year in dividend s(利息)．That wa s huge for a kid my age．
By the time I wa s seventeen．I had saved up ＄ 1, 300 and I knew exactly that I wanted．Ithink my father wa s somewhat suri sed when I announced I had saved up ＄ 1, 300 and wa s ready to buy my new car．I'll never forget the evening my father said, “Let' s go see about that car”．I wa s so excited．
My father could have ea sily ju st given me the car but he alway s in si sted that hi s children work for what they got．Thi s wa s not a bad thing．I learned self-reliance．Self-reliance i s equal to freedom．Now that I think about it I need to be thanking my father．
(1)
Which one of the following s didn't belong to the saving of ＄1, 300?
[ ]
A．
Weekly allowance．
B．
Her earning s by picking crop s．
C．
Share s left by grandma．
D．
Money earned from selling share s．
(2)
The underlined part in the second paragraph probably meant ________．
[ ]
A．
she didn't have the chance of picking walnut s
B．
enough money had been earned for her car
C．
the work wa s too hard for children like her
D．
she had no time to do that again for some rea son
(3)
We can know from the pa s sage the author got her car at the age of ________．
[ ]
A．
16
B．
17
C．
18
D．
19
(4)
The purpo se of the author' s father doing like that wa s to ________．
