A long time before I was born, my grandma and grandpa had a young family of four little girls. During the Great Depression (大萧条时期), work was hard to find, so Grandpa did whatever jobs he could. On weekends he and Grandma dug a garden to grow some of their own food.

Everybody worked to keep the garden growing. All summer long, the family ate food and enjoyed flowers from the garden. Grandma put up strawberry jam, tomatoes, beans, peppers, pears and peaches in canning jars. They were good to eat through the long winter.

The family grew up, and grandparents grew old. It became hard to keep up the garden, so they made it a little smaller. There was still plenty to eat from the garden and lovely flowers to enjoy.

Then one summer when Grandpa was eighty-nine years old, all he could do was watch from his lawn chair as the vegetables grew and the roses bloomed. Summer slowly faded, and Grandpa died before it was time to bring in the harvest.

It was a lonely winter for Grandma. She sat near the window, looking out at the yard and wondering if she could plant a garden in the spring. When spring came, she planted only a little garden.

One sunny day in the early summer, Grandma heard a commotion (骚动) in the front yard and looked out the window to see a frightening sight. A huge swarm of bees filled the air between two tall trees. The buzzing sound was very loud.

The bees made their way into a hole up in one of the trees. Before long, every one of those bees had disappeared into its new home. During the next few days, the bees were busy minding their own business. Grandma could always see a few bees buzzing in and out around the opening high in the tree. Before long, she decided the bees weren’t bothering anyone, so she didn’t give them another thought.

That summer, Grandma’s little garden grew and grew. The neighbors would stop to admire the huge crop of vegetables and puzzle over their own gardens weren’t doing well.

One day, Grandma’s brother Frank visited from Arizona. As Grandma made Frank a delicious lunch of squash cakes and homemade applesauce, she told him the story about the swarm of bees. Frank said, “In Arizona, the farmers often hired beekeepers to set up beehives near their fields. The bees pollinated (授粉) the crops and helped them to grow.”

That was when Grandma realized that her bees had helped with her garden all summer. “So that’s why my little garden had such a big crop!” she exclaimed.

From that time on, Grandma always believed that since Grandpa couldn’t be there to help her that summer, he had sent the bees to take his place and make Grandma’s little garden grow and grow.

1.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. The garden was dug by Grandparents during the Great Depression.

B. The garden provided enough food and flowers for the family.

C. The garden was made smaller as Grandparents grew older.

D. The garden once lay in waste after Grandpa passed away.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that __________.

A. Grandma was too busy to hire someone to deal with the bees.

B. Grandma felt very lonely and helpless when Grandpa passed away.

C. Frank hired beekeepers to help Grandma keep the garden growing.

D. Grandpa turned into bees to help Grandma keep up the garden.

3.The method the author uses in the underlined sentence is _______.

A. offering analyses B. providing explanations

C. making comparison D. giving examples

4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Grandpa’s Bees B. Grandparents’ Garden

C. The Harvest of Summer D. The Secret of the Garden

BEIJING — Rising smartphone star Xiaomi is moving upmarket and taking aim at Apple's iPhone. The Chinese maker known for low-priced phones on Thursday unveiled (发布) a new model that Chairman J un Lei said is comparable to Apple's iPhone 6 but thinner, lighter and much cheaper. The phone starts at 2, 299 yuan ($375), less than half the 5,288 yuan ($ 865) price of an iPhone 6 in China.

Xiaomi, founded in 2010, passed South Korea's SaM:ung Electronics Co. in the second quarter of last year as the best-selling smartphone brand in China by number of phones sold. The company is expanding into India and other developing markets but has yet to announce plans to enter the United States or Europe.

Xiaomi "is a respected brand that already has an Apple-like following" in China, said analyst Brian Blair, who tracks mobile device makers at Rosenblatt Securities. Apple is still a relatively small player in China, selling about 45 million iPhones there last year, Blair estimates, but will continue to grow.

"Apple is very much a premium (高端的) brand," said Blair. "The company that's more at risk is SaM:ung, which has been losing share in that market."

Privately held (私人控股的) Xiaomi said last year's sales tripled to 61. 1 million phones and revenue (收益) more than doubled to 74. 3 billion yuan ($12.2 billion). The company, based in Beijing, recently completed a round of fundraising from investors that it said valued Xiaomi at $ 45 billion, making it one of the world's most valuable technology brands.

Xiaomi ran into legal trouble in India in December after a court blocked sales while it hears a complaint by Sweden's LM Ericcson that the Chinese company violated its patents.

In a blog post earlier this month, Lei called the case a "rite of passage" (成年礼) for a young company.

1.Which of the following statements is true?

A. Xiaomi sold more cellphones than SaM:ung in 2010 in China.

B. Compared to Xiaomi, Apple's iPhone 6 is thinner and lighter.

C. Low-price is Xiaomi's advantage over Apple's iPhones.

D. The company is expanding into the United States or Europe.

2.What can be inferred from the passage according to Brian Blair?

A. More than 45 million iPhones will be sold this year.

B. Xiaomi can beat Apple in the market of China.

C. He thinks Xiaomi is superior to Apple.

D. SaM:ung will be closed for losing share in the market.

3.How is the 5th paragraph developed?

A. By giving examples.

B. By analyzing cause and effect.

C. By providing data.

D. By making comparisons.

4.What's the attitude of Jun Lei towards the case of Xiaomi in India?

A. Negative. B. Satisfied.

C. Positive. D. Doubtful.

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