In parts of Africa, the sky is filled with a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.

And in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if www..comthey can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts. The radio station is in one of Senegal’s worst affected regions.

This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops. As they move, they breed, and increase their number and will soon threaten Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it could reach Asia.

Experts say the great damage to crops in areas already suffering from food shortages and war could cause many people to go hungry. Governments in the region are not well equipped to fight the pest.

Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough. “We are now treating 6,000 hectares per day with pesticide, but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,” said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.

Requests are being made for international aid, which is the only way to limit the crisis, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned.

1. The purpose of offering people rice for catching locusts in Senegal is ________.

A. to get more people to eat rice so as to leave less for locusts

B. to get more people involved in the war on the locusts

C. to prevent more people from starvation

D. to get more people to listen to the radio report on locusts

2. Which of the following is not the reason for West Africans going hungry?

A. Locust disaster causes the great damage to crops.

B. Food supply is far from the need of the people.

C. These regions are affected by the war.

D. Governments are unwilling to fight the pest.

3. It can be concluded that, in order to end the locust disaster, ________.

A. leaders of 12 countries in West Africa should call on their people to take action

B. insects experts should be sent to these regions

C. other countries outside Africa should keep close watch on their own lands

D. Help from all over the world is in urgent demand

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Food shortage in Africa.              B. International aid to Africa.

C. The insects attack on Africa.          D. Terrible storm in Africa.

My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find.

“Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even opened an entire roll of toilet paper to leave “shmily” on the very last sheet. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled (潦草地写) hurriedly were found on dashboards (仪表板) and car seats, or taped to steering wheels.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents’ game. Skepticism (怀疑态度) had kept me from believing in true love — one that is pure and lasting. However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious (爱调戏的) little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on devotion and passionate love.

Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other’s sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew “how to pick ‘em.”

But there came a dark cloud into my grandparents’ life: when my grandmother got breast cancer. Gradually it took over the whole of her body. One day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

“Shmily.” It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet (花束). The family came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket (棺) and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and sadness, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby (催眠曲,). Shaking with my own sorrow, I would never forget that moment.

S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.

1.The point of the article is to ________.

A. give advice on how to keep love fresh  

B. explain to readers the meaning of “shmily”

C. show the true love between the writer’s grandparents

D. express how much the writer loved her grandparents

2.What is the function of the second paragraph?

A. To support the first paragraph.                  B. To introduce the next paragraph.

C. To give the main idea of the article.     D. To make the article more interesting.

3.The author’s grandmother ________.

A. used to kiss her grandfather in secret

B. died from breast cancer, which spread all over

C. played crossword puzzle daily with her grandfather

D. considered her grandfather old and careless

4.What is the author’s attitude toward her grandparents’ love?

A. She doubts whether it was true love.

B. She finds their way of expressing love strange.

C. She admires their romantic and passionate love.

D. She thinks she will never be able to love like that.

 

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