Scientists from China, Sweden and the United Stated have developed a high-producing rice that can reduce methane emission(甲烷排放), a major greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, from rice fields, according to a paper published on the latest issue of Nature.

By inserting a barley(大麦) gene into rice, Sun Chuanxin and his colleagues created SUSIBA2 Rice, which stores more starch(淀粉) in the section of the rice above ground, according to a paper published on the latest issue of Nature.This means the grains will have more starch while the root will exude less nutrients that will later be turned into methane by microbes(微生物) in the soil, Sun, who works with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, told Xinhua.

"It solves two major problems mankind faces at one time: environmental degradation and the need for increased grain output," Wang Feng, another scientist, said, adding that the rice can cut methane discharge by more than 90 percent during summer and more than half during autumn, as "the rice displays a greater emission reduction effect in high temperatures." Meanwhile, small-scale trials have also suggested an increased output: a single plant of the new breed has 300 more grains with a starch content 10 percent higher. Wang said the team is working on applications for the rice in different areas, seasons and using different farming techniques. "It's still far away from mass application, but at least we see the light of hope."

Human-induced methane, though less abundant than carbon dioxide in the air, is responsible for 20 percent of the global warming effect. Rice paddies are the largest single source of methane linked to human activity. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, China produces 209 million tons of rice in 2014, or 28 percent of the world's total of 734 million.

1.SUSIBA2 Rice will be a major breakthrough because _______.

A. it tastes with a barley flavor

B. it well balances environmental protection and grains increase

C. it contains more starch than the ordinary rice

D. it gives off less methane in summer than in winter

2.What can we learn from the text?

A. Scientists will soon grow the new rice in large areas

B. Human-related methane contributes most to global warming

C. China may contribute greatly to global warming reduction

D. Rice fields will be reduced all over the world

3.The purpose of this writing is to ________.

A. ask people to cut down on their dependence on rice consumption

B. draw people’s attention to the serious consequences of global warming

C. introduce a new kind of genetically-modified rice and its possible benefits

D. indicate human-related methane alone is to blame for global warming effects

A LITTLE PRINCESS by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Price: $7.10 (Paperback Dec. 9, 1998)

The novel tells of the story of a wealthy young girl, Sara Crewe, who is sent to a boarding school during her father’s campaign in India. Thanks to Capt. Crewe’s money, Sara is treated as a little princess until, one day, word comes of her father’s tragic death. Miss Minchin, the school’s greedy headmistress, wastes no time in putting the now-penniless Sara to work for her room and board. It is only through the friendship of two other girls and some astonishing luck that Sara eventually finds her way back to happiness.

THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Price:$3.95 (Paperback July 1, 2003)

Frances Hodgson Burnett was the highest paid and most widely read woman writer of her time, publishing more than fifty novels and thirteen plays. The Secret Garden is a beautiful tale of friendship, secrets and human spirits. A spoiled orphan named Mary returns to England from India when her parents die. She is sent to live in Yorkshire with her uncle. Miserable and lonely, she begins to explore the house’s gardens and discovers a key to a secret garden that the uncle sealed off when his wife died. There she discovered a secret so important, so enchanting, that it will change her life forever.

PETER PAN by J. M. Barrie and Scott Gustafson

Price: $16.95 (Hardcover Oct. 1, 1991)

It is a children’s story full of imagination and adventures. A boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with mermaids, Indians, fairies and pirates, and from time to time meeting ordinary children from the world outside.

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1.Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the three books?

A. The little princess refers to a girl named Sara Crewe.

B. The secret garden mentioned in the passage is located in India.

C. Peter Pan is a boy with magic powers who never grows up.

D. A Little Princess was written by a famous female writer.

2.How much does it cost to order these three books online?

A. $5.60 B. $25.00

C. $22.40 D. $ 28.00

3.What do these three books have in common?

A. They were published in the same year.

B. They all have a hard cover.

C. They are all stories with tragic endings.

D. They have children as their main characters.

4.In which part of a magazine can we read the text?

A. Family B. Literature

C. Technology D. Entertainment

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