Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?

UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their cooperation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.

Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all. Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest “We didn’t take any notice of it.” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

1.The underlined sentence “the opposite is true” in Paragraph 2 probably means that trees ________.

A. compete for survival B. protect their own wealth

C. depend on each other D. provide support for dying trees

2.“Mother trees” are extremely important because they ________.

A. look the largest in size in the forest

B. pass on nutrition to young trees

C. seem more likely to be cut down by humans

D. know more about the complex “tree societies”

3.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A. how “tree societies” work B. how trees grow old

C. how forestry industry develops D. how young trees survive

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Old Trees Communicate Like Humans

B. Young Trees are In Need Of Protection

C. Trees Are More Awesome Thart You Think

D. Trees Contribute To Our Society

Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn’t mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you’ll have to stand up and say – problem, I don’t want you in my life.

1. Problems with friends, parents, girlfriends, husbands, and children – the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within ourselves work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.

But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.

Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. 2.Talking helps you move on and let go.

Write your problems. 3.When you write down your problems, you are setting free all the tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper on which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.

Don’t lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don’t lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family… you should still have faith. 4.

Your problems aren’t the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there’re another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. 5. Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.

Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.

A. But the truth is that when you talk about it, you’re setting free the negative energies have been gathering within you.

B. When we have a problems, a pressing, critical, urgent, life-threatening problem, how do we try and solve it?

C. Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can’t I?

D. Of course, we’ve been fighting troubles ever since we were born.

E. We can often overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.

F. Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don’t want a real person to talk with.

G. With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything that you lose.

Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life. It _______ our happiness when we are cheerful, and lessens our _______ when we are sad. A good book may absorb our attention so _______ that for the time being we forget our _______.

Whatever may be our main purpose in reading, good books should never fail to give us _______. With a good book in our hands we will never be _______. Whether the characters in the book are taken from real life or are purely _______, they may become our companions and make us laugh. The people we meet in books may _______ us either because they are similar to our close friends or because they present _______ types whom we are glad to welcome as new acquaintances. Our human friends sometimes ________ us, but the friends we make in books are always respect us. By turning the pages we can ________ them without any fear of hurting their feelings, When our human friends ________ us, good books are always there to give us sympathy and encouragement.

One of the most valuable gifts from books is ________. Few of us can travel far from home. ________ all of us can lead varied lives through the pages of book. When we wish to ________ from the dull realities of everyday life, a book will help us when ________ else can. To travel by book we don’t have to ________ and save a lot of money. Through books we may gel the thrill of adventure without ________. We can climb high mountains or cross the hoi sands of the desert, ________, through books the whole world is ours for the asking. The ________ of our literary experiences are almost unlimited.

1.A. achieves B. reduces C. increases D. threatens

2.A. duties B. sorrows C. chances D. diseases

3.A. completely B. naturally C. frequently D. desperately

4.A. performances B. prejudices C. responsibilities D. surroundings

5.A. agreement B. treatment C. enjoyment D. judgement

6.A. lonely B. lazy C. tired D. guilty

7.A. average B. imaginary C. typical D. fortunate

8.A. greet B. shock C. worry D. delight

9.A. uncertain B. unpractical C. unfamiliar D. unnecessary

10.A. make fun of B. take care of C. catch sight of D. pay attention t

11.A. order B. control C. believe D. ignore

12.A. challenge B. Abandon C. understand D. persuade

13.A. pleasure B. knowledge C. experience D. success

14.A. but B. or C. if D. so

15.A. return B. recover C. graduate D. escape

16.A. anything B. nothing C. everything D. something

17.A. pay B. stop C. guess D. race

18.A. reason B. evidence C. danger D. instruction

19.A. However B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. Anyway

20.A. purposes B. possibilities C. directions D. suggestions

What Theresa Loe is doing proves that a large farm isn’t a prerequisite for a modern grow-your-own lifestyle. On a mere 1/10 of an acre in Los Angeles, Loe and her family grow, can(装罐)and preserve much of the food they consume.

Loe is a master food preserver, gardener and canning expert. She also operates a website, where she shares her tips and recipes, with the goal of demonstrating that everyone has the ability to control what’s on their plate.

Loe initially went to school to become an engineer, but she quickly learned that her enthusiasm was mainly about growing and preparing her own food. “I got into cooking my own food and started growing my own herbs (香草) and foods for that fresh flavor,” she said. Engineer by day, Loe learned cooking at night school. She ultimately purchased a small piece of land with her husband and began growing their own foods.

“I teach people how to live farm-fresh without a farm,” Loe said. Through her website Loe emphasizes that “anybody can do this anywhere.” Got an apartment with a balcony (阳台)? Plant some herbs. A window? Perfect spot for growing. Start with herbs, she recommends, because “they’re very forgiving.” Just a little of the herbs “can take your regular cooking to a whole new level,” she added. “I think it’s a great place to start.” “Then? Try growing something from a seed, she said, like a tomato or some tea.”

Canning is a natural extension of the planting she does. With every planted food. Loe noted, there’s a moment when it’s bursting with its absolute peak flavor. “I try and keep it in a time capsule in a canning jar,” Loe said. “Canning for me is about knowing what’s in your food, knowing where it comes from.”

In addition to being more in touch with the food she’s eating, another joy comes from passing this knowledge and this desire for good food to her children: “Influencing them and telling them your opinion on not only being careful what we eat but understanding the bigger picture,” she said, “that if we don’t take care of the earth, no one will.”

1.The underlined word “prerequisite” (Pare. 1) is closest in meaning to “______”.

A. recipe B. substitute

C. requirement D. challenge

2.Why does Loe suggest starting with herbs?

A. They are used daily.

B. They are easy to grow.

C. They can grow very tall

D. They can be eaten uncooked

3.According to Loe, what is the benefit of canning her planted foods?

A. It can preserve their best flavor

B. It can promote her online sales

C. It can better her cooking skills

D. It can improve their nutrition

4.What is the “the bigger picture” (Para. 6) that Loe wishes her children to understand?

A. The knowledge about good food

B. The way to live a grow-our-own life

C. The joy of getting in touch with foods

D. The responsibility to protect our earth

In America, parents tend to encourage their children to develop their potential(潜能)to the fullest extent. Fathers and mothers frequently teach their children both ambition and the confidence necessary to work toward their goals. American parents are always active in concentrating on what their kids can do, not what they can’t. As a result, millions of American boys and girls grow up hoping to become actors and athletes, diplomats and doctors. Many of them even want to become president.

American parents often encourage their children to become involved in extra activities of all types at school, such as student government, sports and music. They believe that only through taking part in these activities can their children become mature young adults.

As we all know, schoolwork is important. But parents should realize that the social skills their children learn form natural conversations with each other are as important as schoolwork and the skills they will need in the future work. What’s more important in their work is that their children should have a sound knowledge of physics or the ability to communicate effectively.

As a rule, Chinese parents don’t educate their children about the same kind of ambition and confidence as Americans do, nor do they encourage the same level of participation in extra activities. Children are typically advised to study hard and pass exams. They have to spend a lot of time in doing much schoolwork every day. It is a great waste of time to do so.

Now more and more Chinese parents have recognized that they should pay attention to developing the potential of their children. I hope that leaders in Chinese educational circles should take some measures to develop the potential of their children. I am very confident about it.

1.From the passage, we know the American parents pay much more attention to ________.

A. the social skills than Chinese parents

B. their children’s studying hard and well

C. what their children want but they can’t

D. extra activities than schoolwork

2.According to the passage, Chinese parents ________.

A. know more than American parents to educate their children

B. owning ambition and confidence is necessary and important

C. pay much more attention to their children’s fine future

D. don’t encourage their children to participate in extra activities

3.From the passage, we can infer _______.

A. American children are brave and adventurous

B. American children are more active in their studies

C. Chinese children have the ability to communicate effectively

D. Something should be done to develop the potential of the children in China

4.What’s the writer’s attitude towards Chinese education reform?

A. Neutral. B. Indifferent.

C. Positive. D. Negative.

Many foreign students report feeling lonely or unwelcome in Australia. Those feelings are among the reasons why Australia is taking a close look at its international education industry. But wherever international students go, making friends may not always be easy. Elisabeth Gareis of Baruch College in New York surveyed 454 international students. They were attending four-year colleges and graduate schools in the American South and Northeast.

Students from English-speaking countries and from northern and central Europe were more likely to be happy with their friendships. But 38% of the international students said they had no close friends in the United States. And half of the students from East Asia said they were unhappy with the number of American friends they had. Thirty percent said they wished their friendships could be deeper and more meaningful.

Professor Gareis says, “Students from East Asia have cultures that are different on many levels from the culture in the United States. There are also language problems, and maybe some social skills, such as small talk, which are possibly not as important in their native countries, where it's not as important to start friendships with small talks. Many East Asian students blamed themselves for their limited friendships with Americans, for not speaking the language well enough and for not knowing the culture well enough.

VOA's Student Union blogger Jessica Stahl did her own survey to find out how American students and foreign students relate to each other. More than 100 students, about half of them American, answered her online questions.

Half of the international students and 60% of the Americans said they related as well or better to the other group than to their own group.

Professor Gareis says: "International students who make friends with host nationals are, overall, more satisfied with their stay in the host country. They have better language skills, they have better academic performance and they have better attitudes toward the host country."

1.What can be the best title for the text?

A. Making Friends Is Not Always Easy for Foreign Students

B. Students from East Asia Are Not Good at Making Friends

C. International Education Industry in Australia and America

D. The Relation between Foreign Students and Host Countries

2.Professor Gareis tends to think that ___________.

A. culture shock should be blamed for many levels of American culture

B. foreign students don’t know small talks mean a lot to Americans

C. foreign students should learn some basic social skills first of all

D. foreign students have difficulty making friends for different reasons

3.How did Jessica Stahl carry out her survey?

A. By doing questionnaires from Students Union

B. By asking questions on the Internet

C. By forming the students into groups

D. By doing a survey through VOA

4.Which of the following statements will the writer probably agree with?

A. International students like to make more friends in their own group

B. International students are more likely to remain in the host country after graduation

C. Students who make more friends at home have better academic performance

D. Students who make friends in their host countries feel happier with their experience

One a February day during an unusually mild winter, I found myself missing the snowy beauty. I enjoyed the feeling that comes from watching snow fall gently from heaven while I’m cosy inside with a good fire burning in the stove. But there were more serious concerns, like the lack of rainfall making our woods more accessible to summer forest fires. Local ski fields and hotels, all dependent on a snowy season, felt sorry for the vacant lifts, empty restaurants and unused snowmobiles.

Then I happened to see three little robins (知更鸟) fly into our yard. What were they doing here? West of us, in the Willamette Valley, wild flowers burst this time of year. But here in central Oregon, even if a groundhog ( 土拨鼠) had wanted to appear, it couldn't have broken through the frozen earth. And yet, these robins had arrived.

Their presence brought me a flow of happiness. It felt like a celebration as I dug into my bag of birdseed and spread a handful on the ground. Above me, the deep blue sky was cloudless, perfectly quiet but for some smoke from a neighbor's chimney. The lively cold made the air fresh and clean.

My robins jumped lightly toward the seed. My soul jumped with them, feeling equally carefree. Caught up in the moment of spring fever, I checked our snowless flower beds. To my delight, I spotted a green branch sticking out through the brown soil.

Despite the cold, I wasn't ready to go back inside. Just a short meeting with those robins had renewed my spirit. The next day I would return to my outdoor work with a cheerful heart and a hopeful eye for these signs of spring.

1.The author missed a snowy winter because snow could __________.

A. prevent forest fires B. boom his business

C. promise an early spring D. bring him a good feeling

2.The author felt happy when finding _________.

A. the sky was deep blue with clouds

B. three little robins flew into his yard

C. wild flowers burst in the Willamette Valley

D. a groundhog appeared through the frozen earth

3.We can infer from the passage that the author _________.

A. would enjoy wild flowers the next day B. though winter was already over

C. longed for the coming of spring D. loved robins the most

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