What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster?
Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 21 years. Testing helps producers to be sure of a product’s quality. During his career Harrison has been responsible for approving large quantities of the sweet ice cream –as well as for developing over 75 flavors （味道）.
Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No –-- there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a career in this “cool” field.
In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and rates 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12 F. Harrisonexplains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup.”
While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,”he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the product have the colour expected from that flavor?”Next it’s time to taste!
Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors, and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at once cool job.
【小题1】What is John Harrison’s job?

Today, over six billion people live on the planet. This means that there are very few places on Earth with no people. One place that has very few people is at the bottom of the Earth. In Antarctica, the icy continent surrounding the South Pole, you will not find anyone who lives there all the time.
First, Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. For example, it can be –l30℃ in the winter. Humans cannot live in this kind of environment. Because it is so cold, very few plants or animals live there. This means there are no farms and no places to find wild plants or animals to eat.
Second, Antarctica can be dangerous. Many people think that it is safe to travel to Antarctica in the summer months when it is warmer. However, Antarctica is mostly ice, so when it’s summer, the ice melts. When the ice melts, the ice can break. So, people cannot travel around Antarctica during the summer. If the ice breaks, they could fall into the water and die.
Another serious problem in Antarctica is the sun. Because Antarctica is mostly ice, there are no trees so there is no shade. Also, the ground is mostly white ice so the sun bounces off (反射) it. The light from the sky and the light from the ground can burn people’s skin and hurt their eyes. People must be very careful in this situation. For example, they must wear sunglasses to protect their eyes. They must also cover their hands and faces all the time.
Although Antarctica is a tough place to live, explorers have discovered coal in Antarctica. This leads them to believe that Antarctica at one time was a land of swam (沼泽) and forests.
【小题1】This text is mainly about _____.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster? Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice-cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 21 years. Testing helps manufacturers to be sure of a product’s quality. During his career Harrison has been responsible for approving large quantities of the sweet ice cream — as well as for developing over 75 flavors (味道).

Some people think that it would be easy to do this job, after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No — there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a career in this “cool” field.

In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and assesses 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12℉. Harrison explains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup .”While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,” he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the product have the color expected from that flavor?” Next it’s time to taste!

Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors, and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy — working at one cool job.

What is John Harrison’s job?

  A. An official.     B. An ice-cream taster.

  C. A chemist.   D. An ice-cream manufacturer.

According to John Harrison, to be qualified in the “cool field”, it is helpful to ______.  A. keep a diary of work   B. have a degree in related subjects

  C. have new ideas every day   D. find out new flavors each day

What does Harrison do first when testing ice cream?

  A. He stirs the ice cream.         B. He examines the color of the ice cream.

  C. He tastes the flavor of the ice cream. D. He lets the ice cream warm up.

Which of the following is probably the best title of the passage?

  A. Tasting with Eyes      B. Flavors of Ice Cream

  C. John Harrison’s Life   D. One Cool Job

After stepping into the classroom, I glanced round all the students and began my following words. “Thank you” are my  1. words, which I would like to use to express my deepest  2. to all of you.

Thinking back to the past 3 years, a lot of things  3. remain fresh in my memory. I cannot forget your  4. smile the first time I met you. I cannot forget that you were to  5.  for your being late for class,   6.  when I asked why you were late, you tried to 7.  the fact of buying me a lovely teddy bear for Teacher's Day. I cannot forget your humorous words of breaking  8.  when I was angry about your bad performance. I cannot forget that we share the happiness of success after making great   9..

With time going by, I come to 10.  that you are the mirror of my life. The mirror can reflect my past and  11. my future. Looking through the mirror, I'm more aware of my   12. and weaknesses.

It is you who made me believe love can be  13. . It is you who made me realize sometimes in the  14. of pursuing our dreams, we may  15. some difficulties and setbacks（挫折）, but if we set up our mind to do it,   16. is impossible to a willing heart.

So standing in a higher position, I will help you to  17.  the dreams confidently and firmly,   18. suffering the mistakes I made when I was your age.

19. , I pray that kind of friendship can stand the test of  20.  and last forever. I pray that you can get good performance in the entrance examination and make your dreams come true.

  Earlier this month, the Obama Administration called for increased protection of the world’s most southern continent, Antarctica. Scientists say climate change and human activity have increasingly led to the melting of massive pieces of Antarctic ice. The disappearance of ice will not only affect wildlife in the area such as seals and penguins. The melting will also cause oceans and seas around the world to rise.
This represents a major threat, especially to coastal areas. For example, the ancient city of Venice, Italy has long been threatened by rising sea levels. The situation is made worse by the fact that its ancient buildings, built on a body of water called a lagoon( 淡水湖), are slowly sinking. When the city was founded about 1,600 years ago, the level of the Adriatic Sea was almost two meters lower than it is today.
Rising sea levels are not the only threat. The salty water is also destroying Venice’s famous buildings and artworks. The Italian government is trying to fix the problem with the construction of a seven-billion-dollar system of moving flood barriers.
Climate change is also leading to the melting of ice in other areas, such as Mount Kilimanjaro in northeastern Tanzania. It is the highest point in Africa, measuring almost 6,000 meters. The mountain supports five vegetation zones and many kinds of animals.
The ice glaciers on the mountain are disappearing very quickly. This will have a bad effect on the mountain’s ecosystems and on Tanzania’s travel industry. Also, a valuable record of thousands of years of weather history will also be lost if the ice melts. Scientists study pieces of glacier to understand weather patterns from thousands of years ago.
In the United States, the icy masses in Glacier National Park in Montana may soon completely disappear because of climate change. In 1850, there were an estimated 150 glaciers in the more than 400,000 hectare park.
There are 26 glaciers remaining today. Scientists estimate that the glaciers will be gone by 2030. Warming temperatures are also threatening the many kinds of plants and animals that live in this mountain ecosystem.
【小题1】 The writer developed the passage mainly by______.