阅读理解

　　Farmer Ed Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees．The young oranges are growing well in Florida’s weather．Warm sunshine and gentle rains, along with Ed Rawlings’ expert care, will produce a good crop(收成)of oranges this year．

　　However, Ed has to guard against Florida’s changeable winter weather．In January and February, temperatures can destroy Ed’s entire orange crop．Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years, Ed is prepared for the frost(霜)．When temperatures drop below freezing, Ed tries to save his crop by watering his orange trees．The water freezes and forms a thin layer(层)of ice around the trees．Strange as it may sound, this thin layer of ice actually keeps the fruit warm．

　　What happens is simple．When the trees are watered, the water loses heat and becomes ice．The warmth of the heat it loses is taken in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe level．Ed has effectively used this method to save many orange crops．

　　But Ed still faces difficulties．The trees must be watered at the exact moment the temperature drops to the freezing point．Also, just the right quantity(数量)of water must be used．Too much water can form a thicker layer of ice that will break the tree’s branches(树枝)．Another difficulty is that wind blows away the heat, so Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered, and how much water should be used．

　　Computer technology may help Ed with some of these worries．With equipment(设备), air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured．The information is fed into a computer which can calculate(计算)when the temperature will drop below freezing．The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently()the trees should be watered．Ed finds looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer, and, his customers will have the benefits(利益)of computer-age oranges．

阅读理解

　　Henry was an office worker in a big city．He worked very hard and enjoyed traveling in his holidays．

　　He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an advertisement in a newspaper．“Enjoy country life．Spend a few weeks at West Hill Farm．Good food．Fresh air．Horse riding．Walking．Fishing．Cheap and interesting．”

　　“This sounds a good idea,” he thought．“I'll spend a month at West Hill Farm．I think I can enjoy horse riding, walking and fishing．They'll make a change from sitting by the seaside and swimming．”

　　He wrote to the farmer．In the letter he said that he would like to spend all of July there．Then on the first of July, he left for West Hill Farm．

　　But four days later, he returned home．

　　“What was wrong with West Hill Farm?” his best friend, Ed, asked him．“Didn't you enjoy country life?”

　　“Country life was very good,” Henry said．“But there was another problem．”

　　“Oh．What?”

　　“Well,” he said, “the first day I was there a sheep died, and we had roast mutton(羊肉)for dinner．”

　　“What's wrong with that?” Ed asked．“Fresh meat is the best．”

　　“I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner．”

　　“Lucky you!”

　　“You don't understand,” Henry said．“on the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner．”

　　“A different meat every day,” Ed said loudly, “and you are complaining!”

　　“Let me finish,” Henry said．“on the fourth day the farmer died, and I didn't dare(敢)stay for dinner!”