By the mid-nineteenth century, the term "icebox" had entered the American language, but ice was still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns(酒馆), and hospitals, and by some forward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter. After the Civil War (1861-1865), as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, half of the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago, went to families for their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, a precursor (前身) of the modern fridge, had been invented.
　　Making an efficient icebox as not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of the physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary(未发展的). The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was of course mistaken, for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice included wrapping up the ice in blankets, which kept the ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve the delicate balance of insulation(绝缘) and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.
　　But as early as 1803, and ingenious Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, had been on the right track. He owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington, for which the village of Georgetown was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport his butter to market, he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs of his competitors to pay a premium price(高价) for his butter, still fresh and hard in neat, one-pound bricks. One advantage of his icebox, Moore explained, was that farmers would no longer have to travel to market at night in order to keep their produce cool.
【小题1】Where was ice used after the Civil War?

Dear all,

Please read Professor Hume’s email about his next lecture on Rosa I’arks.

Susan Miller

Secretary

Dear Susan,

Please forward this message to students of my history class.

Besides the life story of Bosa Parks in the textbook,the students are also required to read the passage below and some related stories that can be borrowed from the school library.

Ted Hume

The early experiences of Rosa Parks (1913-2005),long known as the “mother of the civil rights movement,”were not different from those of many African-Americans at that time.The black woman,however,turned the course of American history in December 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man.“By sitting down,”remarked John Lewis,“she was standing up for all Americans.”

Among the numerous awards Parks received in her life were the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1996) and the Congressional Gold Medal(1999).

Parks died on Oct. 24,2005,At St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Montgomery,a large crowd including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice celebrated her life.Rice said she and others,who grew up when the political activities of Parks held public attention,might not have realized her impact(影响) on their lives,“but I can honestly say that without Mrs. Parks,I probably would not be standing here as Secretary of State.”

After her casket(灵柩) was placed at the Capitol,U.S. President Bush,members of Congress and ordinary Americans paid their respects.In American history Parks is the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol,a very high regard usually reserved for Presidents of the United States.

What is the main purpose of Susan’s email?

A.To make arrangements for Professor Hume’s class.

B.To introduce to the students Rosa Parks.

C.To help the students organize a lecture.

D.To answer Professor Hume’s last email.

What does the underlined word “forward” mean?

A.Explain.                                                       B.Send.

C.Take.                                                           D.Read.

The political impact on Rosa Parks lies in the fact that she ______.

A.helped Condoleezza Rice achieve political success

B.joined the civil rights movement at a young age

C.made racial equality a common value in American society

D.set a good example in her early life for other black Americans

How was Rosa Parks treated after her death?

A.She was named “mother of the civil rights movement”.

B.She was received by President Bush at the Capitol.

C.She was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

D.She was honored to lie in state at the Capitol.

145. The nation was reunited and the slaves were ______ when the North won the Civil War in American history.

PART THREE  READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a new way of providing employment for millions of poor people in Bihar. His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.

Mr Raju’s success could clearly be seen on 30 August, 2009 when he organized 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.

Mr Raju has linked his “social forestry” program to the central government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which is also designed to provide employment for poor people. Under NREGA — started in February 2006 as the government’s most ambitious employment generation scheme for poor people — the authorities are bound by law to provide a minimum of 100 days of employment a year for members of families living below the poverty line. About 44% of Bihar’s population fall into this category.

Mr Raju says that Bihar — being the poorest and most lawless state of India — hasn’t been able to spend the allocated (分配的) NREGA funds. “This is because of a lack of awareness among officials about the scheme,” he said. “So the idea struck to my mind: why not involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days? Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210).”

The civil servant immediately made a plan of his idea. In June, Mr Raju published a booklet of “dos and don’ts” and distributed it to village heads. His plan meant that NREGA funds were fully used — in the past this hasn’t always been the case.

“I told the villagers they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them. The old and disabled would be given preference,” he explained.

Every village council has now been given a target of planting 50,000 saplings — a group of four families have to plant 200 trees and they must protect them for three years till the plants grow stronger.

“They would get the full payment if they can ensure the survival of 90% of the plants under their care. For a 75-80% survival rate, they’ll be paid only half the wage. For less than 75%, the families in the group will be replaced,” the guidelines say.

Significantly, his scheme has even stopped the migration of poor labourers from the area in search of employment elsewhere.

56. According to the passage, the main purpose of SM Raju’s “social forestry” program is to _____.

A. promote the practice of NREGA

B. make efforts to prevent global warming

C. increase the employment of poor people

D. prevent poor people from migrating elsewhere

57 According to the passage, the poor people in Bihar don’t make full use of NREGA funds because _____.

A. the local officials don’t realize the importance of NREGA

B. the local government doesn’t get enough support from the central government

C. the local poor people know little about NREGA

D. Bihar is the most lawless state in India

58. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. most people in Bihar will benefit from NREGA

B. the old and disabled people are not involved in tree planting

C. families who can’t ensure 75% survival rate of the trees will not be paid

D. Raju’s new plan will reduce Bihar’s population below the poverty line

59. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. There’s a good way to deal with global warming

B. Tree planting provides employment for the poor

C. Tree planting solves the problem of unemployment

D. Raju’s “social forestry” program wins the support of NREGA

60. How can villagers get more NREGA funds?

  A. Thinking better ways to stop global warming

  B. Working hard for one hundred days

  C. Planting more trees and ensuring the survival of plants

  D. Stopping moving from the area to search employment elsewhere

Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.

Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.

The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.

1. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated      .

  A. in spring              B. summer   C. in autumn             D. in winter

2. The first to celebrate thanksgiving were      .

  A. some people from England   B. the American Indians

  C. Sarah Josepha Hale         D. Governor Bradford

3. We can infer from the passage that New England must be      .

  A. in the U. S. A.  B. in Great Britain

  C. in Canada   D. on some island off the Atlantic

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

  A. Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest.

  B. Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations.

  C. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God.

  D. There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

5. The passage mainly tells us      .

  A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.

  B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated

  C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday

  D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places