Charlotte Hollins faces a battle. The 23-year-old British farmer and her 21-year-old brother Ben are fighting to save farm that their father worked on since he was 14. Although confident they will succeed, she is aware of farming’s many challenges.

“You don’t often get a day off. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on farmers to keep prices low. With fewer people working on farms it can be isolating,” she said. “There is a high rate of suicide and farming will never make you rich!”

Like others around the world, Charlotte’s generation tend to leave the farm for cities.

Oliver Robinson, 25, grew up in Yorkshire. But he never considered staying on his father and grandfather’s land. “I’m sure Dad hoped I’d stay,” he said. “I guess it’s a nice, straightforward life, but it doesn’t appeal to me. For young, ambitious people, farm life is hard.”

For Robinson, farming doesn’t offer much “in terms of money or lifestyle”. Hollins agrees that economic factors stop people from enjoying the rewards of farming. He describes it as a career that provides “for a vital human need”, allowing people to work “outdoors with nature.”

Farming is a big political issue in the UK. The “Buy British” campaigns urge consumers not to purchase cheaper imported foods. The 2001 foot and mouth crisis closed thousands of farms, stopped meat exports, and raised public consciousness about the troubles on UK farms.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s 2005 campaign to get children eating healthily also highlighted the issue.

This national concern gives hope to farmers competing with powerful supermarkets. While most people buy food from the big supermarkets, hundreds of independent Farmers’ Markets are becoming popular.

“I started going to Farmers’ Markets in direct defiance(违抗) of the big supermarkets. I seriously objected to the super-sizing of everything－what exactly do they put on our apples to make them so big and red? It’s terrible,” said Londoner Michaela Samson, 31.

1.What are the challenges that British farmers face according to Charlotte Hollins?

a. loneliness                       b. thin profits

c. a lack of good equipment        d. long working hours but slow results

A．abc              B．abd              C．acd              D．bcd

2.Why did Oliver Robinson refuse to stay on the farm?

A．He hoped for a simpler life

B．He was fed up with a hard farm life.

C．Farm life was too demanding though he liked it.

D．He hoped for something challenging and rewarding.

3.What happened in 2001 to the British beef farmers?

A．British people ate more British beef.

B．To be a beef farmer became profitable.

C．Diseaes dramatically reduced the amount of beef available.

D．Foreign farmers stopped selling beef to Britain.

4.Which of the following is an advantage of Farmers’ Markets?

A．Lower prices.                          B．Flexible sizes.

C．Convenient location.                     D．Healthier food.

5.What can we conclude from the last two paragraphs?

A．Things are improving for independent farms in the UK.

B．Farming in the UK can now match the powerful supermarkets.

C．Most British people are doubtful of food in supermarkets.

D．Most British people have realized the problems facing farms and begun to help save them.

Dinner parties are out of date. Alumni (毕业生,校友) album are old-fashioned. School leaving is taking on a new turn：it is going online! Graduating students at Qinghua University are saving all their joys and sorrows from university on a CD. Some are setting up their alumni records online, such as Chinaren.com and 5406.net. With computer usage and Internet access becoming even more popular, students are throwing away the traditional graduation book. Instead they are using alumni books online, in CDs or disks, electrolyzing(电解) their graduation in the e-age.

"It is much easier and safer to save." Xu Ziguo, a civil-engineer-major at Qinghua University said. Like his class, most of Qinghua's to-be graduates are using the CD alumni records and online association. Xu said CD records can save more than the actual books. Photos and videos on school activities and normal campus life, and messages may be all included in the thin plastic with the help of a CD-Writer. "Everything is so lively when I watch it, just like what is happening on campus," Xu said. Another student at the Renmin University of China, Lu Yangzhen said her class saved all the memorable messages on a disk. They use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation. Many classes will keep their homepages on campus for future communication, Lu said.

Dotcom companies are also seizing the opportunity to get more clicks. Chinaren.com said it provided improved services for the users. One service is to send group emails, meaning if a user sends an email to one address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time. But what if the Dotcom company breaks down one day? Xu said they had left a "backup". That is to use the old way with a person working as the liaison.

55. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Dotcom Companies Serve Graduating Students

B. Computer Usage Becomes More and More Popular

C. Dinner Parties Are Out of Date

D. Alumni Reunions Arrive Online

56. Why do they electrolyze their graduation in the e-age?

A. Because they found the traditional form was inconvenient.

B. Because many students can afford to buy a computer.

C. Because computers become more and more popular.

D. Because it is much easier and safer to save, and everything is lively.

57. What kind of service is provided by Dotcom companies?

A. If a user sends an email to one of his or her classmates, the others can get it at the same time.

B. If a user sends an email to a certain address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time.

C. It isn't mentioned in the passage.

D. Users can use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation.

58. What does the underlined word "album" most probably mean?

   A. a kind of book        B. dinner          C. present        D. photo

Charlotte Hollins faces a battle. The 23-year-old British farmer and her 21-year-old brother Ben are fighting to save farm that their father worked on since he was 14. Although confident they will succeed, she is aware of farming’s many challenges.
“You don’t often get a day off. Supermarkets put a lot of pressure on farmers to keep prices low. With fewer people working on farms it can be isolating,” she said. “There is a high rate of suicide and farming will never make you rich!”
Like others around the world, Charlotte’s generation tend to leave the farm for cities.
Oliver Robinson, 25, grew up in Yorkshire. But he never considered staying on his father and grandfather’s land. “I’m sure Dad hoped I’d stay,” he said. “I guess it’s a nice, straightforward life, but it doesn’t appeal to me. For young, ambitious people, farm life is hard.”
For Robinson, farming doesn’t offer much “in terms of money or lifestyle”. Hollins agrees that economic factors stop people from enjoying the rewards of farming. He describes it as a career that provides “for a vital human need”, allowing people to work “outdoors with nature.”
Farming is a big political issue in the UK. The “Buy British” campaigns urge consumers not to purchase cheaper imported foods. The 2001 foot and mouth crisis closed thousands of farms, stopped meat exports, and raised public consciousness about the troubles on UK farms.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s 2005 campaign to get children eating healthily also highlighted the issue.
This national concern gives hope to farmers competing with powerful supermarkets. While most people buy food from the big supermarkets, hundreds of independent Farmers’ Markets are becoming popular.
“I started going to Farmers’ Markets in direct defiance(违抗) of the big supermarkets. I seriously objected to the super-sizing of everything－what exactly do they put on our apples to make them so big and red? It’s terrible,” said Londoner Michaela Samson, 31.
【小题1】What are the challenges that British farmers face according to Charlotte Hollins?
a. loneliness                       b. thin profits
c. a lack of good equipment        d. long working hours but slow results

Dinner parties are out of date. Alumni (毕业生,校友) album are old-fashioned. School leaving is taking on a new turn：it is going online! Graduating students at Qinghua University are saving all their joys and sorrows from university on a CD. Some are setting up their alumni records online, such as Chinaren.com and 5406.net. With computer usage and Internet access becoming even more popular, students are throwing away the traditional graduation book. Instead they are using alumni books online, in CDs or disks, electrolyzing(电解) their graduation in the e-age.
"It is much easier and safer to save." Xu Ziguo, a civil-engineer-major at Qinghua University said. Like his class, most of Qinghua's to-be graduates are using the CD alumni records and online association. Xu said CD records can save more than the actual books. Photos and videos on school activities and normal campus life, and messages may be all included in the thin plastic with the help of a CD-Writer. "Everything is so lively when I watch it, just like what is happening on campus," Xu said. Another student at the Renmin University of China, Lu Yangzhen said her class saved all the memorable messages on a disk. They use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation. Many classes will keep their homepages on campus for future communication, Lu said.
Dotcom companies are also seizing the opportunity to get more clicks. Chinaren.com said it provided improved services for the users. One service is to send group emails, meaning if a user sends an email to one address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time. But what if the Dotcom company breaks down one day? Xu said they had left a "backup". That is to use the old way with a person working as the liaison.
55. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Dotcom Companies Serve Graduating Students
B. Computer Usage Becomes More and More Popular
C. Dinner Parties Are Out of Date
D. Alumni Reunions Arrive Online
56. Why do they electrolyze their graduation in the e-age?
A. Because they found the traditional form was inconvenient.
B. Because many students can afford to buy a computer.
C. Because computers become more and more popular.
D. Because it is much easier and safer to save, and everything is lively.
57. What kind of service is provided by Dotcom companies?
A. If a user sends an email to one of his or her classmates, the others can get it at the same time.
B. If a user sends an email to a certain address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time.
C. It isn't mentioned in the passage.
D. Users can use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation.
58. What does the underlined word "album" most probably mean?
A. a kind of book        B. dinner          C. present        D. photo

Dinner parties are out of date. Alumni (毕业生,校友) album are old-fashioned. School leaving is taking on a new turn：it is going online! Graduating students at Qinghua University are saving all their joys and sorrows from university on a CD. Some are setting up their alumni records online, such as Chinaren.com and 5406.net. With computer usage and Internet access becoming even more popular, students are throwing away the traditional graduation book. Instead they are using alumni books online, in CDs or disks, electrolyzing(电解) their graduation in the e-age.

"It is much easier and safer to save." Xu Ziguo, a civil-engineer-major at Qinghua University said. Like his class, most of Qinghua's to-be graduates are using the CD alumni records and online association. Xu said CD records can save more than the actual books. Photos and videos on school activities and normal campus life, and messages may be all included in the thin plastic with the help of a CD-Writer. "Everything is so lively when I watch it, just like what is happening on campus," Xu said. Another student at the Renmin University of China, Lu Yangzhen said her class saved all the memorable messages on a disk. They use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation. Many classes will keep their homepages on campus for future communication, Lu said.

Dotcom companies are also seizing the opportunity to get more clicks. Chinaren.com said it provided improved services for the users. One service is to send group emails, meaning if a user sends an email to one address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time. But what if the Dotcom company breaks down one day? Xu said they had left a "backup". That is to use the old way with a person working as the liaison.

55. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Dotcom Companies Serve Graduating Students

B. Computer Usage Becomes More and More Popular

C. Dinner Parties Are Out of Date

D. Alumni Reunions Arrive Online

56. Why do they electrolyze their graduation in the e-age?

A. Because they found the traditional form was inconvenient.

B. Because many students can afford to buy a computer.

C. Because computers become more and more popular.

D. Because it is much easier and safer to save, and everything is lively.

57. What kind of service is provided by Dotcom companies?

A. If a user sends an email to one of his or her classmates, the others can get it at the same time.

B. If a user sends an email to a certain address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time.

C. It isn't mentioned in the passage.

D. Users can use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation.

58. What does the underlined word "album" most probably mean?

   A. a kind of book        B. dinner          C. present        D. photo