The oldest and hardest cow beef may be made as tender and tasty as young and choice met. ”This declaration was made by the French physicist Denis Papin in book published in 1681, which described his “New Digester” or pressure cooker.  It was a cast iron pot with an air-tight lid, which allowed liquids to boil at a higher temperature than usual, and so it cooked food in a quarter of the time.  The food was cooked by pressurized steam being forced through it at about 121℃.  All pressure cookers were made of cast iron until 1905,  when the first aluminum model was made in America. In 1938, Alfred Vischer, a man from Chicago, U. S. A., designed a simple interlocking pan and lid, and an improved pressure-tight seal（密封）—a replaceable rubber sealing ring. When Vischer’s patent（专利）expired in 1954,  many companies entered the field,  and the rapid pressure cooker became popular with people with people who had little time to cook or had to supply food for unexpected guests.

From the passage we can learn pressure cooker made of cast iron lasted at least ____years.

A. 300           B. 200            C. 90            D. 60

Which of the following shows the correct order?

Denis Papin called his invention “New Digester”.  

It began to be widely used by common families.

Instead of cast iron,  it was first made of aluminum. 

The first pressure cooker was invented in France.

Alfred Vischer greatly improved its design.          

Vischer’s patent came to an end.

g.  Many other companies began to produce it.

A. d,  a,  e,  c,  g,  f,  b                 B. a,  d,  c,  b,  e,  f,  g

C. d,  a,  c,  e,  f,  g,  b                 D. g,  e,  a,  e,  d,  f,  b

In the writer’s opinion, the best advantage of a pressure cooker is that_______.

A. the oldest and hardest cow beef can be made tender and tasty

B. it allows liquids to boil at a higher temperature than usual

C. it can help people to supply food for unexpected guests

D. it helps people to spend much less time in cooking

The best title of this passage may possibly be _______.

A. New Digester       B. Pressure Cooker   C. Favorite Cook       D. The History of Cooker

The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.

Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.

Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.

Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.

An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.

A. cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year

B. give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds

C. decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices

D. aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year

With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.

A. we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way

B. it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank

C. it is not wise to change food crops into gas

D. biofuels should be developed on a large scale

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds.

B. A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor.

C. A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather.

D. It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not.

In the passage, the author calls on us to______.

A. slow down but not to stop economy

B. act now so as to relieve the global food shortage

C. achieve economic growth and political stability

D. develop tree crops, grasses and wood products

Don’t answer me with a simple “yes” or “no”. Explain ______possible.

A．whatever         B．whenever         C．whoever          D．however

Mother’s Day is coming. It is a time to let Mom know she’s special to you. Finding the right for Mom on that day is not always easy. We often want something personal and thoughtful. But how can we make it? These following ideas may help you.

Gift of Time

Moms just want to spend time with their children so make it a Mother-Daughter/Son day. Spend the whole day with her. Do the things she likes doing with her.

Home Video

Take your family videos and make them a short home video. She can enjoy it whenever she misses you. Although it may take a lot of time, the process(过程) can be great fun and the result is often priceless(无价).

Mom Mix

Make a CD for her. It’s a collection of all the songs that remindher of you and your growing up.

Write a Letter

Write a letter instead of a simple card. Write about all the good memories you have with her and all the things she has done for you.

Flowers

People send carnations(康乃馨) on Mother’s Day. You can easily spend a lot of money on them. If you have flowers in your garden, or can handpick them, it can be a great gift.

Dinner

Make a dinner and invite her over. You can also take it over to her house and surprise her. Just don’t’ forget to wash the dishes after the dinner.

1.Why is it not easy to find a right gift on Mother’s day?

A．Because we want to save money

B．Because mothers don’t like gifts.

C．Because we always want to get something special

D．Because mothers are very difficult to deal with

2.Making a home video may be _______.

A．fun              B．boring            C．easy             D．nothing

3.What does the underlined word “remind” mean in Chinese?

A．使……防范       B．使……想起        C．使……经过        D．使….. 痛苦

4.How many kinds of ideas have been mentioned here for Mother’s Day?

A．4                B．5                C．6                D．7

5.From the passage we know _________.

A．you can buy a big cake for your mom on Mother’s day

B．writing a letter is better than sending a simple card to your mom on Mother’s Day.

C．inviting your mom to eat in a restaurant is a good gift for her.

D．buying carnations for her is a good way.

As a simple and convenient way to get ______ latest fashions online, online shopping also has ______ major problem — you can’t see whether they fit or not.

A. the; the                           B. / ; the                               C. the; a                              D. /; /