题目内容
Modern civilization depends greatly on technology.
解析:
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现代文明很大程度上依靠技术。 |
The olive is one of the oldest planted crops known to man and is still widely grown in the Mediterranean.An olive tree can have a life of 500 years and is strong enough to continue to grow if ever chopped to the ground.It takes up four years before the olive tree is ripe enough to bear fruit.
Olive trees originated in the Mediterranean region where there is the perfect climate for the olive tree planting.It is characterized by abundant sunshine year-round and hot,dry summers with an average temperature of 80°F.In winter,it rarely drops below 50°F.Olive trees were first planted by humans around 4000 BC in an area known as the Fertile Crescent.Before the areas became desert,countries such as modern-day Turkey and Iraq had a lush environment with soil that plants grow well.Archaeological findings suggest that farming began in the Fertile Crescent before 7000BC.Instead of living as hunter-gatherers,these early humans settled down and harvested native plants.They selected olive trees that produced larger and oilier olives than the wild trees.
Olives and olive oil became valuable trade items between societies and civilizations.People who moved from one place to another and traders from the Fertile Crescent introduced olive oil to Syria and Crete,which spread to Egypt,Greece,and Rome.It continued to migrate westward until olive trees were first introduced to Califomia between 1769 and 1785.
The olive tree and olive oil have important symbolism in each religion.In Christianity,a dove(鸽子)brought an olive branch to Noah as a symbol of peace and new life after God flooded the Earth.The Prophet Muhammad suggested the use of olive oil for medicinal(药用的) purposes and massage(按摩).
Olive oil has medicinal benefits.Olive oil has been used for health benefits.Regular eating olive oil can reduce the risk of cancers.It was used during the Spanish Civil War from 1808 to 1813 to treat cases of fever.In 1960,oleuropein(橄榄多酚)was removed from olive leaves,which helps with food poisoning.
【小题1】If an olive tree is chopped to the ground,______.
| A.it can’t grow any more |
| B.it can produce more new ones |
| C.there is no doubt that it will die |
| D.it is able to grow back strongly |
| A.Of bad climate. | B.Changeable or unstable. |
| C.Extremely disadvantaged. | D.Growing thickly and strongly. |
| A.the olive tree can stand extreme cold |
| B.the olive tree enjoys the long sunshine |
| C.the olive is the oldest tree in the world |
| D.the climate of deserts suits the olive tree |
①Olive trees bear fruits every four years.
②Olive oil was a food production before 7000BC.
③In Muhammad,olive oil was used as medicine.
④Olive trees were introduced to California in the 18th century.
A.②③④ B. ①②③ C. ①③④ D. ①②④
【小题5】What is this passage mainly about?
| A.The history of the olive tree. |
| B.The characteristic of the olive tree. |
| C.The origin and medicinal benefits of the olive tree. |
| D.The different symbols of the olive tree in each region. |
By the mid-nineteenth century, the “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, 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 the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago, went to families of their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, a precursors of modern refrigerator, had been invented.
Making an efficient icebox was not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary. The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was of course mistaken, for it was melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice included wrapping 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 and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.
But as early as 1803, an 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(奖金) price 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】What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A.The influence of ice on the diet. |
| B.The development of refrigeration. |
| C.The transportation of goods to market. |
| D.Sources of ice in the nineteenth century. |
| A.in 1803 | B.sometime bore 1850 |
| C.during the civil war | D.near the end of the nineteenth century. |
| A.progressive | B.popular | C.thrifty | D.well-established |
| A.many fish dealers also sold ice. |
| B.fish was shipped in refrigerated freight cars. |
| C.fish dealers were among the early commercial users of ice |
| D.fish was not part of the ordinary person’s diet before the invention of the icebox. |
The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place.Now it is an ecological disaster area.Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence-other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years,Polynesian people lived in the remote island of Nauru,far from western civilization.The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798.He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship.He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first.The whaling ships and other traders began to visit,bringing guns and alcohol.These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island.A ten-year civil war started,which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru's real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate(磷酸盐)on the island.In fact,it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate,which was a very important fertilizer for farming.The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground;it is a strip mine.When a company strip-mines,it removes the to player of soil.Then it takes away the material it wants.Strip mining totally destroys the land.Gradually, the lovely island or Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968,Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world.Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars.In addition,they used millions more dollars for personal expenses.Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem—their phosphate was running out.Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing.By 2000,Nauru was financially ruined.Experts say that it would take approximately$433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island.This will probably never happen.
【小题1】What might be the author's purpose in writing the text?
| A.To seek help for Nauru's problems. |
| B.To tell a heartbreaking story of a war. |
| C.To show the importance of money |
| D.To give a warning to other countries |
APeaceful and attractive B.Modern and open
C.Rich and powerful D.Greedy and aggressive
【小题3】The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from
| A.soil pollution | B.phosphate overmining |
| C.farming activity | D.whale hunting |
| A.Its phosphate mining cost much money |
| B.It spent too much repairing the island |
| C.Its leaders misused the money |
| D.It lost millions of dollars in the civil war. |
| A.The leaders will take the experts' words seriously |
| B.The ecological damage is difficult to repair. |
| C.The island was abandoned by the Nauruans |
| D.The phosphate mines were destroyed |