troubles me is I can't learn all these English idioms by heart. [ ] A. That; thatB. What; what C. That; whatD. What; that 题目和参考答案——青夏教育精英家教网—

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.

The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.

“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.

Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he’d been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.

“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.

“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.

Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the phone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”

“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted her to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.

Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs Higgins finally arrived. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.

“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.

Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr. Carr?”

The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner. “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again, and I’ll let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’s hand.

Mrs. Higgins thanked the old man for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”

In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.

His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.

This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Alfred tried to sound big to hide his fear.

B．It was the first time Alfred had stolen anything.

C．Mr. Carr set a trap to catch Alfred stealing.

D．Mr. Carr had planned to forgive Alfred from the beginning.

2.What does the underlined word “disarmed” probably mean?

A．annoyed B．convinced

C．got over D．made less angry

3.What impressed Alfred most about his mother at the drugstore was ______．

A．how angry she was B．how effectively she handled Mr．Carr

C．that she didn't cry D．that she was able to save him

4.What was the mother's attitude toward Alfred?

A．She was very strict with him． B．She was supportive of him．

C．She felt disappointed with him． D．She was afraid of him．

5.From the last paragraph, we know that Alfred ______．

A．was no longer a youth B．felt proud of his mother

C．felt guilty and regretful for his deed D．wanted his mother to be happy

The Best of Friends

The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.

An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past.” We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the research team.” They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”

So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends.” My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. ”I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Crome, who is now 21,agrees.”Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”

Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments,” Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”

1.What is the popular images of teenagers today?

A. They worry about school

B. They dislike living with their parents

C. They have to be locked in to avoid troubles

D. They quarrel a lot with other family members

2.The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ___

A. share family responsibility B. cause trouble in their families

C. go boating with their family D. make family decisions

3.Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents___.

A. go to clubs more often with their children

B. are much stricter with their children

C. care less about their children’s life

D. give their children more freedom

4.According to the authour,teenage rebellion____.

A. may be a false belief B. is common nowadays

C. existed only in the 1960s D. resulted from changes in families

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Negotiation in family B. Education in family

C. Harmony in family D. Teenage trouble in family