Life on land probably began about 430 million years ago, though it has existed in the water for perhaps as much as 3,000 million years. When we think of the first thing on land, we probably think of strange animals coming out of the oceans, but in fact no animals could have been living if plants had not been on land first. Plants had to be on land before animals arrived. They supplied the first land animals with the surrounding and food necessity, since they, the plants, are the only form of life that is able to get and store energy.

　　The first plants to exist out of the water were probably certain kinds of algae（海藻）which were followed by other plants that grew close to the ground and needed water in which to reproduce. Once the move to land had been made, however, evolution（进化）took place quickly. By the end of 100 million years, plants had developed their roots（根）,and some had got tree -like forms since height was very important in gaining sunlight. About 300 million years ago, much of the world was covered with forests of huge trees. In most ways they were like modern trees. They had roots, leaves, wood, but mostly they had not developed seeds.

　The main idea of the first paragraph is ________.

　　A. life on land probably began 430 years ago

　　B. the first animal on land came from oceans

　　C. there wouldn't be animals without plants

　　D. plants are the only form of life that is able to get and store energy

　Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

　　A. Algae has existed for more than 430 million years.

　　B. It is impossible that algae might be the earliest plant on land.

　　C. Plants get food from animals in the oceans.

　　D. Evolution began after animals appeared on land.

　Plants with roots appeared about ________ million years ago.

　　A. 430　　　　　B. 300　　　　　 C. 330　　　　　 D. 100

　According to the passage, ________ appeared earlier than ________.

　　A. apples; oranges　　　　　　　　 B. oranges; apples

　　C. oranges; roses　　　　　　　　　D. algae; wheat

When we think of trees at Christmas, there is ________ that immediately springs to mind－the evergreen tree beautifully decorated.

A. the one  B. that  C. it  D. one

Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.
Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.
However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.
They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.
When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.
Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues.
【小题1】What is the main idea of the article?

Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. roots      B. but     C. covered     D. reproduce   E. energy

F. probably  G. gaining  H. surrounding  I. supplied     J. life

Life on land probably began about 430 million years ago, though it has existed in the water for perhaps as much as 3,000 million years. When we think of the first     1    on land, we     2   think of strange animals coming out of the oceans, but, in fact, no animals could have been living if plants had not been on land first. Plants had to be on land before animals arrived. They    3   the first land animals with the    4   and food necessary, since they ---the plants are the only form of life that is able to get and store    5    .

The first plants to exist out of the water were probably certain kinds of algae （ 藻类 ）which were followed by other plants that grew close to the ground and needed water in which to    6  . Once the move to land has been made, however, evolution took place quickly. By the end of 100 million years, plants had developed their    7  , and some have got tree-like forms since height was very important in    8   sunlight. About 300 million years ago, much of the world was     9   with forests of huge trees. In most ways they were like modern trees. They had roots, leaves, wood, but mostly they had not developed seeds.

One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for fine tea. Today, when we think of Western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china tea cups.
Afternoon tea
People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18th and 19th centuries. the English ate only two main meals each day ,breakfast and a heavy supper that would last for several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o’clock. This meal included cakes and sandwiches. and tea was served(提供)to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and plates, and silver teapots. knives, forks and spoons were used .Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.
Will you come for coffee?
Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use the words“Will  you come for coffee?” to mean “Would you like to come to my home for a chat?” Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange Juice will be served as well as coffee. and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a "coffee" party.
Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange
In the 17th century London, coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and  bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange(股票交易所) is believed to have started from these coffeehouses