What Theresa Loe is doing proves that a large farm isn’t a prerequisite for a modern grow-your-own lifestyle. On a mere 1/10 of an acre in Los Angeles, Loe and her family grow, can (装罐) and preserve much of the food they consume.
Loe is a master food preserver, gardener and canning expert. She also operates a website, where she shares her tips and recipes, with the goal of demonstrating that everyone has the ability to control what’s on their plate.
Loe initially went to school to become an engineer, but she quickly learned that her enthusiasm was mainly about growing and preparing her own food. “ got into cooking my own food and started growing my own herbs(香草)and foods for that fresh flavor,” she said. Engineer by day, Loe learned cooking at night school. She ultimately purchased a small piece of land with her husband and began growing their own foods.
“I teach people how to live farm-fresh without a farm,” Loe said. Through her website Loe emphasizes that ‘‘anybody can do this anywhere.” Got an apartment with a balcony (阳台)? Plant some herbs. A window? Perfect spot for growing. Start with herbs, she recommends, because “they’re very forgiving.” Just a little of the herbs “can take your regular cooking to a whole new level,” she added. “I think it’s a great place to start.” Then? Try growing something from a seed, she said, like a tomato or some tea.
Canning is a natural extension of the planting she does. With every planted food, Loe noted, there’s a moment when it’s bursting with its absolute peak flavor. “I try and keep it in a time capsule in a canning jar,” Loe said. “Canning for me is about knowing what’s in your food, knowing where it comes from.”
In addition to being more in touch with the food she’s eating, another joy comes from passing this knowledge and this desire for good food to her children: “Influencing them and telling them your opinion on not only being careful what we eat but understanding the bigger picture,” she said, “that if we don’t take care of the earth, no one will.”
【小题1】The underlined word “prerequisite” (Para. 1) is closest in meaning to“ ”.

A．recipe	B．substitute
C．requirement	D．challenge

【小题2】Why does Loe suggest starting with herbs?

A．They are used daily.	B．They are easy to grow.
C．They can grow very tall.	D．They can be eaten uncooked.

【小题3】According to Loe, what is the benefit of canning her planted foods?

A．It can preserve their best flavor.	B．It can promote her online sales.
C．It can better her cooking skills.	D．It can improve their nutrition.

【小题4】What is the “the bigger picture” (Para. 6) that Loe wishes her children to understand?

A．The knowledge about good food.	B．The way to live a grow-our-own life.
C．The joy of getting in touch with foods.	D．The responsibility to protect our earth

   I work with Volunteers for Wildlife, a rescue and education organization at Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley. Trying to help injured, displaced or sick creatures can be heartbreaking; survival is never certain. However, when it works, it is simply beautiful.

I got a rescue call from a woman in Muttontown. She had found a young owl(猫头鹰) on the ground. When I arrived, I saw a 2-to 3-week-old owl. It had already been placed in a carrier for safety.

I examined the chick(雏鸟) and it seemed fine. If I could locate the nest, I might have been able to put it back, but no luck. My next work was to construct a nest and anchor it in a tree.

The homeowner was very helpful. A wire basket was found. I put some pine branches into the basket to make this nest safe and comfortable. I placed the chick in the nest, and it quickly calmed down.

Now all that was needed were the parents, but they were absent. I gave the homeowner a recording of the hunger screams of owl chicks. These advertise the presence of chicks to adults; they might also encourage our chick to start calling as well. I gave the owner as much information as possible and headed home to see what news the night might bring.

A nervous night to be sure, but sometimes the spirits of nature smile on us all! The homeowner called to say that the parents had responded to the recordings. I drove over and saw the chick in the nest looking healthy and active. And it was accompanied in the nest by the greatest sight of all — LUNCH! The parents had done their duty and would probably continue to do so.

【小题1】What is unavoidable in the author’s rescue work according to paragraph 1?

A．Efforts made in vain.

B．Getting injured in his work.

C．Feeling uncertain about his future.

D．Creatures forced out of their homes.

【小题2】Why was the author called to Muttontown?

A．To rescue a woman.

B．To take care of a woman.

C．To look at a baby owl.

D．To cure a young owl.

【小题3】What made the chick calm down?

A．A new nest.

B．Some food.

C．A recording.

D．Its parents.

【小题4】How would the author feel about the outcome of the event?

A．It’s unexpected.

B．It’s beautiful.

C．It’s humorous.

D．It’s discouraging.

Peter loved to shop used articles. Almost a month ago, he bought popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was purchasing it, the salesgirl said, “Uh, look, the game box haven’t even been opened yet. That might be worth some money. ”
Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1973 on the back of the box.
“You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens.”the salesgirl said.
“Yes, you’re right. People like something rare.” Peter agreed, “I can’t imagine there being very many unopened boxes of this game still around 40 years later.”
“Don’t forget to tell me if you sell it.” the salesgirl smiled.
“No problem.” Peter said.
After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn’t find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.
Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop.
“Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?”
The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, “Oh, hi!”
“I’ve got something for you,” Peter said. “I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion.” He handed her three $ 100 bills.
“Wow!” the salesgirl cried out. “Thank you, I never expected it.”
【小题1】Which of the following best describes Peter’s word game?

A．It was made around 40 years ago.

B．It had game boards in different sizes.

C．It was kept in a plastic bag with a seal.

D．It had little pieces of wood in different colors.

【小题2】What did the salesgirl probably think of Peter’s word game?

A．Old and handy.

B．Rare and valuable.

C．Classic and attractive.

D．Colorful and interesting

【小题3】Peter got the names of the game fans from _________.

A．an auction

B．the Internet

C．a game shop

D．the second-hand shop

【小题4】What happened at the end of the story?

A．Peter gave the girl $300 as a reward.

B．The salesgirl became Peter’s friend.

C．Peter returned the word game for $ 1,000.

D．The salesgirl felt confused to see Peter again.

【小题5】What is the main theme of the story?

A．It’s important to keep a promise.

B．It’s great to share in other people’s happiness.

C．We should be grateful for the help from others.

D．Something rare is worth a large amount of money.

   At thirteen, I was diagnosed (诊断)with a kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.

In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to read a story and their write on it, all within 45minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, “Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it.”

She glanced down at me through her glasses, “you are not different from your classmates, young man. ”

I tried, but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it homie.

In the quietness of my bedroom; the ‘story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raise dots(点), which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.

Wasn’t I the “blind”in my class; being made to learn like the “sighted” students? My thoughts spilled out(溢出)and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was not different from others; I just needed a quieter place: If Louis could find his “Way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?”

I didn’t expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs.Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to ‘me the next day-. with an “A”on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words:. “See what you can do when you keep trying?”

【小题1】The author didn’t finish the reading in class because    .

A．He was new to the class

B．He was tried of literature

C．He had an attention disorder

D．He wanted to take the task home

【小题2】What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?

A．He had good sight

B．He made a great invention.

C．He gave up reading

D．He learned a lot from school

【小题3】What was Mrs. Smith’s attitude to the author at the end of the story?

A．Angry

B．Impatient

C．Sympathetic

D．Encouraging

【小题4】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The disabled should be treated with respect.

B．A teacher can open up a new world to students.

C．One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts.

D．Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges.

Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.
And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.
As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.
Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!
Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup!
【小题1】Why did Dad clean Old Man Mocolgin’s chicken house regularly?

A．To earn some money for the family.	B．To collect manure for his crops.
C．To get rid of the terrible smell.	D．To set a good example to us.

【小题2】What can we infer about Dad’s stew?

A．It is popular among the neighbors.	B．It contains honey and vegetables.
C．It looks very wonderful.	D．It tastes quite delicious.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “offend” in the last paragraph mean?

A．To attract.

B．To upset.

C．To air.

D．To shut.

【小题4】What can we learn about Dad form the text?

A．He is an experienced cook.	B．He is a troublesome father.
C．He has a positive attitude to life.	D．He suffers a lot from his disability.

B
When her five daughters were young, Helene An always told them that there was strength in unity (团结). To show this, she held up one chopstick, representing oneperson. Then she easily broke it into two pieces. Next, she tied several chopsticks together, representing a family. She showed the girls it was hard to break the tied chopsticks. This lesson about family unity stayed with the daughters as they grew up.
Helene An and her family own a large restaurant business in California. However, when Helene and her husband Danny left their home in Vietnam in 1975, they didn't have much money. They moved their family to San Francisco. There they joined Danny's mother, Diana, who owned a small Italian sandwich shop. Soon afterwards, Helene and Diana changed the sandwich shop into a small Vietnamese restaurant. The five daughters helped in the restaurant when they were young. However, Helene did not want her daughters to always work in the family business because she thought it was too hard.
Eventually the girls all graduated from college and went away to work for themselves, but one by one, the daughters returned to work in the family business. They opened new restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even though family members sometimes disagreed with each other, they worked together to make the business successful. Daughter Elisabeth explains, "Our mother taught us that to succeed we must have unity, and to have unity we must have peace. Without the strength of the family, there is no business."
Their expanding business became a large corporation in 1996, with three generations of Ans working together. Now the Ans' corporation makes more than $20 million each year. Although they began with a small restaurant, they had big dreams, and they worked together. Now they are a big success.
【小题1】Helene tied several chopsticks together to show ______.

A．the strength of family unity

B．the difficulty of growing up

C．the advantage of chopsticks

D．the best way of giving a lesson

【小题2】We can learn from Paragraph 2 that the Helene An family ______.

A．started a business in 1975

B．left Vietnam without much money

C．bought a restaurant in San Francisco

D．opened a sandwich shop in Los Angeles

【小题3】What can we infer about the five daughters?

A．They did not finish their college education.

B．They could not bear to work in the family business.

C．They were influenced by what Helene taught them.

D．They were troubled by disagreement among family members.

【小题4】Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Run a Corporation

B．Strength Comes from Peace

C．How to Achieve a Big Dream

D．Family Unity Builds Success

   I am Peter Hodes, a volunteer stem courier. Since March 2012, I've done 89 trips of those , 51 have been abroad, I have 42 hours to carry stem cells（干细胞）in my little box because I've got two ice packs and that's how long they last, in all, from the time the stem cells are harvested from a donor(捐献者) to the time they can be implanted in the patient, we’ve got 72 hours at most, So I am always conscious of time.

I had one trip last year where I was caught by a hurricane in America. I picked up the stem cells in Providence, Rhode Island, and was meant to fly to Washington then back to London. But when I arrived at the check-in desk at Providence, the lady on the desk said: “Well, I’m really sorry, I’ve got some bad news for you-there are no fights from Washington.” So I took my box and put it on the desk and I said: “In this box are some stem cells that are urgently needed for a patient-please, please, you’ve got to get me back to the United Kingdom.” She just dropped everything. She arranged for a flight on a small  plane to be held for mere-routed(改道)me through Newark and got me back to the UK even earlier than originally scheduled.

For this courier job, you’re consciously aware than that box you’re got something that is potentially going to save somebody’s life.

【小题1】Which of the following can replace the underlined word “courier” in Paragraph 1?

A．provider	B．delivery man
C．collector	D．medical doctor

【小题2】Why does Peter have to complete his trip within 42 hours?

A．He cannot stay away from his job too long.

B．The donor can only wait for that long.

C．The operation needs that very much.

D．The ice won’t last any longer.

【小题3】Which flight did the woman put Peter on first?

A．To London	B．To Newark
C．To Providence	D．To Washington

   Salvador Dali (1904—1989) was one of the most popular of modern artists. The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly The Persistence of Memory. There is also L’Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist’s showman qualities.

The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.

The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (无限). ＂From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,＂ explains the Pompidou Centre.

The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作) with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.

【小题1】Which of the following best describe Dali according to Paragraph 1?

A．Optimistic.	B．Productive.
C．Generous.	D．Traditional.

【小题2】What is Dali’s The Persistence of Memory considered to be?

A．One of his masterworks.	B．A successful screen adaptation.
C．An artistic creation for the stage.	D．One of the beat TV programmes.

【小题3】How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali?

A．By popularity.	B．By importance.
C．By size and shape.	D．By time and subject.

【小题4】What does the word ＂contributions＂ in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Artworks.	B．Projects.
C．Donations.	D．Documents.

   Not so long ago, most people didn’t know who Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was going to become. She was just an average high athlete. There was every indication that she was just another Jamaican teenager without much of a future. However, one person wanted to change this. Stephen Francis observed then eighteen-year-old Shelly-Ann at a track meet and was convinced that he had seen the beginnings of true greatness. Her times were not exactly impressive, but even so, he sensed there was something trying to get out, something the other coaches had overlooked when they had assessed her and found her lacking. He decided to offer Shelly-Ann a place in his very strict training sessions. Their cooperation quickly produced results, and a few years later at Jamaica’s Olympic trials in early 2008, Shelly-Ann, who at that time only ranked number 70 in the world, beat Jamaica’s unchallenged queen of the sprint (短跑).

＂Where did she come from?＂ asked an astonished sprinting world, before concluding that she must be one of those one-hit wonders that spring up from time to time, only to disappear again without signs. But Shelly-Ann was to prove that she was anything but a one-hit wonder. At the Beijing Olympics she swept away any doubts about her ability to perform consistently by becoming the first Jamaican woman ever to win the 100 metres Olympic gold. She did it again one year on at the World Championships in Berlin, becoming world champion with a time of 10.73 — the fourth fastest time ever.

Shelly-Ann is a little woman with a big smile. She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance. Her journey to becoming the fastest woman on earth has been anything but smooth and effortless. She grew up in one of Jamaica’s toughest inner-city communities known as Waterhouse, where she lived in a one-room apartment, sleeping four in a bed with her mother and two brothers. Waterhouse, one of the poorest communities in Jamaica, is a really violent and overpopulated place. Several of Shelly-Ann’s friends and family were caught up in the killings; one of her cousins was shot dead only a few streets away from where she lived. Sometimes her family didn’t have enough to eat. She ran at the school championships barefooted because she couldn’t afford shoes. Her mother Maxime, one of a family of fourteen, had been an athlete herself as a young girl but, like so many other girls in Waterhouse, had to stop after she had her first baby. Maxime’s early entry into the adult world with its responsibilities gave her the determination to ensure that her kids would not end up in Waterhouse’s roundabout of poverty. One of the first things Maxime used to do with Shelly-Ann was taking her to the track, and she was ready to sacrifice everything.

It didn’t take long for Shelly-Ann to realize that sports could be her way out of Waterhouse. On a summer evening in Beijing in 2008, all those long, hard hours of work and commitment finally bore fruit. The barefoot kid who just a few years previously had been living in poverty, surrounded by criminals and violence, had written a new chapter in the history of sports.

But Shelly-Ann’s victory was far greater than that. The night she won Olympic gold in Beijing, the routine murders in Waterhouse and the drug wars in the neighbouring streets stopped. The dark cloud above one of the world’s toughest criminal neighbourhoods simply disappeared for a few days. ＂I have so much fire burning for my country,＂ Shelly said. She plans to start a foundation for homeless children and wants to build a community centre in Waterhouse. She hopes to inspire the Jamaicans to lay down their weapons. She intends to fight to make it a woman’s as well as a man’s world.

As Muhammad Ali puts it, ＂Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire, a dream, a vision.＂ One of the things Shelly-Ann can be proud of is her understanding of this truth.

【小题1】Why did Stephen Francis decide to coach Shelly-Ann?

A．He had a strong desire to free her family from trouble.

B．He sensed a great potential in her despite her weaknesses.

C．She had big problems maintaining her performance.

D．She suffered a lot of defeats at the previous track meets.

【小题2】What did the sprinting world think of Shelly-Ann before the 2008 Olympic Games?

A．She would become a promising star.

B．She badly needed to set higher goals.

C．Her sprinting career would not last long.

D．Her talent for sprinting was known to all.

【小题3】What made Maxime decide to train her daughter on the track?

A．Her success and lessons in her career.

B．Her interest in Shelly-Ann’s quick profit.

C．Her wish to get Shelly-Ann out of poverty.

D．Her early entrance into the sprinting world.

【小题4】What can we infer from Shelly-Ann’s statement underlined in Paragraph 5?

A．She was highly rewarded for her efforts.

B．She was eager to do more for her country.

C．She became an athletic star in her country.

D．She was the envy of the whole community.

【小题5】By mentioning Muhammad Ali’s words, the author intends to tell us that .

A．players should be highly inspired by coaches

B．great athletes need to concentrate on patience

C．hard work is necessary in one’s achievements

D．motivation allows great athletes to be on the top

【小题6】What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Making of a Great Athlete

B．The Dream for Championship

C．The Key to High Performance

D．The Power of Full Responsibility