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Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic (流行病) sweeping across America’s farmland. It has little to do with the usual challenges, such as flood, rising fuel prices and crop-eating insects. The country’s farmers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place. National agricultural census (普查) figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers is the part over 65. Merrigan is afraid the average age will be even higher when the 2012 statistics are completed.
Merrigan, a former college professor, is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture. Aside from trying to stop the graying of America’s farmers, her work is made tougher by a recent blog posting that put agriculture at No. 1 on a list of “useless” college degrees. Top federal agriculture officials are talking about the posting, and it has the attention of agricultural organizations across the country.
“There couldn’t be anything that’s more incorrect,” Merrigan said. “We know that there aren’t enough qualified graduates to fill the jobs that are out there in American agriculture.”
In addition, a growing world population that some experts predict will require 70% more food production by 2050, she said.
“I truly believe we’re at a golden age of agriculture. Global demand is at an all-time record high, and global supplies are at all-time record lows,” said Matt Rush, director of the Texas Farm Bureau. “Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture.”
The Department of Agriculture has programs aimed at developing more farmers and at increasing interest in locally grown food. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition has also been pushing for state and federal policy changes to make it easier for new farmers.
Ryan Best, president of Future Farmers of America, has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the country and visiting with high school students about careers in agriculture. The 21-year-old Best hopes his message—that this is a new time in agriculture—will motivate the next generation to turn around the statistics. “Never before have we had the innovations (創(chuàng)新) in technology which have led to agriculture in this country being the most efficient it has ever been,” he said. “There’s really a place for everybody to fit in.”
小題1:What is the new challenge to American agriculture?
A．Fewer and older farmers.B．Higher fuel prices.
C．More natural disasters.D．Lower agricultural output.
小題2:Why is Merrigan visiting universities across the country?
A．To draw federal agriculture officials’ attention.
B．To select qualified agriculture graduates.
C．To clarify a recent blog posting.
D．To talk more students into farming careers.
小題3:According to Matt Rush, American agriculture will provide opportunities for younger people
because__________..
A．the government will cover production costs
B．global food supplies will be even lower
C．investment in agriculture will be profitable
D．America will increase its food export
小題4:What do the underlined words “to turn around the statistics” in the last paragraph mean?
A．To re-analyze the result of the national census.
B．To increase agricultural production.
C．To bring down the average age of farmers.
D．To invest more in agriculture.

小題1:A
小題2:D
小題3:C
小題4:C
這是一篇新聞報道，報道了“美國農業(yè)缺少專業(yè)大學生從事農業(yè)生產”的問題。
小題1:細節(jié)理解題。根據首段第二、三句“It has little to do with…The country’s farmers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place.”可知答案是A。
小題2:細節(jié)理解題。根據第二段首句“Merrigan, …is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture.”可知答案是D。
小題3:細節(jié)理解題。根據第五段最后一句“Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be invloved in agriculture.”可知答案是C。
小題4:短語意思猜測題。根據尾段關鍵詞“a new time in agriculture”“innovations in technology”“for everybody to fit in”結合目前美國農業(yè)現狀“fewer and older farmers”可知答案是C（降低農民平均年齡）。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

We all remember seeing hitchhikers（搭便車的人）, standing by the side of the road, thumb sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picked me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red,
spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers. org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out(actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people-wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people-will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.
小題1:The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because_____________ .
A．they were not heading towards Manchester
B．they thought most hitchhikers were dangerous
C．hitchhiking had been forbidden and they didn’t want to break the law
D．he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous
小題2:Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A．That some people refuse hitchhikers may reflect the safety fear.
B．Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK.
C．40% of UK people don’t have access to cars.
D．Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking.
小題3:The “fat blokes in red, spotted scarves” in Paragraph 3 most likely means         .
A．murderous hitchhikers
B．friendly and talkative hitchhikers
C．typical hitchhikers
D．strange hitchhikers like the author
小題4:According to the author, future hitchhikers are more likely to                 .
A．visit websites and find people to share cars with
B．stand by roads with their thumbs sticking out
C．stick out signs with their destinations written on
D．wait for some kind people to pick them up
小題5:From the last paragraph, we know that the author                    .
A．frequently hitchhikes in Britain
B．plans to hitchhike across Europe
C．thinks public transport is safer for travel
D．is going to contact the tank commander

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Japanese students work very hard but many are very unhappy. They feel great pressure from their parents to do well in school and in college. Most students are always being told by their parents to study harder so that they can have successful future. Although this may be good advice for those who are very bright, it can have very bad results for many students who are not quick enough at learning.
Unfortunately, a number of students actually kill themselves. Others are after comfort in using drugs. Some students, however, do bad things with groups of bad people and turn to crime. Many of them have tried very hard at school but, in spite of all their tries, have failed in certain examinations and have disappointed their parents. Such students feel that they are less important than everyone else they meet and leave school before they finish their study.
It is surprising that although most Japanese parents are anxious for their children to do well at school, they do not help them in any way. Many parents feel that they are unable to help their children with their lessons and that it is the teachers’ job to help their children.
To make matter worse, a lot of parents send their children to special schools called juku-cram schools. These schools are open during the evenings and on weekends, and their only purpose is to prepare students to pass exams; they do not try to educate students in any real sense of the world. Thus comes a shock to realize that almost three quarters of the junior high school students attend these cram schools.
Ordinary Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the length of students’ hair to their clothes and things in their school bags. Child psychologists now think that such strict rules often lead to a feeling of being unsafe and being unable to fit into society. They believe that no sense of moral(道德) values is developed and that students are given neither guidance nor training in becoming good citizens.
小題1:Many Japanese students are unhappy at school because          .
A．the school work is too much
B．their teachers are too strict with them
C．their parents put much pressure on them
D．they can’t get on well with their friends
小題2:How many unexpected things will some of Japanese students do when they are not doing well in their studies?
A．TwoB．FourC．SixD．Eight
小題3:What’s some experts’ opinion about Japanese school rules?
A．They are a set of effective rules.
B．They can help the students to be useful persons.
C．They are bad for the development of each student.
D．They stress the importance of sense of moral values.
小題4:According to the third paragraph, who have not tried their best?
A．The schools.B．The students.
C．The teachers.D．The parents.
小題5:choose the best title for this passage:
A. Poor students in Japan
B. poor students in campus in Japan
C. wrong educational system in Japan
D How to develop a student

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Shopping is not as simple as you think! There are all sorts of tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand of product on the shelf.
Coloring, for example, varies according to what the producers are trying to sell. Health foods are packages in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colors. Ice cream packets are often blue and expensive foods, like chocolates, are gold and silver.
When some kind of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that the colors turned the customers off because they made the product look weak and ineffective. Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package because we think of it as safe, and white as calm.
The size of a product can attract a shopper. But quite often a bottle doesn’t contain as much as it appears to.
It is believed that the better-known companies spend, on average, 70 percent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging.
The most successful producers know that it’s not enough to have a good product. The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years has used pretty little girls to promote their goods, came to the conclusion: “Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius to sell it.”
小題1:Which of the following may trick a shopper into buying a product according to the text?
A．The cost of its package.
B．The price of the product.
C．The color of its package.
D．The brand name of the product.
小題2:The underlined part in paragraph 3 means that the colors ________.
A．attracted the customers strongly
B．had weak effect on the customers
C．tricked the customers into shopping
D．caused the customers to lose interest
小題3:Which of the following would be the best title for this text?
A．Choice of Good Products
B．Disadvantages of Products
C．Effect of Packaging on Shopping
D．Brand Names and Shopping Tricks

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought.  It’s nothing personal.  Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius.  In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities.  More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries.  These schools teach both Chinese language and culture.  The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy（哲學）.  Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy.  Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese.  So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States.  Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers. 
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
小題1:The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________
A． provide some key facts about Confucius
B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject
C．show great respect for the ancient thinker
D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations
小題2:We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______
A． have a great interest in studying Chinese
B．take an active part in Chinese competitions
C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams
D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese
小題3:What is the best title for the passge?
A．Forgotten Wisdom in America
B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
C．Chinese Culture for Westerners
D．Old Thinker with a Big Future
小題4:The passage is likely to appear in ___________.
A．a biography
B．a history paper
C．a newspaper
D．a philosophy textbook

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


It seems school children all over the world complain about their school food. Cherie Blair, the wife of previous Prime Minister Tony Blair, said that she would prepare a packed lunch for her son if school dinners do not improve. So what do students of your age eat for lunch at school?
Japan
High schools have canteens（食堂）, which serve everything from noodles to rice, but not burgers and chips. Other children bring food from home such as cold rice balls, meat or fish, pickles(泡菜) and vegetables.
Students take home a menu for the coming month containing notes on nutrition（營養(yǎng)）value. Twice a year parents are invited to have a taste of the food. The class with the fewest leftovers(剩飯) at the end of the month receives a prize.
Untied States
A typical menu from a US school is made up of a hamburger with fried potatoes or roast chicken, lettuce and pickles, fruit and cookies. School lunches must also provide at least one-third of the daily dietary allowances (定量) of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories.
Australia
Meat pies, sausage rolls and hotdogs are all traditional dishes in Australian school shops. But as the nation pays more attention to children’s health, healthier foods have started to find their way onto school menus.
Many schools have used a traffic light system. The sale of red-labelled foods, including pastries, chocolate and soft drinks, is served only twice a week. Healthier green-labelled foods such as sushi (壽司), sandwiches, corn and watermelon, however, are available every day.
In some schools, students have a choice of up to 89 foods to choose from, including popcorn and rice.
South Africa
Most of South Africa’s schools do not serve meals at all. Classes end at 1:30pm and students get their own lunches. Many students bring food from home, usually sandwiches.
Fast food and fried food sell the best among students, which has led to a rise in obesity among children. But as more people began to realize the fact that being too fat may cause different diseases, some schools in towns have led the way towards better nutrition. Now students at these schools are provided with lunches of porridge with vegetables, such as cabbages, onions, beans, carrots and tomatoes.
小題1:What does the underlined word “obesity” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A．Nutrition.B．Addiction.C．Food shortage.D．Overweight.
小題2:We can infer from the passage that ________.
A．a typical menu from a US school consists of enough nutrition.
B．most students in South Africa eat their lunch at home.
C．many schools in Australia have traffic lights outside their school.
D．you can have whatever you like in school canteens in Japan.
小題3:What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Schools should try to satisfy the needs of students.
B．Schools serve different foods from country to country.
C．Food served in the US is the best of all.
D．School children all over the world dislike their school food.
小題4:The article is written for ________.
A．parentsB．schoolmasters
C．students of your ageD．nutritionists

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Our lives were supposed to be more flexible and family-friendly thanks to the technology at our fingertips. But in this age of BlackBerrys, recession pressures, working at home after hours and on weekends, family time may not be working out the way we thought.
Busy parents who expected more time with the kids are Finding that more work hours at home don't necessarily translate into quality time with them.
A new generation of parents needs to discover the meaning of "quality time," researchers say. “Personally, just given the life I lead, I think there is something to this idea of quality time- spending productive time with children vs. just being around,” says Peter Brandon, a professor at Carleton College. He says engaging or interacting with a child in activities such as reading or playing counts as quality time rather than "passive monitoring," such as washing the dishes while the child is watching TV.
“This time with children pays off,” Brandon says. He notes that good parent-child relationships result in children being happier and more successful, including at school.
As parents struggle to be more available to their kids, new research on work and family  schedules to be presented Friday at the meeting in Dallas includes a study that shows parents' availability is on the decline because more parents are in the workforce. Although parents today may be spending more time on child care, they are less available overall.
Working parents who spend less time with their children should try to make sure the time they do spend is communicating with them, vs. doing the dishes or spending more time on themselves, Brandon says “The trade-off is not necessarily taking away time from your kid,” he says "You're taking away time from other things”
小題1:The first paragraph mainly intends to tell us that            .
A．technology lets parents work at home
B．parents are satisfied with their work
C．technology makes our lives much easier
D．the family time is not always satisfying
小題2:We can learn from the third paragraph that               .
A．some families are not experiencing quality time
B．it's enough for parents to stay with their children
C．parents enjoy engaging in work-at-home activities
D．working hours at home can transform into quality time
小題3: According to Brandon, the quality time means
A．just, being around with children
B．work time is separate from family time
C．spending instructive time with children
D．letting the children do whatever they want to do
小題4:The underlined sentence “This time with children pays” off means            .
A．the time with children is of little value
B．the time with children costs quite a lot
C．the time with children leads to good result
D．the time with children has a bad effect on them
小題5:What will the author most probably talk about in next part of the passage?
A．How to spend more time at home
B．How to do the dishes in a proper way.
C．How to spend more time on working at home.
D．How to take away time in a much proper way.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

People hold the belief that a fun-filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people don’t like the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, commitment(承擔的義務)，self-improvement.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment, for commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most obvious features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word “fun” to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting true happiness is one of the most liberating realizations because true happiness has nothing to do with fun. It liberates(解放) time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actully may not be happy at all.
小題1:According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because____
A．he is unwilling to take family responsibilities
B．he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C．he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
D．he fears it will put an end to all his fun, adventure and excitement
小題2: The underlined word bachelor means_________
A．a married manB．a college student
C．a single manD．an academic degree
小題3:From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes results from______
A．hatredB．misunderstandingC．prejudiceD．ignorance
小題4:To understand what true happiness, one must________
A．have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime.
B．make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
C．put up with pain under all circumstances
D．be able to distinguish happiness from fun
小題5:What is the author trying to tell us?
A．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.
B．One must know how to attain happiness.
C．It is important to make commitments.
D．It is pain that leads to happiness.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Internet dating has become one of the biggest and most successful business ventures on the Internet．Basically, Internet dating is a way to meet people for either friendship or dating without actually having to meet them in person first．
The first thing to do it you decide to try Internet dating is to build your profile （簡介） which can include your hobbies, hopes for the future, and so on．A photograph is optional, but many sites claim that a photograph increases the number of people who look at your profile．Many Internet dating sites will charge a one-lime registration fee to use their services.
Internet dating makes it possible to meet people from all over the world．You can even narrow the search down to your area by zip code．Another advantage is that you can communicate by e-mail before you meet in person．Thousands of people have met, fallen in love, and married through Internet dating．It is an excellent way for shy people to meet．It is also a way for people with busy lives to connect with others, and an easy way to meet people who share your interests．
Just as in traditional dating and love, there are some pitfalls to be aware of in Internet dating．The person you have been talking to on the Net may not be who they say they are, Be very aware that there are some people who misrepresent their appearance or private details, such as marital status, income, and so on, for their own reasons．It would not be the first time that someone has been taken in, and talk shows are full of cheating partners who have been caught dating over the Internet in their spare time．Nevertheless, taking a few simple precautions should help ensure that your Internet dating experience is fun．
小題1:The purpose of writing the passage is to _____．
A．persuade readers to go dating on the Internet
B．inform us how to date on the Internet
C．warn readers against web love
D．introduce Internet dating to us
小題2:Which of the following is a must to make an Internet dating possible?
A．A photo．B．A profile．C．Money．D．Business experience．
小題3:One advantage of Internet dating is that _____．
A．you can avoid a face-to-face meeting in the beginning
B．you’re sure to find a partner with the same interests
C．you’ll find absolutely dependable information of others
D．you’ll gain fame and money overnight
小題4:What is probably talked about following the last paragraph?
A．Traditional dating．B．Hidden advantages．
C．Safety measures．D．Romantic love．
小題5:The underlined word "pitfalls" in Paragraph  4 most probably means ______
A．rulesB．trendsC．problems D．skills

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