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A
Insects (昆虫) are a very healthy food. They have almost as much protein (蛋白质) as meat from a pig or cow and are low in fat. Eating insects is also very good for the environment since they need less land and water than larger animals.
Marcel Dicke, who studies insects, explained in a talk how insects also produce more meat from the food they eat. For example, imagine a farmer feeds a cow 10 pounds of food. Those 10 pounds of food produce about 1 pound of meat for people to eat. However, imagine the farmer gives a certain number of insects 10 pounds of food. Those 10 pounds of food produce 9 pounds of meat for people to eat!
Eating more insects can also help people in poor areas. Many people can raise and sell insects, which can provide jobs and food.
But insects will not replace (替代) animal meat very quickly. First, people in some countries would have to change how they think about eating insects. Many people in North America and Europe eat a lot of meat like beef and pork. But they do not traditionally eat insects. In fact, for many people in the west, eating insects sounds crazy! They believe insects are dirty and dangerous. Insects make them feel uncomfortable.
Some people are trying to deal with this problem. For example, David George Gordon wrote a book named “The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook”, which tries to show people that insects can be delicious. Other insect experts travel around telling people about the benefits (好处) of eating insects. But they still have a lot of work to do.
1.Eating insects _____.
A. is not healthy
B. makes people put on fat
C. helps protect large animals
D. is environmentally friendly
2.The example of Marcel Dicke is given to show _____.
A. the high cost of food production
B. it’s quite easy for farmers to raise insects
C. raising insects is a good choice for farmers
D. the different ways of feeding cows and insects
3.The long way eating insects has to go mainly results from _____.
A. their terrible taste B. people’s old beliefs
C. family traditions D. eating methods
4.We can infer from David and other insect experts that _____.
A. people can make a lot of money from insects
B. insects should be better protected
C. people should eat more insects
D. it’s dangerous to eat insects
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Khan Academy is a website providing a free education for any person. The website includes more than 4,000 short teaching videos about many different subjects. Every month, over 7 million people go to the Khan Academy website to watch its videos.
Khan Academy began with one man named Salman Khan. As a young man, Khan got a degree from Harvard Business School and began to work in business.
In 2006, Khan used the Internet to help his young cousins, who lived far away, with their mathematics schoolwork. He drew numbers and pictures on the website to teach them. After a time, he put his videos onto the website YouTube, where his cousins could watch them any time they wanted. But Khan noticed that other people were also watching his videos on YouTube.
By 2009, the number of people watching his videos on YouTube was getting very large. Khan decided to make the videos his job instead. So he officially began Khan Academy, providing videos on mathematics and other school subjects.
People did not have to pay to watch the videos. But they could give Khan money if they wanted to support (支持) his work. Some people did give Khan small amounts of money, but he was still having a hard time. Later, a woman told Khan that Bill Gates uses Khan Academy for his kids. After that, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation began giving money to Khan Academy. In 2010 Google gave the website money too, wanting Khan to translate his videos into the world’s most common languages. Today, people can see Khan’s videos in many different languages.
Some people think that Khan Academy will be the way more and more people learn in the future. Teachers can use it in their classrooms. Khan believes that Khan Academy will never, and should never, replace a school. But he believes teachers and students can use it to make schools better.
1.What can one get from Khan Academy?
A. Video-making methods.
B. Free learning information.
C. Any help with the schoolwork.
D. A good number of beautiful pictures.
2.Salman Khan started Khan Academy _____.
A. in 2006
B. as a student
C. to satisfy the needs of learners
D. under the influence of his cousins
3.What does Salman Khan think of Khan Academy?
A. It will play an active role in school teaching.
B. It can replace teachers in classrooms.
C. It can replace a teaching school.
D. It’s the future of education.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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The Tower of London, not a single tower but a large group, was built to guard London.
Besides William and Henry VIII, the tower’s history has other famous names in British history. In 1389 a clerk of works (现场监工员) named Geoffrey Chaucer — author of The Canterbury Tales — oversaw (监督) the building of the Tower Wharf. In 1671 Colonel Blood tried to steal the crown jewels (皇冠上镶的宝石) after overpowering the elderly Jewel House keeper. (Blood was caught but later pardoned.) Today the jewels remain in the tower as they have since Blood’s day.
For six centuries this place was also home to a group of animals from elephants to big cats. It stopped being used as an animals’ home in 1835 and its animals were moved to the London Zoo.
Today visitors can walk the walls, visit guard towers and see the crown jewels. Guards at the tower, popularly known as beefeaters, not only guard the tower but also give interesting tours that are among the most popular parts of any visit.
How to Get There
Trains and the Dockland Light Railway stop near the tower. Buses 15, 42, 78 and 100 reach the tower, and riverboats stop at Tower Pier. Taxis, bicycles, and foot power are also good ways to reach the tower. Driving is a less attractive choice because of the expensive parking.
When to Go
The tower is open all year round, except during the Christmas holidays (December 24 to 26) and January 1. School holidays and summertime are the busiest times.
How to Visit
As expected at a place that has seen so much history, there is enough of interest at the Tower of London to keep visitors busy for days. Stop at the Welcome Center for visitor information on everything from the crown jewels to family fun activities.
1.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 shows _____.
A. the tower was built by famous people
B. some famous people caused trouble there
C. there were many famous people in British history
D. there were many interesting stories connected to the tower
2.Beefeaters at the tower _____.
A. have two roles B. like to eat beef
C. seem very serious D. often joke with visitors
3.According to the text, the Tower of London is _____.
A. easy to reach B. full of parked cars
C. busy all year round D. a perfect place for a one-day tour
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Quite a few years ago, as I celebrated my 25th birthday with a party, I was surprised to receive an unusual present. The gift-giver smiled widely and said loudly, “It’s a nice, strong plant, so even you can’t kill it.”
I was well known in my circle of friends as an “anti-gardener” — how was I going to care for this piece of greenery?
For four years the plant received little care. I felt guilty (内疚的) just looking at it!
As a non-gardener, my offers to look after friends’ houses were met with laughter: “We appreciate (感激) the offer but, really, we don’t want to come home to a dead garden!” It didn’t occur to (想到) them that I just had no interest in having a garden. It was a choice, not a failing.
Some time later my husband accepted a job in Belgium. Because I couldn’t throw away a gift, I decided to ask my neighbor to care for my plant.
Our lovely house in Belgium had a beautiful garden. Slowly gardening became a part of my daily life, teaching me to slow down and to be happy in the silence of the garden. It was with regret that I left that garden to return to Sydney some months later.
Back home life soon went back to normal. Then one day, it occurred to me that I could start my own little garden. So, I went to collect my unwanted plant from my neighbor. I took the plant home, watered it and watched as its leaves turned from a lifeless yellow to a rich green within weeks. Many years on, I still don’t know the name of my first plant, but I do know that as it grows, so do I. It symbolises a change in me when I stopped listening to the voices around me and started to believe in myself.
1.When the author received a plant as a birthday gift, she felt _____.
A. funny B. guilty C. excited D. displeased
2.What did the author’s friends think of her?
A. Her anti-gardening was a weakness.
B. She was bored with gardening.
C. She was a good housekeeper.
D. Her dead garden was ugly.
3.How did the author deal with the plant before moving away?
A. She threw it away.
B. She asked for help.
C. She left it in the house.
D. She gave it to a neighbor as a gift.
4.The author’s stay in Belgium made her _____.
A. miss her days back in Sydney
B. feel sorry for her first plant
C. fall in love with gardening
D. become strangely silent
5.What does the author want to tell us from her experience?
A. We should try to be perfect.
B. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
C. We should learn to make clear choices.
D. Don’t refuse something you’ve never tried.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析