【推荐2】   

Three experimental fields of seawater rice were harvested in China on Wednesday, a further step toward its future practical use. Also known as saline­alkali tolerant rice (耐盐碱水稻), the seawater rice is designed to grow in seaside flats or other areas with high salt content and has been developed by experts through crossbreeding (杂交) and other technologies.

One type of seawater rice growing in Qingdao’s Chengyang district, Shandong Province, produced 3.9 metric tons (公吨) per hectare (公顷), experts announced. Once widely planted in large areas, the output could be much higher.

The Qingdao Saline­Alkali Tolerant Rice Research and Development Center, led by renowned Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping, was established several years ago. It set itself a three­year target of developing a kind of salt­resistant rice capable of producing 4.5 tons a hectare, which would guarantee growers the minimum acceptable level of profit. The average rice output in China is 6.75 tons a hectare.

Planting in the experimental field in Chengyang district and five other plots of saline­alkali land started at the end of May. The five other plots were in Dongying, Shandong Province; Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province; Yan’an, Shaanxi Province; Kashgar, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; and Daqing, Heilongjiang Province. The sites represent actually every type of saline­alkali land in China and researchers aim to grow different kinds of rice able to cope with different climate, salinity and soil structure conditions.

The test crops in Kashgar and Daqing were also harvested on Wednesday. In Kashgar, the output reached more than 7.5 tons per hectare, according to experts’ tests, much higher than expected. The harvest in Kashgar was satisfactory. The result means it is possible to plant such salt­resistant rice in southern Xinjiang in the future. Xinjiang has about 2 million hectares of saline­alkali land that have the potential to be planted with salt­resistant rice, and if it is widely planted it will generally improve rice production in the region.

The seawater rice grown in Daqing only produced 3.1 tons per hectare. A live video on Shandong TV showed growers appearing a little disappointed by the result, as they hoped the experts’ efforts would increase production greatly. The water and soil conditions of the site were not ideal, and the pH level was extremely high.

1. Which is the main feature of seawater rice according to the text?

A．It has a shorter growing period.

B．It is a kind of highly productive crop.

C．It can grow in the soil with high salt content.

D．it is the combination of many technologies.

2. How much rice does a farmer harvest at least to meet the cost?

A．3.9 tons a hectare.	B．4.5 tons a hectare.
C．6.75 tons a hectare.	D．7.5 tons a hectare.

3. The researchers chose the experimental fields according to ________.

A．the distance between them

B．the local agricultural conditions

C．the local governments’ support

D．the type of the soil and climate

4. What can we infer about the seawater rice from the last paragraph?

A．The seawater rice is not fit for all kinds of saline­alkali soils.

B．It is impossible for the seawater rice to have a good harvest.

C．Growers from Shandong Province were a little disappointed by the result.

D．The output of the seawater rice grown in Daqing is the lowest.

【推荐1】Bringing Light to the Darkness with Crisco Art

Most paintings are best enjoyed in galleries with good lighting. But an Italian artist who goes by the name Crisco is changing the way we look at paintings with a new approach: glow (发光）－in-the-dark paint.

Crisco's paintings are beautiful in normal lighting, but it is when the lights go down that they really come alive.     1     His art mostly shows landscapes. Trees, horizons, and especially starry skies come alive with the glow of his paints. At the center of most of his work, there is often a human or animal figure. The figure may be just a shadow surrounded by the glowing colors, but it often appears to be the source of the light.     2    

Instead, they are all bright pictures of hope, life, wonder, and growth. They are Crisco's way of adding a little light to the world.

Crisco's full name is Cristoforo Scorpiniti.     3    Instead of letting a negative experience get the best of him, he threw himself into a new pursuit: art. According to Crisco, he paints with glowing colors to inspire hope. Though his paintings often show night scenes that look good in the dark, Crisco does not focus on the darkness. Instead, he uses his paintings to express positivity by creating light in the darkness.

A lot of his best work has come out of just painting what he felt at the time without any plan or structure.     4    With over half a million followers on Instagram, Crisco is already popular on social media for his unique paintings. He'll surely only get more famous in the future for his inspiring paintings that beautifully mix darkness and light.

A．In addition to painting on canvas, Crisco also paints on musical instruments.

B．However, no matter what the scene is, none of the paintings focus on the darkness.

C．His paintings take you on an unknown adventure into an unknown space, reminding you to be alert and brave.

D．Through the use of glowing paint, he brings a sense of magic and energy to the scenes that he creates.

E．Studies have shown that expressing themselves through art can help people with depression and anxiety.

F．As a self-taught artist, he found his passion for art at a dark time in his life when he found himself suddenly out of work.

【推荐2】Walk around the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and you may spot a green monster named Sluggo and a flying pig named Philomena. You might even see street artist David Zinn drawing them using only sidewalk chalk and charcoal.

“The things I draw are the things that I wish existed in real life,” says David, who loves hanging around the streets, letting his imagination wander free until new creatures appear in his mind.

At the age of 12, David began working as a freelance (自由职业) artist. His dad was writing a computer handbook and worried that it would be boring to read. So he asked David to draw pictures of turtles (the name of the software) to illustrate it. The publisher liked his drawings, and soon David had the job of drawing more turtles in action.

David worked for 20 years as a commercial artist, but he often felt cooped up sitting at a computer for 10 hours a day. Then, on a sunny afternoon about a decade ago, he grabbed some chalk and started drawing on the sidewalk. That’s when Sluggo came to life.

It takes David about two hours to complete one drawing. He uses a variety of sidewalk features in his street art, such as drainage gates, fences, acorns, and bits of gum. It can be tricky, he says, to draw on surfaces that are not flat. After all, he has to notice where shadows will land so they won’t spoil the 3-D illusions he creates.

Today, more and more people are recognizing and looking for his work, “Zinnart,” throughout Ann Arbor. As many as 30 people may be watching David as he draws. “It’s half visual and half performance art now,” he says, laughing.

1. How did David Zinn start his art career?

A．Publisher found his talent for drawing.

B．He replaced his father to illustrate a handbook.

C．After his works of Sluggo and Philomena became well-known.

D．He preferred to give up commercial drawing.

2. What does the underlined phrase “cooped up” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Bored.

B．Attracted.

C．Addicted.

D．Caged.

3. According to David, what contributes to the difficulties of sidewalk drawing?

A．He has to combine drawing with performance.

B．He has to draw on rough roads.

C．He has to take shades into consideration.

D．He has to draw for a long time.

【推荐1】Have you ever taken a test that you thought you could have passed easily, only to make some silly mistakes that really hurt your grade? More than a few students have done that. And some seem to do it over and over again.

There are several problem areas that can cause students to goof up or do poorly in a test that they could have passed.

Some students can become overconfident about their knowledge of the subject matter. They think they know the material better than they actually do. It is easy for students to misjudge their own knowledge, and when they realize that they don't know the material, it is too late.

What happens more often, though, is that some students feel they are smart enough to be able to guess their way through a test. So they don't bother to study the material. They are overconfident about their ability to figure things out. In either case, overconfidence can result in lower grades in tests. Does this apply to you?

Another thing that can happen is that students underestimate (低估)the difficulty of the test. They expect an easy test, but the teacher throws in a real tough test that they haven't prepared for. Sometimes the teacher may cover material in the test that students weren't expecting. That can happen, especially if you weren't paying attention in class.

Finally, there are students who don't feel that getting a good grade is important to them, so they don't bother to study or even try to do well. Such students may be trying to punish their parents, have a poor image of themselves, or be just plain foolish. Hopefully, you are not one of these students.

1. The writer believes that many students________.

A．are afraid of exams	B．make careless mistakes
C．hate homework	D．lack confidence

2. What does the underlined phrase “goof up” mean?

A．Be overconfident.	B．Be nervous.
C．Make silly mistakes.	D．Make wrong choices.

3. According to the writer, who will be most unwilling to try his best in a test?

A．Edward, dissatisfied with his parents.

B．John, expecting an easy test for him.

C．Dobby, believing he is the smartest in the class.

D．Peter, being overconfident about his ability.

4. What would be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A．Ways to prepare for a test.	B．The causes of overconfidence.
C．The causes of a poor self－image.	D．Ways to avoid making silly mistakes in a test.

【推荐2】The plan had been made to create a beautiful nature park with a large man-made lake on the outer parts of the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province. However, thanks to a terrible trick played by nature, what the officials have ended up with, is a natural sandy mess!

The government wanted to create a beautiful place where people of this busy industrial city could come to relax. But things did not quite turn out that way---shortly after digging up thousands of tons of sand, the underground water dried up. As a result, the dry sand has changed into a Sahara-like desert. While official reports show that the sand is piled up to 10 meters high, some people say that it is ten times more or about a 100-feet high in certain areas.

If that is not bad enough, the sand hills that now spread across an area the size of four football fields, have influenced the environment. What’s worse is that on windy days, the dry sand moves into the city center, making it almost impossible to drive and forcing people to wear face masks and protective eyewear to prevent the sand from getting into their eyes, nose, and mouth.

In an act of trying to keep the sand and provide the illusion(幻想) of green fields, the officials have even tried covering it with a green plastic netting. However, that has not done much to improve the terrible situation!

As you can imagine, many of Zhengzhou’s residents are upset by the disaster. They think that desert wasteland that looks nothing like the green landscape they were promised, has resulted in polluting their pleasant city environment. Some think it is even stopping businessmen from coming to the city.

1. The author may agree that it is_________ to build a large man-made lake.

A．possible

B．impossible

C．great

D．interesting

2. The dry sand has changed into a Sahara-like desert because________.

A．the weather in Zhengzhou is too dry

B．there are enough trees in Zhengzhou

C．they haven’t finished digging the lake

D．there is no underground water

3. What kind of pollution have the sand hills caused?

A．Light pollution.	B．Water pollution.
C．Air pollution.	D．Sound pollution.

4. What do Zhengzhou’s residents think of the man-made lake?

A．Scary.	B．Small.
C．Helpful.	D．Great.

【推荐1】SpaceX will soon have a whole fleet of shiny silver Starship prototypes(原型), if all goes according to the plan. Elon Musk gave his annual update about Starship and Super Heavy, the   reusable spaceship and rocket, respectively, that the company is building to help colonize Mars. The presentation took place at SpaceX s South Texas site and featured the 165-foot-tall Starship Mkl- the first full-size Starship prototype, whose assembly(组装) was completed just days before Musk's talk.

SpaceX aims to launch the stainless-steel Mk1 on an uncrewed, 12- mile- high test flight in the next month or two, Musk said. And a much more ambitious journey should follow in relatively short order. “I mean, this is going to sound totally unrealistic, but I think we want to try to reach orbit in less than six months.” But the Mk1 won't make that milestone flight. That honour will be likely to go to Mk4 or Mk5 Starship version, Musk added.

Starship Mk2 is already under construction and should be finished within the next couple of months at most. SpaceX plans to begin building the Mk3 at Boca Chica in about a month, and that prototype will likely be ready to fly about three months from now. The Mk4 will take shape in Florida shortly after that- and it could end up being the first Starship vehicle to circle Earth.

Like most of Musk' s plans, these construction schedules are quite ambitious. SpaceX spent a lot of time on the Mk1, after all; construction work on that vehicle goes all the way back to at least December 2018. But the company has learned a lot during the time, so getting a Starship to orbit by the spring of 2020 should be achievable, Must said.

The Mk1 and Mk2 Starships are equipped with three of SpaceX’s next- generation Raptor engines. Versions starting with Mk3, however, will be powered by six Raptors, just like the final, operational Starship, which Musk has said will be capable of carrying up to 100 passengers.

At present SpaceX is building one Raptor every eight to ten days but should pick up the pace obviously in the coming months. The record will skyrocket when SpaceX starts building the Super Heavy, which won't happen until Starship Mk4 is done. The goal is to get to one Raptor per day by early 2020 at the latest.

The final Starship could take to the skies very soon, if the testing campaign continues to go well. And Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has booked a crewed flight around the moon aboard the system, with a target launch date of 2023.

1. What can we learn about the Starship Mk1?

A．It is an imaginary passenger-carrying vehicle.

B．It is an unmanned reusable large spaceship.

C．It is a scaled-down version of Super Heavy.

D．It is a stainless-steel spaceship under construction.

2. How will Mk5 be powered according to the text?

A．By three of SpaceX's next generation Raptor engines.

B．By four of SpaceX' s next- generation Raptor engines.

C．By five of SpaceX's next- generation Raptor engines.

D．By six of SpaceX s next- generation Raptor engines.

3. Which of the following is true about Mk4 compared with the former Starships?

A．It will take up to 100 passengers to space.

B．It is the first to make a test flight orbiting Mars.

C．It has been under construction for about one year.

D．It is expected to go into Earth's orbit before long.

4. Why is Yusaku Maezawa mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．The project of SpaceX is promising.

B．Space exploration has caught on worldwide.

C．SpaceX takes the lead in the aerospace field.

D．More financial support is desperately needed.

【推荐2】Memories of people who have done us wrong return repeatedly to us from time to time. Sometimes we remain angry with a person even though we have forgotten why we are angry in the first place. Learning to forgive is important. Here is why.

As humans, it is one of our weaknesses to lose our minds at times and give in to our anger. However, making that anger stay and feeding it with hate will make it a bad thing to others and to yourself. You have to manage your anger and know how to overcome it. If someone has done wrong to you, forgiving is the first step to get rid of your anger.

You may have once done wrong to others too. Now think if you are worth forgiving. You may find that you are actually a good person. So if someone else does wrong to you, focus on the good times you had together and the good things that he or she has done for you. Is the offence enough to erase the good things he or she has done in the past? When your nerves calm down, think back. There must have been something good there to stop you from hating the person.

If things do not work out and you stay angry with the person or the person refuse to apologize, you still have to make an effort to forgive. Why? That is because an angry person is not a pleasant person to be with. One day you will find yourself talking about the offence over and over to people who do not know the person you are talking about. Anger consumes a person and eventually takes over. It makes you look at things in a bad way and no one can stand being with someone like that.

Lastly, make sure that you have forgiven every offence before going to sleep at night. If someone has hurt you, tell them how you feel. And the most important thing you have to say is “You have hurt me, but I choose to forgive you.” This will give you an inner peace and make your life positive in every way.

1. What is the weakness of humans mentioned in paragraph 2?

A．Letting anger take control of us.	B．Never trying to forgive others.
C．Doing wrong to people around us.	D．Hurting ourselves and those we love.

2. By saying we may have once done wrong to others too, the author wants to _______________.

A．show we are no better than others	B．encourage us to be kind to others
C．show it’s normal to hurt each other	D．encourage us to find the good things in others

3. What does the underlined word “erase” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Strengthen

B．Enrich

C．Remove

D．Improve

4. According to the author, how can we benefit from forgiving others?

A．We’ll know better about others.	B．We’ll become a talkative person.
C．We’ll be forgiven by those hurt by us.	D．We’ll avoid becoming a negative person.

5. The passage mainly talks about_______________.

A．why we should forgive	B．how we can forgive
C．why we should forget	D．how we can control anger

【推荐3】When slaves were first brought over from West Africa to the southern parts of America, they brought along with them aspects of their own culture-religion, dance,language, music, and cuisine. A mix of the two cultures eventually appeared. The religious dance of the ring shout turned into modern dances like the Charleston, and tribal chants slowly transformed into sorrowful hymns (圣歌) sung by slaves that described their hardships.

These soulful accounts by slaves of the severe climate and conditions began to be called "the blues" , which continued in popularity among African Americans after the Civil War. This music increased in popularity into the early 1900s when many black musicians became an important part of the music industry.

The slaves that had been brought over were from all different regions of West Africa, but they worked together until they gradually formed a common culture. This strengthened the identity of their music that, in the 1950s, eventually led to the beginning of rock and roll. The Beatles, the most influential band of the 1960s, are often determined as the accelerator that resulted in the ideology (意识形态)surrounding music that is still around today. The freedom and individuality associated with that time period brought forth a whole culture surrounding music. It was not just music any more, but a lifestyle.

Over the decades, music has developed into such a vital part of society and pop culture. Musicians are glorified, with tons of adoring and screaming fans. The modern technology of present day has allowed for a greater gap between the creator of the music and the fans, as well as a widespread commercialization of music. However, criticisms of modern pop music often arise due to its mass production, and now there is a lack of the same soul and quality of naturalness and simplicity in music that was rising in the early 20th century.

1. What contributed to the birth of the Charleston?

A．Various African religions.

B．People's love of tribal dances.

C．A mix of two different cultures.

D．The popularity of sorrowful hymns.

2. According to the passage, what can we learn about the blues?

A．It became popular in the late 20th century.

B．It may include the description of slaves' sad lives.

C．It mainly told the stories of the American Civil War.

D．It reflected the hard lives of many black musicians.

3. What does the underlined word "this” in the third paragraph refer to?

A．Slaves' collective work.

B．One region of West Africa.

C．The new common culture.

D．The music by the Beatles.

4. It can be learned that the music in the early 20th century____.

A．possessed soul and sincerity

B．became more commercialized

C．was blamed for its mass production D. widened the gap between musicians and fans