【推荐1】Many people wrongly think that cities don’t have farms and fruits and vegetables are only grown in the country. Believe it or not, there are more urban farms popping up in cities all over the world.

Alexandra Sullivan, a food systems researcher in New York, studies urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is another name for farming and gardening in a city environment. Ms. Sullivan studies everything from tiny gardens in empty lots between buildings to bigger fields that have been planted and grown. According to Ms. Sullivan, “Urban agriculture has existed since cities have, across the world.”

The number of humans living in urban areas, or cities, is increasing. The amount of people who wanted to garden in urban areas is also rising. Ms. Sullivan says, “In small gardens, on rooftops and indoors, city residents grow fruits, vegetables, grains, and herbs, and raise animals to produce milk, eggs, honey, and meat. City residents use these foods as supplements to food produced by rural agriculture.” Even though some people who live in urban areas grow crops, urban residents still need to rely on food grown in rural areas. This is because a city doesn’t have enough space to grow enough food for everyone living in it.

In New York City, urban farmers have come up with many different ways to grow their own produce, even though there isn’t a lot of room. For example, Brooklyn Grange is a farming operation that has two rooftop vegetable farms in New York City. All together, the farms are made up of 2.5 acres of rooftop space. This makes Brooklyn Grange one of the largest rooftop farming operations in the world.

Brooklyn Grange grows all kinds of things. The farming company sells its vegetables to local residents and restaurants. And because the farms are on rooftops, they are specially adapted to their urban location. They use available space that is not needed for anything else. As more urban farmers find ways to grow food in cities, urban residents will be better able to get fresher materials for their meals.

1. Which of the following is Ms. Sullivan’s opinion about urban agriculture?

A．Urban agriculture has developed recently.

B．Urban agriculture takes too much city space.

C．Urban agriculture has a history as long as cities.

D．Urban agriculture can take the place of rural agriculture.

2. For traditional agriculture, urban agriculture is a(n) ________.

A．model	B．addition
C．competitor	D．replacement

3. What can we learn about Brooklyn Grange in New York City from the text?

A．It has large farming areas.

B．It can only grow single products.

C．It produces enough food for citizens.

D．It makes use of rooftop space to grow vegetables.

4. What is the author’s opinion on the urban farms?

A．Critical.	B．Positive.
C．Worried.	D．Confused.

【推荐3】A day in the life of a sun bear is what you might expect from the name：sunny.In its natural habitat，the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight.

But when disturbed by human activity，that changes dramatically.In areas where people are pushing into the sun bear’s habitat，the animals are spending 90 percent of their waking time after dark.Effectively，the threat of human presence is making the sun bear change into “the moon bear”.

Led by scientists at the University of California，Berkeley，the study found that human activity is driving scores of mammals to shift their activity from the daytime into the dark hours of the night.As many animals have already been forced out of their local habitats，others are attempting to avoid interaction with humans by separating themselves in time rather than in space.

For the work，the researchers examined the behaviors of 64 mammal species，including deer，tigers，boars，and，of course，sun bears.They observed increased nocturnal(夜间的) behavior in a large majority of them，with species that are naturally active during the day tending to shift their activity to after dark，and those that are naturally nocturnal becoming more so.The mammals affected ranged across body size，habitat type，region of the world，and diet.

Human activities of all sorts affect animals’ lives，including activities like hunting，agriculture and land development，harvesting local natural resources，even hiking or walking through wild areas.Sport hunting in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe drove antelopes to spend more of their active waking hours at night，restricting their access to water.Similarly，hikers in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California made coyotes(郊狼) more nocturnal，forcing them to find new preys(猎物) among traditionally nocturnal animals.

The researchers warn that profound shifts in the natural behavior patterns of so many species disturb dynamics that have evolved over generations，leading to a series of unknown effects on the entire ecosystem.

1. What did the study led by Berkeley find?

A．More animals separate themselves in space.

B．Human activity changes animals’ way of life.

C．Many animals were pushed out of their local habitats.

D．The sun bear spends over 80% waking time in daylight.

2. What does the underlined word “that” refer to?

A．The sun bear.	B．The waking time.
C．Human activity.	D．The natural habitat.

3. What does the author want to tell us in the text?

A．Human threat makes the sun bear nocturnal.

B．Animals are badly hurt by human presence.

C．Animals become more adaptable thanks to human.

D．Ecosystem may be reshaped due to human activity.

【推荐1】Those extra pounds should be avoided at all costs, right? Actually, while being overweight isn’t generally good for our health, not all fat is created equal — some may even be beneficial.

There are two major kinds of body fat. White fat, the most abundant type, is what you feel when you squeeze your midsection. Brown fat, found mainly in the neck region, burns energy rather than storing it the way white fat does. Brown fat may also help avoid diabetes. According to a study in Cell Metabolism, individuals with higher amounts of brown fat had smaller changes in blood sugar and thus a reduced risk of developing diabetes. Infants have high levels of brown fat, which helps regulate their body temperature. Sadly, we lose it as we age, and adults have only small amounts.

Adults can increase brown fat by exposing themselves to cold temperatures. In a recent study, people who slept in a mildly cold room (about 66 degrees F) increased the amount and activity of their brown fat by up to 40 percent. Sleeping in mild warmth (81 degrees F), however, decreased their amount of brown fat. Cold showers don’t seem to affect it.

Brown fat does have its drawbacks. Radiologists don’t like it, because the heat it causes makes it harder for body scans to detect activities in patients. Although there’s no firm evidence that any specific foods or nutrients can activate brown fat, radiologists routinely recommend that patients eat a high-fat, low-carb diet before scans on the grounds that this reduces brown fat activation.

Just as brown fat isn’t perfect, neither is white fat all bad. Even though people tend to hate it, white fat delivers important health benefits. It protects our vital organs, helps keep us warm, and stores calories for later use, keeping us from starving when food is scarce.

White fat can sometimes be turned into brown — it’s then called beige or brite (“brown in white”) fat. Like brown fat, beige fat burns energy and can thus help fight against obesity. Scientists are still trying to figure out how the change happens; one study points to a hormone called irisin, which our muscles produce when we exercise.

Fat cells’ sensitivity to temperature changes means there’s more than one way we can get rid of unwanted fat. Cooling treatments, for instance, freeze fat cells to death. The body removes these damaged cells over several months.

1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “midsection” in the second paragraph?

A．Leg.

B．Arm.

C．Wrist.

D．Waist.

2. Generally speaking, who have a larger proportion of brown fat?

A．Babies.

B．Senior people.

C．Fat people.

D．Thin people.

3. The following kinds of fat can help people fight against obesity EXCEPT ________.

A．Beige fat.

B．Brite fat.

C．White fat.

D．Brown fat.

【推荐2】Some of the greatest scientists of all time are women who have made important discoveries in a variety of fields in science. Several of their contributions throughout history are even more than men’s contributions. Our list of the most famous female scientists below are organized in order of popularity so you can read about the advancements that they made.

Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Famous For: Work on radioactivity

Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and the only woman to win this award in two fields: Physics and Chemistry. She discovered polonium and radium and her work helped with the creation of X-rays.

Jane Goodall (1934)
Famous For: Primate (灵长类) studies

Jane Goodall is known world-wide for her groundbreaking studies on primates. She is considered as the top expert on chimps in the world and is perhaps best known for her 45-year study on the social lives of these animals in Tanzania.

Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012)
Famous For: Nerve growth studies

Rita Levi-Montalcini was a neurologist (神经病学家) who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 for her findings in Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). She was the first Nobel Prize winner to live past her 100th birthday.

Lise Meitner (1878-1968)
Famous For: Work on radioactivity and nuclear physics

Lise Meitner was a key member of a group that discovered nuclear fission (裂变). One of her colleagues, Otto Hahn, was given the Noble Prize for this work. That Meitner didn’t get the award is considered to be a huge error by the Nobel committee.

1. Who is still contributing to the world?

A．Marie Curie.	B．Jane Goodall.
C．Rita Levi-Montalcini.	D．Lise Meitner.

2. What did Rita Levi-Montalcini research on?

A．Nerve growth.	B．The wildlife.
C．Nuclear explosion.	D．Radioactivity.

3. What do we know about Lise Meitner?

A．She was awarded the Nobel Prize.

B．She made a big mistake in her work.

C．She did lots of studies about nerve growth.

D．She made great contributions to nuclear physics.

【推荐3】Nowadays people are facing lots of threats(威胁) all over the world.

A serious threat to farmers in many parts of the world is, erosion(侵蚀). Erosion happens if a large area of land is cleared of trees and is then badly treated by the farmers. The rain and winds may gradually wash away, or blow away much of the topsoil. When this happens, crops of wheat and corn become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well. If erosion continues, it will turn good land into a desert.

In the past, when erosion appeared, farmers sometimes moved to a new place to farm. Sometimes they could not move, but continued to try to grow food in the unhealthy soil. This caused them to sink into poverty. Soon some people realized that there was little rich, fertile soil in the world. The government began to try to stop erosion.

One of the first experiments to stop erosion began in the United States in 1933. The experiment was carried out in the area of the Tennessee River. Flood and bad farming in this area had ruined the land that had once been rich. As a result, most of the people living around the Tennessee River were very poor.

The government built big dams across the river and stored the water for use during the dry season, when there was no rain. The government workers also helped the farmers fertilize their soil and learn new farming methods which could stop erosion.

In the beginning, the farmers were not interested. But soon, good healthy crops began to appear on the land where new methods were used. Ten years after that the crops were extremely good. The great success of this experiment led to similar projects in other parts of the world.

With the development of science and technology, people are trying to get rid of all the threats they are facing. However, it’s not an easy job, because at the same time people are polluting their homeland.

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Tennessee River area?

A．It was an area seriously affected by erosion.

B．It used to be a poor and infertile land.

C．It often suffered from floods.

D．It has become a model for other parts of the world to follow.

2. In the third paragraph “to sink into poverty” means “________”.

A．to become very poor

B．to lose topsoil in erosion

C．to become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well

D．to return into a desert

3. The main purpose of this passage is to tell people ________.

A．how erosion happens

B．the importance of using new farming methods

C．the serious result of erosion

D．something can be done to prevent erosion