Five years ago, as a new nurse working at night-time at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut, Kelly Depanfills stopped to chat with one of her favorite patients, a middle-aged man with leukemia, a type of blood disease. He was in the hospital for treatment, but what he really hoped for was a bone marrow (骨髓) transplant. He talked about “Be The Match”, a foundation that connects patients with donors. “It made me want to see if I matched with anyone,” Depanfills says. “He said, ‘Well, get on there!’”
Depanfills was shocked at how simple “getting on there” turned out to be: all she had to do was sign up and swab (拭抹) her cheek. She just didn’t imagine she’d get the chance so quickly. Not long after being swabbed, Depanfills got a call about a possible recipient (接受者): a 6-month-old boy born without an immune system — meaning one cold could become life-threatening. Within six months, she was checked in to the hospital as his no-named transplant donor.
After the operation, she was told the recovery time was 20 days and could include pain and tiredness, but she had only some soreness. “Honestly, the next day, I went out shopping,” she says. The boy who received her bone marrow cells is now recovering well and able to run around the playground like other kids.
Depanfills was so energized by the experience that she started volunteering at registry events, and last year she started her own at Norwalk Hospital. “One couple drove 45 minutes just to get swabbed,” she says. In a single day, about 50 hoping to be donors signed up. Every year there are 20,000 people who might benefit from a bone marrow transplant. “When you say such things, people get nervous,” Depanfills says. “But I want everyone to know how easy giving this gift can be.”
1. The function of “Be the match” is to_____.| A．link donors with recipients. | B．perform transplant operations |
| C．improve patients’ immune system | D．raise money for Norwalk Hospital |
| A．She cured a middle-aged man. |
| B．She was saved by “Be the match”. |
| C．Her signing up for the donation was hard. |
| D．Her name was unknown to the recipient. |
| A．the usual recovery time is less than 20 days |
| B．many people are inspired by Depanfills’ action |
| C．the recipient is normally free of pain and tiredness |
| D．there are 20,000 people every year waiting for donations |
| A．A Non-profit Project | B．A Cure for a Blood Disease |
| C．A Marrow Transplant Operation | D．A Caring and Can-do Donor |
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【推荐1】Robert and Henry were going home for lunch from school when, on turning a corner, Robert cried out, “A fight! Let’s go and see!”
“No.” said Henry, “let’s go home quietly and not meddle with(参与) this fight. We have nothing to do with it, and may get into trouble. ”
“You are a coward, and afraid to go,” said Robert, and off he ran. Henry went straight home, and in the afternoon went back to school, as usual. But Robert had told all the boys that Henry was a coward, and they laughed at him a great deal.
However, Henry knew that true courage was far more than that. He knew that he should be afraid of nothing but doing wrong.
A few days later, Robert was swimming with some schoolmates and got out of his depth. He struggled and cried for help, but nobody answered. The boys who had called Henry a coward got out of the water as fast as they could and did not even try to help him.
Robert was going down fast when Henry threw off his clothes and jumped into the water. He reached Robert just in time. With great effort, and with much danger to himself, he brought Robert to the riverbank and saved his life.
Robert and his schoolmates were ashamed of having called Henry a coward. They realized that he had more courage than all of them.
Never be afraid to do good, but always fear to do bad.
1. What did Robert want to do when he and Henry saw a fight?| A．To go away quietly. |
| B．To tell his friends about the fight. |
| C．To watch a fight that was happening. |
| D．To meddle with some troublemakers. |
| A．you can face danger by yourself. |
| B．you are not brave and easily scared. |
| C．you aren't afraid of doing anything. |
| D．you follow others in the face of danger. |
| A．He jumped into the water to save him as soon as possible. |
| B．He got out of the water and ran away. |
| C．He called the police to help Robert. |
| D．He cried for help to other boys. |
| A．The Meaning of True Courage |
| B．The Troubles of Being a Coward |
| C．The Common Fears of Doing Wrong |
| D．The Importance of Listening to Others’ Advice |
【推荐2】An unusual thing happened to me a few years ago. I spoke casually with a woman who served tables at a restaurant. We knew each other by first name only, but usually chatted for a few minutes each time I ate there.
“Do you have a son about eight years old?” One day, she asked me.
“What has he done?” As a mother, I thought it for a while out of my child’s safety. Then I nodded yes.
“Does he play soccer?” She went on asking.
When I said that he did, she asked if he played in a game the previous week at a particular field. Again, I answered yes.
“I thought so,” she smiled, “I saw him and thought he must be your son.”
“I didn’t know he looked that much like me!” I was amazed and said since there were tens of thousands of young boys in the city.
“Oh, I didn’t see his face,” she said, smiling as if she were keeping a secret.
“Then how did you know he was my son?” Now I was puzzled.
“I was just siting in the car, and I saw a little boy in a baseball cap walking across the field to join his team. He walks like you.”
Walks like me? Now I was curious. How do I walk? Perhaps I can’t help how I walk down a street, but I want to know how I walk through life.
Through life, I want to walk gently. I want to treat all of life: the earth and its people with admiration. I want to walk lightly, even joyfully, through whatever days I am given. I want to laugh easily. And throughout life, I think I would like to walk with more modesty and less anger, more love and less fear. If life is a journey, then how I make that journey is important, but still I wonder how I look when I walk down a street.
1. How did the author feel when she heard the woman’s first question?| A．Angry. | B．Proud. |
| C．Worried. | D．Understanding. |
| A．By his age. | B．By his face. |
| C．By his way of walking. | D．By his way of playing soccer. |
| A．The woman is the author’s close friend. |
| B．The woman worked in a restaurant. |
| C．The author’s son didn’t like the woman. |
| D．The author didn’t believe in the woman. |
| A．Walking through life |
| B．Living a peaceful life |
| C．An amazing woman |
| D．Discussing about my well-known son |
【推荐3】Allan Guei, 18, was a star basketball player at Compton High School in the Los Angeles area before he graduated last month. His good grades made him eligible for an unusual competition: A free-throw contest in the Compton High gymnasium. The top prize: ＄40,000 in scholarship money.
Guei, whose parents immigrated to the United States from the Ivory Coast, knew how much that financial aid could mean for his family. He was also feeling a fair share of pressure as students and teachers crushed into the gym to watch Guei and seven other randomly compete against each other.
Guei won the free-throw contest by one basket and netted the ＄40,000. But it’s what he did next that’s truly astonishing.
In the weeks following the March free-throw competition, Guei learned that he’d scored a full-ride basketball scholarship to California State University---Northridge. NCAA(全国大学生体育协会)rules allowed Guei to accept the athletic scholarship and also keep most of the ＄40,000 he had won.
But Guei couldn’t stop thinking about the seven talented runners-up from the free-throw contest. They, too, had dreams and very real needs. So, he asked Principal Jesse Jones to make a surprise announcement at Compton High’s graduation ceremony: Geui wanted to donate the ＄40,000 to the other seven students.
“I’ve already been blessed so much and I know we’re living with a bad economy, so I know this money can really help my classmates,” Guei said in a statement. “It was the right decision.”
Guei elaborated on his decision to give the money away in an interview with ESPN(体育电视网): “I was already well taken care of to go to school, to go to university for free...I felt like they needed it more than I did.”
1. While studying at Compton High School in the Los Angeles area, Allan Guei ______.| A．was famous in the United States |
| B．made grown-ups feel very worried |
| C．took part in a free-throw contest |
| D．showed his skills in playing basketball |
| A．delighted | B．stressed |
| C．relaxed | D．embarrassed |
| A．Guei contributed his prize to others. |
| B．Guei was thought highly of by Jesse. |
| C．Guei kept most of his scholarship. |
| D．Guei gained a basketball scholarship. |
| A．his family was very wealthy |
| B．it was very hard for him to make money |
| C．he was luckier than other students |
| D．he was always ready to help others. |
| A．In a storybook. |
| B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In a science magazine. |
| D．In an advertisement. |
【推荐1】I confess I hesitated when the editor in chief of The New York Times Magazine told me in late 20l4 that I would be editing a new front-of-book column called Letter of Recommendation, about stuff people really like. The column was the brainchild of our staff writer, Sam Anderson, he explained. Sam figured that there was no shortage of places to find out what writers hate but few spaces for writers to talk about what they love.We would push against this trend, 900 words a week,40-something times per year.
The reason for my hesitation was a simple, unfortunate fact about writing. Writing about things you hate is easy: not just fun, but generative. The criticism tends to entertain, even if you disagree, but the ode doesn't. The writerly tone is well-suited to our age, but it's hard not to see it as a collective defense mechanism as if revealing your true feelings exposes your unmentionable secrets to the public. Obsessions, meanwhile, are inseparable from our peculiarities as people we come to love things for often weird reasons. When the column really works, it's as revealing about the author as it is its subject. One writer, a man in his late 30s, for example, recommended Pedialyte, which he drinks to balance the effects of both drinking and exercise, and to cheat his way back to youth.
I probably see somewhere between three and five Letter of Recommendation pitches a day. It's a great spot for trying out new writers in the magazine, so I try my best to keep up with all the email, but I often fail.（I feel genuinely terrible about this every day of my life.）Determining which to assign involves seeing how it meets the various criteria（评判标准）we've settled on over the years.We don't like the column to be timely---everything else in the world is timely. But on the other hand, we need to put a headline on the thing that people might reasonably recognize, stop and read about. There should be a personal angle to the recommendation, but also some universally recommendable aspect. But then again, it shouldn't be too recommendable: this isn't a column for life-hacks.The recommendation itself should be attractively unexpected "sideways", as editors are perhaps too fond of saying, but really, it's just an excuse to cut brilliant writers loose to amuse or inspire us.
1. Sam Anderson proposed a column Letter of Recommendation because he found ________ .| A．the fashion trend was not easy to push against |
| B．there was a shortage of good quality columns |
| C．writers could hardly find a place to share their likes |
| D．his brainchild could sometimes increase readership |
| A．compliment | B．recommendation | C．hesitation | D．determination |
| A．To give an example of the writerly tone. |
| B．To highlight the way that the column selects writers. |
| C．To show how a collective defense mechanism works. |
| D．To illustrate how writers reveal themselves in the column. |
| A．the recommended items are quite familiar to readers |
| B．the recommended items should follow the latest trend |
| C．readers can learn about life skills from the recommendations |
| D．readers will find the recommendations beyond their expectation |
【推荐2】The silence was broken by the voice of a child. Out of the window, I saw my neighbor and her six-year-old daughter, Ayuni, playing in the park. Ayuni tried to climb the ladders of the slide again and again. Ayuni cried, shouted at her mother to help her, and then fell, but her mother told her to try again. Every time Ayuni fell off the ladder, her mother asked her to get up rather than helping her and wiping her tears.
I saw Ayuni shouting in anger, “You are the worst mother; I hate you!” But her mother listened to that quietly and patiently, and then she told her to try again. I was confused about why she was doing that. Even if she wanted Ayuni to learn to climb the ladders, she had to first help her by holding her and showing it practically to her. After all, Ayuni was too young to learn this based on verbal (口头的) instructions. Oh! I saw her mother trying to hide her tears as Ayuni fell for the 13th time! Then, I got curious to know what was going on!
Later, I noticed there was a letter that was addressed to my mother on the desk near the window. I saw the signature “Lavangi”, which is the name of the little girl’s mother. From the letter, I knew why she did that. Now, I extract the following from this letter: “Dear Manya, you’ve been like my elder sister and I’m emotionally attached to you so I decided to write this letter. I’ve been diagnosed with the last stage of cancer. I just want you to know that I love you.
You’ve been a great supporter during my difficult time. The last favor I need from you is to keep an eye on my daughter, little Ayuni...”
After I read the letter, my tears rolled down my cheeks and I realized Ayuni’s mother was trying to teach Ayuni a lesson that she must be strong enough to live without her and do things by herself in the future. I gazed out of the window and then closed my eyes praying for Ayuni. I wished everything would go well with her.
1. How did Ayuni’s mother respond to Ayuni’s request in the park?| A．She punished Ayuni. |
| B．She let Ayuni do all by herself. |
| C．She ignored it and criticized Ayuni. |
| D．She was impatient with Ayuni. |
| A．Touched. | B．Relaxed. | C．Puzzled. | D．Delighted. |
| A．Ayuni’s grandmother. | B．The author’s mother. |
| C．The author’s aunt. | D．The author’s neighbor. |
| A．To be tough and independent. |
| B．To be open-minded and ambitious. |
| C．To enjoy the pleasure of exploration. |
| D．To attach importance to physical exercise. |
| A．To encourage people to help each other. |
| B．To share a story about a mother’s special love. |
| C．To illustrate the key to developing self-confidence. |
| D．To make us realize the importance of keeping healthy. |
【推荐3】As an undergraduate,I was fascinated by a visiting professor’s lecture. The second I left the talk, I called my sister and told her I had decided to become a paleoclimate (古气候) scientist—to which she replied, “A what?” No one in my family has a graduate degree. And no one heard of this term. Thus I began my journey through the unwritten expectations and assumed knowledge about applying to graduate school.
I sent that professor an email, asking whether he had time to talk to me. He agreed to meet virtually, explained his graduate research, and shared stories of fieldwork, but he made no mention of how students were supported. I didn’t think to ask. I assumed pursuing a graduate degree would mean paying tuition and going without income. That was not an option for me. So, I tried to let go of the idea of continuing my education.
Later I learned from my adviser that many programs not only cover tuition, but also offer scholarship. My dream became a possibility again.
Then came the next problem: figuring out how to apply. I fell into a rabbit hole of Internet advice from self-appointed experts, each with a different opinion on email etiquette (礼仪), interview scheduling, and how to express interest in a project. The suggested timelines contradicted (相矛盾) one another. I felt hopeless again, terrified I would break an unspoken rule.
But I gathered all the advice I could and spent hours crafting emails to professors. Ultimately, I was accepted to work on a master’s project in a city where I had always wanted to live.
Standing in the lab that day, I realized that—despite my uncertainty—I had made it exactly where I had hoped to be. When I had started down this path, there was so much I didn’t know. But I made it by trying walking into the unknown.
1. What can we infer from the reply of the author’s sister?| A．She had problems with bearing. |
| B．She became annoyed with the author. |
| C．She was puzzled about the author’s decision. |
| D．She was too excited to hear the author’s words. |
| A．Discouraged. | B．Guilty. | C．Optimistic. | D．Excited. |
| A．Lack of the professor’s support. | B．There being no work experience. |
| C．The confusion of making a decision. | D．Demanding requirements of the professor. |
| A．Well begun, half done. | B．Every man has his price. |
| C．One tree does not make a forest. | D．Something attempted, something done. |
【推荐1】When you look at fashion shows or see the latest clothes for this year in a magazine, you might think you've seen it all before. It sometimes seems that most of the designers are just going back to ideas that have already been around at least once before. If you really want to know what the future of fashion is, you need to look at an area that is always looking forward: technology. The meeting point of fashion and technology is where the really exciting new ideas are.
For several years now, people have been talking about wearable technology as the next big development. In fact, some products that fit this description are already in the shops. You can buy watches that do everything your smart phone can do, or glasses with computers in that follow your eye movements and feed information to you as you walk around. But there's much more to wearable technology than that.
Sports clothing is one area where new ideas are developing very fast. Runners and other sports people already wear small computers on their wrists that give them continuous information about how fast they're running, how hard their bodies are working and so on. Experts agree that it's often sports people (usually young men) who are the first to take up new fashion ideas. Others then follow.
Women, it seems, are usually more interested in what clothes look like than what they can do, and technology has a part to play here too. Designers are already making clothes that can change color with how you are feeing, or react to sound. And if you think that sounds unlikely, Just think of all the things we accept as quite normal today that seemed impossible or silly only ten years ago.
The main reason that things like this aren't yet in normal shops is that they aren't cheap. But, as with all technological products, the price will surely come down fast. In any case, technological clothing doesn't have to be expensive.
1. What does the author want to tell the readers in the first paragraph?| A．Technology develops faster than fashion. |
| B．The old fashion ideas are more popular. |
| C．Fashion can develop with technology to be creative. |
| D．Fashion and technology are always going forward. |
| A．technological clothing would be affordable to most people. |
| B．only sports people are interested in technological clothing. |
| C．women do not care about the function of technological clothing. |
| D．technological clothing will not be popular with women. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Negative. |
One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock(家畜) to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for pig producers, grain farmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make shocking changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear（修剪） sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into the barn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The plete change of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long.
1. Which sentence carried the main idea of the whole passage?
| A．The first sentence of the third paragraph. |
| B．The first sentence of the second paragraph. |
| C．The first sentence of the first paragraph. |
| D．The last sentence of the second paragraph. |
| A．how much money they can earn from their products |
| B．whether to plant a certain kind of crop |
| C．what livestock to raise |
| D．when to sell their products |
| A．Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers. |
| B．Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present. |
| C．Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms. |
| D．Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do |
| A．computer, Farmers’ Best Friend | B．Farmers in The Future |
| C．The Agricultural Revolution | D．Computers and Robots |
【推荐3】What are the best careers for the future? Of course, nobody can say for sure what the future holds. The best we can do is make educated guesses based on past and current trends. The occupations below are probably some of the most promising future careers.
1. Organizational disruptor
The expansion of companies often leads to some loss of their innovative ability, which weakens their competitiveness against those more creative start-ups. A disruptor would be responsible for promoting creativity, risk-taking, cooperation, and innovation, by bringing about some changes that might be wild in an organization.
2. Personal education guide
Compared with online programs today, education could be better able to meet individual needs, even with improved convenience. Like an adviser, a personal education guide may assist people with on-demand course selection or the planning of personalized training.
3. Custom body part manufacturer
Doctors may expect custom organs grown or 3D printed using their patients’ own cells. After all, scientists' creation of hearts, kidneys, and livers has already had some success in the labs. Even external body parts inclining skin and ears have been grown.
4. Pharmaceutical artisan
The increasing popularity of 3D printing may enable the quick production of customized medications based on individual needs. It’s possible that artisanal drugs would be created according to one's unique genes, habits, and medical history.
5. Brain implant specialist
We are making greater progress in understanding how the complex human brain works, so it’s highly possible that we would create something amazing by combining the rapid advances in neuroscience with the advantages of computer technology. In the future, one can have a specialized computer chip put into his brain to treat certain health issues, such as diseases, mood disorders, and paralysis.
1. Whom should you contact if you want to train to be more competitive?| A．A brain implant specialist. | B．An organizational disruptor. |
| C．A custom body part manufacturer. | D．A personal education guide. |
| A．To promote 3D printing. | B．To develop personalized medications. |
| C．To speed up medicine production. | D．To apply technology to tests for diseases. |
| A．Informative. | B．Entertaining. | C．Customer-based. | D．Labor-saving. |
【推荐1】I am a mother of three children and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was social study. The last class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.
Soon after we were given the project, my husband, my youngest son, and I went out to McDonald’s one cold March morning. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. I turned around and found there standing behind me were two poor homeless men with a horrible “dirty body” smell. The short gentleman, close to me, was “smiling”. His beautiful sky-blue eyes were full of light as he searched for acceptance. The second man played with his hands uneasily as he stood behind his friend. The short man just asked for a coffee because that was all they could afford.
I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate dish.I then walked around the corner to the men’s table. I put the dish on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said “Thank you”.
I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down, my husband smiled at me and said, “That’s why God gave you to me, Honey. To give me hope.”
On the last evening of class, I turned in “my project” and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and we all knew that we need to heal people and to be healed.
I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: Unconditional Acceptance. “Love People And Use Things — Not Love Things And Use People.”
1. Why did the people around the author back away?| A．Because the second man stood playing with his hands. |
| B．Because the two homeless men were also waiting in line, with a bad smell. |
| C．Because the short gentleman was smiling to everyone around. |
| D．Because both men were poorly dressed and mentally ill. |
| A．regretted and cried | B．turned in her project |
| C．went back to her husband and son | D．talked with them for a long time |
| A．Lovely. | B．Mature. |
| C．Over-curious. | D．Caring. |
| A．Poor as the homeless men were, they should be accepted. |
| B．The author thought we must heal people unconditionally. |
| C．The author’s husband was very proud of her. |
| D．What the author did to the men touched the instructor. |
【推荐2】In my profession as an educator and health care provider, I have worked with numerous children infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The relationships that I have had with these special kids have been gifts in my life. They have taught me so many things, but I have especially learned that great courage can be found in the smallest of packages.
Tyler was born infected with HIV and from the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medications to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a vein in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back. Medications were prepared inside this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times, he also needed supplemented (补充的)oxygen to support his breathing.
Tyler wasn’t willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his medicine - laden backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him. Tyler’s mom often teased him by telling him that he moved so fast she needed to dress him in red. That way, when she peered through the window to check on him playing in the yard, she could quickly spot him.
This fateful disease eventually wore down Tyler. He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV - infected mother. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to survive, Tyler’s mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven.
A few days before his death, he whispered to me, " I might die soon. I’m not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Mom promised she’s coming to heaven, too. I’ll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me."
1. What do we know about the tube inserted in Tyler’s chest?| A．It contained oxygen that helped Tyler breathe freely |
| B．Medications in the pump could be supplied through it |
| C．It was filled with medications that Tyler needed |
| D．It should be replaced by a new one after a year |
| A．stress the importance of the color |
| B．find him as quickly as possible |
| C．meet the demand of him |
| D．encourage him to play and race happily outdoors |
| A．she said to him that it would not long before she died |
| B．she promised to meet him in heaven soon |
| C．she had a frank talk with him about death |
| D．she gave him a medicine-loaded package |
| A．Gifts in My Life | B．A Fateful Disease |
| C．Dying in Red | D．No More Tears in Heaven |
【推荐3】One spring day. once the flowers have begun to open, a bee will hover (盘旋)and zip through your yard and dive-bomb your picnic table. While you're thinking about avoiding an attack, that bee is focused on something else entirely: me.
A honeybee has about six weeks to live. Today, like most days, her task is to fly as many as three miles from home, stick her long, straw-like tongue into a hundred or so flowers. When the bee has had her fill, she'll fly home. There the bee will deposit what she has got into the mouth of one of her co-workers, who will relay it to another, and so on for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is ready to be placed into the comb. Then she and her 50.000 or so mates will hover in the dark all night every night, flapping their wings to create hot, breezy conditions to remove the water from the mixture. Several sunrises later, they will seal me off in a golden cell of beeswax. In her lifetime, our bee may visit 4.000 flowers, and yet will produce only one-twelfth of a tea spoon of me.
The average American consumes nearly a pound and a half of me every year, in tea, on toast, and beyond. If I do say so myself, I am a timeless treasure. Literally—I never go bad.
Unfortunately, my good health is not guaranteed. The problem lies in the growth of industrial agriculture and the use of pest control chemicals, as well as changes in weather patterns, all of which reduce the number of flowers bees have to visit. I'd appreciate your letting your own garden grow just a little wild. My future depends on all of us fostering spring and summers wild flowers, thus helping the bees, who give so much—to you, to me—without ever asking for anything in return.
1. What does "me" refer to in the passage?| A．The flower. | B．The bee. |
| C．Water. | D．Honey. |
| A．Bees' special talent. | B．Bees’ hard work. |
| C．Bees' living environment. | D．Bees' social behavior. |
| A．A bee will always prioritize attacking picnic lovers. |
| B．Before "me" is sealed off in beeswax, the drying process can take a few nights. |
| C．The lifework of a bee satisfies the average demand of an American consumer annually. |
| D．Bees are more likely to visit those deliberately pest-controlled gardens. |
| A．To appeal for help for honeybees. |
| B．To talk about the history of a treasure. |
| C．To put forward techniques for gardeners. |
| D．To argue against the control of chemicals. |
