1 . Sheep farmers can profit by planting trees and selling carbon credits, according to a new study. The report by the University of Sheffield, published in the journal Environmental Research, suggests that farmers with more than 60 acres of land could turn a profit if their land were returned to forest and they received £ 3 per ton of CO₂ captured. The farmers could then sell the carbon ‘credits’ to companies looking to offset(抵消)their emissions(排放物), such as airlines.

The study was released as the UK farming sector prepares to move away from the Basic Payment System to the new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), which focuses on producing ‘public goods’, such as recovering ecosystems, flood defenses and carbon storage. Carbon credits are currently being sold for £ 15 per ton, a price that could make any forest size profitable, according to the study. The research also suggests that if the UK increased its tree cover from 8% to 12%, the amount of carbon emissions captured by forests would increase by 10%.

“Sheep farming in the UK is not profitable without subsidies(补贴), but forests dull sell carbon credits can be economically workable—so it makes sense for the Government to help farmers transition (过渡),” believes Colin Osborne, the lead author of the study, “In the end, these come down to political questions of how we want our countryside to be used, how we value livestock production over the global costs of climate breakdown and how the Government supports farmers and rural communities.”

However, critics say that the study is far too simplistic, with the National Sheep Association (NSA) saying land management shouldn’t only focus on carbon emissions, but has to be multi-functional. Speaking to Farmers Guardian, NSA CEO Phil Stocker says it’s “really easy for scientists to justify the planting of forests through a carbon calculation (计算), because it is easy to measure how much carbon is in a tree and then apply an offset value”.

Mr. Stocker notes that grassland can effectively capture carbon and adds, “I appreciate trees as much as anyone, but to introduce policies to destroy grasslands by creating forests is short-sighted at best.”

1. What is the new study about?

A．Forests giving way to sheep farming.

B．UK sheep farmers preferring to plant trees.

C．Sheep farmers contributing greatly to environmental protection.

D．UK sheep farmers getting paid for replacing their grassland with forest.

2. What is the aim of the new ELMS?

A．To help sheep farmers get richer and richer.

B．To support those suffering from natural disasters.

C．To use the land in an environmentally-friendly way.

D．To encourage people to plant more trees on their land.

3. What do Colin Osborne’s words focus on?

A．The role of the Government.	B．The future of sheep farming.
C．The costs of climate breakdown.	D．The problems of rural communities.

4. Which of the following would Phil Stocker agree with?

A．It is meaningful to measure carbon emissions.

B．It is unwise to replace grassland with woodland.

C．Subsidizing farmers helps improve soil quality.

D．Grassland plays a more vital role than woodland.

2 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.

Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?

In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.

A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.

Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”

1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?

A．They’re unfair.	B．They’re conservative.
C．They’re objective.	D．They’re strict.

2. What can we infer about girls from the study in Science?

A．They think themselves smart.

B．They look up to great thinkers.

C．They see gender differences earlier than boys.

D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs

3. Why are more geniuses known to the public?

A．Improved global communication.

B．Less discrimination against women.

C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts.

D．Changes in people’s social positions.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Geniuses Think Alike	B．Genius Takes Many Forms
C．Genius and Intelligence	D．Genius and Luck