1 . At every turn in the Netherlands, the future of sustainable(可持续的) agriculture is taking shape—not in the meeting rooms of big companies but on thousands of modest family farms.
You can see it vividly on the farm run by Ted Duijvestijn and his brothers. At the Duijvestjns' 36-acre greenhouse near the old city of Delf, visitors wander among the deep green tomato plants, 20 feet tall. Rooted not in soil but in materials made from leaves and stalks, the plants are heavy with tomatoes—15 varieties in all—to suit the taste of the most demanding customers.
Since 2004, the Duijvestijns have declared resource independence on every front. The farm produces all of its own energy and fertilizer and even some of the packaging materials necessary for the crop's distribution and sale. The growing environment is kept at perfect temperatures year-round by geothermal heat(地热) that can be found under at least half of the Netherlands. Only rainwater is used for irrigation. Each kilogram of tomatoes from their plants requires less than 15 kilograms of water, compared with 61 kilograms for plants in open fields. Once each year the entire crop is regrown from seeds, and the old plants are processed to make packaging materials. The few pests that manage to enter the greenhouse are greeted by an army of fierce insects that shows no interest in tomatoes. The nutrition in the soil can be improved by growing plants that work with certain bacteria to produce their own fertilizer. In short. it's an entirely self-contained food system.
“Look at the island of Bali in Indonesia!” Ted explains. “For at least a thousand years, its farmers have raised ducks and fish within the same rice field. It's irrigated by the canal systems sculpted by human hands along mountains. They are our model.”
1. What can we learn about the Duijvestijns' tomatoes?| A．Their color is deep green. | B．There are 15 on each plant. |
| C．They are very tasty. | D．They grow in rich natural soil. |
| A．does not have insects | B．is heated by solar energy |
| C．produces its own chemical fertilizer | D．consumes much less water |
| A．Independent. | B．Reliable. |
| C．Satisfying | D．Separated. |
| A．He is attracted to its canal systems. | B．He will also raise ducks in his farm. |
| C．He wants to see the beautiful island. | D．He appreciates its farming methods. |
2 . When Emanuel received an email from Professor Richard English. Queen’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the School of History, Anthropology,Philosophy and Politics, encouraging him to apply for a PhD in Politics in Belfast, it was a pinch-me moment Emanual never thought would be possible. After all, just a few short years ago, he was living on the streets couch-surfing at friends’ houses and weeding gardens to make ends meet. Now, one of the world’s leading political academics was preparing to welcome him to Queen’s University over 4,000 miles away.
Emanuel never knew who his father was and his mom was mentally ill when she gave birth to him, so the hospital took him off her and he was unofficially adopted for the first few years of his life. What followed was a childhood with uncertainty as Emanuel was passed between the adoption system and family members.
Through his high school and community college years, he moved from house to house, living with friends at times and living on the streets at others.
Determined to change all that despite his rocky start in life, Emanuel involved himself in school-doing everything he could to earn extra tuition (学费) money in his spare time. But getting accepted into university was scarcely possible because a person like him couldn’t get a regular student loan.
Fortunately, the government backed him, having created a policy allowing disadvantaged persons to access funding for higher education. He graduated from the University of the West Indies with a 1st Class Honors degree and went on to do his Masters.
Emanuel knows that his story could have been very different.
“I discovered Professor Richard English online and sent him an email honestly, not thinking he would reply and to my surprise, he did. I applied for the highly competitive Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme in order to fund my research at Queen’s. When I was told I was successful, my whole world changed.”
1. What does the underlined word “pinch-me” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Expected. | B．Unbelievable. | C．Awkward. | D．Anxious. |
| A．His father was mentally ill. |
| B．He was abandoned by his mother. |
| C．He was once adopted by his relatives. |
| D．He lived with his friends now and then. |
| A．By receiving a regular student loan. |
| B．By earning the tuition all by himself. |
| C．By borrowing the money from friends. |
| D．By getting support from the government. |
| A．Well begun is half done. |
| B．It’s never too old to learn. |
| C．You are the master of your life. |
| D．Lost time is never found again. |
