1 . The longleaf pine (长叶松) tree has deep connections with the history and life of the eastern part of America. Forests of these trees once covered two-thirds of the southeastern United States. About 95 percent of those forests were lost in the past 100 years. Many of the forests were cut for their wood, but now they are returning, with the help of government programs that build ties with private landowners.
The wood of the tree is very strong. Most buildings built in the southern U.S. from the 1800s contained longleaf pine wood. Today, although buildings made with longleaf pine are no longer wanted, yet people are reusing the wood because it is still good and resists (抵抗) water and insect damage.
The longleaf pine also takes in CO2 in the air. It stores the material in its wood. So, the tree is valuable to the environment as a way to store carbon.
At the same time, the pine forests are places for animals to live. The U.S. government has several programs to protect and increase longleaf pine forests. One is the Safe Harbor Program. It uses voluntary agreements with private landowners to help animals at risk. One such agreement protects the red-cockaded woodpecker and also lets landowners use their land, as long as the birds and other connected animals can safely live on it.
Now, farmers and landowners in the southeastern U.S. are growing new longleaf pine trees. Instead of cutting the trees to use as building materials, they are finding ways to make money from the forest of living trees. One way to get money is by selling the leaves of the trees as a ground cover. Farmers can gather the pine leaves by hand or with the help of a machine. Pine leaves can be used instead of wood pieces or skins as a ground cover. It lasts a long time, is light in weight and stays in place because the needles (针) connect to each other.
1. Which of the following has helped bring back the longleaf pine trees?A.The government’s efforts. | B.The much money it brings. |
C.People’s wish to return to the old lifestyle. | D.The great need for their wood. |
A.Welcome. | B.Cheap. | C.Unpopular. | D.Unclean. |
A.Providing longleaf pine wood. | B.Protecting animals in danger. |
C.Enlarging the wood’s market. | D.Collecting longleaf pine needles. |
A.The Return of Longleaf Pines Gives Home to Animals |
B.Farmers Benefit from Living longleaf Pine Trees |
C.New Uses of Longleaf Pine Trees Create Forests |
D.Longleaf Pine Trees Give More than Just Wood |
2 . How to Make a Window Box Garden
For many people, warm weather means growing things in the ground. Gardening is a popular activity all around the world. But what about people who do not have the space to garden? Don’t worry! Today, we will give you information about growing beautiful window boxes.
Place and safety
Light and water
Before choosing plants, check your window box place for light and rain.
Try to be different
So, what makes some window boxes different while others are just so-so? Create a topic!
A.This is a main idea for the plants. |
B.Besides having a topic, caring is important. |
C.Window boxes dry out faster than ground plants. |
D.You should not let quick-growing plants get out of control. |
E.She suggests knowing which plants look best during each season. |
F.Window boxes are not just for the outside edge of the window. |
G.She gets a great look by using plants and flowers that don’t need much sun. |
3 . High on the top of California's White Mountains, the hard conditions make it difficult for life to take root. But for a certain type of tree — and for those who have travelled here to study it — this place is a perfect place.
These bristlecone pines are the oldest individual trees in the world. Researchers like Andy Bunn have come to learn from the ancients. "It's remarkable to sit here and have your hand on one of these trees and know that it was growing when the Pyramids were built." Bunn added.
"By studying samples (样本) from the trunks, it's possible to discover their hidden history. Each annual tree ring is like a time capsule of the environment for that year from which it was formed," said Matt Salzer, a scientist at the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Tree Ring Research. "And it contains many different types of information — chemical information, the information on growth, and climate information."
"If you're trying to look at people in the past through time, tree rings give you a way to do it in a way that makes sense in a human life," said University of Arizona Professor Charlotte Pearson. She first became fascinated with the bristlecones after reading about an ancient volcanic eruption on the Greek island of Santorini. "It blew my mind that trees on the other side of the world could possibly be used to date this thing within a single year," she said excitedly.
The oldest known living bristlecone is estimated to be over 4, 800 years old. For Bunn, the climate record written in the rings offers guidance for how we might think about what's happening in the present as we plan for the future. "What we're seeing increasingly is that a lot of the climate events that we are experiencing and living through right now have no example in the paleoclimate (古气候) record," he said. “So, we really are moving into unknown field."
1. Why does Bunn mention the Pyramids in Paragraph 2?A.To state the trees' age is very old. | B.To prove his discovery is important. |
C.To attract readers' attention. | D.To stress the hard living condition of the trees. |
A.The result of the research. | B.The process of the research. |
C.The method of the research. | D.The significance of the research. |
A.It confused me. | B.It surprised me. |
C.It defeated me. | D.It disappointed me. |
A.Paleoclimate record is hard to find. |
B.There are lots of unknown things about pines. |
C.Studying the tree rings is important for climate research. |
D.There were frequent occurrences of the extreme climate events. |