| A．confident | B．conscious | C．grateful | D．annoyed |
| A．them | B．it | C．these | D．him |
| A．his | B．he | C．him | D．her |
| A．lightly | B．hardly | C．gently | D．exactly |
| A．of | B．from | C．on | D．about |
| A．when did he go to bed | B．when he went to bed |
| C．when he goes to bed | D．when does he go to bed |
7 . Well, your questions have taken me back to the past and inspired me to reflect on my current work.
I became interested in plants when I was about six years old. I grew up in Hubei Province in central China, which is well-known for medicinal plants. My grandfather was a local herbal doctor, and had much knowledge about plant diversity. He went to the mountains to pick plants, and I helped him. So I’ve always had that appreciation for green diversity.
But because I was his granddaughter, I was not allowed to inherit his medicinal knowledge — he was supposed to pass that knowledge on to his son or his grandson. But I was guided and attracted by the plant diversity I saw every day in the forests. In college, I was studying forestry, and a professor would take us on field trips. In the mountains near my college, there must be 300 species of trees. So I asked him, “How can these plants come together in this place so well?” He looked at me, saying, “That’s a good question. You can devote yourself to studying that question.” That was the moment when I knew I wanted to be a plant biologist.
So today I’m a plant biologist who’s focused on studying plant diversity. Now I work on describing new species — I’m working on describing a new ginseng (人参) species from Thailand and have also begun to describe a new grape species from Yunnan Province in southwest China.
I am a lucky scientist. Plants hybridize (杂交) like crazy in the wild. These kinds of processes, without proper tools, are impossible to figure out. Now we actually have various advanced tools to test our hypotheses (假设), to understand the patterns and the processes of plant evolution.
Some people may think my work is boring. But for me, it’s not. We’re trying to understand how humans can benefit from this vast plant diversity. Our science can teach us to conserve that plant diversity, so it can benefit not only us, but future generations. Also, our research encourages the new generation to carry on the torch.
1. What made the author decide to be a plant biologist?| A．Her early school life. | B．Her grandfather’s guidance. |
| C．A teacher’s encouragement. | D．A wonderful childhood adventure. |
| A．She is good at hybridizing various plants. |
| B．She has lots of opportunities to work in labs. |
| C．She is allowed to propose hypotheses in public. |
| D．She has many good tools to study plant evolution. |
| A．Boring. | B．Simple. |
| C．Impractical. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．A journal entry. | B．An interview. |
| C．A biography. | D．A science report. |
8 . Are you planning to eat out tonight or are you going to stay in to save the pennies (省钱)? A meal out at a good restaurant or even a pizzeria can cost you a small fortune, so cooking for yourself makes financial sense. But with the rise in food prices, it’s important to be a wise shopper to keep your food bill in check.
These days our supermarket shelves are packed with tempting food items, from the daily staples, like bread and milk, to the exotic, like mangoes and kiwifruits (猕猴桃). There’s also the option of buying ready meals — convenient food that comes at a price. However, if you’re feeling hard up (拮据), there are things you can do to make the money you spend on food go further.
According to the BBC Food website, it’s all about changing your habits. It claims that cooking fulfilling and tasty meals on a budget is easy. It suggests a number of “tricks” such as using cheaper cuts of meat, “choose small amounts of meat with less expensive proteins” and “transform small quantities of leftovers into a heavy meal”.
A favorite entertainment of mine to help when money is tight is to stock up on items that are on special offer-such as BOGOF deals(Buy one, get one free).However, this is more of a problem when it comes to perishable (易腐烂的)items like fresh fruit and vegetables. In the UK, about 39% of household food waste is fruit and veg. So it’s a good idea not to stock up on too much of these things. Store them carefully and make the most of them in all your recipes.
Food waste is a big problem generally, so shopping carefully can also reduce the amount we throw away. And in Edinburgh in Scotland, it’s possible to reduce waste and not break the bank by visiting a recycled food shop, which has been set up to prevent extra food from shops ending up in the bins (垃圾桶).
Of course, the biggest thing you can do to help your cash flow is to cut back on take-away coffees and lunches.
Cooking your own meals is usually healthier for you and your finances.
1. According to the author, which of the following ways cost the least money?| A．To have meals at a good restaurant. | B．To cook meals for yourself at home. |
| C．To buy exotic fruit and vegetables. | D．To buy ready meals or convenient food. |
| A．He chooses small amounts of meat with expensive proteins. |
| B．He transforms large quantities of leftovers into a heavy meal. |
| C．He stocks up on items of special offer -such as BOGOF deals. |
| D．He makes all the perishable fruit and vegetables in all his recipes. |
| A．They often visits recycled food shops. |
| B．They store most of their food carefully. |
| C．They buy take-away coffees and lunches. |
| D．They only throw away the perishable food. |
| A．Ways to Cook Tasty Meals at Home | B．Ways to Cut Daily Expenses on Meals |
| C．Ways to Buy Food in the Supermarket | D．Ways to Store Fresh Fruit and Vegetables |
9 . Artists with a Green Message
Chris Jordan
Photographic artist Chris Jordan takes pictures of ordinary objects like bottle caps, light bulbs and aluminum cans and turns them into art by digitally rearranging them to construct one central image. However, it’s the tiny pieces that drive home then environmental message. For example, his 2008 work “Plastic Cups” shows 1 million plastic cups, the number used on airline flights in the U. S. every six hours.
Nele Azevedo
Visual artist Nele Azevedo is best known for her “Melting Men” interventions that she stages in cities across the globe. Azevedo carves thousands of small figures for to watch them melt. Her ice Sculptures are meant to question the role of monuments in cities, but Azevedo says she’s glad her art can also “speak of urgent matters that threaten our existence on this planet.”
Agnes Denes
One of the pioneers of environmental art and conceptual art, Agnes Denes is best known for her land art project, “Wheatfield- A Confrontation.” In May 1982, Denes planted a two-acre wheat field in Manhattan on Battery Park Landfill. The land was cleared of rocks and garbage by hand. Denes harvested more than 1,000 pounds of wheat She says her works are “intended to help the environment and benefit future generations with a meaningful legacy.”
John Fekner
John Fekner is known for his street art and the more than 300 conceptual works. Fekner’s art typically consists of words or symbols spray painted on walls, buildings and other structures that highlight social or environmental issues. His stenciled (用模板印的) message, “Wheels Over Indian Trails, “was painted on the Pulaski Bridge Queens Midtown Tunnel in 1979. It remained there for 11 years until Earth Day 1990，when Fekner painted over it.
1. What kind of art is Chris Jordan known for?| A．Photographic art. | B．Visual art. |
| C．Conceptual art. | D．Street art. |
| A．Plastic Cups. | B．Melting Men. |
| C．Wheatfield-A Confrontation. | D．Wheels Over Indian Trails. |
| A．Chris Jordan. | B．Nele Azevedo. |
| C．Agnes Denes. | D．John Fekner. |
10 . Adventure stories
Eva Lilly and the Three-Toed Snooch by Muggs
Eva Lilly has a million questions like “What if?” “Why?” “Where did I come from?” and “How big is the sky?” When the mysterious Snooch arrives in her world to become her best friend, he leads her on a voyage of self-discovery to explore, to learn and to grow. In Eva Lilly’s first adventure with the Three-Toed Snooch, you are invited into the magical world of “knowing” and “believing”.
About the author: Muggs is a New Zealander living in Dubai. She is inspired to share her passion for the magic of life with both children and readers. She is a published writer of stories for children. She is also a creative artist, educator, and philosopher, whose work continues to encourage the creativity of others on their voyages of self-discovery to explore, to learn and to grow .
The Adventures of Daniel and Tasco: A Day on the Farm by Nicky Liguori
The Adventures of Daniel and Tasco: A Day on the Farm is an adventure story about Daniel who travels to South Africa to visit his grandparents on the farm. While he is there, he meets Tasco, an Alsatian puppy. And they hang about all over the farm together.
About the author: Nicky grew up on a farm in South Africa. She spent most of her childhood playing sports and riding horses. She met her husband Julian while she was at university and after a few years they moved to Dubai where her son Daniel John was born. She is still living in Dubai and her family travel to South Africa every six months to ensure that Daniel John is fully aware of her rich and colourful childhood.
Shania Streep Wanted to Sleep by Shalina McPherson
As Shalina’s first children story and the first in the series, Shania Streep Wanted to Sleep is a story of a young girl who has trouble sleeping one night due to a strange sound. Shania then sets off for an adventure to discover the source of the sound and ends up teaching readers a valuable lesson.
About the author: McPherson is a young British expat (侨民) living in Dubai and working as a nursery teacher. She started writing poems at the tender age of six. Over the years her songs, short plays, movie scripts and writing skills advanced. In 2011, McPherson decided to combine her two loves: writing and teaching children. Thus, she developed the “Wanted to” series-a collection of fancy stories that at the same time, taught children an important life lesson.
1. Which of the following characters is full of curiosity?| A．Eva Lilly. | B．Snooch. | C．Daniel. | D．Shania. |
| A．teachers | B．children | C．parents | D．writers |
| A．friendship | B．science | C．adventure | D．trouble |
| A．They each developed a book series. |
| B．They limit themselves to writing stories. |
| C．None of them are native to Dubai. |
| D．They are all professional writers. |
