1 . In Portland, dozens of people hiked around Mountain Tabor Sunday morning, walking dogs or jogging before the heat became u
2 . As we targeted our products specifically at young people, our business started
3 . The green and red watermelon is a sweet, refreshing summer snack. But it wasn’t always so sugary or brightly colored. So what did watermelons originally taste and look like, and from where did they come?
The fruit isn’t from the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia, as so many other domesticated (家养的) crops are, research shows. Susanne Renner, a scientist, and her colleagues carried out comprehensive genetic sequencing (基因测序) of the domesticated watermelons — the kind you might find on supermarket shelves — along with six wild watermelon species.
“We found the modern genomes (基因组) of the domesticated watermelon are more closely related to the Sudanese wild type than any other that we analyzed,” she said. The Sudanese wild watermelon has some obvious differences from the domesticated version. “The flesh is white and not very sweet, and it’s mainly used as animal feed,” Renner said. Nevertheless, the genetic similarity between the two species led the researchers to conclude that the Sudanese fruit is probably a precursor (前身) to the red and sweet domesticated watermelon.
It’s likely that ancient farmers grew non-bitter varieties of the wild watermelon and thus increased its sweetness over many generations through the domestication process. The red color is probably also thanks to artificial selection, in which farmers likely favored and selectively bred red fruit.
We already knew that the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun was buried with watermelon seeds 3,300 years ago, yet that isn’t sufficient proof of a domesticated, sweet watermelon. But then, Renner found an image of a watermelon-like fruit on an ancient Egyptian tomb painting, thought to be more than 4,300 years old. In a separate tomb, another image showed the watermelon cut up in a dish alongside other sweet fruits. This realization, coupled with Renner’s genetic findings, suggests that the watermelon was most likely domesticated around that time either in Egypt or within trading distance of the ancient empire.
“Historically speaking, that’s a very significant finding,” said Hanno Schaefer, a professor of plant biodiversity. “It’s becoming clearer that we’ve greatly neglected the North African region. We’ve focused too much on the Fertile Crescent and we need to invest more resources into studying the agriculture of North Africa.”
1. What can we learn about the Sudanese wild watermelon?| A．It is brightly colored and sugary. |
| B．It is consumed mainly by animals. |
| C．It has no connection with the domesticated type. |
| D．It has more differences than similarities to the domesticated type. |
| A．More resources will be devoted to agriculture research in South Africa. |
| B．The domesticated watermelon has a history of at least four thousand years. |
| C．The domesticated watermelon probably developed from the Sudanese type. |
| D．Few domesticated crops are from the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia. |
| A．The history of the Sudanese wild watermelon. |
| B．Where wild watermelons actually come from. |
| C．The characteristics of domesticated watermelons. |
| D．How domesticated watermelons came into being. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Tolerant. |
4 . Inakadate, a Japanese village of around 7, 000 people, is considered the home of a rice field art form. In the early 1990s, local authorities realized that youths were moving to big urban centers in large numbers, and started brainstorming for ways of breathing new life into the village. One of the proposed ideas was an art form inspired by the local’s traditional rice planting, done by hand for hundreds of years. Called Tanbo Art, it involved the use of different rice varieties to turn local rice fields into giant canvases (画布).
The first rice field artwork was displayed in 1993, when purple and yellow rice plants were used to create a detailed picture of Mt. Iwaki. The project was such a huge success that Inakadate authorities decided to turn it into a yearly event. Nowadays, a viewing platform is often set up somewhere above the rice field, from which people can admire the unique artwork.
To create the impressively massive field artworks, the locals use a technique unique to Japan, which involves surveying the rice fields, perspective drawing, and the planting of various types of rice plants to create the desired visual effect. Tanbo Art has come a long way in the last three decades, with designs gradually becoming larger and more complex.
Some of the most elaborate (精心制作的) rice field artworks created in Inakadate have required the use of no less than 10 rice plants in color. The process starts in the spring months, and by early summer, the fruits of this labor become clearly visible. July and August are the best months to visit this famous Japanese village.
There are many locals who say that rice field art has saved Inakadate, bringing in impressive numbers of tourists from all over the world every year, and boosting the local economy. The success of Inakadate inspired other rice cultivating communities to borrow the Tanbo Art concept, and today you can find this sort of impressive rice field artworks all across Japan.
1. The rice field art was originally built to ______.| A．promote its traditional rice planting | B．turn local rice fields into giant canvases |
| C．promote the tourist industry of the village | D．make the village more lively and energetic |
| A．farming | B．population | C．tourist industry | D．rice consumption |
| A．early spring is the best months to visit Inakadate |
| B．many countries also follow the example of Inakadate |
| C．a viewing platform can help tourists enjoy the rice field artworks |
| D．no less than 10 rice plants were used to create the first rice field artwork |
| A．Travel. | B．Economy. | C．Technology. | D．Local news. |
5 . He hurt his leg yesterday. ______ why he can’t come to ______ party.
| A．That’s; tonight | B．That’s; tonight’s | C．It’s; tonight | D．It’s; tonight’s |
6 . People used to value more about college name than college major but today an increasing number of students would rather choose a popular major in a less famous college than a random（随意的）major in a big-name school. What’s your idea? Which is more important? College major or college name?
Please write a short passage in about 150 words to express your idea. List TWO REASONS to support your idea.
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7 . 词组替换
1. He made use of his experience as a photographer to make a documentary programme.2. To get the accurate answer, they looked up information in many books.
3. The economy needs more skilled workers very much, yet millions remain unemployed and unemployable.
4. Many families have been separated by war and revolution.
5. The concert was excellent --- there were lots of well-known songs with some new ones added.
8 . The houses there were modest but neat, with new lawns that seemed oddly green and out of place in the uniformly brown s
9 . All my studying, reading, thinking, traveling have t
10 . The Daily Mail, in the United Kingdom, even i
