1 . While the idea of warmer, shorter winters might sound appealing to farmers eager to tap into longer growing seasons those engaged in Georgia’s massive peach industry are finding the trend alarming. Since 1960, the average winter temperature in Georgia, has risen by 5°F. For farmers who depend on cold weather to help peaches grow, the state’s diminishing winters are a warning to adapt or else.

One of the keys to growing the perfect Georgia peach is something called “chill (寒冷的) hours.” Nut and fruit trees require a certain number of chill hours below 45°F to regulate their growth. Without the needed amount, flower buds may be delayed or unpredictable in spring and fruit set and fruit quality will be poor. In Georgia, home to nearly 12,000 acres of peaches, the average peach tree requires anywhere from 650 to 850 chill hours each season.

The impact from a loss of chill hours was felt most recently in 2017, when farms across the state averaged less than 400 hours and 85% of the peach crop was lost. “It was so bad that we didn’t care about the blooms anymore.” Chavez said, “We wondered if the plants would survive.”

While planting new varieties of peaches that require fewer chill hours is part of the solution, it’s not the only characteristic that’s necessary. Despite warmer, shorter winters, Georgia still experiences a consistent frost in early March. Peach varieties with fewer chill hours often bloom earlier, making them easy victims to this freezing spring temperatures.

In response, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) is experimenting with hybrid varieties that achieve that delicate balance. The days of planting 1,000+ chill hour varieties in Georgia may be gone, but the hope is that continued research into global warming-tolerant varieties may keep the state’s official fruit firmly in the sweet spot of American produce.

“We’ve got to keep changing as the environment changes,” Georgia farmer Lawton Pearson said. “But it’s not something that scares us in the slightest about the future of growing peaches. It’s just something you’ve got to deal with.”

1. What does the underlined word “diminishing” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Shortened.	B．Freezing.
C．Disappearing.	D．Delayed.

2. Why are Chave’s remarks cited in Paragraph 3?

A．To explain reasons for chill-hours loss.

B．To prove 2017 is the worst year in history.

C．To confirm peach farmers suffered the most.

D．To show the serious consequence of chill-hours loss.

3. What is the key to successfully developing warming-tolerant peach varieties?

A．Improvement of sweetness of peaches.

B．Achievement of the shortest chill hours.

C．Avoidance of peaches’ much delayed flowering,

D．Balance between low chill and normal flowering.

4. What is Lawton Pearson’s attitude toward the future of growing peaches?

A．Curious.	B．Skeptical.
C．Positive.	D．Ambiguous.

2 . Read the paragraph and answer the questions. Pay attention to the words in bold.

There is no month in the whole year in which nature wears a more beautiful appearance than in the month of August. Spring has many beauties, and May is a fresh and blooming month, but the charms of this time of year are enhanced by their contrast with the winter season. August has no such advantage. It comes when we remember nothing but clear skies, green fields, and sweet-smelling flowers—when the memory of snow, and ice, and bleak winds, has faded from our minds as completely as they have disappeared from the earth—and yet what a pleasant time it is! Orchards and fields sing with the sound of work; trees bend beneath the thick clusters of rich fruit which bow their branches to the ground; and the wheat, piled in graceful sheaves, or waving in every gentle wind that sweeps above it, tinges the landscape with a golden colour. A soft, pleasant light appears to hang over the whole earth; the influence of the season seems to extend itself even to a passing wagon, whose slow motion across the well-reaped field is seen by the eye, but makes no loud noises upon the ear.

(Adaptation from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens)

1. What does this paragraph mainly describe?
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What aspects does the author describe?
__________________________________________________________________________________

3 . As summer ends, fresh starts abound

So, after a late short blaze of summer, autumn is here. The trees will soon be in their autumn beauty, sweet fragrance waving in the air.     1     . Trees bend beneath the thick clusters of ripe fruit, which bows their branches to the ground; and the corn, piled in graceful bundles, coloring the landscape with a golden hue.

The ultimate celebration of the season in English is arguably Keats’s “To Autumn” - “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness / Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun” - which was written after a Sunday walk in harvest time. “How fine the air,” he wrote to his friend JH Reynolds, “    2     Somehow, a stubble-field(残梗地)looks warm - in the same way that some pictures look warm.”

    3    . That is between stubble and warmth and the simultaneity of death and life autumn unfolds. The days grew shorter down to a precious few, which catches at the essence of this time.

Autumn is more subtle than summer, less over-determined. It is full of beginning, too. Every for those who now have nothing to do with schools there is sense of starting again - new book; new clothes, new thoughts.     4    . Leaves will return to Earth, and Female more trees.

What feels like falling (pine cones, acorns, conkers, leaves) is also about starting again kind of - to use Alice Oswald’s lovely phrase - falling awake. Even though the season is the to winter, somehow, the world knows that winter is necessary, and the long preparation for the of winter is a beautiful, necessary part of the world. So yes, autumn is here. And that is cause for celebration.

A．There is something about noting that contradiction.

B．I never liked stubble-fields so much as now - Aye, better than the chilly green of the spring.

C．There is a harmony in autumn, and a shine in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen.

D．Abundance is everywhere: berries; apples, pears, pumpkins, squashes, all the grains.

E．Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils.

F．Berries are food for wildlife - and then seeds on the ground, to grow into new plants next year.

4 . If you are like most people, your intelligence varies from season to season. You are probably a lot sharper in spring than you are at any other time of the year. A noted scientist, Ellsworth Huntington, concluded from other men’s work and his own among people in different climates that climate and temperature have a definite effect on our mental abilities.

He found that cool weather is much more favorable for creative thinking than summer heat. This does not mean that all people are less intelligent in summer than they are during the rest of the year. It does mean, however, that the mental abilities of large numbers of people tend to be lowest in the summer.

Spring appears to be the best period of the year for thinking; one reason may be that in the spring man’s mental abilities are affected by the same factors that bring about great changes in all nature.

Fall is the next best season, then winter. As for summer, it seems to be a good time to take a long vacation from thinking.

1. According to the passage, the mental abilities of most people________.

A．are different from season to season	B．are the same in all seasons
C．tend to be the lowest in winter	D．tend to be the lowest in fall

2. What effect do climate and temperature have according to Ellsworth Huntington’s conclusion?

A．A great effect on everyone’s intelligence.	B．Some effect on most people’s intelligence.
C．Effect on only a few people’s intelligence.	D．No effect on people’s intelligence.

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Cool weather is good for thinking.

B．Winter is the second best season for thinking.

C．Summer is a good time to take a long vacation from thinking.

D．Nature’s changes may affect our mental abilities.

4. When should a vacation be taken from thinking according to the passage?

A．During spring and fall.	B．During winter.
C．During summer.	D．During summer and winter.

5 . Nature changes from one season to the next, and soon the winter months roll around. You can adapt your seasonal healthy habits to suit your surroundings.     1    

Fuel your body with winter vegetables. If you live in a climate with four seasons, only the strong survive when it comes to vegetables.     2     Hearty winter vegetables and leafy greens come packed with nutrients. Try cabbage, pumpkin and carrots for a delicious nutritious meal. Or, look for local winter vegetables native to your area at a local farmer’s market.

    3     Wintertime can mean shorter days and colder temperatures, which can often stay active on the back burner. But sitting around all winter, you’ll miss out on all the amazing health benefits of working out. You might as well try some new outdoor activities, like skiing, snowing, or sledding, to get your heart pumping.

Focus on mental health. Oftentimes, well-being focuses more on the physical side of staying healthy.     4     Winter is an especially crucial time to care for your mental health, as limited sunshine and time outside can lead to seasonal mood disorder. Try taking a moment each day to listen to how you feel or scheduling a date with a friend each week, to check-in and open up about your life.

Commit to an act of kindness. By giving back to others, not only can you help someone else, but you’ll also feel better!     5     Often during the winter holidays, organizations run seasonal donations, like collecting canned goods, blankets, and clothing. You could look for more hands-on ways to get involved, like adopting a shelter animal or visiting a lonely neighbor. Even just a small act of kindness this winter can go a long way, both for your mental health and the well-being of others.

A．Try something new to stay active.

B．But mental health is just as important.

C．Avoid getting involved in indoor activities.

D．How can they live through the severe winter?

E．Do look for ways to give back to your community.

F．Here are some helpful ways to jump start your winter wellness routine.

G．Why not take advantage of the season by eating what grows at this time of year?

6 . 24 Solar Terms: some things about Start of Autumn

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Start of Autumn, (Chinese:立秋), the 13th solar term of the year, indicates the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.     1     In China, the 24 solar terms were created thousands of years ago to guide agricultural production. But solar term culture is still useful today to guide people’s lives through special foods, cultural ceremonies and even healthy living tips that correspond with each term. The following are some things you should know about Start of Autumn.

    2    

Although Start of Autumn represents the beginning of autumn, hot weather will not come to an end. The period of hot days after Start of Autumn, usually lasting for 30 days, is called “Autumn Tiger” or “Indian Summer.”

Gathering crops

    3     It is time to gather crops. There is a saying: “If it rains on the day of the Start of Autumn, a good harvest is expected.”

Eating peaches

In Hangzhou, people eat peaches on this occasion. The peach stones are kept until New Year’s Eve and thrown into the stove, burned into ash.     4    

‘Touching Autumn’

There is the custom of “Touching Autumn” in the northern part of Yancheng, Jiangsu province. On the eve of Start of Autumn, people can touch and take for free all kinds of fruits as they like in private or public gardens.     5     Many gardeners even leave some ripe fruits in the field on purpose for the guests during the night.

A．‘Autumn Tiger’

B．Fleshing out in autumn

C．The fruitful season is coming.

D．Start of Autumn is a big solar term for farmers.

E．The owners will not be angry, no matter how much they lose.

F．On the first day of the Start of Autumn, usually people will weigh themselves.

G．People believed that in this way, bad things could be prevented for the whole year.

7 . Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour from standard time during the summer months (=lose 1 hour), and back again in the fall (=regain 1 hour), in order to make better use of natural daylight. So “spring forward, fall back” is one of the little sayings used to remember which way to set your watch.

In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of DST, which begins on the second Sunday of March each year and ends on the first Sunday of November. In 2021, Daylight Saving starts at 2 a.m. on March 14 and it will end at 2 a.m. on November 7. In other words, sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later on March 14 than the day before, meaning there will be more light in the evening.

Benjamin Franklin is often credited with first proposing daylight saving in his 1784 essay, An Economical Project. The idea wasn’t seriously considered, however, until more than a century later when William Willetts, a British builder, fiercely recommended it. The current DST format was proposed in New Zealand by entomologist (昆虫学家) George Hudson. In 1895, he recommended a two-hour time change because he wanted to have more daylight after work to go hunting for bugs in the summer.

Some studies show that DST could lead to fewer road accidents and injuries by supplying more daylight during the hours when more people use the roads. It is also used to reduce the amount of energy needed for lighting during the evening hours. However, other studies claim that people’s health might suffer due to DST changes.

Nearly every state in the U.S. observes DST, according to the Department of Transportation. However, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and most of Arizona do not.

1. Why is DST observed?

A．To save money.	B．To save time.
C．To take advantage of natural daylight.	D．To reduce traffic injuries.

2. According to the current DST format, what will the clocks read at 3 a.m. on June 1^st 2021?

A．4 a.m.

B．3 a.m.

C．2 a.m.

D．1 a.m.

3. Who proposed the current DST format?

A．Benjamin Franklin.	B．A British builder.
C．William Willetts.	D．A New Zealand entomologist.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To show the rules of Daylight Saving Time.

B．To introduce Daylight Saving Time in the USA.

C．To stress the importance of Daylight Saving Time.

D．To inform readers of the influence of Daylight Saving Time.

8 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The Spring Equinox (春分) starts on March 20 and ends on April 3 this year. It signals the equal     1     (long) of the day and night time. The sun is directly above the equator     2     the day of the Spring Equinox. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards,     3     (result) in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere and longer night in the Southern Hemisphere.