4.His health        than before, (off)

他的身体比以前更糟糕。

3.The old man        here. (content)

这个老人似乎很乐意住在这里。

2.Your brother              . (sense)

你兄弟很有幽默感。

1.We        his humorous stories, (entertain)

他的幽默故事使我们大家都很开心。

   Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.

    Sometimes the word "green" means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished. For example a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns (角) had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle.    By the eighteenth century a greenhorn had the meaning it has today―a person who is new in a job.

Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expres?sion comes from the early nineteen hundreds. A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

   The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.

   Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling jealousy(嫉妒) .The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play "Othello". It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suf?fer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and she does not. 

(   ) 5. Greenhorn now refers to .

   A.a person who is new in a job

   B.a new solider

   C.a young horse

   D.none of the above

(   ) 6. A person who has a green thumb is a person        .

   A.who is good at growing plants

   B.whose thumbs are in green color

   C.whose garden is greener than others'

   D.who is younger than his neighbors

(   ) 7. Which of the following has the same meaning with the underlined word in the third paragraph?

   A. method   B. finger

   C.  tool   D. idea

(   ) 8. The author is actually talking about        .

   A. colors   B. language   C. politics   D. agriculture

   What is it that makes people laugh? More than two thousand years ago the ancient Greek philosopher(哲学家) Aristotle defined(定义) jokes as the pleasure that results from a feeling of triumph by showing we're better than someone else in a certain way. According to Aristotle and many other philosophers，all jokes depend mainly on showing inferiority in another person or group of persons ― that is, putting it clearly, on showing that they are worse off than ourselves. Jokes raise our good opinion of ourselves at someone else's expense.

  Showing how much better than other people we are is only one reason we like jokes. Some?one may also use a joke to express their anger or their cruelty (残酷) or any other kind of action that is not acceptable to us. We feel free to laugh when we hear about someone sliding on a ba?nana skin. The joke lets us express those attitudes which are usually unacceptable to society. This is probably the reason why some of the jokes，especially those involving cruelty，are so popular with certain people.

  Besides, all jokes depend on our enjoyment of laughing at something that is strange and out of place because it's different from things which are happening around it. The same situation can be either sad or pleasant, depending entirely on how strange and out of place it is. If a girl in a bathing suit falls into a swimming pool, we don't laugh because nothing unusual has happened. But if a man in a smart suit falls in，the situation is at once unusual in a pleasant way and we laugh. A good joke-teller will always try to build up a situation in which one thing is expected until something unexpected suddenly happens, and so we laugh.

(   ) 1. The underlined word "inferiority" in Paragraph 1 means        .

   A. someone that is better than someone else

   B.something that is better than something else

   C.someone that is as good as someone else

   D.something that is not as good as something else

(   ) 2. According to Aristotle all jokes depend mainly on        .

   A.resulting in a sense of success

   B.showing inferiority in another person or group

   C.having a good opinion of other people

   D.making people laugh unexpectedly 

(   ) 3. What's the main idea of Paragraph 2?

   A.To express those attitudes usually unacceptable to society is one of the reasons we like jokes.

   B.When people are angry they would like to hear jokes.

   C.People who like jokes are usually cruel.

   D.  Showing we are better than other people is the only one reason we like jokes. 

(   ) 4. What will a good joke-teller always try to do?

   A.Make an unexpected thing happen in an expected situation

   B.Make different things happen at the same time.

   C.Make a sad situation into a pleasant one.

   D.Make people laugh at something unusual and out of place.

   Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. With?out me all animals would 1      " Blue interrupted, "You only think about the 2       ，but consider the sky and the sea. 3       the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. Without my peace you would all be 4      .”

Yellow chuckled (笑道) ，"You are all so serious. I bring laughter fun and 5       into the world."

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, "I am the color of health and strength. I may be 6       but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky 7       ，my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 8       to any of you.”

Red could stand it 9       and he shouted out, "I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to 10       truth. I am also the color of passion and love.”

Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝) .…

The colors went on boasting each convinced of his or her own 11       Their quarreling be?came louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightning. Thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down 12      . The colors crouched(蜷缩) down 13       drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷) rain began to speak, "You foolish colors fighting 14       yourselves each trying to dominate 15      . Don't you know that you were each made for a spe?cial purpose 16       and different? Join hands with 17       and come to me.”

Doing as they were told,the colors 18       and joined hands. They formed a colorful rain?bow. From then on,whenever a good rain 19       the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to 20       one another.

(   ) 1.A. stay   B. leave   C. go out   D. die

(   ) 2.A. earth   B. moon   C. star   D. sun

(   ) 3.A. That is   B. I am   C. It is   D. This is

(   ) 4.A. anything   B. nothing   C. something   D. everything

(   ) 5.A. warmth   B. sadness   C. depression   D. anxiety

(   ) 6.A. usual   B. normal   C. common   D. scarce

(   ) 7.A. at midnight   B. at noon or at night

   C.  at sunrise or sunset   D. during the day

(   ) 8.A. gift   B. honor   C. thought   D. respect

(   ) 9.A. for more   B. any more   C. very much   D. no longer

(   ) 10.A. turn to   B. fight for   C. struggle with   D. bend over

(   ) 11.A. superiority   B. disadvantages   C. inferiority   D. weakness

(   ) 12.A. gently   B. quietly   C. violently   D. peacefully

(   ) 13.A. with care   B. in fear   C. by chance   D. on purpose

(   ) 14.A. amongst   B. by   C. for   D. against

(   ) 15.A. others   B. themselves   C. the other   D. the rest

(   ) 16.A. simple   B. similar   C. common   D. unique

(   ) 17.A. each other   B. me   C. one another   D. them

(   ) 18.A. combined   B. separated   C. united   D. divided

(   ) 19.A. cleans   B. washes   C. brightens   D. dampens

(   ) 20.A. appreciate   B. quarrel with   C. ignore   D. praise

为某英语杂志写一篇简介中国农业概况的短文。字数120左右。文章内容要点如下。在要点的基础上内容可适当扩充。 1.中国用很少的土地养活了众多人口。种了占世界三分之一以上的庄稼。

2.中国科学家一直在努力发展农业。拥有超级杂交水稻和高产玉米。

3.发展农业，也注重保护环境和资源的循环利用。

生词提示

farmland耕地;irrigated area灌溉面积；resource资源;environment环境;recycle/reuse循环利用；organic farming有机农业 

写作支招

一) 写作定性

本文为概括介绍性的说明文。要求语言简洁，条理清晰，叙述客观。时态主要为现在时。句-f多为陈述句。按要求文章分三到四段为宜。二) 难点突破

1.可用词汇

effective,agriculture, development, feed,irrigate, farmland, struggle, work on,have/ has been doing，search for，super-hybrid rice，high output corn, environmental-friendly，fertil?izer,avoid damaging to

2.结构模仿

肯定成绩或成就：运用wonder,make it possible to和with结构使句子更精炼地道。It is a wonder for them to make it possible to complete the building in just three years with?out any modern tools.

寻找解决问题的办法：用现在完成进行时更能体现不断努力，一直坚持的精神，用with/ without doing结构和分词结构使语言简洁。

The local government has been looking for ways to develop tourism without doing harm to the environment.

Using the newly-developed technique, these factories are making twice as many products as before.

描述后果和成效:运用not only...but also的倒装句型使句子紧凑。Not only can the farmers in the villages be provided with more firewood but also the forests play an important role in keeping the soil from being washed away by heavy rains.

3.参考句型

Sb. has been doing sth.某人一直在做某事make it possible to do使做某事成为可能

twice as much/many as是.... 的两倍

pay much attention to sth. /doing sth.更多关注做某事keep...free from doing sth.使..... 不做某事

 Nancy and her family moved into a new house with a big garden. She didn't have many friends in her new neighborhood，so after she sent her husband and children to work and school， she spent a lot of time in the garden. She loved the flowers, shrubs(灌木) and trees.

One day，when Nancy was expecting some special visitors，she took extra care of the gar?den. She pulled the weeds, trimmed(修剪) the shrubs,cut the grass, and carefully cleaned all the dry autumn leaves. As she was working, an old woman was watching her with interest over the fence. Nancy had met this woman several times in the streets. She seemed to be friendly to everybody.

When Nancy had finished, she stood back to admire her work. " Isn't it beautiful?" she called out to the old woman. "Yes”， replied the old woman, "but there is something missing. May I come in? I'll put it right for you.”

  Nancy opened the gate for her and let her in slowly, the old woman walked to the tree near the center of the garden, held it by the trunk,and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "Now," said the old woman, "isn't it much better?"

Nancy looked at her garden for a while and said, "Strange. The leaves make the garden look more beautiful?"

The old woman smiled and said, "When you are as old as me,you'll understand life can't be perfect. The fallen leaves are part of nature's beauty.” 

(   ) 6. Why did Nancy spend most of her time around her house?

   A.She was very busy with her work.

   B.She had to take care of her children.

   C.She thought the neighborhood unsafe.

   D.She had few friends in the neighborhood.

(   ) 7. What did Nancy do in the garden before the visitors came?

   A.She picked some flowers in the garden.

   B.She invited a neighbor to give her advice.

   C.She moved tables and chairs into the garden.

   D.She tried to make the garden tidy and beautiful.

(   ) 8. From the text,we can learn that the old woman was        .

   A. rich and energetic   B. wise and friendly

   C.  quiet and sensitive   D. lively and humorous

   The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.

   As the general standard of living in the country rises,the poverty line does,too. There?fore,even with today's relatively high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs,they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.

   For one thing，more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. By law,children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old,the normal retirement age.

   Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons：they are sick，they do not have any motivation，they have family problems，or they do not believe that they can find a job.

   Other poor people look for a job but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.

At the present time,the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the fol?lowing ways.

   First, if the national economy grows,businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer be below the poverty line.

Second, if society invests in the poor,the poor will become more productive. If the gov?eminent spends money on social programs，education，and training for poor people，the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more likely that they can find jobs.

   Finally, if the government distributes society's income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non-poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare. In 1975 over 18 million people in the United States received welfare.

  Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time,many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living. 

(       ) 1.The author's main purpose to write this article is        .

   A.to define what the poverty line is

   B.to explain why some people live below the poverty line

   C.to find solutions to the problem of poverty

   D.to show sympathy for those poor people 

(   ) 2. Which of the following is NOT true?

   A.Ten percent of the Americans live a poor life.

   B.Poor people are those who live below the poverty line.

   C.The poverty line rises as the general standard of living rises.

   D.The poverty line tends to be at the same level.

(   ) 3. More than 40 percent of the poor people are children. This is mainly because        .

   A.they do not have enough motivation

   B.they are so young that they don't have the right to work

   C.they fail to get enough education

   D.they are very poor in health

(   ) 4. Most of the American poor people are not qualified for employment because        .

   A.they do not have any motivation to work

   B.they are not self-confident enough

   C.they are too young or too old to work

(   ) 5. We may conclude from the passage that        .

   A.better solutions to the poverty problem are not yet found

   B.welfare will enable them to be rich

   C.poor people are sure to go out of the poverty line if they have chances to do busi?ness

   D.employment is the best solution to the poverty problem