A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can you combine (联合) the two to do something for your local environment? As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone, you will be able to bury（埋） it in the garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower.

A biodegradable (生物可降解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage people to recycle. Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic, but overtime it can break down into the soil without giving out any poisonous chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover with a sunflower seed. When this cover turns into waste, it forms nitrates (硝酸盐). These feed the seed and help the flower grow. “We’ve only put sunflower seeds into the cover so far. But we are trying to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time.” said one scientist.

As phone technology is developing so quickly, people are always throwing their mobiles away. This means producers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can reduce the harm to nature, according to the scientists. “The seed is released and the flower grows in the pot so you don’t have to worry about the phone when you have finished using it,” said Kerry Kirwan, the leader of the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain.

71. How do people deal with the used mobile phone at present?

A. They throw it away.                         B. They bury it in the garden.

C. They recycle it.                               D. They turn it into nitrates.

72. Scientists do this type of research in order to ________.

A. make the mobile phones more beautiful            B. to deal with environmental problems

C. to find a new way to grow flowers                  D. to produce more mobile phones

73. What does the underline phrase “break down” mean?

A. 抛锚                        B. 崩溃                       C. 撞毁                       D. 分解

74. We can infer (推断) from the passage that ________.

A. the new type of mobile phones is already on the market

B. some 650 million mobile phones will be thrown away

C. a group of British researchers are doing the research

D. other flowers may be used in this type of mobile phones

75. The main idea of the passage is ________ .

A. the relationship between high tech and environment               B. the phone technology is developing

C. phone can be turned into flowers                                  D. mobile phone and environment

______ beautiful the flower is!

A. How B. What C. What a　　D. How a

________ the flower looks!

[　　]

 farmer in India had two large pots (桶）．One of the pots had a crack (裂缝）in it．The other pot was perfect，and it always carried a full pot of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the farmer’s house．The cracked pot arrived only half full．

For two years this went on daily，with the farmer carrying one and one-half pots of water to his house．Of course，the perfect pot was proud of its achievements．But the poor cracked pot was ashamed (羞愧的）of its own work．One day，it spoke to the farmer，“I was ashamed (羞愧的）of myself，and I want to apologize to you．”

“Why?” asked the farmeer．“What are you ashamed of?”

“For these last two years，I have been able to carry only half pot of water，because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house．Because of my flaw (瑕庇），you do not get full value for your work，” the pot explained．

“Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path，but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw，and I took advantage of it．I sowed (播撒）flower seeds on your side of the path，and every day while I walk back from the stream，you have watered them．For two years，I have been able to pick those flowers to decorate my table．So I need to say ‘thanks，to you for the beautiful flowers!”

Each of us has our own flaws．We are all cracked pots．Don’t be ashamed of the flaws．Accept them，and we can be the cause of beauty，too．In God’s eyes，nothing goes to waste．

根据短文内容选择最佳答案，并将其标号填涂在答题卡相应位置。

46．How much water did the farmer carry when he got home every day?

A．Two pots．       B．One pot． C．Half pot． D．One and a half pots．

47．Why did the cracked pot feel ashamed?

A．Because it felt so ugly for its crack．

B．Because the perfect pot laughed at it．

C．Because it couldn’t carry water for the farmer．

D．Because it couldn’t give the farmer full value for his work．

48．What does the underlined phrase “leak out” mean in Chinese?

A．走漏                 B．漏出                C．蒸发               D．溢出

49．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The farmer felt sorry for the cracked pot．

B．The farmer used the flowers to decorate his table．

C．The farmer wanted to carry two full pots of water．

D．The fanner sowed flower seeds on both sides of the path．

50．What can we learn from this story?

A．We should accept our weakness and make use of it．

B．We should forget our weakness and work hard．

C．We should be ashamed of our weakness．

D．We should be proud of our weakness．

Hello，this is your gardening adviser.
Now，just as our garden are at their most colourful, and most productive time, what do we do？We’ll go off on holiday. What I suggest you do is this: invite a friend or neighbour to help you. You can ask him to water the plants in the greenhouse until you return, but first make sure that he knows how to do it. What he should not do is throw water over the leaves of the plants themselves, because if he does that, it will invite diseases. Also for the same reason, ask him if he can possibly water in the morning, rather than in the evening.
If you haven’t got a greenhouse, there is one safe and easy way to keep the plants well when you are away, and this is how you do it. Place six-inch-deep newspapers in the bottom of the bath. Yes, the bath! Turn the tap on and keep the water running until the papers are all wet. Now put the flower pots（花盆）to stand on the wet paper, go off on holiday, and they should be alive and well when you return in two weeks’ time.
Thank you for calling. Goodbye and good gardening!

【小题1】 What is the passage about?

A．holiday.	B．health.
C．bathing.	D．gardening.

【小题2】Which advice does the speaker give?

A．Pouring water to prevent diseases

B．Watering the plant in the morning

C．Watering the plants in the evening

D．Throwing water over the leaves of the plants.

【小题3】What is not the reason the speaker repeats“the bath”？

A．To attract the listeners’ attention

B．To advise the listeners’ to buy beautiful baths.

C．To make sure the listeners understand him clearly

D．To remove the listeners’ surprise when they hear this.

【小题4】What is the speaker like'?

A．Helpful and patient.

B．Stubborn and impatient.

C．Modest and imaginative

D．Careless and easy-going