The United States is suffering its worst drought (干旱) in almost sixty years. The National Climatic Data Center also says high temperatures in June added to the warmest twelve-month period on record. Record-keeping began in 1895. The drought map showed that conditions improved in the Southeast in June compared to May. But the drought is expected to continue in large parts of the country. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with President Obama. Mr Vilsack says the drought has seriously influenced some crops, such as corn and soybeans (大豆). And the United States is the world's leading producer. 

    The drought has made prices of com and soybeans increase. Both of them are used in food production and for animal feed. Last week the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that corn and wheat prices increased by 20% over the past three weeks.

In the United States, farmers may quickly reduce the size of their animals rather than pay higher feed prices to keep them. That increased supply of meat would reduce meat prices in the short term. But those prices could increase in several months.

Mr Vilsack says the effect of the drought is hard to predict(预测). Some areas are getting rain, and drought-resistant (抗旱的) seeds have helped crops grow well in some areas.

1.We can know the drought record of the USA has been kept for ________years of the USA up to now.

A. 97                                                        B. 207

C. 221                                          D. 117

2.Which of the following American presidents met with Tom Vilsack?

A. George Washington.                 B. Abraham lincon.

C. George Bush.                                  D. Barack Obama.        

3. If the price of a kilo of corn was 3 dollars last December, how much is a kilo of corn now?

A. 2.4 dollars.                                        B. 3 dollars.

C. 3.6 dollars.                                         D. 3.9 dollars.

4.Why is the meat price lower than before?

A. Because there are more and more animals.

B. Because farmers kill them to save their food.

C. Because people don't like eating meat now.

D. Because the government (政府) asks the meat price lower.

5.What is the best title for the passage?

A. US faces the worst drought in almost sixty years.

B. Take action to help the USA.

C. What does the country do in the drought areas?

D. President Obama meets with Agriculture Secretary.

The United States is suffering its worst drought (干旱) in almost sixty years. The National Climatic Data Center also says high temperatures in June added to the warmest twelve-month period on record. Record-keeping began in 1895. The drought map showed that conditions improved in the Southeast in June compared to May. But the drought is expected to continue in large parts of the country. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with President Obama. Mr Vilsack says the drought has seriously influenced some crops, such as corn and soybeans (大豆). And the United States is the world's leading producer. 
The drought has made prices of com and soybeans increase. Both of them are used in food production and for animal feed. Last week the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that corn and wheat prices increased by 20% over the past three weeks.
In the United States, farmers may quickly reduce the size of their animals rather than pay higher feed prices to keep them. That increased supply of meat would reduce meat prices in the short term. But those prices could increase in several months.
Mr Vilsack says the effect of the drought is hard to predict(预测). Some areas are getting rain, and drought-resistant (抗旱的) seeds have helped crops grow well in some areas.
【小题1】We can know the drought record of the USA has been kept for ________years of the USA up to now.

Most children in the United States are returning to school after the summer holiday．Public education for children in the United Sates is free．But parents still have to buy things such as new clothes，bags and other supplies for their children before every new school year．

8，000 Americans took part in a study．It said that this year American parents would spend almost 15 billion dollars preparing their children for school．

The study also found that 93 percent of families with school age children plan to buy clothes，shoes and school supplies．Each family will spend almost 500 dollars on those things．This is 7 percent more than last year．Almost half of questioned parents also said they planned to spend about 100 dollars on electronics(电子产品) and computers．

Half of the parents in the study said their children would use their own money to buy some things for school．Teenaged children arc expected to spend about 85 dollars each for supplies．23 percent of parents said that even their younger children would buy some things for themselves．

To help shoppers save money，several cities let people buy some goods without paying sales tax．Washington，D．C．，is such a city．It has a ten—day sales tax holiday in August．At that time，people can buy clothing，shoes or school supplies that cost less than 100 dollars without paying sales tax．

1．How many children plan to use their own money to buy school needs?

A．Seven percent of them．      B．Twenty—three percent of them．

C．Ninty—three percent of them． D．None of the above．

2．How much did each family spend last year on children’s school supplies?

A．535 dollars．    B．465 dollars．    C．565 dollars．   D．435 dollars．

3．Shoppers can save money            ．

A．in special days    B．in all big cities

C．during holidays   D．when the things cost $100

4．We can learn from the study that         

A．8，000 parents will spend about 15 billion dollars for their children’s school life．

B．93％ of the American families have school children．

C．500 dollars on children’s clothes，shoes and school supplies is necessary for a family．

D．7％ of the families want to spend 100 dollars on computers and electronics．

5．The best title of the text would be“             ”

A．Children’s Costs in the United States．

B．Children’s Study Plants for the New Year．

C．Public Education in the United States．

D．New School Year，New Supplies and Costs