They worked long hours for several weeks ________ everything returned to normal．

1. A.
   before
2. B.
   when
3. C.
   since
4. D.
   unless

Farming was once the chief way of life in nearly every country. People cannot live without food, and nearly all their food comes from crops and animals raised on farms. Not many people farm for a living any more, but farming remains the most important work in the world.
Before the nineteenth century, the typical American family lived on a small farm. They raised pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and planted corn, fruits, garden vegetables, and wheat. Everyone worked long and hard, but the results were often poor. Families barely harvested enough food for themselves. This situation began to change during the last half of the 1800's and it changed remarkably(明显地) in the next century.
Scientific methods and labor-saving machinery have made farming increasingly productive. The development of improved plant varieties and fertilizers has helped double and even triple the production of some major crops. More scientific animal care and animal raising have helped increase the amount of meat and products that animals produce. At the same time, the use of tractors and other modern farm equipment has sharply reduced the need for farm labor.
As farming has become less important as a way of life in the United States, it has become more important as a source which offers materials to industry. Today's successful farmers are experts not just in agriculture but also in accounting, marketing, and finance. Farms that are not run in a similar way have great difficulty surviving.
1. We are told in the first paragraph about ____.
A. the history of farming                       B. the importance of farming  
C. the development of farming                  D. the changes of farming
2. Which of the following describes American farming before the 19th century?
A. Farmers didn’t work hard on their farms.  
B. Farmers used tractors to help them.
C. Farming was the main way of living for most people.
D. Farmers could supply materials to industry.
3. Crop production has increased greatly now thanks to all the following EXCEPT __.
A. scientific methods                 B. labor- saving machinery    
C. farmers’ hard work                 D. chemical fertilizers
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. Traditional American farming.            B. The increase in the number of crops in the US.
C. Modern farming methods.                D. American farmers’ hard work.
5. The passage mainly talks about_____.
A. the advantages of American farming      B. the changes in American farming 
C. the situation of American farms          D. how rapidly farming has developed

School education is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything from school. A teacher, no matter how much he knows, he can not teach his students everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves.
It is always more important to know how to study by oneself than to learn some facts or a formula by heart. It is actually quite easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula(公式) in mathematics. But it is very difficult to use a formula in working out a maths problem. Great scientist, such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo, didn’t get everything from school. But they were all so successful and invented so many things for men. They worked hard all their lives, wasting not a single moment. They would ask many questions as they read and they did thousands of experiments.
【小题1】According to the passage, a good teacher should be one who is to_________.

Have you ever thought, “I wish I could take a year off and just travel around the world”?

Well,three lucky American teenagers were able to do just that．The teens—two males and one female--got an all-expenses paid, yearlong hike to five continents.

    This trip didn’t include any five-star hotels or shopping funs．Eighteen-year-old Jamie Fiel from Keller, Texas, 17-year-old Arsen Ewing from Canyon, California, and 16-year-old Tyler Robinson from Lincoln, Massachusetts, didn’t expect fancy treatment．They signed up for the experience of a lifetime, which included hard work, often uncomfortable accommodations, and encounters with（遭遇） some of nature’s most dangerous animals and environments.

Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler were among hundreds of high school kids nominated by their science teachers to take this trip．Earthwatch Institute sponsored this adventure．Each year, Earthwatch employs thousands of volunteers worldwide to help with scientific research projects．

The group went all around the world to get a close look at the most pressing environmental issues of our time．Their assignments were as varied as their locations, and included measuring and attending pink flamingos in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and tracking giant sea turtles in Costa Rica.

As they worked with the Earthwatch scientists, Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler began to understand that we are at a critical moment in the life of our planet．Time for change is running out．As the teens went from country to country and witnessed different environmental dangers and challenges, they understood that solutions to important environmental issues start with the power of one person's actions．They realized that each of them can make a difference.

These teenagers went on the journey around the world _____.

    A．to experience the most serous environmental problems on the earth

    B．to bring the kindness of America to the other parts of the world

    C．to go on sightseeing around the world

    D．to call on more teenagers to join Earthwatch Institute

What’s true about their journey?

    A．They had to pay for their journey at their own expense.

    B．They often had to move from one hotel to another.

    C．They had to take great pains to collect environmental information.

    D．They received a warm welcome every time they arrived at a new place.

It can be inferred that Earthwatch Institute could be _____．

    A．an international university that takes in students from all over the world

    B．a TV station that makes programmes on the beautiful scenery of the earth

    C．a travel agency that organizes adventure trips specially for school children

    D．an organization that brings science to life for people concerned about the earth’s environment

What did they these teenagers learn from the journey?

    A．It was high time that people protected the environment.

    B．Long journey was not suitable for school children.

    C．It should take the whole world to help the children.

    D．Environmental problems can be solved if school children take part.

School education is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything from school. A teacher, no matter how much he knows, can not teach his students everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves.

  It is always more important to know how to study by oneself than to learn some facts or a formula by heart. It is actually quiet easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula(公式) in mathematics. But it is very difficult to use a formula in working out a maths problem. Great scientist, such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo, didn’t get everything from school. But they were all so successful and invented so many things for men. They worked hard all their lives, wasting not a single moment. They would ask many questions as they read and they did thousands of experiments.

According to the passage, a good teacher should be one who is to_________.

   A. help his students to gain a good memory.

   B. train his students’ ability to learn

   C. teach his students everything he knows

   D. have his students studying long hours

If a student want to learn better, the most important thing for him to do is_______.

   A. to learn all the useful facts and formula by heart

   B. to do everything as his teacher have said in class

   C. to absorb (吸收) as much knowledge from his teacher as possible

   D. to think more while he is studying

The main reason for the success of the great scientists is that________.

   A. the teachers who had taught them were all experienced.

   B. they used to work and study without a moment’s rest.

   C. they had received more schooling than other people

   D. they know how to study and worked hard

What’s the good advice the writer gives us?

   A. We can learn better without teachers

B. We should do more asking and thinking while studying

   C. We should pay enough attention to classroom

D. Book knowledge is little use