The garden is too dry for tomatoes to ________.

[　　]

A．grow

B．crop

C．plants

    2004 is the International Year of Rice! This was decided by the UN in 2002．

That was the first time the UN had made a special year to celebrate(庆祝)just one

crop．What was the UN，s purpose(目的)for its decision? The UN wants us to re—

member“Rice is life”．

    Rice was first grown 1 5，000 years ago in East and South Asia．Rice is more than three times as old as China．Today，almost half of the world’s population eats this very old crop.

    Rice is the most important food in Asia．83  90％ of the world's rice is grown in Asia．People in Africa now eat more rice than before．

    84  Nearly 1 billion(十亿)people around the world have jobs because of rice．

But still，about 840 million people，including more than 200 million children，don’t have enough food．So，growing more rice would really help the world’s hungry and poor people．

A．根据短文内容简要回答问题。

1．What decision was made by the UN in 2002?

___________________________________________________________________

2．Why should we grow more rice in the world?

____________________________________________________________________

B.将短文中画线的两个句子译成汉语

3.________________________________________________________________

4._________________________________________________________________

C.请给短文拟一个合适的标题。

5．________________________________________________________________

Farmer Ed Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees. The young oranges are growing well in Florida’s weather. Warm sunshine and gentle rains, along with Ed Rawlings’ expert care, will produce a good crop（收成）of oranges this year.
However, Ed has to guard against Florida’s changeable winter weather. In January and February, temperatures can destroy Ed’s entire orange crop. Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years, Ed is prepared for the frost(霜). When temperatures drop below freezing, Ed tries to save his crop by watering his orange trees. The water freezes and forms a thin layer(层) of ice around the trees. Strange as it may sound, this thin layer of ice actually keeps the fruit warm.
What happens is simple. When the trees are watered, the water loses heat and becomes ice. The warmth of the heat it loses is taken in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe level. Ed has effectively used this method to save many orange crops.
But Ed still faces difficulties. The trees must be watered at the exact moment the temperature drops to the freezing point. Also, just the right quantity(数量)of water must be used. Too much water can form a thicker layer of ice that will break the tree’s branches(树枝). Another difficulty is that wind blows away the heat, so Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered, and how much water should be used.
Computer technology may help Ed with some of these worries. With equipment(设备), air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured. The information is fed into a computer which can calculate(计算) when the temperature will drop below freezing. The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently(  ) the trees should be watered. Ed finds looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer, and, his customers will have the benefits(利益) of computer—age oranges. 
【小题1】The passage is mainly about______.

A．a farmer expert cares for his orange trees

B．the different uses of computers

C．growing oranges in Florida’s changeable weather

D．different ways of frost protection

【小题2】Ed tries to protect his crop by______.

A．using a wind machine to drive away the cold air

B．equipping his orange trees with a computer

C．watering it at the proper time

D．picking his fruit at the first sign of frost

【小题3】 According to the passage, the computer technology______.

A．removes the need for frost protection

B．prevents temperature from dropping

C．tells farmers why outdoor temperatures change

D．helps the farmer get a better harvest