Emilio and Michi spread the colorful tablecloth on the table. They made room for Drew, who was carrying a dish. “Watch out,” Drew warned. “This is pretty hot.”
A moment later, Kent and Alyssa added another hot dish to the table. “That smells so good!” said Michi. “Are most of the parents here yet? I’m hungry.”
Kent looked through the doors that led into the hallway. “I think Ms. Milano and Mr. Hasselbach just finished giving them the garden touring. They should be heading into the cafeteria next.”
The students of Jefferson Middle School in Saint Louis, US had spent all afternoon preparing for the evening meal. They did their best to transform the lunchroom into a beautiful dining area for their families.
As the families found their seats, Ms. Milano asked Drew, Emilio, and Michi to join her at the front of the room. She said, “I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Drew, Emilio and Michi for their wonderful idea. A year ago, they first came to me with the plan for starting a garden at Jefferson. I wondered whether it would work, but they had thought through everything. Any time I had a question about how we would make this work, they had an answer prepared. As you can see, they were absolutely correct. About three-quarters of the food you will be enjoying came from the school garden. The students prepared the entire meal themselves.”
Ms. Milano handed Drew, Michi and Emilio a box each. They opened their box as Ms. Milano continued. “As a thank-you to these students for their creative idea and hard work, they have each received a stepping stone(垫脚石)for the garden. Their names and date appear on the stones.”
She turned to them. “Students for years to come will be enjoying the garden that you helped create,” she said. “We thought it would be appropriate for them to have a reminder of our garden’s founders.”
They held up their stepping stones and smiled as the crowd clapped. “And now,” said Ms Milano, “please help yourself to some of the mouthwatering food our young chefs have prepared. Dinner is served!”
1.What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A.The students’ parents. B.New students. C.Teachers. D.The school chefs.
2.According to the text, the food served on the table
A.was served as a lunch
B. was cooked by the students
C.was prepared to thank the kids
D.was entirely from the school garden
3.What was Ms. Milano’s original attitude toward starting a garden at school?
A.She was doubtful about it
B.She felt it was worth a try
C.she was strongly against it
D.She thought it a wonderful idea.
4.Why did Ms. Milano give stepping stones to Drew, Michi , and Emilio?
A.They have good cooking skills.
B. They are the best students of the school.
C.They have made the school more beautiful.
D.They are the founders of the school garden.
5.What would be the best title of the text?
A.A school garden B.Garden chefs C.Creative students D.A delicious meal
Watercress is positively packed with healthy vitamins and minerals. The writings of both the Romans and the Ancient Greeks record the consumption of watercress by all classes. Hippocrates, “the father of medicine”, was so convinced that watercress was a great healer that he built his first hospital next to a stream so that he could grow a plentiful supply of the shiny green leaves for his patients. The Romans chewed watercress in large quantities, believing that it would cure baldness. They, too, looked with favor on watercress as a salad.
Watercress sandwiches were traditionally a breakfast item in nineteenth-century Europe. The most basic type of watercress sandwich has two pieces of white bread with a mixture of butter and watercress greens . A nickname(绰号)for the vegetable, in fact, was “poor man’s bread”, because watercress was often eaten on its own for breakfast by families that could not afford the bread to go with it.
Watercress is a member of the mustard(芥菜) family. It contains vitamins C(66mg per 100g), K and A, and is also a valuable source of minerals such as iron, potassium, copper and calcium. The mustard oils in its silky leaves and stems(茎)contain an ingredient known as PEITC. Recent research has proved that PEITC can prevent the growth of cancer cells and, in some cases, actually destroy them.
The best watercress has silky green leaves without any marks and has undamaged stems, The older the plant, the darker are its leaves and the thicker its stems. This means a higher concentration of oils and vitamins. Young watercress, on the other hand, may be harvested after only twenty-eight days growth and has a milder taste. It is best to eat watercress fresh and raw , to keep more of its valuable nutrients, but it can be lightly cooked and used as an alternative to spinach—another dark green vegetable—in various recipes. From soups to salads, watercress is now considered around the world as a natural and healthy super food.
1.From paragraph 1, we can learn that________.
A.watercress is usually grown in wet areas
B.the ancient Greeks only used watercress for medicine
C.watercress is the most ancient vegetable known to man
D.the Romans rubbed watercress on their heads to cure baldness
2.The underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refers to “_________”.
A.butter B.watercress C.breakfast D. bread
3.Which of the following is TRUE about watercress?
A.It belongs to the same family as spinach.
B.It contains mustard oils only in leaves.
C.It can help guard against cancer.
D.It is rich in vitamins C and B.
4.Compared with older watercress, young watercress .
A.has lighter green leaves
B.contains more minerals
C.is better for medical use
D.is more suitable for eating raw
5.What would be the best title for the text?
A.The history of watercress B.watrcress, a medicinal plant
C.Watercress, the amazing food D.New findings about watercress
Travel is a very good activity. When traveling, you can relax1. ,forget your tiredness or troubles, and have the energy to take on the new tasks waiting for you.
But sometimes traveling is 2. an enjoyable thing. For example, the weather can be changeable, If you climb a mountain, it may rain suddenly. You may be caught3. the rain and may catch a cold. The worst thing is that you may have your money stolen 4. you may have an injury. All these terrible things are 5. can happen to you .
Therefore, when you are going on a trip, you 6. make a good preparation. Firstly, you must have clear information about the weather. Secondly, you should choose7.___good companion so that you can help each other. Thirdly, you must be careful enough and try to avoid accidents. 8. you do this, you will surely enjoy your travel.
When I was about 6 years old I lived in Kenya. There was a lot of and there were always street children on the roads asking for money. There was such a big divide between those children and me and I grew up very aware of being so .
We had a wonderful and very kind driver, John, who had been working with my for decades. He used to take us to and from school. One day while we were stopped in traffic a young street child, probably no more than 10 years old, with a friendly greeting, “Hi, John!”
He the car and shook John’s hand,. John then gave him a little bit of money and waved him off with a smile before we carried on our way to school.
I had watched the whole incident completely . John had a large family himself and had to work very hard to make ends .I knew that he didn’t have any spare money. So, of course, at that age I couldn’t understand why he would be giving money to the child.
“Who was that?” I asked. “My friend,” he replied. “I see him every morning on my way to work and I give him a little bit of money.” Unable to comprehend, I asked, “Why do you have to give him money every morning?” John replied, “So he can use it to buy some food.”
It was probably at that that I understood what kindness really was. A person who was in a difficult situation himself still found some money to for a child who needed it. Even at the age of 6 that had such a great impact on me. I didn’t have any money, but I wanted to too. So when my grandfather gave us a chocolate bar after dinner every Friday, I would mine up so I could give it to John to give to his friend.
1.A.kindness B.violence C.poverty D.excitement
2.A.fortunate B.intelligent C.guilty D.unfair
3.A.college B.company C.family D.team
4.A.passed by B.got in C.got back D.called out
5.A.stopped B.approached C.examined D.followed
6.A.annoyed B.surprised C.satisfied D.touched
7.A.meet B.leave C.move D.turn
8.A.Even B.Merely C.Yet D.Still
9.A.sight B.degree C.spot D.moment
10.A.spare B.spend C.supply D.raise
11.A.belong B.contribute C.change D.interfere
12.A.keep B.divide C.save D.add
There ___when we came here last time, which was said to date back to 773 BC.
A. stood a great castle B. does stand a great castle
C. stands a great castle D. did stand a great castle
—Can you see the bridge ___over there?
— Yes. It’s scheduled to be completed next year.
A. built B. to be built C. being built D. having built
