B. was very generous
C. had a problem with his neck D. paid little attention to change
C
Today, the world’s diversity (多样性) of food crops is quickly decreasing. But scientists around the world are taking action. They are building seed banks. At seed banks, scientists store the seeds of many different crops.
There are now 1,400 seed banks around the world. However, some banks are in warm countries. If the electricity fails, the seeds will get too hot and die. Other seed banks are in countries troubled by war. Sometimes people damage the seed banks. If this happens, valuable seeds can be lost forever!
The organization Global Crop Diversity Trust decided they wanted to deal with this problem. So, they decided to build a global seed bank. This seed bank would contain a back-up, or extra copy, of all the world’s seeds. Smaller seed banks would still collect and keep local seeds. But they would also send copies of their seeds to the global bank.
Scientists from the Global Crop Diversity Trust chose the cold, snowy mountains of Svalbard, Norway to build the global seed bank — the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (斯瓦尔巴全球种子库). Organizations, farmers, or local seed banks store their extra seeds there. And the people who place their seeds in the vault are the only people who can take them out. They pay to ship their seeds to Norway, but it does not cost them any money to store their seeds. The Global Crop Diversity Trust pays for this.
Cary Fowler is a scientist who heads the Global Crop Diversity Trust. He said, “If the Seed Vault simply supplies seed banks with copies of seeds that those banks lost by accident, the Seed Vault will be worth way more than it cost.”
29. Seed banks are built to _____. A. research on seeds B. produce new seeds
C. protect crop diversity D. increase the number of seeds
30. Compared with other seed banks, the global seed bank _____. A. was built by the government B. is more welcomed by farmers C. is mainly used by great scientists D. can provide a good environment for seeds
31. What can we learn about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault? A. It helps to pay the shipping cost. B. No one can take seeds out of there. C. There are no fees to store seeds there. D. It mainly receives seeds from farmers.
32. What is Cary Fowler’s attitude towards the Seed Vault? A. He feels it is very important. B. He is surprised at it.
C. He thinks it costs too much.
D. He is uncertain about it.
D
The word “invent” comes from a Latin word which means “to find.” Garrett Morgan, an African-American, was one such inventor. His first job was repairing machines in a factory. By accident, he had invented the hair straightener. He sold his products and then continued with his career as an inventor.
Every day, Garrett Morgan watched traffic become more dangerous. Cars, bicycles and walkers all competed to cross the street. Police officers made simple “stop / go” signals at busy crossroads, but cars, bicycles and walkers still rushed into the crossroads at different speeds and many crashed into each other. One day he saw a traffic accident between a car and a bicycle at a busy crossroads. The problem with the traffic light, he realized, was its poor design: the traffic signal lacked a transition (过渡) between “stop” and “go.”
Morgan invented a new traffic signal that added a “caution (警告)” light that made traffic move more smoothly and safely. His traffic light stood on a T-shaped pole (杆) with arms that flashed a red light to stop traffic in all directions, allowing walkers to cross safely. After walkers crossed, traffic could only go in one direction.
Soon, cities everywhere wanted his traffic light. In 1923, a popular electric company paid Morgan $40,000 to make and sell his invention. Traffic lights today work in the same basic way.
The traffic light is Morgan’s most famous invention. In 1963, the United States government gave Garrett Morgan an award for his life-saving idea. 33. What can we learn about Garrett Morgan from Paragraph 1? A. He worked in a factory all his life.
B. He led a hard life in his early years. C. He made money from hair straighteners.
D. He dreamed of being an inventor when he was a child. 34. What made Morgan invent the traffic light? A. A traffic accident. B. A car driver’s advice. C. Worry about his safety. D. Hard work of police officers.
35. According to the text, Garrett Morgan’s traffic light _____. A. made cars move more slowly B. needed no help from police officers C. was special because it had a “caution” light D. was very different from the ones we use today 第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
What are the advantages and disadvantages of eating fast food? Many people do not have time to eat home-cooked food. 36 There’re more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the United States itself, and over 8,000 KFCs in 80 countries. In most cities, it is not difficult to find hamburgers and pizza.
