For thousands of years， people farmed the land． They grew fruits and vegetables． They hunted and fished for meat． They（1）　　 cloth， dyes（染料） and paper from plants． They used stone and metal for weapons and tools．

People progressed to making machines powered（2）　　 water and steam（蒸汽）， and even later， by coal， oil， and petrol． Large cities were built． Factories（3）　　 of machines created jobs in the cities for thousands of people． The Industrial Revolution（工业革命） changed the lives of many people because， for the first time， more people lived in cities than on（4）　　．

Companies built power plants（工厂） to make（5）　　 to run the machines， factories and cities．

People did not realize these activities were（6）　　 the Earth． They didn't realize bow（7）　　 oil，gas，coal and minerals were being used up．

（8）　　 cities grew bigger and spread across the land，plants and animals began to disappear． Their nature homes were destroyed（破坏） as people moved into new places．

As time passed， people began to（9）　　 the need to protect the Earth and its natural resources（资源）． They saw that plants and animals needed protection， so they wouldn't disappear forever． People joined together to tell（10）　　 around the world to conserve（节约） our natural resources and care for the Earth． And so． Earth Day was born． Each year， more and more people take part in Earth Day． What can you do to help？

Like you， plants need good things like food， water， and minerals in order to grow． Usually they get these important nutrients（营养） from the rich soil（土壤） in which they're planted． But there's another way to grow plants that doesn't use soil． It's called hydrogenic gardening．

"Hydrogenic" means "working with water． " In a hydrogenic garden， plants grow with their roots in water， not in dirt． The water is filled with special food for the plants that gardeners have carefully measured and prepared．

Hydrogenic plants grow quickly． In ordinary gardens， plants need time and energy to grow long roots that search the soil for food and water． In a hydrogenic garden， plants can use their energy to grow tall instead． And because there is no soil， there are no weeds and few insect pests（害虫）． Gardeners don't need to spray（喷洒） plants with dangerous chemicals． Both the plants and the environment stay healthy．

Scientists hope that， one day， hydrogenic gardens may be able to help hungry people all over the world grow enough food﹣even in countries that have bad soil， or weather that is too hot， too cold， or too dry． And astronauts hope to take hydrogenic gardens with them to the spaceship they fly to Mars， so that they will always have fresh vegetables， and the fun of growing a garden without dirt．

（1）What's the meaning of the underlined word "dirt" in the second paragraph？　　

A． soil

B． water

C． insect

D． food

（2）Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage？　　

A． Plants need water and other nutrients to grow．

B． There are no weeds inhydrogenic gardens．

C． Hydrogenic plants cannot grow in too hot weather．

D． Astronauts hope to take hydrogenic gardens to space．

（3）What's the passage about？　　

A． Plant growing．

B． Space farming．

C． Scientific watering．

D． hydrogenic gardening．

Can you imagine walking in， sitting next to a stranger and asking for the latest news or putting a recent novel down next to someone's coffee and asking for their opinion before giving yours？

But more than 300 years ago， this kind of behaviour was encouraged in thousands of coffeehouses all over London． In 1712， the Starbucks site（位置） today was occupied（占据） by Button's coffeehouse Inside， poets， writers and members of the public gathered around long wooden tables drinking， thinking， writing and discussing literature into the night． On the wall， near where the Starbucks community notice board now stands， was the white marble（大理石） head of a lion with wide﹣open mouth． The public was invited to feed it with letters and stories． The best of the lion's digest（文摘） were published in a weekly edition of Joseph Addison's Guardian newspaper， named "the roaring of the lion"．

Today， few people know Button's． It's just one of London's forgotten coffeehouses．

London's first coffeehouse was opened by a Greek named Pasque Rosee in 1652． While a servant for a British merchant in Turkey， Rosee developed a taste for the exotic（异国情调的） Turkish drink and decided to import（进口） it to London． People from all walks of life came to his business to meet， greet， drink， think， write， and joke．

（1）Where was the white marble lion head？　　

A． In the backyard of the Starbucks．

B． On the Button's long wooden tables．

C． In Joseph Addison's Guardian newspaper．

D． On the wall of Button's coffeehouse．

（2）How often was "the roaring of the lion" published？　　

A． Every day

B． Every week．

C． Every month

D． Every year）

（3）What kind of coffee did Pasque Rosee import to London？　　

A． Turkish coffee．

B． Black coffee．

C． White coffee

D． Sweet coffee．

（4）What can we infer（推断） from the passage？　　

A． People could hardly found a coffeehouse in 1712 in London．

B． Starbucks， Button's and Rosee's were famous coffeehouses of London in 1700s．

C． Button's was usually noisy and crowded at night 300 hundred years ago．

D． Only businessmen enjoyed the exotic coffee at Pasque Rosee's．

I did not grow up in a family with books．（1）　　 My process of being a reader seemed amazing． I got lost in one book that opened up my world and changed my life．

My primary school teacher always gave her pupils time to read for pleasure in school． She believed it would improve reading greatly．（2）　　 It was a biography（传记） of actress Greta Garbo． I picked it up and began to read from cover to cover． The words I read attracted（吸引） me and I was excited． I realized that there were other women like Greta who had made great efforts and changed their lives． I recognized（认识） myself in her．

From then on， my teacher had a hard time keeping me supplied（提供） with books． She dug up all the biographies of women that she could find．（3）　　

It has been a long road． I am now a physics professor in a university．（4）　　 Recently， someone gave me Justice Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography． Once again， I am encouraged and am imagining new possibilities for my life．

A． Most of my time is spent reading scientific literature．

B． Their stories were like road maps that allowed me to see where I could go on with my life．

C． In my home， there was neither time nor energy to read．

D． Reading plays an important role in my life．

E． One day， she put a book on my desk．

（1）One of my friends sometimes takes aside another friend to talk to her about something she doesn't want me to hear． It makes me feel sad． What should I do？　　

（2）Some of my friends are in a fight． like them all equally（同样地）， but they say I have to choose sides． Help!　　

（3）I look up to my sisters． They're both intelligent（聪明的） feel that I'll never be as good as them．　　

（4）I am the shortest person in my class， and my classmates call me "Tiny Mouse． " How can I make them stop？　　

（5）I always use the computer and can't stop I feel that I'm not getting any smarter and the computer is warping（扭曲） my brain．　　

A． It's wonderful that you admire them． but try not to compare yourself to them． Instead of trying to be like them， just try to be the best you possible． You will find that you will be much happier when you try to be true to yourself， rather than when you try to be like someone else．

B． The only way to break a habit is to force yourself to do something different． A world of exciting and interesting activities is just waiting for you． Write a list of things you've always wanted to do， learn， make， or try． When you feel like playing it， do something else．

C． Discuss this with her． Try not to suppose that she talks about you unless you actually hear what she says． But let her know that you are unhappy when she tells secrets around you． If you feel uncomfortable talking to her in person， you could write her a note instead．

D． We often hear from kids who are laughed at about their height． They probably don't mean to hurt your feelings． There are advantages and disadvantages to being any size． You might play along and come up with a funny reply． However， if you feel hurt， try talking to a parent or teacher．

E． Explain to your friends that you like all of them． You can play with each person or group separately． If they don't like this， then you may want to focus on other friendships until these friends work things out． Another idea is to offer to help your friends solve their problems．