1、Go Green Without a Green Thumb
If you’re anything like me, you manage to kill absolutely every plant that comes your way. No matter how hard I try, I can’t manage to keep flowers alive for more than a few days. So I’ve made a list of plants that even I couldn’t kill and decided to share it with everyone who also lacks a green thumb.
1.Jade
We commonly think of jade as a beautiful stone, but it also happens to be a plant that requires hardly any care and will give your apartment an air of elegance. There are only two things you need to do to take care of this plant:
Water the plant when the soil becomes moderately dry.
Wipe down the leaves every once in a while to remove dust.
2.African Violet
Want to add a little color to your apartment? That can be challenging if you don’t have a green thumb—most flowering plants require a ton of care. Fortunately, African violets are not one of those plants.
Simply water them once a week and enjoy their beautiful blue, pink and purple hues! Just do your best to avoid getting any water on the plants’ leaves, as this can cause water spots (污渍).
3.Aloe
Aloe is also a plant that even the worst gardener among us can manage to keep alive.
Step one: Acquire plant.
Step two: Water it when the soil is completely dry, about every two to three weeks.
Note: Aloe can be poisonous for your pet. If you have pets, make sure to only plant pet-friendly plants.
4. Lucky Bamboo
To bring some good fortune into your apartment, purchase some lucky bamboo. This houseplant does best in dim lighting, so keep it away from windows. Other than that, all you need to do is make sure the roots are always covered in water (an inch or two should do the trick).
1.What can we learn from the text?
A.Jade is only a kind of beautiful stone.
B.You should spray(喷洒) water on the leaves of African violet.
C.Aloe is a pet-friendly plant.
D.Lucky bamboo can bring good luck to you.
2.Which of the following plants needs watering frequently?
A.Jade. B.African violet. C.Lucky bamboo. D.Aloe.
3.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To introduce several plants that require little special care.
B.To share with readers the author’s opinion on growing plants.
C.To attract readers to buy some of their products on the list.
D.To call on readers to protect the environment in daily life.
2、For the 17 years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill, and soon she knew that she was dying. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She held our hands and said, “Victor and Elizabeth, my children, I’m very happy because you love each other, and because one day you’ll get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you look after them when I have gone.”
My mother died and we were very sad, because we loved her dearly. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother’s death. The time came for me to go to university. I didn’t want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry would not let him go to university with me. So I had gone alone.
On my first day at university I met my teacher, Professor Waldman, who was one of the greatest scientists in the world. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students who were starting at the university. He ended his talk by saying, “Some of you will become the greatest scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can. This is why God made you intelligent—to help other people.”
After the professor’s talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was 15; I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. From then on, I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things.
I started to work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.
The professor helped me very much, and other important scientists who were his friends helped me, too. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day’s holiday during the next two years, I did not go home, and my letters to my family were very short.
After two years, I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was the best in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death, so it was a dark and terrible time.
I built a tall mast about 150 meters high, which is higher than the tallest building in the city, to catch lightning and send the electricity down to my machine in the lab. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.
Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Victor did not want to leave his family because his mother died not long before.
B.Elizabeth married shortly after Victor’s mother died.
C.Elizabeth was a brave girl who loved Victor and gave him much help.
D.Victor’s mother was very angry when she knew he loved Elizabeth.
2.Victor did all the following during his research in the university EXCEPT that_______.
A.he discovered many things and built a scientific machine
B.he learnt much about death both in the hospitals and in the university
C.he built a tall mast to catch lightning and send the electricity down to the lab
D.he worked hard and took only one day’s holiday during the next two years
3.According to the author, the secret of life is to_____.
A.use electricity to cure diseases
B.build the best machine to learn about death
C.become the greatest scientist of tomorrow
D.give life to things that were dead by using electricity
4.Which is the correct order about the life of Victor?
① Victor’s mother passed away.
② Victor got help from the professor and other scientists.
③ Victor went to university and attended the professor’s talk.
④ Victor found the answer to giving life to things that were dead.
⑤ Victor experienced a storm, seeing the lightning destroying the tree.
A.①②③④⑤ B.⑤①③②④ C.①③②⑤④ D.⑤①②④③
