話題23對社會有突出貢獻的人

Ⅰ.閱讀理解

TodayChinaistheworld’sbiggestconsumerofwheat.Butitwasn’talwaysthatway.

WheatonlycametotheareanowknownasnorthernChinatowardtheendofthe

Neolithic(新石器)period，some4，600yearsago.Initially，wheatdidn’tseemtobeso

deliciousandhadbeentreatedasacropofdesperationratherthanacooking

delight.ThefirstfarmersofnorthernChinaprimarilygrewmillet(粟)，startingasearly

as11，500yearsago.BythetimeoftheTangDynasty，wheathadreplacedmillet，

becomingamajorcrop.Butrelativelylittlewasknownaboutexactlywhythisshift

occurred.

Inanattempttotracktheanswer，Iaccumulatedacollectionofnearly1，200data

pointscoveringmorethan50sitesfromthemid－Neolithic，about9，000yearsago，

tothecollapseoftheEasternHanDynastyin220AD.Thesiteswereacross8modern

provinces，rangingfromGansuProvinceinthenorthwesttoShandongProvinceinthe

east.

Onepossibleexplanationisamajorclimateshift，calledtheHoloceneEvent3，which

happened4，000to4，500yearsago.Atthattime，theclimatebecamecolderanddrier

acrosscontinents，causingdamagetocropproduction.

Ontopofthis，thelateNeolithicperiodwasalsoatimeofrapidpopulationgrowth

aroundtheworld.Withanever－increasingpopulationandunsteadycropproduction，

itisreasonabletoassumethatNeolithicfarmersinnorthernChinawerestruggling.

Wheat，itturnsout，actuallyneedsmorewaterthanmillet，makingitseemapoor

choiceforadryperiodofhistory.Butimportantly，itcanbesowedaftermillethasbeen

harvested.That，wethink，isthemostlikelyreasonwhythepeopleacrossnorthern

Chinastartedtogrowwheat.

Frommoreextremeweathertochangingcoastlines，climatechangehasalwaysbrought

unexpectedandsometimesdramaticchangestosocieties.Inthisinstance，the

consequenceoftheHoloceneEvent3innorthernChinaproved，eventually，delicious.

1.Whatcanwelearnaboutwheatfromthesecondparagraph?

A.Itreplacedmilletforitsgreattaste.

B.Itwasapoorchoiceatthebeginning.

C.Itoutnumberedmillet4，600yearsago.

D.ItwastheearliestcropgrowninChina.

2.WhatdothefiguresinParagraph3show?

A.Theauthorfoundtheexactanswer.

B.Theauthordidworldwideresearch.

C.Theauthortooktheresearchseriously.

D.Theauthorwasgoodatcollectingdata.

3.WhatwasprobablythemainreasonfornorthernersinChinatogrowwheat?

A.Thewatersupplywasenoughthen.

B.Theharvestofmilletwasnotsatisfying.

C.Itadjustedtotheweatherconditionsbetter.

D.Ithadanalternativesowingseasonwithmillet.

4.Whichofthefollowingcanbethebesttitleforthetext?

A.HowwasmilletintroducedtoChina?

B.WhydidChinesefarmersswitchtowheat?

C.WhydidChinabecomethebiggestwheatconsumer?

D.HowwasChina’swheatgrowthaffectedbyclimatechange?

HereinthemiddleofLondon，somethingextraordinaryisgoingon.Youcanheara

loudandunmistakablesoundofbeesdoingwhattheydobest：makinghoney.

What’smore，they’reperformingtheirmagic，notintheleafyacresofnearbypark，

butuponthebalconyofStErmin’sHotel.Whereasmosturbanresidenceswoulddo

theirbesttokeepsting－bearinginsectsasfarawayfromguestsaspossible，thishotel

opensitsdoorstothecapital’sbees.Thepersonwhotendsthis“BeeHotel”isCamilla

Goddard.“Inthelongrun，beesareamazingcreaturestoworkwith.Youcan’thelp

admiringthewaytheyoperate.Theyreallydoputthegoodofthecommunityfirst，”

shesays.

Aswellasprovidinganenjoyablepastime，modernbeekeepingisbecoming

increasinglycritical.AccordingtotheBritishBeekeepersAssociation(BBKA)，70

differentUKcropsdependonbeesforpollination(授粉).Withoutbeestoprovide

pollination，one－thirdofallourfoodwouldn’tsurvive.DuringtheSecondWorldWar，

WinstonChurchillwasafirmsupporterofbeesandmadesuretheygotextrasupplies

tocarryonwiththeirpollinationwork，evenastheGermanarmydroppedtheirbombs.

“Beesareindangerofdisappearingfromourenvironment，”warnsTimLovettof

theBBKA.Today，beenumbersaredownby50percent.Usingmoreandmoreland，

agriculturalindustryreducesspotswherebeescanlive.Crop－protectingpesticides

havealsoledtohighdeathrateofbees.AnotherblowwasanAsianspeciesthatfirst

arrivedinDevonandthenspreadacrossthecountry.Itsettledonthebeesandnotonly

weakenedtheirimmunesystembutcausedtheirwingstodeform(變畸形)sothat

flyingbecameimpossible.

Anxiousaboutthedeclineofbeekeeping，theBBKAhasproducedaschool

informationpackentitled“BeesintheCurriculum”.Oncethechildrenhavebeen

aroundbeesforawhile，theyunderstandtheservicethatbeesprovideforus，rather

thanseeingthemasthesourceofstings.

5.WhatdoweknowaboutCamillaGoddard?

A.Shehasnevergotbeestingsherself.

B.Shetriestomakeherguestsbee－free.

C.Sheadmiresthewayinwhichbeeslive.

D.SheownsabeehotelinaLondonsuburb.

6.WhyisWinstonChurchillmentionedinparagraph3?

A.Tocriticizethecrueltyofwar.

B.Tochangetheroleofbeesinthewar.

C.Tohighlightthevalueofbeepollination.

D.Toawakentheconsciousnessofsavingcrops.

7.Whichisadirectcauseofthereductionofbeehabitats?

A.Modernagriculture.

B.Foreignspeciesinvasion.

C.Huntingfromhumans.

D.Crop－protectingpesticides.

8.What’sthebesttitleforthetext?

A.Thenumberofbeesisdecreasingsharply

B.Modernbeekeepingisensuringourfuture

C.BeeHotelischangingbees’fateintheUK

D.Childrenareeducatedaboutthevalueofbees

Ⅱ.完形填空

ItwasjustthreedaysfromThanksgiving，andmyhusband，Gerald，andIwereonour

firsttouracrosstheCanadianprairies.__1__，Iknewwewouldbeawayfor

Thanksgiving，buttherealityofitdidn’treally__2__onmebeforewehitthe

road.Now，wehadtospendThanksgivingwithstrangers.

We__3__infrontofasmall，lakesidehouse，mildly__4__.Woulditbeokaytodisturb

othersonthisprivatecelebration？Aswe__5__intoBettyandGary’shome，wewere

immediatelymetwith__6__.Thewoodstovetookeverybitofchilloutoftheair，and

thesmelloffood__7__uslikeasoftblanket.Wegatheredaroundthetable.Our

anxiety__8__awayasweweredrawnintothiscircleoffriendship.Wetoldstories，

sharedlaughs，andasthedaycalledusto，gave__9__.

WethoughtweweregoingtospendThanksgivingwithstrangers，butwereally

didn’t.Something__10__happenswhengoodfoodis__11__sharedaroundanopen

table.Conversationsbegin.__12__startstoflow.Divisionsdisappear.Relationshipsare

__13__.Throughthesimpleactofsharingamealtogether，wediscoverwe’re__14__

byourdesiretolove，ourneedfor__15__，andourcommonhumanity.Whataperfect

waytocelebrateThanksgiving!

1.A.BasicallyB.Generally

C.HonestlyD.Secretly

2.A.dawnB.call

C.reflectD.strike

3.A.droppedbyB.headedoff

C.pulledupD.setout

4.A.anxiousB.annoyed

C.gratefulD.scared

5.A.brokeB.ran

C.steppedD.wandered

6.A.friendsB.care

C.foodD.warmth

7.A.comfortedB.enveloped

C.floodedD.welcomed

8.A.meltedB.passed

C.ranD.threw

9.A.giftsB.hugs

C.moneyD.thanks

10.A.mixedB.special

C.relaxingD.typical

11.A.generouslyB.patiently

C.casuallyD.cautiously

12.A.BeliefB.Laughter

C.MusicD.Noise

13.A.bornB.exposed

C.fixedD.split

14.A.attachedB.encouraged

C.connectedD.touched

15.A.courageB.sympathy

C.freedomD.understanding

Ⅲ.語法填空

(2024·河北省滄州市高三一模)

Withitslandscapeofplateaus(高原)boundbymountains，ShanxiProvinceinNorth

Chinaisregardedasbeingassociatedwithfieldsofwheatandiconicwheat

products.Daoxiaonoodlesisoneofthemostpopular1.____________(dish)

there.Thisdish2.____________(date)backtoChina’sYuanDynasty(1271—1368)，

sothistypeofwell－receivednoodleshasalonghistory.

3.__