he end Mr. Boggis bought the chairs for something less than _________ of their value.

A、more than

B、at

C、less than

D、at least

听力原文： Farmers usually use ploughs to prepare their fields for planting crops. Ploughs cut into the ground and lift up weeds and other unwanted plants. However, ploughing is blamed for causing severe damage to topsoil by removing the plants that protect the soil from being blown or washed away. Many farmers in South Asia are now trying a process called "low-till farming". Low-till farming limits the use of ploughs. In this method of farming seeds and fertilizer are put into the soil through small cuts made in the surface of the ground. Low-fill agriculture leaves much or all of the soil and remains of plants on the ground. They serve as a natural fertilizer and help support the roots of future crops. They take in rain and allow it to flow into the soil, instead of running off. It has been proved that low-till farming increases harvests and reduces water use. And this method reduces the need for chemical products, because there are fewer unwanted plants. Scientists say low-till farming is becoming popular in South Asia, which is facing a severe water shortage. They say the area will become dependent on imported food unless water is saved through methods like low till fanning. Currently, more than 150,000,000 people in South Asia depend on local rice and wheat crops. Farmers grow rice during wet weather. During the dry sees on they grow wheat in the same fields. Farmers are using the low-till method to plant wheat after harvesting rice. Scientists say low-till agriculture is one of the best examples in the world of technologies working for both people and the environment.

(30)

A．The crop's blooming period is delayed.

B．The roots of crops are cut off.

C．The topsoil is seriously damaged.

D．The growth of weeds is accelerated.

A long-held view of the history of the English colonies that became the United States has been that England' s policy toward these colonies before 1763 was dictated by commercial interests and that a change to a more imperial policy, dominated by expansionist militarist objectives, generated the tensions that ultimately led to the American Revolution. In a recent study, Stephen Saunders Webb has presented a formidable challenge to this view. According to Webb. England already had a military imperial policy for mote than a century before the American Revolution. He sees Charles II, the English monarch between 1660 and 1685 as' the proper successor of the Tudor monarchs of the sixteenth century and of Oliver Cromwell, all of whom were bent on extending centralized executive power over England' s possessions through the use of what Webb calls "Garrison government." Garrison government allowed the colonists a legislative assembly, but real authority, in Webb' s view, belonged to the colonial governor, who was appointed by the king and supported by the "garrison," that is, by the local contingent of English troops under the colonial governor' s command.

According to Webb, the purpose of garrison government was to provide military support for a royal policy designed to limit the power of the upper classes in the American colonies. Webb argues that the colonial legislative assemblies represented the interests not of the common people but of the colonial upper classes, a coalition of merchants and nobility who favored self-rule and sought to elevate legislative authority at the expense of the executive. It was, according to Webb, the colonial governors who favored the small farmer, opposed the plantation system and tried through taxation to break up large holdings of land. Backed by the military presence of the garrison, these governors tried to prevent the gentry and merchants allied in the colonial assemblies from transforming colonial America into a capitalistic oligarchy.

Webb's study illuminates the political alignments that existed in the colonies in the century prior to the American Revolution, but his view of the crowns use of the military as an instrument of colonial policy is not entirely convincing. England during the seventeenth century was not noted for its military achievements. Cromwell did mount England's most ambitious overseas military expedition in more than a century, but it proved to be an utter failure. Under Charles Ⅱ, the English army was too small to be a major instrument of government. Not until the war with France in 1597 did William Ⅲ persuade Parliament to create a professional standing army, and Parliament' s price for doing so was to keep the army under tight legislative control. While it may be true that the crown attempted to curtail the power of the colonial upper classes, it is hard to imagine how the English army during the seventeenth century could have provided significant military support for such a policy.

The passage can best be described as a______.

A．survey of the inadequacies of a conventional viewpoint

B．reconciliation of opposing points of view

C．summary and evaluation of a recent study

D．defense of a new thesis from anticipated objections

Which of the following is true, according to the first paragraph?

A．Eating less than usual might make us live longer.

B．If we go on a diet when old, we may not keep healthy.

C．Dieting is necessary if you want to live a long life.

D．We might have to begin dieting from an early age.

The interest that creative dramatics generates in studies is its most obvious advantage. The fact that children develop【C1】______interests when they participate in creative dramatics【C2】______in their learning being more【C3】______. It docs this in tour ways: In this activity children feel【C4】______they are actually involved in the subject matter, and【C5】______they are characters in the play【C6】______which they are working. When children act【C7】______a story, both the children who【C8】______and those who make up the audience are involved in the【C9】______of the play, historical persons come【C10】______, historical events take on reality. This kind of teaching is naturally more interesting to children than just talking about things in a(n)【C11】______way.

Creative dramatics gives children opportunity to select the【C12】______matter for their acting, and to arrange and organize their plays. This sort of teaching can【C13】______. pupils' ability to exercise discrimination and to arrange events for performance. It also【C14】______the spirit of and provides practice in cooperation,【C15】______all the pupils together are【C16】______for a satisfying performance.

The third function of creative dramatics is to make pupils' images more clear and precise, their knowledge more accurate. In traditional【C17】______the teacher asks questions and the pupils answer them according to the text. But when the method is that of creative dramatics, the pupils cannot act out the materials they have read【C18】______they understand it clearly.

The fourth function of creative dramatics is to cultivate and provide practice in the habit of associated living. Traditional class work is【C19】______on an individual basis, but in creative dramatics pupils need to【C20】______with each other, so that class work becomes team work.

【C1】

A．genuine

B．common

C．precious

D．sincere

1. Question 2

&8226;You are Financial Advisor to a toy manufacturer。You have been asked to write a proposal about money management in the coming financial crisis．

&8226;Write the proposal．including the following points：

——refinement of your business processes，

——re-evaluation of your creditors and debtors，

——setting aside of savings for the worst times．

2. Question 3

&8226;A long-time client has written to complain about an under。shipment in their Christmas order．You have been asked to write a letter to apologise and offer solutions．

&8226;Write the letter：

——apologising for the mistake on your side，

——Offening solutions to the problem，

——showing your appreciation of their business，

——promising that such problems will not happen again.

3. Question 4

&8226;Your organisation has undertaken a series of experiments in order to become more cost effective．

You have been asked to write a report summarising the results of these cost-reducing strategies．

&8226;Write the report to the General Manager．including：

——a general introduction to this reform．

——One or two of the most effective strategies in this reform，

——One of the problems that surfaced during the course，

——what measures were taken to solve the above-mentioned problem．