A

　　Like you, plants need good things like food, water, and minerals in order to grow. Usually they get these important nutrients(營(yíng)養(yǎng)) 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(害蟲(chóng)). Gardeners don't need to spray(噴灑) 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.

　　11. What's the meaning of the underlined word "dirt" in the second paragraph?

　　A. soil

　　B. water

　　C. insect

　　D. food

　　12. 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 in hydrogenic gardens.

　　C. Hydrogenic plants cannot grow in too hot weather.

　　D. Astronauts hope to take hydrogenic gardens to space.

　　13. What's the passage about?

　　A. Plant growing.

　　B. Space farming.

　　C. Scientific watering.

　　B

　　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(占據(jù)) 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(異國(guó)情調(diào)的) Turkish drink and decided to import(進(jìn)口) it to London. People from all walks of life came to his business to meet, greet, drink, think, write, and joke.

　　14. 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.

　　15. How often was "the roaring of the lion" published?

　　A. Every day

　　B. Every week.

　　C. Every month

　　D. Every year

　　16. What kind of coffee did Pasque Rosee import to London?

　　A. Turkish coffee.

　　B. Black coffee.

　　C. White coffee

　　D. Sweet coffee.

　　17. What can we infer(推斷) 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.

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