Howard Dill is a giant among giant pumpkin growers. He grew world champion pumpkins for four years running,from 1979 to 1982, and missed winning the fifth year by only 5 pounds. Today, his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds are sold worldwide to more than 50 seed companies. The pumpkins grown from his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds commonly weigh in at over 1,000 pounds. "I don't have any training in genetics ; it was all trial and error," Dill says. He got his love of pumpkins from his father and has enjoyed growing them for years. Dill still grows giant pumpkins, but not for competition. In the fall, visitors come to enjoy the pumpkins on his 90-acre farm in Nova Scotia, Canada. He plants ten acres of pumpkins for Halloween and two acres of giant pumpkins. One of giant pumpkins was recently baked into 442 pumpkin pies and sold at $5 each for charity. It you want to try growing a giant pumpkin, Dill recommends starting with a soil test and then adding fertilizer as needed. Plant the giant pumpkin seed. A giant pumpkin can gain 15 to 20 pounds a day, so careful watering--every day or two--is necessary. You should wait about 130 days until the pumpkin matures and then you can harvest it. Dill's favorite pumpkin set the Guinness Book record in 1981. It weighted 493.5 pounds. "I've grown them larger since, but that one meant a lot," he remembers. "I never would have imagined ten years ago that there would be a 1,000-pounder, but there are many of them now," says Dill. The 2006 world record holder is Larry Checkon of Pennsylvania. He grew a 1,469 pounder. Dill says, "These world champions are grown from my seeds, so I feel like a winner right along with them." One of Dill's giant pumpkins earned _ . A) $2210 B) $442 C) $1000 D) $1469
A
TAIBEI - Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island's "China rush", seeking education on the Chinese mainland. According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998.Although no latest official numbers were available," Netbig.com Said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year. The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland colleges and universities. "Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market, Net.com vice-president Ingrid Huang said."I believe _ will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people," said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shih Shin University. Chang plans to go on to get a master's degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies. A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since "there will be better career prospects now that more Taiwanese companies are going there". "They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations," said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies. A Netbig.com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou. The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine. At present, Chinese Taibei doesn't recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying... The author wrote the article to tell us _ . A) more Taiwanese students are studying on the mainland B) the number of Taiwanese students going to universities on the mainland had been increasing year after year C) education on the mainland is more attractive compared with that of Taiwan D) Taiwan and the mainland should cooperate with each other in every field.
A
(Question)
My students often tell me that they do not have "enough time" to do all their homework. My response often is "You have as much time as the president." I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that "not enough time" is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done. Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to my professor that I was working hard. His answer was "That's irrelevant .What's important is the quality of your work." That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work, which is perhaps best explained in a sign: "Don't work harder. Work smarter." If you can't get more time, as few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of your work. That means improving ways to get more out of the same time. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits, which for students should be read as "study habits". Then as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you can, it will pay off in all your subjects. As to improving reading, one suggestion is to take a quick nap when you feel reading puts you to sleep, which later helps you read better. The second solution is to speed up. But there are other issues. First, you need to find a place where you can work without unnecessary disturbances. Second, you need to take control. Success depends on realizing that you have to take active control over what you are doing. Third, you might as well get hold of a good book on reading and master the reading skills that pay off in all your classes. Talking about advice on good writing habits, you simply have to master the writing skills. Increasing your efficiency in both reading and writing will pay off immediately in terms of the quality of your work and in terms of the time spent doing it. Then you will be able to do better work in less time. And maybe you will find time to play golf with the president. What's the main idea of the passage? A) In fact, everyone has as much time as the president. B) The key to having enough time is to improve work quality. C) Reading and writing matter a lot in finishing homework. D) Not having enough time is unacceptable for unfinished work.
(Answer)
B