Much of Canada's forestry production goes towards making pulp and paper. According to the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world's wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. If these paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian forests could be preserved. Recently, a possible alternative way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp. Hemp has been grown by many countries. It produces fiber which can be made into paper, fuel, oils, textiles, food, and rope. For centuries, it was essential to the economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing ships; colonial expansion and the establishment of a world-wide trading network would not have been possible without hemp. Nowadays, ships' cables are usually made from wire, but scientists are now suggesting that the growing of hemp should be revived for the production. According to its supporters, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the large-scale growing of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada's forests. However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world. This plant, so useful for fiber, rope, oil, fuel and textiles, is a species related to the plant from which marijuana is produced. In fact, marijuana cannot be produced from the hemp plant, since it contains almost no THC(the active ingredient in the drug). In recent years, a movement for legalization has been gathering strength. It is concerned only with the hemp plant used to produce fiber; this group wants to make it legal to grow the plant and sell the fiber for production. Why was the plant hemp essential to worldwide trade in the past? A) Ships' ropes were made from it. B) Hemp was a very profitable export. C) Hemp was used as fuel for ships. D) Hemp was used as food for sailors.
A
A pioneer who made poor lands bloom is the winner of this year's World Food Prize. Daniel Hillel developed drip irrigation techniques that squeeze the most crop out of a drop of water, making farming possible in places where water is scarce . Farmers now rely on it in water-scarce regions from Spanish vineyards, to African onion fields, to America's fruit and salad bowl. "We in California grow about 50 percent of the fruits and vegetables of the continental United States," says University of California at Davis hydrologist Jan Hopmans. "And the reason that is possible is because of, indeed, these drip and micro-irrigation techniques." Hillel got his start in dryland farming as a pioneer in Israel's Negev Desert in the 1950s."The issue was efficient use of water," he says, "because land is available. It's extensive. Water is limited."These desert farmers did not have the luxury of running irrigation water through channels to their crops, the way farmers have since ancient times.So Hillel and others gave plants just what they needed, just where they needed it. "The idea was to apply the water little by little, the way you spoon-feed a baby," Hillel says.It worked so well that Hillel was soon traveling the world, showing others how to do it.Experts say drip irrigation is an innovation whose importance is growing, as climate change and rising population strain(......) water supplies in many parts of the world. "This is where water use, water availability, water-use efficiency and climate change and crop production all converge," Hillel says. "And this has been really the essence of my career." A career whose legacy can be measured drop by drop. The author considers Daniel Hillel's career as _ . A) a bit undesirable B) worthy of respect C) very profitable D) successful
B
Q: "Excuse me," said a young man , standing shyly at the open church door. " I'm here to pick up an Easter basket for my daughter. Am I in the right place ?" " Well, we have baskets, but they're not Easter baskets for kids; they're food baskets,"I explained. That morning I arrived at St. Michael's Church in Carmichael, California, to help give out the baskets to needy families for Easter. To make sure every family would receive one, we had handed out numbers to them that matched the baskets they were supposed to receive . Each one contained a whole ham, potatoes, bread,vegetables, and a pie--enough food to help feed a family for a week. "Why don't you come in ?" I said to the man. He looked disappointed. He shook his head and said," I can't ...My daughter is waiting for me over there.I'm grateful for the food,but when I heard you were giving away baskets for Easter...well, I thought they would be Easter baskets for children." He continued, "I promised my daughter one ,and I wanted to surprise her." I felt bad, but there was nothing I could do.The man hadned me his number, and I walked over to the baskets. A bulge in one of the baskets caught my eye. " What is that ?" I wondered. Leaning over and looking more closely, I could see, unmistakably, an Easter basket filled with candy, chocolate, and Easter eggs.One of the volunteers must have added it by mistake! I thought. Then I looked at the man's number in my hand.Well, he'll be..... "Happy Easter," I said to the man , handing him the only food basket with an Easter basket inside -the very same basket with his number on it. " Someone knew just what you needed." What did the author do at the church? A) He worked there as churchman B) He was called in to give out Easter baskets C) He went there to meet the young man. D) He was a volunteer who helped there
A: D
*Question*
I stepped into my hotel room to a pleasant surprise. Lots of room surrounded an inviting king-size bed, with armchairs nearby resting against sliding glass doors that opened onto a private yard. A small dining table sat next to a kitchen with a refrigerator and coffee machine. "Wow," I thought to myself. "Nice place." I love hotels. I love to enter a clean room, hang my clothes and gaze out the window, walk out in the morning and when I return, someone else will have made the bed. I like in-room dining and the way they greet you so professionally. "Nice to have you with us again, Mr. Goldsborough." Very cool. The problem is that unless Alison travels with me, I never sleep well in hotels. I miss my family, even though Linus and Camille, at ages 4 and almost 2, find a way to interrupt even the best night's sleep at home. I'm deeply troubled by the number of parents who wake up too late with the realization: "My children grew up too fast. In the busy career and corporate rat race , I missed their childhood." What they fail to say but too often think causes me even more pain: "...and I barely even know them." A hundred years from now, no one will remember the size of your bank account, the car you drove or the size of your house. The world might differ greatly however, based on your impact in the life of a small child. If you pay attention to your significant others, make the choice to put them first. Think of one specific action that you can take, and take it. Then think of another one and take that, too. Challenge yourself to find new ways to express your appreciation and love on a daily basis. It will pay off ten-fold at home. Through para.4 and para.5 what the author really means is that _ . A) he hates his parents' constantly blaming him/her B) his parents don't care much about his/her growth C) many parents worry about their children's future D) many parents can't realize their children not preparing for the fierce social rat race
**Answer**
D