Rice plants normally grow well in still water. But most will die if they are completely underwater for more than four days. Now, researchers have identified a gene that helps rice survive longer underwater. They say the discovery will lead to new kinds of rice plants that can survive flooding, and therefore reach their final aim, ensuring more dependable food supplies. Tests are now being done in prefix = st1 /Laos,BangladeshandIndia. The researchers say experimental rice plants with the gene have survived underwater as long as two weeks. When flooding happens, most kinds of rice plants cannot get enough oxygen, carbon dioxide or sunlight. But the scientists say crop loss depends on several conditions. These include soil conditions and plant age. Others include the amount of time the plant is underwater and the amount of fertilizer used on the crop. On a genetic map of rice, the scientists became interested in a group of three genes. They experimented with one of them, a gene known as Sub-One-A. They found that when this gene becomes very active, it improves the ability of rice to survive longer when rice is covered by water. They believe it succeeds because it affects the reaction to hormones . _ control the ability of a flooded plant to survive. Placing the gene into rice plants that are especially good for conditions inIndia, researchers say the genetically engineered plants not only survived but also produced good crops. The researchers are now trying to identify all the genes governed by the Sub-One-A gene. Being able to leave water on rice plants for an additional week might also help farmers prevent the growth of weeds. Less weed growth around their crops would mean less need for herbicide chemicals. What would be the best title for the passage? A) Rice research is going on in LaosandIndia B) How to reduce the influence of floods on rice C) Gene researchers work on flood-resistant rice D) A great discovery in the agricultural field
C
(Question)
The Hunan Satellite TV(HNTV) show "Where are we going, Dad?" is a big hit. Many famous stars brought their children to a strange village alone, and they had to spend 72 hours with their children there. The program fully showed us a modern version of the "how to be a good father". As the young parents today are too busy to take care of their children, this new form of "Lost on the way" played by nanny Daddy and cute kids triggered a lot of people's emotional resonance . Both the kids and their parents will find that their hearts are being drawn closer. But this kind of feeling has just proved that there is a big spiritual barrier between the modern parents and children. The TV shows like "Children are hard to support!", "Where are we going, Dad?", "hot mom" and "cute kids" are becoming more and more popular. All of these show the new parents' confusion in children's education and the appeal for the balance between career and family. In real life, on the one hand the young parents feel helpless because they are too busy to accompany their children under the pressures of work and life; on the other hand they continue to do so. The data collected by HNTV shows that nearly two-thirds of their audience are female, among whom 36% are aged from 25 to 34. We can imagine such a scene that one evening a young mother is watching the show with her young children, while her husband is still at work or trapped in socializing, or maybe is just playing computer games in the bedroom. The story of a child without the company of father is still going on. In fact, it is sometimes the same to mothers. In a modern family, it is often the old who take the responsibility of raising a child. The participation of mother in the children's education is also very low. It is just this kind of confusion where the parents have gone in the modern family education, and where the parents will guide their children to go that "Where are we going,Dad?" shows us. If a child wants to grow up healthily and safely into a modern citizen with... Which one is the best title of the passage? A) Nanny Daddy and Cute Kids B) Modern Education is Important C) Confusion Behind "Where are we going, dad?" D) New Problems in Modern Children's Education
(Answer)
C
Ques: China has been drinking tea since the time of Shennong, 5,000 years ago. Britain's relationship with tea is much shorter, but tea enjoys the pride as the UK's national drink. According to the UK Tea Council, British people drink an average of three cups a day or a national total of 165 million cups every day. With figures like these, it is no surprise that time spent taking tea affects the working day in Britain. A recent survey found that 24 minutes a day are lost to making, buying and drinking tea and coffee. That is, PS400 a year is lost in working hours per employee, or 190 days over a lifetime. So, should employers be worried about this lost working time, or does the tea break make up in other ways? One argument is that caffeine improves mental state: a drink of tea or coffee can make you active and focus on work. Professor Rogers of the University of Bristol disagrees. After years of studying caffeine he sees nothing can prove that. "Workers would perform equally well if not drinking it at all," he says. "But if they're often drinking it and then go without, they'll feel tired and won't work well." Psychologist Cooper instead emphasizes the role tea breaks play in office life, and in building social relationships. "We need to make people more active and see other people. The tea break is one way of doing this," says Cooper. And Professor Rogers also points out the comfort effect of a hot drink: "We warm our hands on them on a cold day; they're comforting and play a big role in our everyday life. Whatever the caffeine's doing, I'd say these 24 minutes aren't wasted." What's Psychologist Coopers' attitude towards tea break? A) Doubtful. B) Uncertain. C) Negative. D) Positive.
Ans:
D