There lived in South Carolina a young woman named Eliza Lucas. Her father was governor of one of the islands of the West Indies. Miss Lucas often got seeds (种子) from her father, and then she planted them in South Carolina.
Once, her father sent her some seeds of the indigo plant. She planted some of these in March, but a frost (霜冻) came and killed all plants. However, she decided to plant some more seeds in April. These grew very well until a cutworm found them and ate her plants. Once more Miss Lucas planted some of the seeds. This time the plants grew very well. She wrote to her father about it. He sent her a man who knew how to get the indigo out of the plant.
However, the man tried not to show Miss Lucas how to make the indigo. He did not want the people in the South Carolina to learn how to make. He was afraid his own people would not get so much money for their indigo if other people made it as well. So he destroyed the indigo on purpose. But Miss Lucas watched him closely. She worked out how the indigo could be made. Some of her father’s land in South Carolina was now planted with indigo plant.
Then Miss Lucas got married, and became Mrs. Pinckney. Her father gave her all the indigo growing on his land in South Carolina. It was all saved for seed. Some of the seed Mrs. Pinckney gave to her friends. Some of it her husband sowed (播种). It all grew and was made into that blue dye (染料) that we call indigo. In a few years, South Carolina was producing more than a million pounds of indigo every year.
24. The indigo plant died at first because of ___________.
A. a frost B. a cutworm C. heavy rain D. strong sunlight
25. The man Miss Lucas’s father sent her ___________.
A. knew little about planting seeds B. was not as helpful as she expected
C. helped her a lot in making the indigo D. made a lot of money in South Carolina
26. What might be people’s attitude toward Eliza Lucas in South Carolina?
A. They were afraid of her. B. They were thankful to her.
C. They were doubtful of her. D. They were worried about her.
27. What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Eliza Lucas learned to plant seeds.
B. Eliza Lucas became Mrs. Pinckney.
C. Eliza Lucas introduced indigo to South Carolina.
D. Eliza Lucas got her father’s land in South Carolina.
ABBC
A. Profits enlarging B. Technology developing C. Education investing D. Benefits transferring E. Dominance disappearing F. A nation rising |
The following is an imaginary diary entry written by US president. This diary is part of Global Trends 2025, which was written by the US National Intelligence Council
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Global wealth and economic power will shift from West to East.
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The transition from old fuels to new will be slow, as will the development of new technologies that present feasible alternatives to fossil fuels or help eliminate food and water problems. All current technologies are inadequate, and new ones will probably not be commercially possible by 2025