第二部分阅读（共两节，满分50分）

第一节（共15小题；每小题2.5分，满分37.5分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

A

Master Gardener Volunteers Wanted

Why Become a Master Gardener?

The Master Gardener program is an all-volunteer organization where you can develop your own leadership and teaching skills while teaching the younger youth about healthy eating,agriculture,and so on!Master Gardeners involve people in activities to improve their general well-being and overall enjoyment of life by helping them find sound management practices for home and urban natural resources,by creating pleasing environments through people-plant interactions and horticultural therapy(园艺疗法),and by contributing to a safe,abundant food supply through home fruit and vegetable production.

What Qualifications Must You Meet?

Anyone can apply to be a Master Gardener—you don’t need to be an expert or have a degree.You do,however,need to:

●Have certain experience or know a little about gardening or landscape management.

●Be willing to share horticulture information with others.

●Be willing to attend a training program and can devote time to volunteering and continuing education.

Besides,to become a Master Gardener volunteer,each applicant needs to complete an application,prepare background screening paperwork and schedule an interview with Extension staff.

What Does the Training Involve?

Training sessions are offered one day a week over a three-month period and are led by expert educators in the region.Approximately 60 hours of classroom instruction and field study and 60 hours of volunteer internship(实习)work are required to complete the program and become certified.In order to remain a certified Master Gardener,30 hours of volunteer work and 10 hours of continuing education or advanced training are required each year.

21．What does a Master Gardener do?

A．Help raise people’s quality of life by horticulture.

B．Teach the youth about diets and agriculture.

C．Promote horticultural practices at home.

D．Train volunteers to help with gardening.

22．What is required if you want to apply to be a Master Gardener?

A．Acquiring excellent teaching skills.B．Having some relevant knowledge.

C．Completing given training sessions.D．Obtaining rich volunteer experience.

23．How long will it take to become a qualified Master Gardener?

A．A year.B．Three months.

C．About 160 hours.D．About 120 hours.

B

Every time I stare at the rows of jars filled with my parents’homemade tomato sauce,I wonder:“Should I really use one?”

I have been keeping these jars like precious treasures.No matter how hard I try to find alternatives,nothing compares.Store-bought sauce?It just doesn’t taste right.Even if I try to recreate it,it will never taste the same.

While growing up,I hated the tomato season.My parents would use the basement to ripen the tomatoes they had collected locally in September.Like the other Italian families in the area,we would then take them to the garage when they were ripe enough.There they were cleaned and boiled.

Having been stewed(炖),whole tomatoes were passed through my father’s homemade machine to separate the sauce from the skins.Jars at the ready,we filled them with sauce and seasoning.The jars would be hot for a few days,sealed to keep their own heat.They would then be lined up and ready to use.

This tradition was hard to carry on when my father got ill.After being diagnosed with cancer in 2019,he spent most of his time in hospital.In September that year he came home,and on the weekend we decided to continue the tradition.I have glorious memories of that day as we once again made the sauce.It was a beautiful but short-lived moment.My father died soon after.

I can’t keep these jars forever.But it doesn’t make it any easier to open one.Every time I go to reach for one,something stops me.My mother,ever practical,is visiting us recently and just stares at them.

“You should use these or they will go to waste.”

What will it feel like to use that last jar?It would mean the end of an era.Who knows?Maybe it’s time to bring new traditions into life.

24．What stops the author from using the tomato sauce?

A．It has gone bad.B．He doesn’t like tomato sauce

C．He values it too much.D．He keeps it for future use.

25．What do Para.3 and Para.4 mainly talk about?

A．The tomato harvest.B．The homemade machine.