George C. Ball Jr., owner of a company, said sales of vegetable seeds and plants are up by 40% over last year, double the average growth of the last five years. Mr. Ball argues that some of the reasons have been building for the last few years. The big one is the striking rise in the cost of food like bread and milk, together with the increases in the price of fruits and vegetables. Food prices have increased because of higher oil prices. People are now driving less, taking fewer vacations, so there is more time to garden.

　　課標全國高考閱讀練習題目：

　　1.What does the word “residents” in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?

　　A.chickens

　　B.tomatoes

　　C.gardens

　　D.people

　　2.Why is vegetable gardening becoming increasingly popular?

　　A.More Americans are doing it for fun.

　　B.The price of oil is lower than before.

　　C.There's a growing need for fruits.

　　D.The cost of living is on the rise.

　　3.Which of the following might be the best title for the text?

　　A.Family Food Planning

　　B.Banking on Gardening

　　C.A Belt??tightening Move

　　D.Gardening as a Hobby

　　課標全國高考閱讀練習答案：

　　1.A　詞義猜測題。根據前半句可知，這家的農舍變成了雞舍，所以下個月要住進來的應該是“雞”。

　　2.D　推理判斷題。根據第一段最后一句中的“The cost of everything is going up”和第二段第一句中的“higher living costs and a falling economy”以及最后一段第三句中的“the striking rise in the cost of food like bread and milk，together with the increases in the price of fruits and vegetables”可以看出，種植蔬菜流行的原因是生活費用的提高。

　　3.B　主旨大意題。縱觀全文可知，很多人種植蔬菜不僅是出于愛好，更重要的是為了節省生活費用，所以應選B項，bank作為動詞是“存款”的意思。