Legend has it that sometime toward the end of the Civil War (1861-1865) a government train carrying oxen traveling through the northern plains of eastern Wyoming was caught in a snowstorm and had to be abandoned. The driver returned the next spring to see what had become of his cargo. Instead of the skeletons he had expected to find, he saw his oxen, living, fat, and healthy. How had they survived?
The answer lay in a resource that unknowing Americans lands trampled underfoot in their haste to cross the “Great American Desert” to reach lands that sometimes proved barren. In the eastern parts of the United States, the preferred grass for forage was a cultivated plant. It grew well with enough rain, then when cut and stored it would cure and become nourishing hay for winter feed. But in the dry grazing lands of the West that familiar bluejoint grass was often killed by drought. To raise cattle out there seemed risky or even hopeless. Who could imagine a fairy-tale grass that required no rain and somehow made it possible for cattle to feed themselves all winter? But the surprising western wild grasses did just that. They had wonderfully convenient features that made them superior to the cultivated eastern grasses. Variously known as buffalo grass, grama grass, or mesquite grass, not only were they immune to drought; but they were actually preserved by the lack of summer and autumn rains. They were not juicy like the cultivated eastern grasses, but had short, hard stems. And they did not need to be cured in a barn, but dried right where they grew on the ground. When they dried in this way, they remained naturally sweet and nourishing through the winter. Cattle left outdoors to fend for themselves thrived on this hay. And the cattle themselves helped plant the fresh grass year after year for they trampled the natural seeds firmly into the soil to be watered by the melting snows of winter and the occasional rains of spring. The dry summer air cured them much as storing in a barn cured the cultivated grasses.
What does the passage mainly discuss?
Chọn A
After years of neglect there was a huge _____ program to return the city to its former glory.
The assistant suggested _____ the next day when the manager would be there.
Use the word(s) given in the brackets and make any necessary additions to complete a new sentence in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence. Do NOT change the form of the given word(s).
To this day no one has equaled his achievements in the field of technology. (unsurpassed)
→ To this day ………………………………………………………… in the field of technology.
try out |
slip up |
carry on |
get by |
put out |
take after |
get down |
look up |
go through |
turn down |
If you’re finding it difficult to _____ on your salary, why don’t you ask for a raise?
Whether the sports club survives is a matter of complete _____ to me.
The sheep were huddled into a _____ to protect them from overnight frosts.
According to some (0) _____ (SCIENCE), high-risk sports can be particularly (31) _____ (VALUE) for certain types of people. Such activities help them to learn that being (32) _____ (FRIGHT) doesn’t mean that they have to lose control. The recent fashion for jumping from bridges attached to a (33) _____ (LONG) of elastic rope, known as “bungee jumping”, has now been tried by over one million people (34) _____ (WORLD) and interest in it is continuing to grow.
Before the special elastic rope (35) _____ (TIGHT) around them, jumpers reach speeds of nearly 160kph. First-timers are usually too (36) _____ (TERROR) to open their mouths, and when they are finally (37) _____ (LOW) safely to the ground, they walk around with broad smiles on their faces, saying (38) _____ (REPEAT) how amazing it was. However, for some people, it is only the (39) _____ (EMBARRASS) of refusing to jump at the last minute that finally persuades them to conquer their fear of (40) _____ (HIGH) and push themselves off into space.I must take this watch to be repaired; it _____ over 20 minutes a day.
When I was in New York, I was able to _____ several old friends I hadn’t seen for years.
The needs of gifted children in schools have long been _____ neglected.