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【阅读理解】Reading: The Orchard Keeper's Patience
Maria was a coffee farmer in the hills of Colombia.
She had taken over the small farm from her mother ten years ago.
The land was steep, and the soil was thin, but the coffee trees had always produced well.
Every morning, Maria walked through the rows of trees, touching the leaves and checking the beans.
She knew each tree like a friend.
Then came a season unlike any other.
The rains stopped early, and a strange insect appeared.
It attacked the roots, not the leaves.
The trees began to wither from the bottom up.
Maria was confused and afraid.
She had seen droughts before, but never this.
She called her neighbours for help.
Some said to cut down the affected trees and start over.
Others said to use chemicals, but Maria refused.
She remembered her mother's words: 'Listen to the land.'
So she began to observe more closely.
She noticed that some trees, even with the insect, still had green leaves at the top.
She dug up one of the dying trees and found that the roots were not completely dead.
There was new growth deep underground.
Maria decided to try something different.
She stopped trying to save the whole tree.
Instead, she took cuttings from the healthiest upper branches and planted them in new soil.
She mixed the soil with compost and ash from her kitchen.
The work was hard, and her hands were often cut and dirty.
Some cuttings died, but a few began to grow.
Her neighbours laughed and said she was wasting her time.
They said she was too stubborn to accept defeat.
Maria ignored them.
She knew that the old farm could not be saved in its old form.
But she also knew that something new could grow from it.
After two years, the new plants were strong and healthy.
They produced a different kind of coffee, with a unique taste.
Maria took her coffee to the city market.
Buyers were curious and bought small amounts.
Soon, a local shop started selling her coffee.
The farm was not rich, but it was alive again.
Maria's daughter, now a teenager, asked her one day, 'What did you learn?'
Maria smiled and said, 'I learned that when the whole tree is sick, you don't give up on the tree. You give up on the old roots and grow new ones.'
Questions
1. What did Maria notice about some trees affected by the insect?
A. Their roots were completely dead. B. They still had green leaves at the top. C. Their leaves were all yellow and dry. D. They produced more coffee beans than before.
2. The word 'stubborn' in the passage is closest in meaning to:
A. easily hurt B. very intelligent C. not willing to change D. quick to give up
3. Why did Maria take cuttings from the upper branches?
A. Because they were the easiest to reach. B. Because they were the healthiest parts of the tree. C. Because the lower branches were already dead. D. Because her neighbours told her to do so.
4. What can be inferred about Maria's neighbours?
A. They had also lost their farms to the insect. B. They helped Maria plant new cuttings. C. They bought Maria's coffee at the market. D. They thought Maria's methods were foolish.
5. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Neighbours should always help each other in farming. B. Sometimes you must let go of the old to grow something new. C. Coffee farming is difficult in Colombia. D. Insects can destroy entire coffee farms.