阅读理解

　　Ask any student which subject he or she hates most．9 out of 10 students will answer “math”．No matter which country you visit, no matter which grade you are in, you may not learn art, geography, chemistry or Chinese, but you always learn math．Why is this so? How come so many students hate math, and yet cannot avoid learning it in school?

　　Jenny Sanders, a high school student in California, asks, “What good do we get from learning math? We can use computers to compute numbers, and we can use computers to store information．I think learning math at school is a waste of time．”

　　However, there is much more to math than just learning to add and subtract(减)numbers．In fact, math is not so much about calculation(计算)as it is about learning to think logically(逻辑地)and solving problems．Of course, Jenny was right that we can use computers to do calculations, but how would we even know how to use the computer if we can't think logically? In short, computers are only tools when solving problems．

　　For example, imagine you are a cook and must serve dinner to 100 guests．How should you divide your resources so that you can get the job done most efficiently(高效地)? In situations like this, the ability to think logically will get you to a reasonable answer and solve your problem．

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　　One day a man found a cocoon(茧)of a butterfly in the forest．He sat there for several hours and watched the butterfly．Suddenly a small opening appeared, and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole．Then it seemed to stop making any progress．It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further．

　　So the man decided to help the butterfly．He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly could come our easily．But to his surprise, the butterfly got a heavy body and very small wings when it came out of the cocoon．

　　The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that the body would grow smaller at any moment and the wings would become larger and be able to fly．But neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling(爬)around with a heavy body and small wings．It was never bale to fly．

　　The man was in his kindness, but he did not understand the nature rules．Before the butterfly came out of the cocoon, fluid(流体)from its body must be forced into its wings, and then it would be ready for flying．It must have a hard struggle(拼搏)to get through the small opening to get its freedom from the cocoon．

　　Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life．If God allowed us to go through our life without any difficulties, it would make us fail．We would not be as strong as we could have been; we could never fly．

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　　Now, more and more cities are facing problems, such as high housing costs, pollution and crime．Let's see what people in Hyderabad, India and in Sao Paulo, Brazil do to solve(解决)the problems．

　　Hyderabad, India

　　To improve people's lives, Hyderabad is planting more and more trees．The city is even creating greener buildings that use less water and less electricity for power．Adding green to a city has a number of advantages．For example, trees make the air cleaner．In Hyderabad, streets were grey and dirty in the past．However, today they are filled with trees and flowers, making the city cleaner and more colourful．Green areas also give people places to relax or exercise．A study in the USA shows an interesting thing：the greener a neighborhood is, the less crime there is．

　　Sao Paulo, Brazil

　　Many people work in the centre of Sao Paulo, but they don't live there．They've spread out to neighborhoods outside the city because housing is cheaper．Every day, these people travel into the city, and traffic is very heavy．City planners are using different ways to deal with(处理)the problem．First, they are building better subways．Another goal is to make it cheaper for people to live in the downtown area(中心区)．Doing this will reduce traffic and pollution in the city．

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　　We provide summer English courses and you will enjoy learning about American culture and improve your English．The courses last for 4 weeks．They start at the beginning of July and August．Our teachers are very experienced．They teach English classes for 4 hours a day．You can choose between small groups of 2 or 3, or larger groups of up to 15．We provide weekly tests to see the progress you're making with your language skills．We also provide books and other materials．

　　As well as learning English, we want you to experience life in the USA．You live with an American family and take part in American life．You have meals with them and do some activities with them, too．This is the most interesting part of the course．Many families create friendships with the students．Of course, if you prefer, we can arrange hotel accommodation．

　　Of course, you can do many things in Los Angeles．Every day we have activities after class．You can choose to take trips to Hollywood, Disneyland or the famous beaches around LA．You can also go to various shopping centres, sports centres, movies and concerts．There are also weekend visits organized to San Francisco and other places of interest in California．

　　Well, if you're interested, please fill in our application form where you will also find our list of prices．The course must be paid for one month before it begins．

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　　Some children are afraid to go to the dentist, but not me．I'm a boy of 8 and I have a funny dentist．His name is Dr．Smileyface．I don't think that's his real name, but that's what he tells all the children who come to see him．

　　He has a cool waiting room．It has video games and a big toy box．Dr．Smileyface always wears funny hats．Sometimes he has his face painted．He asks funny questions like “Are you married yet?” and “Do you eat flowers to make your breath smell so sweet?” That makes me laugh．One time, he told me this joke, “What has lots of teeth but never goes to the dentist? A comb!” When I laughed, he pulled my tooth．It didn't hurt at all! He also teaches me how to take care of my teeth in an interesting way．Before I leave, he always gives me a surprise．Last week he gave me a toy ship and I liked it very much．

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　　Antifreeze is a liquid(液体)that is added to water to keep it from freezing．When water freezes and turns to ice, it expands(膨胀)．The force of water expanding is so great that it will break the hardest metal．Water is used in car engines(发动机)to keep them cool while they run, and if this water is allowed to freeze in winter it can break the iron block of the engine．That is why antifreeze is necessary．

　　Water freezes at 0℃；the usual kind of antifreeze will not freeze until the temperature is －40℃．A mixture(混合物)of five parts of water and four parts of antifreeze will prevent freezing at －18℃；four parts of water and five parts of antifreeze reduce this to －22℃．

　　Alcohol is a kind of good antifreeze, but when the air is running it becomes hot and the alcohol boils away, so it must be changed very often．Most people use antifreeze that does not boil away when the engine is running．There are several chemicals that do this．One of the most popular is called ethylene glycol．

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　　Michael McCarthy climbed to the top of the Willis Tower not long ago．The Tower stands 1451 feet(442 meters)tall, the highest building in the US．

　　As he got to the last step, McCarthy almost fell down, but that didn't stop him．The 14-year-old boy finally finished climbing the 2,109 steps and arrived at the top, where he enjoyed the cheers from the crowd．

　　“I just want to show people that if a kid with no legs can do it, anyone can do it, ”McCarthy said．

　　McCarthy, who was born without legs, has to wear prosthetic legs(假肢)and use a set of crutches(拐杖)to walk．But McCarthy has a strong heart．He believes nothing can stop him from achieving his success．

　　He has been in a karate(空手道)school since he was four years old．When he decided to climb the Willis Tower, his karate teacher, Jeff Kohn, was moved and offered to help train him．They spent more than 10 hours practicing climbing stairs and keeping balance with the prostheses and crutches on the steps every day．“It seems that he never knows what tiredness is．Sometimes, I was so tired that I asked him to call it a day, ”said Kohn．“But he said he was still full of energy and wanted more exercise．”

　　Kohn was with McCarthy for the climb．“I saw the last 10 floors-he went faster, ” said Kohn．“He's the most hard-working athlete I've ever trained．”

　　McCarthy said he was proud of himself and that the Tower now holds special meaning．“When I'm older, I'll point to the building and say ‘Look at this building I climbed’．”he said．

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　　Sally and Tom are classmates．Here are their plans for next weekend．

　　Saturday　9∶00 a. m.～10∶00 a. m.　take part in the English corner

　　4∶00 p. m.～5∶00 p. m.　have an art lesson

　　8∶00 p. m.～10∶00 p. m.　be at Alice's birthday party

　　Sunday　8∶00 a. m.～10∶30 a. m.　do some reading at home

　　3∶30 p. m.～5∶00 p. m.　draw pictures in the park

　　7∶00 p. m.～9∶30 p. m.　do my homework

　　Saturday　8∶00 a. m.～10∶00 a. m.　do my homework at home

　　4∶30 p. m.～5∶45 p. m.　play basketball

　　8∶00 p. m.～10∶00 p. m.　be at Alice's birthday party

　　Sunday　8∶20 a. m.～11∶00 a. m.　roller skate

　　4∶05 p. m.～5∶30 p. m.　climb the hill

　　7∶30 p. m.～9∶30 p. m.　watch TV

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　　Ever thought of moving to a new country? How about starting a new country? Patri Friedman is planning to do just that．He left Google years ago to set up the Seasteading Institute．And his dream is to build seasteads－floating micro-nations in the middle of the ocean．

　　So, what will life on a seastead be like? Probably a bit like life on a cruise liner(游轮), but much larger, with shops , gyms , swimming pools, schools and other areas．In fact , the early seasteads may actually be specially-rebuilt cruise liners．But as science advances, Friedman believes they'll become more like floating cities, with several hundred people．

　　Seasteading raises a lot of questions．First of all , how will the new countries make money? The Seasteading Institute has suggested several money-making ideas, including ocean-based theme parks, casinos(赌场)and fish farming．There's also the questions of safety．With storms, typhoons and pirates(海盗), the high seas are a dangerous place．However, the Institute says that it can stand bad weather and prevent crimes with its well-designed systems．

　　So, is this just a day dream? Well, maybe not．One of the people behind the project is Peter Thiel．He founded PayPal and was one of the first investors(投资者)in Facebook．So far , he's donated ＄ 500,000 to the project．

　　And Friedman isn't wasting any time．He recently announced the creation of the Poseidon Award．This will be given to the first seastead with fifty people．Friedman is hoping to hand out the award in 2015．

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　　“ The only thing holding you back is yourself．Never say never”, said a rising 17-year-old singer, Justin Bieber, who was just an ordinary boy in Canada a few years ago．

　　After the accident of falling from the 18^th floor and lying in the snow for three hours, my hands were frozen and my spinal cord(脊髓)was seriously injured．All the doctors and professors in the famous hospitals in Beijing told me that there was little chance for my hands and my body to recover(康复)．

　　After half a year of medical treatments and recovering exercises , I could not make any more progress for over a year．What was worse , I suffered a lot from depression(绝望)．On top of this , I suffered from insomnia , making every minute of the light seem to last forever．Hopelessly , mom and I came back to my hometown, which is small town in Guangdong．

　　At that time , I thought that I would never be able to walk again．I would never love and be loved．I would never be able to earn even a penny．I would never be able to repay the kindness I got from my parents and many nice people．Life was meaningless．

　　Now two years has passed．My hands are 80％ recovered．I can even type faster than a healthy person! Up to now, I have worked for a law firm as an interpreter for half a year already．Although I don't earn as much as before, I am able to pay for the food and clothes I need．What's more , I even have extra money to buy thanksgiving presents for my parents and my boyfriend．Through my blogs(博客), many people get to know me and like me．I can bring happiness to them．I can help those who are still suffering from depression and the pain of illnesses by chatting with them…．You see, I am living a meaningful life and I am happier than ever I could have dreamed．

　　So, my friends, never say never．As long as you are alive , there is always hope and possibilities．It is never too late to take action to realize your dreams．(382 words)

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