It’s interesting that the arrival of snow has effect on people in different countries．

　　For some countries it is an important happening to celebrate each year, while for others a catastrophe(灾害)or even a wonder．

　　But there are countries between these two kinds that normally expect snow some time over the winter months, but never receive snow regularly or in the same quantities every year．Britain is one of them, for which the arrival of snow quite simply causes problems．Within hours of the first snowfalls, however light, roads are blocked, trains and buses have to stop in the middle of the way．Normal communication is affected as well：telephone calls become difficult and the post immediately takes more time than usual．And almost within hours, there are also certain shortages－bread, vegetables and other things－not because all these things can no longer be produced or sent to shops, but mainly because people are frightened and go out and store up with food and so on…just for fear that something bad should happen．

　　But why does snow have this effect?After all, the Swiss, the Austrians and the Canadians don’t have such problems．It is simply because there is not enough planning and preparation．We need money to buy equipment to deal with snow and ice．To keep the roads clear, for example, requires snow-ploughs(扫雪机)and machines to spread salt．The reason why a country like Britain does not buy snow-ploughs is that they are used for a few days in any one year, and the money could be more useful in other things such as hospital, education, helping the old and so on．

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阅读理解

　　Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life．He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day-to-day life has more meaning than we usually think．One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week．From the way they spend their money, they often see what they really value in life．

　　He says our relation with others often becomes clearly defined when money enters the picture．You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you are very good friends．But you will know him only when you ask him to lend you some money．If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stronger than ever before．Or it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn’t．This person may say that he has a certain feeling, but if it is not carried out in the money world, there is something less real about it．Since money is so important to us, we consider those who possess a lot of it to be very important．The author interviewed some millionaires in researching his book．

　　Question：What is the most surprising thing you have discovered about being rich, because you are a self-made man?

　　Answer：The most surprising thing is how people give me so much respect．I am nothing．I don’t know much．All I am is rich．

　　People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for?How much do I need for any given purposes in my life?In his book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society：to bring back the idea that money is an instrument rather than the end．Money plays an important role in the material world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life．

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阅读理解：

　　A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at fine wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months．

　　The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20％－40％ that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30％ of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue．

　　Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband．The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by．squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘)．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sorted, and the driver’s response．

　　Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time．Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．

　　In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver’s response continues to stow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible．

　　The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing．If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year．

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阅读理解

　　What exactly is a lie?Is it anything we say which we know is untrue?Or is it something ore than?for example, suppose a friend wants to borrow some money from you．You say, “I wish I could help you but I’m short of money myself．” In fact, you are not short of money but your friend is in the habit of not paying his debts and you don’t want to hurt his feelings by reminding him of this．Is this really a lie?

　　Professor Jerald Jellison of the University of Southern California has made a scientific study of lying．According to him, women are better liars than men, particularly when telling a “white lie”, such as when a woman at a party tells another woman that she likes her dress when she really think it looks terrible．However, this is only one side of the story．Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell serious lies, such as making a promise which they have no intention of carrying out．This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at：the lie from which the liar hopes to profit(获利)or gain in some day．

　　Research has also been one into the way people’s behavior changes in a number of small, apparently unimportant ways when they lie．It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time, they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual．To the trained observer they are saying “I wish I were somewhere else now．” They also tend to touch certain parts of the fave more often, in particular the nose．One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure．The tip of the nose is very sensitive to such changes and the increased pressure makes it itch(痒)．

　　Another gesture which gives liars away is what the writer Desmond Morris in his book Manwatching calls “the mouth cover”．He says there are several typical forms of his, such as covering part of the mouth with fingers, touching the upper-lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side of the mouth．Such a gesture can be understood as an unconscious(无意识的)attempt on the part of the liar to stop himself or herself from lying．Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, or moving about in a chair cannot be taken as proof that the speaker is lying．They simply tend to occur more frequently in this situation．It is not one gesture alone that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context(情境)in which the lie is told．

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阅读理解：

　　Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat(诈骗)．Either way, it could be the perfect crime(犯罪)，because the criminals are birds homing pigeons!

　　The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car：if you want the car back, pay up．Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside．Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off．

　　There have been at least-four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa．What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind－one that avoids(避免)not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place．Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick：he gets money for things he cannot possibly return．Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad(启事)in the newspaper asking for help．

　　The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned．Also, the amount of money demanded under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars seems too little for a car worth many times more．

　　Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story．And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal．“We have more important things to do,” he said．

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阅读理解：

　　Letter to Editor of TV Weekly

　　Dear Sir/Madam,

　　I read Alison Burnham’s review of When we were 12, and I do not agree with her．I thought the programme was wonderful－I found the old news pictures really interesting－they helped to bring to life the stories the people were telling．

　　The programme reminds me of many things from my own childhood．For example, one day when I was about five, I was going to school on the bus by myself(this was the late 1960s)．My mother had given me exactly the right money for a return ticket．I held out my hand with the money in it－one big coin on top of one little coin．The bus conductor took the big top coin only and she gave me a ticket, but it was a pink one for a single journey．I needed a white one for a return journey, but I was too frightened to say anything．When school finished for the day, I couldn’t catch the bus home－I had to walk．As a grown-up, whenever I’ve been in a situation Where I need to say something or take some action, this early memory of my bus ride comes back to me, and I’m able to take control of the situation．

　　I would like to say to the director, Bret Chrysler, carry on making this kind of programme．Too much TV these days is quiz shows and so-called “reality programmes”．I appreciate the human story that can make me laugh and cry．

Yours faithfully,

Chris Daniels

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阅读理解：

　　Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16,1775,and died on July 18,1817．She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously(匿名)．

　　But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors．She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from．

　　1801 to 1806, Bath was her home．Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath．The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels．Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen’s Bath can be enhanced(增强)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street．Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen’s time and the importance of Bath in her life and work．

　　The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society．After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts．Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy．

　　You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen’s Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath．The tour lasts about one and a half hours．The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped．

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　　Coketown was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but in fact it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of savage(野人)．It was a town of machinery and tall chimney, out of which smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever．It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill smelling color, and large piles of building full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the steam-engine worked up and down like the head of an elephant in a state of madness．The town contained several large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited(居住)by people equally like one another．

　　A sunny midsummer day．There was such a thing sometimes even in Coketown．Seen from a distance in such a weather, Coketown lay covered in a smoke of its own．You only knew the town was there, because you knew there could have been no such a place upon the view without a town．

　　The streets were hot and dusty on the summer day, and the sun was so bright that it even shone through the smoke over Coketown, and could not be looked at steadily．Workers appeared from low underground doorways into factory yards, and sat on steps, wiping their face sand looking at coals．The whole town seemed to be frying in oil．There was a smell of hot oil everywhere．The atmosphere of those places was like the breath of hell(地狱)，and their inhabitants wasting with heat, walked lazily in the desert．But no temperature made the mad elephants more mad or more sane(理智的)．Their tiresome heads went up and down at the sane rate, in hot weather and in cold, wet weather and dry．The measured movement of their shadows of wood; while for the summer noise of insects, it could offer all the year round, from the dawn of Monday to the night of Saturday．

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　　Lillian Beard whistled and smiled while she worked．“Why are you so happy?” her co-workers asked her．

　　“Last week I got my income tax refund, ” Lillian answered．“This morning I went to the bank and cashed the check．I have ＄462 in my pocket．I’m thinking about the money．How will I spent it?”

　　After work, Lillian came home and decided to wash some clothes．She looked at the jeans she was wearing．They were dirty, so she put them in the washing machine, too．Ten minutes later she thought, “The money!It’s in the pocket of my jeans!” Lillian ran to the washing machine and took out the jeans．The money was still in the pocket, but it was wet．Lillian put the money on the kitchen table．

　　A few hours later the money was still wet．“Hmmm, ” Lillian thought．“How can I dry this money?” Then Lillian had an idea．She could dry the money in her microwave oven!Lillian put the money in the microwave, set the timer for five minutes, and left the kitchen．

　　When Lillian came back a few minutes later, she saw a fire in the microwave．She opened the oven door, blew out the fire, and looked at her money．The money was burned．

　　The next day Lillian took the burned money to the bank．A teller at the bank told her, “ If I can see the numbers on the burned bills, I can give you new money．” Unfortunately, the teller found numbers on only a few bills．The teller took those bills and gave Lillian ＄17．

　　A newspaper reporter heard about the burned money．He wrote a story about Lillian for the newspaper．Several people read the story and called the newspaper．“tell Ms．Beard to send the burned money to the US department of Treasury, ” the people said．” Maybe she can get her money back．”

　　Every year about 30,000 people send damaged money to the Treasure Department．Experts there look carefully at the damaged money．Sometimes they can give people new money for the damaged money．Once a farmer’s cow ate his money－thousands of dollars．The farmer killed the cow and sent the cow’s stomach, with the money inside, to the Treasure Department．The experts gave the farmer new money．

　　Lillian sent her money to the Treasure Department．The experts looked at Lillian’s burned money and sent her a check for ＄231．What did Lillian buy with the money?She didn’t but anything．She gave the ＄231 to friends who needed money．Lillian said, “When I burned the ＄462, I thought, ‘Well, my money is gone．’ The check for ＄231 was a big surprise．I decided to give the money to my friends．Money is important, but people are more important to me．”

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　　When I was small, my grandmother died．I couldn’t understand why I had no tears．But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying．

　　So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain．Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying．

　　Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional(情感的) health and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying．

　　Besides, tears attract help from other people．Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendlier and they are more ready to provide support and comfort．Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better, sometimes we don’t even know we’re very sad until we cry．We learn about our emotions through crying and then we can deal with them．

　　Just as crying can be healthy, not crying－holding back tears of anger, pain or suffer－can be bad for physical(身体的)health．Studies have shown that too, much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses．If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry．But when you feel like crying, don’t fight it．It’s a natural－and healthy emotional response(反应)．

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