阅读理解

　　If Earth, Venus(金星)and Mars(火星)all started out with water on their surfaces, why don't Venus and Mars still have liquid water on their surfaces?

　　Earth, Venus and Mars probably all began with similar amounts of water．Mars still has some of its water－but it's frozen underground．Scientists aren't sure how much water Venus had on its surface, and when that water was lost．Theories suggest that Venus once had abundant water－maybe even a large ocean．

　　But Venus lost its water－due to what's called a“runaway greenhouse effect”．Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas－in other words, it traps heat．Water vapor may have caused Venus to heat up－which increased evaporation(蒸发)on the planet's surface－which increased warming even further．It eventually got so hot on Venus that all the surface water evaporated．

　　Today Venus is covered by thick clouds composed of droplets of sulfuric acid(硫磺酸)and carbon dioxide－another strong greenhouse gas．The planet's nearness to the sun and its greenhouse effect keep the planet very hot－about 900 Fahrenheit－or hot enough to melt lead．

　　When speaking of the possibility of liquid water on other planets, some scientists refer to the“Goldilocks problem”．That is, Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold, and Earth is just right．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　When he first began his speaking career, Mark Twain recalled, he used a full page of notes to keep him from getting mixed up．He would write down the beginning of key sentences, to take him from one point to another and to protect him from skipping(遗漏)．For a typical evening's lecture, he would write and memorize key beginnings．

　　The plan failed．Twain would remember the sentences, all right, but forget their order．He would have to stop, consult(参考)his notes, and thereby spoil the spontaneous(自然)effect of the whole speech．

　　Twain then decided to memorize not only key sentences, but also the first letter of each sentence．This initial-letter(首字母)method didn't work either．“I kept track of the fingers for a while”, he wrote in his essay, “then I lost it, and after that I was never quite sure which finger I had used last．”

　　He considered licking(舔)off the inked letters as he went along with the speech．People noticed he seemed more interested in his fingernails than his subject; one or two listeners would come up afterwards and ask what was wrong with his hands．

　　Mark Twain tried several ways in making speeches, but failed．Then his great idea came－why not draw some pictures?So he began．

　　Having once drawn the pictures, he found he could throw them away．He discovered that, having once made a series of drawings, he could recall their image at will．From that day, Twain was able to speak without notes, and the system never failed him．Each portion of his speech would be represented by a picture．He would draw them, all strung out(使……排成行)in a row, then look at them and destroy them．When the time came to speak, there was the row of images sharply in his mind．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　When I was twenty-seven years old, I was a clerk in San Francisco, and an expert at stock(股票)．I was content with the prospect(前景)．

　　One day I ventured in a small boat too far, and was carried out to sea．Just at nightfall, when hope was about gone, I was picked up by a small brig(双桅船)which was bound for London．When I stepped ashore in London my clothes were ragged and shabby, and I had only a dollar in my pocket．

　　About ten o'clock on the following morning, thirsty and hungry, I was dragging myself along Portland Place, when a child that was passing, towed(牵着)by a nurse-maid, threw a luscious(甘甜的)big pear－minus one bite－into the gutter(排水沟)．I stopped, of course, and fastened my desiring eye on that muddy treasure．My mouth watered for it, my stomach craved(恳求)it, my whole being begged for it．But every time I made a move to get it some passing eye detected my purpose, and of course I straightened up then, and looked indifferent(无关紧要的), and pretended that I hadn't been thinking about the pear at all．This same thing kept happening and happening, and I couldn't get the pear．I was just getting desperate(不顾一切的)enough to brave all the shame, and to seize it, when a window behind me was raised, and a gentleman spoke out of it, saying．

　　“Step in here, please．”

　　I was admitted by a well-dressed flunkey(仆役)，and shown into a sumptuous(华丽的)room where a couple of elderly gentlemen were sitting．They sent away the servant, and made me sit down．They had just finished their breakfast, and the sight of the remains of it almost overpowered me．I could hardly keep my wits together in the presence of that food, but as I was not asked to sample it, I had to bear my trouble as best I could．

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阅读理解

　　Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

　　The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1894)was a pinnacle in Twain's career－not only as author, but as critic(批评家)．In that book, Twain had attacked racism with irony．In the following years, he spoke out on themes of morality(道德)，religion, and politics while still, somehow, eliciting(引起)laughter．

　　After the Spanish-American War(1898), Twain became an ardent(激烈的)anti-imperialist(抗击帝国主义者)；he was especially critical of Belgium's role in the Congo(刚果)and the policy of the United States in the Philippines．Twain was not always funny, and not always well received, but, he was always repeated．By the close of his career, the New York Times estimated that Twain was quoted(引用)in common conversation more often than any other American, including Ben Franklin and Abe Lincoln．Ernest Hemingway(海明威)stated what generations of readers were convinced(确信)of, that“All modern American literature comes from on book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn．American writing comes from that．There is nothing before．There has been nothing as good since．”

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阅读理解

　　Mark Twain(whose real name was Samuel Clemens)was born in Missouri and grew up close to the banks of the Mississippi River．Clemens started out as a printer, setting type in Iowa, New York City, Philadelphia, and other cities．Clemens then turned to piloting a steamboat on the Mississippi River until the American Civil War．

In 1861, Clemens served briefly as a soldier in the Confederate(联盟)army．Later that year, Clemens moved to Nevada and began writing articles as a newspaper reporter．

　　In 1863, Clemens began signing his articles with the pseudonym(笔名)Mark Twain．In 1865, Twain finished his first story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”．which became an instant hit．

　　In 1870, Twain married Olivia Langdon, and they later moved to Hartford, Connecticut．Some famous writings followed, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer(1876), A Tramp Abroad(1880), The Prince and the Pauper(1882), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court(1889)．

　　Twain's masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1884)remains an icon(偶像)of American literature．

　　Later works include Puddn'head Wilson(1894), Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc(1896), and the short story“The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”(1899)．

　　In his later years, Twain became a celebrity, becoming known for wearing white suits wherever he went．

　　Although known primarily as a humorist during his life, scholars now regard his work as some of the best and most authentic(可信的)in American literature．His portraits of pre-civil war America, and his use of spoken language in his novels dominate(占优势)Twain's legacy(遗产)．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Increasingly, over the past ten years, people－especially young people－have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, particularly processed(加工，处理)food, is not good for the health．As a result, there has been a growing interest in natural foods：foods which do not contain chemical additives(添加剂)and which have not been affected by chemical fertilizers, widely used in farming today．

　　Natural foods, for example, are vegetables, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic(生物)matter．Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy pastures．Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry(家禽)：there are battery farms, for example, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish．Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins．

　　There are other aspects(方面)of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet．Take, for example, the question of sugar．This is actually unnecessary!Although a natural alternative(选择)，such as honey, can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary, we can in fact do without it．It is not sugar that is harmful in itself．But it does seem to be addictive：the quantity we use has grown over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes(消耗)an average of 200 pounds a year!Yet all it does is to provide us with energy, in the form of calories．There are no vitamins in it, no minerals, and no fiber．

　　It is significant(有意义的)that nowadays fiber is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet．In white bread, for example, the fiber has been removed．But it is present in unrefined(未加工的)flour and of course in vegetables．It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetables, certain diseases are comparatively(相对地)rare．Thus the emphasis is placed on the eating of whole meal bread and more vegetables by modern experts on“healthy eating”．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Generations of Americans have been brought up to believe that a good breakfast is necessary for their life．Eating breakfast at the start of the day, we have all been told and told again, is as necessary as putting gas in the family car before starting a trip．

　　But for many people the thought of food as the first thing in the morning is by no means a pleasure．So despite(尽管)all the efforts, they still take no breakfast．Between 1977 and 1983, the latest year for which figures are available(可得到的)，the number of people who didn't have breakfast increased by 33 percent from 8.8 million to 11.7 million－according to the Chicago-based Market Research Corporation of America．

　　For those who feel pain or guilty(内疚的)about not eating breakfast, however, there is some good news．Several studies in the last few years show that, for adults especially, there may be nothing wrong without having breakfast．“Going without breakfast does not affect performance, ”said Arnold E．Bender, former professor of nutrition at Queen Elizabeth College in London, “nor does giving people breakfast improve performance．”

　　Scientific evidence linking breakfast to better health or better performance is surprisingly not proper, and most of the recent work relates to children, not adults．“The literature, ”says one researcher, Dr．Ernesto Pollitt at the University of Texas, “is poor”．

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阅读理解

　　We eat for many different reasons but not always for the right reason．Most people choose food purely based on taste, and that's fine because food was meant for enjoyment．However, if we make food decisions based on taste alone, without regard to nutrition(营养)or healthy eating habits, then gaining weight is inevitable(不可避免的)．Changing your eating habit demands considering the nutritional value as well as the amount of calorie and fat．

　　Healthy eating habit is formed by eating foods that are low in fat．Learn to read labels(标签)so you can make good decisions based on healthy eating habits．Every packaged food product has a label that will tell you the nutritional value, calorie and fat content．

　　As you gain experience reading labels, you won't be fooled by clever and deceptive marketing techniques used to get more of your money．Healthy eating habit comes by education．Foods that have the word“light”on the package can still have a high amount of fat and calories．“Fat-free”does not mean you can eat all you want just because it has no fat．Many fat-free foods are loaded with sugar and are high in calories．

　　Eating habit remain the same as we grow from childhood to adulthood．If you were raised on sugar and high fat foods, chances are good that you still eat the same today．Unfortunately, our metabolism(新陈代谢)is likely to slow down as we age and many adults get the“middle age spread”by their mid thirties．The amount of fat keeps building as we get older unless the cycle is broken by good eating habits or exercise, preferably both．

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阅读理解

　　If you think American cooking means opening a package and throwing the contents into the microwave(微波炉)，think again．On the one hand, it's true that Americans have cold cereal(谷类食品)for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and instant(速溶的)dinners．From busy homemakers to working people, many Americans enjoy the convenience of fast food that can be ready to serve in 10 minutes or less．On the other hand, many Americans recognize the value of cooking skills．Parents－especially mothers－see the importance of training their children－especially daughters．Most Americans will admit that there's nothing better than a good home－cooked meal．But with cooking, as with any other skill, good results don't happen by accident．

　　Probably every cook has his or her own cooking style．But there are some basic skills that most people follow．For example, baking is a main method of preparing food in America．For that reason, Americans would find it next to impossible to live without an oven(烤箱)．American cooks give special attention to the balance of foods, too．In planning a big meal they try to include a meat, a few vegetables, some bread or pasta(面食)and often a dessert(甜点)．They also like to make sure the meal is colorful．Having several different colors of food on the plate usually makes for a healthy meal．

　　For those who need guidance in their cooking, or for those who have just run out of ideas, recipes are lifesavers．Recipes list all the ingredients(成分)for a dish(generally in the order used), the amount of each to use, and a description of how to put them together．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Every part of the United States has special celebrations, depending on the particular(独特的)national groups that live in the area．In Hawaii, there are many people of Asian ancestry(祖先)．The Asians left rich traditions behind．Today, Hawaiians honor the memory of their ancestors with special feasts and festivals．

　　For people of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii, the O-bon Festival is a special occasion．The ceremonies honor dead relatives and friends and are an important part of the Buddhist(佛教)religion as practiced in Japan．They take place in July and August on Oahu, the main island of Hawaii．People gather in the courtyards of Buddhist temples, dressed in traditional clothes called kimonos．To the music of drums and flutes(长笛)，men and women perform their native folk dances．In the evening there are further ceremonies at the seashore．People place paper lanterns(灯笼)on tiny wooden boats, which stand for the souls of the dead．They set hundreds of these boats in the water and watch as they float out over the dark ocean．The lights guide the souls to a peaceful sleep in the waters until the next year when they will be honored again．

　　Chinese-Hawaiians hold the Moon Festival to honor the memory of their ancestors and their native land．The Moon Festival occurs in August on the night of the full moon．Unlike the Japanese festival, the Chinese celebration is a simple family occasion．Family members gather in a garden or large open-air space in the light of the moon．They drink tea and feast on delicious moon-shaped cakes．By recalling this event in the Moon Festival, the Chinese people help to keep their native tradition alive and their family ties strong．

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