阅读理解

　　As a boy, Mark Twain caused much trouble for his parents．He used to play practical jokes on all his friends and neighbors．The nature of his jokes often led violence(暴力)．He hated to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home．He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi．He liked to sit on the bank of the river for hours at a time and just gaze at the mysterious island and the passing boats．He learned many things about the river during those days．He learned all about its history and unusual people who rode up and down it．He never forgot those scenes and those people．He later made them part of the history of America in the books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn．

　　Mark Twain received his genius(天才)from his mother．Obviously he didn't get it from his father．He once stated that he had never seen a smile on his father's face．On the other hand, his mother had the ability to say humorous things．The same ability made Mark Twain an extremely humorous public speaker．

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　　“The pen is more powerful than the sword(剑)．”There have been many writers who use their pens to fight things that were wrong．Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them．

　　She was born in the USA in 1811．One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the slaves．The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won．This book that shook the world was called Uncle Tom's Cabin．There was a time when every English－speaking man, woman, and child had read this novel that did so much to stop slavery．Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting, if only to show how a warm－hearted writer can arouse(唤起)people's sympathies(同情)．The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor seen a slave．The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent the true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were wildly excited over it, and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free．The Civil War lasted until 1865, finally brought an end to slavery．

　　Of course, there are many things that made the Civil War happen．Yet, Uncle Tom's Cabin surely played a part．Stowe met president Lincoln in 1862．As Lincoln took her hand, he said,“so you are the little woman who started the big war．”

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　　John Milton was born in 1608．His father expected him to enter the church of England, but Milton wanted to be a poet．At twenty－nine, Milton set out for a travel on the continent．He traveled in France, Switzerland and Italy, meeting and winning the friendship of many artists and scientists, including Galileo, the famous Italian scientist who suffered for his discovery in prison．In 1639, he was planning to go on with his journey when the news reached him of the break between the King and Parliament．Milton returned to England immediately, and put himself into the struggle against the King, for which he had long been preparing．During the Civil War, Milton worked as the spokesman of the revolution．By the beginning of 1652, Milton had become totally blind, yet he didn't stop fighting．After the Restoration, his books were burnt, and he himself avoided being killed because of his blindness．

　　John Milton was not only a brave revolutionary but also a great poet．His famous poem Paradise Lost was an immediate success．But, for its publication, Milton received only 18 pounds．He died in 1671．

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　　Nate suffered a devastating blow when he lost his job．His boss had spoken rudely,“Your services are no longer needed．”Nate left the building a broken man filled with despair．By the time he reached home, he was in a deep depression．When he entered his house, he blurted out to his wife Sophia,“I lost my job．I am a complete, utter failure．”A tense silence followed．Then a smile crept across Sophia's face．“What great news!”she responded,“Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write．”

　　“But I have no job and no prospect of a job．”he objected, completely without hope．“If I struggle to be an author, then what will we live on?Where will the money come from?”

　　Sophia took her husband by the hand and led him to the kitchen．Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of cash．“Where on earth did you get this?”Nate gasped,“To whom does it belong?”

　　“It's ours!”Sophia replied．“I always knew that one day you would become a great writer if only you were given the chance．From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have saved as much as I could so you would have your chance．Now there is enough to last us a whole year．”

　　What a surprise!What encouragement!What a wife!The unemployed husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary masterpiece．The book is The Scarlet Letter．Sophia has an even greater achievement; she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous master．

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　　When I first came to America, I made friends with a neighbour who used to live a couple blocks from my street．We used to visit each other, do some activities, and go out together sometimes．This friend taught me a lot about American culture, but in some cases I had to learn the hard way because we didn't have enough time together as friends for me to learn all about American culture from him．

　　One day this same friend invited me to a party．It wasn't a real party, it was some kind of informal get－together．Since it was summertime he had a cookout where most of his American friends and relatives were known to me, but there were others I had never met before．

　　It was the most embarrassing party for me when I noticed that everybody was wearing jeans and simple T－shirts for the day, while I arrived in proper dress with my shoes and my hair all fixed for a fancy party．It was hard to explain my embarrassment to the other guests．When one of them turned around and said,“What nice clothes!What's the occasion!”I felt my face burning hot with embarrassment．I did not answer at all．If she knew how bad I already felt, she wouldn't have come near me．But she did．Maybe she didn't ask intentionally to make me feel bad or uncomfortable, but my reaction had to do with the way I already felt．I could have told her I had to go to another party afterward, but I didn't want to continue the conversation．

　　Many times I thought about going home and changing, but I knew that they would notice．It would be even worse for me, because I knew they would quickly think that I felt out of place．So I wanted to pretend that I was okay．

　　I had already realized their customs were different from mine, but after I talked to my friend, I was more convinced(感到信服的)that people here are more casual．They care less about formality, unless it is a special occasion, like a wedding or a very formal invitation．

　　In contrast, my culture is totally the opposite．For instance, in Cape Verdean culture, if a friend invited me to his house on a special day, even if it is not a real party, one should appear well dressed or otherwise the host will be annoyed thinking you are disrespectful to him or the other guests．We do dress casually for going on picnics or on ordinary days, but not normally to go over to a friend's when invited if other people will be there．

　　After all, I think that my problem at the party wasn't that I wasn't accepted by the Americans; but my feeling was so bad that I couldn't fit in the group even if nobody noticed, because I was the one who discovered the difference in the first place．It does not matter if people dress differently, but I was the only one different in the group．I felt I was the one who should adjust to their customs．After that, I decided to learn more about American culture, so now I don't have as many problems as I've had in the past．

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　　One of the first things that Jim discovered while living with the Greens was that there were different television channels(频道)in Britain．The BBC broadcasts on two channels：BBC 1 and BBC 2．There is a mixture of serious and light programmes on BBC 1; there are mainly serious programmes on BBC 2．ITV is an independent(独立的)channel which carries advertisements(广告)．There are no advertisements on the BBC, so everyone must pay some money to the BBC each year．There are both serious and light programmes on ITV．Because of the different channels, it is not surprising that you often see each member in Mr Green's house wants to choose his or her own favourite channel．This is the sort of thing you hear．

　　“There's sports programme on TV．”

　　“What's that, children．”

　　“We were wondering if we could watch the sports programme on ITV．”

　　“But I was wondering whether to watch the other programme on BBC 1．”And so on．The children like TV; mother prefers BBC 1; father prefers BBC 2．Jim hasn't made up his mind．

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　　In Kansas City, Missouri, a computer helps fire－fighters．The computer contains information about every one of the 35000 street addresses in the city．When fire－fighters answer a call, the computer will give them important information about the burning building's position, size, type, and so on．In fact, the computer system(系统)has almost all the ways of helping fire－fighters with the problems facing them．For example, it can give medical information-about invalids living in a burning building．With this information, the fire－fighters can take special care to find these sick persons and carry them away quickly and safely．

　　The Kansas City computer system also keeps a medical record of each of the city's 9000 fire－fighters．This kind of information is especially useful when a fireman is injured．With this information, doctors at the hospital can treat the injured fire－fighters more quickly and easily．

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　　Because of the fast pace of American life, many families can not eat together around the family table every evening．Many people have to be at work during the normal dinner hours．

　　For this reason, fast－food restaurants have become very popular．These restaurants serve foods such as hamburgers, tacos(炸玉米卷)，French fries(炸土豆条)．Fast－food restaurants are really fast．You don't have to wait a minute or two for your food．They are also convenient．You may dress casually, and in some places you can even order from your car and drive away with you food without going to the restaurant．Finally, fast－food restaurants are inexpensive．

　　Fast food has its shortcomings, too．Most fast－food meals are not very healthy．They are often high in fats(脂肪)and choles terol(胆固醇)，and low in other important nutrients．It is advisable(可取的)not to eat too much fast food．

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　　People who travel a lot fly with Bel Air, because they know they will get what they want．They want to go quickly and safely, across the country, or right across the sea, or right across the world…and they know Bel Air will take them where they want to go, when they want to go．Bel Air flies there newest, and fastest aeroplanes, to more towns and cities, to more countries in the world, than any other airline．

　　Do you want to go to Paris, Washington or Tokyo?Bel Air will take you there at all times of the day or night, right through the week．But Bel Air flies not only to big cities, in the rich countries…we fly two or three times a week to towns and cities in the very heart of Asia, Africa and South America．

　　People who travel a lot fly with Bel Air, because they know they will leave on time．They know that the food they will receive, and the film they will watch will be of the very best．

　　Bel Air is second to none．When you fly, fly with Bel Air．

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　　A taxi driver has found the son he last saw 34 years ago－as a passenger in the back of his taxi．

　　The chance reunion came when Barry Bagshaw, 61, picked up a passenger at a motel near Brighton in southern England．

　　A short time into the journey, the woman together with the man in the back saw the driver's identity badge and noticed he had the same surname as her boy friend．

　　“The blood just drained out of me when he said‘I'm your son’”,Barry told BBC radio,“I didn't recognize him at first．It certainly won't be another 34 years before I see him again．”

　　His son Colin, 39, a cook, who was about to leave the area for ever, had thought his father was dead－even though they found they lived just streets apart．

　　Barry, who has another son and a daughter, lost touch with his children when his marriage broke down while he was serving in the army in Hong Kong．

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