阅读理解

　　Many teenagers(青少年)feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends．They believe that their family members, especially their parents, don’t know them as well as their friends do．In large families, it is often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for advice．

　　It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or many friends．Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone．This communication(交际)is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something difficult to say to their family members．

　　However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them．Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends．The question of “choice” is an interesting one．Have you ever thought of the following questions?

　　Who choose your friends?

　　Do you choose friends or your friends choose you?

　　Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?

阅读理解

　　A four-year study done by the Infant(幼儿)Testing Center in San Francisco, California, suggests that babies feel more comfortable around other babies than with strange adults．According to the study, babies benefit by being with their fellow infants daily．While on the other hand, a baby might show fear of an adult stranger, he is likely to smile and reach out for an unfamiliar infant．By the time babies are one year old, they have begun to form friendships of a sort．

　　The above findings, based on observation(观察)of 100 babies aged three months to three years, might prove interesting to working parents who must find day care for their babies．Family care in a private home, with several babies together, is probably the ideal way to care for babies under three．Dr Benjamin Spocks, well-known pediatrician and author of books about babies, supports the idea．He says that family day care is sound(合理的)in theory than hiring a housekeeper or a babysitter．

阅读理解

　　David Brown and Anne are two patients in the Adult Day Care program at Merey Hospital．David Brown is seventy-two years old．He’s friendly and likes to talk．He lives with his wife in the city．But David is becoming forgetful．His wife says, “He’ll heat up some soup, then forget to turn off the gas．” She is sixty-one and still works．She is worried about leaving her husband alone by himself．

　　Anne is eighty and lives with her daughter, who is sixty．Her daughter says that she needs a rest, “Mom follows me from room to room when I clean．She sits down next to me when I read the newspaper．I need a rest and she does, too．”

　　And so, several times a week, David and Anne’s families take them to the Adult Day Care．Many hospitals have this program．Patients come to the centre for a full or half day, from one to five days a week．All the patients live with their families and most old people．In the centre, patients learn many things, such as dancing and painting．Many patients like to cook their meals every day．Several men and women enjoy playing games．All the patients enjoy talking, singing, and being with one another．

　　Mrs．Carol Johnson is the director of the Centre．She says, “We are offering both the patients and their families a service of great value．Patients have the chance to get out of their houses．Husbands, wives or grown children can work or have a rest．Most important of all, families are able to stay together．”

阅读理解

　　If you have to miss a meal a day(or if you want to do so), which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don’t eat it?If you have to make a decision of this type, most people(especially very busy people)will choose to skip breakfast．

　　However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast(the meal which “break” you “fast” and which started the night before)to be the most important meal of the day．If we eat a good breakfast, they say, we will have the energy and nutrients(营养)we need to begin our working day with vigor(活力)and hopeful with good honor．However, many people skip breakfast or substitute(代替)a donut or a cup of coffee for a well-balanced meal．What happens if we ignore the importance of breakfast?

　　One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people．Participants(参加者)included both males and females who ranged in age from 12 to 83．During the experiments, these people were given a variety of breakfasts, and sometimes, they have to skip breakfast completely．Special tests, including blood tests and endurance(耐力)tests, were set up to analyze(分析)how well the participants’ bodies functioned when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast．

　　The results show that if a person eats an adequate breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently and more productively than if he or she skips breakfast or eats a very poor breakfast．This fact appears to be especially true if a person’s work involves mental activities．The study showed that if school-children eat fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, they will learn more quickly and will be able to concentrate(集中)on their lessons for a longer period of time than if their breakfast is inadequate．

　　The study also showed that contrary to what people believe．If you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight．This is because people become so hungry if they skip breakfast that they eat too much for lunch and end up gaining weight instead of losing．So remember, if you want to lose weight, skipping breakfast will not help you．You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals．

阅读理解

The nervous-looking(紧张不安的)young man had waited for a few moments outside the jeweler’s shop before he got enough courage(勇气)to enter．He was warmly greeted by a young assistant．James felt a rush blood to his face as he explained he would bring in his future wife to choose a birthday present．The assistant listened carefully and told him he’d better buy a necklace．He wasn’t used to buying jewelry and was a little worried about overspending．After some discussion as to reasonable price and types(类型), the assistant showed him dozens of necklaces and helped him to choose．At last James chose one and left the shop promising to return at five o’clock．When, half an hour later, James did return to the shop with his future wife, Laura, the assistant acted as if she had never seen him before．When she was asked to show them some necklaces, she first brought out some inexpensive ones for them to choose and then gave them the one she had prepared．A choice was soon made and they went away, satisfied．

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　　Friendship is the relationship between persons who can help each other in need and who have much in common．Friendship can make people happy and successful．In my opinion, friendship is one of the most precious things we have for several reasons．First, we can lead a happy life if we have some friends to share feelings, for joy that is shared will be doubled and sorrow shared will be reduced．For instance, I felt a little lonely during my first days after I came to college because it was my first time to be away from my family and away from my old friends．I often felt worried about my study and life．Later, I made friends with some of my fellow students．We talked about our ambitions, the way how to improve ourselves and how to contribute to society．Through our heart-to-heart talks, we got to know each other well and became eager to help each other．And from then on, whenever I am in trouble, I always have someone to turn to．Now I don’t feel lonely any more but feel that life is really meaningful and enjoyable．Second, the company of friends can help us win success．It is well-known that the friendship between Karl Marx and Engels largely contributed to their great success．Besides great figures, common people can also benefit a great deal from their friendship．For example, in the second year of my college, we were required to take the yearly test for English Majors(Band Four)．It is a difficult national examination．While I was preparing for it, I felt very worried．But my friends and I helped and encouraged each other．As a result, we all passed the test with good scores．

　　Moreover, friendship has influence on our personalities．To win friendship we should have a pleasant manner．And to keep the friendship that we have obtained we ought to be self-disciplined(自律)and learn to be considerate(体谅)．If everybody has friends and knows how to keep friendship, the personalities of people will be improved and society will be in harmony(和谐)．

　　So we can say that friendship can do good not only to individuals but also to society, and a society that is full of friendship will be full of love and hope．

阅读理解

　　Like many people you may be dreaming of a career as a rock and roll star．There are two ways to go about getting one．First there is the traditional way．Find some friends and form a group．Learn to play the guitar or the drums．Write your own songs．Spend hours arguing about the band name．Then go out on the road．

　　The next step is to spend a year or two touring．If you are any good, the crowds will get bigger．In the end an artist from a record company may come to a show．If he or she likes you, there may be a deal．This is the route traditionally followed by bands in the music industry．Success means fame and wealth．And failure gives you some interesting stories to tell your children．

　　Over the last few years a different path to success has become known．Boy bands like Boyzone and girl bands like the Spice Girls don't come together on their own．They are created by managers and record companies．Their image is strictly controlled．Professional song writers usually write their music．This is a convenient arrangement and the public seems to love the result．

　　Though boy and girl bands have become very popular recently, there is a long tradition of making music in this way．In the early 1960's an American businessman called Berry Gordy founded Motown Records．Motown is short for “motor town”．The record company was based in the city of Detroit, where thousands of African Americans had moved to work in the car industry．They brought with them a cultural tradition of writing and performing music．This style later became known as “soulmusic”．Berry Gordy was a diamond miner．He took raw talent from the street and polished it until it shone．Motown stars were not just given songs to sing．They were also taught how to dress well and speak properly．

阅读理解

　　On September 22, 1986, Jay Brunkella, a police officer in the Rogers Park district in Chicago, was shot during a drug arrest and died．Shortly afterwards, fellow officer Ken Knapcik, a 20 year veteran(老警官)of the force, returned home after work to find a note from his 15 year old daughter on the dinning table．

　　Dad－This poem came directly from my heart．I love you so much!It scares and amazesme that you go out every day and risk everything to provide us with all that we have．I wrote this to express how much I love you and how much lost I'd be without you－Laura．P．S．：Hey, let's be careful out there．Titled“The Ultimate Cop”, Laura's poem was dedicated “To all the cops in the world who have daughters who love them with all their hearts．And especially to my dad．” It was about a police officer's daughter who sees on the night time news that her father has been shot．Part of poem：“Daddy, my Daddy, can you hear me cry? Oh, God, I need my Daddy, please don't let him die．”

　　Ken Knapcik stood alone as he read the poem．“It took me several minutes,” he said．“I'd get through part of it and have to stop before I could go on．I was weeping．She had never told me she was scared．” He took the poem to work the next day and showed it to his fellow officer．“I've never seen so many grown men cry．Some couldn't finish it．”

　　Knapcik keeps Laura's poem in the pocket of his police jacket．He takes it with him every time he leaves the house for a new shift．“I don't want to be out there without it,” he said, “I'll probably carry it with me forever．”

阅读理解

　　One day an ordinary dog appeared in the ticket office at Campiglia, a busy railroad station on Italian main line．A ticket agent named Elvio greeted the strange dog in a friendly way, so the dog decided to stay．From that day on, the dog became Elvio's shadow and was named Lampo．

　　Lampo kept Elvio company(陪伴)inside the ticket office．When the weather was warm, he would enjoy himself in the sun on the train platform．When it came time for Elvio to return home on the train at night, Lampo ran after the train for a long way and then sadly gave up and went back to the station．

　　One night as Elvio was riding home on the train, he noticed that Lampo was lying at his feet．Afraid that the conductor would see the dog on the train and shout at him, Elvio pushed Lampo under a seat．Luckily, the conductor did not notice the dog．Lampo came home with Elvio and met his family．Then, after a short visit, Lampo boarded the last train and went back to the station．Lampo quickly learned all of the train schedules(时刻表)．He would ride home from work with Elvio every night and then ride back to the station alone．Every morning Lampo arrived at Elvio's house in time to walk his young daughter, Mivna, to school．The faithful dog would then take another train to Campiglia to spend time with his master, then travel again to accompany Mivna home from school at 11∶30．

　　Soon, Lampo began to take the trains all over Italy．Lampo became famous among the men who worked on the railroad, as his journeys became more frequent, complicated and mysterious．No one could explain why he traveled or how he always found the right train back to Campiglia．People decided that Lampo was a unique dog．

　　Some of the railroad officials were against Lampo's illegal travels．They were afraid he would bite a passenger or cause some other problems．Finally, the stationmaster threatened to call the dog catcher if Elvio didn't get rid of the dog．

　　Elvio decided to put Lampo on a train going as far away as possible．Months went by and Lampo did not come back．Mivna missed him very much and prayed for his return．Finally one day, a sad, very thin, tired Lampo returned to Elvio's office．Everyone, even the stationmaster, was sorry about what had happened．From then on, Lampo was allowed to ride the trains whenever he wanted．After seven years, Lampo grew old, and he began to need Elvio's help to board the train．

　　One day Lampo was seen lying dead on the tracks．A year later, a life sized statue of Lampo was set up at Campiglia station．

阅读理解

　　Recorded background music first found it's way in factories, shops and restaurants in the USA．But it soon spread to other parts of the world．Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to music．

　　The bestknown supplier of background music is an American company called “Muzak”．This word “Muzak” is now commonly used in English to refer to recorded music played continuously in restaurant, places of work, etc．The company has carried over a hundred studies which show that background music can create a pleasant atmosphere and improve productivity(生产效率)．It must be used in the right way, though．If the type of “Muzak” is wrong, it may well cause an entire factory to sleep!