阅读理解

　　For more than six million American children, coming home after school, means coming home to an empty house．Some deal with the situation by watching TV．Some may hide．But all of them have something in common．They spend part of each day alone．They are called latchkey children．They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work．And their bad condition has become a subject of concern．

　　Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school．She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry．A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys attached．I was constantly telling them to put them inside shirts．There were so many keys; it never came to my mind what they meant．” Slowly, she learned they were house keys．She and her husband began talking to the children who had them．They learned of the impact(影响)working couples and single parents were having on their children．Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone．One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared．Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety．

　　The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding．It might be in a shower stall, under a bed in a closet．The second is TV．They’ll often play it at high volume．It’s hard to get statistics on latchkey children, the Longs learned．Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone．

阅读理解

　　Most English people have two or three names, but some Spaniards have a lot more．

　　A Spaniard and his wife went to a foreign country in their car and drove around in it for several weeks．They always slept in big hotels in towns at night, but then something in their car broke．They took it to a garage, and the men there repaired it, but it took a long time, and the Spaniard and his wife were very late after that．

　　They did not reach a town that evening, but came to a small village in the middle of the night．They were very tired, and the next town was forty miles away．They got out of their car and looked for a hotel in the small streets．They walked around the village for a quarter of an hour, and then they found a small hotel．There were not any others in the village．

　　There were no lights in the hotel, but the Spaniard went to the door and knocked at it．He waited for a minute, but nobody came to the door．

　　He knocked again and waited another minute, but again no one came．

　　Then he found a bell and rang it．He rang it for several minutes, and then a window at the top of the hotel opened．An old man looked out of the window and said, “What do you want?”

　　“Good evening,” the Spaniard said “Have you got any free rooms? We’re very tired．”

　　It was very dark in the street, and the old man said, “Who are you?

　　The Spaniard said, “We are Don Ramon Roberto Nanuel Claudio Rodriguez Rafael Eduardo de Salas and Dona Maria Conchita Diana Marcelina Roberta Mercedes Manuela de Salas．”

　　The old man did not speak for a few seconds, and then he said, “There are a lot of you．This is a small hotel, and we haven’t got more than two free rooms．”Then he closed the window．

阅读理解

　　Children who use mobile phones risk suffering memory loss, sleeping disorders and headaches, according to research published in the medical journal(期刊)The Lancet．

　　Physicist Dr Gerard Hyland raised new fears over radiation caused by mobile phones and said under-18-year-olds, who represent a quarter of Britain’s 25 million mobile users, were more vulnerable(脆弱)because their immune systems(免疫系统)were less robust．

　　Radiation is known to affect the brain rhythms(节律)and children are particularly vulnerable．

　　The effect of microwaves(微波)from a mobile phone is a bit like interference on a radio．It has an impact on the stability(稳定)of cells in the body．The main effects are neurological(神经病学的), causing headaches, memory loss and also sleeping disorders．

　　He said there was too much uncertainty about the potential(潜在的)dangers of mobile phones．

　　“If mobile phones were a type of food, they simply would not be licensed(许可)because there is so much uncertainty surrounding their safety, ” he said．

　　Hyland’s findings came as the government carried out a new task force to study the possible risks of mobile phones．

　　A government commissioned(政府委托)inquiry into potential risks said in May that children should be discouraged from using mobile phones．

　　Fresh evidence about the impact of mobile phones on children’s brains follows research in early November showing that hands-free mobile phone kits(用品)can significantly boost(促进)the brain’s exposure to radiation．

　　Scientists agree that electromagnetic(电磁)radiation from mobile phones warms brain tissue(组织)although it remains unproven that they pose a human health risk．

　　But Hyland said the real risk was from low intensity(强度)radiation known as non-thermal(热的)radiation, not brain heating．

阅读理解

　　These strategies will help you learn how to take tests and show what you know．

　　MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS

　　Make the best answer from the list of choices for a multiple-choice test．

　　1．Read Test Directions Carefully?

　　Directions tell what you need to do．Words like best, always, only, all and never will help you find the correct answer．Sentences with those words are usually not true．

　　2．Plan Your Time

　　Pass over hard questions, If you have time, you can go back to them later．

　　3．Read Items(题干)Again

　　If you are not sure about an answer, read the item again．Think about all the answer choices．Which one seems best?

　　SHORT-ANSWER TESTS

　In a short-answer test, write a word, a group of words, or a sentence to answer a question; look for key words like who or what that tell you what to write in the answer．

　　PASSAGE-WRITING TESTS

　　For a passage-writing test, write one or more paragraphs to answer one question．

　　1．Study the Item and Key Words

　　Read the question two times or more．Look for key words that tell you exactly what to do．You might see prompts(提示)like these：

　　2．Plan Your Answer

　　Think about the key words and topic．Write everything you know about the topic on a piece of your own paper．This can help you organize your writing．

　　3．Write the Passage

　　Use the words in the prompts to write a beginning．Then use what you know about the topic to write your passage．

　　Write a topic sentence for each paragraph．

　　Write the important information in the body．

　　Read your passage before you hand it in．

　　You may try these strategies in today’s test．We hope you’ll have a great success．Good luck!

阅读理解

　　Weekend－one day out

　　A walk along the Wall

　　Beijing Hikers are organizing a hike in a village along the Great Wall in Changping District, north of downtown Beijing．The walk will take around three hours covering a distance of 10 kilometres．

　　Time：8∶30 am-4∶30 pm, Dec．4

　　Cost：200 yuan(US＄25)per adult, 150 yuan(US＄18.50)for under 12s．

　　Meeting place：8∶30 am in front of Starbucks at Lido Holiday Inn, Jiangtai Lu

　　To sign up(one day before the hike)and get more information, contact Huijie at info@beijinghikers．com or 139-100-25516．

　　Skiing and hot springs

　　Cycle China plans a day’s skiing fun at a resort around Beijing followed by an outdoor hot spring bath for your sore body．

　　Cost：350 yuan(US＄43.40)

　　Time：8 am-6∶30 pm, Dec．4

　　Location：Meet at the office of Cycle China, opposite the east gate of Jingshan Park, Xicheng District

　　For more information and reservation, email reserve@cyclechina．com or call 139-1188-6524．

　　Horse riding

　　This is a trip to a professional horse-riding club with well-trained bilingual instructors, offering lessons to people who love riding and those willing to learn more．The club is located in Hebei Province next to the Kangxi Grassland．

　　Time：1∶30 pm-4∶30 pm, Dec．4

　　Cost：330 yuan(US＄40.74)including one hour’s riding, transportation, guide, lunch

　　To sign up and get more information, contact Lucy at 8580-5080, 130-1117-1326 or lucy@highclub．cn．

阅读理解

　　You’re out to dinner．The food is delicious and the service is fine．You decide to leave a big fat tip．Why? The answer may not be as simple as you think．

　　Tipping, psychologists(心理学家)have found, is not just about service．Instead, studies have shown that tipping can be affected by psychological reactions to a series of different factors(因素)from the waiter’s choice of words to how they carry themselves while taking orders to the bill’s total．Even how much waiters remind customers of themselves can determine how much change they pocket by the end of the night．

　　“Studies before have shown that mimicry(模仿)brings into positive feelings for the mimicker, ” wrote Rick van Baaren, a social psychology professor．“These studies show that people who are being mimicked become more generous(大方的)toward the person who mimics them．”

　　So Rick van Baaren divided 59 waiters into two groups．He requested that half serve with a phrase such as, “Coming up!” Those in the other half were instructed to repeat the orders and preferences back to the customers．Rick van Baaren then compared their take-home．The results were clear－it pays to mimic your customer．The copycat waiters earned almost double the amount of tips to the other group．

　　Leonard Green and Joel Myerson, psychologists at Washington University in St．Louis, found the generosity of a tipper may be limited by his bill．After research on the 1000 tips left for waiters, cab drivers, hair stylists, they found tip percentages in three areas dropped as customers’ bills went up．In fact, tip percentages appear to plateau(达到稳定水平)when bills topped ＄100 and a bill for ＄200 made the worker gain no bigger percentage tip than a bill for ＄100．

　　“That’s also a point of tipping,” Green says．“You have to give a little extra to the cab driver for being there to pick you up and something to the waiter for being there to serve you．If they weren’t there you’d never get any service．So part of the idea of a tip is for just being there．”

阅读理解

　　Good tool design is important in the prevention of overuse injuries．Well-designed tools and equipment will require less force to operate them and prevent awkward(别扭的)hand positions．They will allow the worker to keep the elbows(肘)next to the body to prevent damage to the shoulder and arm．

　　Overuse injuries can therefore be prevented or reduced if the employer provides, and workers use tools as follows：

　　●power tools rather than having to use muscle(肌肉)power

　　●tools with specially designed handles allow the wrist(手腕)to keep straight(see the picture)．This means that hands and wrists are kept in the same position as they would be if they were hanging relaxed at a person’s side．

　　●tools with handles can be held comfortably by the whole hand．This means having a selection of sizes－remember that tools that provide a comfortable firm hold for a person with a very large hand may be awkward for someone with a very small hand．This is a particularly important consideration for women who may use tools originally designed for men．

　　●tools that do not press fingers(or flesh)between the handles and whose handles do not have sharp edges or a small surface area．

阅读理解

　　“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood．

　　One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for ＄1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door．

　　Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work．As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year．Bushes must be pruned(剪枝)in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later．It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant．A big mistake．

　　Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes．The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing(施肥)have turned the little plant into a tall bush．The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves．

　　Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回)my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won．I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June．But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light．

　　Here I am faced with a painful small decision：to tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses．Like Scarlett in ?Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow．

阅读理解

　　In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day．Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a Homecoming game．This can be the most important event of the year except graduation of commencement(毕业典礼)day．Students plan Homecoming day for many weeks in advance．

　　Several days before Homecoming, students start to decorate the school．There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the graduates．Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation．

　　The members of school clubs build booths(摊位)and sell lemonade(柠檬汁), apples and sandwiches．Some clubs help to welcome visitors．

　　During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago．Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school．

　　Everyone soon comes to watch the football game．When the game is half over, the band comes onto the field and plays school songs．Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears．All the students vote a most popular student Homecoming Queen or King．It is a great honor to be chosen．

　　Homecoming is a happy day but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game．Even if the team loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming．Some stay at the school to dance and others go to a party．For everyone it is a day worth remembering．

阅读理解

　　I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball．I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids．She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net．The boys always tried to stop her but no one could．

　　I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone, sometimes until dark．One day I asked her why she practiced so much．Looking directly in my eyes, she said without a moment of hesitation, “I want to go to college．The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship．I like basketball．

　　I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship(奖学金)．I am going to play college basketball．

　　My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．”

　　I watched her through those junior high years and into high school．Every week, she led her team to victory．One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms．I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her．Quietly I asked what was wrong．“Oh, nothing, ” came a soft reply．“I am just too short．” The coach told her that at she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team－much less offered a scholarship－so she should stop dreaming about college．

　　She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment．I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet．

　　She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong．

　　They just did not understand the power of a dream．He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing－her own attitude．He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．”

　　The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter(招生人员)．She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team．

　　It’s true：If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．