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　　People in Britain and the USA are taking more interest in modern dance．Dance classes of all kinds are popular; the audiences going to watch modern dance companies are also larger．And perhaps the most popular modern dance company in Britain is the Ballet Rambert．The Ballet Rambert is Britain’s oldest established dance company which began in 1926．In the 60s the company lacked the money to go on staging big productions．The directors wanted to encourage new talent and to keep up their high standards．A change of direction was necessary．They decided to give the ballet a “new look” in 1966．The aim was to provide a chance for new talent－for musicians and designers as well as dancers－and to show dance as a contemporary art form．And although some of the company’s previous fans disliked the change, new audiences came to see the productions．The modern dance pieces and modern music found unexpected popularity．In 1968 the Ballet Rambert was a great success in London’s West End．The company became a focus for new, progressive talent in the arts．

　　Later, the Ballet Rambert started to introduce young people to modern dance by giving performances at schools, which again, was a success．The Ballet Rambert has managed to make modern dance popular while creating original and often avant-garde(标新立异的)productions．It can claim to be the oldest dance company in Britain and at the same time one of the most modern!

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　　Reading is the key to school success and it takes practice．A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other．A great athlete practices until he can play quickly, accurately, without thinking．Tennis players call that “being in the zone”．Educators call it “automatically”．

　　A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and decoding the words．With practice, he stumbles less and less．Then automatically, he doesn’t have to think about the meanings of the words, so he can concentrate on the meaning of the text．

　　It can begin as early as first grade．In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found automatic readers in the first grade who were reading almost three times as fast as the other children and scoring twice as high on comprehension tests．“It’s not IQ but the amount of time a child spends reading that is the key to automaticity, ” according to Rossman．You can test your child by giving him a paragraph or two to read aloud－something unfamiliar but appropriate to his age．If he reads aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, he probably is an automatic reader．If he reads haltingly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, he needs more practice．

本文是议论文。文章说明阅读是获得学业成功的关键，阅读需要实践。根据Rossman的研究，人们自觉性阅读的能力是在实践中逐渐养成的。

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　　If you want to know British culture, you’d better know something about her wedding customs．Here are some very famous, popular rhymes：

　　Monday for wealth

　　Tuesday for health

　　Wednesday the best day of all

　　Thursday for losses

　　Friday for crosses

　　Saturday for no luck at all

　　Married when the year is new, he’ll be loving, kind and true．

　　When February birds to mate, you wed nor dread your fate．

　　If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you’ll know．

　　Marry in April when you can, joy for maiden and for man．

　　Marry in the month of May, and you’ll surely rue(后悔)the day．

　　Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you’ll go．

　　Those who in July do wed, must labour for their daily bread．

　　Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see．

　　Marry in September’s shrine, your living will be rich and fine．

　　If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry(推迟)．

　　If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember．

　　When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last．

　　Married in White, you have chosen right,

　　Married in Blue, your love will always be true,

　　Married in Pearl, you will live in whirl(混乱),

　　Married in Brown, you will live in town,

　　Married in Red, you will wish yourself dead,

　　Married in Yellow, ashamed of your fellow,

　　Married in Green, ashamed to be seen,

　　Married in Pink, your spirit will sink,

　　Married in Grey, you will go far away,

　　Married in Black, you will wish yourself back．

　　To change the name and not the(first)letter

　　Is to change for the worst and not the better

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　　A hobby can be almost anything a person likes to do in his spare time．Hobbyists raise pets, build mode ships, weave baskets, watch birds, hunt animals, climb mountains, raise flowers, fish, ski, skate, and swim．Hobbyists also paint pictures, attend concerts and plays, and perform on musical instruments．They collect everything from books to butterflies, and from shells to stamps．

　　People take up hobbies because these activities offer enjoyment, friendship, knowledge and relaxation．Sometimes they even yield financial profit．Hobbies help people relax after periods of hard work, and provide a balance between work and play．Hobbies also offer interesting activities for persons who have retired．Anyone, rich or poor, old or young, sick or well, can follow a satisfying hobby, regardless of his age, position, or income．

　　Hobbies can help a person’s mental and physical health．Doctors have found that hobbies are valuable in helping patients recover from physical or mental illness．Hobbies give bedridden or wheel-chair patients something to do, and provide interests that keep them from thinking about themselves．Many hospitals treat patients by having them take up interesting hobbies or pastimes．

　　In early times, most people were too busy making a living to have many hobbies．But some persons who had leisure did enjoy hobbies．The ancient Egyptians played games with balls made of wood or pottery．

　　People today have more time than ever before for hobbies．Machines have reduced the amount of time they must spend on their jobs．Hobbies provide variety for workers who do the same monotonous(单调的)tasks all day long．More people are retiring than ever before, and at an earlier age．Those who have developed hobbies never need to worry about what to do with their newly-found leisure hours．

　　Sir William Osler, a famous Canadian doctor, expressed the value hobbies of hobbies by saying．“No man is really happy or safe without a hobby．”

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　　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 1 000 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．”

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　　On hearing the word “Just do it!”, you will know there is a Nike product nearby．If it’s “Always Coca-Cola”, you can be sure someone wants to sell you a refreshing drink．

　　An advertising slogan is to a brand what eyes are to a person．The slogan helps people understand the brand better by telling them what it wants to sell to its customers．Good slogans leave a message inside people’s minds．It’s almost certain that every brand has a popular slogan．

　　Here are a few examples：

　　“Just do it!”——This slogan speaks out to teens．It tells them to do something, but only if they think it’s worth it．And if so, why not to do it wearing Nike?

　　“Always Coca-Cola．”——Coke’s slogans change every few years, but this one has enjoyed a lasting popularity．Because it shows the brand’s spirit．It seems to say “Coke is the only drink there is; there are no other forms of drinks．”

　　“Share moments, share life,”——This slogan from Kodak connects photos and beauty．It asks people to remember the happy moments in life by taking photos of them——using Kodak film of course!

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　　Let us suppose it is now about A．D．2060．Let’s make believe it is about sixty years from now．Of course, things have changed and life is very different．

　　Voyages to the moon are being made every day．It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe．At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built．The hotels are air-conditioned naturally．In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window．Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment(娱乐)of young and old．

　　What are people eating now? People are still eating food．They haven’t yet started to take on heir(继承)supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power．They may some day．But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants．

　　Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planets surface has to be filled．The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests．The harvest is always good．

　　Farming, of course, is very highly developed．Very few people have to work on the farm．It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then．

　　People are now largely vegetarians(素食者)．You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animals decreases．Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases．No one has to be ill any more．

　　Such would be our life in 2060．

请同学们阅读下面的短文，然后完成后面的阅读任务。

　　What will man be like in the future－in 5 000 or even 50 000 years? We can only make a guess, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time．

　　Let us take an obvious example．Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today．Now, on average, men are about three inches taller．Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller．

　　Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal．Even so, we still make use of only about 20％ of the brain’s capacity．As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones．This is likely to bring about a physical change till the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger．

　　Nowadays our eyes are in constant use．In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses．But over a very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger．

　　On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs．These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker．At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life．

　　But what about hair? It will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer．In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald．

　　Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at．This may well be true．All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us．He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own．