阅读理解

　　American scientist Morse Solomon has developed an unusual method to make meat softer．First, put a kilogram or more of firm meat in a container filled with water．Add a small amount of explosives．Then, mix carefully and explode．

　　No, Mister Morse is not attempting to destroy the meat．Instead, he is making it softer and also killing harmful bacteria．Mister Solomon is a meat scientist with the United States Agricultural Research Service．He began to explore the use of shock waves to soften meat ten years ago．His method is called the Hydrodynamic Pressure Process．The theory is simple．Shock waves from an explosion travel through water to the meat．The shock waves tear small pieces of muscle and other particles away from the meat．This makes the meat softer and easier to eat．The shock waves also reduce the amount of bacteria in the meat．The Department of Agriculture says the process could increase food safety for companies that sell meat．Uncooked meat may contain organisms such as the Escherichia coli bacteria, also known as E．coli．E．coli can make people sick if they eat meat that is not well cooked．The Hydrodynamic Pressure Process may help reduce concerns about harmful bacteria in meat．

　　Other American scientists attempted to improve the process．They used a thick-walled metal container that was buried in the ground．This device did not improve the quality of the meat as much as the simpler method．However, the scientists found there seemed to be fewer bacteria in the meat than before the process．Scientists had demonstrated that the Hydrodynamic Pressure Process could improve large pieces of meat．Next, they wanted to see if the process reduced bacteria levels in smaller pieces of ground beef that is used to make hamburgers．Their tests showed a reduction of bacteria in ground beef products．Other studies showed that ground beef containing E．coli had no measurable levels of the bacteria after the treatment．

　　The Hydrodynamic Pressure Process does not kill all bacteria in the meat, however．Mister Solomon says some good bacteria remain．The agricultural scientists say more studies are needed to see if the method could be used in the meat processing industry．

阅读理解

　　Kimberly Kirberger is the president and founder of Inspiration and Motivation for Teens, Inc．(I．A．M．for Teens, Inc．)a corporation formed exclusively(专有地)to work for teens．It is her goal to see teens represented in a more positive light and it is her strong belief that teens deserve(应受)better and more positive treatment．

　　She spends her time reading the thousands of letters and stories sent to her by teen readers and traveling around the country speaking to high school students and parents of teens．She has appeared as a teen expert on many television and radio shows．

　　Kimberly says that the College Soul book has been an amazing journey．In getting close to and hearing from so many teenagers she kept hearing about this very emotionally packed time that begins with application(申请)to college and extends through the four-year experience．It became clear to her that this was a time of life that was filled with many challenges(挑战)and that college students could really benefit from a book like this．For her, it was simply a continuation of a commitment(义务)that she has made to teenagers to do what she can to inspire and motivate(激发)them while letting them know there are people who believe in them．

　　Kimberly is the co-author of the bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and the New York Times bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Ⅱ, as well as Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Journal(期刊)．She is also the co-author of the forthcoming Chicken Soup for the Parent’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Ⅲ, and the author of Teen Love：On Relationships, a Book for Teenagers．

　　Kimberly started the Teen Letter Project with Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Health Communications, Inc．The Project is responsible for answering the heartfelt(真心真意地)letters received from teenagers and also reaching out to teens in trouble and encouraging them to seek professional help．

　　To book Kimberly for a speaking engagement or for further information on any of her projects, please contact：

本文是广告阅读。全文介绍了Kimberly Kirberger的有关儿童教育等方面的书。

阅读理解

　　BEIJING, Nov．25－If netizens, rather than a selected group of experts, could choose Nobel Peace Prizes, a Chinese scientist might be a winner．

　　An Internet post last Tuesday calling for Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping to be awarded next year’s Nobel Peace Prize got 20 000 votes by this Friday．Yuan is known as the “father of hybrid rice” in China．

　　A post written by a netizen called “Tiannan Dibei” on bbs．rednet．cn called for Yuan’s nomination．It cited Nobel Peace Laureate Mother Teresa in 1979 for her contribution to global charity, and Norman Borlaug in 1970 for his invention of a high-yield wheat useful for developing countries．

　　“The Nobel Peace Prize does not limit its winners to politicians and organizations devoted to the prevention of war, ” the post said．“It’s also open to people and organizations who try to eliminate problems and narrow the wealth gap．”

　　“Elimination of poverty and hunger is creating peace, ”it said．“With his extraordinary contribution to grain growth in the country and the world, Yuan is fully qualified for the prize．”

　　The Beijing News reported that a member of the Nobel Committee said in a meeting with students of Tsinghua Unversity in March that China is likely to make breakthroughs in the Nobel literature and peace prizes．

　　This year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank for their continuous efforts to grant small sum loans to the poor．

　　This Friday, more than 94 percent of more than 8500 people surveyed were in favor of Yuan getting the prize．

　　Yuan, a household name in China, is regarded as the most famous farmer in the country．He is noted for inventing a form of rice with a much higher yield than average crops．

　　With more than half of China’s paddy fields growing Yuan’s rice, his invention has fed millions of people in the world’s most populous country．

　　His “super rice” has also been introduced to more than 20 other countries．

本文以新闻体裁的形式报道了许多网民提议袁隆平为了世界的和平作出了巨大贡献，因此应该获得下一年的诺贝尔和平奖。

阅读理解

Tired of Working in Your Country？

　　With over 500 instructors and 20 years of experience, we are the leader in the field of teaching foreign languages．We now have positions open in Osaka starting September/October 2004 for instructors of English, German, Spanish and French．

　　·Teach many different kinds of classes using the latest technology in small classes of up to 3 students．

　　·Accommodation(住宿), and other necessary documents(文件)will be ready before you leave．

　　·Applicants will teach their first language only．

　　·Excellent teacher training programs．

　　If you are young with a university degree and are willing to experience different cultures, apply(申请)now．Experience in teaching is an advantage but not specially required．Knowledge of the Japanese language is not necessary but good English skills and practical computer knowledge are basic requirements．

　　Apply with C．V．and send letters to：

　　NOVA France, Mr．Sampy(IHT3/2)

　　34, Bd．Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France

　　Fax：33148014804

　　Or visit our website：www．teadyp．com

　　The manager expects to meet and talk with successful applicants in Paris in June and July．

阅读理解

　　Jenny loves office work but it’s hard on her figure．All those sandwich lunches and her sweet tooth added up to extra pounds till Jenny started slimming(减肥)with Bisks．

　　Every lunchtime she’d have a Bisks chocolate bar with a glass of milk．It filled her up and satisfied her longing for sweet things．And it was also convenient．

　　She watched what she ate at her other meals and soon she was losing weight．Now Jenny’s feeling looking so good even her boss notices the difference．

　　That was her proof that Bisks work．

　　Housewife

　　A lovely little girl and a hungry husband meant Elizabeth always cooked big, filling meals．And when she cooked them, she couldn’t resist eating them, which led to her weight getting out of hand．So Elizabeth tried slimming with Bisks．

　　Bisks offered her 24 different flavours of biscuits and chocolate．Some sweet and some savoury(咸辣的)．When she ate them instead of a meal they were really filling and satisfying．She hardly ever felt hungry and soon she began to lose weight．

　　Now Elizabeth’s back to what she weighed at her wedding．

　　And she knows that Bisks work．

　　Student

　　Sue’s first year at college was her first opportunity to cook for herself．Only she didn’t．She ate whatever the dining room had to offer．Pretty soon, Sue had a weight problem．A problem she worked out with Bisks．

　　Sue had Bisks instead of a meal－easy because there was nothing to cook．The Bisks flavours were so delicious, she really enjoyed them．And she ate more sensibly at her other meals．

　　In a few weeks Sue had lost her extra weight．Now she’s even taking a class in cooking!

　　That’s proof that Bisks work．

阅读理解

　　When you are working at a job, it is important to be a “team player”．A team player is one who works well with the other people on the job．Employers look for people who can get along with other employees and still get the job done．

　　There are many things you can do to be a good team player．By recognizing people’s differences in gender, age or culture, you show them that you respect them．Adding to other team members’ ideas to improve it lets them know that you think their ideas are good．

　　When working with others, be willing to compromise(妥协)．Come up with a way to solve the problem instead of demanding that your idea is used．Try to understand and add to the goals and mission(使命)of your team．

　　Show devotion to your team and show that you are committed to(忠于)the team’s growth and improvement．Help to develop and meet the team’s needs in the future．

　　Find a way to work in different conditions．Be able to adapt to(调整以适应)change within the work settings．Be responsible in accepting new work methods．

　　Following these suggestions will help you become a better team member and will help achieve better results on the job．

阅读理解

　　With kings, artists and writers playing chess, you might get the idea that chess is the most civilized game．But you’d be wrong．

　　A Scandinavian manuscript(手稿), 900 years old, tells of how one player, who lost a game, picked up the board and hit his opponent on the head with it．Boards were made of stone in those days．

　　Grandmasters have called it “a blood sport”, “like a fight to the death with broken bottles” and “very dangerous－you have to kill people”．

　　If you agree with the old saying that life is too short for chess, play blitz chess．Five minutes on the clock．Non-players think chess is slow and boring, but blitz is an extremely exciting sport．And as aggressive(进攻性的)as any martial art(武术)．In parks in Russia, where they gather in summer to play blitz, the players don’t just take pieces, they knock them off the board onto the ground．And in the classic game, even world championship players have been known to kick each other under the table．

　　With all this aggression, and the stories of nervous breakdowns among chess players, it’s worth remembering that chess can heal as well as harm．My own favourite chess story is that of John Healy．His autobiography(自传), ?The Grass Arena, was made into a great film by the BBC．Healy was a failed boxer who became the most serious kind of alcoholic(酒鬼)．He became homeless．The bottle nearly killed him．But in prison, he discovered chess, and managed to give up drinking completely．He is now a successful chess player, journalist and writer．

　　Healy is played in the film by the British actor Mark Rylance．It’s the performance of a lifetime－chess makes surprisingly good cinema．There is a moving scene where Healy tries to find the words to describe how his life has changed．“It’s like boxing again．．．but not with fists．．．with the mind．”

阅读理解

　　Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station．“The railway owes me ￡12, ”she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office．“You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night．So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel．It cost me ￡12．”

　　Harry was worried．He remembered selling the woman a return ticket．“Come into the office, Madam, ”he said politely．“I’ll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd．”

　　The woman and her little girl followed him inside．She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered．There was no sailing on May 22nd．How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day．Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child．“You look sunburnt, ”he said to her．“Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

　　“Yes,” she answered, shyly．“The beach was lovely．And I can swim too!”

“That’s fine, ”said Harry．“My little girl can’t swim a bit yet．Of course, she’s only three…”

　　“I’m four, ”the child said proudly．“I’ll be four and a half．”

　　Harry turned to the mother．“I remember your ticket, Madam, ”he said．“But you didn’t get one for your daughter, did you?”

　　“Er, well…”the woman looked at the child．“I mean…she hasn’t started school yet．She’s only four．”

　　“A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam．A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs…let me see…￡13.50．So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe ￡1.50．The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…”

The woman stood up, took the child’s hand and left the office．