阅读理解

　　Some years ago, an American policeman found a woman lying near a lonely road．She did not appear to have an accident, but she was shaking and clearly in a state of shock, so he rushed her to the hospital．She began to tell the doctor on duty a story which was astonishing in all respects．

　　She had been driving along a country road when she had been stopped by a flying saucer landing in front of her．She had been forced to leave the car and enter the flying saucer by creatures which looked like human beings and which could easily make themselves understood although they could not speak．

　　They could read her thoughts and she could read theirs．They tested her politely and allowed her to leave after carrying out a number of tests on her．As she otherwise seemed to be normal, the doctor decided that she was probably suffering from the side effects(副作用)of some medicine．The woman insisted on being allowed to go home, but when she gave her address, it was in a town over a thousand miles from the hospital．The police then started to make inquiries(打听)and soon discovered that there was already a search going on for the woman, whose husband badly reported that she had disappeared．Her car had been found with the driver’s door open and the engine running．In front of the car the surface of the road had been completely destroyed－not by an explosion(爆炸)or anything of that kind, but as if a large, round, white-hot object had burnt through it．

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　　A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus．The conductor hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child．On seeing this, people began to talk．

　　“You know this conductor used to be very rude．Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior,”said a middle-aged man．

　　“Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company,”said a second passenger．

　　“That’s right,”another lady said,”I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor．”

　　Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said,“Excuse me, but can I know your name, please?Your excellent service must be praised…”

　　Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman’s lap interrupted,“I know his name．I call him Dad．”

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　　Stacy had recently moved from New York City to Stoneybrook, Connecticut．It was hard for her to make new friends but she finally had three when she joined the Babysitters Club to take care of little children whose parents were busy．Claudia, Kristy, and Mary were in her class at school and also the other members of the club．The girls met at five o’clock on Fridays and waited for the phone to ring．So far they had been busy, in spite of the fact that they couldn’t stay out late and were under 13．

　　Suddenly, the girls’ world was invaded(侵犯)by a second group calling themselves the Babysitters Agency．They were older and the group also included a few boys．The Babysitters Club tried to think of ways to compete with the older group．They could clean and work for less money, however, they knew it would be difficult to compete．The shock was even greater than they had expected when most of their best customers started to call the new group．They seemed to get only a few jobs．

　　To try a new policy, Kristy recruited(招收)a few older kids who told the club they didn’t want to share their money with the other group．The club found out only too quickly that these older girls joined only as spies(密探)and didn’t show up for their job assignments．Thus, more parents were unhappy with the club．

　　Finally, the girls realized that the kids in the other group were not good babysitters．They watched television, talked on the phone, and invited boyfriends to the house where they were sitting．When the children of the families started to complain, and a near accident almost occurred, the club went to parents to tell them what was happening．

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　　Your blood makes a round trip through your body in less than a minute, thousands of times a day．It travels through tubes called blood vessels．There are three main kinds of blood vessels－arteries, veins, and capillaries(毛细血管)．When blood is pumped out of your heart it goes into your largest arteries．These branch into smaller arteries, which branch into still smaller ones．The blood flows from the smallest arteries into your capillaries．

　　Capillaries are bridges between your arteries and your veins．They are the tiniest blood vessels, so small that you cannot see them without a microscope．Blood travels from the capillaries into tiny veins．These lead to larger and still larger veins．Finally, the largest veins take the blood back to your heart．

　　Blood feeds your cells, cleans them, and works to keep them healthy．It carries food and oxygen to every cell of your body．The food and oxygen get into your cells by passing through the thin walls of your capillaries．

　　Blood cleans all your cells by picking up wastes from them．The wastes pass from your cells, through the capillary walls, into your blood．The wastes called urea and uric acid are carried by the blood to your body and urine．The waste gas called carbon dioxide is carried by the blood to your lungs．It leaves your body when you breathe out．

　　Blood also protects you．It has special cells in it that fight germs．The cells in your blood that fight germs are called“white cells”．These are like an army for your body．They kill harmful germs that get into your blood．When a large number of germs enter your body, the number of white cell“soldiers”grows．A lot of blood moves to the area where the germs are．The white cell soldiers attack the germs and kill them．The used white cells and dead germs form the thick yellow liquid called pus．If the pus is inside a sore on your skin, it may leak out．

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　　Getting a new PC is one thing．Keeping it running smoothly is quite another．While a personal computer should continue to perform well for years, users know that system unsteadiness does exist．Yet you can reduce it to the smallest amout by following the tips below．

　　First, put in as little software as possible．You’ll have fewer software-related problems and the system is easier to manage．

　　Second, you should ensure that you have as much memory(RAM)in your PC as you need．If you run Windows 98, your computer should have at least 128 megabytes(MB)of RAM or more．You can also get by with 128 MB of RAM if you use Windows NT or Windows 2 000, but these operating systems will run much more smoothly if you have 256 MB of RAM or more．

　　Third, make sure you buy good hardware．No-name products may be cheaper and sometimes just as good as name-brand products, but name-brand products usually became well-known because of their steadiness．It’s wise to buy products from famous companies because Windows will more often support the hardware that you buy．If you are starting out with computers, it’s also a good idea to buy ready-made systems from major manufacturers(制造商)．They are likely to have been tested thoroughly with your operating system, and you will generally experience fewer problems．

　　Fourth, do prepare for disaster．No matter how well your system runs when you get it, the day will come when it will need to be replaced．Hopefully, you will replace it because technology has become outdated, but you may need to replace it also because the hard drive crashes or you begin experiencing problems that no one can figure out．That’s why it s important to copy your important information regularly．Whether you use a tape backup device or a CD-RW drive, it’s important to make a regular backup plan and stick to it．

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O．Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories．His real name was William Sydney Porter．He was born in North Carolina in 1862.As a young boy he lived an exciting life．He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know．When he was about 20 years old, O．Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs．He first worked on a newspaper, and then has a job in a bank．When some money went missing from the bank, O．Henry was believed to have stolen it．Because of that ,he was sent to prison．During the three years in Prison, he learned to write short stories．After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing．He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there．People liked his stories, because simple as the stories were ,they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the readers’surprise．

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　　Michael, a typical American, stays home on workdays．He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office．After work he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder or plays baseball on the computer．On many days, Michael doesn’t talk to any other human beings, and he doesn’t see any people except the ones on television．Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible．The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from contact with our fellow human beings．

　　The world of business is one area which technology is isolating us．Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home．With access(接通)to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents and accountants could do their jobs at display terminals in their own homes．They would never have to actually see the people they’re dealing with．In addition, the way employees are paid will change．Workers’ salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts(帐户)，making paper checks unnecessary．No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks．Personal banking will change, too．Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts．

　　Another area that technology is changing is entertainment．Music, for instance, was once a group experience．People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings．For many people now, however, music is an individual experience．Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them．Movie entertainments is changing, too．Movies used to be social events．Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie．Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home．Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms．

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　　In many businesses, computers have largely replaced paperwork, because they are fast, flexible, and do not make mistakes．As one banker said,“Unlike humans, computers never have a bad day．”And they are honest．Many banks advertise that their transactions are“untouched by human hands”and therefore safe from human temptation．Obviously, computers have no reason to steal money．But they also have no conscience(良心)and the growing number of computer crimes shows they can be used to steal．

　　Computer criminals don’t use guns．And even if they are caught, it is hard to punish them because there are no witness and often no evidence．A computer cannot remember who used it; it simply does what it is told．The head teller at a New York City bank used a computer to steal more than one and a half billion dollars in just four years．No one noticed this theft because he moved the money from one account to another．Each time a customer he had robbed questioned the balance in his account, the teller claimed a computer error, then replaced the missing money from someone else’s account．This man was caught only because he was a gambler．When the police broke up an illegal(非法的)gambling operation, his name was in the records．

　　Some employees use the computer’s power to get revenge(报复)on employers they consider unfair．Recently, a large insurance company fired its computer-tape librarian for reasons that involved her personal rather than her professional life．She was given thirty day’s notice．In those thirty days, she erased all the company’s computerized records．

　　Most computer criminals have been minor employees．Now police wonder if this is the tip of the iceberg．As one official says,“I have a feeling that there is more crime out there than we are catching．What we are seeing now is all so poorly done．I wonder what the real experts are doing－the ones who really know how a computer works．”

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　　Artificial(假的)flowers are used for scientific as well as for decorative purposes．They are made from a variety of materials, such as wax and glass, so skillfully that they can scarcely be distinguished from natural flowers．In making such models, painstaking and artistry are called for, as well as thorough knowledge of plant structure．The collection of glass flowers in the Botanical Museum of Harvard University is the most famous in North America and is widely known throughout the scientific world．In all, there are several thousand models in colored glass, the work of two artist-naturalists, Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolph．

　　The intention was to have the collection represent at least one member of each flower family native to the United States．Although it was never completed．It contains more than seven hundred species representing 164 families of flowering plants, a group of fruits showing the effect of fungus diseases, and thousands of flower parts and magnified details．Every detail of these is accurately reproduced in color and structure．The models are kept in locked cases as they are too valuable and fragile for classroom use．

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Love Creates Power

　　I don’t know how many good teachers there are in the world, but I feel it is deeply important for a student who is in trouble to meet a good teacher．

　　I had a math teacher who hates to see struggling math students．He always ridicules the slow students when he gets a chance．For example, the teacher looks down upon a student due to her failure in math．It’s not that this student is stupid but rather she has no interest in math．The math teacher always gives the girl the cold shoulder and says this girl is the stupidest student he has ever seen．One time this student got the lowest score on a math exam, the teacher made fun of her and then let other students guess who had the worst score．When that student had some questions to ask the teacher, he was impatient with her．

　　Finally, the girl said to me that paradise is very far from her．Every day she feels Eden, but there is no way to reach it．She feels that she is a tiny lantern which is placed into the water and will slowly drift out to sea until it can’t be seen．What a lonely vision that is!

　　All students have different abilities because each of them is unique．No one can foretell(预示)their future．The teachers should learn how to treat the slower students properly, how to encourage them and not to hurt their feelings．Please leave a bit of love for these special students．

　　“It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing．It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving,”said Mother Terasa．After all, love can create power．

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