The young people who talk of the village as being“dead”are talking nothing but nonsense, as in their hearts they must surely know．

　　No, the village is not dead．There is more life in it now than there ever was．But it seems that“village life”is dead．Gone for ever．It began to decline(下降)about a hundred years ago．When many girls left home to go into service in town many miles away, and men also left home in increasing numbers in search of work, and home was where work was．There are still a number of people alive today who can remember what“village life”meant in the early years of the present century．It meant knowing and being known by everybody else in the village．It meant finding your entertainment in the village of within walking distance of it．It meant housewives tied to the home all day and every day．It meant going to bed early to save lamp-oil and coal．

　　Then came the First World War and the Second World War．After each war, new ideas, new attitudes, new trades and occupations were revealed(呈现)to villagers．The long-established order of society was no longer taken for granted．Electricity and the motorcar were steadily operating to make“village life”and“town life”almost alike．Now with the highly developed science and technology and high-level social welfare for all, there is no point whatever in talking any longer about“village life”．It is just life, and a better life．

　　Finally, if we have any doubts about the future, or about the many changes that we have seen in our lives, we have only to look in at the school playground any mid-morning;or see the children as they walk homeward in little groups．Obviously there children are better fed, better clothed, better educated, healthier, prettier and happier than any generation of children that ever before walked the village street．

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阅读理解

A question of good manners

　　The English are proud of their well-mannered and courteous(有礼貌的) behaviors．After living in London for many years, I have found the answer to how they became that way．

　　I remember clearly, when I was at primary school, I was taught good manners before anything else!

　　“Please”and“Thank you”were the most common words in the manners class．There was even a reward(奖励)system where the politest child would receive a badge(奖章)every week for being nice to the rest of the class．

　　As I grew older, I was given“physical and social health”lessons．These were used to teach teenagers how to behave in the adult world．They taught us how to deal with issues(问题)like money, responsibility(责任)，and relationships with other people．This helped us to grow into better people．In a way, the lessons taught us how to be more polite．

　　One of the topics that came up in these lessons was the issue of the“dreaded”(可怕的)opposite sex．I remember how all the boys giggled(咯咯笑)and laughed at the very thought of having a girlfriend or even speaking to one．The teachers soon taught us(boys)to respect the girls in our class and treat them with dignity(尊严)．No doubt this advice helped us in later life－it made sure that all the boys were courteous to women．My friends have used this information to help their social lives successfully．

　　I feel that being good mannered has become a part of English culture．Their good manners even attract tourists from all around the world!Many of them flock(大量涌入)to see the Queen’s Guards at Buckingham Palace(白金汉宫)，who are famous for being polite and professional．

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　　“Who made your T-shirt?”A Geoletdown University student raised that question．Piertra Rivoli, a professor of business, wanted to find the answer．A few weeks later, she bought a T-shirt and began to follow its path form Texas cotton from to Chinese factory to charity bin(慈善捐赠箱)．The result is an interesting new book, The Travel’s of a T-shirt in the Global Economy(经济)．

　　Following a T-shirt around the world in a way to make her point more interesting, but it also frees Rivoli from the usual arguments over global trade．She goes wherever the T-shirt goes, and there are surprises around every corner．In China, Rivoli shows why a clothing factory, even with its poor conditions, means a step towards a better life for the people who work there．In the colorful used-clotting markets of Tanzania, she realizes that,“it is only in this final stage of life that the T-shirt will meet a real market,”where the price of a shirt changes by the hour and is different by its size and even color, Rivoli’s book is full of memorable people and scenes, like the noise, the bad air and the“muddy-sweet smell(泥土香味)of the cotton,”she says．“Here in the factory, Shanghai smells like shallot water Texas．”

　　Rivoli is at her best when making those sorts of unexpected connections．She even finds one between the free traders and those who are against globalization．The changes opened up by trade are vast, she argues, but free markets need the correcting force of politics to keep them in check．True economic progress needs them both．

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　　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．

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　　The cost of medical care in the United States is very high．More time and money that doctors spend on their medical education is probably one reason for this problem．

　　A visit to a doctor’s office costs from 15 to 50 dollars．It is almost impossible for people to pay for the medical care they need．Many people in the United States think that doctors are overpaid．Most doctors, however, disagree．They say that they were required to study medicine for a long time．Tuition for many years of medical education costs a lot of money．Doctors say that it is necessary for most medical students to borrow money from bank to pay their tuition．Because their money must be repaid to the bank, young doctors need to receive a lot of money for their work．So, they charge(收费)people high prices for medical care．

　　Therefore, it is possible that the high cost of medical care in America is unnecessary, because high tuition is one cause of high costs．One way to lower costs would be to have medical schools that are free or have low tuition．

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阅读理解

　　I can remember a certain TV ad from when I was a child．In this ad, a happy housewife is polishing(擦亮)her table．The table is so shiny that we can see her smiling reflection in it．She’s so happy about her shiny table top!Does shiny furniture make people happy anymore?Does anyone even polish furniture anymore?I cannot remember the last time that I polished furniture．

　　People have less time for housework these days．They are lucky if they have time to wipe the crumbs(碎屑)off the table and put the breakfast dishes in the sink before they go to their jobs．

　　Because people have less time, many kinds of chores, like polishing furniture, just don’t get done anymore．Some people have studied changes in the use of cleaning products．From their studies, we can tell which chores aren’t getting done．For example, one study looked at differences in the types of housework people did between 2001 and 2006．In just ten years, there were many changes．

　　Some chores, like laundry, will never go away．In 2006, people used about the same amount of laundry detergent(洗衣剂)that they used in 2001．But polishing furniture seems to be less important than doing laundry．In 2001, 21 percent of homemakers used three or more cans of furniture polish in six months．By 2006, only 12 percent of homemakers used that much furniture polish．Carpet cleaning is another endangered chore．In 2001,9 percent of homemakers used three or more containers of carpet cleaner in six months．By 2006, only 5 percent of homemakers used that much carpet cleaner．And what about those ovens?Seventy-five percent of homemakers used no oven cleaner for six months in 2006!

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From age eight to eleven, I attended a small school in Bath, England．It was a small school of four classes with about twenty-five children in each class according to age．For most part, one teacher had to teach all subjects to the children in the class．However, sometimes the headmaster, Mr．Ronald Broaches, would come in and spend an hour or so, teaching some subjects in which he was especially interested．He was a large man with a very happy nature．He had a sense of humor(幽默感)and loved telling the children small stories that would make us laugh．He was a very nice man and had a great influence(影响)on many of the children．In my own case, I found that I enjoyed puzzles．He would often stop me as I was going to class and take a piece of paper out of his pocket, often with a puzzle already on it．The puzzles were usually mathematical or logical(逻辑的)．As time went on, they slowly got more difficult, but I loved them．Not only that, they made me interested in math and problem solving that stays with me to this day．They also showed me that intellectual(智力的)activity was enjoyable when the correct answers were found, but perhaps more importantly it was great fun．To this day, I can remember Mr．Broaches’ cheerful cry of“Well done!”whenever I got a problem right．The simple communication(交流)with a man whom I loved greatly has had a deep influence on my life．I shall forever be thankful that we met each other．Mr．Broaches died just two weeks after I had won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine．Unluckily, I had no chance to speak to him before he died．I learnt later that he had heard of my success and I will always hope that he knew the deep influence he had made on my life．

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　　My grandfather was a teacher．He was the headmaster of a school for boys between the ages of thirteen and eighteen．I know that he was a kind and gentle man at heart, because when I was young(and he was old), he gave me presents, and seated me on his knees, and told me stories, but I believe the boys at his school were afraid of him．

　　At school, when he walked into a room full of noisy boys, there was silence at once．When he looked at a boy with a certain look in his eyes, that boy went red in the face, and looked down at his shoes．If a boy brought him poor, careless work, which was not the best that boy could, my grandfather picked up the boy’s book and threw it across the room, shouting, “Do it all again, and bring it back early in the morning!” if the boy was late, or if he forgot to bring the work, he had to do it again and again, and yet again．My grandfather never forgot．

　　He was a very different man at school, from the man I saw day by day in his own home．

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