阅读理解

　　Although American and British English are the two major national varieties of the languages, with the largest numbers of speakers and the greatest impact(影响)worldwide, there are many other varieties of English used around the world．Today English is used as a first language, as a second language, and as a foreign language．Other important first-language varieties of English are those of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa．

　　English is extremely important as a second language in India and has official or semi-official use in the Philippines, Malaysia, Tanzania(坦桑尼亚), Kenya(肯尼亚), Nigeria(尼日利亚), Liberia(利比里亚), and other countries in Africa, the Caribbean(加勒比地区), the Pacific, and elsewhere．It is the international language of the airlines, of computer technology, of science, and indeed of communication generally．When a Japanese business firm deals with a client(客户)in Saudi Arabia(沙特阿拉伯), their language of communication is likely to be English．

　　English has more non-native speakers than any other language, is more widely disbursed around the world, and is used for more purposes than any other language．The extraordinary spread of English is not due to any inherent virtue, but rather to the fact that by historical chance it has become the most useful language for others to learn．

　　In the course of its spread, English has diversified(分化)by adapting to local circumstances and cultures, so there are different varieties of English in every country．However, because the heart of its usefulness is its ability to serve as an international medium of communication, English is likely to retain a more or less homogeneous(类似的)core－an international standard based on the usage of the United States and the United Kingdom．Yet each national variety has its own character and contribution to make to world English．

阅读理解

　　The incident took place on Sunday, the 25th of June．On that particular day, a south wind had been gusting(劲吹)on and off all morning．It was not strong enough to cause us any concern, so we carried on our daily work, not suspecting what was about to happen．

　　The storm gave us very little warning．Black clouds loomed over the distant horizon(地平线)so suddenly that we were taken by surprise．Even then, we were not really worried, as the clouds seemed to be moving over our house and towards the distant mountains．Then, just as the clouds had moved inland, the wind suddenly swung around in a full circle and we were facing a major storm．

　　Instantly, we were busily preparing for the worst．The whole family had experienced such a storm before and everyone remembered the damage it had caused to stock and crops．There was very little we could do about the crops．But we needed to protect the animals in case the river flooded again．My older brother called his sheep-dog and began driving our small flock of sheep to higher ground above the river．If the river flooded, they should be safe there．

　　In the meantime, my father was mending a shed roof that had partly fallen down after many years of fine service．

　　If the tin flew off, it could damage the house．My younger brother began hurriedly carrying firewood under the shelter．My job was to help Mum board up the windows．If the storm developed into a cyclone(旋风), the boards would protect the glass．

　　The storm raged for four hours, pouring more rain on us than we had seen in the last five years．As expected, the river broke its banks and came slowly up towards the house and the stock．

　　Then, just as we were beginning to lose hope, the storm stopped as suddenly as it had begun．The animals were safe, and the roof was still nailed on．“All’s well that ends well, ” said my mother．

阅读理解

　　American and British people both speak English of course．But sometimes it does not seem like the same language．In fact, there are some important differences between British English and American English．

　　First of all, they sound very different．Often, Americans don’t say each word separately．They say several words together．Americans may say “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know”．Or they may say “Whaddya say?” instead of “What did you say?” However, the British are more careful in their speech．They usually say all the words and keep them separate．

　　Sound is not only the difference between British English and American English．Words sometimes have different meanings too．Some American words are never used in England．The same thing is true of some British words in America．For example, the vocabulary for cars and driving is very different．Americans drive trucks, but in England people drive lorries．

　　Many expressions are also different in the two countries．In England, if you are going to telephone your friends, you “phone them up”．In America, you “give them a call”．When you are saying goodbye in England you might say “Cheerio!” In America you might say “See you later．”

　　There’re also some differences in grammar．For example, Americans usually use the helping verb “do” when they ask a question．They say “Do you have a storybook?” But the British often leave out the helping verb．They say “Have you a storybook?”

　　All these differences can be confusing if you are learning English．But most languages are like this．Languages change over time．When people live in separate places, the languages change in different ways．This is what has happened to English．It can also happen to other languages, such as French．Many people in Canada speak French but their French is very different from the French of France．

阅读理解

　　In many countries the standard of living enjoyed by their people has increased rapidly in recent years．Sadly, not everyone in these countries is so fortunate and many people in rich countries are homeless．

　　The reasons for homelessness are various, but poverty is undoubtedly one of the main causes．The homeless people may have become jobless and then been unable to pay their rent and so no longer have a roof over their heads．Often, the fact that unemployed people get help from the government prevents this from happening, but not always．

　　Some homeless people are mentally ill and have no one to look after them．Some are young people who, for one reason or another, have left home and have nowhere to live．Many of them have had a serious disagreement with their parents and have left home, choosing to go to a city and live on the streets．Sometimes they have taken such action because they have been unable to get on with a stepparent．

　　Many homeless people get into the habit of begging to get enough money to stay alive, but many of the general public refuse to give anything to beggars．Often they are moved on by the police, being accused, whether rightly or wrongly, of forceful begging．There are many who disrespect homeless people．

　　Some cynics(愤世嫉俗的人)declare that homeless people choose to live the life which they lead．But who would willingly choose to live in a shop doorway, under a bridge or in a cardboard box?

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　　“High tech” and “state of the art” are two expressions that describe very modern technology．High tech is just a shorter way of saying high technology．And high technology describes an invention, system or device that uses the newest ideas or discoveries of science and engineering．What is high tech?A computer is high tech．So is a communications satellite．A modern manufacturing system is surely high tech．High became a popular expression in the United States during the early 1980’s．Because of improvements in technology, people could buy many new kinds of products in American stores, such as home computers, microwave ovens, etc．

　　“State of the art” is something that is as modern as possible．It is a product that is based on the very latest methods and technology．Something that is “state of the art” is the newest possible design or product of a business or industry．A state of the art television set, for example, uses the most modern electronic design and parts．It is the best that one can buy．

　　“State of the art” is not a new expression．Engineers have used it for years, to describe the best and most modern way of doing something．Millions of Americans began to use the expression in the late 1970’s．The reason was the computer revolution．Every computer company claimed that its computers were “state of the art”．

　　Computer technology changed so fast that a state of the art computer today might be old tomorrow．The expression “state of the art” became as common and popular as computers themselves．Now all kinds of products are said to be “state of the art”．

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　　Darby, Pennsylvania－A Pennsylvania woman spent the better part of an hour shopping at a neighbourhood grocery store without realizing that a passer-by had stuck a knife into her neck．

　　Darlane Jones,62,set out from home on foot when a running passer-by slapped her on the back of the neck－or so she thought．She kept on going, as if nothing had happened．

　　Jones walked to the Acme supermarket in the nearby community of Yeadon, just outside Philadelphia．She bought a package of Oreocookies and a newspaper before making the half-mile return journey to her house．

　　Only after she got home did her daughter notice the handle of a kitchen knife sticking out of her mother’s neck．The daughter yanked(猛拉)out the blade, releasing a gush(涌出)of blood．She then rushed her mother to the hospital．She was in fair condition last Saturday．

　　“Five or six people walked right past her without even noticing,” said Darby Police Chief Robert Smythe．

阅读理解

　　When I was a boy, I belonged to the Boy Scouts(童子军),so I used to go camping every summer, and once something happened which I have never been able to explain．

　　We were camping in a river．After arriving, we all rushed down to the river and had a swim．Standing by the river, we noticed that it was surrounded by cliffs．If someone wanted to reach the river at this point, he had to walk past our camp．

　　Several days later, the scoutmaster had to be away for a day．That afternoon, we had supper early．We were sitting round the fire, eating and talking, when a man walked past and sat down towards the river．We all felt that this man looked very strange, but, because each of us was afraid of looking very stupid, no one said anything．

　　We ate rather slowly, taking as long as possible．After finishing, we collected our plates together so that we could take them to the river where we always washed them．But no one moved towards the river－we stood looking at each other ashamed．Then all shouting at once, we agreed how strange he looked and we wondered what he could be doing by the river．We knew that he could only return by passing through our camp．

　　An hour passed．Then one of the boys suggested we should creep(悄悄移动)down by the river so that we could see what the man was doing．Moving very slowly and keeping in the shadow, we crept down towards the bank．One boy climbed a tree so that he could see everything clearly．He called to us that there was no one there, so we ran down to the bank, looking everywhere carefully．We could not understand where the man had gone．

　　When it got dark, we went back to our camp feeling bewildered．We told the scoutmaster what had happened in the evening．Smiling, he doubted that we had seen the man, but finally suggested we go and look again, but there was no one there．

　　Many years have passed, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday．What did we see?I do not know．

阅读理解

　　Mars is not, it seems the dry old planet we once believed it to be．Astronauts who are expected to go there in the next ten years may find plenty of water to get their thirst away．If there is water, it will be much more possible to find life on Mars．

　　This is the view of 40 geologists who have been analyzing thousands of pictures and other scientific information gained by robot explorers in the 1960s and 1970s．

　　At first scientists thought the red planet was as lifeless as the moon with dust storms blowing over the large sandy deserts．But now the picture is very different with mountains and valleys cut by glaciers(冰川)and rivers running deep underground．

　　In a report on the analysis of the Martian pictures Dr Michael Car of the US says,“ I believe there is lots of water on Mars．” Water will be in the form of ice．But it could save explorers from having to take water with them．

　　The report says that Mars probably had a warmer climate in ages past, because of its axis(轴线)having been more tilted(倾斜)towards the sun．

　　No convincing signs of plant or animal life have been found by instruments soft landed on Mars although only nearby area of landing instruments could be examined．

阅读理解

　　Knowledge can be gotten from many sources．These include books, teachers and practical experience, and each has its own advantages．The knowledge we gain from books and formal education enables us to learn about things that we have no opportunity to experience in daily life．We can study all the places in the world and learn from people we will never meet in our lifetime, just by reading about them in books．We can also develop our analytical(分析的)skills and learn how to view and interpret(解释)the world around us in different ways．Furthermore, we can learn from the past by reading books．In this way, we won’t repeat the mistakes of others and can build on their achievements．

　　Practical experience, on the other hand, can give us more useful knowledge．It is said that one learns best by doing, and I believe that this is true, whether one is successful or not．In fact, I think making mistakes is the best way to learn．Moreover, if one wants to make new advances, it is necessary to act．Innovations(革新)do not come about through reading but through experimentation．Finally, one can apply the skills and insights gained through the study of books to practical experience, making a meaningful experience more meaningful．However, unless it is applied to real experiences, book knowledge remains theoretical(理论上的)and, in the end, is useless．That is why I believe that knowledge gained from practical experience is more important than that acquired from books．

阅读理解

　　What do successful people think? What drives them? Interviews and investigations(调查)show that there are several keys to success that successful people share．

　　First of all, successful people never blame someone or something outside of themselves for their failure to go ahead．They realize that their future lies in their own hands．They understand that they cannot control things in life, such as nature, the past and other people．But in the meantime, they are well aware that they can control their own thoughts and actions．They take responsibility for their life and regard this as one of the most empowering(给人以权力的)things they can do．Perhaps what most separate successful people from others is that they live their life “on purpose”?They are doing what they believe they are to do．In their opinion, having a purpose in their life is the most important element that enables them to become fully functioning people．They hold that when they live their life on purpose, their main concern is to do the job right．They love what they do and it shows．People want to do business with them because of their commitment(投入, 献身)．To live their life on purpose, successful people find a cause they believe in and create a business around it．Besides, they never easily give up．Once they have set up goals in their life, they’re willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals．Top achievers always bear in mind what they don’t have forever．

　　Rather than seeing it negative(消极的)or depressing, successful people always use the knowledge to spur themselves on and go after what they want energetically and passionately．