阅读理解

　　Air quality in Shanghai worsened last week compared with the previous weeks, according to the latest report from the Shanghai Environment Monitoring Centre．

　　The average air pollution index(API)for sulphur dioxide(SO₂)remain almost unchanged from the previous week, but the APIs for nitrogen oxide(NO₂)and total suspended(悬浮)particles(TSP)rose by 35 and 27 percent．

　　The overall quality still belonged to class 2 category．Nitrogen oxide, caused mainly by vehicle exhaust and burning of cooking gas, was still the major pollutant of the week．

　　The Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Centre operates six automatic air monitors in the city’s Putuo, Yangpu, Luwan, Hongkou, Jing’an and Xuhui districts．

　　0～50：excellent

　　51～100：good

　　101～200：slight pollution

　　201～300：medium pollution

　　301～400：heavy pollution

阅读理解

　　Mt．Qomolangma was first conquered(征服)in 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing, his guide, became the climbers to reach the top．More than 750 times have people tried to conquer the mountain, but not all successful, yet every climber knows the dangers．This doesn’t stop teams of climbers arriving at the base camp every year with the courage of reaching the top．

　　Two such climbers, and two unlucky ones are Scott Fischer and Rob Hall．Fischer, an American guide with much experience, was lost in a terrible storm which swept across the mountain．A rescue team found him and his friend, but didn’t manage to bring Fischer to safety in the terrible conditions because he was dying．New Zealander Rob Hall, another experienced climber and guide, was lost near the top．These two men had something in common：they were both guides and always took a “tour” of less experienced climbers up the mountain．

　　There is a lot that can go wrong in an action to reach the top of Mt．Qiomolangma：a sudden change in weather conditions or a wrong turning．Planes will only be sent to rescue if they have been paid for in advance．In spite of all these there is a business in leading guided tours to the top．Wealthy mountain climbers can now pay 64 000 or more to achieve their aim．

　　Many people wonder how guides can look after their inexperienced climbers when they fail to keep themselves alive．Steve Bell, also a guide who has recently led a team to Mt Qiomolangma, believes that they are safer than others, because the guide can ask a weak climber to turn back at any point if he feels that climber is a danger to the team．

　　Whether these expeditions(远征)are safe or not, many climbers feel they have turned Mt．Qiomolangma into a business, like a park for the very rich people．One truth, however, will always remain：it doesn’t matter how much money you have, if you make a mistake on Mt．Qiomolangma, the possible result will be death．

阅读理解

　　A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office a street urchin(顽童)was walking around a shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked．

　　Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．”The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you anything．Boy．I wish…”He hesitated(犹豫)．

　　Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．

　　“I wish, ”the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that．”Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”

　　“Oh, yes, I’d love that．”

　　After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said：“Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

　　Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again, “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked．

　　He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled(残疾)brother．He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car．

　　“There she is．Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent．And some day I’m going to give you one just like it．．．then you can see for yourself all nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about．”

　　Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．

阅读理解

　　Herds of zebra, impala and giraffe from South Africa’s Kruger Park found a new home as part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park(GLTP)wildlife relocation project．

　　About 1000 animals, from the large blue wildebeest to the stocky warthog, have been relocated to the park straddling South African, Mozambican and Zimbabwean territory．

　　The game from South Africa arrived in the Massingir area of Mozambique’s southern Maputo province after a one-and-a-half-hour trip by truck．

　　South African National Parks chief executive Mavuso Msimang and the Peace Parks Foundation officially handed over the animals to Mozambican representatives．

　　“This project is not only about the management of an ecosystem, but also about community empowerment and tourism,” Msimang said．

　　Border fences are coming down with the establishment of the park, which will be the world’s biggest game reserve, to allow elephants and other herds to follow ancient migration routes．

　　The park, due to be officially opened next year, will be bigger than the Netherlands, covering some 38 600 square kilometers(15 440 square miles)．

　　Under a three-year plan, about 6000 animals are to be moved into the area, where wildlife was decimated(大批杀害)during Mozambique’s 25-year civil war．

　　African Wildlife Foundation community development officer Jeremiah Machavi said 62 communities living in the area would be affected by the establishment of Transfrontier Park．Tourists will be able to travel across international boundaries in the park without having to show their passports．

　　The relocation process started in October last year when about 30 elephants were released into the park．

阅读理解

Earthquakes are measured on a scale designed by U．S．scientist called Charles Richter．Each increase of one whole unit means a tenfold increase in intensity．That is to say, an earthquake of 7.0 is ten times more powerful than one of 6.0 and 8.0 earthquake is 100 times stronger than a 6.0 one．More than a million people died when an earthquake destroyed the eastern Mediterranean in July, 1201．The biggest killer in modern times was the 7.8 earthquake that destroyed Tangshan in China’s northeast in 1979, killing about 200 000 people．Following are the other major earthquakes over 8.0 in Asia in the 20th century．

阅读理解

　　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．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 1000 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 appeared 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．”

阅读理解

　　How would you like an easy way to earn ＄2500? All you have to do is to sit around and wait for your meals．There’s a catch however．You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week．There are no books or television or radio for amusement．You can’t leave until the week is up．And a camera will be recording your every move．

　　Two people actually took the job．The idea came from Rob Thompson, a video artist．He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated．His goal was to raise people’s awareness(意识)of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food．He decided to pay ＄5000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to live like chickens for a week．

　　To Rob’s surprise, quite a few people answered his advertisement．He had interviewed and selected Eric, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, and Para, a 24-year-old chemist．The plan was for them to spend seven days together in a chicken cage that was six feet long and three feet wide．A camera would record their experiences, which would take place in an art museum．

　The week was long and difficult．They slept on a hard wooden floor．They couldn’t stand up without hanging their heads．They ate vegetables and drank water from a garden hosepipe．Their only privacy was a toilet surrounded by a curtain．There were no sinks, mirrors, or toothbrushes in the cage．Their only inspiration was the two framed checks that hung on the wall outside the cage．Visitors who came here were warned, “Do not feed the humans．”

　　Finally it was over, and Para and Eric appeared from their cage．They had survived the week, and they each had a ＄2500 check in their hands．When Rob Thompson opened the cage, Eric came out, changed into clean clothes, and ate a chocolate bar right away．“It’s great to be able to stand up, ” he said．Para just changed her clothes and left．After a week of visitors and reporters watching her, she didn’t want to talk to anyone．

阅读理解

　　In a quiet and peaceful lane in the north of the centre of Beijing, Bamboo Garden Hotel and the Tingsonglou Hotel combine as an ancient Chinese style structure with ponds and bamboo and pavilions and corridors．It used to be the residence of Sheng Xuanhuai, a minister of post and communication during the Qing Dynasty(1644 -1911)．

　　Now available at Bamboo Garden Hotel are several suites in traditional Chinese style located at the center of the garden for both residential and business use．Free, unlimited broadband Internet and long-term leasing are available．

　　Add：24 Xiaoshiqiao, Jiugulou Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100009, China

　　Tel：(86 10)58520088　Fax：(86 10)58520066

　　Reservations：(86 10)58520088 ext 238

　　E-mail：sales@bbgh．com．cn; bbgh@bbgh．com．cn http：//www．bbgh．com．cn

CULTURAL CORNER

READING AND VOCABULARY