阅读理解

　　As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food．Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more．

　　Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes．They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children．But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make．That can have an important effect on the children．“In general the more question－asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says．“And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is．”

　　The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹)．Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention．“Middle children are invisibles, ” says Lewis．“When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child．” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention：“When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event．”

阅读理解

　　Treasure hunts(寻宝)have excited people’s imagination for hundreds of years both in real life and in books such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island．Kit Williams, a modern writer, had the idea of combining the real excitement of a treasure hunt with clues(线索)found in a book when he wrote a children’s story, Masquerade, in 1979．The book was about a hare, and a month before it came out Williams buried a gold hare in a park in Bedfordshire．The book contained a large number of clues to help readers find the hare, but Williams put in a lot of “red herrings”, or false clues, to mislead them．

　　Ken Roberts, the man who found the hare, had been looking for it for nearly two years．Although he had been searching in the wrong area most of the time, he found it by logic(逻辑), not by luck．His success came from the fact that he had gained an important clue at the start．He had realized that the words：“One of Six to Eight ”under the first picture in the book connected the hare in some way to Katherine of Aragon, the first of Henry Ⅷ’s six wives．Even here, however, Williams had succeeded in misleading him．Ken knew that Katherine of Aragon had died at Kimbolton in Cambridge shire in 1536 and thought that Williams had buried the hare there．He had been digging there for over a year before a new idea occurred to him．He found out that Kit Williams had spent his childhood near Ampthill, in Bedfordshire, and thought that he must have buried the hare in a place he knew well, but he still could not see the connection with Katherine of Aragon, until one day he came across two stone crosses in Ampthill Park and learnt that they had been built in her honor in 1773．

　　Even then his search had not come to an end．It was only after he had spent several nights digging around the cross that he decided to write to Kit Williams to find out if he was wasting his time there．Williams encouraged him to continue, and on February 24th 1982, he found the treasure．It was worth ￡3000 in the beginning, but the excitement it had caused since its burial made it much more valuable．

阅读理解

　　This girl is almost without shelter．She may not realize it, but she’s more exposed to the world than she’s ever likely to be again．And it isn’t because she’s a girl．It could be a boy．It could be you．

　　But why is she shelterless?She’s got a place to live in quite a pleasant place by the look of it and if shelter doesn’t mean a house, then what does it mean?When we say someone “lives a sheltered life”, we don’t only mean that their house is comfortable．We mean that they’re protected from too many worries and troubles, that they live in a settled home, probably surrounded by friends and family, and that they don’t have to cope with(应付)the difficulties the world is full of alone．

　　Certainly no one would say that this girl was leading a sheltered life;she’s leaving home to earn her living in a strange city and live by herself in a bedsitter．She may be just as well protected physically as a “sheltered life” person, but she’s lost all the other shelters in her life－family, friends, the home she grew up in, school, the groups she belonged to．She’s on her own now and unless she’s very self-reliant(信赖自己的), she’s likely to feel unhappy and insecure(不安全的)at times．

　　A young person setting out on her own like this is between the two main kinds of shelter most of us spend our lives in．One is our parents home where we grow up, and the other is the home we make ourselves and where we bring up our own children．For most people the time they spend between or outside these two shelters is only a small part of their lives．

阅读理解

　　Each child has his individual(个人的)pattern of social, as well as physical, development．Some of it depends on his home life and his relationships with the people who love him．Children in large families learn how to get along with others through normal brother-sister play and tussles(打斗)．An only child, on the other hand, may have to learn his lessons in social living through hard experiences on the playground or in the classroom．Twins who always have one another to learn on may be slow in responding to others because they do not need anyone else．

　　A child who is constantly scolded and made to feel he does everything wrong may have a difficult time developing socially．He may be so afraid of displeasing the adults around him that he keeps to himself(where he can’t get into trouble)or he may take the opposite route and go out of his way to create trouble．Like the deserted child, he too may return to infantile(幼稚的)pleasures, developing habits that will satisfy him, but create barriers(障碍)toward social contact．

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　　He was the baby with no name．Found and taken from the north Atlantic 6 days after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, his tiny body so moved the salvage(救援)workers that they called him “our baby”．In their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, people collected money for a headstone in front of the baby’s grave(墓), carved with the words：“To the memory of an unknown child．” He has rested there ever since．

　　But history has a way of uncovering its secrets．On Nov．5, this year, three members of a family from Finland arrived at Halifax and laid fresh flowers at the grave．“This is our baby, ” says Magda Schleifer, 68, a banker．She grew up hearing stories about a great-aunt named Maria Panula, 42, who had sailed on the Titanic for America to be reunited with her husband．According to the information Mrs．Schleifer had gathered, Panula gave up her seat on a lifeboat to search for her five children－including a 13-month-old boy named Eino from whom she had become separated during the final minutes of the crossing．“We thought they were all lost in the sea, ” says Schleifer．

　　Now, using teeth and bone pieces taken from the baby’s grave, scientists have compared the DNA from the Unknown Child with those collected from members of five families who lost relatives on the Titanic and never recovered the bodies．The result of the test points only to one possible person：young Eino．Now, the family sees：no need for a new grave．“He belongs to the people of Halifax, ” says Schleifer．“They’ve taken care of him for 90 years．”

　　Adapted from People, November 25, 2002

阅读理解

　　How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups, and old people wishing they were young again．Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets．

　　Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult．If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do．It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return．In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child－things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known．But a child has his parents．He is not so free to do what he wishes to do;he is continually being told not to do things or being punished for what he has done wrong．When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably．If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry．And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison．If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society．

阅读理解

　　Every day we go to school and listen to teachers, and the teacher will ask us some questions．Sometimes, the classmates will ask your opinions of the work of the class．When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying．You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends－you are in a situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say．You must speak so that they can hear you loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself．

　　Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you．The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease ordinary conversation but the situation is somewhat different from that of an ordinary conversation．You must take special care that you can be heard．

阅读理解

　　In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day．Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game．This can be the most important thing of the year except graduation or commencement(颁授学位典礼)day．Students plan Homecoming Day for many weeks before the day．

　　Several days before Homecoming, students start to decorate(装饰)the scho　　ol．There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the students．Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after they leave school．

　　During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago．Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school．

　　Everyone soon comes to watch the football game．When the game is half over, the band(乐队)comes onto the field and plays school songs．Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears．All the students vote a most popular student Homecoming Queen or King．It is a great honor to be chosen．

　　Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game．Even if the team loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming．Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party．For everyone it is a day worth remembering．

阅读理解

　　We live in an era(时期)of specialization．To really succeed it is necessary to be an expert in one particular field．That leaves little chance for someone to become a well-rounded person．And a person who has good ability in several areas without being exceptional in any has little chance of real success．For the most part the Renaissance(文艺复兴时期), man is not to be found in our modern world．We are all poorer for it．

　　There was a time when a well-rounded person was most highly respected．He was looked up to and admired as a complete man．Leonardo do Vinci was such a man．A painter, a poet, a sculptor(雕塑家), he also gave us such basic concepts of our modern life as the helicopter．Of course he was an exceptionally brilliant man－a true genius．But he is only one representative of his era．There were lots of other men very similar to him in attitude if not in talent．Such a man was truly human．

　　Unfortunately the situation is different today．It’s not so much that we no longer respect such a man．That kind of man simply has too hard a time surviving in our competitive world．Even a specialist like Nixon cannot survive．One of the few Renaissance Men we hear about today is John Galbraith．He may not be a Kennedy or a Kissinger, but only because he excels(超越)them．Here is someone for the man-in-the-street to look up to．

阅读理解

　　He wishes the holiday season would end already．His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit, his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours－and still the kids keep coming and coming, like ants at a picnic．As Christmas becomes more commercialized(商业化)across the U．S．and Canada, so must Santas．As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen．

　　The questions from children these days are harder than ever．Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable．For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”

　　Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued(指控)．A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story：A Santa had a girl on his knee, and he commented, “You have nice eyes and nice hair．” The girl later said it was sexual harassment(骚扰)．When a Santa feels anxious, he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do：The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended．Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again．