阅读理解

　　Recorded background music first found its way in factories, shops and restaurants in the USA．But it soon spread to other parts of the world．Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to music．

　　The best-known supplier of background music is an American company called “Muzak”．This word “Muzak” is now commonly used in English to refer to recorded music played continuously in restaurants, places of work, etc．The company has carried over a hundred studies which show that background music can create a pleasant atmosphere and improve productivity(生产效率)．It must be used in the right way, though．If the type of “Muzak” is wrong, it may well cause an entire factory to sleep!

阅读理解

　　Eric liked to save pennies．Whenever his grandfather came to visit, he told Eric that he could have all the pennies in his pocket．Grandpa always had quite a few．

　　He filled a small box with pennies．Then he put some into an empty bottle．The bottle was soon full of pennies, so he started another one．

　　When his uncle came to visit, Uncle Alan said, “What are you going to do with all those pennies, Eric? A penny doesn’t buy much these days．Maybe you should start a collection．”

　　Uncle Alan took him to a store, and they bought two books．One book had little spaces for pennies made in different years．The other one told how much money a coin dealer would pay for rare pennies．Eric was amazed that a penny sometimes was worth much more than one cent．

　　“Let’s look through your pennies and see what you have here, ” Uncle Alan said．

　　They looked at the dates on the pennies and sorted them into piles by the years in which the pennies were made．Eric then chose the best one from each year to put into his collection book．He soon filled up most of the space with pennies．

　　One penny, however, was different．It was one Eric had found in his own backyard under a big bush．It had been there for a long, long time．He checked the date on the penny, and then looked into the book that told the value of pennies．

　　“Thirty dollars,” the book said! Not many pennies had been made that year, so each one was rare．

　　“Well, what are you going to do, Eric?” his uncle asked：“Are you going to sell it so that you can have a lot of money?”

　　Eric thought of all the things he could buy with that much money．Then he said, “No, I would rather keep the penny as my own．”

阅读理解

　　There has never been a better time to fly Freedom Airlines．

　　Fly Freedom for ＄98 or Less

　　Are you planning a vacation this summer? You should, because now you can fly anywhere Freedom Airlines does for only ＄98 or less(each way with round trip purchase)．

　　In a survey(调查)conducted by Travel World magazine, Freedom Airlines ranked #1 in customer satisfaction．

　　Customer Satisfaction Survey

　　Travel World Magazine

　　Don’t miss out on this great opportunity．Simply purchase your round trip ticket at least seven days in advance．You must pay for your ticket within 24 hours after making the reservation．Travel must be completed by August 31．Other restrictions(限制)are listed below．

　　Call your travel agent now．Remember, seats are limited．There may be no ready seats on some flights during busy travel times and holiday periods．

　　Restrictions：Your travel plans must include a stayover of at least one night．If your travel plans change, your airline fare cannot be refunded, but the value of the ticket can be applied toward future travel on Freedom Airlines．Fares do not include airport and federal taxes．

阅读理解

　　It is not always easy to understand inventions and new developments in science．To understand fiber optics(光纤), however, you can try an experiment．

　　Put a drop or two of milk into the glass of water．Turn off the lights．Shine the light from your flashlight(手电筒)through the top of the glass at an angle(角度)of about 45 degrees．Put a piece of white paper against the glass when the beam(光束)of light is shining．Move the paper so you can see where the beam is coming out of the glass．You should see a spot of light．Some of the light has passed through the water and through the glass．You see it on the paper．You also see another beam going down into the glass．It is being reflected down into the glass．

　　Next move the flashlight so that the beam is coming straighter down(30 degrees)into the water．You will see the same phenomenon：some of the light is reflected back into the glass．And some escapes out．Now move the beam of light from the flashlight slowly up until you cannot see any light escaping．This point is called the “point of total internal reflection．” The word internal means “inside．” All the light is staying inside the glass．There is no beam showing a bright spot on the white paper．All the light energy is inside the glass．

　　The glass of milky water is like a strand(线)of glass．A fiber optic tube is a bundle of long thin strands of glass．The principle(原理)is the same：At a certain angle, all the light energy that goes into the glass fiber comes out the other end．

　　Light is energy．Sound is energy．Radio waves and electricity are both energy．They can all be changed into light, and as light they can all travel along a glass fiber．Light travels at the rate of 186 000 miles per second．Therefore, a message can travel that fast in a glass fiber．This is the principle, or law of nature, that makes fiber optics work．

阅读理解

　　Most of us are used to seasons．Each year, spring follows winter, which follows autumn, which follows summer, which follows spring．And winter is colder than summer．But the earth goes through temperature cycles over much longer periods than those that we experience．

　　Between 65 000 and 35 000 years ago, the planet was much colder than it is now．During that time the temperature also changed a lot, with periods of warming and cooling．Ice melted during the warm periods, which made sea levels rise．Water froze again during the cold periods．

　　A new study from Switzerland sheds light on where ice sheets melted during the ice age．

　　It now seems that the ice melted at both ends of the earth, rather than just in either northern or southern areas．This surprised the researchers from the University of Bern．

　　Scientists have long assumed(认为)that most of the ice that melted was in the Northern hemisphere(半球)during the 30 000-year-long ice age．That belief was held because the North Pole is surrounded by land, while the South Pole is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean．It is easier for ice sheets to grow on land．If surrounded by sea, the ice can easily just slip to the ocean instead of building up．

　　The researchers used a computer model to look at the ways the ice could melt and how it might affect sea levels．They compared these results to evidence(迹象)of how temperatures and currents actually changed during that time．

　　The model showed that if it was only in the Northern hemisphere that ice melted, there would be a bigger effect on ocean currents(洋流)and sea temperatures than what actually happened．Studies suggest that melting just in the Southern hemisphere would have been impossible, too．

　　The only reasonable conclusion, the scientists could make, was that the ice melted equally in the North and the South．

　　It is still a mystery(谜)as to what caused the temperature changes that caused the ice to melt．

阅读理解

What is True Friendship？

　　Friends are very important in people’s lives．No one can live alone in the world without friends．I think it’s easy to make friends with other people and build a friendship between each other．However, I think it is not easy to get a true friendship．

　　So what is true friendship? In my opinion, a true friendship includes four aspects(方面)．

　　First of all, a true friendship requires people to treat their friends truthfully and believe each other．In other words, you must not take advantage of your friends, trust but not cheat them．For example, some people make friends in order to cheat money and emotion, or obtain(获取)a certain secret．I think these are all not true friendship．

　　Second, true friends must try their best to help each other．For instance, a true friend will use personal connections to help a friend get something hard to obtain such as a job, an appointment with a good doctor, an easier path through an official procedure(步骤)or an introduction to another person who might also be able to give help．If a friend is indeed in need of money to escape from some trouble or buy some necessary things, true friend might give each other money and help each other out financially over a long period of time．

　　Third, friends must share their happiness and sadness as well．One of the greatest men once said：“If you tell your happiness to your friend, you will get double happiness．If you tell your sadness to your friend, you will get half sadness．” It is true．A true friend will give you comfort and emotional support when you are sad．

　　Fourth, a true friendship is a relationship that endures(经得起)through changes in the lives of the friends．People expect their friendship to stay the same over a long period of time, maybe for a lifetime, no matter where and when they are．

　　In a word, a true friendship must depend on people to believe each other, help each other, and share their happiness and sadness to each other．

阅读理解

　　When did you last see a polar bear？On a trip to a zoo, perhaps? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club．These “Polar Bears”people meet frequently in the winter swam in freezing cold water．That day the air temperature was 3 degrees．And the water temperature was a little higher．The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60．Members must satisfy two requirements．First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club．Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February．

　　Doctors don’t agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming．Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body’s temperature drops so low that finally the heart stops beating．Other doctors, however, point out that there is a greater danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and the water temperature is much greater in summer than in winter．

　　The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming．They say their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm．Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water．A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and could not try cold-water swimming．

　　The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental．The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round．They find it fun and relaxing．As one 70-year-old woman says, “When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away．”

阅读理解

　　Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas．I stopped at a gas station(加油站)about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend．While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas．

　　I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car．I stopped and wondered what I should do．A car pulled up behind me．It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station．They said they would take me to my friend’s．We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card．

　　I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me．Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them．Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful．

　　Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning．In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池)was dead．Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership－a shop selling cars－was right next door．I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom．

　　“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford? ”I asked and explained my trouble．They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it．They would accept no payment; so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks, I received a letter back from one of the salesmen．“No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, ”he said．

　　“Thank you”－two powerful words．They’re easy to say and mean so much．

阅读理解

　　Next to the Castle lies The Hub, home of the Edinburgh international festival and one of the most talked about spots in town．Our Café in open every day for mouth-watering lunches, snacks and fine dining．Come in and enjoy the atmosphere of The Hub or watch the world go by from our beautiful terrace．

　　The Hub, Castlehill, Royal Mile, Edinburgh．Open every day from 9∶30 a. m. till late．Tel：0131 473 2067 www．Thehub-edinburgh．com

　　Enjoy being “A Farmer for a Day”．Join in delivering and feeding our spring babies-bottle feeding sessions twice daily．Fun for all family．Horse Rides, BMX Bikes Cross Country Course, Tractor through 600 acres, New Adventure Playground, Nature Trails．Full details on website．

　　Open：May-Oct．Wednesdays to Saturdays and daily during school holidays 11 a. m．-5 p. m．

　　Tel：01797 260256/260321 www．farmworld-rye．Co．uk

　　Are you curious, creative and energetic? Are you interested in the new media? Are you between 12 and 19 years of age? Then Join Multimedia 2006 is for you!

　　Your challenge will be to build a team and develop a multimedia presentation in English-based on one of three different topics．You can register(报名)between May 1 and June 15, 2006 and will have to turn in your entry before September 15, 2006．

　　The rewards are wonderful, ￡150 000 in prize for schools and the chance to attend a European student camp-plus new experiences, an opportunity to make friends throughout Europe!

　　For further information and registration forms go to：www．Siemens．Com join．Multimedia．

阅读理解

　　Dr．Hausman is a hair detective．Once a mountain lion killed a thirteen-year-old boy．The town offered a reward of thousands of dollars for anyone who would kill the lion．

　　One day an excited hunter came to the town to say that he had killed the mountain lion．As proof that he had killed the right animal, he showed a ball of human hair．He said he had taken the hair from the stomach of the mountain lion．

　　However, another hunter soon showed up to claim(索要)the reward．He too had a ball of human hair that he said he had taken from the dead lion’s stomach．The town did not know which man to pay．Maybe neither one had killed the right mountain lion．To settle the argument, they decided to turn the whole thing over to Dr．Hausman．

　　Dr．Hausman studied the hair and reported that the second hunter should be paid．The hair in the stomach of the mountain lion he had killed matched the hair of the boy．The whole town was relieved to know for sure that the killer had been found．

　　There are other kinds of detectives who do not wear uniforms, like Hausman, solve endless mysteries every year．There is, for example, the dust detective．Tiny bits of dust stick to your clothes, your fingernails, your hair, or your shoes．They catch in your nose and in your ears．They tell where you have been and what you have done lately．The dust detective often helps catch a criminal by proving that he has been on the scene of the crime(罪案)．

　　Then there is the wood detective．By studying a piece of wood he can tell what kind of tree the piece of wood came from．He can tell where it was grown, and how old it is．He can even tell you what the weather was like at a certain place the year Columbus landed in America．The growth rings on a tree tell him．