阅读理解

　　An environmental group called the Food Commission is unhappy and disappointed because of the sale of bottled water from Japan．The water, it angrily argues an public, has traveled 10,000 "food miles" before it reaches Western customers．"Transporting water halfway across the world is surely the extremely stupid use of fuel when there is plenty of water in the UK．" It is also worried that we are wasting our fuel by buying prawns(对虾)from Indonesia(7,000 food miles)and carrots from South Africa(5,900 food miles)．

　　Counting the number of miles traveled by a product is a strange way of trying to tell the true situation of the environmental damage done by an industry．Most food is transported around the world on container ships that are extremely energy-efficient(高能效的)．It should be noted that a ton of butter transported 25 miles in a truck to a farmers'market does not necessarily use less fuel on its journey than a similar product transported hundreds of miles by sea．Besides, the idea of "food miles" ignores the amount of fuel used in the production．It is possible to cut down your food miles by buying tomatoes grown in Britain rather than those grown in Ghana; the difference is that the British ones will have been raised in heated greenhouses and the Ghanaian ones in the open sun．

　　What the idea of "food miles”does provide, however, is the chance to cut out Third World countries from First World food markets．The number of miles traveled by our food should, as I see it, be regarded as a sign of the success of the global(全球的)trade system, not a sign of damage to the environment．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Some people don't believe that driving more slowly can save lives．But the truth is that driving more slowly can help a person to avoid serious accidents．

　　The following chart shows the distance that it takes to stop a car at a given speed．The distance is measured in feet．The shaded area shows the driver's thinking distance．That's the distance it takes for the driver to react to a danger that he sees．The white area shows the car's braking distance．That's the distance it takes for the car to stop once the brakes(闸、刹车)are used．The number at the top of each bar shows the total number of feet that it takes to stop the car

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling．No school I have ever taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill．There are, however, different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority(优先)it must be given over general language development and writing ability．The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities(复杂性)of spelling．

　　If spelling becomes the only focal(焦点的)point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to "play safe"．He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language．That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability．

　　I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience．"This work is terrible!There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is terrible．"It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil's technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child's deep feelings．The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Long after the 2002 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still blaming the disputed(受置疑)refereeing(裁判)decisions that denied victory to their team．A researcher was appointed(任命)to study the performance of some top referees．

　　The researcher organized an experimental match involving four youth teams．Each match lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 minutes during which different referees were in charge．

　　Observers noted down the referees'errors, of which there were 61 over the match．Changed to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, a remarkably high number．

　　The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyze(分析)the matches in detail．Surprisingly, he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident．When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action．The average distance in the case of errors was 12 meters．The research shows the best is about 20 meters．

　　There also seemed to be a best speed．Correct decisions came when the referees were moving at a speed of about 2 meters per second．The average speed for errors was 4 meters per second．

　　If FIFA, football’s international ruling body, wants to improve the standard of refereeing at the next World Cup, it should encourage referees to keep their eyes on the action from a distance, rather than rush to keep up with the ball, the researcher argues．

　　He also says that FIFA’S insistence that referees should retire at age 45 may be misguided．If keeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical(挑剔)．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Good tool design is important in the prevention of overuse injuries．Well-designed tools and equipment will require less force to operate them and prevent awkward(别扭的)hand positions．They will allow the worker to keep the elbows(肘)next to the body to prevent damage to the shoulder and arm．

　　Overuse injuries can therefore be prevented or reduced if the employer provides, and workers use：

　　●power tools rather than having to use muscle(肌肉)power

　　●tools with specially designed handles that allow the wrist(手腕)to keep straight(See figure 1)．This means that hands and wrists are kept in the same position as they would be if they were hanging relaxed at a person’s side

　　Figure1．Bend the tool, not the wrist

　　●tools with handles that can be held comfortably by the whole hand．This means having a selection of sizes－ remember that tools that provide a comfortable firm Hold for a person with a very large hand may be awkward for someone with a very small hand．This is a particularly important consideration for women who may use tools originally designed for men．

　　●tools that do not press fingers(or flesh)between the handles, and whose handles do not have sharp edges or a small surface area．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　She must be the wisest woman on this planet, for she has lived up to the three words“Seize the moment”．Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven’t thought about it, or because they are unwilling to try something new．

　　My sister died a few years ago．We never did have lunch together．I can’t remember how many times I was refused when I called her to go to lunch．She would say to me：“I can’t．I have clothes on the line．”“My hair is dirty．I wish I had known yesterday．”“I had a late breakfast．”“It looks like rain．”Only after her death did I choose to be a little more flexible．

　　Life is not made up of thing that you do at a particular time, but it demands variety and adventure．As we grow older, the list of promises made to ourselves may get longer．Perhaps one morning, when we awaken, we will find to our surprise that our life is full of“I’m going to”,“I plan to”and“Someday, when things are settled down a bit．”

　　My seize-the-moment friend is open to adventure and ready at any moment to make a new start．She keeps an open mind about new ideas．Her great interest in life is contagious．With her around you, you may trade your bad feet for good shoes．

　　I have not touched ice cream for 10 years．The other day, I stopped off and bought a triple-decker．If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

YOU CAN HELP!

　　Everyone was born with his own built-in burglar alarm．It’s called the sense of sight and sound．Unfortunately, many of us go around with the alarm switched off．

We don’t see the stranger wandering outside the house next door．

　　We don’t notice the sounds from the flat upstairs．

(Weren’t they supposed to be on holiday?)

　　The police can only do so much to prevent crime．There never can be enough of them to guard every home in every town．So they need your help in fighting with the burglars(窃贼)，the vandals, and the car thieves．

　　Not, of course, by setting out to have a go every time you see something suspicious．It’ll always be the job of the police to arrest criminals．

But by acting as a line of communication between them and your community．For instance, you probably know far more about your immediate neighborhoods than the police ever could．

　　A stranger in someone’s garden would probably be far more obvious to you than it would to even the local police, if, of course, you were on the look-out．

　　That’s the whole idea behind the Neighborhood Watch schemes, springing up around the country to create a spirit of watchfulness within a community, anything suspicious being reported to the police．

　　It’s early days yet, but results so far are very encouraging．The crime figures are already dropping in many of the areas running the scheme．And all due to people like you．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　You would like to take good photographs of real-life situations but you have few deas for pictures．I suggest you look around you．The everyday world is full of scenes eing played by an ever-changing group of actors．You probably passed a dozen picture situations without noticing on your way to work this morning．

　　The realistic approach to photograph has been perfected in the past by such masters as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bill Brandt．But while you can learn a great deal from looking at the work of others, any success you can hope to achieve in this field has to come from developing an individual approach．

　　The main requirement for any photographer has little to do with technical matters．You must develop an awareness of the world around you and the people who live in it, and you should learn to notice when a situation may develop to a point where you will be able to take a good picture．Those who have reached this happy state will be prepared when that moment comes, and will simply raise their camera quickly and shoot．Others who are not so aware will be struggling with camera cases and lens(镜头)caps．

　　Film manufactures must be delighted at the thought of the inexperienced photographer setting out in search of the right situation and the right moment．Many miles of costly material have passed through thousands of cameras as this endless search continues．But although a lot of this waste must be put down to inexperience, you'll find that even the professionals have to use a lot of films when they are out shooting．

　　Not every shot is going to be a winner．If you look at the work of even the best photographers, you'll notice dozens of pictures have had to be taken only because they lead up to the successful shot of a situation that the photographer has obviously been observing through the lens．You may find that you have taken one or two pictures after the right moment has passed as well．There is seldom more than one shot which stands out．There is just one point where it all comes together, and you often have to waste film to catch that precious moment．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Farmer Joe was in his cart when he was hit by a truck．He decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company to court．In court the trucking company’s lawyer was questioning farmer Joe．“Didn’t you say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine’?said the lawyer．

　　Farmer Joe answered,“Well, I’ll tell you what happened．I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the …”

　　“I didn’t ask for any details,”the lawyer interrupted．”Just answer the question．Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine．’?”

　　Farmer Joe said,“Well, I had just got Bessie into the cart and I was driving down the road…”

　　The lawyer interrupted again and said,“Judge, I am trying to make clear the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman(管理员)on the scene that he was just fine．Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to cover the fact．I believe he is telling lies．Please tell him to simply answer the question．”

　　By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe’s answer and said to the lawyer,“I’d like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie．”Joe thanked the Judge and went on,“Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the cart and was driving her down the highway when this huge truck ran into the stop sign and pushed my cart right in the side．I was thrown into one side and Bessie was thrown into the other．

　　“I was hurt so badly that I didn’t want to move．However, I could hear old Bessie breathing loudly and groaning．I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans．Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on here to the scene．He could hear Bessie groaning so he went over to her．After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes．Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me．He said, ‘Your mule was in such a bad shape that I had to shoot her．How are you feeling?’”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing U．S．minority．As their children began moving up through the nation schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging．Their achievements are reflected in the nation’s best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character．This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U．S．with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English．They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college．Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively．And the return on the investment in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree．

　　Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer．An effective measure of parental attention is homework．Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps．Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture that breeds success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education．

　　Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image．Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social isolation．Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)