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　　Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer．I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there’s a big difference between”being a writer”and writing．In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter．“You’ve got to want to write,”I say to them,”not want to be a writer．”

　　The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor－pay affair．For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded．When I left a 20－year career in the U．S．Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no prospects at all．What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building．It didn’t even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom．I immediately bought a used typewriter and felt like a great writer．

　　After a year or so, however, I still hadn’t got a break and began to doubt myself．It was so hard to sell a story that hardly made enough to eat．But I knew I wanted to write．I had dreamed about it for years．I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering,”What if?”I would keep putting my dream to the test, even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

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　　HOLIDAY HOMES IN MALLORCA

　　Holiday apartments in Mallorca sailing and fishing port－quiet even in summer season．Beautiful rooms with views of sea and mountains, yet near shops and restaurants．Cars and bicycles for hire．Sailing and sports clubs nearby．

　　ITALY IN COMFORT

　　Luxury(great comfort and pleasure)coach tours in Italy, out of normal holiday season．21 leisurely(relaxed)days to visit five Italian cities starting from London 1st May, 1st September．The tours are guided by professor Martin Davis, former head of Italian Studies, London University．See the arts and culture of historic Italy．

　　KIBBUTZ HOLIDAYS IN ISRAEL

　　Working holidays on a Kibbutz(cooperative farm)in Israel．All nationalities welcome for one to three months if prepared to work mornings with kibbutz members．Accommodation, food and trips to historic sights all provided free－you pay only for the special low－cost return flight．

　　TWO WEEKS ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND

　　Two－week holidays in the luxurious Hotel Splendid, on a lovely beach with golden sands and deep－blue sea．Tennis, golf, sailing and all water sports．Trips and tours around the island arranged．Near to town of Castries with lively evening entertainment－dancing to local bands．

　　1st November－31st March： 720 pounds per person

　　1st April－30th October： 850 pounds per person．

　　●Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying．

　　● Peter and Maria, university students, want to travel as far as possible on very little money, and would like to get to know a country by working there for three months with other young people．

　　●Harry and Kate, both teachers, and their two teenage sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays．There must be plenty for the boys to do, although Harry and Kate just want beautiful scenery, good food and wine and peace．

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　　The 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded jointly to PaulC．Lauterbur(USA)and Peter Mansfielf(UK), for their discoveries concerning”Magnetic resonance imaging(磁共振成像技术)”．Imaging of human internal organs with exact and non－invasive(非侵入人体的)methods is very important for medical diagnosis, treatment and follow－up．

　　The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2003 to Shirin Ebadi(Iran),”for her efforts for democracy and human rights．”She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children．Her principal arena is the struggle for basic human rights, and she believes no society deserves to be labeled civilized unless the rights of women and children are respected．In an era for violence, she has consistently supported nonviolence．It is fundamental to her view that the supreme political power in a community must be built on democratic elections．She favors the methods of dialogue and freeing the public from ignorance as the best path to changing attitudes and resolving conflict．

　　The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided that the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, 2003, is to be shared between Robert F．Engle(USA),”for methods of analyzing economic time series with time－varying changeability, and Clive W．J．Granger(UK),”for methods of analyzing economic time series with common trends．”

　　The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2003 jointly to AlexeiA．Abrikosov(USA), Vitaly L．Ginzburg(Russia)and Anthony J．Leggett(USA)．The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2003 has been awarded with one half jointly to Peter Agre(USA), and the other half to Roderick Mackinnon(USA)．

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　　In the 60s, people asked about your astrological(about star)sign．In the 90s, they want to know your website．These days, having a web address is almost as important as a street address．Your website is an electronic meeting place for your family, friends and potentially, millions of people around the world．Best of all, you may not have to spend a cent．The Web is filled with all kinds of free services and all it takes is some time and creativity．

　　Think of your home page as the starting point of your website．Like the table of contents of a book or magazine, the home page is the front door．Your site can have one or more pages, depending on how you design it．

　　While web pages vary greatly in their design and content, most use a traditional magazine layout．At the top of the page is a banner(横幅)GRAPHIC．Next comes a greeting and a short description of the site．Pictures, text, and links to other websites follow．

　　Before you start building your site, do some planning．Think about whom the site is for and what you want to say．Next, gather up the material that you want to put on the site．Draw a rough layout on a sheet of paper．

　　While there are no rules you have to follow, there are a few things to keep in mind： Start simply．If you are too ambitious at the beginning, you may never get the site off the ground．You can always add to your site．

　　Less is better．Most people don’t like to read a lot of text online．Break it into small pieces．

　　Smaller is better．Most people connect to the Internet with a modem(调制解调器)．Since it can take a long time to download large image files, keep the file sizes small．

　　Have the rights．Don’t put any material on your site unless you are sure you can do it legally．Learn the Net’s Copyright Article for more about this．

　　Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start building．Learn the Net Communities provides tools to help you build your site．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Long bus rides are like television shows．They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials(商业广告)thrown in every three or four minutes．The commercials are unavoidable．They happen whether you want them or not．Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window．”Buy super Clean Toothpaste．”“Drink Good Wet Root Beer．”“Fill up with Pacific Gas．” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of”You Need It Now!”

　　The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before．Usually some things have changed－new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road．The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so．If the driver is particularly reckless or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story．Will the driver pass the truck in time?Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane?After a while, of course, the excitement dies down．Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride．Food always makes bus rides more interesting．But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat．Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops．

　　The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning．You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that．The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed．By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rests－even with your hands crossed behind your head．The end comes just at the right time．There are just no more ways to sit．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The eastern Indonesian island of Komodo is proving a hit with adventurous tourists eager to catch a glance of the world’s largest lizard species．The island is the home of the huge lizard called the Komodo dragon．

　　A later species of the Jurassic period dinosaurs 130 million years ago, the Komodo dragon is in danger and has been placed under protection by the Indonesian government．

　　The huge lizard is called”Buaya Darat”by the local people who show great respect for the species．Tales handed down over generations of islanders speak of the dragon warning people of getting close to crocodiles．

　　The animal can reach a length of three meters when fully grown, gain a weight of about 135 kilograms and may live to an age of about 100 years．It digs a hole in the ground as deep as 9 meters and lay eggs---up to 30 at a time---that hatch in April or May．The newly hatched lizards, about 45 centimeters long, live in trees for several months．

　　Komodo dragons have been known to eat smaller members of the species and sometimes even other grown-ups．The Komodo dragon was first discovered in 1912 by a group of fishermen who protected themselves from a storm in the Banda Sea on the island．

　　Various species of the Komodo dragons are also found in Asia, Australia and Africa, but it is only on Komodo and the western tip of the neighboring island of Flores that they grow up to three meters long．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　As late as 1800, women’s only place was in the home．The idea of woman in the business world was unthinkable．Men were certain that no woman could do a good job outside her home．This was such a widely accepted idea that when the well-known Bronte sisters began writing books in 1864, they had to sign their books with men’s names instead．

　　Teaching was the first profession(职业)open to women soon after 1800．But even that was not an easy profession for women to enter because most schools and colleges were open only to men．Oberlin College in Ohio was the first college in America to accept women．

　　Hospital nursing became respectable(值得尊敬的)work for women only after Nightingale became famous．Seeing that she was not only a nurse but also a rich and well-educated woman, people began to believe it was possible for women to nurse the sick and still be”ladies”．Miss Nightingale opened England’s first training school for nurse in 1860．

　　The invention of the typewriter(打字机)in 1867 helped to bring women out of the home and into the business world．By 1900,thousands of women were working at real jobs in schools, hospitals and offices in both England and America．Some women even managed to become doctors or lawyers．The idea that women could work in the business world had been accepted．

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Read a whole book in English?Me?

　　Yes, you．Believe it or not, that may be easier than you think．Not all classics are too difficult or complicated．So you’re not limited to the simplified versions．And the easier books are not all for children．

　　Books in their original versions may send you to the dictionary．And you might not understand everything you read．But reading one from cover to cover will give you a real sense of accomplishment(成就)．

　　The key is to find the right books．Let’s take a look at these．

　　The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe(C．S．Lewis)Stepping into an old wardrobe, four English schoolchildren find themselves in the magical world of Narnia．On this delightful land, they find friends among the many talking creatures．

　　The children soon discover, however, that Narnia is ruled by the White Witch．Edmund, one of the children, falls under her power．Who can free Narnia?Only Aslan, the great and noble lion．He alone knows the Deeper Magic．But the children themselves must help fight the battle against the White Witch and those who serve her．

　　The Old Man and the Sea(Ernest Hemingway)Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, hasn’t caught any fish in more than 80 days．Sailing far out from land, the old man hooks an enormous fish．

　　That begins an agonizing three day battle．First he struggles against the great fish．Then he must fight off the sharks that circle the little boat and threaten to eat his fish．Exhausted and bleeding, the old man arrives back at shore．But his fish, his beautiful fish…

　　Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for this superb story of strength and courage, of victory and regret．

　　A Wrinkle in Time(Madeleine Lingle)Meg’s father, a U．S．government scientist, has been missing for many months．He had been experimenting with time travel when he mysteriously disappeared．

　　Now Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin will try to rescue him．But first they must outwit the forces of evil they encounter(遇到)on their journey through time and space．Can they find Meg’s father before it’s too late?

　　This novel is more than just a science fiction adventure．It’s an exploration of the nature of our universe．

　　The Pearl(John Steinbeck)One day Kino, a poor Mexican pearl diver, finds a magnificent pearl．

　　With it he dreams of buying a better life, new clothes and schooling for his son．Instead, it brings only evil．His wife pleads with him to get rid of it．“No,”says Kino．“I will have my chance．I am a man．”But when he kills a man who is trying to steal the pearl, Kino and his wife must run for their lives．

　　This tale of dreams, justice and the power of greed is told simply and beautifully．

　　The Long Winter(Laura Ingalls Wilder)It’s winter, 1880－1881, on America’s northern prairies．Mr．and Mrs．

　　Ingalls and their four girls stay near the kitchen stove to keep warm．

　　Heavy snowstorms cut them off even from neighbors．With the trains stopped, no supplies can reach the town．Food and fuel are running out．

　　Day after day the girls must grind wheat for bread and twist hay to burn．

　　At times they nearly lose the battle to keep their spirits up．

　　This story provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of early American settlers．

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Language learning begins with listening．Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners．Most children will “obey”spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word “obey”is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child．Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises．

　　Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties．It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on．But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language．It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play withsounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store．This self-imitation(模仿)leads on to deliberate(有意的)imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people．The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech．

　　It is a problem we need to get out teeth into．The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world．Thus the use at seven months of “mama”as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes．Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself, I doubt, however whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds．

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord(房东)can charge for an apartment．Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments．Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes．

　　However, the critics say that after a long time, rent control may have negative(负面的)effects．Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits．Therefore, they invest(投资)in other businesses where they can increase their profits．They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent-controlled．As a result, new apartments are not built．Many people who need apartments cannot find any．According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city．

　　Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way．The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers．The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low-paying jobs．However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers．They will replace workers with machinery．Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases．

　　Thus, critics hold the opinion that an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment．Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage．

　　Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity(尊严)．Because of the law, workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum．Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages．

　　Economic(经济的)theory predicts the results of economic decisions such as decisions about farm production, rent control, and the minimum wage．The predictions may be correct only if “other things are equal”．Economists do not agree on some of the predictions．They also do not agree on the value of different decisions．Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it．Economists do agree, however, that there are no simple answers to economic questions．

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