阅读理解

　　Four things are needed to build a small rooftop garden to grow vegetables．One thing is a roof that can support the weight．Another is grass cuttings．The third thing is a sheet of plastic on which to spread the cut grass．And the last thing is a box about eight centimeters deep and made out of four pieces of wood．

　　Once you are sure the roof is good, cut and collect some grass．Then lay down the plastic where the garden box will go．The four-sided box can be as long and as wide as needed．Place the box on top of the sheet of plastic．Then fill it with the cut grass．Next, add water and walk on the cuttings to press them down．

　　After about three weeks, the rooftop garden is ready for planting．Put the seeds directly into the wet grass cuttings．This garden is a good place to grow peas, tomatoes, beans, onions and lettuce．If the box is deep enough, potatoes and carrots will also grow．

　　It is important to keep the grass wet until the plants begin to grow．When the plants are growing, they will need watering every day, unless there is rain．And they will need some liquid fertilizer．If you can get chicken waste, you can make your own liquid fertilizer．Put the chicken manure in a cloth bag．Then, put the bag in a big container of water．After about one week, the water becomes a good liquid fertilizer．

　　Rooftop gardens need a lot of water．Also, seeds and new plants must be protected from insects and birds．

　　Rooftop gardens are increasingly popular, and not just to grow vegetables．They keep buildings cooler in the sun, so they save energy．They can also extend the useful life of a roof．Rooftop gardens also reduce the runoff of storm water and help clean the air．Plus they add beauty, and give birds and insects in the city a nice place to live．

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　　It seems more and more Americans want schools to teach foreign languages to children younger than five years old．The most popular way to teach these young children another language is called immersion．

　　Children in immersion programs hear only the new language in the classroom．The children play games, sing songs and talk to one another in the new language．Some experts say immersion programs are the most effective way for young children to learn a language．But there can be a problem when children in the United States begin to learn another language at such an early age．Not many elementary schools continue the effort as the children get older．Only seven of the fifty states require schools to teach a foreign language to students between the ages of six and twelve．Language experts say it is easier for younger children to learn a language．Still, American schools generally do not begin to teach foreign languages until secondary schools．By then, students are about thirteen years old．

　　American schools face difficult choices about the cost of educational programs．The federal government has increased support for foreign language study in its education law called No Child Left Behind．

　　At the college level, the Modern Language Association says more students than ever are studying foreign languages．The group recently announced its findings for the period from 1998 until 2002．The number of students who studied foreign languages in American colleges and universities increased by seventeen percent．Spanish is the most widely taught language in American colleges and universities．Other popular languages include French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Italian．The Modern Language Association says more languages are being studied now than in the past．It says the largest growth since 1998 has been in the study of American Sign Language, Arabic and biblical Hebrew．The association says about nine percent of college students in the United States study foreign languages．That is the highest level since 1972．

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　　In the 1960s, people asked about your astrological sign(星相)．In the 1990s, they wanted 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 a 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(大标题)GRAPHIC．Next comes a greeting and a short description of the site．Pictures, texts, 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．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．Learning the Net Communities provides tools to help you build your site．

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　　Don’t go to Kauai．Go to any of the other Hawaiian Islands－Maui, Lanai, the Big Island－but leave Kauai for us．The weather on Kauai is so unpredictable that sometimes it rains all day－in fact, it’s the second-wettest spot on the earth．Yes, there are giant double rainbows all the time, and the sunlight through the clouds is magical．But if you are not interested in these, go somewhere else．You just can’t control the nature on Kauai, and who wants to surrender(屈服)to the nature when you could be at a fine hotel, lying in a comfortable chair next to a swimming pool, with food served upon request?

　　So what if Kauai produces surf champions the way Texas produces cowboys?Most of its 300 white-sand beaches are unmarked．Unless you connect with the local people, the hidden spots are hard to find．While Hanalei is the most beautiful town you’ve ever dreamed of, you can forget about discos and clubs．Worse, it doesn’t have one single four-star restaurant．What it does have is the original drive-through places where you pass by a rambutan tree, and pick a piece of fruit．

　　Shopping in Kauai?Forget it－unless you are interested in shell necklaces and beautifully carved wood bowls．Kauai is not about pampering．It’s about going natural and finding the nature within you．It’s a do-it-yourself place that offers walking along the coast, diving and swimming in the Pacific Ocean, and lying on the beach．

　　Don’t go to Kauai unless you have a lot of time, because there’s only one road, which can be slightly dull．It winds through the beautiful scenery of waterfalls, rivers flowing into the ocean, and taro fields．You have no choice but to look at everything, because the speed limit is 35 m．p．h．

　　If you’re not interested in color, don’t bother with Kauai, because that’s what you get－red roads, blue oceans, and a hundred different shades of green．It’s like diving on land．Many people on Kauai believe that this is Lemuria－a lost island in the Atlantic．Can you imagine?Those Hawaiians, surfers, New Agers, and people who love nature and beauty and want a different quality of life－what do they know, anyway?Forget about it－you’re not going to like it．Go somewhere else．Leave Kauai for us．

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　　Pennsylvania－When Connie Beck and her husband awoke to strange noises last weekend, they thought high winds were rattling their home．What they found was even more unexpected：A deer was taking a bubble bath in their bathtub．

　　“I wasn’t exactly dressed for company,”Mrs．Beck said．“We were just waking up．”

　　The deer burst through the front door early on Saturday, ran past the couple’s bedroom and into the bathroom．Some how he managed to turn on the water in the bathtub and knock over a bottle of bubble bath into the bathtub．He then got himself into the bubbly water．

　　“You could hear the water running over the kicking,”Beck said．

　　The Becks called State Game Commission officials, who arrived with tranquilizers(镇静剂)and a lot of laughter．

　　“A guy said,‘There’s nothing wrong…he’s just in there taking a bubble bath,’”Mrs．Beck said．

　　The animal was soon brought under control, removed from the house and released．

　　“He was unharmed except for a little cut above the eye,”said Mrs．Beck．“We were also fortunate．There wasn’t much damage, except for the front door, some marks on the tub, and a few hoof prints on the floor．”

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　　Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships．One strength of the human conditions is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful(有压力的)conditions．Social support consists of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties．Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems．People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties．Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illnesses, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely．

　　Social support cushions stress in a number of ways．First, friends, relatives, and co-workers may let us know that they value us．Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties．Second, other people often provide us with informational support．They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them．Third, we typically find social companionship supportive．Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting(转移…注意力)us from our worries and troubles．Finally, other people may give us instrumental support－financial aid, material resources, and needed services－that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems．

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　　Who are they?

　　The Apatanis are one of the several major groups in Arunachal Pradesh, a state in northeast India on China’s Tibetan border．The Himalaya Mountains go into Arunachal, creating deep, narrow valleys and hills．One of the few flat places is the Apatani Valley, where the Apatani people live．

　　Where did they come from?

　　Apatani stories say the group moved from southern China hundreds of years ago．They are said to have carried the blue pine trees with them and planted them along the way．

　　What is the valley like?

　　It’s lovely－complete with bright green fields and flowering trees, especially apple trees, but it rains a lot in the valley．Arunachal is one of the wettest places on the earth．

　　How many Apatanis are there?

　　There are about 20,000-40,000 Apatanis living in the valley and another 20,000 outside, mostly in other parts of Arunachal．In the last 20 years, many Apatanis have gone to college and gotten professional degrees．Quite a few are doctors or work for the state government．

　　How do Apatanis dress?

　　They sometimes wear Western clothes, but they’re very proud of their traditional clothes, too．The women used to wear short one-piece skirts called Gullahs that were circled around and tied, without tops．Now ,the Gullahs are ankle-length and worn with Western-style coats．Men used to wear loincloths(缠腰带)and vests(背心)．Now they wear long trousers and colored jackets．

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　　Chinese culture researchers will use modern computer and video technologies to set up a national audio and video database(数据库)for Chinese traditional operas．The database was made by the Chinese Academy of Arts, together with provincial-level art research institutes across the country．They hope to protect the nation’s traditional operas, according to Wang Wenzhang, president of the academy．

　　The influence of foreign cultures in China has caused great challenges for the survival(生存)of Chinese traditional operas．There were 367 types of traditional operas in China at the end of 1950’s, but the number has dropped to 267 in 2004．

　　“If we do not take practical measures to protect the traditional operas that are still alive, some of them will disappear very soon,”said Liu Wenfeng, deputy(副职)director of the research institute of traditional Chinese operas at the academy．Liu, who was in charge of the project, said the academy was planning to spend one and a half years in setting up the database．

　　The academy has so far collected more than 40,000 records of traditional operas, 15,000 hours of audio recordings and 2,000 hours of video recordings of Chinese traditional operas．Such a collection will be very helpful for setting up the database, according to Liu,“However, what the academy possesses includes only those materials related to major traditional operas, such as Peking Opera and Kunqu,”said Liu, adding that the traditional operas popular among small groups of people were not included．“That is why we are asking the provincial-level art research institutes to take part in the project so that more local operas could be found and included in the database,”said Liu．

　　“Thanks to modern computer technology, these materials will be finally turned into digital products and put on the Internet,”he said．Once the database is completed, all of the materials will be provided for Internet users at home and abroad．“Such a practice will be very effective in promoting(促进)exchanges between Chinese and overseas researchers,”Liu added．

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　　The Chicago International Children’s Film Festival

　　THE CICFF is North America’s largest and most famous film festival．It is devoted to films and kids, and it’s the only academy-qualifying(具有学术资格的)children’s film festival in the world．

　　The CICFF advocates(提倡)active programming for kids and families：creative, fun, and culturally different films that not only tell stories about children and teens but also present things from a kid’s point of view．This year’s festival features(给…显著地位)over 220 of the best films and videos for kids from 40 countries．

　　New for 2006！The CICFF joins the north and south sides of the city with its new weekend theater partners：the Wilmette Theater to the north, the Beverly Arts Center and DuSable Museum to the south．And for our youngest audiences, 9∶30 am．screenings(放映)on the weekends！

　　CICFF Weekend Program

　　Teachers & group leaders！

　　Book your group at the festival’s weekday and post-festival screenings．Contact Jason Makman, group ticket seller at 773-281-9075 or fldtrips@facets.org for the weekday group program！

　　The whole festival website will be accessible(可以使用的)at the end of the month．Please check back to www.cicff.org for the festival program, online ticketing, workshop information and the latest news about the 2006 festival！

　　Contact us：

　　Phone：773-281-98075

　　Fax：773-929-0266

　　E-mail：kidsfest@facets.org

　　Website：www.cicff.org

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　　My son Joey was born with club feet(畸形足)．The doctors told us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally－but would never run very well．In the first three years of his life he had several operations on his feet．By the time he was eight, you wouldn’t know he had a problem when you saw him walk．

The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too．We never told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to run as well as the other children．So he didn’t know．

　　In the seventh grade he decided to try out for the cross-country team．Every day he trained with the team．He worked harder and ran more than any of the others－perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him．Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school．We didn’t tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn’t know．

　　He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day－even on the day he had a high fever．I was worried, so I went to look for him after school．I found him running all alone．I asked him how he felt．“Okay,”he said．He had two more miles to go．The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever．Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running．We never told him he couldn’t run four miles with a high fever．So he didn’t know．

　　Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called．Joey had made the team．He was in the seventh grade－the other six team members were all eighth-graders．We never told him he shouldn’t expect to make the team．We never told him he couldn’t do it……．so he didn’t know．He just did it．

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