阅读理解

　　Notting Hill Carnival (狂欢节)organizers are celebrating a bumper year, with crowds up and crime down by almost a third．

　　More than 1 million people who were having fun singing, dancing and so on in a noisy way were at the two day event in West London but there were only 64 arrests, compared with 94 last year．

　　Most arrests were for drug, theft or public order offences, police said last night．The number of crimes stood at 85, compared with 115 last year．

　　It was the 40th anniversary of the colorful celebration of Caribbean culture, which has become Europe's best-known street festival．

　　Sporadic(零星的)showers failed to dampen the crowd's spirits．Attendance last year fell to about 600,000, mainly because of bad weather．

　　Calypso music played loudly from sound systems along the parade route as thousands of whistle-blowing people followed glittering floats (灿烂夺目的花车)．They were joined by dancers and drummers．

　　”The atmosphere is fantastic,” said Chief lnsp Wayne Mawson． “Crime is low, reported crime is low, and people are still enjoying themselves．”

　　One man was arrested for the crime of attacking someone yesterday after another was treated for an arm injury in Powis Square．Officers carried out a stop and search operation at Mile End Tube Station after reports that 60 youths planned to disrupt (使混乱) the event．There were eight arrests for possession of knives and body armour．

　　Security at the carnival has been high since two people were killed and several attacked violently in 2000 and a man suffered knife wounds to his forehead in 2001．

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　It is the sort of out-of-this-world phenomenon that might have got E．T．himself jumping for ioy (if only his legs had been long enough)．

　　Astronomers bare received three mysterious radio signals from outer space．

　　They picked them up while using a radio telascopc stationed in Puerto Rico to probe deep into the universe．

　　Each signal lasted about one minute and was recorded on the frequency which scientists believe aliens would be most likely to use, namely SHGb02＋I4a (since you ask, this is the frequency at wbich hydrogen readily takes in and gives out energy．) According to New．Scientist magazine, the signal originates from a point her ween the Pi-es and Aries constellations (双鱼座和白羊座) where there is no obvious star or planetary system within 1,000 light years．

　　What is sending tbe signals is unknown, hut scientists working on the Search for Exlraterrestrial Intelligence project believe it could finally prove there is life “out there”．

　　”We are looking for something that screams out ‘artificial'“ said Eric Korpela, a researcher from the University of California, Berkeley．

　　”This just doesn't do that bot it could be because it is distant．”

　　Other scientists are not so sure it will point the way to alien life but they have ruled out a scientific joke．They believe it may be an unknown astronomical phenomenon or even a strange thing of the telescope itself．

　　”If they can see the signal four, five or six times it really begins to get exciting,” said Jocelyn Bell Burnell, from the University of Bath．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

Two British men and their young sons were killed when their light aircraft crashed and burst into flames in the US．It occurred last night．Pilot Garry Megson, 38， died with his eight-year-old son Peter, family friend Stephen Aspden, 45, and his 12-year-old son, Jack．Police said Mr．Megson was attempting a tricky manoeuvre, called a touch-and-go landing,when the accident happened in the rented single-englne Piper Warrior．The move involves touching the wheels down on the landing strip before immediately taking off again．The aircraft failed to regain height and veered off the runway．It hit several ears and a hangar(飞机库房)before bursting into flames in Pennsylvania on Sunday．Mr．Megson．who has 20 years' flying experience, moved to the US 11 months ago with his wife and son to work as a manager with drugs giant AstraZeneea．Secondary school teacher Mr．Aspden, 45, was on holiday, visiting with his family．His wife and ten year old daughter have since returned to Manchester, where they live．Christine Troy, a neighbour of Mr．Megson．said it was “just so sad” the crash happened．She added：”He was the greatest guy, His son was just wonderful．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever．But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with Mona Lisa．

　　The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum where it is honest．

　　“The thin wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa was painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said．Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous panting is not easy．Experts are not sure about the materials the Italians artist used and their power chemical state．

　　Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile．“It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Living stone of Harvard University．“It’s because direct vision is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows．Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a direct link between eating habits and health．Heart disease causes the loss of 180,000 lives in Britain every year．At least two million British people are believed to have heart problems．What can be done about this?

　　Let us begin by looking first at nutrient needs：

　　This table shows that there is not much difference between the nutrient and energy needs of adults and children over the age of five．Even though children are much smaller, they need large amounts of all nutrients because they are growing．In fact, they need more calcium and Vitamin D than adults, to ensure that their bones and teeth are strong．

　　British eating habits are changing．There is a much greater variety of foods to choose from nowadays．Also, the population is realizing how choice of food can affect health．As a result, people are eating less fat, sugar and salt and more fiber-rich foods．This is undoubtedly doing a lot to reduce heart disease．For example, research in 1983 by the U．K．Department of Health and Social Security into children’s eating habits showed that：

　　－30% ate too much fat;

　　－many diets were too heavily dependent on chips, cakes and biscuits;

　　－it has not been found out that any of the children were suffering for lack of these nutrients; children who were out of school at lunchtimes at cafés, fast food shops, etc．had lower intakes of many nutrients than other children．In particular girls were short of iron．

　　To reduce the risk of heart disease, there are two major changes that are needed in the way people in Britain eat：

　　1)the amount of fat eaten must be reduced;

　　2)the amount of foods rich in fiber must be increased．If this is done, then the British people will be much healthier．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　A 15-year-old girl has walked across an Arctic(北极的)island quicker than her father －one of Britain’s top explorers．Her name is Alicia Hempleman-Adams．

　　Alicia took 10 days to walk and ski 240 kilometers across Baffin Island in northeastern Canada．Her success has made her the youngest person to complete the crossing on foot and skis．However, this isn’t her first world record．At 8, she was brought to meet her father at the end of his 600-mile journey to the North Pole and became the youngest person ever to reach the place．

　　As an explorer, Mr．Hempleman-Adams knew well how hard it was for his daughter to gain such a success．

　　He said, “Because I’ve done the route．I know all the dangers．I didn’t sleep for days knowing she was out there and thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong．What she’s achieved is really great．This teenager girl is only one hundred and five pounds and being that thin you feel the cold more．”

　　Mr．Hempleman-Adams said that he was very proud of Alicia but also a bit ‘angry’ that his daughter had completed the journey faster than him．

　　During the trip, the 15-year-old girl met a lot of difficulties．Her most frightening moment came when she and her teammates, including her PE teacher Jo Simmons, had to cross a lake covered with a thin layer(层)of ice．

　　At the end of her trip, Alicia said that she was glad to have returned．“It was really great to get back to society and a hot shower,” she said．“It was quite weird(怪异)out there when there was nothing around － no buildings, no people, no animals, and nothing else．”

　　Will the young girl start a job in exploration later?No．“I want to try other things first,” she said．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Iceland has energy to spare, and the small country has found a cutting-edge(尖端的)way to reduce its oil dependency．Volcanoes formed the island nation out of ash and lava(熔岩), which heat huge underground lakes to the boiling point．The hot water is piped into cities providing heat for homes, businesses and even swimming pools．The water runs through turbines(涡轮机), providing all the country’s electricity．

　　Iceland wants to make plans to improve its cars, buses and trucks to run on renewable energy．Iceland has already started by turning water into fuel － hydrogen fuel．Here’s how it works：Electrodes(电极)change the water　into hydrogen and oxygen molecules．Hydrogen electrons pass through a conductor that creates the current to power an electric engine．

　　Hydrogen fuel now costs two to three times as much as gasoline, but gets up to three times the distance than gas, making the overall cost about the same．As an added benefit, there is no carbon －only water steam．

　　In the capital, Reykjavik, they are already testing three hydrogen-powered electric buses．The drivers are impressed．“I like these buses better because with hydrogen you get no pollution,” said bus driver Rognvaldur Jonatanison．By the middle of this century, all Icelanders will be required to run their cars only on hydrogen fuel, meaning no more gasoline．

　　“If we make hydrogen and use that as a fuel for transportation then we can run the whole society on our own local renewable energy sources,”said Marie Mack．Icelanders are showing the world that by making fuel from water, it is possible to kick the oil habit．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Rick Stevenson,16 years old,spends every minute he can on the mountain．He and his friends go snowboarding every weekend．“It’s great,”he says．“The winds are so strong,the boards go 50 miles an hour．”His friend Laura Fields agrees．“No one goes skiing any more,”she says．“That’s for the old folks．”

　　Rick and Laura are part of a new trend in sports．Its philosophy(purpose)is to get as close to the edge as possible．And more and more young athletes are taking part in these risky(adventurous)activities called “extreme sports”or“X-Sports”．

　　In the past,young athletes would play baseball．Today,they want risk and excitement－the closer to the edge,the better．They snowboard over cliffs and mountain-bike down steep mountains．They wind-surf near hurricanes and bungee-jump from towers．

　　Extreme sports started as an alternative to more expensive sports such as golf．A city kid who didn’t have the money to buy expensive sports equipment could get a skateboard and have fun．But now it has become a whole new area of sports,with specialized equipment and high levels of skill．There’s even a special Olympics for extreme sports,called the Winter X-Games,which includes snow mountain biking and ice climbing．

　　What makes extreme sports so popular?“People love the risk,”says Murray Nussbaum,who sells sports equipment．“City people want to be outdoors on the weekend and do something challenging．The new equipment is so much better that people can take more risks without getting hurt．”An athlete adds．“Sure there’s a risk．Once you go mountain biking or snowboarding,it’s impossible to go back to bike riding or skiing．It’s just too boring．”

　　Now even the older crowd is starting to join in．Every weekend groups of friends in their early thirties get together．During the week they work as computer programmers in the same office．On Sundays they rent mountain bikes that cost $2 000 each and ride down steep mountains together．

　　Extreme sports are certainly not for everyone．Most people still prefer to play basketball or watch sports on TV．But extreme sports are definitely gaining in popularity．“These sports are fresh and exciting．It’s the wave of the future,”says Nussbaum．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　TAIPEI－Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island’s “China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．

　　According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available, Netbig.com said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year．

　　The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland colleges and universities．“Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market,” Netbig.com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,” said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shin University．Chang plans to go on to get a master’s degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies．

　　A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”．“They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Chingyao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies．A Netbig.com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Tsinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou．The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine．

　　At present, Chinese Taipei doesn’t recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there．But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates from selected universities．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now，and they did not need to be as careful as they must today．They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed．They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them．Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them; often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers．

　　Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes．Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore．At such times, there were inquiries into the causes of the disasters or the problems．New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill．

　　Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers．In the U．S．, for example, there is a department which tests new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems．It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow．Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell．A third department looks at the places where people work, and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers．Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness, but they are having some good results．Our work places are safer and cleaner than before．The planes and cars which we use for travel are better．Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)