阅读理解

　　Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living．One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2∶30 AM．When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window．

　　I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice．

　　After a long pause, the door opened．A small woman in her eighties stood before me．By her side was a small suitcase．

　　I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman．She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car．

　　She kept thanking me for my kindness．“It’s nothing,” I told her．“I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated．”

　　“Oh, you’re such a good man．” She said．When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

　　“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly．

　　“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said．“I’m on my way to a hospice(临终医院)．I don’t have any family left．The doctor says I don’t have very long．”

　　I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器)．

　　For the next two hours, we drove through the city．She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl．

　　Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing．

　　At dawn, she suddenly said,” I’m tired．Let’s go now．”

　　We drove in silence to the address she had given me．

　　“How much do I owe you?” she asked．

　　“Nothing．” I said．

　　“You have to make a living,” she answered．“Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered．

　　Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug．She held onto e tightly．Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy．”

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　　The small number of newborn babies, which has been caused by high prices and the changing social situation of women, is one of the most serious problems in Asia．When people talk about it, you can hear a word invented in Japan．which means Double Income Kids(小孩)．

　　In many major Asian cities like Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo, the cost of a ******is extremely high．A young couple who want to buy their own house may have to pay about ＄3000,000(though prices have fallen)．For a flat with one bedrooms, one dining-room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, the couple will pay about ＄900 a month．What’s more, if they want to have a child, the child’s education is very expensive．For example, most kindergarten charges are at least ＄5.000 a year．In such a situation, it’s difficult to afford children．

　　The number of married women who want to continue working because they enjoy their jobs．However, if they want to have children, they immediately have serious problems．Though most companies allow women to leave their jobs for a short time to have a baby, they expect women with babies to give up their jobs．In short, if they want to bring up children properly, both parents have to work, but it is hard for mothers to work．Indeed, women who want to contimue working have to choose between having children or keeping their jobs．

　　In a word, Asian governments must take steps to improve the present situation as soon as possible．

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　　Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers．Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures?Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short television program can tell you all that you want to know?

　　Television has not killed reading, however．Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers．And books of every kind are sold more than ever before．Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment．Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbooks(平装本)，which are quite cheap．A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times．

　　Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home．Every home should have a good dictionary．A good encyclopedia(百科全书)，though expensive, is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject．Besides, you can have such books as history books, science textbook, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems．Then from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets．

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　　People believes that climbing can do good to health．Where can you learn the skill of climbing then?If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, you’re wrong．Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms(体育馆)．Here, people are learning on climbing．The climbing wall goes straight up and small holding places for hands and feet．

　　How do people climb the wall?To climb, you need special shoes and(保护带) around your chest to hold you．There are ropes(绳索)tied to your．The ropes hold you in place so that you don’t fall．A beginner’s wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up．There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to．Sometimes it’s easy to see the new piece of metal．Sometimes, it’s not．The most difficult is an your fear．It’s normal for humans to be afraid of falling, so it’s difficult not to feel fear．But when you move away from the wall, the and the ropes hold you, and you begin to feel safe．You move slowly until you reach the top．

　　Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone．You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs．This sport gives your body a complete workout．When you climb, both your mind and your body can become stronger．

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阅读理解

　　When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city．We lived on a farm, in the winter especially, we wear quite out off from the outside world．As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital．However, I soon discovered that my life has its too．

　　One big disadvantage is money．It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing．Another disadvantage is pollution．I suffer from asthma(哮喘)，and the air is so that I am afraid to go outside．Then there is the problem of traveling round．Although I have a car, I seldom use it became of the traffic jams．One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous．

　　Of course there are advantages．First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever you tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动)．Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position．Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising－and, what is more, shops are often only a short walk away．

　　Is life better then, in the city?Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens(十几岁) or twenties．However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable．I certainly hope to move back there soon．

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　　Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist．In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources(资源)．How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性)of our earth．

　　Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment(环境)protection．Henry David Thorean．He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day．Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book．The problem is clean man has done great damage to his home over the years．Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?

　　Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today．Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it．A more hundred species(物种)are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load．Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas．

　　At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment．If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the idsas in this book．

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　　It is often necessary to release a fish, that is, set it free after catching, because it is too small, or you just don’t want to take it home to eat．In some cases, releasing fish is a good measure that will help keep fish variety and build their population size．The Deparunent of Game and Inland Fisheries(DGIF)encourages fishermen who practice catch-and-release fishing to use a few simple skills when doing so．The advice provided below will help make sure that the fish you release will survive(存活)to bite again another day．

　　－When catching a fish, play it quickly and keep the fish in the water as much as possible．

　　Don’t use a net in landing the fish and release it quickly to prevent it from dying．

　　－Hold the fish gently．Do not put your fingers in its eyes．Don’t wipe the scales(鱼鳞)off the fish because might cause it to develop a disease and reduce its chance of survival

　　－Remove your hook(鱼钩)quickly．If the hook is too deep or hooked in the stomach, cut the line and leave the hook or the hook left inside will cause no serious problem to the fish．

　　－Take good care of the fish a moving it gently in water．Release the fish when it begins to struggle and is able to swim．

　　－Do not hold fish in a bucket or some other containers and later decide to release it．If you are going to release a fish, do so right away．

　　With a little care and by following the suggestions even above, you can give the released fish a better chance of survival．

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　　More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple(菠萝)．The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not, hard with an unpleasant taste within．Then in 1996, the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves．

　　The new typr of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside．But the most important thing about this new typr of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known．In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storrn, rapidly becoming the world’s best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth, up until then only found in tinned pineapple．

　　In numtion(营养)it was all good news too．This nice-tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C(维生素C)than the old green vanets．Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases．People were understandably eaget to be able to buy this wonderful fruit．The new type of pineapple was selling fast and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the xhopping basket of the healthy eater．

　　Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep the market to itself But other fruit companies developde similar pincapples．Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed．Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte’s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out of the markef．

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