阅读理解

　　Bollworms are a traditional threat to cotton crops．Young ones feed on the boll, the part of the cotton plant that contains the seeds．

　　A bacterium known as Bt is able to kill bollworms and some other pests．Bt is the short form for Bacillus thuringiensis．It was discovered in the early twentieth century．Farmers began using Bt as a natural pesticide(杀虫剂)．

　　Then, in the 1990s, researchers found a way to grow cotton plants that contain a Bt gene．The genetically improved cotton plant produces liquid that kills bollworms．Farmers around the world are now growing an estimated fourteen million hectares of Bt cotton．

　　Cotton bollworms also attack other crops．But scientists in China recently reported that Bt cotton may help prevent bollworm in other crops growing nearby．

　　The study involved crops grown in six provinces of northern China between 1992 and 2008．The study area contained three million hectares of cotton and twenty-two million hectares of corn, peanuts, soybeans and vegetables．

　　The researchers say the study suggested that Bt cotton not only controls bollworm on the transgenic cotton, but also may reduce its existence on other crops．And that reduction, they say, may decrease the need for insecticide use in general．

　　But the researchers also pointed out concerns．They say bollworms could develop resistance to the cotton plants designed to resist them．And they noted that insects called mirids have become “key pests” of cotton in China．They said this is because of a decrease in pesticide use made possible by Bt cotton．

　　The researchers say they do not believe that Bt cotton alone can solve all insect problems．Instead, they say farmers in China should consider it just one part of pest management systems．

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　　A rise in the earth’s temperature could lead to an increase in the number of insects worldwide, with potentially serious consequence for humans．

　　A new study shows that insect species living in warmer areas are more likely to undergo(经历)rapid population growth because they have higher metabolic(新陈代谢的)rates and reproduce more frequently．The finding has scientists concerned that global warming could give rise to more fast-growing insect population and that we could see it in the number of six-legged insects．

　　The consequence could be more serious than just a few extra bug(昆虫)bites each summer．“If they’re crop species, we could count on needing to use more insect-killers and it could be very costly,” said Melanie Frazier, a doctoral student at the University of Washington．Insect-borne diseases are also a worry．Malaria(疟疾)，Lyme Disease and a host of others rely on insects to spread among humans,and an increase in their populations could mean more infections．

　　Already, scientists have observed malarial zones with new cases appearing in areas unaffected before．The change is thought to be due to rising temperatures and an expansion of areas habitable for mosquitoes．The new research shows rising temperatures would mean insects would not only spread out, but also multiply(繁衍)more quickly．

　　Still, Frazier says it’s too soon to predict which species will adapt and which might even face extinction(灭绝)．She looked at 65 insect species and found a correlation(依存关系)between warm climates and population growth across the board－but, she warned, the scientists have no way of predicting which species will eventually adapt to new, warmer areas．We won’t have to wait long to find out．Insects adapt quickly, so we will likely see changes within our lifetime．

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　　One would have to be a fool to overlook the importance of using positive thinking for you rather than allowing negative thinking to work against you．In recent years, research in psychopharmacology(精神药理学)has proved what many people have known over the centuries：a positive attitude is good for you, good for your health, good for your wealth, good for everything．Researchers found that a positive attitude produces a specific chemical reaction which makes people feel better, while negative thinking results in a decline of hormone(荷尔蒙)and shuts down the immune(免疫的)system．This leads to illness and depression．Positive thoughts will make you feel better．Even if you must begin by literally forcing yourself to be positive(faking it, so to speak), it will become contagious(会传播的)and the positive thoughts will generate nice little chemicals and good feelings which will reinforce the positive thoughts．

　　For example, if you force yourself to smile or laugh, even when you don't feel like smiling or laughing, if you keep at it for a few minutes, you will soon feel like it．Feelings can generate thoughts, but thoughts can also generate feelings．Control your thoughts and you can control your feelings．Positive thinking is important in all aspects of our lives．There is probably no single factor more important in determining your success in achieving your career objectives than your own attitude．

　　It's often been said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king．And in the office of militant(好战)negativism, the positive workers shine like gold．You cannot control external events, but you can learn to control your reaction to those events and thereby have a positive attitude and be happy．This vital key to success is totally within your control．Use it．

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　　“It was all his own idea,” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto California high school football coach Bob Peters．39 Bob had just drawn up a "motherhood contract"－a document(文件)stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple's four children, plus all household chores(杂务)．Although he didn't even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident．(He thought the experience would make a nice book．)

　　After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up．“I was beaten down, completely humbled,” admits Peters．Three weeks later he spoke to the local press(also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being．”

　　Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts．After they got married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put iron through university．Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto's Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids．

　　Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley．“I had been around children so much,” she sighs(叹气)．“I couldn't talk to a grown-up．” She continued to run the household, however, until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it．Although Peters had consulted with his school's home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria(食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster．“I tried to slip the butter I'd forgotten under the eggs after they were frying,” he says．For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot－sometimes having Macdonald's hamburgers for lunch and dinner．

　　As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made．"I found an easier way－I shut the doors," he says．Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week．"I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean．"

　　Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地)sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat, The tentative(暂定的)title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day．

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阅读理解

　　Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it?Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind．How can you use this to increase your brain power?Start writing．

　　By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand．Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding．In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power”．

　　Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember．Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes．You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal(日志)of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success．

　　Want to understand a topic?Write a book about it．That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better．Want to invent something?Write an explanation of the problem－why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there．

　　Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand．Often, they write about something because they want to understand it．You can do the same．Writing will help bring you to an understanding．Give it a try．

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　　One cold morning in winter, when I was a little boy, a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder stopped me, saying：“My pretty boy, has your father a grindstone(砂轮)”

　　“Yes , sir,” said I．

　　“You are a fine little fellow!” said the man．“Will you let me grind(磨)my ax?”

　　Pleased with the flattery, I answered, “Oh, yes, sir．The grindstone is down in the shop．”

　　Patting me on my head, he said, “Will you get me some hot water?” I ran and brought the hot water．

　　“How old are you, and what is your name?” he asked without waiting for a reply, “I’m sure you are one of the finest boys I have ever seen．Will you turn the grindstone a few minutes for me?”

　　Hearing the flattery again, I went to work with a will．It was a new ax, and I worked hard until I was almost tired to death．The school bell rang, but I could not get away, because the ax was not half ground．

　　At last, however, it was sharpened．Then the man turned to me and said, “Now, you little rascal(小坏蛋)，you’ve played truant(逃课)！Run to school, or you’ll be sorry!”

　　“Alas!” thought I．“It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this old day, but now to be called a rascal is too much．”

　　The memory of turning the grindstone that winter morning sank into my mind．I have thought of it since．Now, whenever I hear words of flattery, I say to myself．“That man has an ax to grind．”

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　　If it takes Kate twenty seconds to add 12 and 26, while Terry can do the sum in a quarter the time on his pocket calculator, how much better grades will Terry get than Kate in the maths exam?

　　Pocket calculators are as cheap to buy as a pair of shoes, and as essential to thousands of school children as a pencil and eraser．Schools have tried to limit their use, by allowing them in science lessons, to save time but by not allowing them to be used in maths classes．When children do their homework, a pocket calculator is a must．Nowadays in Britain, calculators can be used freely in school examinations, and already in many schools the only sound to be heard during a mathematics examination is the sound of children tapping out their answers．

　　Many parents feel that their children are not being given a basic understanding of the facts of maths．“ The process of addition, division, subtraction and multiplication is part of a training in logic which is important for every child．It teaches them to take series of steps necessary in coming to a conclusion,” says a local maths teacher．“ With a calculator, the child can reach the right answer, but have no idea at all how he got there．” Another teacher in the same school disagreed．“Of course the children understand the principles(基本原理)behind what they do on the calculator．It makes no difference to the mental processes they go through, except to make them much faster, and less boring．” “It’s far easier to teach them to completely understand the idea of division and multiplication by making them understand which button they need to push than to talk about apples being cut in pieces,” said another teacher, who uses calculators to keep the interest of his class．

　　In any case, the pocket calculator is here to stay; it’s taking the stress out of mental labor in all sorts of ways．

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　　Even though she’s just 5 years old, Cindy Smart speaks five languages．She’s a good reader．She can tell time and do simple math, including multiplication and division．Cindy looks like an average doll, with long, blond hair, baby-blue eyes, and a button nose．But loaded with some devices, Cindy is the first doll that can see, think, and do as she’s told．The eagle-eyed Cindy follows in the path of other breakthrough toys like Sony’s barking Robot Aibo, which was the first to popularize voice command in the late 1990s．Cindy takes Aibo’s innovations(创新)one step beyond：she not only follows instructions but also recognizes shapes, colors and words, and remembers．The effect is a doll that appears to be learning．

　　The toy company which produced Cindy Smart spent a decade trying to see how much human nature it could breath into an inanimate(无生命的)object．Its engineers began creating minibots that sense light, sounds, and pressure．However, without the sense of sight, their toys seemed to be lacking in one of the abilities that life-forms use to react to their environment．

　　So how do the engineers make a doll actually see?In Cindy’s case, it’s a multistep process．When presented a text like “I love you” and asked “Can you read this?” Cindy identifies it as one of 70 preprogrammed commands．Then the inbuilt digital camera scans a 15-degree radius in search of number-or letter-shaped objects．Buried in her stomach, Cindy’s 16-bit microprocessor compares the text with her database of 700 words．If it’s a match, “ I love you,” she says．

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　　The Metropolitan Museum of Art unwillingly handed over 363 pieces of gold, silver, precious stones, paintings, and sculptures back to Turkey after a court case．Following increasing demands for the return of artistic objects that were removed decades or centuries ago, some of the world’s leading museums have signed a declaration that they will not hand back the ancient artifacts(器物)to their countries of origin．They say people all over the world have only been able to fully appreciate ancient civilizations because these museums have provided access to these artistic objects．The ancient civilizations would not be so deeply admired today if these ancient artifacts were not so widely available to an international public in major museums throughout Europe and America．For example, Egyptian culture would not have become so well-known if the museums had not put Egyptian mummies on show．

　　The Britain Museum has not signed the declaration, but say it fully supports it．Over the recent years, it has faced growing pressure to hand back the Elgin Marbles, sculptures taken from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, in the 19^th century．But the British Museum has said that the Museum is the best possible place for them．“ They must remain here if the museum is to continue to achieve its aim, which is to show the world to the world, ” said the director of the museum．

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阅读理解

　　This is your chance to win a Breakaway weekend for two people at any of the 83 Breakaway hotels throughout Britain．

　　To win the Breakaway weekend of two, answer these four questions and send your entry, to arrive no later than 30^th September, 2007, to Team House, 24 Church Street, Ashford, Kent, TN255 BJ．

　　1．The St Vincent Rocks, Hotel, Bristol is on the Avon Groge which is crossed by the Clifton Bridge．Who designed the bridge?

　　2．The Aerodrom Hotel, Croydon is next to the airfield from which England’s solo pilot made her record flights in the 1930s．Who was she?

　　3．The Talbot Hotel, Oundle, Northans is not far from the village of Fotheringgay and the castle where one of history’s most famous queens was imprisoned．Who was she?

　　4．The Larkfield Hotel, Maidstone is a few miles away from one of England’s top motor racing tracks．What is the name of the track?

　　The person whose correct entry is picked out first by a computer will win the prize．This decision is final．The winner will be sent an excellent value Breakaway booklet giving details pf the 83 hotels from which he / she can choose where to spend the prize weekend．

　　Every Breakaway hotel gives you the chance to see something different, while providing you with comfortable surroundings and good food．

　　A Breakaway weekend includes a three-course meal, accommodation and a full English breakaway, for two nights．You also get Sunday lunch, either a traditional meal at your hotel, or, if you are planning to go sightseeing, the hotel will provide a packed lunch for you．Breakaway hotels are great places for families．Children can choose from their own special menu, and for those up to 12 years old accommodation is free of charge when sharing a room with their parents．

　　A splendid value Breakaway booklet will be sent to you if you dial this number：0044 2517 5178．

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