Reading Comprehension

　　Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard．

　　“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!”Richard used to boast．

　　“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,”George would reply“because I’ll be the best lawyer in the town!”

　　George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money．Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street．It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse．

　　Then Richard married a mysterious girl．The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast－but Richard never came back．The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found．He must have drowned．

　　Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George．But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his formal rival(竞争对手)．Perhaps he missed him?

　　George was very interested in old dictionaries．He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition．When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted．But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in．He was astonished－the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable!Trembling, George started reading．

　　“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans．The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia．”

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　　It's only 4 hours flying time from Sydney, but a world away．What better place to rest than a country where the only place people hurry is on the football field and things are done in“Fiji time”?

　　Viti Lev-Great Fiji-is the largest island．Here you'll find the capital Suva and the international airport at Nadi Vatoa, on the other hand, is a tiny island in the farthest part of Hiji．Then there are 331 other islands, many of them with places to stay．

　　With less than a million people living on islands, you'll never feel crowded And with a climate(气候)that changes only for five degrees between seasons, there’s never a bad time to come．

　　From cities to villages, from mountains to beaches, from water sports to wooden artworks, Fiji can give you more adventures and special experiences than you could find almost any where in the world．

　　Whenever you come, wherever you go, you’re sure to see some unforgettable events, From war dances to religious(宗教的)songs．From market days to religious days．It's not just staged for tourists; it's still a part of everyday life in Fiji And any one of us can enjoy Fiji's spirit by being part of the traditional(传统的)sharing of yaqona－a drink made from the root of a Fiji plant．

　　So why not join us for the experience of a lifetime?

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　　The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years．In 1721, the printer James Franklin．Benjamin's older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper．He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects．

　　Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin's Courant．few believe that newspapers in their present printed form will remain alive for long Newspaper complies are losing advertisers(广告商), readers, market value．and．in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago The chief editor(主编)of the times said recently,“At places where they gather, editors ask one another, 'How are you?', as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law came．”An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guardian, under the headline“NOT DEAD YET．”

　　perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death．Some American newspapers have lost 42％ of their market value in the past thee years The New York Times Company has seen its stock(股票)drop by 54％ since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock-holders sell off their Times stock The Washington Post Comply has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company's income．

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　　GUATEMALA CITY(Reuters)–A fish that lives in mangrove swamps(红树沼泽)across the Americas can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted(适应)to land millions of years ago, a new study shows．

　　The Magrove Rivulus, a type of small killifish, lives in small pools of water in a certain type of empty nut or even old beer cans in the mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil．When their living place dries up, they live on the land in logs(圆木), said Scott Taylor, a researcher at the Brevard Endangered Lands Program in Florida．

　　The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches．They group together in logs and breathe air through their skin until they can find water again．

　　The new scientific discovery came after a trip to Belize．

　　“We kicked over a log and the fish just came crowding out,”Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatgemala by telephone．He said he will make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year．

　　In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating．

　　Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time．The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in an inactive state．But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada’s University of Guelph．

　　Further studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time．

　　“These animals live in conditions similar to those that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the transition(过渡)from water onto land,”Wright said．

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　　Having a husband means an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study．For men, getting married saves an hour of housework a week．“It’s a well-known pattern,”said lead researcher Frank Stafford at University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research．“Men usually work more outside the home, while women take on more of the housework．”

　　He points out that differences among households(家庭)exist．But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men．“And the situation gets worse for women when they have children,”Stafford said．

　　Overall, times are changing in the American home．In 1976, women busied themselves with 26 weekly hours of sweeping-and-dusting work, compared with 17 hours in 2005．Men are taking on more housework, more than doubling their housework hours from six in 1976 to 13 in 2005．

　　Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most-about 21 hours a week．

　　Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger men．Single men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men．

　　Having children increases housework even further．With more than three children, for example, wives took on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week compared with husbands’10 hours．

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　　I know what you’re thinking：pizza(比萨饼)?For breakfast?But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a．m．if you want to

　　I know lots of women who skip breakfast(不吃早餐), and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it．Some say they don’t have time．others think they’re“saving”calories(卡路里), still others just don’t like breakfast food．

　　But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight．“Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,”says Katherine Brooking, R, D, who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s“SELF CHALLENGE”．And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece．

　　Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories．Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day．Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal．

　　So eat something in the morning, anything．I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice．I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it!I find if I tell myself,“You can always eat it tomorrow,”I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night．Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories．And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects．

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　　New archaeological discoveries that between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road not began in some form many centuries man one tought．The findings, coupled with a wit of scientice and historical research, add a new page to the epic of the Silk Road．

　　The latest and most interesting discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Europe mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt．Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia．

　　The official origin of East-West commerce along the road is usually placed in the late 2 century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission(使命)across the western desert into the remote high country of Central Asia．The agent, Zhang Qian, traveled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, Perhaps Rome．Historians have called this one of the most important januallys in ancient times．His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indinst contact between the incient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome still first traded to central Asical for wars and to the Parthians of old Persia in exchange for acrobats rich eggs, was soon finding the war though a network of merchants to the luxury markets to Rome．

　　But the new distract show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the Western before then Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road．the research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at other end of Eurasia．

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　　Many people write to newspapers and magazines to express their opinions．Letters to the editor must berry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for pulation．This requirement to provide clear indication that writers are held resture for what they say．When a writer wants, he needs to claim ownership pf his voice．In the name of the game．

　　“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,”said social worker Ken Yip,“and this is what is causing a lot of family problems．”When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously．Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature．The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply．

　　There are people who wish to remain anonymous(匿名的)for various reasons．Multi-billionaire Mr．King donates generously to charity several times a year．He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he, not want his good deeds to make news．In other cases, on anonymity because they are the consequences of revealing their identity．Crimemay be willing to assist the police, are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime．

　　Name or no name?The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to．We all have a name．It is a matter of responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation．We all want to honour our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our name that we honour what we say．

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　　The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all aroud you and that it proves down upon you．Air pressure is a wonderful force．When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body．The air all around you does the same．However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this．The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere．This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth’s surface．

　　The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home．But make sure that you are supervised, because you will need to use matches．Now foe the experiment!

　　·A hard-boiled egg without the shell

　　·A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg

　　·A piece of paper

　　·A match

　　1)Check that the paper will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle．

　　2)Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle．

　　3)Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle．

　　4)Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle．

　　Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle．Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment．But be careful when you handle matches．

　　As the paper burns, it needs oxyen and uses up the oxygen(air)in the bottle．The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside．This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle．The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle．The outside air pressure against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle!The proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on it．

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