阅读理解

　　A man walks into a doctor's office．He has a cucumber(黄瓜)up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear．"What's the matter with me?" he asks the doctor．The doctor replies, "You're not eating properly．"

　　This is a popular joke among British schoolchildren．It shows Britain's famous dry and satirical(讽刺的)way of seeing the funny side of life．People say this unique sense of humor is one of Britain's national characteristics．

　　The British sense of humor is different from other countries because it is often more negative．When it comes to making the British laugh, there is nothing that works better than a socially inappropriate(不恰当的)joke．It reflects the culture where mocking(嘲弄)is part of everyday life．

　　While most Britons don't take these jokes too seriously, foreigners often don't understand them．A recent survey found that most foreigners who visited Britain think the British are "unfriendly and have almost no sense of humor"．

　　Are the British just not as funny as they think they are? Leo McKinstry, a British journalist, thinks the British are funny．"Accusing the British of having no sense of humor is like telling Rolls-Royce(劳斯莱斯)that its cars are cheap and not good in quality," he says．

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　　The Hawaiian Islands are situated(位于)about two thousand miles away from North America, right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean．Despite the distance the Islands actually make up the fiftieth state of the United States．The Islands were all formed by volcano eruption and on the largest of the islands, Hawaii, or the Big Island, there are still two active volcanoes, the Mauna Loa and the Kilauea, which still erupt every few years．

　　On the Hawaiian islands the natives have a particularly strange way of indicating directions．They don't use the north, south, east and west system common to the rest of the world．They use the mauka and makai system．Mauka means "mountain"．The mountains in Hawaii are always at the center of the islands, as these are volcanic islands．Makai means "the sea"．The islands are small and the system is simple．Wherever you want to visit, it can always be described in terms of where it lies in relation to the mountains and the sea．A typical conversation between a native Hawaiian and a visitor might go as follows．

　　VISITOR：Excuse me! Could you tell me where the Sheraton Hotel is? HAWAIIAN; Well…Let me see! From here it's two blocks mauka, and then one block makai．You can't miss it!

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阅读理解

　　One of the most important meals of the day is breakfast．In order for children to build strong bodies and for adults to keep well, they should always eat a good breakfast．Eating the right food is necessary for good health．You should eat different kinds of food in order to keep a good health．

　　It is understood that a good breakfast may contain eggs, bread, milk, and so on．By eating breakfast every morning, you can feel alive and active in the morning's work．After a good breakfast you can step out into the morning air and feel wonderful．Anybody can feel better by eating a good breakfast．

　　Many fathers and mothers are unable to get their children to eat breakfast．There are many reasons for children not to eat breakfast．One reason could be that they do not have a good example．It could be that the father and mother do not eat breakfast．What ever the reasons are for children not to eat breakfast, it can be bad for their health．

　　Without breakfast children may not grow as fast as they should and may not study and play as well in school in the morning as they could．They can have more illnesses, and, when they are ill, it may take them longer to be in good health again than it takes children with good health habits．

　　Good eating habits mean eating breakfast．Unless you eat breakfast, you do not eat a full meal from dinner the night before until lunch the next day．This is quite a long time for the body to go without food．

　　Food is the source of power for the body．Unless the body gets food, it cannot keep operating at top speed．Without food the body will slow down．Nobody will live without food．It is necessary to start the day full of power．So you must eat breakfast so that you can keep in good health and do your best each morning．

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　　Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, U．S．A, is in the central part of the state, on the Santa Fe River, which flows into the Rio Grande 35 kilometers west of the city．More than two thousand meters above sea level, it lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the Ortiz Mountains to the southeast．

　　Santa Fe was founded in 1609 by the Spanish on an old Indian village．In 1680, the Indians seized the place but only held it for twelve years before the Spanish retook it．The city remained under Spanish rule．Mexico won its independence(独立)in 1821．From then on it was a Mexican city until 1846 when it was taken over by American troops．

　　With a population of 48,953, Santa Fe is now the second largest city in the state．Because of its sunny weather, rich history and surrounding mountains, it is a good place for holiday makers．Besides hunting and skating in the mountains people enjoy shopping in the Indian and Spanish shops, which brings a large income to the city every year．In summer there is an international opera season when operas are shown in a partly-roofed, open-air theatre daily for people from all over the world．

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　　A man in a very splendid restaurant started to take off his jacket．Seeing this, the head waiter dashed to his table and said, “I’m afraid I must ask you to keep your jacket on, sir, for it is not good manners to do it in such a smart restaurant．”

　　“Now listen”, said the man, “I’ll let you know that the Queen of England gave me permission to remove my jacket here．”

　　“The Queen of England?” said the waiter in great surprise．

　　“Sure,” replied the man, “When I was in England last month, a friend of mine who had a very important position in high society took me to see the Queen．It was rather hot, so I started taking my coat off．The Queen looked over and said, “You may do that in the United States, but you may not do it here．” So I got the Queen’s permission, right?”

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　　China’s successful launch of its manned spacecrafts has drawn worldwide applause．It has become the third nation in the world capable of putting men into space．

　　It is widely believed home and abroad that the latest progress made by China will surely improve national cohesiveness(内聚力)and make the country’s 1.3 billion people more confident in their future in terms of social and economic progress．

However, some people in and outside China describe China’s manned space program as a prestige project which yields little economic benefit．

　　They argue that billions of US dollars spent on the decade-old space program may be better used for poverty relief and education as millions of Chinese still have a poor living and many children cannot afford basic schooling．However, mankind does need to make use of space resources for sustainable human development．

　　Space technology has become increasingly important for the exploration and peaceful use of space resources due to the shrinking reserve of natural resources on the Earth．

　　Lunar reserve of isotope helium 3 is sufficient for human need for about 10,000 years, which is attractive to the mankind being troubled by high oil prices and limited oil reserve．

　　China has benefited from the dividend of its investment in space sector．Space technology has become an indispensable part of people’s daily life, such as weather forecast, telecommunications, disaster reduction, and resources prospecting．

　　Striving hard to feed its 1.3 billion people and more in the future, China has been developing improved species of crops on the basis of space technology, mostly through recoverable satellites and spacecraft．

　　Information obtained from Shenzhou-3 and Shenzhou-4 in earth observation has been used for maritime(海上的)pollution control and desertification control projects, which is useful for China and other parts of the world．

　　China has listed space technology and information technology among the country’s seven high-tech fields in its national high-tech research and development program initiated in 1986．

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　　Heading back to the room for dinner and a hot shower may sound like the act of a tired tourist, but in the traditional Japanese inn－or ryokan－those activities can be as interesting as anything along the sightseeing trail．“People going looking for a sort of nostalgic(怀旧的), old-fashioned, traditional view of Japanese life will find it most easily in a ryokan,” said Peter Grilli, president of Japan Society of Boston, Massachusetts．

　　Many ryokan spang up in the 17^th century to put up feudal lords(领主)traveling along Tokaido highway to Edo(now Tokyo)．Today tourists looking for a taste of the country’s historic lifestyle find varying levels of understated elegant in ryokan throughout the country．

　　A typical stay starts with a greeting from the inn’s staff and a change from street shoes into slippers．An attendant leads guests to their rooms, where slippers are removed before walking on the rice straw flooring, called tatami．Walking slowly along behind a kimono-clad(和服)attendant on the creaky wood floods of Fukuzumir oryokan’s hallways is like stepping back in time．The inn was established in 1890 by a former samurai(武士)．

　　Tim Paterson, 33, a banker living in Tokyo, has stayed at several ryokan．This New Zealand native leaves after a recent stay at Fukuzumiro．“I think it’s quite good mixing culture with history and not just going to see it, but living in it, staying in it．” he said．Sliding glass doors line the inn’s rural hallways, bringing in the sound of trickling water and the quietness of the stone and tree-filled courtyards outside．

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　　When people ask me why I’m so negative, I always tell them I’m simply looking out for my best interests and everyone else’s．But negativity gets a bad reputation．Everywhere you look, someone’s talking about the power of positive thinking．

　　My life is good and I contribute it to imagining the worse and then being pleasantly surprised when the worst doesn’t happen．Last week, I read about a report out of the Netherlands suggesting this outlook increases my chances of dying from heart disease．

　　This news might have moved me to change my ways, but then I saw an article about some new data from Denmark．Over the last three decades, Danes have been shown to have higher rates of “life satisfaction” than any other Western country．Their key to contentment? Low expectations．

　　As the article explained, Danes know they don’t come from the largest, blondest or most temperate nation on the earth．They don’t expect to be the winners of any game．So when good things happen, they are that much happier．

　　This is the philosophy I’ve been living for years．It’s why I go to every party expecting to have a miserable time and leave for every vacation thinking it will rain．These things rarely happen, so every time things don’t turn out so bad, I’m relieved and joyful．That’s the power of negative thinking．

　　I strongly doubt if there is a sense of contentment being too positive, especially when expectation gets confused with hope．Americans seem unable to separate these ideas．Our entire belief is wrapped up in the myth of turning dreams into reality, of constantly reaching for higher goals, of never settling．Obviously, this can-do spirit turned us into the most powerful nation in the world．But I’ve always thought we would get better results with a belief like “the pursuit of contentment”．

　　It is interesting how it sounds strange that people often hope to get the best, while making preparations for the worst”．But that’s the problem with positive thinking．Because it ignores satisfaction, which is really desirable, and runs after high expectations, which are less likely to be achieved．So let’s stop being so optimistic．

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　　China news, Beijing, Feb．9–Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese．To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries．However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States．This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫)in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported．

　　Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses．If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter．In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US．

　　The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles．Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities．Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people．How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?

　　At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public．Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制)the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers．At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units．By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered．

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Reports on Bird Flu(有关禽流感的报道)

　　BEIJING, Nov．25, 2005(Reuters)－China's home-grown human bird flu vaccine is at least a year away from hitting the market but tests on humans have been approved by the government, head of the research drug company said on Friday．

　　Development of the vaccine started last year after bird flu outbreaks in Thailand and Vietnam and animal trials have already been completed, said Yin Wei-dong, managing director of Sinovac Biotech．

　　“It is not a virus that is spreading from human to human, so we are very optimistic,” Yin told Reuters in an interview．

　　The deadly H5N1 made its first known jump to humans in Hong Kong in 1997, killing six people．The virus appeared again in late 2003 and is known to have infected 130 people in several parts of Asia, killing 68 of them．

　　“It is not decided yet when the human trials will begin．We just got approval on November 22 by the State Food and Drug Administration, ”Yin said．

　　Oregon, Nov．26,2005(AP)－The deadly strain of bird flu that appeared in Asia and has already spread to other parts of the world has not affected the Oregon poultry industry or consumers, according to Oregon State University researchers．

　　There are many strains of bird flu that do not usually infect humans．But one strain, called H5N1, has jumped from chickens to humans and is blamed for more than 60 deaths in Asia．

　　International disease control experts are worried about a worldwide outbreak of bird flu, raising concerns such as whether it is safe to eat poultry．

　　But Oregon State University researchers say there is no proof that the virus can jump to humans by eating cooked poultry products．

　　“Consumers needn't be overly concerned about bird flu, ”said Jim Hermes, OSU Extension Service poultry specialist．But he urged consumers to follow standard food safety practices in preparing poultry－including washing hands while preparing food, and proper cooking of poultry meat and eggs．

　　He noted that a 2003 outbreak of bird virus caused much damage to commercial poultry operations in California but did not get into Oregon because of industry safeguards．

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