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　　February has long been a month of romance．With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines．

　　On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine's Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome．When the emperor decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn't allow marriage．

　　But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret．When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death．While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard．Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed“From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today．Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint(圣徒), as well as becoming one of history's most romantic characters．

　　Nowadays, Valentine's Day is also popular among Chinese young people．Some students are planning to make Valentine's cards for parents, teachers and friends．Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes．The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St．Valentine．

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　　Clothes are not only necessary in our life, it is also important to the English language．As we all know, people wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies．So we sometimes say that people who are restless or nervous“have ants in their pants”．Sometimes, people may get caught with their pants down．They are found doing something they should not be doing．And, in every family, one person takes control．Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do．Then we say she wears the pants in the family．

　　Pants usually have pockets to hold things．Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket．Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants．If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten your belt．You may have to live on less money and spend your money carefully．But once you have succeeded in budgeting your money, you will have that skill under your belt．

　　My father is an important person He runs a big company．He wears suit and tie and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms．Some people who do not know him well think he is too firm and severe．They think he is a real stuffed shirt．But I know that my father wears his heart on his sleeve, showing his feelings openly．And, he knows how to keep his shirt on, always staying calm and never getting angry or too excited

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　　Barbara was driving her six-year-old son, Benjamin, to his piano lesson．They were late, and Barbara was beginning to think she should have given it up．There was always so much to do, and Barbara had recently helped with an operation．She was tired．The storm and icy roads added to her tension．Maybe she should turn the car around．

　　“Mom!”Ben cried．“Look!”Just ahead a car had lost control on a patch of ice．As Barbara tapped the brakes, the other car wildly rolled over; then crashed sideways into a telephone pole．

　　Barbara pulled over, stopped and threw open her door．Thank goodness she knew her job well－she might be able to help these unfortunate passengers．Then she paused．What about Ben? She couldn't take him with her．Little boys shouldn't see scenes like that．But was it safe to leave him alone? What if their car were hit from behind? For a brief moment Barbara considered going on her way．

　　She asked Ben to stay in the car and ran, slipping and sliding, toward the crash site．It was worse than she' feared．Two girls of high school age are in the car．One was killed．The driver, however, was still breathing．Barbara quickly applied pressure to the wound in the teenagers' head while her practiced eye checked the other injuries．A broken leg, maybe two, along with probable internal bleeding．But if help came soon, the girl would live．

　　A trucker had pulled up and was calling for help on his cell phone．Soon ambulance and rescue workers came．“Good job,”one said while examining the wounds．“You probably saved her life!”Later the families of the victims came to meet Barbara, expressing their gratitude for the help she had offered．

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　　In cold winter days, as you have probably noticed, germs(细菌)are everywhere－runny noses, sore throats, nothing quite like the common cold to make you feel miserable and terrible．

　　But some experts believe that there is no relation between cold weather and catching colds．So why are we particularly weak and easy to catch a cold during this season?

　　Internal Medicine expert, Dr Meenakshi says,“One reason could be the truth that people are likely to stay indoors, so the virus can spread easily among people．Also the virus grows better in wetness．”

　　The common cold is a viral infection that can be caused by any of up to 250 kinds of virus, the most common group of which are the viruses that hit the nose．They are responsible for anywhere between one third and half of all common colds．Dr Jain says,“these viruses are transmitted through the nose and respiratory passages(呼吸道), by touch, and by contact with airborne particles(空气微粒)that are created by sneezing or coughing．”

　　Medical experts also say that there is no cure for the common cold and even antibiotics(抗生素)are of no help．However, there are some prevention measures which can be of some help．

　　S Wash your hands regularly, so that germs get killed．

　　S Don't touch your eyes, nose and mouth, which can limit your chances of infection

　　S Don't share drinking glasses with anyone else, as this will prevent the spread of the virus．

　　S Drink lots of fluids, especially hot water, to avoid dryness．

　　S Make sure to eat enough fruits to increase your immune system．

　　S Get enough sleep and you'll certainly become stronger to fight against the virus．

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　　China may send naval ships to the seas off Somalia to help the fight against piracy(海盗行为)there, Chinese media on Wednesday quoted a Vice Foreign Minister as saying at the United Nations, Reuters reported．

　　"China is seriously considering sending naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast for escorting operations in the near future," the Xinhua news agency quoted He Yafei as saying．He Yafei, speaking at a Security Council ministerial meeting, said that China welcomed global cooperation in the fight against Somali piracy, and supported efforts by other countries to send ships to the region, Xinhua reported．

　　Earlier this month a leading Chinese military strategist, Major-General Jin Yinan, urged the government to send ships, in comments generating debate about combating piracy in a country which has generally confined its navy to waters near home．Jin told a Chinese radio interviewer that" nobody should be shocked" if his government one day decided to send navy ships to deal with the pirates, whose recent victims have included ships from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong．Jin is the head of a strategy institute at China's National Defense University．

　　While the military strategist is urging an active part, other scholars think the government should be cautious before a decision is made．The Chinese military ships should go there" only within the UN framework," said Pang Zhongying, a professor of international relations with Renmin University of China．Pang added that he also had some concerns over the Chinese navy's capability．"I don't think the Chinese navy has the capability to fight against unconventional threats far in the ocean," he said, adding supplying and refueling in the Indian Ocean are key challenges．

　　A sharp increase in attacks at sea this year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia has pushed up insurance costs, brought the Somali pirates tens of millions of dollars in ransom(赎金)and prompted foreign warships to the area．Among the captured ships are a Saudi supertanker loaded with ＄100 million of crude oil, the Sirius Star, and a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying some 30 Soviet-era tanks．The victims have also included a Hong Kong-flagged ship with 25 crew aboard and a Chinese mainland fishing boat reported seized off Kenya．NATO ships began anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast in late October, but they have failed to stop the attacks．

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阅读理解

　　Barbara was driving her six-year-old son, Benjamin, to his piano lesson．They were late, and Barbara was beginning to think she should have given it up．There was always so much to do, and Barbara had recently helped with an operation．She was tired．The storm and icy roads added to her tension．Maybe she should turn the car around．

　　“Mom!” Ben cried．“Look!” Just ahead a car had lost control on a patch of ice．As Barbara tapped the brakes, the other car wildly rolled over; then crashed sideways into a telephone pole．

　　Barbara pulled over, stopped and threw open her door．Thank goodness she knew her job well－she might be able to help these unfortunate passengers．Then she paused．What about Ben? She couldn’t take him with her．Little boys shouldn’t see scenes like that．But was it safe to leave him alone? What if their car were hit from behind? For a brief moment Barbara considered going on her way．

　　She asked Ben to stay in the car and ran, slipping and sliding, toward the crash site．It was worse than she’ feared．Two girls of high school age are in the car．One was killed．The driver, however, was still breathing．Barbara quickly applied pressure to the wound in the teenagers’ head while her practiced eye checked the other injuries．A broken leg, maybe two, along with probable internal bleeding．But if help came soon, the girl would live．

　　A trucker had pulled up and was calling for help on his cellphone．Soon ambulance and rescue workers came．“Good job,” one said while examining the wounds．“You probably saved her life!” Later the families of the victims came to meet Barbara, expressing their gratitude for the help she had offered．

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阅读理解

　　In cold winter days, as you have probably noticed, germs(细菌)are everywhere－runny noses, sore throats, nothing quite like the common cold to make you feel miserable and terrible．

　　But some experts believe that there is no relation between cold weather and catching colds．So why are we particularly weak and easy to catch a cold during this season?

　　Internal Medicine expert, Dr Meenakshi says, “One reason could be the truth that people are likely to stay indoors, so the virus can spread easily among people．Also the virus grows better in wetness．”

　　The common cold is a viral infection that can be caused by any of up to 250 kinds of virus, the most common group of which are the viruses that hit the nose．They are responsible for anywhere between one third and half of all common colds．Dr Jain says, “these viruses are transmitted through the nose and respiratory passages(呼吸道), by touch, and by contact with airborne particles(空气微粒)that are created by sneezing or coughing．”

　　Medical experts also say that there is no cure for the common cold and even antibiotics(抗生素)are of no help．However, there are some prevention measures which can be of some help．

　　S Wash your hands regularly, so that germs get killed．

　　S Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth, which can limit your chances of infection

　　S Don’t share drinking glasses with anyone else, as this will prevent the spread of the virus．

　　S Drink lots of fluids, especially hot water, to avoid dryness．

　　S Make sure to eat enough fruits to increase your immune system．

　　S Get enough sleep and you’ll certainly become stronger to fight against the virus．

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阅读理解

　　A research team from Finland, the United States, China and Scotland is hopeful about the future of forests．Six experts in forestry science and economics say forest growth is on the increase in some countries and the number is rising．Professor Kauppi says the findings suggest the world may be able to reach a turning point away from deforestation(毁林)．Many experts have considered that impossible．But the researchers say it may be possible to expand the world’s forests by ten percent, or an area about the size of India, by 2050．

　　They used information released last year by the Food and Agriculture Organization．The new study looked at the fifty nations with the most forests．The researchers used a new way to measure forest resources．They considered more than just the amount of land covered by trees．They also considered forest density, tree sizes, biomass(生物量)and the amount of atmospheric carbon captured in forests．The biomass represents all plants and tree growth．

　　The researchers say growing stock increased in twenty-two of the fifty countries．And, in about half of the fifty countries, biomass and carbon storage also increased．The researchers say forest areas and biomass are still being lost in such important countries as Brazil and Indonesia．But they found gains in others, including the world’s most populous nations．They say China and the United States have had the greatest gains．And they say India has reached the right balance between forested and non-forested land．

　　In percentage terms, though, the study says that forest areas have expanded fastest in the last fifteen years in Vietnam, Spain and China．And they have shrunk fastest in Nigeria and the Philippines．Professor Kauppi says the main obstacle to forest growth is fast-growing poor populations that burn wood for cooking fuel, or sell it for quick money or clear forest for crops．But a number of scientists criticized the use of information that came from governments．They said some governments didn’t keep good records about their forests, and might not tell the truth．

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　　From their beginnings New England towns had a special democratic system of government．At a stated time all the citizens would assemble at a town meeting, where they would discuss local problems and express opinions freely．They also elected the town’s officials at these gatherings and made decisions about the taxes they would pay and about other community matters．These meetings were usually held at the town hall, which was located in the central square．

　　In the eighteenth-century town meetings, only men who owned property and who were church members actually voted, although everyone present was allowed to express their opinions．Later, all citizens were allowed to vote．Thus the town meeting became truly democratic．Town meetings are still common in New England communities．

　　In recent years the town meeting idea has been widely imitated．There are open sessions of this kind on radio and television．Occasionally a meeting of this type is called by a government agency in order to give an opportunity for free and open discussion on current problems and policies．

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　　People often say, “The hand that rocks the cradle(摇篮)rules the world．” and “Behind every successful man there is a woman．” Both these sayings mean the same thing．Men rule the world, but their wives rule them．

　　Most American women like making their husbands and sons successful, but some of them want more for themselves．They want good jobs, and when they work they want to be paid．They also want to be as successful as men．

　　The American women’s liberation movement was started by women who didn’t want to stand behind successful men．They wanted to stand beside men and have the same chances for success．They didn’t want to be told that certain jobs or offices were closed to them．They refused to work side by side with men who did the same work for a higher pay．

　　A liberated woman must be proud of being a woman and have confidence in herself．If somebody says to her, “You have come a long way, baby．” She will smile and answer, “Not nearly as far as I’m going to go, baby．” This movement is quite new, and many American women don’t agree with it．But it has already made some important changes in women’s lives and in men’s lives, too．

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