阅读理解

　　The murder took place around ten o' clock p.m. on June 10th．Thirty-two people watched Kitty being killed right beneath their windows．She was their neighbor．Yet, none of the 32 helped her．Not even one called the police．Was this inhumane cruelty? Was it lack of feeling for one's fellow man?

　　“Not so,”say scientists Dr．Darley and Dr．Fatane．They've found the reasons why people don't act．According to them, a person has to go through two steps before he can help．First he has to notice there is an emergency．

　　Suppose you see a middle-aged man fall onto the ground．Is he having a heart attack, or some other physical trouble? Or is he simply about to sleep off a drunk? So it's not always easy to tell if you are faced with a real emergency．

　　Second and more important, the person faced with an emergency must feel himself responsible．He must feel that he must help．

　　The researchers found that a lot depends on how many people are around．They asked college students to come in to be“tested”．Some came alone, some with one or two others, and some in large groups．When they came in either alone, in pairs, or in groups, a lady went into the next room．Soon the students heard a scream, the noise of something falling and a cry for help．All of these had been pre-recorder(预先录制)．

　　Eight out of ten of the students taking the test alone acted to help．Of the students in pairs, only two out of ten helped．Of the students in groups, none helped．

　　In other words, in a group, Americans often fail to act．They feel that others will act．They, themselves, needn't．They do not feel any direct responsibility．

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　　Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor．Whenever I speak to a Chinese student they always say,“My spoken English is poor．”However, their spoken English does not have to remain“poor”! I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English．

　　First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary．Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary．However, you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if your attitude is positive．Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know．

　　Second, they are afraid of making mistakes．Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous．Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY．Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly．However, in speaking your aim is fluency．You want to get your message across, to talk to someone in English, as quickly and as well as you can．Even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense, it doesn't matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances for any mistakes he hears．

　　The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening．You have one mouth but two ears! Everything you hear is necessary for you to start speaking．

　　Fourth, most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive(主动进攻型)language learners．Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English they passively(被动的)wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor．If you have this proactive outlook, then you will see English opportunities wherever you go．

　　If you do not use your English beyond the classroom you will forget what English you know．Remember：USE IT OR LOSE IT! You can learn how to speak English better by speaking English more．

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　　Doctors say anger can be an extremely damaging emotion, unless you learn how to deal with it．They warn that anger can lead to heart disease, stomach problems, headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer．

　　Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time．Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way．Others burst with anger and scream and yell．But other people keep their anger inside．They can not or will not express it．This is called repressing anger．

　　For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person's health than expressing it．They said that when a person is angry, the brain releases the same hormones(荷尔蒙)．They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood, etc．In general, the person feels excited and ready to act．

　　Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous．They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease, and they believe that those who keep their anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure．

　　Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger．They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, then decide if the cause is serious enough to get angry about．If it is, they say,“Do not express your anger while angry．Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably．”

　　Doctors say that a good way to deal with anger is to find humor in the situation that has made you angry．They said that laughter is much healthier than anger．

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　　There are many factors which may have an influence on adults and children being able to lead a healthy life．

　　Nowadays, people are very busy．Often, both parents work outside the home．Children are expected to take on more responsibility at home to help their parents．They also have sporting and leisure activities as well as school expectations．

　　The busyness also adds another factor：the need to use cars to get from one place to another quickly．

　　Today, society places a lot of emphasis on technology．Computers, DVDs, CDs, television, PlayStations and Xboxes have become major leisure activities, rather than traditional more active pursuits．This has led to a more sedentary lifestyle．

　　The media provide entertainment and information．Unfortunately, they also promote fast food which fits easily into busy lifestyles．It is much more convenient at times to buy a quick takeaway rather than prepare a meal．The media constantly bombard(轰炸)their audience with“perfect”body images, the need to buy the most fashionable clothes, the most up-to-date computer games, the best places to visit and the best things to do．

　　Environments vary．We may be exposed to pollution, such as cigarette smoke．This can be harmful to people who suffer from breathing difficulties．Environments where passive smoking is unavoidable make it difficult to lead a healthy life．

　　The important factor influencing healthy lifestyles is motivation or the desire to be healthy．Any person who wants to be healthy will find a way to be healthy－if he/she is motivated enough!

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　　New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

　　Price：￡28.00

　　Publication Date：30/11/2004

　　Publisher's description

　　Collects Doyle's fifty-six classic short stories, arranged in the order in which they appeared in the late nineteenth century book editions, in a set complemented(补充)by four novels, editor biographies of Doyle, Holmes, and Watson as well as literary and cultural details about Victorian society．

　　Breaking Ground by Daniel Libeskind

　　Price：￡16.00

　　Publication Date：11/10/2004

　　Brief introduction

　　This is a book about the adventure life that can offer each of us if we seize it, and about the powerful forces of tragedy, memory and hope．For Daniel Libeskind, life's adventure has been through architecture, which he has found has the power to reshape human experience．Although often relating to the past, his buildings are about the future．This memoir(自传)of one man's journey brings together history, personal experience, our physical environment and a fresh international vision．

　　In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman

　　Price：￡16.00

　　Publication Date：02/09/2004

　　Brief introduction

　　On 11th September 2001, Art Spiegelman raced to the World Trade Center, not knowing if his daughter Nadja was living or dead．Once she was found safe－in her school at the foot of the burning towers－he returned home, to meditate(反省)on the trauma(创伤), and to work on a comic strip(连环漫画)．In the Shadow of No Towers is New Yorker Art Spiegelman's extraordinary account of“the hijacking”on 9.11 and the following hijacking of those events' by America．

　　Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

　　Price：￡14.00

　　Publication Date：07/10/2004

　　Publisher's description

　　This is the 11th novel by Anita Shreve, the critically accepted bestseller．A moving story of love and courage and tragedy and of the ways in which the human heart always seeks to heal itself．

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　　“Can I see my baby?”the happy new mother asked．When the bundle(包裹)was laid in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped．The baby had been born without ears．

　　Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect．It was only his appearance that was ruined．When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a series of heartbreaks．

　　He cried out the tragedy．“A boy, a big boy…called me a freak．”“But you might mix with other young people,”his mother blamed him, but felt a kindness in her heart．

　　He grew up, handsome for his misfortune．A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that．He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music．

　　The boy's father had a meeting with the family doctor．“Could nothing be done?”“I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be got,”the doctor decided．And then the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice(牺牲)for a young man．

　　Two years went by．One day, his father said to the son,“You're going to the hospital, son．Mother and I have someone who will donate(捐献)the ears you need．But it's a secret．”

　　The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person appeared．His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of achievements．

　　Later he married and entered the diplomatic service．One day, he asked his father,“Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her．”“I do not believe you could,”said the father,“but the agreement was that you are not to know…not yet．”

　　The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come．One of the darkest days that ever passed through a son．He stood with his father over his mother's casket(棺)．Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to show that the mother had no outer ears．

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　　This report presents details of home computer used by a sample group of young people．It is a common belief that teenagers today know about computers and are familiar with using them in all aspects of their lives．We decided to try to find out if this was true．

　　We questioned thirty young people between 14 and 18．All the teenagers we chose said they had computers at home．We asked them how much time they spent on their computer in an average(平均)week, but we were most interested in what they used their computers for．

　　The average time spent on a computer in a week was about 12 hours, with the highest user averaging 32 hours and the lowest user only 5 hours．There was no significant(明显)difference between boys and girls．

　　All of the people(questioned)said they regularly used the computer to play games．Fourteen told us they did some word-processing at home, but not very much．Only 2 of the respondents(被调查者)said that computers helped them with their studies, while 8 people told us they kept addresses and telephone numbers on their computers or used them as diaries．Only 3 people said they were learning to program computers, and nobody consulted(查阅)databases(other than their address lists)．None of the people used their computer for any other purpose．The chart gives the overall results in detail．

　　The results indicate(表明)that average computer use is quite high among 14-18-year-old．They also show quite clearly that computers are seen by most young people as no more than game machines．The only other significant uses are for word processing and organizing address lists．It seems to us that, although computers are common in the homes of British young people, they have not yet become useful tools in the routine of everyday life．

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　　A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童)was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?”he asked．Paul answered,“Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．”The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything? Boy, I wish－．”He hesitated．

　　Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．

　　“I wish,”the boy went on,“that I could be a brother like that．”Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again,“Would you like to take a ride in my car?”“Oh yes, I'd love that．”

　　After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said,“Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

　　Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?”the boy asked．He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled(残疾)brother．He seated him down on the step and pointed to the car．

　　“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent．And some day I'm going to give you one just like it－then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about．”

　　Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．

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　　Headaches associated with air travel appear to be a“huge and painful problem”, Israeli researchers report．

　　In a study of 906 men and women who had traveled more than once by plane, nearly 6％ reported that they experienced headaches associated with flying．

　　There are a number of mechanisms that could contribute to headaches during air travel, including stress, poor air quality, engine noise and changes in barometric pressure(大气压), the investigators note．To investigate the prevalence(盛行)of flight-associated headaches, they surveyed visitors to the travel clinic at their medical center．

　　More than one in five of the study participants had headaches at least once a month that weren't related to flying, the researchers found．But just over half of the 5.7％ who reported flight-associated headaches suffered headaches this frequently．They were also slightly more likely to have migraines(偏头痛)．Two-thirds of those who suffered flight-associated headaches were women, and one-third had a family history of headache．

　　Among the flight-associated headache sufferers, 19.2％ said they had headaches every time they flew．Nearly a quarter said their headaches got worse as the plane climbed, while a fifth said the pain became worse as the plane descended to the Dead Sea, which is about 400 meters below sea level, suggesting that barometric pressure may be a factor．

　　This study, the researchers conclude, suggests that flight-associated headache “seems to affect a significant number of the travel population”．

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　　Patricia Blues, 29, has a new aim in life：to keep drivers' hands on their steering wheels and off their cell phones．On November 2,2007, Blues lived through a horrible experience．A motorist dialing a cell phone drove through a stop sign at 45 miles per hour and ran into the side of Blues' car．Blues' 2-year-old daughter was killed immediately in the crash．

　　Blues has since dedicated her time to pushing for laws that would prevent this type of tragedy from happening again．

　　Cell phones are not the only distractions(分神)that cause accidents．Eating, changing CD, reading maps, talking to passengers, and just reaching for an object on the floor can be dangerous．Therefore, the emphasis should be on educating drivers to avoid all distractions．However, talking on cell phones might be easier to regulate than eating or changing music．At least 34 states have already passed laws to restrict cell phone use in moving cars．No state has banned it yet, but several U.S．cities have．Worldwide, 13 nations, including Australia, England, Germany, Japan and China have banned drivers' use of cell phones in moving cars．

　　To date, no scientific evidence has been published showing that talking on the phone affects driving safety．But according to a test by some high school students, “driving while on the phone does affect safety and probably shouldn't be done”．

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