阅读理解

　　America is a mobile society．Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change．Neither side feels hurt by this．Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while－then no more．If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship．This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸)sometimes deeply into both families．

　　Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life．They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客)easily．

　　Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time．This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time．Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend．We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends．The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine．They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus．And they expect that we will phone them from there．Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real．We will find ourselves treated hospitably．

　　For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters．So accept their hospitality at home!

阅读理解

　　Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours．This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact, it is quite normal．For some people, though, loneliness can last for years．Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness．

　　The first kind of loneliness is temporary．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result or a particular situation－for example, a family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place．Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year．

　　The third kind of loneliness is the most severe．Unlike the second type, chronic(长期的)loneliness usually last more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others．Unfortunately, many chronically lone people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition．

　　Psychologists agree that one important fact in loneliness is a person's social contacts, e．g, friends, family members, co-workers, etc．We depend on various people for different reasons．For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities．However, psychologists have found that, though lone people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more．They question their own popularity．

　　Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons：they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease．While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a very sad, and sometimes dangerous condition．

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Dear SJ,

　　Losing a best friend is never easy．Your problem, SJ is not just that you miss your best friend, it is that you feel empty and lost without her friendship．

　　It takes time to get over a loss, and during that time, your mind is getting used to a new way of being．This is usually a good thing, even if it feels like a bad thing．

　　Now that you are on your own, you are being forced to learn to be by yourself and to rely upon your own inner voice for guidance．I am sure that this feels strange for you, but if you can hang on for a bit, it may work to your advantage．

　　Best friends are cool, but it is important to know the difference between missing someone and being too dependent upon them．

　　At your age, girls do tend to stick together and having a boy friend may not yet be the better choice．Your friend is a little ahead of herself in leaving you, her best friend, for a boyfriend．Boy-friends are completely different from best friends; the distinction being that boyfriends come and go, while girl friends often stay in your life throughout high school, and even afterwards．It is a completely different sort of bond．

　　I suggest that you take advantage of this period in your life to expand your horizons．Enjoy the freedom of having no best friend for a while, and hang with the group．By the time your former best friend breaks up with her boyfriend, you will be in a completely different place, a far better place; in your head that is．

　　And, by the way, next time that you feel empty and lost, try to write about it in a diary or just simply on paper．In several months, you will look back and read it with curiosity about yourself．

　　“Who was I then, and what could I have been thinking?”

阅读理解

　　Do you like to eat out?Do you like to eat quickly?Do you like inexpensive food?Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons．In the past, people usually went to diners(小餐馆)for these reasons．In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons．

　　A man named Walter Scott had the first “diner” in 1872．It wasn't a real diner．It was only a food cart．People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food．These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and a late-night meal．The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs．In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside．However, they did not sit down．Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate．

　　Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock．In other words, people were able to eat in diner at any time．Diners changed in other ways, too．The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger．It included soup, favorite dishes, and a breakfast menu．In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings．They were no longer carts on wheels．

　　Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s．They are usually buildings with large windows．Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs．People can eat all three meals in a modern diner．

　　Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King．However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there．It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today．

阅读理解

　　An open-jaw flight is one that, in the simplest terms, flies from point A to point B, then from point C home to point A．Points B and C are often neighboring airports, or at least in the same general area．A sample open-jaw itinerary(旅程)might be a flight from Atlanta to Seattle on the way out and from Portland, Ore to Atlanta on the way back．

　　Another open-jaw flight is to fly into and out of the same destination city, but your starting and finishing points are different, thus：fly from Point A to Point B; then fly Point B to Point C．

　　An open jaw is appealing to travelers who are planning to cover a lot of ground during their trip and who don't want to waste time returning to their original airport．Perhaps you fly into San Francisco and then drive down the coast of California to Los Angeles; an open-jaw fare would allow you to fly home out of Los Angles instead of making your way back up to San Francisco．

　　Despite the fact that an open-jaw itinerary isn't quite a classic round trip, most airlines treat it as such and charge you half the roundtrip fare of what each leg of the trip would cost you．So if the Atlanta-Seattle round trip would cost ＄400 and the Portland-Atlanta round trip would cost ＄500, you end up paying of ＄450 roundtrip．The resulting total fare will typically offer many savings over the cost of two separate one-way flights．

　　The most common limitation on an open-jaw itinerary is that the part of your trip that you don’t fly must be shorter than the shortest leg of the trip that you do fly．

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　　A store that sells husbands has just opened in Ottawa where a woman may go to choose a husband from many men．The store consists of 6 floors and the men increase in positive attributes(属性)as the shopper goes up the flights．There is, however, a catch．As you open the door to any floor you may choose a man from that floor, but if you go up a floor, you cannot go back down except to leave the building．

　　So a woman goes to the shopping center to find a husband．On the first floor, the sign on the door reads：Floor 1-These men have jobs．The woman reads the sign and says to herself．"Well, that's better than my last boyfriend, but 1 wonder what's further up?"

　　So up she goes．The second floor sign reads：Floor 2-These men have jobs and love kids．The woman remarks to herself, "That's great, but I wonder what's further up?"

　　And up she goes again．The third floor sign reads：Floor 3-These men have jobs, love kids and are extremely good looking．"Hmm, better．" she says．"But I wonder what's upstairs?"

　　The fourth floor sign reads：Floor 4-These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking and help with the housework．"Wow!" exclaims the woman, "Very attractive．But, there must be more, further up!"

　　And again she heads up another flight．The fifth floor sign reads：Floor5-These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good-looking, help with the housework and have a strong romantic character．''Oh, mercy me!But just think…hat must be awaiting me further on?"

　　So up to the sixth floor she goes．The sixth floor sign reads：Floor 6-You are visitors 3,456,789,012 to this floor．There are no men on this floor．Thank you for shopping Husband Mart and have a nice day．

阅读理解

　　The phone is ringing at the other end of the line and it clicks as it is being answered．A voice says quickly,“Hello．Will you hold, please?”Then there is another click, followed by silence．It seems like hours before someone comes back on the line-that is, if you don't hang up first．

　　Office calls are, perhaps, the most difficult and the most important part of a secretary's work．The first impression that a man receives about a business is very often through a telephone contact．A caller who is left hanging on “hold” will get the feeling that he or she has been forgotten or ignored．If a call is answered rudely, the caller may become angry．And if the call is not routed directly to the right person, the caller may feel that he or she is getting the“runaround”．

　　Laura Needham is a secretary in the executive office of a large manufacturing company．As a good office secretary, Laura knows that all phone calls must be answered without delay and handled efficiently．She knows that a secretary must be pleasant and helpful, no matter how busy she is or what kind of mood she may be in．She knows she must keep calm if a caller gets impatient or becomes angry；also, of course, she knows she can never allow herself to lose her temper．If she does not have the information the caller asks for, she must know who does have the information．Finally, she knows that one of her most important responsibilities is to“screen telephone calls”and to know which calls to refer to her boss, which calls to refer to other people, and which calls to handle herself．

　　A well-handled telephone call will give the caller a good impression of the company he or she is dealing with．For this reason, an office secretary who can handle telephone calls cheerfully, tactfully(老练地), and efficiently is a valuable asset to any organization．

阅读理解

　　American schools are looking for ways to save money on bus transportation because of high fuel prices．More children may have to walk, ride their bikes or find other ways to get to school．

　　But, as another effect of the high prices, they may not have to go to school as often．Some schools, especially in rural areas, are changing to a four-day week．That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule．

　　Beginning in the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school Tuesday through Friday．Each school day will be sixty-five minutes longer．

　　Superintendent．(教育厅长)Greg Schmidt says the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs．The district has about seven hundred students living in an area of nine hundred square kilometers．

　　State officials have agreed to the plan for three years．They may change their minds before then if learning suffers．In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school Monday through Thursday since 1995．Superintendent Tim Creal says the change has saved an estimated(估计)one million dollars over just the past eight years．

　　But he sees other benefits, too．Students get more instructional time．And activities that used to prevent classes are now held on non-school days．

　　He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school．High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes．And in some states, high school students can take them, too．

　　A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and teachers．But working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day．In agricultural areas, though, it can mean an extra day of helping on the family ranch．

　　In New Mexico, the first school district changes to a four-day week in 1974 because of the Arab oil boycott．Now, seventeen out of eighty-nine districts use it．

　　The Lake Arthur School District has just one hundred and sixty students．Lake Arthur used a four-day schedule for twelve years．But a few years ago it went back to five days．Michael Grossman heads the district．He says two studies there failed to show any real educational improvement using the four-day week．And he says not much instruction was taking place during the last hour of school, because teachers and students were too tired．

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　　Every country tends to accept its own way of life as being the proper one and to praise or criticize others, as they are similar to or different from it．And unfortunately, our picture of the people and the way of life of other countries is often a distorted(被歪曲)one．Here is a great argument in favor of foreign travel and learning foreign languages．It is only by traveling in a country and getting to know its people and their language, that one can find out what a country and its people are like．And how different the knowledge one gains this way frequently turns out to be from the second-hand information gathered from other sources!How often we find that the foreigners whom we thought to be such different people from ourselves are not very different at all!

　　Differences between peoples do, of course, exist and, one hopes, will always continue to do so．The world will be a dull place indeed when all the different nationalities behave exactly alike, and some people might say that we are rapidly approaching this state of affairs．With almost the whole of Western Europe belonging to the European Economic Community．(欧共体)and the increasing standardization this brings about, plus the much geater rapidity and ease of travel, there might seem some truth in this ________ at least as far as Europe is concerned．However this may be, at least the greater ease of travel today has shown to more people than ever before that Englishman or Frenchman or German is not some different animal from themselves．