阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳选项。

　　Make a five-minute film and win!

　　Do you love the summer holidays but hate being bored? Then why don't you enter the Film Street Summer Shorts Competition by making a short film this summer with your family and friends?

　　What you have to do

　　To enter the competition, you have to make a short film that is around 5 minutes long(It can be shorter but not longer!)on a digital camera, or mobile phone．

　　Awards

　　The best short film will be shown in Film Street's Cinema and you'll win a Cineworld Cinemas pass for yourself and three more for other members of your filmmaking crew(电影摄制组)．If you have a Cineworld Cinemas pass, you can watch as many films as you like for a year, for free, at any Cineworld Cinema!

　　Rules

　　◆We can't show films that tell others about either your or any other kids' name or address．

　　◆We can't show films that hurt, harm or insult(侮辱)other people．

　　◆We can't show films that have bad language．

　　Copyright Checklist(版权清单)

　　Getting permission(许可)to use someone else's work in your film can be expensive, so check your film to make sure that：

　　◆Your film is original and you haven't copied someone else．

　　◆There are no scenes of branding(商标)on shop signs, books, magazines or CDs．

　　◆There are no scenes of someone else's artwork．

　　Address and Date

　　Post your finished film on tape, CD or DVD by Monday, October1st, 2007 to ：

　　Film Street Summer Shorts Competition

　　First Light Movies

　　Unit 6, Third Floor, The Bond

　　180-182 Fazeley Street

　　Birmingham

　　B5 5SE

　　So what's stopping you? Start making your film Street Summer Shorts now!

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳选项。

　　You may have heard of Fred Lebow．Fred complained(抱怨)to his doctor that he lacked energy．His doctor advised him to take up running in order to increase his strength．He fell in love with it! He was 39 years old when he entered his first marathon race．But he loved it!

　　Fred decided what he really wanted to do and he did it in his spare time．He joined the New York Road Runners Club and organized New York City's first marathon race．But what Fred truly wanted to do, even more than run, was to bring people together．And that is what he did．He believed that anybody should be able to run－people of all ages, any background, professional or amateur(业余的), and of any country．Today, more than 28,000 people of all backgrounds and nationalities compete in the NYC Marathon．

　　Fred decided what was truly important to him and he found a way to do it．He lived with intent．That single decision made his life remarkably different．

　　In 1990, Fred Lebow found he had a brain tumor(瘤)．In 1992 he ran his final marathon race．He crossed the finish line holding the hand of his friend and Norwegian Olympic medalist(奖牌获得者), Grete Waitz saying “I'm happy and I was not a failure in life．” Fred would say that it's not about how long you live, but how you run the race of life．

　　Fred died a few years later．But as one sports writer said, “The God handed him a short life．With his love of life, Fred Lebow turned it into a marathon．”

　　A bronze statue was created of Fred in his running clothes, checking his watch．It is now placed at the finish line of very race．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳选项。

　　Food is the key to life．It is the source of good health and energy．Eating healthy foods is good for all of us．Some wrong ideas may keep us from eating the right foods．Some people believe that a “healthy diet” takes the enjoyment out of eating and deprives(夺去)us of food that tastes good．

　　George's study of food began over 30 years ago．He wanted to know how to feel his best while still enjoying eating．To find the answer he went to over 80 countries around the world．He studied foods where people live long and healthy lives．

　　As he made his discoveries, George would share the information with others by writing and publishing books．Over the years, he has published five books that have been read and used by millions of people．

　　After over 30 years of studying and then listening to feedback from people who have read and used the information in his books, George discovered that there were three basic things people needed to know to make eating healthy foods their regular way of eating．

　　1．How to choose the most nutritious(有营养的)foods．

　　2．How to prepare foods in a healthy way and use the right recipes to enjoy the full flavors(味道)

　　3．You have to choose foods and recipes to meet your individual needs．

阅读

　　Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy．After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy．

　　Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy．However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason．Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory．

　　Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal , usually the male , claims as its own．Only he and his family are welcome there．No other families of the same species are welcome．Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and your friends are welcome．If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout, Probably this would be enough to frighten him away．

　　If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him．A bird does the same thing．But he expects an outsider almost anytime, especially at nesting season．So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not．This screaming is what we call a bird's song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away．

　　Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs．You can see that birds have a language of all their own．Most of it has to do with attarcting mates and setting up territories．

阅读

Fading beauty

　　She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever．But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa．

　　The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum(卢浮宫博物馆)where it is housed．

　　“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said．Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world's most famous painting is not easy．Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state(状态)．

　　Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile．“It is very interesting that when you're not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University．“It's because direct vision(视觉)is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows．Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows．”

　　However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile．Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France's King Francis I in 1519．

　　In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat．He said he planned to return it to Italy．The painting was sent back to France two years later．

　　During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces．

　　Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell．

阅读

　　Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy．They see the sights that Pompeii is famous for-its stadium(露天大型运动场)and theatres, its shops and restaurants．The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii's people．They do not see them because Pompeii has no people．No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2000 years．Once, Pompeii was a busy city of 22000 people．It lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, a grass-covered volcano．Mount Vesuvius had not erupted for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe．But they were not．

　　In August of AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted．The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air．Soon stones and hot ash began to fall on Pompeii．When the eruption ended two days later, Pompeii was buried under 20 feet of stones and ashes．Almost all of its people were dead．

　　For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stone and ash．Then, in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover Pompeii．Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug．The city looked almost the same as it had looked in AD 79．There were streets and fountains(喷泉), houses and shops．There was a stadium with 20 000 seats．Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii．Many glasses and jars had some dark blue colour in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine．They liked bread, too; metal bread pans were in every bakery．In one bakery there were 81 round, flat loaves of bread ― a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today．Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye makeup．

　　Ginseppe has died, but his work continues．One-fourth has not been uncovered yet．Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii．

阅读

　　A gentleman put an advertisement in a newspaper for a boy to work in his office．Out of the nearly fifty men who come to apply, the man selected one and dismissed the others．

　　“I should like to know,” said a friend, “the reason you preferred that boy, who brought not a single letter-not a recommendation(介绍信),”

　　“You are wrong” said the gentleman．He had a great many．He wiped his feet at the door and closed the door after him, indicating that he was careful．He gave his seat immediately to that old man, showing that he was kind and thoughtful．He took off his cap when he came in and answered my questions, showing that he was polite and gentlemanly．

　　“All the rest stepped over the book which I had purposely put on the floor．” He picked it up and placed it on the table; and he waited quitely for his turn instead of pushing and crowding．

　　When I asked to him, I noticed his tidy clothing, his neatly brushed hair, and his clean fingernails．“Can't you see that these things are excellent recommendations? I consider them more significant than letters．”

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Grandfather and 3-year-old boys are natural buddies．On this particular day in May, the grandfather was pleased to have the company of his best little pal when planting the vegetable garden．For a while, the boy seemed to like it too．His small fingers were just the right size to pick up tiny seeds and drop them into Granddad-made holes．They were a great team．

　　But before long the boy became restless and directed his anger at the seeds themselves．

　　“What's this one, Granddad?”

　　“Beets(甜菜)．”

　　“Ugh, I hate beets．”

　　“Well, then, let's do the pumpkin instead．”

　　“Yuck．I really hate pumpkin．”

　　“Okay, buddy．What would you like to plant?”

　　“How about…doughnuts(油炸圈饼)?”

　　Just in time, the grandfather stopped himself from saying there was no such thing as a doughnut seed．Looking at the unhappy little face, he suddenly got an inspiration．

　　“Wait a second．I have to go inside and get the right seeds．”

　　Granddad returned with a handful of seeds．He and the small boy solemnly planted them in a special corner of the vegetable garden．

　　Weeks later, when the real seeds began to break through the soil, the boy became delighted with the tiny seedlings．He spent many afternoons helping Granddad water and hoe and watch them grow．And when the first baby vegetables were harvested, he liked them after all．

　　For weeks, he forgot all about the doughnuts．But then one day at lunch, he said, “Granddad, what happened to our doughnuts? How come they didn't grow?”

　　Granddad paused a moment．“Well, you know, doughnuts are tricky．Some years when you plant them, you get lots of doughnuts．” He sighed sadly．“But other years, all that comes up are the holes．”

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　When one person gains weight, their close friends often follow．Researchers have just offered evidence in a study that says obesity(肥胖)appears to spread through society．But the findings might also offer hope．

　　If friends help make obesity acceptable, then they might also be influential in losing the fat．

　　The researchers note that support groups are already an effective tool in dealing with other socially influenced problems, like alcoholism(酗酒)．

　　The findings appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine．The researchers used information collected from 12,000 people．It was collected between 1972 and 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study．

　　The information was highly detailed．There was even contact information for close friends of the people in the study．

　　The researchers examined more than 40,000 social ties．They found a person's chances of becoming severely overweight increased by 50％ if a friend had become obese．

　　A sister or brother of a person who became obese had a 40％ increased chance of becoming obese．The risk for a wife or husband was a little less than that．Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School was a lead researcher in the study．He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend．

　　The study found that the sex of the friends was also an influence．In same-sex friendship, a person had a 71％ increased risk of becoming obese．Men had a 44％ increased risk of becoming obese after weight gain in a brother．In sisters, it was 67％．

　　The researchers also considered the effect of where people lived in relation to each other．James Fowler of the University of California was the other lead expert．He says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in the same neighborhood．He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of people's health is tied to their social connections．

　　Both researchers say their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but also a public health problem．

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The Hong Kong Medical Association(HKMA)Council discussed in a meeting the problem of using mobile phones while driving．The following prints were recorded．

　　1．There is now objective scientific information, most recently from Toronto, showing that the risk of bringing about traffic accidents rises fourfold if a mobile phone is used while driving．

　　2．Hands-off models of mobile phones are no safer than hands-on models．

　　3．Switzerland, Israel, Brazil and some states in Australia now have laws banning the use of telephones while driving motor vehicles．The Council also recorded that mobile phones serve a special socio-economic function in Hong Kong, such as operation of goods vans and taxis, and forbidding their use by law immediately may disrupt(扰乱)important aspects of our socio-economic life．We doubt whether the low figure of 1-3 traffic accidents per year locally occurring while a motorist was using a mobile phone, as offered by the Secretary for Economic Services Mr. Stetpen Pritt, was systematically collected．

　　The HKMA Council strongly advised that：

　　1．Drivers of all motor vehicles in Hong Kong should stop their vehicles in safe places when they wish to use their mobile phones．

　　2．The government should seriously consider adding an additional charge of driving without due care and heavier punishments on drivers connecting with traffic accidents while using mobile phones．

　　3．Statistics on mobile-phone-induced traffic accidents should be collected systematically without delay．If necessary, the police may be empowered to cross-check with phone companies whether the driver' s phone was in use at the time of a traffic accident．