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　　1．Summer came early to Middlesbrough yesterday, as temperatures shot up to 22℃(71°F), a record for March．But local NFU agent Jim Wilkes says it could be bad news for farmers．“The crops will think it's summer,” he told our reporter, “and start sprouting(发芽)four weeks before time．”

　　2．The death toll(死亡人数)of the Burnside train crash rose to four yesterday when John Phillips, 32, of Petersville died in Wallsend Hospital．Another six people are still on the danger list．Mr．Phillips, an electrical engineer leaves a wife and two children．

　　3．China and the United States reached an agreement on the protection of intellectual property rights(知识产权)yesterday, after difficult marathon talks．

　　The agreement is good news for all parties concerned．The Chinese Foreign Trade Minister described the agreement as a "turning point" in Sino-US trade relations that "promises further progress" in the future．The agreement will not only favorably influence trade relations between China and the United States．It may favorably influence the overall relations between the two countries．

　　In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way．The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world．

　　In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia．Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London．She was then only semi-conscious(半清醒状态)and on the "Dangerously Ill" list．A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were confused by the very unusual symptoms(症状)．While they were discussing the baby's case, a nurse asked to speak to them．

　　"Excuse me," said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, "but I think the baby is suffering from thallium poisoning．(铊中毒)"

　　"What makes you think that?" Dr．Brown asked．"Thallium poisoning is extremely rare．"

　　"A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie," Nurse Maitlan explained．"In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are described．They're exactly the same as the baby's．"

　　"You're very thoughtful and you may be right," another doctor said．"We'll carry out some tests and find out whether it's thallium or not．"

　　Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance used in making special glass．Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment．She soon recovered and was sent back to Qatar．Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide(杀虫剂)used in Qatar．

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　　You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight．They hit one another hard．At the start they only fight with their fists．But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs．And so it goes on until one of the men crashes(撞击)through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below．He is dead!Of course he isn't really dead．With any luck he isn't even hurt．Why?Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains, who crash cars or even catch fire, are professionals(专业人士)．They do this for a living．These men are called stuntmen．That is to say, they perform tricks．There are two sides to their work．They actually do most of the things you see on the screen．For example, they fall from a high building．However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress(床垫)．Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar!But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training．Often a stuntman' s success depends on careful timing．For example, when he is "blown up" in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment．

　　Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives．They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed．A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff a thousand feet high．His parachute(降落伞)failed to open, and he was killed．In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only．Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action, for nowadays there are stunt girls too!

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　　When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I could make it home for the holidays．Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have three-day holidays posted．I was one of the lucky soldiers．It was Christmas eve when I arrived home, and a light snow had fallen．Mother opened the front door．I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood．There were lights, all colors, and ornaments(装饰物)shining against the green of a pine．“Where did it come from?” I asked．

　　“I asked the Gates boy to cut it,” my mother said．“I wouldn't have had one just for myself, such a rush!He just brought it in this afternoon…” The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the tree top crystal star was in its place．A few green branches reached about a little awkwardly at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle．But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas．“It's not like the one you used to find,” my mother went on．“Yours were always in good shape．I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a good one．But I couldn't be fussy(挑剔的)．”

　　“Don't worry,” I told her．“It's perfect．” It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time：all Christmas trees are perfect．

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

　　Everyone knows we must exercise regularly to maintain good health．Indeed, staying physically fit is a big part of our culture．We consider(and rightly so)that healthy people are attractive people．Since most of us want to be attractive, there is no shortage of exercise clubs, training videos, magazines, and books offering to help us stay physically fit．

　　Unfortunately, however, our culture does not place the same emphasis on mental fitness．Although we admire and love men and women with strong and healthy-looking bodies, we don't have the same degree of respect or attraction for smart, educated and mentally healthy people．This is a shame, because there are immense rewards for people who have developed the ability to think well．

　　If your mind is well trained and flexible, you will be able to understand a great deal of what happens around you．And if you are also well educated-that is, if you understand basic science, mathematics, music, art, literature, history and so on-you will find it much easier to make good decisions throughout your life．Over the long run, this leads to a sense of control over your destiny and a much better life than otherwise．

　　People who are poorly educated or who don't think well-that is, people who are not mentally fit see things differently．Their world is controlled by mysterious, but often malevolent(恶意的)forces．Such people live within a system they will never master, forced to follow the rules they will never understand．Although it may not be obvious, most people spend their lives being manipulated(控制)by others．They are told what to do, what to think, how to spend their money, and what they should and should not aspire(渴求)to in life．

　　In my opinion, if you want to live well, you must be able to use your mind well．For this reason, I want you to be able to concentrate, solve problem, understand complex ideas, and think clearly and quickly．Such skills will make it easier for you to make informed decisions, understand current events, choose good friends, manage your money well, make wise long-term decisions, and appreciate music, art and literature．

　　The key to developing such skills is to enjoy learning, and to have the ability and motivation to teach yourself．

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

　　The spectacular Victoria Falls links two countries, Zimbabwe and Zambia．It was discovered by David Livingstone in November 1855 and is known in the local language, as Mosi-oa-tunya, “the smoke that thunders”．It was Livingstone who named Victoria Falls after his Queen and stated in his own famous diary entry-“Angels in their flight must have gazed．”

　　The rustic(乡村的)Victoria Fall town-just ten minutes from the Fall, and on the outskirts of the Zambezi National Park-has all facilities necessary to act as a base for exploring the region．Accommodation is plentiful-from low budget campsites to luxury hotels．

　　And across the border in Livingstone, Zambia, visitors will find a town suitable for the adventure sports enthusiasts with lots of travel and adventure sports companies．

　　At a height of 364 feet, the Victoria Falls Bridge, completed in 1905, is the world's third highest Bungee jump, though the scream factor is arguably the loudest, making it a great draw-card for adventure sports enthusiasts．While dropping into the abyss(深渊), you will be blasted with spray from the thundering Victoria Falls, and then jerked(猛烈)back to reality within inches of the swirling eddies(漩涡)of the Zambezi below．

　　Anyone can pay an entrance fee and walk around the ridge of Victoria Falls and take some good pictures to send home, but to truly experience the size and scope of the spray, you've got to get airborne, and there are options-tame and a little wild：fixed wing planes, helicopters, microlights．

　　River Rafting, in many shapes and sizes, is conducted on both sides of the Zambezi River, in Zimbabwe and Zambia below Victoria Falls．

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

　　Now let us look at how we read．When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, rough movement．We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate(凝视)．Each time they fixate, we see a group of words．This is known as the recognition span or the visual span．The length of time of which the eyes stop-the duration of the fixation-varies considerably from person to person．It also varies within one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text．Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness．

　　Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page．As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation．For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second．One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side．Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation．All these exercises are very clever, but it's one thing to improve a person's ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently．Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words．Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text．

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

　　A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans．There lay my house, reduced to waist-high ruins, smelly and dirty．

　　Before the trip, I'd had my car fixed．When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate．“You from New Orleans?” she asked．I said I was, “No charge,” she said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet．The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened．

　　As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage(抵押贷款)on our ruined house．We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory．We'd begun to accept that we'd have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California．He'd read some pieces I'd written about our sufferings for Slate, the online magazine, and wanted to give us(“no conditions attached”)a new house across the lake from New Orleans．

　　It sounded too good to be true, but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional generosity, that we had no plans to go back．Then a poet at the University of Florida offered to let his house to me while he went to England on his one-year paid leave．The rent was rather reasonable．I mentioned the poet's offer to James Kennedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months．

　　Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity．It's almost worth losing your worldly possessions to be reminded that people are really nice when given half a chance．

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

　　When a 13-year-old Virginal girl started sneezing, her parents thought it was merely a cold．But when the sneezes continued for hours, they called in a doctor．Nearly two months later the girl was still sneezing, thousands of times a day, and her case had attracted worldwide attention．

　　Hundreds of suggestions, ranging from “put a clothes pin on her nose” to “have her stand on her head” poured in．But nothing did any good．Finally, she was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital where Dr．Leo Kanner, one of the world's top authorities on sneezing, solved the baffling(难以理解的)problem with great speed．

　　He used neither drugs nor surgery for, curiously enough, the clue for the treatment was found in an ancient superstition(迷信)about the amazing bodily reaction we call the sneeze．It was all in her mind, he said, a view which Aristotle, some 3,000 years earlier, would have agreed with heartily．

　　Dr．Kanner simply gave a modern psychological interpretation to the ancient belief that too much sneezing was an indication that the spirit was troubled; and he began to treat the girl accordingly．

　　“Less than two days in a hospital room, a plan for better scholastic and vocational(职业的)adjustment, and reassurance about her unreasonable fear of tuberculosis(肺结核)quickly changed her from a sneezer to an ex-sneezer,” he reported．

　　Sneezing has always been a subject of wonder, awe and puzzlement．Dr Kanner has collected thousands of superstitions concerning it．The most universal one is the custom of begging for the blessing of God when a person sneezes-a practice Dr．Kanner traces back to the ancient belief that a sneeze was an indication that the sneezer was possessed of an evil spirit．Strangely, people over the world still continue the custom with the traditional, “God bless you” or something else．

　　When scientists look at the sneeze, they see a remarkable mechanism(身体机制)which, without any conscious help from you, takes on a job that has to be done．When you need to sneeze you sneeze, this being nature's clever way of getting rid of an annoying object from the nose．The object may be just some dust in the nose which nature is trying to remove．

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21^st century, but-regardless of whether it is or isn't-we won't do much about it．We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments(承诺)to avoid it．But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed．

Al Gore calls global warming an “inconvenient truth,” as if merely recognizing it could put us a path to a solution．But the real truth is that we don't know enough to relieve global warming, and-without major technological breakthroughs-we can't do much about it．

　　From 2003 to 2050, the world's population is projected to grow from 6.4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42％ increase．If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions(排放)(mainly, CO₂)will be 42％ higher in 2050．But that's too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy．We need economic growth unless we condemn the world's poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone else's living standards．With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050．

　　No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom(limits on electricity usage, driving and travel)that might cut back global warming．Still, politicians want to show they're “doing something．” Consider the Kyoto Protocol(京都议定书)．It allowed countries that joined to punish those that didn't．But it hasn't reduced CO₂ emissions(up about 25％ since 1990), and many signatories(签字国)didn't adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008－2012 targets．

　　The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology．Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it．

　　The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when it's really an engineering one．The inconvenient truth is that if we don't solve the engineering problem, we're helpless．