阅读理解

　　I arrived at my mother's home for our Monday family dinner．The smells of food flew over from the kitchen．Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties．She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church．

　　When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box．I pulled it out．“What is this?” I asked．

　　“Oh?” Mom said, “That's Mama's quilt．”

　　I spread the quilt．It looked as if a group of school children had pieced(拼凑)it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right．

　　“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised．My grandmother was a master at making quilts．This certainly didn't look like any of the quilts she had made．

　　“Yes, right before she died．I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said．“I'm still working on it．See, this is what I've done so far．”

　　I looked at it more closely．She had made straight a crooked line．At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(缝)a piece of cloth with these words：“My mother made many quilts．She didn't get all lines straight．But I think this is beautiful．I want to see it finished．Her last quilt．”

　　“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said．It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother's quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother．I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure．It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another．

阅读理解

　　CDMA is"spread spectrum(频谱)" technology, which means that it spreads the information contained in a particular signal of interest over a much greater bandwidth(宽带)than the original signal．

　　When implemented(实现)in a cellular(手机)telephone system, CDMA offers numerous benefits to the cellular operators and their subscribers．Following is an overview of CDMA benefits：

　　1．Improved call quality, with better and more consistent sound．

　　2．Simplified system planning through the use of the same frequency in every sector of every cell．

　　3．Increased talk time for portables．

　　4．Bandwidth on demand．

　　Compared with GSM(Global System for Mobile communication), which was developed mainly in Europe, the CDMA system matured(成熟)later and has better efficiency, low radiation, high voice quality and ability to adopt third-generation communications technology．

　　China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and now India will make up the major market for CDMA technology in addition to the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Australia to ensure that CDMA users can receive phone calls from overseas．

阅读理解

阅读理解

　　Last week, while visiting my dad with my daughter, we went to a restaurant for dinner．When we were seated, my dad asked the waitress if there were any soldiers eating at the restaurant．Then waitress said there was a soldier having dinner with his friend．My dad told the waitress to tell the soldier and his friend that their dinner was paid for!He also said that he did not want to be known as the benefactor(施主)．

　　Then waitress later commented on my dad's thoughtful behavior saying that she had never seen anything like this before．At a local college, she had studied opera and so she used this to thank my dad by performing a piece from The Pearl Fisherman．Her voice brought me to tears because it sounded perfect![

　　After a while, the soldier appeared at our table(I don't know how he knew my dad paid the bill for him．)and said that he would be sent to the front the next morning and that he could not leave this country without saying“thanks”to my dad．My dad replied that it was he who wanted to say“thanks”．They shook hands as the soldier left．

　　Before we left, the waitress came by again．She did a magic show as another way to show her“thanks”to my dad．Her show was really great．My dad left her a note with email address asking for her next performance time in addition to a ＄50 tip．

　　Everyone witnessed something exemplary(可作榜样的)in the human spirit that night．I can only hope to see more of this in the future．

阅读理解

　　This is a dangerous world we live in．The number of murders goes up every year, people are dying of cancer, more people contract HIV, more teens are using drugs, etc．You know this because you have heard all the statistics on the news and in the paper．But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean?The numbers are growing up, but how do they compare to the growth in population?Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common?The fact is that without knowing the background statistics mean very little．

　　This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous．For example, several years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide．This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors(肿瘤), is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once．After reading his report, more than 75％of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical!Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth．The students made the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical's full background．

　　The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said．When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths．Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave out information that is different to his view．For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe．Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really the most dangerous?If you think about it, you realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people who are in danger of a lightning strike．When you think about it, skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics．If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able to think critically, and form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another's．To be warned is to be prepared．

阅读理解

　　“Can't I see my baby?asked the happy new mother．The bundle(婴儿包)was placed in her arms and when she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped－the baby had been born without ears．Time, however, proved that the baby's hearing was perfect except his appearance．

　　One day when he rushed home from school and threw himself into his mother's arms, he cried out bitterly, “A boy, a big boy…call me－a f…freak．”She sighed, knowing that his life was to be endless of heartbreak．

　　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 for literature and music．

　　The boy's father had a talk with the family doctor．Could nothing be done?“I believe we could graft(移植)on a pair of outer ears, if they could be donated(捐献),”the doctor decided．So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man．Two years went by．Then, “You're going to the hospital, son．Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need．But it's a secret．”said the father．

　　The operation was a brilliant success．His talents blossomed into genius．School and college became a series of successes．Later he married and entered the diplomatic(外交)service．“But I must know!”he urged his father．“Who gave so much for me?I could never do enough for him．”

　　“I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know…not yet．”The years kept the secret, but the day did come…one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son．He stood with his father over his mother's casket(棺材)．Slowly and tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to let out the secret．

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　You've given up your fair share of sleep-will you ever feel rested again?

　　Let's do some sleep math．You lost two hours of sleep every night last week because of a big project due on Friday．On Saturday and Sunday, you slept in, getting four extra hours．On Monday morning, you were feeling so bright-eyed, and you only had one cup of coffee, instead of your usual two．But don't be cheated by your energy： You're still carrying around a heavy load of sleepiness, or what experts call "sleep debt"－in this case something like six hours, almost a full night's sleep．

　　Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you actually get．It's a deficit(缺乏)that grows every time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly sleep．"People accumulate sleep debt gradually without being noticed," says psychiatrist William C．Dement, founder of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic．Studies show that such short-term lack of sleep leads to a foggy brain, worsened vision, and trouble remembering．Long-term effects include obesity, insulin(胰岛素)resistance, and heart disease．A survey by the National sleep Foundation reports that we're losing one hour of sleep each night——more that two full weeks of sleep each year．

　　The good news is that, like all debt, with some work, sleep debt can be repaid．Adding an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up．For the long-term lack of sleep, take it easy for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern．

　　Go to bed when you are tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning(no alarm clock allowed)．You may find yourself catatonic(有紧张感的)in the beginning of the recovery cycle： Expect to have ten hours' shut-eye per night．As the days pass, however, the amount of sleeping time will gradually decrease．

　　So earn back that lost sleep－and follow the orders of your inner sleep needs, and you'll feel better．“When you put away sleep debt, you become superhuman,”says Stanford's Dement, talking about the improved mental and physical capabilities that come with being well rested．

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　A few years ago a very controversial game hit the shelves at local game stores worldwide．I became addicted, playing the game day in and day out．In the game my rivals wore all purple, so they were easy to pick out while driving up and down the streets in my car．I became obsessed(着迷)with taking over their territory．In order to do that, I had to knock them dead．It was fun．

However, one sweet day my boyfriend and I were driving around our town and I spotted a person wearing purple．In my mind I was brought back to my game, and jokingly I said to my boyfriend,“A rival!shoot him up!”

　　Now of course this was all joking, but the reality was, the man wearing purple made me think of violence, harm, and destruction： Now thankfully I have a pretty good grasp on reality and virtual reality．For some though, when video games begin to take over and merge(融合)in with their reality, it can be/become a deadly game- but for real．

　　There's a story about a young girl who died after playing the game for several days straight．She became so addicted to gaming that she didn't eat or sleep, which in turn caused death．A similar story involves an older man from South Korea who actually quit his job to play his video game of choice．He played his game in an Internet cage for three days straight where he eventually died．

　　The stories go on．A quick google search and you'll find some sad stories involving men and women losing jobs, their family and money over their gaming obsessions．It's a shame that some people don't know when to cut virtual reality out of their lives．If you're losing things in REAL life, it's time to say GAME OVER．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　New York Times-The already crazed competition for admission to the nation's most famous universities and colleges became even more intense(激烈的)this year, with many recording the lowest acceptance rates．

　　Harvard College, for example, offered admission to only 7.1 percent of the 27,462 high school seniors who applied－or, put another way, it rejected 93 of every 100 applicants, many with extraordinary achievements, like a perfect score on one of the SAT exams．Yale College accepted 8.3 percent of its 22,813 applicants．Both rates were records．

　　Columbia College admitted 8.7 percent of its applicants, Brown University and Dartmouth College about 13 percent, and Bowdoin College and Georgetown University 18 percent－also records．

　　“We love the people we admitted, but we also love a very large number of the people who we were not able to admit,” said William R．Fitzsimmons, dean(主任)of admissions and financial aid at Harvard College．

　　Some colleges said they placed more students on their waiting lists than in recent years, in part because of uncertainty over how many admitted students would decide to enroll(登记入学)．Harvard and Princeton stopped accepting students through early admission this academic year; that meant that more than 1,500 students who would have been admitted in December were likely to have applied to many famous schools in the regular round．

　　Many factors contributed to the tightening of the competition at the most selective colleges, admissions deans said．The number of high school graduates in the nation has grown each year over the last decade and a half, experts estimate that the figure will reach the highest point this year or next, which might reduce the competition a little．

　　Other factors were the ease of online applications, expanded financial aid packages, an ambitious students' applying to ever more colleges．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Never go into a supermarket hungry!This is a good piece of advice．If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you'll probably buy more than you plan to．Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn't enough for consumers these days．Modern shoppers need an education in how not to buy things at the store．First, you check the weekly newspaper ads．Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things．In other words, don't buy anything just because it's cheaper than usual!“New and Improved!”or“All Natural”on the front of a package influence you．Instead, read the list of ingredients(contents)on the back．Third, compare prices： that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands and different sizes of the same brand．

　　Another suggestion for consumers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands．Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages．These products are cheaper because producers don't spend much money on packing or advertising．The quality, however, is usually as good as the quality of well-known name brands．In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands that are not famous．Shopping in discount clothing stores can help you save a lot of money．Although these stores aren't very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores．

　　Wise consumers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage： knowledge of the psychology behind the ads．In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation．They ask themselves questions： Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page?Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image?With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice．