阅读理解

International Studies(BA 文学士)

　　Key features

　　●Recognizes the “global community”

　　●Has close connections with practical research

　　●Much of the teaching is done in small discussion groups

　　About the course

　　The course focuses on the complex(复杂的)relations between nation states．It will provide more opportunity to study specific issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of international bodies such as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the World Bank．

　　The course applies theories to the working of the international system with close attention to particular countries．It provides students with a better knowledge of ways to solve international problems．

　　Related courses

　　BA(Hons)Community Management

　　BA(Hons)Public Policy and Management

　　Employment possibilities

　　International organizations

　　International business

Earth Science(BSc 理学士)

　　Key features

　　●Based on key courses and the latest research findings．

　　●Pays much attention to practical skills

　　●Offers chances for fieldwork

　　About the course

　　The demand and competition for natural resources is becoming an increasingly serious problem for the future of mankind．Graduates in Earth Science will play an important role in meeting this demand, and in how these natural resources will be used．

　　The course covers geography and geology(地质学)．You will carry out fieldwork in the UK and possibly abroad, and in your final year complete a research project in an area of interest to you．

　　Related courses

　　BSc(Hons)Geography

　　BSc(Hons)Geology

　　Employment possibilities

　　Mineral, oil, water or other related engineering industries

阅读理解

　　The following is a father's advice to his son/daughter, who has just graduated from high school：

　　First of all, congratulations on your graduation!Graduation from high school means that a new stage of life is ahead of you．At the beginning of this new stage, I have some advice for you．

　　Clean your own room and do your own laundry(洗衣物的活)．After you have messed up(弄乱)something, you should learn to clean it up yourself．Cleanliness is indeed close to godliness(信奉上帝)．

　　Don't mistake knowledge for wisdom．No matter how much information or knowledge you have gained, you'll never make sound(正确的)judgments if you don't have wisdom．Wisdom comes from imagination and reflection(反省)．If you can imagine the possible future outcomes of your present decisions and actions, you can avoid mistakes．And if you can reflect on the mistakes you have made, you can avoid making the same mistakes again and again．Such is wisdom．

　　Don't complain．When you take up a job, do your best to carry it out．Don't waste time complaining about it, no matter how difficult and boring it is．

　　Finally, be an early bird．If you get up earlier than the sun, you can watch it rising up slowly into the sky．And the sight of the rising sun will warm your heart and give you energy for the day ahead．Besides, being an early bird, you have plenty of time to take exercise or do a lot of work．

阅读理解

　　Women are quite often able drivers, but they are very seldom always first-class．At best they are a mild danger, at worst potentially dangerous．This deficiency(缺陷)is due to an inherent(天生的)characteristic of women－their desire for talking．Women together in a car give in to this need and when they talk, they look into each other's faces．Simple words are insufficient．It is necessary for them to see the expression of their partners and so read the meaning the words leave unsaid．Thus two women in the front repeatedly distract(转移)each other's attention from the road．And four women represent an unbelievable danger because the one driving the car feels it necessary to see and hear not only what her companion is talking about but also what those in the back are discussing in case it is anything into which she can inject an added opinion, or in the hope of collecting fresh fuel to feed other fires on later occasions．

　　Another factor is that women seldom use the driving mirror except for cosmetic(化妆)purposes, after which its position gives the driver little indication of the state of the road behind．

　　A final important factor that seems to lie at the back of female attitudes to driving is that comparatively few women have the feel for a machine that so many men have; the satisfaction of a clever change down(改成慢挡)means nothing to them．The management of the various skills, an operation which gives many men a lot of pride, is only a momentary loss in their concentration on the topic in hand．

阅读理解

　　Every day life is made and lost．Every day, life goes on．Every day we experience some of the most important parts of life and may not even realize it：love, generosity, and perseverance．These values aren't just important to us ; they make the world what it is．

　　Scientists say that gravitational(重力的)force makes the world turn, but some people say that love makes it go round．Love can be found anywhere：in families, friends, even complete strangers．Even if you can't see it, you know it's there．

　　Love may connect people all over the world, but what would the world be without generosity?Whether after a national disaster, or a school fund-raiser, one thing is certain －it is better to give than to receive．Generosity is found everywhere and whether it's a large or small act, it makes a difference．Most of all, being generous is not something you need any qualifications for, but no matter what you do, it can make a difference．Sometimes, though, it takes effort to be generous, which leads us to perseverance．

　　Founding a country, riding a bike, or finishing an essay, these are all finished with perseverance．Perseverance is the one thing that can help us achieve whatever we want．It is what helps scientists to discover cures for diseases, and athletes to become champions．You may fail, but every time you make a mistake, that's one less to make the next time．

　　There is an infinite(无穷的)number of things we value, but without love, generosity and perseverance, we just don't think that our life or the world would be the way it is．

阅读理解

　　“I swear, I didn't steal anything!” I shouted over the alarm．Obviously the security guard didn't believe me because he seized the shopping bag right out of my hand．

　　“Do you have a receipt of this?” he asked doubtfully, putting any new back-to-school outfit(全套设备)onto the dusty floor near the mall entrance．

　　“Of course I do,” I replied, fishing my wallet out of my coat pocket．Elsie and Monica, my two best friends, stood beside me．They were laughing their heads off!

　　I almost tore my wallet apart for the receipt, but it had disappeared．“Let me look again,” I said nervously．Then I looked again, and again, and again!My face was getting hotter by the minute, and my heart was beating like a racehorse．．w．^w．k．s．

　　Finally, I looked back at the guard and whispered, “It's not here．” The guard picked up my clothes and said, “You'll have to come with me, Miss．”

　　When he opened the office door, I saw a man sitting behind a big metal desk．It was the manager．Then I had an idea．

　　“May I say something?”I asked．“I can prove I didn't steal this thing．” “Then I explained all about the cashier(出纳员)．She said that she had bought the exact same outfit as a birthday present for her little sister．” “We'll just see about that,” the manager said and went off to find her．Ten minutes later, I was free!

　　It was terrible to be unfairly accused of something!Then I remembered shouting at my sister that very morning for taking my new hair clips．

　　Had she really taken them?I made a promise that day never to accuse someone of something without proof, and I haven't．At last, something good came out of my terrible experience．

阅读理解

　　Fruit powered digital clock

　　Fruit's not only good to eat, but it can also power this Fruit Digital Clock．This clock uses the scientific principles on which modern electrical storage batteries are based．The acid(酸)from the fruit helps transmit an electrical flow between two metal poles．The clock is priced at US ＄ 15．Adding any fresh fruit or vegetable to the clock will make it work．The fruit is a clean, renewable source of electrical power．

　　USB vacuum

　　Do you know the dirtiest parts of your desk are probably your keyboard and mouse?Get a USB Mini Vacuum with retractable(可伸缩的)cable and suck away all that junk．The US-made product is priced at US ＄14．

　　Making useful USB 2.0 multi-card reader even handier, this card can also read and write data to phone SIM cards．It comes with SIM editing software．Download your phonebook to your computer．If you lose your cell phone, you can store missing phone numbers in your new one the US-made IMOMO SIM card＋Multi-Card Reader is priced at US ＄19(152 yuan)．

　　Beer in your ear

　　The beer barrel(桶)-shaped Naf Naf Hyp MP3 is a musical box that's capable of playing radio, CDs and cassettes．It's got all the standard features of the typical clock-radio, but with the relaxing look of a big beer barrel．The Danish product is priced at about US ＄130(1040 yuan)．

阅读理解

　　It is not unusual at all for teens to answer their parents with one-word answers．“Where are you going?” “Places．” “When will you be back?” “Sometime．” “Who will you be with?” “People．”

　　That means that the days of your children bounding in the front door with the details of their day are over．They are breaking away from you so that they'll be able to stand on their own as a young adult．

　　Some parents feel sad about this loss of their children's closeness．Of course you miss those conversations and friendly talks．Once your children move out after high school and establish themselves confidently as a young adult, they'll come back for easy conversations and even ask for advice．But in order to determine who they are right now they need to separate from you．

　　Your job, however, is to keep them safe－and that requires knowing there they are and who they are with．Let them know clearly that it's not because you want to dominate their life and control them; it's because it's a safety issue for family members to keep track of one another．

　　When they're home and sit down to eat a meal, sit down with them．You need to open up to them about your life．Tell them of an interesting incident at the office, let them in on a bit of family gossip(闲谈), discuss a piece of news with them．They are glad that you see them as old enough to be in on a few experiences of your life．By letting a teen in on your life, they just may let you in of theirs．

阅读理解

　　Skateboarding has become one of several non-traditional activities that PE teachers around America are introducing to inspire kids to exercise regularly．Some PE classes feature in-line(滚轮)skating, yoga, and even rock climbing．Experts have called those types of activities “the new PE”．

　　Such activities are part of a larger effort to help kids develop lifelong fitness habits and to keep them from becoming overweight．Now, 9 million U．S．children and teens are overweight．Obesity(肥胖)can lead to health problems such as diabetes and heart disease later in life．

　　"Our children and youth are becoming unhealthy and obese," says Johnson．"Skateboarding is a great activity that keeps kids doing physical movement and gives them new skills and interest．"

　　Some schools don't allow skateboarding because they say it is dangerous．Tim, however, argues that regular practice eliminates a great deal of the danger．"We teach students how to do it and how to do it safely," he says．

　　Some people say skateboarding teaches life lessons．“Skateboarding teaches kids to believe that if they stick with something they will finally succeed．”says education expert Richard Savor from College in Portland．

　　Skateboarding inspires kids not to give up in learning difficult skills．"It's natural for kids to want to learn and get better at things," adds Tim．"When it comes to skateboarding, they'll try a trick hundreds of times before they succeed．" That same effort could be made in schoolwork．

　　Eric Brown agrees that skateboarding requires kids to stop saying a task is too hard for them．"A baby will attempt to walk 600 to 900 times before he or she is successful," says Eric, "We tell students that they shouldn't say 'I can't do it' unless they've tried 600 to 900 times．

阅读理解

　　Read the following three pieces of news , and then answer the questions．

1

　　Police said that Rob Bailey planned his bank robbery very carefully, but he didn't think to bring any paper with him－and that's what got him in trouble．Bailey apparently found an envelope in his pocket and wrote on the back of it “Give me all your money．” This is what he gave to the bank teller．Unfortunately for Bailey, he had written his note on an envelope that contained a letter from his mother．The bank teller noticed Bailey's name and address on the envelope as soon as he handed it to her．She gave the envelope to the police, and the police soon arrested him at home．

2

　　No one noticed when Mick Novak carried little Alex, a sleeping bundle(包)wrapped in a blanket, onto a North Star Airline's flight．Alex caused no trouble when he woke up as he was fastened into its own seat, purchased at the full cost of ＄400．He was enjoying his lunch when the trouble began．A flight attendant screamed, “He's alive!” when she realized furry(多毛的)little Alex wasn't a stuffed(填充物)animal．Alex is 25-pound chimp．He is tidy, quiet and pleasant, but he is a chimp, and North Star says he can't fly economy class．In fact, North Star spokesperson Jon Austin said the airline's policy is that large animals have to ride in the cargo(货物)hold．But Novak said , “I would think, given North Star's current financial problems, they would be happy to take any paying customer．”

3

　　Carmen Ferreira had given up hope of finding her pet parrot, Raquel, who disappeared from the back garden of her house two years ago．But when she heard the familiar screech： “Hello, Raquel!” as she walked past a neighbor's house one weekend, she called the police．The neighbor denied the bird was Raquel and said he had bought it from a pet store three years ago．But the bird recognized his true owner while behind bars at the police station, screeching, “Hello, Luis!” the name of Ferreira's grandson, and “Hello, Smokey!” her cat's name．During the course case last week , the bird dozed off but interrupted its nap to shout “Hello, Luis!” at the judge, who had ruled the bird belonged to Ferreira．

阅读理解

　　(1)Don't answer the door of your room without verifying who it is．If a person claims to be an employee , call the front desk and ask if someone from their staff is supposed to have access to your room and for what purpose．

　　(2)When returning late in the evening , use the main entrance of the building．Be observant and look around before entering parking lots．

　　(3)Close the door securely whenever you are in your room and use all of the locking devices provided．

　　(4)Don't needlessly display guest room keys in public or carelessly leave them on restaurant tables , or other places where they can be easily stolen．

　　(5)Don't draw attention to yourself by displaying large amounts of cash or expensive jewelry．

　　(6)Don't invite strangers to your room．

　　(7)place all valuables in safe deposit box here．

　　(8)Do not leave valuables in your vehicle．

　　(9)If you see any suspicious activity , please report your observations to the management．

　　(10)make sure any appliance(电器)you plug into electric outlets is able to run on 240 volts．