阅读理解

　　International Media Center(IMC)will operate between February 28 and March 2, from 0800-2300 hours at the Annex Hall of the Queen National Conference Center．IMC will provide information counter journalist working area, press conference room and interview room．IMC also provides services with charge．They include public pay phones, photo processing services, postal mail services, international broadcasting services and Internet．

　　Note：

　　Photo Processing Counter

　　Fuji Photo Film(USA)Ltd．will set up a full-scale photo processing counter at the International Center with various services provided as follows：

　　(1)Photo processing services 110,135,120-sized films within 1-3 hours：

　　Service rate：25 cents per a reel of film．

　　(2)Photo developing services：

　　(3)Color photocopying services：

　　Service rate：＄ 0.80 per copy(A4 paper)

　　(4)Instant photo services：

　　Service rate：＄0.70 per a set of 4 pictures

阅读理解

　　Going to sleep may seem pretty boring compared with all the fun things there are to do while you' re awake．But there' s a lot going on in your mind and body while you' re tucked under those covers．

　　Sleep, in fact, is as important to your survival(生存)as eating and drinking．Sleep improves your mood, makes you a better athlete, and helps you remember and understand what you learned during the day．During sleep your temperature drops．Your heart rate slows．Down goes the pressure of the blood moving through your veins．A chemical that controls growth(called a hormone)surges into your bloodstream．Scientists think sleep restores energy and boosts(improves)your immune(免疫)system．We know what happens while we're asleep because scientists study volunteers who sleep in laboratories．The sleepers are hooked(钩)up to machines that measure brain waves, eye movements and muscle activities．

　　Sleep is like a school day：it's divided into different periods, or stages．When you're awake, your brain waves fire rapidly．As you begin to relax and drift into the first stage of sleep, your brain produces slower-moving waves and you lose awareness of your surroundings．As you slide to deeper sleep, your body repairs itself from the normal wear and tear of daily life．Then, as you begin to drift back up to a lighter sieep, your mind becomes more alert(机警), and your dreams begin．You're in REM sleep．

　　REM was names far the "rapid eye movement' that happens while you're dreaming．During REM sleep, your eyes move back and forth behind your timed lids, as though you were washing a movie．During other stages, you might move at--at in bed, but during REM sleep you're still．That's probably because if you could move, your body would act out your dreams．As you get closer to morning, you spend more time in REM than in deep sleep, so you dream more．Researchers know that during REM sleep the part of the brain that handles learning and thinking is very active．

　　Getting too little sleep can affect your personality．Experts recommend that children get at least nine hours d sleep a night．So sleep fight．

阅读理解

　　Friend is better than fortune．Friend is worse than poison in some cases．The two sentences above are opposite and seem to be unreasonable but they can be explained as follows：the first refers to all good friends who drive us towards good while the second all bad ones who lead us to wrong ways．

　　My ideal(理想的)friend is of course a good friend whose goodness is shown below－He has no bad likings, such as smoking and drinking．He lives in frugality(节俭)．He studies hard so as not to waste his golden time．At home he honors his parents and loves his brothers; at school he respects his teachers and shares feelings of his classmates．He treats those truly who are true to him．In a word, he has all the good characters better than mine．I can follow him as a model．With his help I am free from all difficulties,

　　Indeed, if I have such a person as my friend, I shall never fear difficulty and I shall never know the existence of the word "failure"．

阅读理解

　　Read each of the following and then do the exercises;

阅读理解

　　He must have been completely lost in something he was reading because I had to tap on the windshield to get his attention．“Is your cab available(可用的)?” I asked when he finally looked up at me．He nodded, then said apologetically as I settled into the back seat, “I'm sorry, but I was reading a letter．” He sounded as if he had a cold．“I am not in a hurry,” I told him．“Go ahead and finish your letter．” He shook his head．“I've read it several times already．I guess I almost know it by heart．”“Letters from home always mean a lot” I said．

　　“This isn't family,” he replied．“Although it might just as well have been family．Old Ed was my oldest friend．In fact, we used to call each other ‘Old Friend'－when we'd meet．I'm not much good at writing．”

　　“I don't think any of us keep up our correspondence too well,” I said．“I know I don't, but I take it he's someone you've known quite a while?” “All my life．We were kids together, went to school together and all the way through high school．” “There are not too many people who've had such a long friendship,” I said．“Actually,” the driver went on, “I hadn't seen him more than once or twice a year over the past 25 or 30 years because I moved away from the old neighborhood and you kind of lose touch even though you never forget．”

　　“You said ‘was'．Does that mean…?” he nodded．“A couple of weeks ago．” “I'm sorry,” He didn't say anything more, and we rode on in silence for a few minutes．But I realized that Old Ed was still on his mind when he spoke again, almost more to himself than to me：“I should have kept in touch with him．” “Well,” I agreed, “we should all keep in touch with old friends more than we do．But things come up and we just don't seem to find the time．”

　　When I got to my hotel room I didn't unpack right away．First I had to write a letter…and mail it．

阅读理解

　　In the course of working my way through school, I took many jobs I would rather forget．But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant．The work was hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were terrible．

　　First of all, the job made huge demands on my strength．For ten hours a night, I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck．Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice．I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night．

　　I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor．I was paid the lowest wage of that time－two dollars an hour．Because of the low pay, I felt eager to get as much as possible．I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home much more than ＄ 100 a week．

　　But even more than the low pay, what made me unhappy was the working conditions．During work I was limited to two ten-minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch．Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures．The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone．And after the production line shut down at night and most people left, I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor．

　　I stayed on the job for five months, all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money, and the conditions under which I worked．By the time I left, I was determined never to go back there again．

阅读理解

People enjoy taking trips．But what are the reasons they leave home?One reason is for education．People travel because they want to broaden their horizons to learn about other people and other places．They are curious about other cultures．When people are tourists, they get a quick look at different ways of living．Even a short look at another kind of lifestyle is an important lesson．On a trip, a person can learn directly by visiting museums and historic spots．What does a tourist who sees the art museums, visit the historical places and other scenic spots in Paris and shops along the River Seine learn?He gets a vivid picture, a real life of one of the French people．He learns about their attitudes, and how they feel about business, beauty and history．What about the tourist who goes to Hong Kong?Does he get the same information that he could get from a book?He might read that Hong Kong is crowded, and that there is less than 200 square meters of space for each person．But seeing and feeling the lack of space will impress him much more．He might read that there are nearly 200 vehicles for every kilometer of roadway．But the sight of so many vehicles parked along the roadside would be a much more vivid lesson．The tourist to Hong Kong will never forget the contrast：the straight vertical lines of tall modern buildings and the moving lines of boats that people live in．

阅读理解

　　Specialists say it is not easy to get used to life in a new culture．“Culture shock” is the term these specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment．There are three stages of culture shock, say the specialists．In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment．Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else．In the last stage, the newcomers begin to adjust to their surroundings and, as a result, enjoy their life more．

　　There are some obvious factors(因素)in culture shock．The weather may be unpleasant．The customs may be different．The public service systems－the telephone, post office, or transportation－may be difficult to work out．The simplest things seem to be big problems．The language may be difficult．

　　Who feels culture shock?Everyone does in this way or that．But culture shock surprises most people．Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their community．Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same established positions．They find themselves without any identity(身份)．They have to build a new self-image．

　　Culture shock gives rise to a feeling of disorientation(迷失方向)．This feeling may be homesickness．When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time．They want to protect themselves from the strange environment, and create an escape inside their room for a sense of security(安全)．This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture．Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience－these are the long-term solutions to the problem of culture shock．

阅读理解

　　Having one of those days or weeks－when everything seems to trouble you?Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time．But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster－often within a day or two．

　　Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster(破坏者)．A person who's in a bad mood has low energy and high tension．Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood．

　　Tune it out

　　Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we've had．

　　Give yourself a pep talk

　　Stop and listen to what's on your mind．Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts．Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic(悲观的)messages you've been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers．(“I still don'thave a job．‘vs' I have two interviews next week．”)

　　Reduce your stress

　　Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters．These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing(想象), all of which sound complicated but aren't．One easy way to visualize：close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach．Another simple way to clear up worries is to make a to-do list．One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options(选择权)．By taking control over certain areas, you realize you're not helpless．You can make changes in your mood and life．

　　Avoid things that won't improve your mood

　　TV may not help much．You need to increase your energy level and stimulate something in your mind－that the TV show “Neighbours” won't do．And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked．Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods．The better choice?Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect on people who have a desire for them．

阅读理解

　　It is common to consider learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, even from birth and people continue to learn throughout their lives．

　　Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use their hands to use toys, food, and other objects．They use all of their senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells in their environments．They learn how to communicate with their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and other people important to their world．When they enter school, children learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics．They also continue to learn a great deal outside the classroom．They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished．They learn social skills for communicating with other children．After they finish school, people must learn to deal with many major changes that affect their lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job．

　　Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study of learning is important in many different fields．Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate children．Psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and other human service workers need to understand how certain experiences change people's behaviors．Employers, politicians, and advertisers make use of the principles of learning to affect the behaviors of workers, voters, and consumers．

　　Learning is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain．Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this storage takes place, and how the brain later outputs knowledge when we need it．In contrast, psychologists who study learning are more interested in behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person's experiences．