阅读理解

　　●Tower Bridge is one of London's most well known landmarks．Opened in 1894, this hydraulic(液压的)bridge can be raised to permit river traffic to pass underneath．

　　Vistors to Tower Bridge can enjoy wonderful views of the River Thames from the bridge towers．There is also a museum which explain how the bascule bridge operates and discusses its history．Tower Bridge is often incorrectly referred to as London Bridge．London Bridge, however, is a different bridge that is located directly upstream from Tower Bridge．

　　●The British Museum is a “must do” for all visitors to London England．Treasures from around the world can be found in Britain's largest and most popular museum．To top it off, admission to the British Museum is free of charge．

　　Due to the enormous size of the museums, visitors should priortize what they wish to see．One “must see” is the Rosetta Stone – a key puzzle piece in the recorded history of humankid．The british Museum is locted in the Bloomsbury district of London in London WC1．

　　●Greenwich Park is a beautiful large park located a few kilometers away from the centre of London．Attractions in Greenwich include the Cutty Sark, the Gypsy Moth and the Old Royal Observatory．A painted line at the obsevatory inicates zero degrees of longitude(经度)．

　　Many visitors to Greenwich enjoy having their photos taken with one leg in the western hemisphere(半球)and the other in the eastern hemisphere．Greenwich is the place where time was officially tracked–“Greenwich Mean Time” or “GMT”．

　　Greenwich is located in London SE10．

　　●The Eurostar high–speed train service provides fast connections between London and Paris and London and Brussels．The Eurostar trains pass through the 32–mile Channel Tunnel under the English Channel．The tunnel is also known as the “Euro Tunnel” or “Chunnel”．The Channel Tunnel is considered to be one of the world's great engineering wonders．

　　Trains leave form the Waterloo Rail Station which is located in south London．

阅读理解

　　FOR many of us, cartoon strips(连环画)are simply one of our pastimes．The popular Japanese manga provides us with an escape from reality into a world of fantasy, adventure and romance．With much less text and pictures running for pages, it fits perfectly into today's fast, throwing away city lifestyle．

　　But Tsai Chih-chung, a famous Taiwanese illustrator(漫画家), doesn't agree．He believes cartoons can be a bridge connecting traditional Chinese culture and wisdom with the modern world in a much more wise and acceptable way．

　　He has interpreted(演绎)Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius, Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi and made their works accessible to a global audience．He has also produced two books about Zen(禅宗), introducing oriental philosophy(哲学)．His cartoons are humorous yet full of wisdom and are admired as an easy way to learn Chinese classics．

　　After avoiding the public for ten years, Tsai made a comeback in late April with seven new works．But does his age, 61, work as a gap between him and his young readers?Tsai doesn't think so．

　　The topics he has covered range from philosophy in a time of individuality(个性)to the learning and memorizing techniques used at school．"Every child is a genius and has the potential beyond his own imagination," he said．

　　If popular Japanese manga is simply for entertainment, Tsai's work, to a large extent, is to light the power of thinking in a light-hearted way．Tsai uses different forms of water to refer to people．In his eyes some people are like an ocean, some are like vapor, while others may be ice or rain．But in essence they share a similarity －human being's forever chasing for the true and the good．

　　"The person who thinks over life issues is not necessarily a scholar or a philosopher," he said．"I've devoted my whole life to thinking and individual freedom, not making a living．"

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　　One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank．There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream and listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees．I would also watch the bamboo(竹子)trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down．

　　When I think about the bamboo tree's ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word resilience(恢复力)comes to mind．When used in reference to a person, this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person's emotions．

　　Have you ever felt like you are about to snap(突然折断)?Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point?Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it．

　　During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health．You felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and you most likely endured(忍耐)unpleasant physical symptoms(症状)．

　　Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments．The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend, but don't break．Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you．

　　If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience．Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don't break!

阅读理解

　　Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family．The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room．Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement．As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it．When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied．“Things aren't always what they seem．”

　　The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable(好客的)farmer and his wife．After sharing the little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest．When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears．Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field．The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel,“How could this happen?Why did you watch out for the cow?The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused,“The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help．”

　　“Things aren't always what they seem,”the older angel replied．

　　“When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall．Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal the wall so that he wouldn't find it．Then last night as we slept in the farmer's bed, the angel of death came for his wife．I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead．Things aren't always what they seem．”

Read the following four passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　Most people in business have a strong sense that meetings are demanding more and more of their time．Fifty years ago meetings were barely necessary–the boss decided what was going to happen and told employees in a brief office memo．

　　Now everything in business is discussed extensively in large meetings attended by anybody who has the remotest interest in the subject．The gradual erosion of formal systems of authority has increased the appetite for face-to-face meetings．Consultation and discussion has taken the place of direct instruction．

　　The amount of travel to get to these meetings is increasing．More than nine million people passed through Heathrow(希思罗机场)in 2005 on the way to internal company events．As a consequence, corporate travel is a growing part of UK carbon emissions(排放)．It would be easy to say we must reverse the trend towards more meetings to reduce the climate-change impact of modern business．Unfortunately, it is not going to be easy．Some interesting recent research shows that most of the attendees at corporate meetings do complain about the waste of time involved．But when they were questioned in private, the picture changes．Only 15 per cent of people rated their most recent meeting adversely．Though most attendees saw room for improvement, meetings were valuable both in helping build plans for action and in making employees feel part of the organization．

　　But do these meetings have to be face-to-face?British Telecom recently presented some data on the success of its internal voice conferencing．In the most recent year, more than two million telephone conferences took place in the company．BT estimates a saving of over ￡200 m from the use of this technology and a cut of almost 100,000 tonnes of CO2．Of course BT has a clear interest in telling us that phone meetings are a good substitute for wasteful corporate get-togethers．So far, such conferencing has struggled to take off as people have tended to prefer to travel．It is, after all, rather more difficult to understand the boss's body language over the phone．Nevertheless, BT's research on the considerable benefits of conferencing is reasonable．Rather than try to get rid of apparently unproductive meetings, we need to find ways to make telephone and video conferences ever better substitutes for those traditional meetings．

Read the following four passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

Read the following four passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　One day in l965, when I worked at View Ridge School in Seattle, a fourth-grade teacher approached me．She had a student who finished his work before all the others and needed a challenge．"Could he help in the library?" She asked．I said, "Send him along．"

　　Soon a slight, sandy-haired boy in jeans and a T-shift appeared．"Do you have a job for me?" he asked．

　　I told him about the Dewey Decimal System for shelving books．He picked up the idea immediately．Then I showed him a stack of cards for long-overdue books that I was beginning to think had actually been returned but were misshelved with the wrong cards in them．He said, "Is it kind of a detective job?" I answered yes, and he became working．

　　He had found three books with wrong cards by the time his teacher opened the door and announced, "Time for break!" He argued for finishing the finding job; She made the case for fresh air．She won．

　　The next morning, he arrived early．"I want to finish these books," he said．At the end of the day, when he asked to be a librarian on a regular basis, it was easy to say yes．He worked untiringly．

　　After a few weeks I found a note on my desk, inviting me to dinner at the boy's home．At the end of a pleasant evening, his mother announced that the family would be moving to neighbouring school district．Her son's first concern, she said, was leaving the View Ridge library．"Who will find the lost books?" he asked．

　　When the time came, I said a reluctant good-bye．I missed him, but not for long．A few days later he came back and joyfully announced："The librarian over there doesn't let boys work in the library．My mother got me transferred back to View Ridge．My dad will drop me off on his way to work．And if he can't, I'll walk!"

　　I should have had an inkling(感觉)such focused determination would take that young man wherever he wanted to go．What I could not have guessed, however, was that he would become a wizard of the Information Age：Bill Gates, tycoon of Microsoft and America's richest man．

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　　HOLIDAY HOMES IN MALLORCA

　　Holiday houses in Mallorca sailing and fishing port - quiet even in summer season．Beautifully situated houses with sights of sea and mountains, yet near to shops and restaurants．Cars and bicycles for hire．Sailing and sports clubs nearby．

　　ITALY IN COMFORT

　　Luxury coach trips of Italy, out of normal holiday season．21 days to visit five Italian cities starting from London 1st May, 1st September．The trips are guided by Professor Martin Davis, Head of Italian Studies, London University．See the arts and culture of historic Italy．

　　KIBBUTZ HOLIDAYS IN ISRAEL

　　Working holidays on a kibbutz(co-operative farm)in Israel．All nationalities welcome for one to three months, if prepared to work morning with kibbutz members．Accommodation, food and trips to historic sights all provided free - you pay only for the special low-cost return flight．

　　TWO WEEKS ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND

　　Two-week holidays in the Hotel Splendid, on a lovely beach with golden sands and deep-blue sea．Tennis, golf, sailing and all water sports, trips around the island arranged．Near to town of Castries with lively evening entertainment-dancing．

　　1st November-31st March=￡720 per person

　　1st April-30th October =￡850 per person

　　Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want to see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying．

　　Peter and Maria, university students, want to travel as far as possible on little money, and would like to get to know a country by working there for three months with other young people．

　　Michael, a young computer programmer, has been working hard and needs a holiday to relax in winter．He would like to go somewhere warmer and sunny, where he can swim in the sea, and he enjoys sports and dancing．

　　Henry and Kate, both teachers, and their two sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays．There must be plenty for the boys to do, although Harry and Kate just want to have beautiful scenery, good food and wine- and peace．

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　　In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and started austerity(紧缩)programs to reduce their imports．The result was a sharp drop in farm prices．This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient．They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods．The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell．These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1939s．

　　In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized．It established the principle of direct interference(干预)with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers．

　　President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem．One of the first measures proposed by President FranklinD．Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was later passed by Congress．This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use．A deliberate shortage of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices．This law was declared unconstitutional(违背宪法的)by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people．However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation．The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation's soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens．Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid(杂交)grain, and fertilizers．

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　　The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．

　　The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar．It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X－or Nibiru－heads toward or collides with the Earth．

　　Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”．“There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website．“If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye．Obviously, it does not exist．Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted．“After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA．

　　There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA．

　　Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar．

　　NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward．

　　And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible(unimportant)”, NASA said．

　　“And while comets and asteroids(小行星)have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted．The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs．

　　“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said．