阅读理解

　　When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground．I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened．I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade．Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way．

　　It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement．As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes．I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can．It was paint．I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green．

　　"Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day．Get some paintbrushes．We are fixing to paint．"She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work．We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard．There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes(条纹)of colors across the pavement(人行道)．Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow．It was fantastic!

　　The sun was starting to sink．I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car．It was my mother．I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece．The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother's face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble．

　　My mother shut the ear door and walked towards me．Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the world were you thinking?I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors' trees, but this!Come inside right now!" I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted(侮辱)my art．

　　"Now go clean it up!" Mother and I began cleaning the road．Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement．

　　Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone．I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away．I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful．

阅读理解

　　There were smiling children all the way．Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, were to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penage．Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives．This is the simple village people of Malaysia．I was moved．

　　I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train．I did not particularlf relish the long train joumey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread．I looked about the train．There was not one familiar I sighed and sat down to read my Economics

　　It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia．Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past．As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green．Then the first village came into sight．Immediately I came alive, I decided to wave back．

　　From then on my joumey became imeresting．I threw my magazine into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life．Then everything came alive．The mountains seemed to speak to me．Even the trees were smiling．I stared t everything as if I was looking at it for the first time．

　　The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry．I looked at my wat ch and was surprised that it was 3∶00 p. m．Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth I looked at the people all around me．They all looked beautiful．When my uncle arrive with, I threw my around him to give him a warm hug．I had never done this before．He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile．We walked arm in arm to his car．

　　I looked forward to the return journey．

阅读理解

　　Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young．They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young．It is called the hoatzin．

　　In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside．The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin．Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos．Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young．

　　Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip．Using these four claws, together with the beak(喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done．When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws．

　　During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes．

阅读理解

　　EDGEWOOD-Every morning at Dixie Heights High School, customers pour into a special experiment：the district's first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs．

　　Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates．Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries．

　　By closing time at 9.20 a. m．the shop usually sells 90 drinks．

　　"Whoever made the chi tea, Ms．Schatzman says it was good," Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher．

　　The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition．Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school．

　　They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs．They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers．

　　Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia．

　　Not that it was easy．Chevalier's first problem to overcome was product-related．Should schools be selling coffee?What about sugar content?

　　Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped．She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition(营养)guidelines．

　　The whole school has joined in to help．

　　Teachers agreed to give up their lounge(休息室)in the mornings．Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall．Business students designed the paychecks．The basketball team helped pay for cups．

阅读理解

Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare's World

　　Welcome to the world－famous house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and where he grew up The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare's family until 1806．The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world, for over 250 years．

　　◆Enter through the Visitors' Centre and see the highly－praised exhibition Shakespeare's World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare

　　◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up

　　◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare's period

　　◆Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden, planted with trees and flower mentioned in the poet's works

　　⊙The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map；nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes'Walk)

　　⊙The House may present difficulties but the Visitors' Centre, its exhibition．and the garden are accessible(可进入的)to wheelchair users

　　⊙The Shakespeare Coffee House(opposite the Birthplace)

阅读理解

　　How words came into being is unknown．All we assume(推测)is that some early men invented certain sounds, in one way or another, to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could talk with each other．Later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be put together to show those sounds, and which could be written down．Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, are called words．

　　The power of words, then, lies in their associations - the things they bring up to our minds．Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we tire, the more certain words bring back to us the happy and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases．

　　Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings．This clever use of words is what we call literary style(文体)．Above all, the real poet is a master of words．He can express his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears, We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them correctly, or they will make our speech silly and common．

阅读理解

阅读理解

　　Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese New year by heading for the ski resorts(滑雪场)．Never mind that Beijing's dry weather seldom produces snow．It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital．And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed the basis for this new craze(热潮)Since Beijing's first ski resort was opened ten years ago, the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase．There are now more than a dozen resorts．Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections．Mr．Wei, a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing, sees the growth of an industry that could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe, In recent years ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China．But many are in faraway areas of the country and can't really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe．

　　Beijing's skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private(私有的)cars．This has led to the growth of a Ieisure industry in the capital's suburbs(郊区), which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people, According to Mr, Wei, about 40％ of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars．The rest are bused in by schools, businesses or government Offices．

　　The problem is making money．Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money; hiring land from the local government, preparing the hills, buying snow machines, making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them, and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers．

　　The ski resort where Mr．Wei works cost nearly ＄4m to set up．And．as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others hash in and price wars break out．Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world, though with most people rather new to the sport, expecting a few more doing the same job．

阅读理解

　　When you're lying on the white sands of the Mexican Riviera, the stresses(压力)of the world seem a million miles away．Hey．stop!This is no vacation-yon have to finish something!

　　Here lies the problem fat travel writer and food critic(评论家)Edie Jarolim．"I always loved traveling and always liked to eat, but it never occurred to me that I could make money doing both of those things．"Jarolim said．Now you can read her travel advice everywhere-in Arts and Antiques．in Brides．or in one of her three books．The Complete Idiot Travel Guide to Mexico's Beach Resorts．

　　Her job in travel writing began Some eight years ago．After getting a PhD in English in Canada．she took a test for Frommer's travel guides, passed it, and got the job．After working at Frommer's, Jarolim worked for a while at Rough Guides in London, then Fodor's, where she fell so in love with a description of the Southwest of the U．S．that she moved there．

　　Now as a travel writer, she spends one-third of her year on the road．The rest of the time is spent completing her tasks and writing reviews of restaurants at home in Tucson, Arizona．

　　As adventurous as the job sounds, the hard part is fact-checking all the information．Sure, it's great to write about a tourist attraction, but you'd better get the local(当地的)museum hours correct or you could really ruin someone's vacation．

阅读理解

　　When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called“Brownie”, My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her．One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games．Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us．One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them．We always felt better when she was around．

　　One days, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end．I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was Wrong．When I looked at her and said,“Bad girl．”She looked down at the ground and then went and hid．I saw a tear in her eyes．

　　Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet．She went everywhere with us．

　　People would stop and ask if they could pet her．Of course she'd let anyone pet her．She was just the most lovable dog．There were many dines when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair．She never barked(吠)or tried to get away．Funny thing is she would smile．This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth．Far from the truth, she loved everyone．

　　Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age．I still miss the days when she was with us．