阅读理解

MONEY-SAVING TIPS FOR DISNEY WORLD

　　Every time you visit Disney World, there’s something new to see．What began in 1971 as the Magic Kingdom now includes the high-tech, movie-mad Disney and Animal Kingdom．Each time the park expands, so do your chances to spend money．How can you save?As a family guide to Disney World, I’ve been to the park more than 25 times with my kids, and I’ve developed a few money-saving plans．

　　●Buy the five-day All-in-One Hopper Pass(入场券)．Even if you’re visiting for fewer days, it’s a deal(the pass costs ＄229 for visitors ages 10 and up, ＄183 for kids ages three to nine and is free for kids under age three)．Without the pass, you’ll have to pay separately for Pleasure Island and the water parks．A single trip to Blizzard Beach, for example, would cost a family of four ＄100．

　　●Dine out at lunch．The prices at some of the nicer restaurants, especially those in Epcot’s World Showcase, are much lower at noontime than at dinner．It’s wise to make reservations before you leave home．Call 407-W-DISNEY．

　　●Become a Gold Card Member．For ＄65, you can get a Magic Kingdom Club Gold Card(call 1-800-56-DISNEY)．Card-holders get up to 20 percent off Disney hotel rooms, plus price breaks on character breakfasts, theme park tickets and goods from Disney stores．

　　●Don’t pay extra to see a character．Character-theme dinner shows are expensive, costing a family of four about ＄140, and even a character breakfast, where Mickey or Donald Duck joins you for cakes, can set you back ＄50．If your budget is tight, try to meet the characters inside the theme parks and at free in-park shows．You can watch the Diamond Horseshoe show, for example, in the Magic Kingdom for no additional cost, while the similarly themed Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue requires expensive tickets．

　　●Wait until the end of your trip to buy souvenirs．By then, the kids will really know what they want, and you won’t waste money on expensive things．

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阅读理解

　　Is it possible to persuade mankind to live without war?War has existed for at least six thousand years．It was always evil and usually foolish, but in the past the human race managed to live with it．Modern skill has changed this．Either man will end war, or war will end man．

　　For the present, it is nuclear weapons that cause the greater danger, but bacteriological or chemical weapons may, before long, offer an even greater threat．If we succeeded in stopping war, there would be no danger for us．To do this, we need to persuade mankind to look upon international questions in a new way, not by contests of force, in which the victory goes to the side which is most skillful in killing people, but this is what must be attempted．

　　Some people hold completely false attitudes towards how to prevent war．In fact, they are willing to go to war in support of them．However, the movement of world opinion during the past two years has changed very largely such as we can welcome．It has become a common belief that nuclear war must be avoided．Of course, very difficult problems remain in the international world, but the attitude towards them is a better one than it was some years ago．

　　It has begun to be thought, even by the powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that agreements should be reached even if both sides do not find these agreements wholly satisfactory．It has be understood that the important conflict nowadays is not between East and West, but between Man and the atom bomb．

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阅读理解

　　I’d been 16 for six days and was already prepared to deal with failure．I remember when my mum woke me up that morning, her voice wasn’t as scratchy(刺痛的)as it usually was．

　　I stayed in bed for a few minutes．I was reluctant(不愿)to leave its warmth and comfort, and reluctant to face the problem that I’d let myself forget for the past six months．Finally, I dragged myself out of bed．

　　I finished getting ready and tried to settle down．It didn’t’ work, so I decided that my mum and I should go．We had a little time, so I thought we could practice parking．I failed, with the wheel hitting the pavement．After that, the little bit of confidence I’d had was gone．I tried two more times, but didn’t improve much．Then we headed to the test site．

　　I went into a room for some paperwork．And I waited for 20 minutes－just enough time to make myself believe that I was going to fail．Then, finally, it was my turn．I just wanted to get it over and make sure that I had to come back next Thursday．

　　I stepped outside and the sky was the light blue I love．It offered me some comfort and I realized something：sometime between when I pulled myself off the seat and when I got outside, I had become calmer．

　　The first thing I had to do was parking, which I did quite well．The confidence that came with it hit me like a wave．The rest of the test went well and I passed it all．As I drove back, the instructor told me I would not be coming back for a second test next Thursday．

　　Back in the building I didn’t have to say a word．My mum knew just by looking at me．Her smile made her face softer．And I’m sure it was at least as big as mine．But, her eyes looked kind of teary, so, I knew she was happy for me．

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READING COMPREHENSION

　　Prison Break(《越狱》)is a huge hit thanks to its handsome star, Wentworth Miller．His character, Michael Scofield, is the engine that drives the show．

　　Having committed a crime to get into prison and break out his innocent older brother, Michael Scofield is one of the most interesting personalities on television today．But what about the man behind the character

　　Miller, 35, is a hard guy to figure out．He does not come from a normal background and has never lived his life in a typical way．

　　Miller didn’t take a direct path to fame and fortune．He graduated from Princeton University(美国普林斯顿大学)in 1995, not with a degree in theatre or film, but in English．He didn’t even act when he was in college．His only performance experience was in his university’s singing group．Yet, at graduation Miller still decided to make the move to Hollywood．

　　Miller has always been different．Although he is American, he was born in Britain when his father was studying there．His family background is also a special mix of cultures．“My father is black and my mother is white．That means I have always been caught in the middle．I could be either one, which can make you feel out of place,”Miller says．

　　Following his unusual path, Miller did not start trying out for films and TV shows when he first got to Hollywood．Instead, he worked as a lowly production assistant．Not what you would expect from a Princeton graduate．However, it all paid off for Miller in the end．

　　In 2002, Miller played a role in the drama Dinotopia(《恐龙帝国》)．He starred as a thoughtful and shy man．Producers remembered his performance when they were casting Prison Break two years later．With a golden globe nomination(提名)and another season of Prison Break on his resume(履历), Miller seems ready to take over all of Hollywood．

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READING COMPREHENSION

　　Do you know how to use a mobile phone without being rude to the people around you?

　　Talking during a performance irritates people．If you are expecting an emergency call, sit near the exit doors and set your phone to vibrate．When your mobile phone vibrates, you can leave quietly and let the others enjoy the performance．

　　Think twice before using mobile phones in elevators, museums, churches or other indoor public places－especially enclosed spaces．Would you want to listen to someone’s conversation in these places?Worse yet, how would you feel if a mobile phone rang suddenly during a funeral!It happens more often than you think．Avoid these embarrassing situations by making sure your mobile phone is switched off．

　　When eating at a restaurant with friends, don’t place your mobile phone on the table．This conveys the message that your phone calls are more important than those around you．

　　Mobile phones have sensitive microphones that allow you to speak at the volume you would on a regular phone．This enables you to speak quietly so that others won’t hear the details of your conversations．If you are calling from a noisy area, use your hand to direct your voice into the microphone．

　　Many people believe that they can’t live without their mobile phone．Owning a mobile phone definitely makes life more convenient, but limit your conversations to urgent ones and save the personal calls until you are at home．

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READING COMPREHENSION

　　Think of some of your favorite singers．When you listen, they can make you happy or sad, peaceful or angry．They can make you relax or want to get up and dance．Gifted singers have the power to affect us in many ways－emotionally, physically and mentally．

　　But becoming a great singer isn’t as easy as listening to one．It takes practice, devotion and strong lungs!Just ask the well-known American opera star Carol Vaness．

　　At the Metropolitan Opera in New York City where she often sings, Carol’s voice must be loud enough to be heard by four thousand people．It must reach every person in the theater, without a microphone, even when she’s singing softly．The reason Carol can project her voice that far is the way she breathes．

　　“When you breathe, it’s like a swimmer taking a deep breath before going underwater,”Carol explains．“You have to take a lot of air into your lungs．”

　　According to Carol, the main difference between pop singing and opera is“how you breathe, how much air you take in, and how you control it coming out．Regular singing is more like speaking, and it’s a lot softer．When I sing for children, they’re often surprised by how the vibrations(震动)strike their ears－like waves on a beach,”Carol says．“In opera, the air doesn’t just go out of your mouth－it vibrates in your chest, the way a guitar vibrates when it’s played．”

　　Ever since she started piano lessons at the age of ten, Carol has loved music．As she got older, she decided to become a music teacher．When she went to college, she took singing lessons as part of her studies．Her voice teacher discovered that nineteen-year-old Carol had an exceptionally beautiful soprano voice – the highest singing voice for women．

　　Carol decided to make opera her goal, not only because she loved to sing but also because she loved the drama．Opera is a play in which the characters sing the words instead of speaking them．The stories of opera can be tragic or comical．They can be personal stories about two people falling in love or grand stories about kings and queens who lived long ago．As the characters in an opera sing, the emotions expressed by words and music come to life．

　　Today, Carol performs throughout the United States and Europe and she has sung for almost twenty years．But she has never forgotten where she started singing in the first palace．

　　“Put your heart into your singing and enjoy it,”says Carol,“because singing is a great joy．That’s why I sing．In fact, that’s why everybody sings．”

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READING COMPREHENSION

　　Want to lose weight?Try eating．That’s one of the ways being developed by scientists experimenting with foods that trick the body into feeling full．

　　At he Institute of Food Research in Norwich, England, food expert Peter Wilde and his colleagues are developing foods that slow down the digestive system, which then sends a signal to the brain that stops appetite．“That fools you into thinking you’ve eaten far too much when you really haven’t,”said Wilde．From his studies on fat digestion, he said it should be possible to make foods, from bread to yoghurt, that make it easier to diet．While the research is still in its early stages, Wilde’s approach to controlling appetite is one that some doctors say could be a key to solving the problem of obesity．

　　“Being able to switch off appetite would be a big help for people having trouble losing weight,”said Steve Bloom, a professor of investigative medicine at London’s Imperial College, who is not connected to Wilde’s research．Bloom said that regulating appetite through foods is theoretically possible．But Bloom warned that controlling appetite may be very challenging．“The body has lots of things to prevent its regulatory systems from being tricked,”he said．

　　Wilde’s research makes use of the body’s ways of digesting fat．Fat normally gets broken down in the first part of the small intestines(肠道)．When you eat a high-fat meal, however, the body can only digest the fat entirely further down in the intestines, which then causes the body to produce a kind of chemical to stop the appetite．

　　Wilde’s approach copies what happens with a high-fat meal．He coats fat droplets(滴)in foods with modified proteins from plants, so it takes longer for the chemical that breaks down fat to reach it．That means that the fat isn’t digested until it hits the far reaches of the intestines．At that point, intestinal cells send a signal telling the brain it’s full．Even though the body hasn’t had a high-fat meal, it stops the appetite as if it has．If the fat had been digested earlier in the intestines, no such signal would be sent．

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READING COMPREHENSION

　　It’s not just adults who have a thing or two to discuss with other people, babies too have their own social lives and enjoy group interaction, according to a world-first study．

　　The breakthrough study conducted by psychologist Professor Ben Bradley, at Charles Sturt University, could completely transform the way child-care centres are set up．In their study, the researchers examined groups of nine-month-old babies in new South Wales and Britain．

　　And they came across astonishing results－it was found that infants had“social brains”and focused not just on their mothers but on social life in groups as well．

　　“They communicate with more than one baby at once, and show jealousy and generousness,”said Professor Bradley．

　　He added,“They develop their own meanings through group interaction, they notice if a group member is behaving differently and they take on roles, such as leaders and followers．”

　　“A baby who has a depressed mother tends to be withdrawn(内向的), but put that same baby in a group of its peers(同龄人)and they behave and interact like any other baby．”

　　It was the first all-baby group study ever to be conducted．“Most studies of babies concentrate on the infant-mother relationship, assuming that is the single foundation for mental health, but babies are constantly involved with groups of people other than their mothers：fathers, siblings, grandparents and those taking care．Therefore, the ‘mother-baby approach’ needs to be combined with a’group approach’,”said Bradley．

　　Phoebe Christison, a child-care worker at Camperdown Sunshine Bubs in Sydney’s inner west, said she often noticed what appeared to be emotional attachments developed between toddlers．

　　She said,“Joel(10 months)and Isabella(11 months)always like to hold hands when they sit in their high chairs and eat．And babies definitely show jealousy．They push and touch each other, and copy what the other is doing．”

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READING COMPREHENSION

　　I used to watch her from my kitchen window．She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground．The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during break．I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball．I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids．She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net．The boys always tried to stop her but no one could．I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone．

　　One day I asked her why she practiced so much．Without a moment of hesitation she said,“I want to go to college．The only way I can go is to get a scholarship．I am going to play college basketball．I want to be the best．My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．”Well, I had to give it to her－she was determined．I watched her through those junior high years and into high school．Every week, she led her school team to victory．

　　One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head in her arms．I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her．Quietly I asked what was wrong．“Oh, nothing,”came a soft reply,“I am just too short．”The coach told her that atshe would probably never get to play for a top ranked team－much less offered a scholarship－so she should stop dreaming about college．She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment．I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet．She told me that her father said those coaches were wrong．They just did not understand the power of a dream．He told her that if she truly wanted a scholarship and that nothing could stop her except one thing－her own attitude．

　　The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was offered a scholarship and on the college team．She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of．

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