阅读理解

　　We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves．Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes color?Where do the yellows and oranges come from?To answer those questions, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do．

　　Leaves are nature's food factories．Plants take water from the ground through their roots．They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air．Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose, which is a kind of sugar．Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing．The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis, which means“putting together with light．”A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen．Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color．

　　As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter．This is how the trees“know”to begin getting ready for winter．

　　During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis．The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during summer．They begin to shut down their food-making factories．The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves．As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors．Small a-mounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along．Covered up by the green chlorophyll, we just can't see them in summer．

　　The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall．In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops．Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color．The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves．

　　It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall．

阅读理解

SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND

Captain Goodfellow

　　Do you children enjoy interesting stories funny games, and exciting dance?Captain Goodfellow will be ready to teach a11 these things to children at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10∶00, free．

　　morning at 10∶00 Free．

Walking Tour of the Town

　　Forget your worries on Saturday morning．Take a beautiful walk and leam about local history．Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9∶30．Wear comfortable shoes!

Films at the Museum

　　Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre．See Broken Window at 1∶30．The workers will be at 3∶45．For further information, call 4987898．

International Picnic

　　Are you tired of eating the same kind of food every day?Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world．Delicious and not expensive．Noon to 5∶00 p.m．

Take me out to the Ballgame

　　It's October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Red- birds this year．Get your tickets at the gate．It might be cold…don't forget sweaters and jackets．

Do you want to hear“The Zoo”?

　　“The Zoo”, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US．Concert tomorrow night at 8 Rose Hall, City College．

阅读理解

　　In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition(学会)of each new skill in the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing．It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child．This might happen at any stage．A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads．On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself．

　　Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children．Some may be especially strict in money matters．Others are severe(严格的)over time of coming home at night or punctuality for meals．In general, the controls represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness．

　　As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching．To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality(道德)．Also, parents should realize that“example is better than precept”．If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach(说教), their children may grow confused when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled．

　　A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment．

阅读理解

　　Apparently，we are safe neither at home nor in the business office．We use water in both places，but the research shows that chemicals added to our local water supply to kill harmful bacteria can have unwanted side effects．These chemicals can cause potential harm through drinking and in seemingly harmless activities as cleaning one's house．They are released(set free)from water by daily actions like water running out of tap，spraying from garden pipes，or splashing in dishwashers and washing machines．As the water is moving．these chemicals are released into the air and then breathed in．Once inside our bodies, they start to affect our health．

　　Does this mean we should stop bathing?No, say the scientists, but we should put all pollution into perspective．Activities at home such as the burning of coal, cooking oil, or even candles release carbon monoxide and particulates such as cigarette ashes which have been proven as harmful to health as working or living near heavy traffic．New tugs, bedding, and even clothing give off that“new smell,”which is a sure sign of chemicals．In the office, newly applied paint, newly purchased telephones and other telecommunications equipment, and computers release polluting chemicals, too．As offices and homes often have inadequate ventilation(通风), these chemicals can build up to become health problems．Their poisonous effects are only now being slowly recognized．

　　These facts suggest that, at a minimum, proper airing of newly purchased goods with an obvious chemical smell is a wise warning．Home and office windows should be opened during good weather．Even one's car needs to be ventilated as well while in the garage．

　　We need further research to understand better other potential health dangers, too．For example, the effects of overcrowding of schools(carbon dioxide build-up), the factory work environment(an endless list of potentially dangerous substances), and even home heating and cooling(the air conditioner may be our enemies, not our friends)have only recently started to come to light．Until we understand the effects of our new technological environment better, we can only hope that“there is no place like home．”

阅读理解

　　Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California, and grew up in New York City．She lived in Greece for one year as a child with her family, and they later relocated to New York City．She went to the New York Rudolf Steiner School and graduated from Manhattan's Fiorello H．LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts．In 1989, she moved back to Los Angeles, California．

　　Aniston moved to Hollywood and played her first television role in the short－lived series Molloy in 1990, She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television show adapted from the 1986 hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off．The series, however, didn't succeed．Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy shows, The Edge and Muddling Through, and guest-starred on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, and Burke's Law．Aniston wanted to give up acting because of the failed shows．

　　But the sitcom Friends changed her mind．She played in it from 1994 until the show ended in 2004．The program was hugely successful and Aniston became famous for her roal Rachel in it．Her hairstyle in the program, which became known as the“Rachel”, was widely copied at he time．

　　Besides being a TV actress, Aniston has enjoyed a great film career．Her biggest box office success to date was 2003's Bruce Almighty．The film made ＄243M at the Unite State box office and almost twice that worldwide．Aniston's 2004 film, A long Came Polly also did well at the box office．

阅读理解

　　After twenty years of shaving(剃须)himself every morning, a man in a small Southern town thought he had enough．He told his wife that he intended to let the local barber shave him each day．He put on his hat and coat and went to the barber shop．

　　The barber's wife, Grace, was working that day, so she performed the task．Grace shaved him, and said,“That will be ＄20．”The man thought the price was a bit high, but he paid the bill and went to work．

　　The next morning the man looked in the mirror, and his face was as smooth as it had been when he left the barber shop the day before．“Not bad, he thought．At least I don't need to get a shave every day．”

　　The next morning, the man's face was still smooth．Two weeks later, the man was still unable to find any trace of whiskers on his face．It was more than he could take and he was frightened, so he returned to the barber shop．

　　“I thought ＄20 was high for a shave”, he told the barber's wife,“but you must have done a great job．It's been two weeks and my whiskers still haven't started growing back．”The expression on her face didn't even change, expecting his comment．She responded,“You were shaved by Grace and once shaved, always shaved!”

阅读理解

　　Review by Rose at midwestbookreview.com

　　Written by Johannah Biuedorm, My Mommy, My Teacher is an enjoyable, full-color, children's picture book about a little girl who learns from her family how to work on a farm．

　　Review by Dena wood at timestales.com

　　My Mommy, My Teacher is a delighrful story of a little girl who shares the events(事情)of her daily life as she works, learns and plays with her family．the beautiful country life of this home-schooling family offers a feeling of peace, safety and meaning to both children and grown-ups．Love, respect, responsibility(责任)and joy are very easy to find as we follow this littile girl through her day．

　　Review by Britta McColl at morningstarlearning.com

　　I just read it to my daughters last night, and we all enjoyed it so much．My 13-year-old son who was listening said,“We should have home-school like that!”There are several things that appealed to him：

　　The farm(chickens and strawberries), the parrot, the love and joy．This is really a wonderful book for both parents and children．

　　Review by Rebekan Wilson at hopechestlegacy.com

　　If you have ever had a hard home－schooling day, and if you are ever unhappy and ready to cry, take out this simple little book and allow the story and picture to wash your heart clean, think again why you are doing what you do, and open your heart to your children once more．Surely you will feel much better．

阅读理解

　　On Saturday nights, A．J．Coston doesn't get a lot of sleep．Usually three or four times a night, a loud bell rings, a red light flashes, and he has to jump out of his bed．That's because he's a weekend volunteer firefighter(消防员)with Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Station 13 in Northern Virginia．During the week, he lives at home with his mom, dad and sister and does his main job which is going to high school．

　　“I have always wanted to get into firefighting since I was a little kid watching fire trucks go by,” he says．“One day on the Internet I noticed that Loudoun County offered a junior firefighter program．”He was only 16, but he got it．

　　Fighting fires is dangerous work．Firefighters never stop practicing the skills they need to stay safe．Once Coston learned those skills, he was allowed to work inside burning buildings．

　　“Teamwork is most important,”he says．“It's the whole team that puts the fire out．”

　　Firefighters feel great about helping people．“My most unbelievable call was probably the time four kids were struck by lightning,”says Coston．He will be off to college next fall, building on his dream job．“I'll get my degree in emergency(紧急情况)medical care．and then work in a fire and rescue company for a while．I want to be a flight doctor on a helicopter in the end, but I will never forget the days as a firefighter．These are my unforgettable experiences,”he says．

阅读理解

　　Scientists in Canada say big fish have almost disappeared from the world since the start of industrial(产业的)fishing in the 1950s．The scientists found the numbers of some kinds of large fish have dropped by ninety percent in the past fifty years．

　　The study took ten years．The researchers gathered records from fishing businesses and governments around the world．The magazine Nature published the findings．

　　The scientists say the common method called long line fishing ravages the populations of large fish．This method involves many fishing lines connected to one boat．These wires can be nearly one hundred kilometers long．They hold thousands of sharp metal hooks to catch fish．

　　Long line fishing is especially common in the Japanese fishing industry．Records showed that Japanese boats used to catch about ten fish for every one hundred hooks．But long line fishing boats now might only catch one fish per hundred hooks．

　　The scientists say industrial fishing can destroy groups of fish much faster than in the past．The study suggests that whole populations can disappear almost completely from new fishing areas within ten to fifteen years．

　　Ransom Myers and Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia led the study with the University of Kiel in Germany．Worm says the destruction could lead to a complete reorganization of ocean life systems．Meyers says the decreased numbers of large fish are not the only worry．He says even populations that are able to reproduce do not get the chance to live long enough to grow as big as their ancestors．He says not only are there fewer big fish, but also they are smaller than those of the past．

　　It's the end of this program, Thank you for your listening．

阅读理解

　　Adults(成年人)usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school．But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget．Every time I drift off course, I think of this story．

　　It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us．This is how the story went：

　　An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway．He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg(乞讨)．He would do this every single day of his life．He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years．

　　His house was dirty, and a stench(恶臭)came out of the house and it smelled terrible．The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place．The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house．There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years．

　　The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire(百万富翁)．They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him．When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire．

　　But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door．The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg．

　　Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant(有意义的)for his life．We learn nothing from this story other than(除了)staying focused on(专心于)the things we enjoy doing．