阅读理解

　　A young woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness(不治之症)and given three months to live．So as she was getting her things“in order”, she asked her pastor(牧师)to come to her house to discuss her final wishes．With everything in order, the pastor was ready to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her．

　　“What's that?”asked the pastor．

　　“I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand．”

　　The pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing what to say．

　　“That surprises you, doesn't it?”the young woman asked．

　　“Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request,”said the pastor．

　　The young woman explained,“In all my years of going to church meetings and dinners, I remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would always lean over and say,‘Keep your fork．'It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming, like chocolate cake or apple pie, some dessert like that．Something wonderful!I just want people to see me there in that casket(棺材)with a fork so that when they ask you why I have a fork, you can tell them：‘Keep your fork－the best is yet to come．'”

　　The pastor hugged the young woman good-bye．He knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did．She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge．

　　At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand．Over and over, the pastor heard the question“Why does she have a fork?”And over and over again he smiled．

　　So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it reminded you of this young woman gently．Send the message to everyone you consider a friend even if it means sending it back to the person who sent it to you．

　　And, keep your fork!!

阅读理解

　　Scholars and researchers have tried to discover what personality characteristics go along with success in intercultural experiences．Their findings have often been unclear or incomplete．But three characteristics stand out in their reports：patience, a sense of humor, and the awareness of being unclear．

　　Patience, of course, is the ability to keep calm even when things do not go as one wants them to, or hopes they will, or has even been sure they will．Impatience sometimes brings improvements in relations with other people, but usually it does not．

　　A person with a sense of humor is less likely to take things too seriously and more ready to see the humor in her own reactions than a humorless person．The value of a sense of humor really needs to be paid more attention to．

　　“The awareness of being unclear”is a more difficult concept than patience or a sense of humor．Foreigners often find themselves in situations that are unclear to the newcomers．That is, they do not know what is happening in the situation．Perhaps they do not understand the local language well enough, or they do not know how some system or organization works, or they can't be sure of different people's roles in what is going on．“It's like I just got here from the moon,”a Chinese graduate student who newly arrived in the United States said,“things are just so different here．”

阅读理解

OUR PROMISE

　　Making your stay a complete success is our goal．Just let our manager on duty of front-desk staff know if any part of your stay isn't satisfactory．We promise to make it right or you won't pay for that part of your stay．

FORGET SOMETHING?

　　If you forget to pack any standard toiletry item(tooth brush, toothpaste, shaving cream, razor or comb), just call the front desk and we'll get you a free replacement(替代)right away．

PLEASE REUSE THE TOWELS

　　We invite you to join with us to save water by using your towels(毛巾)more than once．

　　In addition to decreasing water and energy waste, you can help us reduce the amount of waste water that must be recycled within our community．

　　Please hang the towels up if you wish to participate in the program－if not, simply leave them on the floor．

　　We appreciate your help!

PLEASE CHANGE THE SHEETS TODAY

　　The Project Planet Program is an effort of this hotel to protect the environment through saving water and decreasing waste water．If you are staying with us more than one night, as part of the Project Planet Program, we will wash your sheets every three days．

　　If you would prefer not to participate in this program, simply hang this card on the outside of your door and sheets will be changed right away．As always sheets are automatically changed after every guest checks out．

　　We appreciate your help!

阅读理解

　　The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New．For centuries it kept the America from being discovered by the people of Europe．

　　The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the pacific, but it is still very large．It is more than 4,000 miles(6,000 km)wide where Columbus crossed it．Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles(3,200 km)wide．

　　There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is．But suppose no more rain fell into and no more water was brought to it by rivers．It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up．On the average the water is a little more than 2 miles(3.2 km)deep, but in some places it is much deeper．The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico．This“deep”measures 30,246 feet－almost six miles(9.6 km)．

　　Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea．Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind．Today the Atlantic is a great highway．It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one．Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves．Icebergs float down from the Far North across the paths of ships．We now have such fast ways of travelling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller．Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it．A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days．Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!

阅读理解

　　Nodira, 18, lives in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan．She was born with a rare disease and is now paralyzed(瘫痪)from the waist down．Her life is confined to a wheelchair but her dreams know no such boundaries．Her hopes for the future include attending university, riding in her father's car and being able to walk like other children．

　　Nodira, which means ‘unique' in Uzbek, is one of five children in a poor family．Every morning, after reciting her prayers, Nodira feeds the hens and goats from her wheelchair．The rest of her day is spent knitting for other people and helping her mother with the household chores．

　　Nodira has never been to school because it is too far from her home and inaccessible for her wheelchair．A local teacher used to come and tutor her at home and, as a result, she was able to finish third grade．After that, her parents moved to another town and the tutor could not visit as much．

　　Despite the many difficulties in Nodira's life she is lucky to be living with her family．The stigma(羞辱)attached to the children living with disabilities, combined with the lack of wheelchair access in schools and the economic difficulties faced by many Uzbek families, have led many parents to place children with disabilities in special institutions．

　　These days, Nodira does homework exercises at home and reads as much as she can．Still, it is unlikely that she will be able to finish her primary education, much less attend university．While missing out on an education is a great disappointment to Nodira, her greatest wish, for a true friend, can still come true．“What I want more than anything is a friend who also has a disability,”she says．“Somebody will not feel sorry for me or make fun of me, and will understand what my life is like．”

阅读理解

　　In the office of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, there is a picture of Catherine the Great, the legendary Russian Empress．When asked why she has the picture, Merkel says,“She was a strong woman”．Many say the same of Merkel．

　　The most powerful woman in the world, according to US Forbes magazine, was in China last week．She came to discuss trade and environmental issues with China's top leaders．Germany's first woman leader is known as a brave and practical statesman(政治家)．Even since her time at school, she had the habit of getting everything in order．Every day before doing her homework she would clean the desk and think about what to do next．“I prefer a long time for full preparations to make my decision．But once I decide, I will stand up for what I believe,”Merkel said．

　　Perhaps it was good habits that helped her do well in her studies．At 32, she got a doctorate(博士学位)in physics and then she worked as a researcher．

　　However, the life of a scholar couldn't put off her love of politics．While working in labs, Merkel took time off to read political books and at last joined a political party．“Her calmness helped her stand out in the party．She could always find a way out while others felt hopeless,”said one of her old friends．

　　In her first big political job as Minister for the Environment in 1994, her scientific background proved very useful．In 2005 she became Germany's youngest chancellor since the second World War．

　　Now half way through her four-year term, the 53-year-old woman has made a name for herself both in Germany and abroad．At the EU summit in 2005 when France quarreled with Britain over the EU budget(预算), some people believed the EU was close to breaking down．But Merkel didn't give up．She shuttled(穿梭)between the heads of the two powers and had them reached an agreement．

　　“Strength comes from composure(镇定)and courage．Many people say I am a strong woman．But I would rather say I have perseverance,”said Merkel．

阅读理解

　　While it is impossible to live completely free of stress, it is possible to prevent stress as well as reduce its effect when it can't be avoided．The US Department of Health and Human Services offers the following suggestions for ways to deal with stress．

　　Try physical activity

　　When you are nervous, angry or upset, try releasing the pressure through exercise or physical activity．Running, walking, playing tennis, or working in your garden are just some of the activities you might try．Physical exercise will relieve your anxiety and worry and help you to relax．Your body and your mind will work together to ease the stress in your life．

　　Share your stress

　　It helps to talk to someone about your anxieties and worries．Perhaps a friend, family member, teacher or even your leader can help you a better view of what's troubling you．If you feel your problem is serious, you might seek professional help from a psychologist or a doctor．Knowing when to ask for help is an important step in avoiding serious problems later．

　　Take care of yourself

　　You should make every effort to eat well and get enough rest．If you easily get angry and cannot sleep well enough, or if you're not eating properly, it will be more likely that you will fall into stressful situations．If stress repeatedly keeps you from sleeping, you should consult a doctor．Make time for yourself．

　　Make a list of the things you need to do

　　Stress can result from disorganization and a feeling that“there's so much to do, and not enough time”．Trying to take care of everything at once can be too much for you and as a result, you may not achieve anything．Instead, make a list of everything you have to do, then do one thing at a time, checking off each task as it is completed．Set out to do the most important tasks first．

　　Go ahead and cry

　　A good cry can be a healthy way to bring relief to your anxiety．It might even help you avoid a headache or other physical effect of anxiety and stress．

阅读理解

　　Jenny lived in a town．Her father, Mr．Young, had a shop there and sold clothes in it．The shopkeeper was born in a poor family and was in school no more than a year．He was always sorry for it though he had much money now．He hoped his daughter could become a scientist．But the girl didn't 1ike anything else except singing．She often went to the concerts, bought a lot of records the famous pop stars made and insisted on listening to the music when she was free．Of course she wanted to be a pop star, too．Her parents wanted to prevent her, but she didn't listen to them and they had to agree to her choice．They engaged an old man who was good at music as a private teacher．

　　Five years passed．Mr．Young bought all kinds of musical instruments for Jenny and they visited some places where the famous singers were born．Of course he spent a lot of money on it．But he found the girl didn't make any progress．At last the teacher didn't think the girl could become a singer at all and had to tell Mr．Young about it．The man became angry and said,“Why didn't you tell me about it earlier?My daughter learned nothing but I paid you month after month!”

　　“I think you should thank me for it,”said the teacher．“Another teacher, who teaches badly, is paid more than I was．And I saved much money for you!”

阅读理解

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead．“We can do without railways”people say, as if motorcars and planes made the railways unnecessary．We all keep hearing that trains are slow, that they lose money, that they're dying．But this is far from the truth．In these days of expensive oil, the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes．If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they're cheaper than planes．And they have much in common with planes．A plane goes in a strange line and so does a railway．What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another．It doesn't 1eave you as a plane does, miles and miles from the city center．It doesn't hold you up as a car does, in endless traffic jams．And a single train can carry goods which no plane or motorcar could ever do．Far from being dead, the railways are very much alive．Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey．Where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time?And we are only at the beginning．For we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 150 miles an hour and more．Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorways we can't use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can't fly in for the same reason．

阅读理解

　　A tourist comes out of the airport．There are a lot of taxis, but the tourist asks every taxi－driver his name．He takes the third taxi．It costs￡5 from the airport to the hotel．“How much does it cost for the whole day?”the tourist asks．“￡100”, says the taxi-driver．This is very expensive, the tourist accepts the price．

　　The taxi－driver takes the tourist everywhere．He shows him all monuments and all the museums．In the evening they go back to the hotel．The tourist gives the taxi-driver￡100 and says,“What about tomorrow?”The taxi-driver looks at the tourist．“Tomorrow?It's another￡ 100 tomorrow．”But the tourist says,“That's OK．If that's the price, that is the price．See you tomorrow．”The taxi－driver is very pleased．

　　The next day the taxi-driver takes the tourist everywhere again．They visit all the museums and all the monuments again．And in the second evening they go back to the hotel．The tourist gives the taxi－driver another￡100 and says,“I'm going home tomorrow．”The taxi-driver is sorry．He likes the tourist and, above all,￡100 a day is good money．“So you are going home．Where do you come from?”he asks．

　　“I come from New York．”

　　“New York!”says the taxi-driver,“I have a sister in New York．Her name is Susannah．Do you know her?”

　　“Of course I know her．She gave me￡200 for you．”