阅读理解

　　Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son's football team．It was the final quarter．The score was two to one, my son's team in the lead．Parents were in a circle around the field, offering encouragement．

　　With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball rolled in front of my son's teammate, Mikey O'Donnel．With shouts of“Kick it!”echoing(回响)across the field, Mikey gave it everything he had．All round me the crowd cheered．O'Donnel scored!

　　Then there was silence．Mikey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal(球门), ending the game in a tie(平局)．For a moment there was a total hush．You see, Mikey has Down's syndrome(唐氏综合症)and for him there is no such thing as a wrong goal．All goals were celebrated by a hug from Mikey．He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored．

　　The silence was finally broken when Mikey, whose face was filled with joy, grabbed my son, hugged him and shouted,“I scored!I scored．Everybody won!Everybody won!”For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react．I need not have worried．I watched, through tears, as my son started chanting(呼喊),“Way to go Mikey!Way to go Mikey!”Within moments both teams surrounded Mikey, joining in the chant and congratulating him on his goal．

　　Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied ,“It was a tie．Everybody won．”

阅读理解

　　Born in Iran in 1919 and brought up in Zimbabwe, Doris Lessing spent her childhood on a remote farm in the African bush．Basically self-educated, she dropped out of school at 13, and married 6 years later．

　　Lessing's first novel, The Grass Is Singing, was a critique(评论)of racial politics in Rhodesia(the former name for Zimbabwe)．In 1949, she left the country with her young son and came to England．And her first novel was published the next year．

　　In London she wrote a series of semi-autobiographical(半自传的)novels from 1952－1969, the Children of Violence series, which explored the developing consciousness of her heroine, Martha Quest．In 1962, Lessing published her best-known work, The Golden Notebook, which has become a feminist(女权主义的)classic．From 1979, Lessing developed this theme with a science fiction series, Canopus in Argus：Archives(1979－1983)．Contemporary society continued to interest Lessing, and in 1985 she published The Good Terrorist, a satire(讽刺文)on student politics．

　　Two volumes of autobiography were published in 1995 and 1997, covering the period from her African childhood to the publication of The Golden Notebook．

　　In 1999, she was appointed a Companion of Honour for her service to literature and at the same year, she finished another book, Mara and Dann, which tells of a brother and a sister in a world full of violence and adventures in the future．And in 2007, Doris Lessing, who explored relationships between the genders(性别)and races, won the Nobel Prize in literature．

阅读理解

　　For my sweet sixteen there were no TV cameras filming the planning process, and no beautiful car as a“surprise”gift at the end of the party．But it was a party with a far better ending．My friends and family came together to dance the night away and remember World AIDS Day to help the Holly House Orphanage(孤儿院)in Nairobi, Kenya．The ＄8,600 we raised was the best gift I could ever dream of!It was so pleasing to know that my celebration would be felt halfway around the world by children in need．

　　I am part of the Global Citizen Corps Leadership Program, which has taught me to become aware of the problems of those around the world．To me, it seems that a lack of education is the obstacle(障碍)that keeps many in the cycle of poverty(贫穷)．The school in Nairobi is a place where I believe my efforts, although small, can have a huge effect．

　　When I started planning for my sweet sixteen, I faced many difficulties．But later I realized that World AIDS Day was on a Saturday, so I decided to use that evening in combination with the donation(捐献)theme so that the date meant something．My actual birthday was not until February, but I moved the party to World AIDS Day in December．Everyone I told was inspired．As a matter of fact, after my party I received an invitation from a friend who also asked for donations for another African AIDS organization instead of gifts．This makes me feel like I can encourage my friends to make a difference in the world．

　　I did not tell the school what I had cooked up for my birthday．I wanted it to be a surprise．So I put all of the checks in one envelope with a Christmas card．Then I waited with excitement for a response．The school could not have been more pleased with their gift．This birthday party has been the best ever．Isn't that what a sweet sixteen should be?

阅读理解

　　We'd like to agree with the recent report comparing the difference between a TV and a computer：When you use one you turn your brain on, with the other you turn it off．

　　Your brain may not be the only thing the TV turns off．

　　It seems that men who watch a lot of TV are more sedentary(久坐不动的),eat more food and are generally much fatter．

　　Similar results have been found for women．

　　Experts think that watching TV means that not only are you sedentary, but you have to watch food advertisements inducing(引诱)you to eat more．

　　The food that you are being induced to eat may not be good enough for your health．

　　If you are a couch potato, here are some suggestions：

　　●Tape a piece of paper to the back of your remote control(遥控器)or TV Guide, and every time you watch a show, note how long you sit there and what you eat．

　　●Review the record after a week．This can be a shock．

　　●Don't have a TV in your bedroom; having a TV in your bedroom greatly increases viewing time and if you eat while viewing, the results are obvious(明显的)．

　　●Think of a healthy way instead of watching TV that you like．This can be as simple as walking the dog or walking to visit a neighbor regularly．

　　After a few months you are likely to be surprised about how much more time you seem to have and how much better you feel．

阅读理解

　　Here is a question I have often asked at dinner parties：

　　You're on an island with only one other person, your best friend．He's dying of cancer．In his final days, he tells you,“I have 100,000 dollars in a bank back home．When I die, make sure my son goes to medical school．”Then he dies．But his son is a no-good playboy who has no interest in going to medical school and will waste that money away in a very short time．But your son is entering college, and he is willing to become a doctor．Which one do you give the money to for medical school?

　　I've asked this question of everyone from the president of a famous university to an ordinary young soldier, and it has never failed to get a discussion going．Everyone has an opinion, most of them different, but all of them correct．Sometimes this one topic lasts the whole evening．

阅读理解

　　Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends．They believe that their family members, especially their parents, don't know them as well their friends do．In large families, it is often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for advice．It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or many friends．Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone．This communication is very important in children's growing up, because friend can discuss something difficult to say to their family members．

　　However, parents often try to choose their children's friends for them．Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends．The question of“choice”is an interesting one．Have you ever thought of the following questions?

　　Who choose your friends?

　　Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?

　　Have you got a good friend your parent don't like?

阅读理解

　　In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by“small talk”．Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation．In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather：“Nice day, isn't it?”“Terrible weather, isn't it?”But there is something special about small talk．It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about, The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something．This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable．People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk．But people often disagree about religion(宗教)or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk in English．The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place．At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching：“A great game, isn't it?”At bus-stops, people may talk about the transport system(体制)：“The bus service is terrible, isn't it?”

　　Greetings and small talk are an important part of conversation in any language．The way people greet each other and the things they talk about, however, may be different from one language to another．This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and the grammar of the language．We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it．

阅读理解

　　With the theme“Cherishing the earth's resources, transforming the mode of development and living a low-carbon lifestyle,”China's Ministry of Land and Resources held a ceremony this Thursday to mark the 41st World Earth Day, aims to generate new ideas of resource-saving, especially among the younger generation．In fact, Chinese young urbanities are turning to the seemingly trendy low-carbon lifestyle．

　　But for the country as a whole to achieve a low-carbon economy, it could mean ordinary people paying more for electricity, water, gas or simply every purchase．Of necessity, a low-carbon economy would be the basis of China's economic growth, yet it comes with a high price tag．Everybody longs for fresh air, clean water and healthy surroundings．But, who is going to pay for that?

　　For those who are still working hard for the basic necessities of life, sharing the cost of a greener environment can be taxing．For those who are already victimized by environmental pollution, additional expenditure for saving the environment is hard to bear．Behind all the lofty goals and loaded phrases of climate change negotiations, in everyday terms, the Chinese want to know whether companies will make them pay the cost of saving energy or whether government would come up with new levels．

　　They have reasons to worry．The recent hike in the charges of utilities, such as natural gas, water and electricity, have led to widespread public grievance(抱怨,牢骚), for the increases were imposed without proper public hearing．Besides the practice of monopoly State-owned enterprises raising prices at will does not seem to bode well for a low-carbon economy．

　　The government has a responsibility to strengthen regulation of utility charges and make the pricing mechanism more transparent．In the age of the low-carbon economy, the Chinese government needs to strike a new balance between public welfare and business competitiveness．

　　How far the initiatives toward a low-carbon economy succeed depends on whether they truly benefit ordinary people and is accepted by them．The majority cannot sacrifice their life to build a greener world for the few．

阅读理解

　　Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆)in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙), U.S.researchers reported on Thursday．

　　Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer's(早老痴呆症)．University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans．

　　“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕)are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective(保护神经的)effects,”Kinsley said．

　　“It's rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,”he added in a telephone interview．“They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes．”

　　Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer's and other forms of age-related brain decline．

　　“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,”said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida．

　　“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain．If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young．But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant－that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变)to the brain．”

阅读理解

　　I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route．He replied,“You mean fortunately．”He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided．

　　My attitude to the hill has now changed．I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following．This hill will exercise my heart and lungs．It will help me to lose weight and get fit．It will mean that I live longer．This hill is my friend．Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free．I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill．

　　Problems are there to be faced and overcome．We cannot achieve anything with an easy life．Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree．Her activism and writing proved inspirational．She wrote,“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet．Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved．”

　　One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity(逆境)．From time to time we all face hardships, problems．accidents、afflictions and difficulties．Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own．While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it．

　　Douglas Bader was 21 when in 193l he had both legs cut off following a flying accident．He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans．He was an inspiration to others during the war．He said,“Don't listen to any-one who tells you that you can't do this or that．That's nonsense．Make up your mind, you'll never use crutches(拐杖)or a stick, then have a go at everything．Go to school, join in all the games you can．Go anywhere you want to．But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible．”

　　The biographies(传记)of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced．The common thread is that they did not become depressed．They chose their attitude．They chose to be positive．They took on the challenge．They won．

　　Nevertheless．there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity．