阅读理解

　　Reporters collect information and write news stories．These stories appear in newspapers and magazines．Some reporters appear on television and radio．To get information, reporters should look at documents, observe the scene and interview people．

　　To get the latest news, radio and television reporters often report“live”from the scene．

　　Some reporters work long hours．They might work strange schedules．At morning newspapers, reporters might work from late afternoon until midnight．At evening or afternoon papers, they may work from early morning until afternoon．Radio and television reporters work during the day or in the evening．Magazine reporters generally work during the day．Reporters may have to work extra hours to meet deadlines．They may have to change their work hours to follow a story．

　　If someone wants to be a reporter, a bachelor's degree(学士学位)in journalism is preferred．Some employers like graduates with other majors(专业)．Working at school newspapers or broadcasting stations is good experience．Internships(实习生身份)with news organizations also help when looking for a job as a reporter．

　　Reporters must write clearly and effectively．They need word processing, computer graphics, and desktop publishing skills．Speaking a second language is necessary for some jobs．

阅读理解

　　Have you ever been talking to somebody at the party?Do you focus entirely on the person you are speaking with or does your attention keep jumping around the room to all the other people there?Generally speaking, if the person is someone you really want to talk to you will focus on them．Most other people will only get about half of your attention．

　　You may think that this is OK, because if you don't really want to talk to them then what does it matter if you don't give them your full attention?Consider two things．First, you may just not realize the importance of that conversation．If you are at a networking meeting and you hope to meet the CEO of Company X but you end up talking to someone who has a low-level job at a different company, then you may let your attention wander as you speak to him．But maybe you don't realize that this person has already met the CEO and could introduce you．Do you think he will do that if he feels you don't really care about speaking to him?This doesn't mean you need to spend the entire time talking to him．Five or ten minutes of real attentive conversation can be worth 30 minutes to an hour of partial attention interaction．

　　Second, whether you want to speak to someone changes based on the situation．You love your spouse(配偶), but if he or she tries to talk to you while you are watching something you like on TV, where is your attention going?Make your own decision, but if you want them to feel valued, give them your 100％ attention．“The nice thing is that in many cases you can give them your attention for a few minutes and then return to what you were doing．You miss very little, they feel valued, and all is good．”

阅读理解

　　If You Decide to Go to the Moon

　　By Faith Mcnulty, Steven Kellogg(illustrator)－This book is written in the second person and tells you the most important information you need to know if you go to the moon．I especially appreciate the information on how to get home．You know, just in case…

　　Discover Space

　　By Cynthia Pratt Nicolson, Bill Slavin－Like its companion book in this series, Discover the Planets, this delightful book provides a fun and educational look at the“final frontier”．This book should surely be added to your young reader's library．

　　This Rocket

　　By Paul Collicutt－Here's an excellent book dealing with rockets from where they came from to where they are going．The illustrations will capture younger readers while older kids will enjoy the story．

　　Voyage to the Planet and Beyond

　　By Tim Haines, Christopher Riley－Published to accompany the Discovery television series of the same title, this book is about space travel(based on the experiences of real astronauts)to tell the imagined story of a 6-year space mission．Your future astronaut will get a joy from following the adventures in this book．

　　Space(Our Planet)

　　By Eduardo Banqureri－From the origin of the universe to the international space station, this book gives readers an up-close look at planet Earth and its solar system．Add this one to your space library, in the solar system section．

　　The Planets

　　By Gall Gibbons(illustrator)－This is an excellent kids book that discusses the movements, location, and characteristics of the known planets of our solar system．

阅读理解

　　Some people don't mind being fat．Other people can keep slim(苗条)without any effort．But a lot of people do put on too much weight and don't like it．The question is, what can they do about it?

　　Some believe exercise can be helpful．But the trouble is that it only makes you want to eat more．You might sweat out a couple of pounds playing tennis or climbing a mountain, but you put it all back on again with a big steak or bread and jam．

　　A helpful way is food choosing．But what sort of food should you choose?Some believe that the less they eat, the slimmer they will be．They don't eat anything until they become weak with hunger．Some stick to milk and bananas．You'll find you need a lot of bananas, and unless you live where they grow, they aren't cheap．Others say that if you eat things like hard-boiled eggs, and apples with their skins on which are hard for your stomach to digest, the more you eat, the thinner you get．This is because you use up the fat in your body to get the energy to digest the food．

　　For most of us these methods are too extreme．The simplest way is just to cut down on the carbohydrates(含碳水化合物的食物)that means not eating bread, potatoes, cakes, sugar, rice, and so on and eating anything else you like．It's straight forward and often quite effective．

阅读理解

　　Many children act in TV shows．They work several hours every day, so they cannot go to a regular school．How do they get an education?

　　In Hollywood, where many TV shows are made, about forty teachers are working．The teacher's job is very important．She is responsible for making sure that the children work only the permitted hours each week．She is also responsible for making sure that children learn the required subjects．She makes sure too, that the children get enough rest and play, gives lessons to the children in the shows．She teaches wherever the children are working．

　　Children actors are required to attend classes twenty hours each week．California law says that they must be taught from September to the middle of June．If they do not get good marks in school, they are not permitted to continue working in TV shows．

　　TV children are usually good pupils, and most of their teachers like this special kind of work．Their classes are held in many interesting places．Sometimes the“classroom”is a Mississippi riverboat．Sometimes it is the inside of a spaceship．Often the pupils become famous stars．

阅读理解

　　Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours．This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact, it is quite normal．For some people, though, loneliness can last for years．Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness．

　　The first kind of loneliness is temporary．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind, situation－for example, family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place．Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year．

　　The third kind of loneliness is the most severe．Unlike the second type, chronic(the opposite of“temporary”)usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others．Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition．

　　Psychologists agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person's social contacts, for example, friends, family members, co－workers, etc．we depend on various people for different reasons．For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities．However, psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more．They question their popularity．

　　Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons：they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease, while temporary and situational loneliness can be a sad, and sometimes dangerous condition．

阅读理解

Why is it easy for young children to learn language?Part of the answer is that children have so many needs．They have to make their needs known and they are always watching the effect of what they say and trying new ways of getting what they want．Another part of the answer is that children are not, as older people sometimes are, fixed in their ways of living．When they are taken about from one country to another they change easily from one language to another．Older people are more fixed in the ways．They have been hearing and talking one language for a long time．Their ways of hearing and making sounds and of putting words together are like the rails a train goes on．They have been up and down their lines of talk and thought too many times to change them easily．A child is free in his ways．He is more like an airplane or, better, like a bird; he is free to go in any direction he wants．He is free to hear sounds as they are and make them as he hears them．He is free to put new words together in new ways in speaking a new language．

阅读理解

　　To make sure that you enjoy your visit to the Hamper Hot Springs(泉)and that you are safe during your visit, please take time to read the following：

　　◆Do not place your head under the hot water, because it may be bad for your health．

　　◆Do not run around because the floors may be slippery．

　　◆Do not leave your children alone．

　　◆Do not leave your things about．Just ask one of our workers to look after your things．

　　◆Do not eat or drink anything in the area because we want to keep here clean．There is a place for you to eat and have soft drinks when you want to have a rest．

　　◆Do not bring into the area anything made of glass, because it maybe easily broken when you fall．

　　◆Do not bring any hard drinks into the area．

　　◆Do not smoke in the area．

　　◆Do not stay in the sunlight for too long．

　　We hope that you will enjoy your visit here．

阅读理解

　　The American book Who Moved My Cheese has been a bestseller all over the world．It teaches people how to face changes in their lives．Now its author Spence Johnson has written a book just for teens．The book tells us that when facing change in our lives, like a new school or new friends, don't be afraid．Instead, use this change to make a better life．The book gives an example of a change at school．A school is changing from having two terms to three terms because there are too many students．

　　Several teens are talking about this．Most of them are unhappy and worried．But Chris is not．He laughs and tells a story about two mice, two“little people”and some cheese．

　　The four are in a maze looking for the cheese．Here, cheese means something important in life, like moving to a new class or getting into college．But they find the cheese is gone．The mice realize that they can't change what has happened and have to find more cheese．This means finding different dreams．The little people, however, can't do this．They are afraid of change so they find no cheese．

　　After Chris finishes the story, the friends understand one thing：to get more cheese, move in a new direction quickly．His friends understand how this can be used in the changes all teens face, such as doing well at school or having good relationships or just feeling good about yourself．

阅读理解

　　It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive．That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin．Al Herpin, it was said, never slept．Could this be true?The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves．

　　Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey．They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind．So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made．But they were surprised．Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day．They never saw Herpin sleeping．In fact, he did not even own a bed．He never needed one．

　　The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers．The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness．They found only one answer that might explain his condition．Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born．But that was all．Was this the real reason?No one could be sure．Herpin died at the age of 94．