阅读理解

　　US bees operation keeping groups have been attacked seriously by so called Colony Collapse Disorder(蜂群衰竭失调)．Almost 1/2 of their worker bees have vanished during the past season．This disorder has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America．Bees fly away from the hive and never return．Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found．Many crops and trees depend on pollination－by bees to help them grow．

　　A new report says a virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States．This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus．It was first found in Israel in 2004．Lan Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science Magazine．Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause．He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder．

　　The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year．They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder．They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony．The next step is further testing of healthy hives．

　　The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia．They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected．

　　The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroasis mite．This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive．Australian bee producers object to these suspicions．

　　And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather．Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees．The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey．But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers．Many bees may have starved．Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing apart．

　　Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time．He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder．Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country．

阅读理解

　　You must have been troubled by when to say“I love you”because it is one of the greatest puzzles in our life．

　　What if you say it first and your partner doesn't love you back?Or if they do say it but you don't feel they mean it?Being the first to declare your love can be nerve racking(紧张)and risky and can leave you feeling as vulnerable as a turtle with no shell．But is the person who says it first really in a position of weakness?Doesn't it pay to hold back, play it cool and wait until the other half has shown their hand fast?

　　A really good relationship should be about“being fair and being equal,”says psychologist Sidney Crown．“But love is seldom equal．”All relationships go through power struggles but, he says, if a love imbalance continues for years, the rot will set in．“That feeling of‘I've always loved you more’may be subverted(颠覆，破坏)for a time, but it never goes away completely and it often emerges in squabbling(大声争吵)．”In love, at least, the silent, withholding type is not always the most powerful．“The strongest one in a relationship is often the person who feels confident enough to talk about their feelings,”says educational psychologist Ingrid Collins．Psychosexual therapist Paula Hall agrees．“The one with the upper hand is often the person who takes the initiative．In fact, the person who says‘I love you’first may also be the one who says‘I'm bored with you’first．”Hall believes that much depends on how“I love you”is said and the motivation of the person saying it．“Is it said when they're drunk?Is it said before their partner files off on holiday, and what it really means is‘Please don't be unfaithful to me’?”By saying‘I love you’, they are really saying‘Do you love me?’If so, wouldn't it just be more honest to say that．Collins agrees that intention is everything．“It's not what is said, but how it's said．What it comes down to is the sincerity of the speaker．”

阅读理解

　　Researches show what we already suspected：Three out of four babies who died of SIDS(婴儿猝死)involved co-sleeping．We'll say it again．The safest course is not to sleep with babies．

　　We know the argument：Bad parenting, not co-sleeping, is to blame for the dozens of babies' deaths．Some parents stick to co-sleeping because it helps them bond with their newborns．They say those who give co-sleeping a bad name either had been drinking, used drugs or were too tired to notice that they rolled over on their children．

　　But, most of the cases did not involve drugs or alcohol．There's a“but”here, however．Submitting to a test for drugs or alcohol in these cases is voluntary, so it's difficult to know with certainty．

　　Organizations like the Black Health Coalition and others have explained the safe way to co-sleep．While we understand those arguments, we also know that mistakes can happen and that it only takes one time for something to go terribly wrong．The risk outweighs the benefit．

　　In all likelihood, parents will continue to co-sleep, and some will do so without ever having an incident, but babies are too vulnerable(易受伤的)for parents to take such chances．Therefore, the best place for babies to sleep is in their own beds, on their backs, with no pillows, blankets or toys．No parent wants a tragedy to occur．The best way to make sure the tragedy doesn't happen is to allow babies to sleep alone in their own cribs．

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　　I have to admit：I don't flush(冲)the toilet every time I go to the bathroom．In fact, I firmly believe“If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down．”

　　I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I work at home．Alone(well, except for the cats and dog)．All day．And I drink a lot of water, which makes for many trips to the bathroom．

　　Another thing I have to admit：I also try to use very little toilet paper．I wash my hands after, though．Every time．(So maybe the water I don't use flushing makes up for the water used to wash my hands?)

　　Ironically, my husband, who only uses toilet paper when necessary, always flushes．But he doesn't seem to mind that I don't flush every time．Or, at least not enough to file for divorce．Yet．

Posted by Juliet Farmer

Jun 14, 2010 at 10∶21 PM

Comments(2)________________

　　When I'm at home alone I do not flush every time I pee(小便)．My husband hates that, though, so when he's home, I flush a little more often．I grew up doing that because I had a family that lived with huge tanks and you have to do it that way because it's easier on the system, so it doesn't bother me．I do flush when I'm out in public, at people's houses that don't have big tanks and when we have company!

CherBearCM, Jun 15, 2010 at 4∶21 PM

　　Not always．But I have 4 children who are always hanging from the door knob(球形捏手)while I pee anyway．So I'm lucky I have time to wash my hands after．The average toilet uses 8 gallons of water per flush!Much less than what it takes to wash my hands after．(just saying)

luvbnmomnwife, Jun 15, 2010 at 4∶32 PM

阅读理解

The Touchstone

　　When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved．But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for very little money．

　　The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed．It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the“Touchstone”!The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold．

　　The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it．But the secret was this：The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold．

　　So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles．He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times．So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea．He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone．Yet he went on and on this way．Pick up a pebble．Cold-throw it into the sea．Pick up another．Throw it into the sea．Pick up another．Throw it into the sea．

　　The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months．One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm．He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done．He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he still threw it away．

　　So it is with opportunity．Unless we are careful, it's easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand, and it's just as easy to throw it away．

阅读理解

　　An earthquake happens when two plates rub(碰撞)together．The earth plates travel in different directions and at different speeds．If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other, pressure builds up until the plates break apart．This process causes the ground to move．It is an earthquake．In other words, earth-quakes are the shaking of the earth's surface caused by the earth's rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth．The strain within the rocks is suddenly released(释放)．

　　The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and the time it is happening．If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property．If it hits a large city, there may be many in-juries and much destruction．Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now．Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage．

　　Actually, there are several million small earth-quakes every year．Large earthquakes such as the 1964 Alaskan quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, cause millions of dollars in damage．In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earth-quakes around the world-including 240,000 in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China．

　　A 60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation that continues for years after the first tremor(小震)．In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua．Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it．

　　The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster．It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs．In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage．An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path．

阅读理解

　　All children like watching TV and seeing films．And many children act in films, too．Every day they may work several hours, so they can't go to school on time every day．But they must get a good education．

　　How do they get an education they need?

　　About forty or more teachers give lessons for the children in the films．They teach them in the places．There their pupils are working for the films．

　　Child actors are required to attend classes twenty hours a week．The little actors must be taught from September to the middle of June．If they do not get good marks at school, they are not allowed to go on with the work in films or TV show．

　　The actors are usually good pupils and most of their teachers like this special kind of work．Their classes are held in many interesting places where there are many beautiful lakes and mountains．Sometimes the classroom is by the riverside or in a small boat, or in a spaceship．When the child actors grow up, they usually become famous actors．

阅读理解

　　Bob was a clever college student, but his family was poor, so he had to work after class and during his holidays to get enough money for his studies．

　　One summer he got a job in a butcher's shop(肉店)during the day time, and another in a hospital at night．In the shop, he learned to cut and sell meat．He did so well that the butcher went into a room behind the shop to do all the accounts(算账)．In the hospital, of course, Bob was told to do only the easiest jobs．He helped to lift people and carry them from one part of the hospital to another．Both in the butcher's shop and in the hospital, Bob had to wear white clothes．

　　One evening in the hospital, Bob had to help to carry a woman from her bed to the operating-room．The woman already felt frightened when she thought about the operation．When she saw Bob coming to get her, she felt even more frightened．

　　“No!No!”she cried．“Not a butcher!I won't let a butcher operate on me!”with these words, she fainted away(昏过去)．

阅读理解

阅读理解

　　Although it was autumn, the snow was already beginning to fall in Tibet．Our legs were so heavy and cold the they felt like blocks of ice．Have you ever seen snowmen ride bicycles?That's what we looked like?Along the way children dressed in long wool coats stopped to look at us．In the late afternoon we found it was so cold that water bottles froze．However, the lakes shone like glass in the setting sun and looked wonderful．Wang Wei rode in front of me as usual．She is very reliable and I knew I didn't need to encourage her．To climb the mountains was hard work but as we looked around us, we were surprised by the view．We seemed to be able to see for miles．At one point we were so high that we found ourselves cycling through clouds．Then we began going down the hills．It was great fun especially as it gradually became much warmer．In the valleys colourful butterflies flew around us and we saw many yaks and sheep eating green grass．At this point we had to change our caps, coats, gloves and trousers for T-shirts and shorts．

　　In the early evening we always stop to make camp．We put up out tent and then we eat．After supper Wang Wei put her head down on her pillow and went to sleep but I stayed awake．At midnight the sky became clearer and the stars grew brighter．It was so quiet．There was almost no wind －only the flames of our fire for company．As I lay beneath the stars I thought about how far we had already travelled．

　　We will reach Dali in Yunnan Province soon, where our cousins Dao Wei and Yu Huang will join us．We can hardly wait to see them!