阅读理解

　　You may picture firefighters holding a hose(水管)outside of a burning building, but the Golden Eagles Hotshots don't fight fires quite that way．When they go into action, you may not even see a fire truck．

　　The Hotshots are firefighters who battle fires in wilderness areas．But don't think you'll only find them in California．Wherever there is a national wildfire emergency, the Golden Eagles Hotshots could be there．

　　But these firefighters don't work the same way as those in big cities．They work where there are large numbers of trees, bushes, and grass．They climb up and down steep hills to clear brush and burnable debris(残骸)．They sometimes use water, but often fight fire with fire!

　　They do that by lighting what are called“backfires”－small, controlled fires that burn up fuel in the path of larger wildfires．That way, when the wildfire gets there, it has nothing to burn and nowhere to go, because all the burnable fuel has already gone up in smoke．

　　The Hotshots also clear away fuel using old-fashioned hard work．For example, they use a saw to cut away trees and heavy brush that could catch fire．

　　Of course there are times when the Golden Eagles Hotshots do have trucks to supply water to the fires．But the water is limited, and these guys have to rely on hard work more than anything．Physical fitness is very important．They have to be strong to handle steep hills while carrying a 60-pound pack．

　　Thanks to their efforts, many lives have been saved, many houses not burned, and countless trees still standing．

阅读理解

　　When you are far away from home for the first time and have a lot to adjust to, you can't do it alone．However independent you are, it is good to have a roommate during your first year．

　　Living with someone helps ease your loneliness．Sure it may seem appealing to be able to play your music and turn up your TV as loud as you want, but coming home to an empty room every day can be depressing．If you have a bad day, you may want to talk to someone．

　　Friends are great sources of venting(宣泄), but friends can't always be there．Even worse, they may be self-centered and show no interest in your problem．It's not that roommates aren't like this, but even just small talk can help you feel better．

　　Having a roommate teaches you how to get along with people and settle conflict．You two should set up rules immediately and discuss what to do when there is conflict．If you two don't like each other, you still study, relax, and sleep in the same room．You must find a way to get along．

　　Finally, having a roommate exposes(使接触)you to different ways of living．Your roommate may come from a different city, and have different living habits．He or she also has different interests and personalities．You don't have to end up liking the same things your roommate does, but try to learn something different．You will be surrounded by many different people in college and have the chance to try things you never have before．Why not start learning from your roommate?

　　Having a roommate gives you the skills and personal background you will need to utilize(利用)when you are out on your own．Make the most of living with a stranger and besides, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to have your own room later in your college years．

阅读理解

　　Read the following advertisements：

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阅读理解

　　We have a loving family pet－a hunting dog．He loves catching a Frisbee(飞盘)．

　　The only problem was that he liked climbing over the fence around the yard．To solve the problem, I fixed an“invisible fence”giving off a small charge of electricity when he gets too close．He was trained to risk being shocked to get a Frisbee immediately, if it goes to the fence．Recently, I have spent much time throwing the Frisbee with the dog．He will go to catch it as soon as it is thrown．The problem lately has been that I have injured my right hand and I have difficulty throwing it with my left hand．

　　One day after a few bad throws he ended up getting zapped by the“invisible fence”．He brought the flying disk to my wife instead of me, as her throws were always flying down the center of the yard．

　　“Oh, come on my boy,”I said．“Give me another chance．”Amazingly the dog dropped the Frisbee at my feet．I picked it up with my left hand, proud that the friend hadn't lost faith in me．I took it off into the sky with all my strength．No sooner had I finished the perfect throw than the dog went for it．Getting zapped again!He ran towards us．He looked up at me as if tears came into his eyes．He passed me by slowly to drop the Frisbee at my wife's feet．He never came to me again．

阅读理解

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阅读理解

　　Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you've visited．Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits．

　　In fact, it's likely some of these things have already happened to you．Who would watch you without your permission?It might be a spouse, a girlfriend(配偶), a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal, Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen－the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked．

　　Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it's important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times．But few boundaries remain．The digital bread crumbs(面包屑)you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like．In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal(泄露)what you think．Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret．

　　The key question is：Does that matter?

　　For many Americans, the answer apparently is“no．”

　　When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it A survey found an overwhelming pessimism(悲观)about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is“slipping away, and that bothers me．”

　　But people say one thing and do another．Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy．Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths(收费处)to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements．And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards．Privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon(优惠券)．

　　But privacy does matter－at least sometimes．It's like health：When you have it, you don't notice it．Only when it's gone do you wish you'd done more to protect it．

阅读理解

　　Anthony Horowitz was miserable as child．He was, as he put it,“not very bright”and couldn't win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his“clever”older brother．At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded(恳求)with his parents year after year not to send him．“The thought was, It'll be good for him,”he recalled．

　　It was not．Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied(欺负)for five years．“My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,”he said．“I wasn't even smart enough to rebel．The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write．When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer．”

　　Now, at age of 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors．His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month．

　　The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16．

　　Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way．“I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity．I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,”he said．

　　The style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups：In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story．

　　Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life．He sums up his success：“…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself．I do believe it completely．”

阅读理解

　　“If you run for more than five minutes at any time, you might need a pair of running shoes,”advises Stephen Pribut, a US sports medicine expert．Running shoes are highly technical footwear．They provide stability(牢固)while bearing up to three times the wearer's body weight．But it's not easy to find the right pair．Finding the right running shoes is something of an art, or a science and a feel．

　　The science part begins with the shape of the arch(弓)of your foot, which anyone can find out at home with this quick experiment：Put your foot in water and place it on a piece of brown paper．If you see a“C”shape on the paper when you remove your foot, you have a rare high arch．If the shape looks more like a rectangle, that means you have flat feet．See something in between?That's a normal arch．

　　Conveniently for shoppers, shoe companies nowadays divide their shoes in three categories：neutral(for high arches), stability(for normal or low arches)and motion control(for flat arches)．So you will know which type suits you．

　　At this point, most people would just grab an appealing shoe and try it on．But professionals would do a few quality-control tests．First, you bend the shoe toe to heel to see where it bends．If it's not at the forefoot－where the foot actually bends, be afraid．Then you grip both ends and twist in opposite directions．If you can twist it like a towel, it means there's zero support．Finally, you squeeze(挤)the heel in both directions．A stable heel won't cave in．

　　Now you need to check the mold(模子)that shapes the inside of the shoe：whether it's wide or narrow in the mid-foot, how it sits on the heel and how roomy the toe box is．

　　It's wise to hold off until the afternoon to make the shoe purchase, to allow for any swelling(肿胀)that your feet do throughout the day．Toes also decide sizing choice．The rule is you need a finger's width from your longest toe(whether that's your big one or not)to the end of the shoe．

阅读理解

　　Americans this year will swallow 15,000 tons of aspirin, one of the safest and most effective drugs invented by man．The most popular medicine in the world today, it is an effective pain reliever．Its bad effects are relatively mild and it is cheap．

　　For millions of people suffering from arthritis(关节炎), it is the only thing that works．Aspirin, in short, is truly the 20th-century wonder drug．It is also the second largest suicide drug and is the leading cause of poisoning among children．It has side effects that, although relatively mild, are largely unrecognized among users．

　　Although aspirin was first sold by a German company in 1899, it has been around much longer than that．Hippocrates, in ancient Greece, understood the medical value of the leaves and tree bark which today are known to contain salicylates(水杨酸碱), the chemical in aspirin．During the 19th century, there was a great deal of experimentation in Europe with this chemical, and it led to the introduction of aspirin．By 1915, aspirin tablets were available in the United States．

　　A small quantity of aspirin(two five-grain tablets)relieves pain and inflammation(炎症)．It also reduces fever by interfering with some of the body's reactions．

Reading Comprehension

　　Another common type of reasoning is the search for causes and results．We want to know whether cigarettes really do cause lung cancer, what causes malnutrition, the decay of cities, or the decay of teeth．We are equally interested in effects：what is the effect of sulphur or lead in the atmosphere, of oil spills and raw sewage in rivers and the sea, of staying up late on the night before an examination?

　　Causal reasoning may go from cause to effect or from effect to cause．Either way, we reason from what we know to what we want to find out．Sometimes we reason from an effect to a cause and then on to another effect．Thus, if we reason that because the lights have gone out, the refrigerator won't work, we first relate the effect(lights out)to the cause(power off)and then relate that cause to another effect(refrigerator not working)．This kind of reasoning is called, for short, effect to effect．It is quite common to reason through an extensive chain of causal relations．When the lights go out we might reason in the following causal chain：lights out－power off－refrigerator not working－temperature will rise－milk will sour．In other words, we diagnose a succession of effects from the power failure, each becoming the cause of the next．

　　Causes are classified as necessary, sufficient, or contributory．A necessary cause is one which must be present for the effect to occur, as combustion(燃烧)is necessary to drive a gasoline engine．A sufficient cause is one which can produce an effect unaided, though there may be more than one sufficient cause; a dead battery is enough to keep a car from starting, but faulty spark plugs or an empty gas tank will have the same effect．A contributory cause is one which helps to produce an effect but cannot do so by itself, as running through a red light may help cause an accident, though other factors－pedestrians or other cars at the crossroads－must also be present．

　　In establishing or refuting a causal relation it is usually necessary to show the process by which the alleged(声称的)cause produces the effect．Such an explanation is called a causal process．