阅读理解

阅读理解

　　It is commonly believed among many Chinese that Westerners who take“Yes”, and“No”by their facial expressions are more straightforward than Chinese．Normally Westerners don't have to adopt Chinese ways like sweeping the floor or constantly checking the clock to indicate to a guest that it's time to leave．They don't have to hesitate in saying“No”when they are not able to, or don't want to, offer help to a friend in need．There is no embarrassment attached to this behavior．But it is too simple to conclude that Westerners are more direct speakers than the Chinese．

　　There are many occasions when the way Westerners express themselves makes Chinese look more straightforward and honest．When I was a fresh international student, the director of our program once asked students in an e-mail what we thought about a young professor．I simply said“She seems to know a lot but doesn't know how to teach．”And the director replied with“Thank you for being honest．”

　　Only years later when I better understood the new culture, I realized why I had gone too far．If that question were asked now, the reply would have three paragraphs devoted to the qualities of the professor before the last line came out－“There are some gaps in her teaching method．”Still tough, but at least it wouldn't be considered rude．

　　Indeed, the reserved social norms and the deeply-rooted“face issue”make honest speaking risky in China; Americans have their own ways of being polite．This results partly from political correctness．It also results from several generations of people who have been told they have done well even when they have failed．It may not be unfair to suggest that many Americans are oversensitive and obsessed with a perfect self image．

　　So, the next time you hear about indirect Chinese, it would be worth challenging the source and pointing out that the cultural comparisons are much more complex．But maybe you should do it in a roundabout way, to be polite．

阅读理解

　　A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald's on one cold winter evening．It seemed that they didn't come to the right place with the young families and young couples eating that night．

　　The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal．The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray．There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink．The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half．He placed one half in front of his wife．Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife．He took a sip at the drink and then set the cup down between them．

　　As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the crowd began to get restless．You could tell what they were thinking,“That poor old couple．All they can afford is one meal for the two of them．”

　　As the man began to eat his French fries, one young man stood and came over to the old couple's table．He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat．The old man replied that they were just fine．They were used to sharing everything．

　　As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin, the young man could stand it no longer．Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food．

　　After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little old lady, “Ma”am, why aren't you eating?You said that you share everything．What is it that you are waiting for?

　　She answered,“The teeth．”

阅读理解

　　You never see them, but they're with you every time you fly．They record where you are going, how fast you're traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally．They're known as the black box．

　　When planes fall from the sky, as a Yemeni airliner did on its way to Comoros Islands in the Indian ocean June 30, 2009, the black box is the best bet for finding out what went wrong．So when a French submarine detected the device's homing signal five days later, the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed．

　　In 1958, Australian scientist David Warren developed a flight-memory recorder that would track basic information like altitude and direction．That was the first model for a black box, which became a requirement on all U．S．commercial flights by 1960．Early models often failed to withstand(经受)crashes, however, so in 1965 the device was completely redesigned moved to the rear(后部)of the plane from its original position in the landing wells(起落架舱)．The same year, the Federal Aviation Authority required that the boxes, which were never actually black, be painted orange or yellow to aid visibility．

　　Modern airplanes have two black boxes：a voice recorder, which tracks pilots' conversations, and a flight-data recorder, which monitors fuel levels, engine noises and other operating functions that help investigators reconstruct the aircraft's final moments．Placed in an insulated(隔绝的)case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thick panels of stainless steel, the boxes can withstand massive force and temperatures up to 2,000℉．When submerged(落入水中), they're also able to send out signals from depths of 20,000 ft．Experts believe the boxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, are in water nearly that deep, but statistics say they're still likely to turn up．In the about 20 deep-sea crashes over the past 30 years, only one plane's black boxes were never recovered．

阅读理解

　　An adaptation is something about an animal that makes it possible for it to live in a particular place and in a particular way．It may be a physical adaptation, like the size or shape of the animal's body, or the way in which its body works．Or it may be the way the animal behaves．Each adaptation has been produced by evolution．

　　As the environment changes, animals that cannot adapt die out, and only the adapted ones survive to produce babies．Because babies are usually more or less like their parents, the whole species soon contains only animals that are adapted to the new environment．

　　An animal's environment consists of many different things．The climate is important．Whether it is hot, cold, dry, or wet will have an effect on all the creatures that live in a particular place．

　　Another important part of an animal's environment is what kinds of food plants grow in it．The other animals that live there also have an effect．If there are predators around, the prey animals will have to learn to defend themselves or run fast to escape．

　　These adaptations make it possible for a great variety of creatures to live and thrive on earth．Animals adapt to the natural world．

　　Animals in the wild can only live in places they are adapted to．They must have the right kind of habitat where they can find the food and space they need．

阅读理解

　　This year 2,300 teenagers(young people aged from 13-19)from all over the world will spend about ten months in U．S．homes．They will attend U．S．schools, meet U．S．teenagers, and form impressions of the real American teenagers．American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and have a new understanding of the rest of the world．

　　Here is a two-way student exchange in action．Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George's family．In return, George's son, Mike, spent a year in Fred's home in America．

　　Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months' study, the language began to come to him．School was completely different from what he had expected－much harder．Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room．They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States．There were almost no outside activities．

　　Family life, too, was different．The family's word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual．Fred found the food too simple at first．Also, he missed having a car．

　　“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time．In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it．”

　　At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea．“I suppose I should criticize American schools．”He says．“It is far too easy by our level．But I have to say that I like it very much．In Germany we do nothing but study．Here we take part in many outside activities．I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens．There ought to be some middle ground between the two．”

阅读理解

　　For years I wanted a flower garden．I'd spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together．

　　But then we had Matthew．And Marvin．And the twins, Alisa and Alan．And then Helen．Five children．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．

　　Money was tight, as well as time．Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say,“Do you see a money tree outside?Money doesn't grow on trees, you know．”

　　Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own．I started thinking again about having a garden．

　　I wasn't sure, though．I mean, gardens do cost money．Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen when suddenly I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches．Then I put my glasses on and I couldn't believe what I saw．There was a money tree in my yard!

　　I went outside to look．It was true!There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree．Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars!There was also a note attached：“IOU eight hours of digging time．Love, Marvin．”

　　Marvin kept his promise, too．He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed(花坛)for me．And my other children bought me gardening tools and books．

　　That was three years ago．My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did．It feels like they're right there with me．

　　I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short．But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden．I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes－every time．

　　I'm still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!

阅读理解

　　“If there is one thing I'm sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers．”It is not that newspapers are a necessity．Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio．Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday．But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation．

　　The nature of what is news may change．What basically makes news is what affects our lives-the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same．I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though．It's already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic(基因的)engineering．In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do-as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are．

　　It's quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home．In fact, I'm pretty sure that it will happen in the future．You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read-sport and international news．etc．

　　I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media(媒体)．They actually feed off each other．Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn't happened．What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air．And as for the Internet, it's never really pleasant to read something just on a screen．

阅读理解

　　There is a definite possibility that the climate of the world may be changing．Some scientists imagine that this could even mean the beginning of another ice age．The effects of such a change in climate on the human population of the world would be startling(惊人的)．

　　Recent research suggests that the general warming trend of the past hundred years or so may be coming to an end．During the past ten years, meteorologists tell us the average temperature of the Earth has dropped about one degree Fahrenheit．This does not seem like much, but it could have effects on wind and rain patterns which influence the overall weather picture．If these patterns change a lot, it could mean that certain regions of the world may continue to have long droughts while others will possibly suffer from widespread flooding．

　　What regulates(调节)the climate is not exactly known．Meteorologists believe that clouds may be an important factor in regulating the amount of solar heat held by the Earth, which in turn determines the temperature of the planet．Another possibility is that man's industrial and agricultural methods may be affecting the natural weather patterns．However, the weather is not understood well enough for scientists to say for certain what is happening to the climate and what side effects this will actually have on the world's population．

阅读理解

　　Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life to the people and develop in their own way．Our expression today is“to face the music”．

　　When someone says,“Well, I guess I'll have to face the music．”It does not mean he's planning to go to the concert．It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, any why you didn't do this or that．Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced．At some time or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children．We can all remember father's angry voice,“I want to talk to you．”and only because we did not obey him．What an unpleasant business it was!

　　The phrase“to face the music”is familiar to every American, young and old．It is at least 100 years old．And where did this expression come from?The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Cooper．He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage．When they got their cue to go on, they often said,“Well, it's time to face the music．”And that is exactly what they did-facing the orchestra which was just below them．And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines．But he had to go out．If he did not, there would be no play．So the expression“to face the music”came to mean“having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice．”

　　Other explanations about the expression go back to the army．When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about hw well they looked．Was their equipment clean, whinny enough to pass inspection?Still the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection．What else could they do?

　　Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done．As, for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored．The band does not play．Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat．The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse．