阅读理解

　　Mathematical ability and musical ability may not seem on the surface to be connected, but people who have researched the subject and studied the brain say that they are．Three quarters of the bright but speech-delayed children in the group I studied had a close relative who was an engineer, mathematician or scientist, and four fifths had a close relative who played a musical instrument．The children themselves usually took readily to math and other analytical subjects and to music．

　　Black, white and Asian children in this group show the same patterns．However, it is clear that blacks have been greatly overrepresented(被过多的代表)in the development of American popular music and greatly underrepresented in such fields as mathematics, science and engineering．

　　If the abilities required in analytical fields and in music are so closely related, how can there be this great discrepancy?One reason is that the development of mathematical and other such abilities requires years of formal schooling, while certain musical talents can be developed with little or no formal training, as has happened with a number of well-known black musicians．

　　It is precisely in those kinds of music where one can acquire great skill without formal training that blacks have excelled(擅长)popular music rather than classical music, piano rather than violin, blues rather than opera．This is readily understandable, given that most blacks, for most of American history, have not had either the money or the leisure for long years of formal study in music．

　　Blacks have not merely held their own in American popular music．They have played a large role in the development of jazz, both traditional and modern．A long string of names comes to mind－W．C．Handy, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker…and so on．

　　None of these presupposes(假设，意味着)any special innate(先天的)ability of blacks in music．On the contrary, it is perfectly consistent(一致的)with blacks having no more such inborn ability than anyone else, but being limited to being able to express such ability in narrower channels than others who have had the money, the time and the formal education to spread out over a wider range of music, as well as into mathematics, science and engineering．

阅读理解

　　As a frequent traveler, my goal for each trip is to travel light．Despite(尽管)thoughtful planning, I can't always get my packing right, ending up taking more than I need．Work is like that, too．We often bring too much baggage．It may not look like baggage, but it weighs us down just the same．

　　I've found, after twenty years of management, most people bring suitcases full of self-doubt(缺乏自信的), old problems from old relationships and self-fulfilling(相信一定会发生的)forecasts to work every day, and it stifles(抑制)them．Most people let past work experience decide their future ones．

　　They're like the travelers in a story that I once heard．One day a young man stopped his car on the side of the road．An elderly woman paused from her gardening as he approached(靠近)．“I'm thinking of moving to this town,”he told her,“and I was wondering if you could tell me what the people are like here．”“Well”she said,“what were the people like where you live before?”“Demanding and competitive, and not very helpful,”he said．“Well”she told him,“I think you'll find people the same way here．”

　　A little while later another man stopped and approached the woman．Again she was asked what the townspeople were like and again she asked the traveler what his experience had been where he lived before．“Oh, the people were great．Everyone was helpful and supportive－a real community．”“You'll find people the same way here,”she said．

　　People who are winning at work are like the second traveler．They know that they tend to get what they expect from work(and life), and if they have emotional baggage and poor expectations, they will get poor results．

　　They also know how to travel light．They've learned what essentials to pack．They bring to work only those skills and experience that will positively impact(影响)their work and the future．They leave the rest of their baggage behind．Want to win at work?Travel light．

阅读理解

　　Trip 1 Black Bear Count

　　There have been fires in this area in the last few years and the Office of the National Park is not sure how many black bears are still living．Some bears have been seen since the fires, and the Office has asked young people to help count them．The entire trip will last three hours．Booking is necessary．

　　Cost：Free　　　　　　　　　　When：May 8

　　Trip 2 Garland Valley

　　Bring your drink and lunch for this walk in a beautiful area of the Blue Mountains．Garland Valley close to the town of Garland hut is part of the National Park．Many wild animals live in this area, including many rare birds．This is a great walk for bird-lovers．The trip lasts four hours．Booking is necessary．

　　Cost：＄15　　　　　　　　　　When：May 8, May 15

　　Trip 3 Flashlight Adventure

　　Put on your warm clothes, bring a flashlight and a pair of glasses, and come for a night walk along the Dungog Valley．A guide will lead the tour．Many of the animals you will see on this trip can only be seen at night．The guide will tell you about the lives of the animals you see．Numbers are strictly limited on night trips, so be sure to book early．This walk lasts two and a half hours．

　　Cost：＄12　　　　　　　　　　When：May 8, May 15, May22

　　Equipment to be needed：

　　●Please bring enough water and food for all walks．

　　●Wear good walking shoes－no high heels．

　　●Wear a hat for day walks．

　　●Dress warmly for night walks．

　　●Children must be with an adult．

　　●Make sure your flashlight works well and bring extra batteries for night walks．

　　●Follow all instructions from guides during the walks．The mountains are a dangerous place．

　　Bookings：

　　●Bookings for the above trips can be made by telephone(893－4847)or on the Internet at www.Bluemountaintour.com

阅读理解

　　After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletes and viewers have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletes and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin．These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability．But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest paralympians will not be taking part．

　　She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thompson．Born with spinal bifida(脊椎裂)which left her paralysed(瘫痪的)from the waist down, Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7．At first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom．But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously．She tried swimming, basketball and tennis．Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back．

　　Indeed, Tanni's athletic career took off．In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100 meters at the Junior National Wheelchair Games．

　　In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul．She won bronze in the 400 meters．Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics．Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters relay, setting two world records in the process．In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories．

　　Tanni's enduring success has been part motivation(动机), part preparation．“The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员)enables me to be good at a marathon too．I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older, things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart．”

　　Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007．Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games．

　　In spite of ups and downs, she never takes her fate lying down．In her splendid life, she has won amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in a series of Paralympics－a top level athletic career covering two decades．She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records．

　　What advice does she have for young athletes?“Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again．”

阅读理解

　　Life is difficult．

　　It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult．

　　Most do not fully see this truth．Instead they complain(抱怨)about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy．It seems to them that difficulties stand for a special kind of suffering especially forced on them or else on their families, their class, or even their nation．

　　What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one．Problems, depending on their nature, cause sadness, or loneliness(孤独)or regret or anger or fear．

　　These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain．And since life causes a lot of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy．

　　Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning．Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure．When we want to encourage the growth of human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve．It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn．As Benjamin Franklin said,“Those things that hurt, instruct(指导)．”It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems．

阅读理解

　　Many years ago my student asked me the question,“Mrs．Kindred, why do you teach?”Without taking time to reflect, I answered,“Because someday I might say something that might make a difference in someone's life．”Even though I was sincere, that wasn't a very good answer and my student didn't let it slide．

　　“Let me get this straight,”he said,“You went to college for four years so you could come here every day because you have the hope that someday you might say something that will influence someone?”He shook his head as if I were crazy and walked away looking confused．I'm one of those people who look back and wish they had said something smart or witty, or swift．

　　Even though that particular student might no longer wonder why I teach, there are days when I wonder．On those days, I remind myself of the real reasons I teach：

　　It's in my blood．My mother was my most influential teacher, and she was a 6th grade reading teacher until her death in 1990．She instilled(逐渐灌输)in me a love of reading and the knowledge that education opens doors for．

　　Teaching is a way to make a difference．If you throw a stone in a pond the ripples go on and on until they reach the shore．You can't have ripples without a“stone．”Good teachers throw stones that make a positive difference, and that's what I strive to do．

　　I genuinely love teenagers．

　　I want to share with others what I know and what I have learned through the years．Life is full of ups and downs, and if I can help students avoid some potholes(洞坑)on the road of life, I want to do so．If they'll allow me to celebrate their victories with them, I want to do too．

　　Teaching isn't for everyone, but I know I made the right career choice．

阅读理解

　　Claude and Louris are“giraffes”．So are police officers Hankins and Pearson．These men and women don't look like giraffes; they look like you and me．Then, why do people call them“giraffes”?

　　A giraffe, they say, is an animal that sticks its neck out, can see places far away and has a large heart．It lives a quiet life and moves about in an easy and beautiful way．In the same way, a“giraffe”can be a person who likes to“stick his or her neck out”for other people, always watches for future happenings, has a warm heart for people around, and at the same time lives a quiet and beautiful life himself or herself．

　　“The Giraffe Project”is a 10-year-old group which finds and honors“giraffes”in the US and in the world．The group wants to teach people to do something to build a better world．The group members believe that a person shouldn't draw his or her head back; instead, they tell people to“stick their neck out”and help others．Claude and Louris, Hankins and Pearson are only a few of the nearly 1,000“giraffes”that the group found and honored．

　　Claude and Louris were getting old and they left their work with some money that they saved for future use．One day, however, they saw a homeless man looking for a place to keep warm and they decided that they should“stick their neck out”and give him some help．Today, they lived in Friends' House, where they invite twelve homeless people to stay every night．

　　Police officers Hankins and Pearson work in a large city．They see crimes every day and their work is sometimes dangerous．They work hard for their money．However, these two men put their savings together and even borrowed money to start an educational center to teach young people in a poor part of the city．Hankins and Pearson are certainly“giraffes”．

阅读理解

　　Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, USA, is in the central part of the state, on the Santa Fe River, which flows into the Rio Grands 35 kilometres west of the city．More than two thousand metres above sea level, it lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the Ortiz Mountains to the southeast．

　　Santa Fe was founded in 1609 by the Spanish in an old Indian village．In 1680 the Indians seized the place but only held it for twelve years before the Spanish retook it．The city remained under Spanish rule until Mexico won its independence in 1821．From then on it was a Mexico city until 1846 when it was taken over by US troops．

　　With a population of 48,953, Santa Fe is now the second largest city in the state．Because of its sunny weather, rich history and surrounding mountains, it is a good place for holiday makers．Besides hunting and skating in the mountains people enjoy shopping in the Indian and Spanish shops, which brings a large income to the city every year．In summer there is an international opera season when operas are shown in a partly-roofed, open-air theatre daily for people from all over the world．

阅读理解

　　The amount of carbon taken in by growing plants increased from 1982 through 1999 as temperatures rose and the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased．But a new study in Friday's edition of the journal Science found a drought-related decline in such plant growth from 2000 to 2009, even though temperatures continued to climb．

　　As drought caused by warming reduces the land's ability to take in carbon, the result could be more carbon dioxide left in the atmosphere, and thus more warming, Zhao Maosheng from the University of Montana explained in a telephone interview．

　　“This is a pretty serious warning that warmer temperatures are not going to endlessly improve plant growth”co-author Steven Running, also from the University of Montana' said in a statement．“We see this as a bit of a surprise, and potentially significant on a policy level because previous interpretations suggested global warming might actually help plant growth around the world,”he said．

　　Instead, he and Zhao found a small but measurable decline of about 1％, compared to a 6％ increase in the past decade．

　　Their study, based on the data collected by NASA satellites, found that north areas continued to increase plant growth, thanks to warmer temperatures and a longer growing season．

　　Someone commented,“This past decade's net decline in earthly productivity suggests that a complex relationship between temperature, rainfall, cloudiness, and carbon dioxide, probably in combination with other factors such as nutrients(营养)and land management, will determine future patterns and trends in productivity．”

阅读理解

　　The Japanese economy is at a standstill, Japan's government has said, as concerns about the strong yen(曰元)continue to grow．The recovery in the economy was“pausing”, the Cabinet Office said in a monthly statement．

　　It is the most negative that the government has been about the economy in nearly two years．The rising yen and a slowdown in global demand for Japanese exports were blamed for the setback．

　　In recent months, the government has insisted that the economy is“picking up”．But it said it now expected the economy to Femain weak for some time, with“weakening”exports a chief concern．It said shipments to Asia in particular were becoming weaker, further hitting exporters that are already suffering from the strong yen．

　　The yen remains near a 15-year high against the US dollar, despite the financial interfer-ence(干预)in the currency markets last month for the first time in six years．

　　Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan(菅直人)has also passed a ＄63 billion stimulus(剌激)package in an effort to protect exporters who have seen the poor exchange rate eat into their prof-its．At the close of markets in Tokyo, the yen was trading at 81.44 yen to the dollar, just off the high of 81.27 yen．

　　“If the economy turns out as expected, we may end up describing the current situation as a soft patch,”one of die government officials said“But if it comes under further downward pressure, it could end up slipping into recession(衰退)．”