阅读理解

　　“The first and best of victories for a man is to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,”says Plato．Self-control is at the root of all the advantages．Let a man give in to his impulses(冲动)and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom．

　　A single angry word has lost many friends．When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself．If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger．Many a person has dropped dead in great anger．Fits of anger bring fits of disease．“Whoever the gods would destroy they first make them mad．”“Keep cool,”says Webster,“anger is not argument．”“Be calm in arguing,”says George Herbert,“for fierceness(狂怒)makes error a fault．”

　　To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself．“Anger,”says Pythagoras,“begins with foolishness and ends with regret．”You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him．

　　Self-control is man's last and greatest victory．

　　If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything．Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling．If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking too．

阅读理解

　　Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history．

　　Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way．Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever．Hundreds more are on the danger list today．About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger．

　　Why should people care?Because we need animals．And because once they are gone, there will never be any more．

　　Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting．They are more than just a source of food．Every animal has its place in the balance of nature．Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems．

　　For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(老鹰), the farmers stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice．Why?Because hawks eat rats and mice．With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖)quickly．

　　Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals．Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem．And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger．

　　Quite a few countries have passed laws．These laws forbid the killing of any animals or plants on the danger list．Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing．

阅读理解

　　The clock struck eleven at night．The whole house was quiet．Everyone was in bed except me．Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff(东西)they call“books”．

　　I was going to have my examination the next day．“When can I go to bed?”I asked myself．I didn't answer, In fact I dared not．

　　The clock struck twelve．“Oh, dear!”I cried．“Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!”We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world．Dad does not agree with me on this．He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy．

　　The clock struck one．I was quite desperate(绝望的)now．I forgot all I had learned．I was too tired to go on．I did the only thing I could．I prayed,“Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow．I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen．”My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them．A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep．

阅读理解

　　Douglas Grace talks about his ideal city of the future．

　　I see the city of the future in three zones－inner, middle and outer．In the inner zone there will be no private cars．Public transport will be free and there will only be ambulances, fire engines, taxis and police cars．This inner zone will be the residential(住宅的)and recreational(娱乐的)area of the city．People will live there and go out to enjoy themselves－to cinemas and restaurants．There will be parks and open spaces, trees and lakes, schools and universities．This way, when people are at home, they can go out easily and safely．

　　Just outside the inner zone there will be big car parks for all private cars．

　　The banks and most of the shops and hospitals will be in the middle zone．These are things that people don't need every day．

　　All the factories and offices will be in the outer zone．People will travel out of the center to work, and back to the center in the evenings．The inner zone will be cleaner and better to live in and there will be more space for industry on the outside．

　　This is my ideal city of the future－a very beautiful place!But I don't really think things will ever be like that!

阅读理解

The Man behind Blue Jeans

　　Levi Strauss was born in 1829 in Bavaria, Germany．He was the fifth of six children．His father sold dry goods from door to door．(Dry goods include many different things：fabric, thread, scissors, combs, buttons, yarn, etc．)

　　In 1845, his father died．All six children decided to go to the United States．Two of Strauss' bothers started a dry goods company in New York City．Strauss' sister Fanny and her husband started a similar business in San Francisco．Strauss decided to go to the southeastern part of the United States．For eight years, he walked along the country roads selling dry goods from door to door-just like his father in Bavaria．

　　In 1853, Strauss decided to move to San Francisco．(At that time, thousands of people traveled to California to look for gold．)On the way to California, Strauss sold almost all of his dry goods．He had only one thing left－some canvas．

　　In California, Strauss tried to sell the canvas to the gold miners．He said they could make tents from the canvas．But they weren't interested in canvas for tents．Strauss didn't know what to do with the canvas．Then, he had an idea．Strauss could see that the miners needed new pants．There were holes in their pants because the fabric wasn't strong．He decided to make the canvas into pants．They called them“Levi's”．Later, Strauss stopped using canvas and used a different fabric．It was a heavy cotton fabric－the same kind people wear today．

　　Levi Strauss died in 1902．He never married and left his money to his nephews．He left the world much more－the jeans that so many people wear．

阅读理解

　　Bend over, take a deep breath and drink some water!This is just one of hundreds of tips you might get if you have the hiccups(打嗝)．Hiccups are so mysterious．We really don't know why they start and why they stop．Everyone has a favorite cure for a case of the hiccups．Some people think that a good scare is necessary to get well．Others eat a teaspoon of sugar．Still others drink a glass of water with a knife in it．

　　An American man named Jack O'Leary claimed to have hiccupped 160 million times over a period of eight years．He tried 60,000 cures, but none of them worked．Finally he prayed to Saint Jude, the saint of Hopeless cases, and his hiccupping stopped immediately．

　　It took a British plumber eight months to cure his hiccups．People from all over the world wrote him letters with suggestions for getting well．He tried them all, but the hiccups continued．Finally, he drank a“secret”mixture someone had sent him．By that evening his hiccups were gone．

　　Why did these cures work for these two men?No one really knows．But people who have studied many cases of hiccups have an idea．Hiccups usually go away if you believe in the cure．

阅读理解

　　In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of“mastery”－feeling important and worthwhile－and the sources of what we call a sense of“pleasure”－finding life enjoyable－are not always the same．Women often are told“You can't have it all．”Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is：“You choose a career, so you can't expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life．”or“You have a wonderful husband and children－what's all this about wanting a career?”But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves．

　　Our study shows that, for women, well-being(康乐)has two aspects．One is mastery, which includes self-respect, a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression．Mastery is closely related to the“doing”side of life, to work and activity．Pleasure is the other aspect, and it is made up of happiness, satisfaction and optimism．It is tied more closely to the“feeling”side of life．The two are independent of each other．A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa(反之亦然)．For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time．

　　The concepts of mastery and pleasure can help us identify the sources of well-being for women, and correct past mistakes．In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being．But we know that both mastery and pleasure are important．And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work．In our study, all the groups of employed women are valued significantly higher in mastery than women who are not employed．

　　A woman's well-being is developed when she takes on multiple(多项的)roles．At least?by middle adulthood, the women who are involved in a combination of roles－marriages, motherhood, and employment－are the highest in well-being, in spite of warnings about stress and strain．

阅读理解

Western New Bridge Library Announcement

Shortened Library Hours for Spring Break

　　Library Hours have been shortened to 7hours a day(9∶00am－4∶00pm)for Spring Break from March 21 to March 30．

Coming Events

　　·On Monday, March 21, at 10∶30 am, Scott Sutton, a children's writer, will tell stories to kids over seven．Sutton's attractive style will surely inspire everyone present!

　　·At l：00pm, on March 23, the Georgetown musicians will present an Irish folk concert, which will be entertaining for the entire family．Come for the music and stay to check out some relevant books for the rest of the week!

　　·On Thursday, March 24, at 2∶00pm, the annual Children's Gathering will take place in Room 201, the second-floor．Pick up an invitation in the Children's Room and return your RSVP(回复)to reserve your seat at the table by 3∶00pm on Wednesday day, March 23．Only children are allowed in the gathering．

　　·At 10∶30 am, on Friday, March 25, Enzo Monfre of the his kids' science show, ENZOology, will bring Fossbls live!Surely Enzo will take the audience back in time, deep beneath the surface of the earth, to uncover the mysteries of killer dinosaurs, and more Enzo recently appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show-come and see him at the library!

　　Please note：In case of emergency, please call the Help Desk at 926-3736 and follow the procedures outlined on the voice message．The call-down service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies．The Help Desk supplies service to you all the year round!For questions about all these, please contact hld@wnbl.org

Come for the great Fun; Stay for the relevant Books!

阅读理解

　　Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family．Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining,“Mom, I can't peel potatoes．I have only one hand．”

　　Mom never looked up from sewing．“You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,”she told me．“And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”

　　In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel bar to the next．When it was my turn, I shook my head．Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying．

　　That night I told Mom about it．She hugged me, and I saw her“we'll see about that”look．The next afternoon, she took me back to school．At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars．

　　“Now, pull up with your right arm,”she advised．She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other arm．Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung(横档)I reached．I'd never forget the next time, crossing the rungs．I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open．

　　One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing．I could hear Mom come into my room．“Mom,”I said, weeping,“none of the girls would dance with me．”

　　For a long time, I didn't hear anything．Then she said,“Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys off with a bat．”Her voice was soft and weak．I glanced at her to see tears running down her cheeks．Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf．She had never let me see her tears．

阅读理解

　　New technology that can“see”through clothing and detect what's underneath can now be used to scan crowds, making it a potentially effective tool to prevent terrorist attacks in public places．

　　The Thru Vision T5000 camera picks up Terahertz rays, or T-rays, which are naturally sent out by all objects and can pass through clothes or even walls．The camera can then detect metallic and nonmetallic objects hidden under clothing on still or moving subjects without showing any body detail．

　　While similar technology is seen at airports around the world, the T5000 is designed to be used in large, open areas．With a range of 25 meters, the T5000 can screen people in public places, thus avoiding bottle-necks at border crossing or security checkpoints．It also means people can be screened without knowing it．

　　The technology develops from British astronomers' work in studying dying stars．Astronomers use T-ray cameras to see through dust and clouds in space．The company sees uses for its camera at other sites where political or business activities take place．

　　For privacy concerns, Thru Vision Chief Executive Clive Beattie said the image produced by the camera did not show detailed parts of the body．“It's almost a shining light bulb(灯泡)．”Beattie said．“You don't see the detail that people might be concerned about．”In London's busy Piccadilly Circus－which is already filled with closed-circuit surveillance(监视)cameras－reaction to the new technology was mixed．Some said the camera was going too far and violating privacy, but others said they are willing to put safety before privacy concerns．“There's surveillance everywhere anyway,”said one commuter．“I don't think it's much of a difference．I don't care that they can see through me because they can see me anyway．”

　　Some experts said the privacy violation of the camera was not worth the benefit．“What we should consider is how much we want to lose our privacy in order to obtain a sort of national security,”said David Murakami Wood, director of the Surveillance Studies network, which deals with surveillance and privacy problems．“In most cases this isn't real security－it's a sense of safety that has very little real effect．”