Reading Comprehension

　　Walking with long steps on purpose, Barack Obama appears to have arrived to visit an elementary school he attended as a boy．But wait．It's not real Obama．The US president is back in Washington DC．

　　So who is this guy?He's Ilham Anas, 34, a teen-magazine photographer who has taken advantage of his striking resemblance to Obama and turned it into his own brand of celebrity and wealth．

　　Since his sister told him in 2007 that he looked like the then-presidential candidate, Ana's face and big smile have been seen on Southeast Asian TV and the Internet, appearing in the advertisements of medicine and other products．He has also shown up on his nation's television-talk show．Anas' resemblance to the president has turned his life around 180 degrees．He's even written an autobiography Because of Obama．

　　Anas is the first to admit that he's an impostor(冒牌货)．But he'll also tell you that he's in incredible demand．“I've got so much work I can't handle it all,”he said．

　　But when his sister first mentioned the resemblance, he dismissed it．Then a colleague at the magazine asked him to pose as Obama in front of a US flag．He also refused．“I'm a photographer, not an object for the camera,”he said．

　　As soon as he accepted the idea, his career took off．The married father of two children is rarely home these days．Recently a group of reporters followed him on a tour of the elementary school Obama once attended．Anas sat in the classroom where the president studied．He spoke a few lines in English．The moment he opened his mouth, however, the differences became apparent．“Obama is a baritone(男中音),”Anas said．“I'm not．I sound like a little boy．”He is also shorter than the president．But he makes up for that by practising Obama's typical actions．Before public appearances, he spends hours in front of the mirror posing, gesturing, flashing that smile．

　　Anas said he hasn't changed his appearance much for the role．He wears his hair just like he did in high school．But he did shape his eyebrows to look more like those of the president．

　　He used to dislike looking into the mirror because of his average appearance．Now he no longer considers himself as an average guy, but a superstar．

　　Now, he hopes that Obama will win a second term in the White House．“The longer he's in office, the longer my fame will last,”he said．

Reading Comprehension

　　I used to believe in the American dream that meant a job, credit, success．I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us separately chasing the same thing．

　　One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart．I found myself homeless and alone．I had my truck and ＄56．I searched the countryside for some place I could rent for the cheapest possible amount．I came upon a deserted cottage in a small remote valley．I hadn't been alone for 25 years．I was scared, but I hoped the hard work would distract and heal me．

　　I found the owner and rented the place for ＄50 a month．The locals knew nothing about me．But slowly they started teaching me the art of being a neighbor．They dropped off blankets, tools and canned deer meat and began sticking around to chat．They would ask if I wanted to meet cousin Albie or go fishing．They started to teach me a belief in a different American dream, not the one of individual achievement but of neighborliness．Men would stop by with wild berries, ice cream, truck parts to see if I needed some．The women on that mountain worked harder than any I'd ever met．They taught me how to store food in the stream and keep it cold and safe．I learned to keep enough for an extra plate for company．

　　What I had believed in, all those things I thought were necessary for a civilized life, were non-existent in this place．Up on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my relationships with my neighbors．

　　After four years in that valley, I moved back into town．I saw a lot of people were having a really hard time, losing their jobs and homes．With the help of a real estate broker(房地产经纪人)I chatted up at the grocery store, I managed to rent a big enough house to take in a handful of people．It's four of us now, but over time I've had nine come in and move on to other places from here．We'd all be in shelters if we hadn't banded together．

　　The American dream I believe in now is a shared one．It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about how we can all get by together．

READING COMPREHENSION

　　Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday．The Catholic priest(神父)took ＄15,000 in cash to Los Angeles' Skid Row(贫民区)and gave it away．Twenty wheelchair-bound people received ＄100 bills, while the rest received ＄1to ＄3 each．

　　“I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that some one is concerned about them,”Chase said．

　　Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years．Several hundred people wait for him every week．

　　He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks．

　　“It's the place that makes me the happiest．I just love it,”said Chase．“I look forward to coming here．”

　　The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University．

　　The crowd broke into choruses of“Happy Birthday”several times．Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight．

　　Travis Kemp, a 51-year-old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive ＄100．He said he had no special plans for spending the money．“He has a lot of respect from me,”Kemp said．“I know I couldn't do it．”

READING COMPREHENSION

　　Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty．In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old．

　　The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States．The Gallup(民意调查)Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008．At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five．

　　The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry．They also asked about mental or emotional stress．

　　Arthur Stone at Stony Brook University in New York led the study．His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five．The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties．Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies．The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties．

　　Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older．One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions．They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences．

　　Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry．

　　The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single．But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age．

　　The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older．However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men．

READING COMPREHENSION

　　To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun!

　　Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times．Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the 11th century B C．

　　We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade．And there was a strange thing connected with its use：it became a symbol of honor．In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office．

　　In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade．And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece．But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans．

　　During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared．Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century．And again it was considered as a symbol of power．By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England．

　　By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe．

　　Umbrellas have hot changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight．It wasn't until the twentieth century that women's umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors．

READING COMPREHENSION

　　To help the environment, many Americans have made the change from paper and plastic bags to reusable grocery bags．But a report by a Florida newspaper says that reusable grocery bags sold by some supermarkets contain high levels of lead(铅)．Lead is a metal that can be harmful to humans, especially young children, Now, Senator Charles Schumer is asking the US government to investigate(调查)the use of lead in reusable shopping bags．

　　“When our families go to the grocery store looking for safe and healthy foods to feed their kids, the last thing they should have to worry about is poisonous bags．”Schumer said,“A quick investigation will allow everyone to make informed, timely decisions．”Schumer added．

　　Lead in the bags is not likely to rub off(因摩擦而粘在……上面)on food．But over time, paint on the bags can chip and the bags can wear out．When this happens, lead can be released(释放)．

　　The Tampa Tribune newspaper said certain bags sold at Publix and Winn-Dixie supermarkets had lead levels that were a concern to health officials．The affected bags were found in Florida．But Publix has more than 1,000 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Sough Carolina and Tennessee．Publix says that all of its bags are under current laws about lead content, but that they have asked the makers of the bags to reduce the lead levels in the product．

　　The bags with the highest levels of lead had fancy designs and many pictures．Plain reusable bags without decoration were found to contain little lead．Consumers worried about lead levels in reusable bags can change to cloth or string bags．Paper bags are also a good choice, since paper can be recycled(回收)．

　　Since 2007, Publix supermarkets have sold more than 13 million reusable bags．The store says because shoppers have made the change to reusable bags, it has saved more than 1 billion paper and plastics bags．

READING COMPREHENSION

　　Crazy is our new normal．With two teenage boys and three little boys, our family is restless－to the baseball field, track field(田径场)and piano lessons．Even though we've limited each boy's activities and try our best to defend our family time, it seems that we're in a constant state of flight．

　　“Embrace it．Roll with it,”my husband, Lonny, says,“It's going to be like this for a while．”

　　He is right．It's likely that life will continue to go forward before it slows down．But I remembered the still, quiet days that our family used to enjoy．I missed long walks through the park when we held the boys' little hands．I longed for(渴望)lazy Saturday afternoons under the tree in our backyard．I wanted to slip back a few years, when busyness was the exception and not the rule．

　　One night, after a particularly full day and evening games, our family gathered on the porch(门廊)for ice cream．Two parents, two teens, and three small boys piled on one old swing and a couple of rocking chairs．We were together, in one place, for a small slice of time．

　　The moon was full．The Mississippi River, flowing past our home, was smooth as glass．I wrapped my own arms around the son who sat on my lap and breathed deeply to inhale his little-boy scent(气味)－dirt and sweat．My heart was still and content(满足的)．

　　I realized that while crazy is our new normal happiness is as usual．They may look different from before, but they are still there－even if they're in the form of a single moment on the porch．Maybe I just need the eyes to see．

阅读理解

　　Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university．Students are graduating with larger and larger debts．So is a college degree really worth it?

　　In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees(学费)．As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan(贷款)in order to go to university．

　　They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses．Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan．

　　The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around ￡12,000(122,952 yuan)．It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach the April after graduating．If you start to earn over ￡15,000(153,630 yuan)a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary．

　　You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job．However, most people in“white collar jobs”seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition．Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper．

　　All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money．Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated：“The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year [2008]．”

　　“Student poverty”is now considered a real problem．Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students．What does the future hold for British higher education?

阅读理解

　　Stopping teens from smoking is a big challenge many communities face today．Many communities can only watch without being able to act while local businesses continue to sell tobacco products to children, even under the risk of punishment by law．

　　Recent studies show that a large percentage of teens today are getting their cigarettes from stores, mostly gas stations or convenience stores．As teens continue to be able to buy their own cigarettes, more and more communities begin to punish those who sell cigarettes to the teens．

　　One community has experienced success in their attempts to stop the sale of tobacco products to children．Woodridge, Illinois, started a program seven years ago which forbade and strictly punished the sale of tobacco products to children．The entire program includes local licensing of vendors(小贩), repeated undercover inspections to see if the sale to children has stopped, and education programs in schools．Woodridge has become a model community as other communities are moving to stop teen tobacco use．

　　A recent national study showed that 36.5％ of females, and 40.8％ of males buy their cigarettes from stores, whether it is a gas station or a supermarket．Hopefully, as more and more sellers see the trouble they face if caught selling to children, they will stop selling．

　　True, tightening down on stores that sell tobacco to children isn't going to completely stop the problem of teen tobacco use．Teens continue to get them from other sources．But it definitely does prevent their efforts．With more education in schools, and perhaps stronger punishments for teens caught with tobacco, more and more teens will see the problems with the tobacco usage, and will stop the habit．

阅读理解

　　Music died here last spring, or rather, it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music and drama as part of the high-school curriculum(课程)．

　　The committee decided that teaching students how to take a standardized test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts as well as academics．Because the school system is running out of funding, it needs to make sure that students pass the mastery test or even more money will be lost．If students fail the state standardized test, it is not the fault of drama and music classes-they are failing because the academic classes are not sufficient(足够)．

　　It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing, acting, and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered．Many families cannot afford private music lessons, and many potential musicians and artists may not find their calling if they are not exposed to it in school．The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue．

　　Teaching for a test does not shape students into complete, well-rounded people．It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through art-there is more to life than the analytical thinking that math and English provide．What happens after a test?Sure, a student might graduate, but they will have limited knowledge-certainly not a good preparation for the real world．