阅读理解

　　Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice．However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner．

　　Born in September, 1987, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters．Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers．She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris．

　　Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics．When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities(设备)to help save the lives of wounded soldiers．Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgrum．Her services were recognised in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government．

　　In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute．In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taugh him the techniques required for his work．They soon fell in love and were married in 1926．Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later．

　　Like her mother, Irene combined family and career．Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935．Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity(辐射能)．Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956．

阅读理解

阅读材料

　　Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers．Brain-computer interface(BCI)technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines．

　　Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic school in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated(展示)a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts．

　　In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right band．He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts．

　　“our brain has billions of nerve ceils．These send signals through the spinal cord(脊髓)to the muscles to give us the ability to move．But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles,” Tavella says．“Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices．”

　　The researchers designed a special cap for the user．This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮)and sends them to a computer．The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair．The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path．They help the computer react to commands from the brain．

　　Prof．Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands．“The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories：communication, and controlling devices．One example is this wheelchair．”

阅读材料

　　Diana Jacobs thought her family had a workable plan to pay for college for her 21-year-old twin sons：a combination of savings, income, scholarships, and a modest amount of borrowing．Then her husband lost his job, and the plan fell apart．

　　“I have two kids in college, and I want to say ‘come home, ’ but at the same time I want to provide them with a good education, ” says Jacobs．

　　The Jacobs family did work out a solution：They asked and received more aid form the schools, and each son increased his borrowing to the maximum amount through the federal loan(贷款)program．They will each graduate with $20, 000 of debt, but at least they will be able to finish school．

　　With unemployment rising, financial aid administrators expect to hear more families like the Jacobs．More students are applying for aid, and more families expect to need student loans．College administrators are concerned that they will not have enough aid money to go around．

　　At the same time, tuition(学费)continues to rise．A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that college tuition and fees increased 439％ from 1982 to 2007, while average family income rose just 147％．Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade,

　　“If we go on this way for another 25years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education, ” says Patrick M．Callan, president of the center．“The middle class families have been financing it through debt．They will send kids to college whatever it takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt．”

　　Financial aid administrators have been having a hard time as many companies decide that student loans are not profitable enough and have stopped making them．The good news, however, is that federal loans account for about three quarters of student borrowing, and the government says that money will flow uninterrupted．

阅读材料

　　Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education．"Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say．In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation．It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose．

　　Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation(基金会)that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee．“I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire, " Tim recalls．He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder．"

　　Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library．com．The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts．

阅读材料

　　Arthur Miller(1915-2005)is universally recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20^th century．Miller's father had moved to the USA from Austria Hungary．Drawn like so many other by the “Great American Dream” However, he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the earlv l930s．

　　Milles's most famous play, Death of a SaIesman, is a powerful attack on the American system．with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence on money and social status as indicators of worth．In Willy Loman, the hero of the play, we see a man who has got into double with his worth．Willy is “burnt out” and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sentiment：if he can't do the work, then he is no good to his employer, the Wagner Company, and he must go．Willy is painfully aware of this, and at loss as to what to do with his lack of sucess．He refuses to face the fact that he has failed and kills himself in the end．

　　When it was first staged in 1949, the play was greeted with enthusiastic revews, and it won the Tony Award for Best Play, the New York Drama Critics` Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama．It was the first play to win all three of these major awards．

　　Millerl died of hear failure at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on the evening of February 10, 2005, the 56th anniversary of the first performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway．

　　The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters．Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see．“We didn’t want to give the children rubbish, ” says Linda．The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series．

　　Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work．Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12, 200 books to preschoolers in their in their area．Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative：“This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of．”

　　The Richters spend about ＄400 a month sending books to 200 children．“Some people sit there and wait to die,” says Tim．“Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left．”

阅读理解

　　Blind imitation(模仿)is self-destruction．To those who do not recognize their unique worth．Imitation appears attractive：to those who know their strenghth．Imitation is unacceptable．

　　In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful．When I first learned to cook, I used recipes(菜谱)and turned out some tasty dishes．But soon I grew bored．Why follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them．

　　In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously(下意识地)hold poor role models．If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did．If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others．

　　In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities．Those stars look great on screen．But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous．If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors．

　　Blessed is the person willing to act on their sundden desire to create somrthing unique．Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply．They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation．The world is changed not by those who do what has been done brfore them, but by those who do what has been done inside them．Creative people have an endless resource of ideas．The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination．

　　Syudy your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not server．Then you can say, ”I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors” tragedies and tory, and know that they are cheering on．

阅读理解

　　An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond．The concept is simple：help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same tome．

　　In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit(追求)to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools．The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched(发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998．Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong kong．

　　In Chicago, the mayor(市长)appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program．As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city．Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character．

　　The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population．This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致)can be achieved．Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy

　　And passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself．

　　Ultinatel was Nancy points out, the level of sucicess is not meastured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process．or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word．

阅读理解

　　In the fall of 1985．I was a bright-eyed ghl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere．Twenty-one years later I am later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell．

　　My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college an the age of 65．She was the first in our family to reach that goal．But one year after I started college, she developed cancer．I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her．It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait．

　　Then I got married with another dream：building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children．In 1999, we adopted our first son．To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional．A year later came our second adopted boy．Then followed son No．3．In 2003, I gave birth to another boy．

　　You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 81．Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo．Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time．But I never gave up on the dream either．I had only one choice：to find a way．That meant talking as few as one class each semester．

　　The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys．They often wanted me to stay home with them．There certainly were times I wanted to quit, But I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives．

　　In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina．It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！

　　I am not special, just single-minded．It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal．Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day．It’s a process．Remember；little steps add up to big dreams．

阅读理解

　　Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home．

　　The host will provide accommodation and meals．Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week．You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health．

　　Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones2, 3 and of the transport system．Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的)．Zones3 and 4often offer larger accommodation in a less crowned area．It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground．

　　?Continental Breakfast

　　?Breakfast and Dinner

　　?Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner

　　It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast．Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal(谷物类食品)，bread and tea or coffee．Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England．Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee．

　　If you wish to invite a friend over to visit．you must first ask your host’s permission．You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy．

　　Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room．This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestule and is more suitable for the long-stay student．However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much．