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　　Jack was so excited about getting a new backpack because his old one had a broken zipper(拉链)and a hole in the bottom．

　　Jack’s elder brother took him to buy a new backpack．There were so many cool ones．How would he ever decide? He saw blue ones－his favorite color．He saw ones with his favorite action hero on the front．And then Jack saw a backpack with a black square design．When he opened it, he saw it had a hidden, secret small bag．He liked it, which made it different from others．

　　“This is the one,” he said, then carried it to the check-out counter．

　　That evening, Jack carefully filled his new backpack with his school things．He put his special pen in the secret small bag．The next day in English class, Mr．Mack said, “Let’s write an essay about earthquakes!” Jack looked for his pen in his backpack, but he couldn’t find it! He rummaged through his desk and his pockets, but no pen．

　　Jack asked if anyone had seen his pen, but no one had．Mr．Mack lent him a pencil, but Jack was feeling anxious because he lost his pen．When he got home, Jack told his brother he couldn’t find his favorite pen．His brother said, “You must have put it in that secret small bag．”

　　Jack laughed and said, “That small bag was so secret that I forgot all about it．”

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　　A few years ago I was shopping with a friend and his 12-year-old daughter in downtown San Francisco．A street musician, whom my friend happened to know from his own musician day, was playing the saxophone on a street corner．His name was Clifford, and he had attracted a large crowd with his performance．After he finished, my friend introduced him to me and his daughter．Clifford asked her if she played any instrument．When she replied that she was taking trumpet(小号)lessons and played in her junior high school band, he said, “That’s fine, little lady．Learn your instrument well and you can play anything．”Somehow these simple yet wise words struck me as suitable not only for a trumpet player but also for a reader．If you learn to read well, you can read anything you want－not just newspapers and magazines, but more difficult material like philosophy, film criticism, military history－whatever interests you as your confidence grows．You would not be limited in any way．If you have the vocabulary－or at least a good dictionary near at hand－you can pick up a book, concentrate on it, and make sense of the writer’s words．

　　In the United States, reading instruction often ends at elementary school, so students sometimes have difficulty as they progress through school．They must take their assignments, armed only with their elementary, school reading skills．The result, too often, is frustration(挫折)and loss of confidence．And the assigned reading in your college courses will be even greater than they were in high school．Developing Reading Skills is designed to accomplish several tasks：to show you the skills that will enable you to read with greater comprehension, to help you deal with reading assignment with confidence, and to teach you to become an active reader．

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The Man of Many Secrets

　　Harry Houdini was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century．He was a man famous for his escapes－from prison cells，from wooden boxes floating in rivers，from locked tanks full of water．He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America．Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks．

　　Of course，his secret was not magic，or supernatural powers．It was simply strength．He had ability to move his toes as well as to move his fingers．He could move his body into almost any position he wanted．

　　Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17,in 1891．He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in a New York club．They called themselves the Houdini brothers．When Harry married in 1894，he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant，but for a long time they were not successful．Then Harty performed his first prison escape，in Chicago in 1898．Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison，and he invited the local newspaperman to watch．It was the publicity(名声)that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success．

　　Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs(手铐)and toes trained to escape from ankle chains，but his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors．Every time he went into the prison cell，Bess gave him a kiss for good luck－and a small skeleton key，which is a key that fits many locks passed quickly from her mouth to his．

　　Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame．He arranged to escape from the local jail of every town he visited．In the afternoon the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers．and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full．What was the result? Worldwide fame，and a name remembered today．

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　　Although there are no state controlled survival courses in Britain or the United States, there are various independent organizations offering similar activities．Students can participate(take part)in outdoor training courses through university clubs and societies．Anyone can register with such groups, which then organize courses, training and trips for all members．

　　One of the most popular outdoor training programmes in both the US and Britain is Outward Bound(户外训练)．It was founded in 1941 in Wales and attracts hundreds of thousands of adventurous types every year．The courses are intended to broaden minds through experiences that build confidence, self-esteem(自尊)and character．As well as specialist courses such as canoeing, leadership skills and sailing, participants can take part in week long adventure training camps which include a host of sports and survival training education skills．

　　Michael Williams, an American student, took part in an Outward Bound course last year．He said：“We learned lots of first aid skills, lots of natural history ,lots of environmental facts, and participated in a wildlife preservation programme．Beyond that, my favorite skills learned were sailing and rock climbing．” Courses can last up to 40 days and are open to anyone over the age of 14．Students must be in general good health, but do not need to be experienced in outdoor-sports．There is no selection process；everyone is welcome, although new participants are advised to pick a course matching their physical capacity．Most of the British courses take place in the Brecon Beacons in Wales．Another similar organization is the UK Survival School, which includes courses on learning to 1ive with the environment, sailing and winter survival．On a basic survival weekend students will learn how to get water and food, how to make fire and cook with it, to find and build a shelter, control survival life support, how to cross rivers．Send off a distress signal, and to use compasses(指南针)by day and night．

　　According to the leaders, such adventures are “an awakening, an exploration into the unknown．” Outward Bound believes that participants will “use mind and body traveling some of the Earth’s roughest wilderness areas．”

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　　There is a wonderful story about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her．

　　One day, feeling very sad and lonely, she was walking through a grassland when she noticed a small butterfly caught in a thorn(荆棘)bush．The young girl carefully released the butterfly．Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy．The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief．

　　“For your wonderful kindness,” the good fairy said to the girl, “I will give you any wish you would like．” The little girl thought for a moment and then replied, “I want to be happy．”

　　The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear．Then the fairy disappeared．

　　As the little girl grew up, there was no one in the land as happy as she．Everyone asked her secret of happiness．She would only smile and answer, “The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl．”

　　When she was very old and on her deathbed, the neighbors all gathered around her， that her unbelievable secret of happiness would die with her．“Tell us, please,” they begged, “Tell us what the good fairy said．” The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, “She told me that everyone, no matter how secure they seemed, no matter how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me．”

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　　If you think American cooking means opening a package and throwing the contents into the microwave oven(微波炉)， think again．On one hand, it’s true that many Americans have cold cereal(谷类食品)for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and instant dinners．From busy homemakers to working people, many Americans enjoy the convenience of fast food that can be ready to serve in 10 minutes or less．On the other hand, many Americans realize the importance of cooking skills．Parents－especially mothers－see the importance of training their children－especially daughters．Most Americans think that there’s nothing better than a good home-cooked meal．But with cooking, as with any other skill, good results don’t happen by accident．

　　Probably every cook has his or her own way of cooking．But there are some basic skills that most people follow．For example, baking is a main method of preparing food in America．For that reason, Americans would find it next to impossible to live without an oven．American cooks pay special attention to the balance of foods, too．In planning a big meal they try to include meat, a few vegetables, some bread and often a dessert．They also like to make sure the meal is colouful．Having several different colors of food on the plate usually makes for a healthy meal．

　　For those who need guidance in their cooking, or for those who have just run out of ideas, recipes are a great help．Recipes list all the ingredients for a dish(generally in the order used), the amount of each to use, and a description of how to put them together．

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　　Practise speaking as often as you can．Speaking to yourself is good practice．

　　Compare your pronunciation with the master version(原版)to see how you can do better and have another go．If you do this several times, you will find that each time is better than last．

　　It helps if you can learn with someone else．If you can persuade a friend or family member to study with you, it will make you keep working．

　　Practise improving ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously(本能地)，even if you don't know the exact words or phrases．Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time．Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to make yourself understood．

　　Guesswork is an important way to learn a new language．When listening to recorded material, you aren't expected to understand everything first time round．If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time．

　　A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once．It’s best to study frequently, for short periods of time．Take at most six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them．Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, and then come back to them later．

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　　Leave a camera on a mountaintop, and chances are, you'll never see it again．But 24-year-old Paul Bellis, a university student from Wales, believed that most people were better than that, and set up a creative experiment to test out his theory．

　　"I was speaking to a friend who said you can't trust anyone, anywhere these days," Bellis told the Daily Mail．"I didn't want to believe that so I set up this experiment to find out what might happen and prove you can trust people．"

　　Billis decided to do an experiment by hiking up a mountain called Snowdonia, taking a photo, and leaving his camera behind．He also attached a note to the camera, asking other hikers to take photos of themselves and then leave the camera there until the roll of film(胶卷)was empty．He also included his address, in case someone would be nice enough to return the camera to his home after the roll of film was finished．

　　Four days later, Bellis got a visit from a Snowdonia park manager, who came to return his camera．After Bellis got the film developed, he saw that his fellow hikers and followed his instructions．Thirty people had each taken photos of themselves at the mountain．From viewing the collection, it was clear that all the hikers had enjoyed the experiment．

　　As for the park manager, Brian, "I found the camera and thought it had been lost until I saw the note," he said．"I was passing his home and just dropped it off．I' m glad that the photos came out very well．"

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　　What will power your house in the future? Nuclear, wind, or solar power? According to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)in the US, it might be leaves－but man-made ones．

　　Natural leaves are able to change sunlight and water into energy．It is known as photosynthesis(光合作用)．Now researchers have found a way to copy this seemingly simple process．

　　The man-made leaf developed by Daniel Nocera and his partners at MIT can be seen as a special chip with catalysts(催化剂)．Similar to natural leaves, it can split water into hydrogen and oxygen when put into a bucket of water．The hydrogen and oxygen gases are then stored in a fuel cell(电池), which uses those two materials to produce electricity．

　　A man-made leaf is not a new idea．The first man-made leaf was invented in 1997 but was too expensive and changeable for practical use．The new leaf, on the contrary, is made of cheap materials, easy to use and highly stable．In laboratory studies, Nocera showed that a man-made leaf prototype(原型)could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity．

　　The wonderful improvements come from Nocera’s recent discovery of several powerful, new, inexpensive catalysts．These catalysts make the energy change inside the leaf more efficient with water and sunlight．Right now, the new leaf is about 10 times more efficient at carrying out photosynthesis than a natural one．Besides, the machine can run in whatever water is available; that is, it doesn’t need pure water．This is important for some countries that don’t have enough pure water．

　　With the goal to “make each home its own power station” and “giving energy to the poor”, scientists believe that the new machine could be widely used in developing countries, especially in India and rural China．

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　　“But what if I break my arm again?” my 5-year-old daughter asked．I knew how much she wanted to learn to ride．Yet ever since she’d fallen off her bike and broken her arm, she’d been afraid．

　　“Oh honey,” I said．“I don’t think you’ll break another arm．”

　　“But I could, couldn’t I?”

　　“Yes,” I admitted, and found myself struggling for the right thing to say．“I don’t think I want to ride,” she said and got off her bike．

　　We walked away and sat down beside a tree．

　　“Don’t you want to ride with your friends?” I asked．“And I thought you were hoping to start riding your bike to school next year,” I added．

　　“I was,” she said in a low voice．

　　“You know, honey,” I said．“Most everything you do comes with dangers．You could break your arm at gymnastics．Do you want to stop going to the gym?” “No, of course not!” she replied．And with a determined spirit, she stood up and agreed to try again．I held on to the back of her bike until she found the courage to say, “Let’s go!”

　　I spent the rest of the afternoon at the park watching a very brave little girl overcome a fear, and congratulating myself for being an independent single parent．

　　As we walked home, pushing the bike as we made our way along the sidewalk, she asked me about a conversation she’d overheard me having with my mother the night before．

　　“Why were you and Grandma arguing last night?”

　　“It’s nothing．” I told her．

　　She shrugged(耸肩)．“Grandma said she just wanted you to find someone to love．”

　　“What Grandma wants is for some guy to break my heart again,” I snapped．

　　“But Mom…”

　　“You’re too young to understand．” I told her．

　　She was quiet for the next few minutes．Then she looked up and in a small voice said, “So I guess love isn’t like a broken arm．”

　　Unable to answer, we walked the rest of the way in silence．When I got home, I let go and agreed to meet a man called Steve．

　　Steve was the man for me．We married less than a year later．It turned out my mother and my daughter were right．

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