阅读理解

　　Doha：The World Trade Organization(WTO)finally opened its door on Saturday to China, advancing the country with the largest population on the planet into the open world market and send an active signal to slumping(不景气)global economy on the edge of a full-blown backwardness．

　　The Chinese delegation signed a membership protocol(协议书)with WTO yesterday．Under WTO rules China will become a full member 30 days after it reports the global trade body of the approval(批准)by President Jiang Zemin．

　　It took only minutes for WTO trade ministers to consider and then, on a basis of agreement, vote for a report of the China Working Party with an applause on Saturday evening．The moment came to the climax(高潮)when WTO conference chairman Youssef Hussain Kamal of Qatar knocked the table following resounding extended applause．The vote was a formality(形式，礼节), with China reaching the requested agreements with each of the trading partners necessary for the admittance．

　　Upon entering WTO, the Chinese delegation became the center of international media attention．The cameras of the news photographers flashed non-stop as Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng enjoyed a lasting applause．“China's entering WTO is not only the interests of China, but also the interests of all WTO members and good to the development of the multilateral(多国的)trading system ,” Shi said, “it will certainly have wide-reaching effect on China's economy and the world economy in the new century．”

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　　Long long ago, there was an old merchant who had three sons．“To which one shall I leave my fortune?” he wondered．“It must be to the cleverest son．But which one is the cleverest?”

　　He called his three sons to him．“Here is some money,” he told them, “you must each take one coin to buy something that will fill this room．Anyone who can do this shall have my fortune．”

　　“It is a big room,” said the eldest son．

　　“One coin will not buy very much,” said the second son．

　　But the youngest son said nothing．He stood and thought, and then he smiled, “Come, brothers,” he said, “let us go to the market．”

　　The eldest son bought straw with his coin．But one coin bought only a bit of straw．Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the straw covered only a corner of the room．

　　The second son bought sand with his coin．But one coin bought only a bit of sand．Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the sand covered only half of the floor．

　　“What did you buy?” the eldest son angrily asked the youngest son．“You don't have any straw．”

　　“Yes, what did you buy?” the second son asked angrily．“You don't have any sand．”

　　“I bought this,” said the youngest son．

　　“A candle！” cried his brothers．“What good is a candle?”

　　“Watch”, said the youngest son．

　　He lit the candle, and all at once the room was filled from wall to wall, from ceiling to floor．It was filled with light!

　　“Although you are the youngest, you are indeed the cleverest of my sons,” the old merchant said．

　　And that is how, the old merchant left his fortune to his youngest son, the one who could fill a room with light．

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　　There are some differences in replying to compliment between Chinese and Americans．Americans tend to accept the compliment while Chinese generally murmur(低语)some reply about not being worthy of the praise．Here are two examples．

　　A young Chinese woman in the U．S．was complimented for the lovely dress that she was wearing．“It’s graceful．The colors are so beautiful!” She was pleased but somewhat embarrassed．In typical Chinese fashion, she replied, “Oh, it’s just an ordinary dress that I bought in China．”

　　At a reception in an American college, a newly-arrived Chinese scholar was chatting with the hostess, who was an old friend．As an acquaintance(熟人)of hers came up, she said, “Ron, let me introduce Mr．Chen, an outstanding physicist and one of the nicest people I know．” Mr．Chen offered his hand to the newcomer but looked at his hostess and said with a smile, “Should I feel ashamed, or should I tell him you don’t really mean it?”

　　In both cases, the words of the Chinese conveyed a message quite different from what was intended．In the case of the Chinese woman, the reply could have meant that the one paying the compliment did not know what a really good dress is; otherwise, how could she get so excited about an ordinary dress? The implication(暗示)was that the American woman’s taste in clothing was questionable．In the second case, if Chen had not been smiling, he could have meant “You’re just saying that to be polite; you don’t really mean that．” So in one case, the person had poor judgment．In the other case, the hostess was not sincere．Quite a gap between intention and message!

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　　Camels are large animals living in dry areas．There are two species of camels：the Arabian camel with a single hump from the dry desert areas of West Asia, and the Bactrian camel with two humps from Central and East Asia．Camels are over 7 feet tall and weigh over 1,600 pounds．They will live up to 40 to 50 years．Most camels are domesticated(驯化)and fed by people．Camels are plant-eaters．

　　Camels are very strong animals with wide, padded feet．They have thick leathery pads on their knees and chest．Camels have nostrils(鼻孔)that can open and close, protecting them from the desert environment．Bushy eyebrows and two rows of long eyelashes protect their eyes from sand．Their mouth is extremely tough, allowing camels to eat thorny(带刺的)desert plants．Their widened feet help them move without sinking into the sand．Their thick coats reflect sunlight, and also protect them from the intense heat from desert sand．Their long legs help by keeping them further from the hot ground．

　　Camels can go without food and water for 3 to 4 days．They do not store water in their humps as is commonly believed．The humps are actually a container of fat．Camels are incredibly(难以置信)well-adapted to their environment．When conditions heat up, camels can increase their own body temperature, which prevents sweating and therefore water loss．They may not sweat at all during the day．

　　Camels are sometimes called “ships of the desert” because people ride them around the hot, dry deserts of the world．However, the number of camels is becoming smaller for various reasons．

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　　British scientists may have discovered the reason why red wine appears to protect the heart．They say natural chemicals found in red wine appear to protect against blocked blood vessels(血管)．The chemical substances are called poly-phenols(多酚)．They come from the outer covering of grapes．They are not present in other alcoholic drinks．

　　Researchers say their discovery explains why many people in southern Europe can eat fatty foods and still have a low risk of heart disease．People in France, for example, have lower rates of heart disease than Americans do．Yet the traditional French diet includes butter, cheese and other foods high in cholesterol(胆固醇)．This led the British scientists to examine another important part of the French diet－red wine．Several earlier studies have suggested that people who drink proper amounts of alcohol may reduce their risk of heart disease．

　　The British team experimented with cells from the blood vessels of cows．The scientists studied the effects of twenty-three kinds of red wine on the cow cells．They found that poly-phenols from all of the red wines stopped production of a protein called endothelin(内皮素)．This protein causes blood vessels to become smaller．Scientists believe endothelin is linked to hardening of the blood vessels, which is a cause of heart disease．

　　The scientists found that the decrease in endothelin levels was linked to the amount of poly-phenols in the wines．The British team performed similar experiments with two other kinds of wine, white and rose．These wines contain little or no poly-phenols because the grape skins are removed before the wine is made．White and rose wines had no effect on endothelin levels．

　　The scientists also studied the effect of non-alcoholic juice made from red grapes．They found that grape juice slowed the production of endothelin, but was much less effective than the red wines．

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　　Choosing the right university for you is a big decision with many factors to consider．The institution that you choose will not only be the one that ensures your academic goals, but it will also be where you will live, learn, play sports, socialize and work for several years．Therefore, before you start filling out those university application forms, take a step back and consider the many variables that affect the “fit” of a university to your unique personality and educational goals．Take a look at the following factors, and decide which ones mean the most to you．

　　Consider your educational goals．You will discover that different schools are more recognized or progressive in your chosen field of study than others．For this reason, talk to advisors, professionals in your field, or go to clubs organized by the alumni(校友)．When you check out school ranking for your major, you may find that your first choice is not really a match, while another fits perfectly．

　　Consider costs．It will be no surprise to you at this point that not all schools cost the same．Some of the more famous schools are so because they are difficult to get into and difficult to pay for．Don’t let this necessarily stop you．Just keep this consideration in mind as you narrow your list of potential schools．

　　Choosing a university should not be done only on reputation, but also take the academic programs and overall environment into consideration．Be aware that reputations are sometimes out of date or overstated, so first-hand experience is often beneficial．

　　Once you’ve identified the factors that are most important to you, you’ve taken the first steps towards making a successful choice．Make sure you pick a university that will serve your needs throughout your university career．

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　　When I was a girl of 16, I met a common boy who would make jokes at you and then you would run after him and his guys and beat them up(打闹)．After that first meeting, we kept on meeting and beating each other up at the fence．We would meet at the fence all the time and we were always together．I would tell him all my secrets．I found him easy to talk to and I could talk to him about everything．

　　In school we had separate friends．One day I told him that a guy I liked hurt me and broke my heart．He just comforted me and said everything would be okay．He gave me words of encouragement and helped me get over him．I was happy and thought of him as a real friend．But I knew that there was something else about him that I liked．I thought of it that night and figured it was just a kind of friend that I was feeling．All through high school and even through graduation we’re always together and of course I thought of it as being friends．But I knew deep inside that I really felt it differently．

　　On graduation night even though we had different dates to the dance I wanted to be with him．That night after everybody went home, I went to his house and wanted to tell him that I wanted to see him．Well, that night was my big chance and all I did was just sit there with him watching the stars and talking about what I was going to do and what he was going to do．I looked into his eyes and listened to him talk about what his dream was, and how he wanted to get married and settle down．He said how he wanted to be rich and successful．All I could do was to tell him my dream and sit next to him．I went home hurting because I didn’t tell him how I was feeling．

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　　Joan Chen is famous both in China, where she grew up, and in the United States，where she now lives．How did Joan become a famous actress in two countries? It’s an interesting story．

　　Joan Chen was born in Shanghai in 1961．When she was 14, some people from a film studio(制片厂)came to her school and chose her to study at the studio．She was happy about this chance, but mainly she liked the idea of getting out of school．Soon, however she discovered that she really liked acting．At age 18, she won the Golden Rooster, China's top film prize．

　　In the late 1970s, Joan's parents, who were doctors, moved to the United States．Joan joined them when she was 20 and went to college there．Her parents hoped she would study medicine．Instead, she majored in film and later looked for work as an actress．To work in the United States, Joan had to start all over again．She told Hollywood that she was an actress in China, but she only got some small parts in TV shows．

　　One day Joan went to speak to a director who was making a movie called Tai - pan．The interview didn't go well．As she walked away, a man in a car noticed her．The man was Dino DeLaurntiis, the film’s producer．He immediately offered her a leading part．A year later, she started in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor and was on her way to worldwide fame．

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　　One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of ：a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking．Nothing would settle him down．Guessing that I would have a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable(便携式)TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill off the hours till dawn．To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right now, his little eyes focused brightly on the tube．Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then walked out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's forty-fifth birthday．

　　My wife and I heard no more of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself．I found in my baby's a metaphor(启示)for the new generation．My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them．When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable．And so it is in the schools．We find that our students don't read, that they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it．All they want to do is watching TV．

　　After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion：“Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight it? Let them watch it all they want!

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There are many commonly held beliefs about eyeglasses and eyesight that are not proved facts．For example, some people believe that wearing glasses too soon weaken the eyes．But there is nothing to show that the structure(结构)of eyes is changed by wearing galsses at a young age．Wearing the wrong galsses, however, can prove harmful．Studies show that only children can develop loss of sihgt if they have the wrong glasses．We have all heard some of the common myths(荒诞的说法)about how eyesight get bad．Too little light makes the eyes work harder, so they do get tired and strained(过劳)．Eyestrain also resulsts from reading a lot, reading in bed, and watching too much television．But, although eyestrain may cause some pain or headaches, it does not harm eyesight all the time．Another myth about eyes is that they can be replaced from one person to another．It is quite difficult to connect aneyeball to a new brain．And it is impossible to replace a whole eyeball to a new person．Only certain parts of the eye can be replaced now．But if we keep clearing up the myths and learning more about the eyes, some day it may be possible to replace a full eyeball．