阅读理解

阅读理解

　　If you've been joining in chat room conversations, or trading e－mail with net pals(网友), you have become one of the millions who write in a special, short form of English．

　　Throughout the world, every night children and their elders are “talking” online－many of them are talking at the same time．

　　It's fast：trying talking to six people once．It's convenient：three or four words per exchange．It takes cleverness, concentration and quick fingers．

　　And it requires very simple language．There's neither time nor space for explanations．Why waste valuable time telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB(＝be right back)will do?

　　Want to enter a conversation?Just type PMFJI(＝pardon me for jumping in)．

　　Interested in whom you're talking to?Type A/S/L, the common request to know your pal's age, sex and location．You may get 15/M/NY as a reply from your pal．

　　If something makes you laugh, say you're OTF(＝on the floor), or LOL(＝laughing out loud), or join the two into ROTFL(＝rolling on the floor laughing)．

　　And when it's time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG(＝got to go)or TTYL(＝talk to you later)．

　　People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can．Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing feeling, as it takes more time to hold down the “shift” key and use capitals．Punctuation(标点)is going too．

阅读理解

　　Everyone knows you must exercise regularly to keep good health．Indeed, staying physically fit is a big part of our culture, we consider(or rightly so)that healthy people are attractive people．Since most of us want to be attractive, there is no shortage of exercise clubs, training videos, magazines and books offering to help us stay physically fit．

　　Unfortunately, however, our culture doesn't place the same emphasis(重视)on mental fitness．Although we tend to like men and women with strong, healthy－looking bodies, we don't have the same degree of respect or attraction for smart, educated, mentally healthy people．This is a pity, because there are great rewards for people who have developed the ability to think well．

　　If your mind is well trained and flexible(灵活的), you will be able to understand a great deal of what happens around you．And if you are also well educated－that is, if you understand basic science, mathematics, music, art, literature, history and so on－you will find it much easier to make good decisions throughout your life．Over the long run, this leads to a sense of control over your destiny(命运)and a much better life than otherwise(in another way)．

　　People who are poorly educated or who don't think well－that is, people who are not mentally fit－see things differently．Their world is controlled by mysterious, often malevolent(恶意的)forces．Such people live within a system they will never master, forced to follow rules they will never understand．Although it may not be obvious, most spend their lives being manipulated(控制)by others．They are told what to do, what to think, how to spend their money, and what they should and should not aspire(渴望)to in life．

　　In my opinion, if you want to live well, you must be able to use your mind well．For this reason, I want you to be able to concentrate, to solve problems, to understand complex ideas, and to think clearly and quickly．Such skills will make it easier for you to make informed decisions, understand current events, choose good friends, manage your money well, make wise long－term decisions and appreciate music, art and literature．

　　The key to developing such skills is to enjoy learning, and to have the ability and motivation to teach yourself．

阅读理解

　　It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp(军营)．It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around．Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers．But it was difficult for the young men to go outside．Mr．White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp．

　　Once Mr．White was ill in bed．He couldn't work and a young officer, Mr．Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him．He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday．But night fell and none came back to the camp．He was worried about it and stood at the gate．It was five to twelve when Mr．Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening to the young men．He started the car quickly and set off．At that moment the nine soldiers came back．It seemed they drank wine．Of course they found the officer was angry．

　　“I'm sorry, sir,” said the first soldier．“I left the town on time．But something was wrong with my bus on my way here．I had to buy a horse and made it run fast．Bad luck!It died and I had to run back．”

　　And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons．It was the last soldier's turn．He said, “I'm sorry, sir．I got on a bus on time, but…”

　　Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once．He called out, “If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!”

　　“No, no, sir,” said the young man．“My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!”

阅读理解

　　“I don't like my parents．They always tell me I should do this, and should not do that．It sometimes makes me angry,” said Li Ping, a middle school student in Hunan．Do you have the same problem?Perhaps your parents had the same problem when they were your age long ago．Why does it seem that some parents are not so friendly in their children's eyes?

　　One of the biggest things is when someone becomes a parent, he/she likes worrying things．They worry about everything about you, from the time you were born．They do a lot for you, though something would make you angry, because they care about you and worry about you．They worry about your choice of friends, the food you eat, your work at school, how much sleep you get, etc．All these things are part of your life．They want you to grow up healthily and happily．

　　So how can you make things easier on yourself?It's easier than you think．Just make sure your parents know what you're doing．Get them to know your friends．Phone if you stay somewhere else so that your parents don't call every hospital in the phone book looking for your body．Say sorry to them when you make mistakes．Take responsibility(责任)for what you have done．Talk about your ideas with them．They may talk about theirs with you．

　　Most of all, try to think about why your parents do this or do that．They are still practicing being parents and need help you can give them．Someday, when you become a parent, they may be able to help you know how to get on with your children．

阅读理解

　　Among the seven wonders of the ancient architectural(建筑方面的)world, the pyramids in Egypt are the only ones still standing．

　　For 1,000 years, they were the tallest buildings in the world．Built with prehistoric technology, they were an architectural mystery, as strange as the Sphinx(狮身人面像)．

　　No one really knows how they were built．The first historical record, by the Greek writer Heroditus, came 2,000 years later．Without hard facts, there have been many theories．

　　Hollywood has mostly followed the examples from the Greek record：100,000 slaves worked hard for 20 years．Others believe a very large slope snaked around the pyramids．An American recently put forward the theory that kites could have lifted the 2-ton stones．

　　Now Houdin, a French architect, says that after studying the pyramids for eight years, he has solved the mystery with the help of 3-D computer animation(三维动画)．He believes the pyramids were built from the inside out through an internal slope that goes around a central point．“This is completely new．Everyone before me thought that the pyramids were built from the outside, and only from the outside,” he said．

　　Scholars of ancient Egypt are interested．“It’s a theory which sounds reasonable．Scholars of ancient Egypt agree it ought to be tested, and it doesn’t cause damage, so I wouldn’t be surprised that within a year, we have the final answer,” said Bob Brier, a scholar at Long Island University．

　　If that is the case, we’ll know the truth about the pyramids in the blink of an eye, considering this mystery has lasted for nearly 5,000 years．

阅读理解

　　We recently read a report on China’s environmental problems, based on reports from Singapore’s Straits Times．There was one statistic that shocked us．Environmental experts claim that without some great change, pollution might, within five years, make the Yangtze River just about unsuitable for all forms of life to live in．The baiji, or the Yangtze River dolphin, was only the latest victim．According to the first report, in the 1980s there were 126 forms of life in the river, and by 2002, that figure was already down to 52．

　　Just how bad is the situation? The Yangtze River flows by 186 cities on its way from Qinghai to Shanghai, and in the process picks up 40％ of China’s polluted waste water．According to another report, in 2006, China produced a total of 53．7 billion tons of waste water．But that’s not the worst news．By 2030, China might possibly use up between 89-100％ of its sources of drinking water．

　　All of this begs a deeper question：What kind of water are they using when they pump 10 kilos of water into pigs headed for the slaughterhouse(屠宰场)? This is an important question because if its waste water is not fit for human to drink, there’s a chance that some of whatever was in that water was in the pork you had for lunch today．And if the water is safe to drink, that’s a waste of perfectly good water．

　　Another report we read, related to the Taihu algae(水藻)blooming that has left 3 million people in the Wuxi area without drinking water, claims(quite believably)that Taihu’s environmental problems will never end until all the factories along the lake close down．The algae bloom is so bad there that lots of people have to take the algae out of the lake all day long instead of fishing．

阅读理解

　　Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another．Choice, we are given to believe, is a right．But for a good many people in the world, in rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury(奢侈), something wonderful but hard to get, not a right．And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertisers hoping to sell their products．

　　The endless choice gives birth to anxiety(焦虑)in people’s lives．Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple．Easy access to a wide range(范围)of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item(商品)that is not really wanted．Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods bought in almost every family are not really needed．More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the professionals, lifestyle instructors, or advisors．

　　It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market．Advances in design and production help quicken the process．Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time．The typical example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought．This indeed makes selection a problem．Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety．

阅读理解

　　The keys to reaching or staying at a healthy weight are regular exercise and good eating habits．Teens should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day．Note the word “activity”．As long as you’re getting your body moving, it doesn’t have to mean doing difficult exercises or going to the sports hall every day．All that matters is that each week you get the right balance of activity, including aerobics(有氧运动), strength building, and flexibility(柔韧)exercise．Make exercise a habit by arranging some time every day．

　　On days when you have soccer practice or an aerobics class, you may have no trouble exercising for an hour or more．But most of us are busy, and 60 minutes a day for exercise seems like a lot of time．The good news is that it’s OK to divide it into shorter exercise breaks throughout the day．

　　Just as you might have a healthy snack to stop yourself from getting hungry, exercise snacks can keep energy levels high．So get up 15 minutes early and do some stretching(伸展)activity．Walk fast or run slowly for 15 minutes after lunch．Do the same thing after school－or walk or bike home．Add to that taking the stairs, PE class, and walking between classes during the day, and you’ve probably reached your 60 minutes．

　　Here are five simple ways to make an exercise lifestyle change：

　　1)Start today．Go outside for a walk．

　　2)Take the stairs instead of the elevator(电梯)．

　　3)Instead of driving, walk or bike to places like school or a friend’s house．

　　4)Clean your room or wash your car．It’s an exercise opportunity!

　　5)Limit your time watching TV, using the computer, or playing video games．When you do play, try the games that get you moving．

阅读理解

　　A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package：What food might it contain?He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!

　　Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse declared the warning, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house．”

　　The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr Mouse, I can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me, I cannot be bothered by it．”

　　The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house．”“I am so sorry, Mr Mouse,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are in my prayers．”

　　The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, “A mouse trap, am I in grave danger, huh?”

　　So the mouse returned to the house, headed down and depressed to face the farmer's mouse trap alone．

　　That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey．The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught．In the darkness, she did not see that it was an evil snake whose tail the trap had caught．The snake bit the farmer's wife．The farmer rushed her to the hospital．She returned home with a fever．Now everyone knew to treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient．His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock．To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig．The farmer's wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral．The farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat．

　　So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk．