阅读理解。

　　I’m seventeen．I had worked as a box boy at a supermarket in Los Angeles．People came to the counter and you put things in their bags for them and carried things to their cars．It was hard work．

　　While working, you wear a plate with your name on it．I once met someone I knew years ago．I remembered his name and said, “Mr．Castle, how are you?” We talked about this and that．As he left, he said, “It was nice talking to you, Brett．” I felt great, he remembered me．Then I looked down at my name plate．Oh no．He didn’t remember me at all, he just read the name plate．I wish I had put “Irving” down on my name plate．If he’d have said, “Oh yes, Irving, how could I forget you?” I’d have been ready for him．There’s nothing personal here．

　　The manager and everyone else who were a step above the box boys often shouted orders．One of these was：You couldn’t accept tips．Okay, I’m outside and I put the bags in the car．For a lot of people, the natural reaction is to take a quarter and give it to me．I’d say, “I’m sorry, I can’t．” They’d get angry．When you give someone a tip, you’re sort of being polite．You take a quarter and you put it in their hands and you expect them to say, “Oh, thanks a lot．” When you say, “I’m sorry, I can’t,” they feel a little put down．They say, “No one will know．” And they put it in your pocket．You say, “I really can’t．” It gets to a point where you almost have to hurt a person physically to prevent him from tipping you．It was not in agreement with the store’s belief in being friendly．Accepting tips was a friendly thing and made the customer feel good．I just couldn’t understand the strangeness of some people’s ideas．One lady actually put it in my pocket, got in the car, and drove away．I would have had to throw the quarter at her or eaten it or something．

　　I had decided that one year was enough．Some people needed the job to stay alive and fed．I guess I had the means and could afford to hate it and give it up．

阅读理解

　　Sometimes children do not do what their parents tell them to do．When this happens, a parent tries to help the child to do the right thing．When this does not work, the parent usually punishes the child．

　　There are many things that a parent can do．One thing that people have done is to spank the child．When a parent spanks a child, they will use their hand or a hard object to strike them on their bottom, which shows the child that they have done something wrong．

　　One parent remembers being spanked when he was a child．His parents used a wooden spoon．When he spanked his own children with his hand, he saw that he put a red mark on his child’s leg．He never did that again．

　　One problem with spanking is that it teaches the child to hit someone when they do not like what the other person is doing．Another problem with spanking is that the parent is usually angry and can hit the child too hard．Sometimes parents will use spanking for everything and not try other ways to get the child to do the right thing．

　　Many parents are not sure of what to do instead of spanking．Some people think that spanking is okay．Some think that the law lets them do it．The courts(法院)say that parents have the right to teach their children how to behave．

　　Other things should be tried before a parent decides to spank a child．Telling the child exactly what is wanted from them can be one thing．Giving a child more than one choice is another thing that can be tried．Getting down to the child’s level and using a more child-friendly way can help as well．

阅读理解

　　Saturday, March 24^th

　　We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Bangkok．This is our first trip to Thailand．All the different smells make us want to try the food．We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight．The hotel we are staying in is cheap, and very clean．We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to Chiang Mai in the North．

　　Tuesday, March 27^th

　　Bangkok is wonderful and surprising! The places are interesting．We visited the famous market which was on water, and saw a lot of fruits and vegetables．Everything is so colorful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai．We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days, and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai．

　　Friday, March 30^th

　　Our trip to Chiang Rai was long and boring．We visited a small village in the mountains．The village people here love the quiet life－no computers or phones．They are the kindest people I have ever met．

　　They always smile and say “hello”．Kathy and I can only speak a few words of Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness．I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year．

阅读理解

Pop music is the name for different forms of popular, commercial(商业)music．It had its beginning in the USA and became popular all over the world during the 1950s and 1960s．It is widely liked by the young people．The best known early form of pop music was “rock’ n’ roll”; another was “blues”．A more recent development is “folk-rock”．Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world; it has made the number of people for jazz become much smaller than it was in the 1950s and earlier, and it has now begun to rule musical stage productions．It’s a big industry．Much pop music is without artistic value, but the work of some pop singers, e．g．the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the groups like Floyd and Crosby, Stills and Nash, is on a higher musical level．And there is still a great interest in it today．Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world．

阅读理解

　　Human needs seem endless．When a hungry man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat, when a manager gets a new sports car, a big house and pleasure boats dance into view．

　　The many needs of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels．When there is money enough to satisfy one level of needs, another level appears．

　　The first and most basic level of needs involves food．Once this level is satisfied, the second level of needs, clothing and some sort of shelter, appears．By the end of World War Ⅱ, these needs were satisfied for a great majority of Americans．Then a third level appeared．It included such items as automobiles and new houses．

　　By 1957 or 1958 this third level of needs was fairly well satisfied．Then, in the late 1950s, a fourth level of needs appeared; the “life-enriching” level．While the other levels involve physical satisfaction, that is, the need in comfort, safety, and transportation, this level stresses mental needs for recognition, achievement, and happiness．It includes a variety of goods and services, many of which could be called “luxury” items．Among them are vacation trips, the best medical and dental care, and recreation．Also included here are fancy goods and the latest styles in clothing．

　　On the fourth level, a lot of money is spent on services, while on the first three levels more is spent on goods．Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of needs as their income increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?

　　A fifth level would probably involve needs that can be achieved best by community action．Consumers may be spending more on taxes to pay for government action against disease, ignorance, crime, and prejudice．After filling our stomachs, our clothes closets, our garages, our teeth, and our minds, we now may seek to ensure the health, safety, and leisure to enjoy more fully the good things on the first four levels．

阅读理解

　　The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper．Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的)when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree．Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy．"

　　The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty．He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all．I blew kisses into the box．They're all for you, Daddy．"

　　The father was crushed．He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness．

　　Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child．It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there．

　　In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God．There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this．

阅读理解

　　Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?

　　If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant．The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake．The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk．The fourth, who got hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope．The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs．The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan．

　　Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience．So if someone disagrees with you about a“simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours．

　　To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a“simple fact”, try this simple experiment．Get three large bowls．Put ice water in one．Put hot water in the second．Put lukewarm water in the third．Now put your left hand in the ice water．Put your right hand in the hot water．After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water．Your right hand will tell you the water is cold．Your left hand will tell you it’s hot!

阅读理解

　　Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day．“I was a clothes addict,” he jokes．“I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled．” Today David wears casual clothes－khaki pants and sports shirt－to the office．He hardly ever wears necktie．“I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable．”

　　More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States．The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual．In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday)．This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday．” “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing,” said business consultant Maisly Jones．

　　Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code．“A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code．” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes．In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale(士气)．Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productive．Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money．“Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said．“For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes．”

阅读理解

　　During the summer holidays there will be a revised schedule(时刻表)of services for the students．Changes for dining-room and library service hours and for bus schedules will be posted on the wall outside of the dining-hall．Weekly film and concert schedules, which are being arranged will be posted each Wednesday outside of the student club．

　　In the summer holidays, buses going to the town center will leave the main hall every hour on the half hour during the day．The dining-room will serve three meals a day from 7∶00 am to 7∶00 pm during the week and two meals from noon to 7∶00 pm on weekends．The library will continue its usual hours during the week, but have shorter hours on Saturdays and Sundays．The weekend hours are from noon to 5∶00 pm．

　　All students who want to use the library borrowing services must have a new summer card．This announcement will also appear in the next week’s student newspaper．

阅读理解

　　Here’s an unusual story：a diamond ring was recently found in an egg．The magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front of an audience of millions at CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala．Liu’s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China．

　　As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows．Countries he has performed in include the United States, Japan, South Korea and the UK．

　　Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’s love for magic．

　　Liu is known for his interaction(acting together)with his audiences．He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧)．

　　“It’s actually thinking, rather than one’s operation skills, that is more important to achieving a successful magic show．We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting．” Liu said．

　　Liu Qian’s success dates back to his childhood．Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old．At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield．

　　Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician．He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur(业余的)magician in his spare time．However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career．

　　To improve his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for passers-by, policemen and farmers．

　　“Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians．We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds,” Liu said．