About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way．Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter．Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!

　　There are different forms of color blindness．In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red．He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green．Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green．In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green － a strange world indeed．

　　Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain．In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”．These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors．There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark．They show us shape but no color．

　　Some insects have favorite colors．Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow．A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will．In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors．Yet we are lucky．With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night．One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us．

　　Television in the United States is free．To pay for programs, there are many advertisements．Often these advertisements are short plays with actors．The following television advertisement is like many others that Americans see daily．

　　We see a man and his wife at the breakfast table．They have been married for a long time．They are not speaking to each other．They haven’t spoken to each other at the breakfast table for years．The husband is reading his newspaper．We can’t see his face．The wife looks very bored as she pours a cup of coffee for him．Today, she is using a new kind of coffee for the first time．The husband picks up his cup．He isn’t very interested．He tastes his coffee．Suddenly he puts down his newspaper．Something is different, Can it be the coffee? He takes another taste．It’s wonderful．He smiles．He looks at his wife and says in amazement, “Doris, when did you cut your hair?” Doris is pleased．She answers, “Two months ago．” Doris asks, “Herbie, when did your hair begin to turn gray?” He replies，“A long time ago．” Doris says, “Oh, very handsome．” Now they aren’t bored anymore．Breakfast is different．Has a new kind of coffee changed their lives?

I want to tell you a story that changed my life many years ago．We were living in College Station, Texas and my wife and I were on our way home from Houston to Texas one Saturday morning．We decided to stop at a local restaurant to get something to eat since we had enough time．When we finished, we got back into our car and before I started it, we noticed a homeless man standing in front of the building．His clothes were worn and it looked as though he didn't have any money．It was cold and I'm sure he wanted something warm to drink; however, it was not this that moved(感动)me．A dog was also walking up to the front of the building．Being a dog owner, I knew that the dog was a mother, and that she had just had some pups(幼小动物)．She was hungry and weak and I felt bad for her．I knew if she didn't eat soon, she and her puppies would not live on．People walking by didn't even notice her．She was not as pretty and clean as most dogs, but she still deserved(值得)better．We still did not do anything, but someone else did．The homeless man, who I thought could not afford anything to eat, went back into the store and bought dog food with all of the money he had．

阅读理解

　　Every year, for Mom's birthday, Mother's Day, or Christmas, my dad goes out for presents．He gets her something he knows she would love to have, but Mom would never admit to it．He's a true handyman with tools and wood, so Mom has just about every type of shelving and other wooden furniture she needs in the house．Mom is an American flag fan．There are many patriotic(爱国的)things in Mom and Dad抯 house and they are proud to live in Texas．

　　My dad gets in a bad mood sometimes when things aren't going as planned, and he has a fairly short temper(脾气)with the family．He doesn't hit us, but he simply expresses his anger with words．Later, he is sorry for everything he has said to us, so he usually buys roses for Mom．

　　Mom is his number-one girl．June 1st of 2008 was their 23rd wedding anniversary(周年纪念), and I find that they have grown closer and closer, and in almost every one of those years, my dad has surprised me．Unlike a great number of fathers nowadays, my dad has never been bad to the family．He was a frequent drinker before he and my mom met, but now he drinks less．

　　Any time Mom needs him, he is there for her．My dad won't even allow a representative of any company on the phone being rude to my mom．He has even taught me how to deal with them, and also how to deal with my own difficulties．

阅读理解

　　When Albert Einstein was young, he was a quiet child who spent much of his time alone．He was slow to talk and had difficulty in learning to read．

　　When Albert was five years old, his father gave him a compass(指南针)．Albert was filled with wonder when he discovered that the compass needle(针)always pointed in the same direction－the north．He asked his father and uncle what caused the needle to move．

　　Their answers were difficult for Albert to understand．Yet he spent a lot of time thinking about them．He said later that he felt something must be behind things．

　　Albert did not like school．The German schools of that time were not pleasant．Students couldn抰 ask questions．Albert said he felt as if he were in prison．

　　One day Albert told his uncle Jacob how much he hated school, especially mathematics．His uncle told him to solve mathematical problems by pretending to be a policeman．"You are looking for someone," he said, "but you do not know who he is．Call him X．Find him by using your mathematical tools．"

　　Albert learned to love mathematics．He was studying the complex mathematics of calculus(微积分学)while all his friends were still studying simple mathematics．Instead of playing with friends he thought about things such as "What would happen if people could travel at the speed of light?"．

　　Albert wanted to teach mathematics and physics．He graduated with honors, but it was a pity that he could not get a teaching job．

阅读理解

　　Most people know that a wedding ring is symbolic of the bond(连结物)of love and commitment(承诺)between two people．But not everyone knows about the history behind this small yet powerful symbol．The history of the wedding ring goes back not just hundreds but thousands of years．No other currently practiced wedding tradition has been around as long．

　　The Egyptians were the first recorded civilization to use the wedding ring．In Egyptian hieroglyphics(象形文字)a circle represented eternity．Once a woman accepted the ring she became the “property” of the person who gave it to her and she was in a sense “his．” The first wedding ring could have been made of braided grass or hay(which would have been changed often), ivory, bone, or leather．Eventually, metal was used, but the first wedding bands were crude(未加工的)and rough．However, the sentiment(情感)remained the same-eternal commitment and love．

　　The Egyptians wore the wedding ring on the left hand because it was believed that a vein(静脉)in the left hand went straight to the heart．This tradition is still commonly practiced today in most parts of the world largely for practical purposes(most people are right handed．)It is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand．But there are some countries and groups which do not follow this tradition．In the Jewish faith, the wedding ring is put on the index finger．Roman Catholics traditionally wore their wedding band on the right hand, and in many countries and regions in Europe some people still follow this tradition．

　　It is interesting to note that in the long history of the wedding ring that it is only in the last century that men have begun to wear them．However, now both men and women show their love and commitment by exchanging rings on their wedding day．

　　Once you begin shopping for rings you may be amazed by the choices that await you．There are several different types of metals：traditional gold, white gold, platinum, and titanium．You can have an inscription(刻字)put on the inside of the band(镶边)if you like．Some people are even choosing a tattoo(刺花)band．The styles vary from a simple, yet elegant(优雅的)band to an elaborate(精致的)ring covered with jewels．If you do not buy the wedding and engagement rings as a set you will want to be sure the styles are compatible(一致的)．Choose carefully because this choice will need to stand the test of eternity．

阅读理解

　　A young man went to a town and worked there．He did not have a wife and a servant did the work in his house．

　　The young man liked laughing a lot．He nailed the servant's shoes to the floor on Monday, and then laughed, because he put his feet in them and fell down．The servant was not angry, but smiled．

　　Then the young man put brushes in his bed on Tuesday．The servant got into bed and hit the brushes with his feet．He was afraid．The young man laughed loudly again．Again the servant was not angry, but smiled．

　　Then on Wednesday the young man said to his servant, “You're a nice, kind man．I am not going to be unkind to you again．”

　　The servant smiled and said, “And I'm not going to put any more mud from the street in your coffee．”

阅读理解

　　Experience the newly opened Grand Canyon(大峡谷)West Skywalk in Colorado．Departing from Grand Canyon's South Rim by Airplane to Grand Canyon's West Rim, you will land and take a ground tour to the Skywalk!Walk on air for 70 feet over the edge of Grand Canyon West．

　　This Skywalk has been open since March 28, 2007．Daily visitorship to the Skywalk has been over 4,000 people．Please be patient to enjoy your moment on the Skywalk．

　　After you have experienced the one and only Grand Canyon Skywalk Glass Bridge, you will return to the Grand Canyon West Airport and take your Airplane for a flight back to the South Rim of the Canyon．This is a tour never to be forgotten as you will have walked on air over the Grand Canyon．

阅读理解

　　There are three branches of medicine．One is called "doctor medicine," or "scientific medicine．" Scientific doctors try to observe sicknesses, look for logical patterns, and then find out how the human body works．From there they figure out what treatments may work．This kind of medicine is believed to date from the 4th century BC．Although nowadays it is successful, in the ancient world this approach probably did not cure many patients．

　　A second kind of medicine is called "natural cures," or "folk medicine," in which less educated people try to cure sicknesses with various herbs．These folk healers also use observation and logic, but they are not so aware of it．They try things until they find something that seems to work, and then they keep doing that．Folk medicine flourished(繁荣)long before the development of scientific medicine and was more successful in ancient times than doctor medicine．

　　The third kind is called "health spas," or "faith healing．" Sometimes this may be as simple as touching the holy man and being immediately healed．Other times, a magician may make you a magic charm, or say a spell, to cure you．Some religious groups organize special healing shrines(圣坛)for the sick．In these places people rest, get plenty of sleep, eat healthy food, drink water instead of wine, and exercise in various ways．They also talk to the priests and pray to the gods．If you are feeling depressed or you have been working too hard, going to these places may be just the right thing to make you feel better．

阅读理解

　　Magic is believed to have begun with the Egyptians, in 1700 BC．A magician named Dedi of Dedsnefu was reported to have performed for the pharaoh, or the king．He was also known to have entertained the slaves who built the pyramids．The "Cups and Balls" trick which he was particularly good at is still performed by magicians all over the world today．

　　The ancient Greeks and Romans were also fascinated by the idea of magic．Actually, one of their main interests was the art of deception(欺骗)．This explains why at that time the priests(神父)even built magic devices into their temples．These devices made it possible for doors to open by themselves and wine to flow magically out of statues' mouths．This was done mainly to convince people that the priests were powerful．

　　Magic, however, was not well accepted before the 1800s．Magicians were thought of as freaks(怪物)and were only allowed to perform in a circus(马戏团)．It was in the 19th century that the magician Robert Houdin came along and changed people's views and attitudes about magic．It was also because of Robert Houdin that many magicians were able to add Dr．or MD to their names．Today magicians try hard to find new ways to show their practiced skills．Magic is now entertainment for families all over the world．