The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today．

　　Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary．After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready．

　　As she walked slowly to the elevator, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets that had been hung on her window．“I love it,” she said with the happiness of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy．

　　“Mrs．Jones, you haven’t seen the room…just wait．”

　　“That doesn’t matter,” she replied．“Happiness is something you decide ahead of time．Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged．It’s how I arranged my mind．I have already decided to love it．It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up．Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away．” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account．You take what you’ve put in．So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories．Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank．” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones．”

　　Mrs．Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108．

阅读理解

　　Remember that people on line may not be who they seem, because you can't see or even hear the person．It would be easy for someone to misrepresent himself/herself．Thus someone who says that “she is a 12-year-old girl．” could really be an old man．

　　Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone．You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs．This sport gives your body a complete workout．When you climb, both your mind and your body can become stronger．

　　According to a report published on the British medical magazine, The Lancet, a study of 10 German mobile phone users found that when they turned on their phones, their blood pressure goes up by 5－10 millimeters of mercury(水银柱)．

阅读理解

　　Have you ever stayed up late? If so, you know that not getting enough sleep can make you tried and grumpy．Not sleeping enough sleep can also make it harder to think clearly the next day．

　　Sleep scientists have long known that getting a good night’s sleep is very important．It helps kids be able to do their best during the day．

　　A recent study shows that sleep helps improve problem-solving skills and creative(创造性的)thinking．For the study, two groups of students answered a math problem．The group that slept for eight hours solved the problem correctly more often than the group that did not get enough sleep．

　　While you sleep at night, your brain is busy doing its “homework”．It sorts out(整理)all the information that you get in the day．Getting enough sleep each night can improve your thinking ability．That will surely help you do your best at school．Experts say that, in return, can lead to better grades．

阅读理解

　　Algae(水藻)are very simple plants．They grow in fresh water or salty water．Seaweed is algae that grow in salty water．Seaweed is red or brown in color．The Japanese people use these plants from the sea in many ways．From it, they make a food called Kombu．Kombu is seaweed that has been dried, cooked and pressed together．Then it is dried again and cut into long pieces．The Japanese eat a lot of Kombu and like it very much．

　　Japanese farmers often use seaweed as fertilizer．It makes their plants grow better．Many farmers also find seaweed makes a fine food for their animals．

　　From seaweed the Japanese also get iodine(碘), which they sell to other countries．Iodine is used in many ways all over the world．It is used in making medicine．It is added to the salt we use at the table．Scientists even use one form of iodine to “seed clouds” when they want rain to fall．

阅读理解

　　“Experience may possibly be the best teacher, but it is not a particular good teacher．” You might think that Winston Churchill or perhaps Mark Twain spoke those words, but they actually come from James March, a professor at Stanford University and a pioneer in the field of organization decision making．For years March(possibly be wisest philosopher of management)has studied how humans think and act, and he continues to do so in his new book The Ambiguities of Experience．

　　He begins by reminding us of just how firmly we have been sticking to the idea of experiential learning ：“Experience is respected；experience is sought；experience is explained．”The problem is that learning from experience involves(涉及)serious complications(复杂化)，ones that are part of the nature of experience itself and which March discusses in the body of this book．

　　In one interesting part of book，for example，he turns a doubtful eye toward the use of stories as the most effective way of experiential learning．He says “The more accurately(精确的)reality is presented，the less understandable the story，and the more understandable the story, the less realistic it is．”

　　Besides being a broadly knowledgeable researcher．March is also a poet, and his gift shines through in the depth of views he offers and the simple language he uses．Though the book is short, it is demanding．Don’t pick it up looking for quick, easy lessons．Rather, be ready to think deeply about learning from experience in work and life．

阅读理解

　　Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers．Brain-computer interface(BCI)technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines．

　　Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic school in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated(展示)a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts．

　　In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand．He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts．

　　“Our brain has billions of nerve cells．These send signals through the spinal cord(脊髓)to the muscles to give us the ability to move．But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles,” Tavella says．“Our system allows disabled people to communicate with outside world and also to control devices．”

　　The researchers designed a special cap for the user．This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮)and sends them to a computer．The computer translates the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair．The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path．They help the computer react to commands from the brain．

　　Prof．Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that translates brain signals and turns them into simple commands．“The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories： communication, and controlling devices．One example is this wheelchair．”

　　He says his team has set two goals．One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from．And the other is to make sure that they can use the technology over long periods of time．

阅读理解

　　Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked．

　　Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup(基因构成)as human beings．What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival．Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible．

　　Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for．Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger．With knowledge, we can lessen its effects．

　　Exploration also allows minerals and other potential(潜在的)resources to be found．Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later．Resources may be more than physical possessions．Knowledge or techniques have been gained through exploration．The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives．We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems．Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products(副产品)of technological developments in the space industry!

　　While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us．While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers．The danger exists, but knowledge can help human being to survive．Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist．

　　While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets．It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future．

阅读理解

Winners Club

　　You choose to be a winner!

　　The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers．It has been made to help you better manage your money．The Winners Club is a transaction account(交易账户)where you receive a key－card so you can get to your money 24/7－that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

　　It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers：

　　●No account keeping fees!

　　You’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees．In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!

　　●Excellent interest rates!

　　You want your money to grow．The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits(储蓄)without taking them out in a month．

　　●Convenient

　　Teenagers are busy－we get that．You may never need to come to a bank at all．With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet … You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account．This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part – time job!

　　●Mega magazine included

　　Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money．There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members．

　　The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers．And it is so easy to join．Simply fill in an application form．You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian(so we can organize that cool key – card)but it is easy．We can’t want to hear from you．It’s the best way to choose to be a winner!