阅读理解

　　As one comes to some crossroads, he or she sees a sign which says that drivers have to stop when they come to the main road ahead．At other crossroads, drivers have to go slow, but they do not actually have to stop unless, of course, there is something coming along the main road; and at still others, they do not have either to stop or to go slow, because they are themselves on the main road．

　　Mr．Williams, who was always a very careful driver, was driving home from work one evening when he came to a crossroad．It had a “SLOW” sign．He slowed down when he came to the main road, looked both ways to see that nothing was coming, and then drove across without stopping completely．

　　At once he heard a police whistle, so he pulled into the side of the road and stopped．A policeman walked over to him with a notebook and a pen in his hand and said, “You didn’t stop at that crossing．”

　　“But the sign there doesn't say ‘STOP’．” answered Mr．Williams, “It just says ‘SLOW’, and I did go slow．”

　　The policeman looked around him, and a look of surprise came over his face．Then he put his notebook and pen away, scratched his head and said, “Well, I’m in the wrong street!”

阅读理解

　　People tend to become more personal and hide less of themselves when using email．Researchers from Open University in Britain have found in a recent study that there are good reasons for this．

　　The team of researchers asked 83 pairs of students, all strangers to each other, to solve a problem．They had to discuss this question：If only five people in the world could be saved from a world disaster, who should they be? The pairs of students had to talk over the problem either face to face or by computers．Dr．Johnson said, “They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face．When the computers were fitted with cameras so that students could see each other, this limited the personal side of the conversation．”

　　Generally the information was not extremely personal．It was mainly about things such as where they went to school, or where they used to live．But some students discussed their love stories, and personal childhood experiences．

　　Dr．Johnson believes that emailing encourages people to focus on themselves．And when they do this, they become more open, especially if there are no cameras．“If you cannot see the other person, it becomes easier to talk about yourself．This is because you are not thinking what the other person is thinking of you．So emailing has become the modern way of talking．” said Dr．Johnson．However, this style of talking is not entirely new．“In the 19th century people started to use the ‘telegraph’ to communicate．Now the same kind of thing has happened and people ended up speaking more freely．”

　　Dr．Johnson thinks that e-mailers need to know about these effects of emailing, especially when they start work in a company．“If you don’t know about it, you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to．”

阅读理解

　　Few students would dream of getting a job as a shoe shiner working along the street．College students, in their own eyes and in the eyes of the public, are expected to get at least a proper job, if not working in a high-income or white-collar position．

　　Cai Yong’s decision to work as a shoe shiner shocked not only his parents, who had high hopes for him, but also his girlfriend．

　　“It is right for young graduates to be ambitious(有抱负的)．But they have to start in a solid and down-to-earth way,” Cai said．Cai is not alone in making such a choice．The company has got 12 college students in all．

　　“I come for the 800 yuan monthly pay,” said Xiao Ji, who is a student from Nanjing University．“I have grown up and no longer live on my parents,” he said．

　　“Working as shoe shiners can mean a bright future,” Cai said．

　　Not everyone can accept this job choice．Cai’s girlfriend left him because she felt ashamed to be with a shoe shiner, and Cai accepted the fact．“This is the price to be paid for a job,” he said．

　　A former shoe shiner, Zhong Haibo, from a medical college, believes it was a good training for the rest of his life．“There is nothing I can’t do after working as a shoe shiner,” Zhong said, meaning that such kind of experience in early life is helpful in a future job．

阅读理解

　　As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs．These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on．Once this value system is set up, it's not easy to change later in life．Financial experts say that every one also has their own belief of how to manage their money．According to our different values, experts put us in three categories．They are：the ant, the cricket and the snail．

　　The ant－works first

　　Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don't care about enjoying the moment．They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire．The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks(股票)with low risk．

　　The cricket－fun first

　　The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future．They even borrow money when they really want something．Many young people now belong to this group．These people have little savings．When they get old, they might have problems．They should learn to save and buy insurance(保险)．

　　The snail－lives under pressure

　　The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves．They take big long-term loans(贷款)from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses．They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford it．This can cause problems in the future．They should plan more carefully．

阅读理解

　　Beijing－A recent Chinese blockbuster(轰动的作品)“A World Without Thieves” is based on the experiences of a young migrant worker(民工)carrying 60,000 yuan on a train packed with thieves．But while the image of a warm-hearted but somewhat naive migrant worker may have made film fans chuckle, it’s a sure bet that most of China’s migrant workers are yet to step into a cinema to admire it．

　　“Forty yuan a ticket? I can’t afford it,” said Shen Jie, a migrant worker at a construction site in Dongzhimen, east Beijing．

　　Shen found it hard to remember when he last watched a film, or what it was about．“It must be 10 years ago,” he said．

　　Though they are the builders of the nation’s theaters and cinemas, a limited cultural life is common among China’s 120 million migrant workers．

　　Shen arrived from East China’s Zhejiang Province in1991．Life was better then; money seemed to come more easily．“Now, as more and more workers are rushing to the capital, it’s too hard to earn money, and none of us dare think about watching films,” he said．

　　For many like Shen, the dream is earning enough to pay for their children’s education so they can find jobs in the cities and say goodbye to the hardships of rural life forever．This drives them to work hard and save as much as possible．

　　With a monthly salary of less than 500 yuan, Shen has to send money home to his little son and silver-haired parents．

　　In Shen’s small dormitory, which he shares with seven other co-workers, there is a well-thumbed copy of a magazine published in 1998．

　　A recent survey by local media revealed that 80 percent of migrant workers spent their spare time sleeping and chatting because of exhaust and a lack of income．The same survey found that 47 percent of migrant workers have to work for more than 10 hours a day．Around 40 percent do not even possess a book, and nearly 60 percent say they are dissatisfied with their cultural life．

　　Like many of Shen’s co-workers, reading newspapers and hanging out in Beijing’s streets provide evening entertainment．

From China Daily

阅读理解

　　When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like：“If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right．” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”

　　Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered(遇到)to help me make the big choice in life．

　　About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer．The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months．My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’ code for preparing yourself to die．

　　I lived with that diagnosis all day．I was completely in despair．Later that evening, I had another biopsy(活组织检查)and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery．I had the surgery and I’m fine now．

　　This was the closest I’ve been to facing death．To tell the truth, no one wants to die．And yet death is the destination we all share．No one has ever escaped it．It clears out the old to make room for the new．Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away．

　　Your time is so limited that you shouldn’t waste it repeating someone else’s life．Don’t be trapped by dogma(教条)－which is living with the results of other people’s thinking．Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice．And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart．It somehow already knows what you truly want to become．Everything else is secondary．

阅读理解

　　If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh．There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech “Information Age” demands people who are flexible(灵活的)and who have good communication skills．

　　There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions．For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses．Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature(特点)of the kind of high speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in．

　　Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily．A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates．The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as “very important” by 92 percent of the companies．Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are．It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions．

　　Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don’ t regret their choice of study．

阅读理解

　　“Soon, you’re going to move it out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood．

　　One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for ＄1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door．

　　Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work．As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year．bushes must be pruned(剪枝)in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later．It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant．A big mistake．

　　Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes．The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing(施肥)have turned the little plant into a tall bush．The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves．

　　Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold：First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回)my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won．I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June．But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light．

　　Here I am faced with a painful small decision：To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses．Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow．

阅读理解

　　Pet owners are being encouraged to take their animals to work, a move scientists say can be good for productivity, workplace morale(士气), and the well-being of animals．

　　A study found that 25％ of Australian women would like to keep an office pet．Sue Chaseling of Petcare Information Service said the practice of keeping office pets was good both for the people and the pets．“On the pets’ side, they are not left on their own and won’t feel lonely and unhappy．” she said．A study of major US companies showed that 73％ found office pets beneficial, while 27％ experienced a drop in absenteeism(缺勤)．

　　Xarni Riggs has two cats walking around her Global Hair Salon in Paddington．“My customers love them．They are their favorites,” she said．“They are not troublesome．They know when to go and have a sleep in the sun．”

　　Little black BJ has spent nearly all his two years “working” at Punch Gallery in Balmain．Owner Iain Powell said he had had cats at the gallery for 15 years．“BJ often lies in the shop window and people walking past tap on the glass,” he said．

　　Ms Chaseling said cats were popular in service industries because they enabled a point of conversation．But she said owners had to make sure both their co-workers and the cats were comfortable．

　　The market is a concept．If you are growing tomatoes in your backyard for sale you are producing for the market．You might sell some to your neighbor and some to the local manager of the supermarket．But in either case, you are producing for the market．Your efforts are being directed by the market．If people stop buying tomatoes, you will stop producing them．

　　If you take care of a sick person to earn money, you are producing for the market．If your father is a steel worker or a truck driver or a doctor or a grocer, he is producing goods or service for the market．

　　When you spend your income, you are buying things from the market．You may spend money in stores, supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants．Still you are buying from the market．When the local grocer hires you to drive the delivery truck, he is buying your labor in the labor market．

　　The market may be something abstract(抽象的)．But for each person or business that is making and selling something, it is very concrete．If nobody buys your tomatoes, it won’t be long before you get the message．The market is telling you something．It is telling you that you are using energies and resources in doing something the market doesn’t want you to do．