阅读理解

　　Beginning college is exciting：new ideas to explore, new challenges to be met and many decisions to be made．Your future begins here．

　　However, you will find college life is different from your previous school environment．Many of us can be easily overwhelmed(压垮)by the details of running a well-balanced life．While some of us may have the know-how, I guess there are more of us who can benefit from learning about the experiences of other who have walked the college halls before you．

　　The following you may find of use about life on campus．

　　Plan well．There are so many new things to do at a new college or university, social and academic(学术的)．Give yourself time to make new friends and become familiar with the campus, but don’t forget why you are there．Give some time for social activities and manage your time wisely．

　　If you don’t have a “system” for planning your time now(like a day time, a computer date book), get one．Most of all, don’t depend on your memory．

　　Don’t miss the guidelines, restrictions, rules and regulations of all kinds can usually be found in your student handbook．Consider them well-balanced food for thought．What dates are important? What pieces of paper need to be handed in? What can/can’t you do in your student residence(住处)? Who has authority for what? What do you need to complete to graduate?

　　Write the word “STUDY” on the walls of our bedroom and bathroom, and maybe it will help to write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the telephone, TV and the kitchen table．Consider this－you are paying thousands of dollars for courses．You pay every time you have to repeat or replace a course．

阅读理解

　　A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it clear getting back her pet was more important than her car．

　　“Whoever did this can keep my car．Please let Benjerman come home,” the notice said．

　　It is not known whether the thief showed any pity, but almost 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday, Kimberly Atkins of Dover and Benjerman, a 12-year-old black retriever(猎犬), were reunited after police located them in Barrington．

　　“He’s hungry, he’s dirty, but he’s very happy to be home,” Atkins said．

　　The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy area frequented by off-the-road cars and dirt bikes．However, the police couldn’t control Benjerman, and they had to call Atkins to come and get him．

　　Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food．She believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy water in the area．

　　She said they have been together for nearly 11 years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas, Texas．

　　Before Benjerman was found, Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in Somersworth．They also contacted animal shelters throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts．

　　The notice stated there was a reward, and also that the dog needed medication．Any caller could remain anonymous(匿名的)．

　　Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet cleaner．

　　“It was 10 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjerman in broad daylight,” Atkins said．The car thief threw Atkins’ wallet and other personal items out of the car before escaping from the scene．

阅读理解

　　Recent studies suggest that family arrangements in Western societies have not changed as much in the last few centuries as is generally believed．Yet most sociologists agree that in modern societies, there are fewer opportunities for friendship and support from relatives．Parents and children often live apart from other relatives, and seldom visit them．Also, the family moves when a parent accepts a job in another place or when it decides to live in a better neighbourhood．Together, loneliness and mobility(迁移)force immediate family members to depend heavily on one another for affection and companionship．

　　Because the family is one of the few ongoing sources of affection and companionship in modern societies, a high percentage of people continue to marry, even though it is possible for a single man and woman to live together without marrying．On the other hand, because affection and companionship have become so important, families are more likely to break up if the husband’s or wife’s emotional(情感的)needs are not met within the family circle－even if all other family functions(功能)are being satisfactorily performed, and in this sense, affection and companionship have become the touchstone of the modern family．

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(形象)of a warm-hearted but somewhat naive migrant worker may have made film fans chuckle(偷着乐), 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(显示)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

　　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(蟋蟀)－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(蜗牛)－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

阅读理解

　　Few students would dream of getting a job as a shoe shiner(擦鞋匠)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

　　New rules will let millions of Americans know where more of their food comes from．The law is known as COOL－Country of Origin Labeling．

　　American Congress first passed the law in 2002．Stores have had to label seafood by country of origin since 2005．But industry pressure delayed other requirements until last week．

　　Products that must now be labeled include fresh fruits and vegetables, muscle meats and some kinds of nuts．But the rules are complex, and many foods are excluded．For example, organ meats are free to be labeled．So are processed foods, including cooked or smoked food．

　　The United States has imported more and more food in recent years to save money and expand choices．Country-of-origin labeling has become more common lately but has still been limited in many stores．

　　Food safety is one reason why some shoppers pay close attention to where foods came from．For example, when a large number of people recently got sick from salmonella(沙门菌病), officials blamed peppers from Mexico．Yet the last big food scare involved spinach(菠菜)grown in California．But labeling is also a way for people to know they are getting what they want．Some want to buy local foods or foods from a particular country．

　　The country-of-origin labeling law gives stores 30 days to correct any violations that are found．Stores and suppliers that are found to be deliberately violating the law could be fined 1000 dollars per violation．Federal inspectors are not to take action to enforce the law for six months to give time for an education campaign．

　　Some food safety activists say they are generally pleased with the law．They call it a good step that will give people more useful information．

阅读理解

　　Just 25 years ago, the top three career hopes for young people in Britain were teacher, banker and doctor．Now, they want to be sports star, pop star and actor, according to survey by the Guardian newspaper．

　　Rachel, a character in the popular TV show Glee, may be said to speak for British teenagers．“Nowadays being nobody is worse than being poor．” He said．

　　Emma Brockes, a reporter with the Guardian, believes it is “the bad influence of celebrity(名人)culture” that is to blame．“When children want to be doctor, it isn’t because they are really more interested in the functions of human organs; they go where the respect is．” She wrote．

　　It could explain why there has been such an increase in levels of anxiety and depression．Dr Carlo Stranger, of Tel Aviv University, studied the sense of self for his new book The Fear of Insignificance：Searching for Meaning in the 21^st Century．He told the Daily Mail that young people now are “affected by the close connection to the global entertainment network, which has turned ranking and rating people according to wealth and celebrity into an obsession(痴迷)．”

　　“As humans, we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a global village．We are comparing ourselves with the most ‘important’ people in the world and finding ourselves wanting,” he said．Today, even high achievers constantly fear that they are insignificant when they compare themselves to success stories in the media．

　　The way out? Simply stop measuring your achievement through a fantasy of wealth and celebrity．Dr Stranger said that it is a process called “active self-acceptance through a constant search for self-knowledge through life．”

　　“The fear of insignificance can only be overcome through strong individual and cultural identity over and above measurable achievement,” he said．

阅读理解

　　Pupils in Warwickshire will soon be learning Mandarin after new links were forged(建立联系)with a region in China．

　　Head teachers from the county spent a week in Shenzhen in South-east China, making links with schools and touring different education establishments．

　　Schools that took part are now looking to introduce Mandarin lessons．Pupils from schools in Warwickshire and Shenzhen are starting to write and e-mail each other and plans are being made to share lessons over the Internet．

　　The trip was arranged by Warwickshire County Council and funded by the British Council as the first stage of development of a range of ties with the economically booming city．

　　International development officer Judith Young said：“We are entering an exciting period of school relation between Warwickshire and Shenzhen．There is a real appetite for sharing ideas among the Chinese．We were able to see the differences and similarities between the education systems and there are many areas in which our schools, teachers and pupils will be able to benefit from a different cultural perspective(观点)and links with a country that is becoming very important on the world stage．Throughout the high profile(引人注目)visit led by our county education officer, Eric Wood, our group was made to feel very welcome and attracted a great deal of interest．Our visit to a primary school was featured as the main news item on television that night．A mark of how highly the visit was valued is that plans are being made for a return visit to Warwickshire of civic leaders, senior education officials and school principals．”