阅读理解

　　Teach children basic safety around dogs and review regularly：

　　·Do not approach an unfamiliar dog．

　　·Do not run near a dog or scream．

　　·Remain still when approached by an unfamiliar dog．

　　·If you are knocked over by a dog, lie still and hold your breath．

　　·Do you play with a dog unless watched by an adult．

　　·Immediately report stray(流浪的)dogs, or dogs displaying unusual behavior to an adult．

　　·Avoid direct eye contact with a dog．

　　·Do not disturb a dog who is sleeping, eating, or caring for baby dogs．

　　·Do not pet a dog without allowing it to see sniff you first．

　　·If bitten, immediately report the bite to an adult．

　　A study on fatal dog bites lists the breeds(品种)involved in fatal attacks over 20 years．It does not find specific breeds that are most likely to bite or kill．Each year, 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs．These bites result in about 12 deaths every year：about 0.0002 percent of the total number of people bitten．These few deaths offer little information about breeds involved in dogs of a particular breed, and no way to determine which breeds are more likely to bite or kill．

　　Many practical alternatives hold promise for preventing dog bites．For prevention ideas and model policies for the control of dangerous dogs, please see the American Veterinary Medical Association Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human – Canine Interaction：a community approach to dog bite prevention．

阅读理解

The CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs’ story about death

　　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 33 years, 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 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 examination 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

　　All young people dream of travelling the world．They are restless and very eager to see new sights．However, they have little idea how they would really do it if given the chance．Because their knowledge of geography is quite limited, they seldom know much about the places they wish to visit or how they would get there．

　　Already hundreds of thousands of Chinese student tourists are visiting these places-Wuyi, Lhasa, Lijiang, Dali, Vientiane and Phnom Penh．Indeed, these students will soon be the most travelled generation in China's long history．The World Tourist Organization predicts that a quarter of a century from now the number of Chinese tourists going abroad will be twenty times what it is today．The largest percentage of these tourists will visit Southeast Asia．Not all Chinese who travel abroad will be tourists, however．More and more youths are deciding to volunteer their skills in this region; much like their peers in th-e Peace Corps and VSO．

　　Critical thinking skills required include planning for a trip and solving problems after the trip has begun．The focus is on how to read an atlas(地图集)to make travel plans and how to find ways of travelling．An atlas offers a wealth of information about geography and is one way to increase students' awareness of their global environment．Use of an atlas especially addresses the needs of students with different visual and spatial(空间的)learning styles．

阅读理解

　　How hard we have all prayed(祈祷)to grow up quickly, and looked forward to the happy days of being a grown-up and enjoying the many interests that a youth should have．

　　At last, you have grown up．At least you are no longer a child．They call you “young lady”．You then enjoy the pleasure of being a young lady．You are proud of being a grown-up teenager．People welcome you-this young lady-heartily．You are glad that your prayer has been answered．

　　But there is always something that troubles you a lot．You say; “Papa and Mama, give me some money please．My pocket money is all gone already．”

　　“No”, they say, “your age is a dangerous age．If you have too much money to spend, it won't do you any good．” Then you have to stay at home because you dare not go out with an empty pocket．

　　Another time you tell your grandma, “Grandma, see, I am a grown-up now．”

　　“Good, now, you can sit here and knit(编织)this for me while I go and have a rest．” To show that you are no more a child, you have to sit there the whole afternoon doing the work, which only a grown-up can do．After an hour, you find it hard to do, and give the knitting basket back to your grandma．Your grandma criticizes your work．You hear what she says, “Such a big girl can't do such easy work．” You wish then you were a child again．

　　But the fact is, you are growing up, and you can't help it．That's the way it goes!

阅读理解

　　Fluency(流利)in another language is one of the most important aims of a newcomer to another country．In addition, understanding the culture and learning to communicate comfortably with people of that culture are as important as learning the rules of the language．Language learning and culture learning go together and may take a long time．

　　Sometimes people feel that they understand a culture after a few weeks or months．People do learn a lot when they first begin living in another culture, but this is only the first stage of learning．It usually involves(含包)things like learning everyday activities and some basic customs．

　　To really understand another culture, people have to go beyond the first stage, This is challenge because it is often difficult to know what to learn．Much of what we call “culture” is hard to see．

　　Culture is like an iceberg．Picture in your mind a huge iceberg in the ocean．The only part of the iceberg that you see is the tip．You don't see the rest of the iceberg because it is hidden from sight in the water．It is easy to forget that it is there．Most of the iceberg is deep within the ocean, just as much of a culture is deep within its people．

　　When you meet someone from another culture， certain culture differences are obvious：You hear another language or you hear your own language spoken with an accent．You see different foods, clothes and sometimes physical characteristics of people．You observe new customs or habits, such as the use of chopsticks, and, bowing or kissing on both cheeks as a greeting．These differences are interesting and important, but they are usually not too difficult to understand．They are visible so they are seen easily and quickly．

　　The part of culture that is like the underwater part of the iceberg consists of assumptions(设想), communication styles, values, and beliefs about what is right and wrong．The hidden part of culture affects much of a person's way of thinking and communicating．It is the meaning behind his or her verbal(言语的)and nonverbal language．Learning to communicate well with people from another culture involves becoming aware of the hidden part of culture．

阅读理解

　　My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn't know．How wrong we were!Years of Sunday-morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking．Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation：where's the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings?Here she comes．Her worn clothing suggests she doesn't have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver．

　　We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand．When they get off, they're still holding hands．The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she'd delivered the child．We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family．

　　For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus．Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant．We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone．It was the woman from the bus．

　　We greeted her with friendly familiarity we'd shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile．When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly from her lips．All at once we realized why she hadn't spoken to us before．Talking was hard for her．

　　Over dinner; we learned the stay of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home．She missed him desperately, she explained．

　　“I love him…and he loves me, even though he doesn't express it very well,” she murmured．“Lots of us have that problem, don't we?We don't say what we want to say, what we should be saying．And that's not good enough．”The candles flared on our tables．Our fish had never tasted better．But the atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends－we shared names．

阅读理解

　　People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions－and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why．

　　Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly(均匀的)across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes．

　　"We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions," Jack said．"Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect(忽略)the mouth．"

　　According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed．As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations．

　　The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories：happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral．They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies．

　　It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did．"The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions," Jack said．"Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less．"

　　In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion．From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion．Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation．

阅读理解

　　When I first got an e-mail account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues．Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisements and other correspondence that do not interest me at all．If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need specific laws that make spamming(发送垃圾邮件)a crime．

　　If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse．Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly．As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual(个人的)e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails．Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?

　　This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well．Many spam e-mails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company．Companies rely on e-mail for their employees to communicate with each other．Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively．Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks．These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passes on to the consumer．

　　For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate(立法)against spam．Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people．E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience．

阅读理解

　　China’s government has been trying all measures to reduce pollution in the past few years．Now people can enjoy a fresh environment everywhere．The following two graphs are adopted from the column of “City Information” on the webpage of Beijing Review．

　　Notes：

　　*API stands for Air Pollution Index(指数)．

　　*Particulate matter(PM10)is a major component of air pollution that threatens both our health and our environment．It consists of very small liquid and solid particles floating in the air．

　　*Sulfur dioxide(SO₂)acts as an acid．Inhalation(吸入)results in labored breathing, coughing, or a sore throat and may cause permanent lung damage．

阅读理解

　　It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh．Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him．He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence．He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day．As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday－which burnt him like fire．

　　He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom．At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind．He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness．

　　Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight－munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along．Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat．

　　“Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”

　　No answer．Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result．Ben came nearer．Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence．

　　Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”

　　Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you．”

　　“I’m going swimming,” Ben said．“Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?”

　　Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?”

　　“Isn’t that work?”

　　Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t．All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer．”

　　“Do you mean that you enjoy it?”

　　“I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it．”

　　“Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom．

　　Ben stopped munching his apple．

　　Tom moved his brush back and forth－stepped back to note the effect－added a little paint here and there．Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1．After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little．”

　　Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect．If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it．But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it．It has to be done right．”

　　“Oh, come on, let me try．I’ll be careful．Listen, Tom．I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint．”

　　“No, Ben, I’m afraid－”

　　“I’ll give you all the apple!”

　　Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart．While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys．

　　Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint．By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it．If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village．

　　Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all．He had discovered a great law of human action：in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain．