阅读理解

　　The aims of the Illustrators’(插图画家的)Exhibition, staged as part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, organized by BolognaFiere and held from 23to 26 December 2011,are to bring illustrators and publishers together and to promote illustrators and their works among publishers．

　　·Individual illustrators or groups of illustrators of any nationality, if they were born before 31^st December 1992, whose artwork is intended for use in children’s books, are qualified to enter the Exhibition, either directly or through publishing houses or schools．

　　·Please state in the application form whether you are entering work for the Fiction or Nonfiction Category．Illustrators may only enter one category．

　　·Artwork previously presented to the Exhibition may not be re-entered．

　　·The confirmation(确认)form must be filled in and a photograph attached, then presented together with illustrations no later than 15 October 2011．

　　Entries may be delivered by post, express delivery service or by hand．From abroad, please use the following forms：Form “A” for registered mail or post by air; Form “B” if using an international forwarding agent or airline．

　　To avoid delays, material should not be sent by normal post．Material should be sent “carriage　paid”, including any customs and delivery costs．

　　BolognaFiere may not be held responsible for the non-arrival or late arrival of artwork．all published works must be accompanied by a declaration bearing the ISBN number, publisher’s name and address．

　　The illustrations(i．e．the size of the sheet)must not exceed(超过)the following dimensions：

　　Fiction：32×42 cm(or 42×32 cm)

　　Non-fiction：50×70 cm(70×50cm)

　　Illustrations in larger formats will not be considered, nor will they be returned by BolognaFiere．The illustrations must be on paper or flexible board, maximum thickness 2mm(for scanner separation purposes)．

　　All artwork received by the stated deadline and meeting the specified requirements will be examined and selected by an international group(whose decision is final), including five members(from publishing house and art schools)appointed each year by BolognaFiere．

　　After the Bologna event, the Illustrators Exhibition will travel to Japan under the supervision of JBBY．The Illustrators Exhibition may afterwards be transferred to other venues(场馆)in other countries．The exhibitions of illustrations held abroad follow the same rules and regulations as the Illustrators Exhibition, and the provisions(条款)of the regulations are extended to the organizers of the exhibitions held abroad．

　　All the works will be returned to their owners by BolognaFiere or directly by the organizers of the exhibitions and held abroad by the end of July 2012．(442 words)

阅读理解

　　The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life．I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid．It was Carlos．

　　“My God, you’re tall,” he said．

　　Of course, the class began to laugh．Angry, I walked to my seat without a word．

　　I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest．That would be the last straw．But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else．I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend．Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I．Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington．

　　“Take that seat, ” Mr．McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room．

　　Carlos laughed widely．“But I need a couple of dictionaries．” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him．He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side．

　　The bell rang for classes．As I stood up to go, I saw Carlos coming toward me．“I’ sorry I embarrassed you,” he said．I looked straight head over the top of his black hair．“That’s all right．”

　　“I ought to know better．” He was still blocking my way．” What’s your name?” “Karen Forbes．” “You probably heard me say I’m Carlos Herrera．” He held out his hand．Unwillingly, I shook hands with him．He looked up at me seriously with his brown eyes．” “I don’t see why you’re so touchy．”

　　I brushed by him and said sharply, “You wouldn’t understand．”

　　He followed me a few steps．“I’m just the one who should, Karen,” he said．“ You and I have a lot in common．”

　　It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again．Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president．“How come?” I kept asking myself,” How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”

　　So that morning, I stopped Carlos and said, “It doesn’t seem to bother you－being short．” He looked up at me, “Of course I mind being short．But there isn’t anything I can do about it．When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself．” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is．” “The trouble with you is that you’re afraid to be yourself．You’re smart．And you could be pretty．In fact, you might be more than pretty．” I felt myself turning red…(501 words)

阅读理解

　　You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time．Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!

　　Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness．It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．

　　Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect．

　　When you communicate with positive people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首)of a negative person is put in you, you feel the heavy feeling that all in all, brings you down．

　　Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker, or a relative．In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible．Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person, but all this is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that．

　　Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着)you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible．(350 words)

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　　Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, made his first public appearance since going on medical leave six weeks ago, taking the stage at a San Francisco media event to introduce the iPad 2, the second generation of the company’s tablet computer．

　　Thin but energetic, Mr Jobs showed off a thinner iPad．“We’ve been working on this product for a while and I just didn’t want to miss this day,” he said．

　　His absence has concerned investors, especially since the group has given no details of his condition．He was diagnosed(确诊)with cancer in 2004 and had a liver transplant(肝脏移植)during almost six months of medical leave in 2009．People close to him said last month his health had been changing．

　　Apple’s stock(股票)rose more than 2 percent in the minutes after Mr Jobs began speaking, then gave up some of its gain as he detailed the iPad 2．

　　The device will go on sale in black and white versions in the US on March 11 and in 26 other countries, including the UK, Germany and Japan, on March 25．

　　Most of the improvements in the latest version had been expected, including a camera in the front and back for video conferencing, taking photos and videos．The iPad 2 is one-third thinner than the original tablet(平板电脑)and slightly lighter．In the US it will work with AT&T and Verizon, the top two mobile carriers．The pricing will be the same to the 2010 iPad at its introduction, ranging from ＄499 to ＄829 in six models．But Apple dropped prices on the older iPad on Wednesday by ＄100 across the board．

　　Apple has made the most of its year-long head start in tablets, selling 15,000,000 units of the older iPad last year and taking about 85 percent of the market．It is predicted that Apple’s fresher tablet would claim 80 percent of the US market this year, or 20,000,000 out of 24,000,000 total shipped(出货量)．

　　Motorola, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, Samsung and others have brought out competing tablets, many based on Google’s Android software．

　　Mr Jobs said the rest of the field was still catching up with the first iPad and their markets for applications designed for tablets had, at best, 100 small programs．This compares with 65,000 on Apple’s applications store．

阅读理解

　　Whether you are just getting ready to start college or are considering a career change, you will want to choose a field that is showing long-term stability．If you know which careers are showing stable growth potential, you will choose a right job in your future．

　　Nursing is a field which will grow extremely fast over the next several years．At present there are about 2.5 million nurses working in the field and a half million more are expected to be added soon．Nursing salaries average about ＄66,000 per year, but they can go up to over ＄140,000 with higher education and specialized field training．Nursing also provides the benefit of flexible(灵活的)time, allowing you to choose when you want to work．

　　Engineering is one of the hottest and most stably growing careers in the country．There is plenty of opportunity for advancement and income growth in this field．Starting salaries for engineers is higher than most other jobs because a college degree is required．There are also many different fields of specialization to choose from as an engineer．Average salaries are around ＄72,000, but can quickly be more than ＄120,000 with experience and position．

　　Online marketing is a field that is fairly new to the career market and there is exciting growth potential．It offers a lot of flexibility with many different specialized areas．The average salary for online marketers is ＄53,000 per year, but some who work in specialized areas make over ＄200,000．

　　Although the job as financial advisor is an extremely competitive career field, the projected growth for this field leaves plenty of room for new job seekers．The salary potential for this career increases with experience and education level but on average financial advisors make ＄67,000 a year．

阅读理解

Experience the Colorado River the Hualapai Way！

　　Since 1973, Hualapai River Runners has been conducting white-water rafting(漂流)journeys on the Colorado River．Our experienced guides expertly sail along the river and share the history of the Canyon and the Hualapai people with you．

　　Visitors experience the excitement of whitewater rapids and then stop to enjoy the impressive beauty of Travertine Falls and a tasty lunch．No charge for children 2 years and under．

　　Retail ＄249.00＋＄79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation)

　　White-water rafting tours begin in Peach Springs．Hualapai River Runners transports you to Diamond Creek, which is the starting point for the 37 mile rafting tour．Lunch is included and upon arrival at the rafting tour termination point(终点), fly out of the Grand Canyon by helicopter to Grand Canyon West．

　　Retail ＄549.00＋＄79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation)

　　Two-day rafting trips with one night on the Colorado River．All supplies and meals are included．Two days in the Grand Canyon, on the Colorado River, allows more time to explore one of the Seven Wonders of the World．

　　·Round-trip transportation from Peach Springs to the starting point and from the termination points back to Peach Springs．

　　·Snack, drinks and lunch(vegetarian meals available upon request)．

　　·Waterproof dry bags for storing your cameras, sunscreen, dry clothes, etc．

　　The helicopter part of transportation is weather permitting．If the helicopter transportation is cancelled because of bad weather, the raft will continue an additional two hours to South Cove and a maximum ＄20.00 per customer will be given back．

　　Call us Toll Free Today! Tel：1-888-868-9378

阅读理解

　　One afternoon, as I was driving back home, I stopped at a busy intersection as the traffic light turned red．I waited patiently for the light to turn green, so that I could continue my journey．

　　Suddenly, out of nowhere, an old woman appeared and started asking for money．That day, I had unknowingly switched off the air conditioner in the car and my window was down．The old woman was standing very close to my car．As she begged for alms(施舍物), I closely observed her weather-beaten face, which had lots of wrinkles on it．Her eyes showed lots of sadness and her whole body was shaking．I sensed that this elderly lady had seen some incredibly hard times in her life and at this time there was no one to look after her, which forced her to beg on the streets．

　　Seeing her condition, I immediately felt from within my being a huge surge(汹涌)of sympathy for her．It was coming deep from within my heart．I normally give loose change to beggars, however, that day my inner self strongly urged me that I give her something substantial(大量的)so that she could have a nice meal．

　　Without any hesitation I took out a substantial amount from my wallet and placed it in her hand．Her weather-beaten face lit up with a toothless smile and she blessed me and went on her way．In the meantime the traffic light had turned green, and it was time to move on．

　　As I drove back home I felt within myself a sense of joy and happiness surging through me because I was able to do something for at least one person on this planet．It was an incident that both the old lady and I would remember for a long time．Her blessings will also be one of the most treasured memories in my life．I often drive past that intersection, however I have never seen that old woman again．

阅读理解

　　TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language, which assesses the proficiency(熟练)of English language of a person in an academic setting．Various institutions, scholarship programs require this test as a trusted and effective indicator of a person’s ability to communicate in English．

　　TOEFL is available in CBT－Computer-based Technology, PBT－Paper-based Technology and IBT－Internet-based Test formats(形式)to assess the proficiency of English Language．IBT TOEFL is a four-hour test comprising sections：Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing．In areas where internet-based test is not available, a paper-based test(PBT)is given．PBT is a three-hour test comprising four sections：Listening, Structure and Written Expression, Reading Comprehension and Writing．

　　Taking TOEFL test opens many doors to get admission in foreign universities．More than 7500 colleges, universities and agencies in more than 130 countries rely on TOEFL test scores to check proficiency for English Language．It is very convenient to take this test and it is available in 165 countries world wide．

　　It measures your academic skills that whether you are ready to study or train at under graduate or post graduate level in foreign universities or not．In the test candidates are provided with a passage from text books and questions based on lectures, and you can be asked to speak or write in response related to that passage．

　　As the test is made up of 100 ％ academic questions, so many universities consider it the most effective test while taking any admission．To take TOEFL test you should：

　　－Improve your writing skills;

　　－Improve your vocabulary;

　　－Practice other reading passages on the TOEFL Test;

　　－Be familiar with the format of the test;

　　－Practice for listening test on the TOEFL test．

　　To take admission in World’s famous Harvard University, the minimum TOEFL score required is 587 on the paper-based test, 240 on the computer-based test, or 94-95 on the internet-based TOEFL．

阅读理解

　　You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time．Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!

　　Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness．It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．

　　Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect．

　　When you communicate with positive people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首)of a negative person is put in you, you feel the heavy feeling that all in all, brings you down．

　　Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker, or a relative．In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible．Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person, but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that．

　　Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着)you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible．

阅读理解

　　Harry Houdini was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century．He was a man famous for his escapes – from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water．

　　He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America．Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic tricks．”

　　Of course, his secret wasn't magic or supernatural powers, it was simply strength．He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers．He could move his body into almost any position he wanted．

　　Houdini started working in the entertainment when he was 17, in 1891．He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in a club in New York．They called themselves the Houdini Brothers．When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant．But for a long time they were not very successful．Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898．Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch．

　　It was the publicity that came from this that started Harry Houdin’s success．Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins．But his biggest secret was he unlocked the prison doors．Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck－and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, passed quickly from her mouth to his．

　　Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame．He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited．In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full．What was the result? World－wild fame, and a name remembered today．