阅读理解

　　There are many ways of defining success．It is accurate to say that each of us has our own concept of success to the extent that each of us is responsible for setting our own goals and determining whether we have met these goals satisfactorily．Because each of us possesses unique differences in genetic ability and favorable environments in which to express these abilities, it is necessarily true that we must define success broadly．

　　For some people, simply being able to live their life with a minimum of misery and suffering is considered a success．Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep, enjoys his simple life with his family in the beauty of nature, and who is respected because he does a good job of achieving the goals expected of and accepted by him and his society．On the other hand, it seems that even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions, many of them seem to be miserable and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own goals of success．Because not all ventures can be successful, one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success, but if one has self-confidence it would be unfortunate to set one’s goals at too low a level of achievement．

　　A wise counselor once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration with his own professional success：“You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in traveling．Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park, or riding the subway downtown,” The counselor added, “You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like, and to which you have given your best effort．”

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　　Anne Whitney, a sophomore at Colorado State University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college．"I was always well prepared for my tests．Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test．Yet I would go in to take the test, only to find I could not answer the questions correctly．I would blank out because of nervousness and fear．I couldn’t think of the answer．My low grades on the tests did not show what I knew to the teacher．" Another student in microbiology had similar experiences．He said, "My first chemistry test was very difficult．Then, on the second test, I sat down to take it, but I was so nervous that I was shaking．My hands were moving up and down so quickly that it was hard to hold my pencil．I knew the material and I knew the answers．Yet I couldn’t even write them down!"

　　These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety．Because a student worries and he is uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does．The student can’t write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness．Although poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety causes the low grades．Recently, test anxiety has been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students．

　　Special university counseling courses try to help students．In these courses, counselors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety．At some universities, students take tests to measure their anxiety．If the tests show their anxiety is high, the students can take short courses to help them deal with their tension．These courses teach students how to relax their bodies．Students are trained to become calm in very tense situations．By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work at ease．Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test．

　　An expert at the University of California explains．"With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are felt after taking our program．Most of them experience better control during their tests．Almost all have some improvement．With some, the improvement is very great．"

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　　Famous centenarians(百岁老人)still active in arts, science are in no mood to retire．"Those who stand still, die," is one of Oliveira's favorite phrases．He knows from experience what it means, as the Portuguese film director has reached the age of 102 and is still active in his profession．Every year, Oliveira shoots a film and is currently working on his next project．"You have to work, work, work in order to forget that death is not far away," he said．When asked about his age, Oliveira said with some humility："It's down to mother nature．It gave to me what it took from others．"

　　Being both mentally and physically fit in old age is partly a matter of luck, but it also has something to do with character．Not every white-haired person is wise and social skills, openness and the ability to train the brain are essential for senior citizens．

　　Along with the architect Oscar Niemeyer(103), Nobel laureate Montalcini(101)and director Kurt Maetzig(100), Oliveira is one of those people of whom it would be very wrong to think as members of a listless elderly generation．

　　Another master in his profession is the architect Oscar Niemeyer．The 103-year-old Brazilian is best known for his futuristic-looking buildings in Brasilia, but he also speaks out on behalf of the poor．"The role of the architect is to struggle for a better world where we can develop a form of architecture that serves everyone and not just a privileged few," said Niemeyer recently．He spends almost every day working in his office in Copacabana, and even when he falls ill he keeps working on ideas：After a gallbladder(胆囊)operation he composed a samba tune(桑巴舞曲)in the clinic．

　　Another man who could sing a song about age is 107-year-old Heesters．The Dutch-born opera singer spent most of his life performing in Germany, where he still works．Recently Heesters said："I want to be at least 108-years-old．" He also plans to keep performing．"Should I just sit at home and wait until they come and pick me up?" Heesters has not given up trying to add to his tally of awards and is looking for a "good stage role"．

　　Italian scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini, who is 101-years-old and is still active in medical science, has described the force that keeps driving her on："Progress is created through imperfection．" In 1986 she and her lab colleague were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work on nerve growth factor．She's convinced that humans grow on challenges．

　　With so many brilliant examples given, we can see clearly that age is no barrier to some high achievers．

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　　WENZHOU(Xinhua)－The train collision in east China's Zhejiang Province has killed 39 people and left 192 others injured as of Sunday night, said a spokesman with the Ministry of Railways．

　　A total of 132 people are still being treated in hospitals, said Wang Yongping, spokesman with the ministry at a press conference．Eleven people remain in critical condition, said Cheng Jinguo, head of the health bureau in the city of Wenzhou, where the collision happened Saturday night．Cheng said at the press conference that 52 people who suffered slight injuries had been discharged from hospital．Wang expressed condolences(哀悼)to the concerning families and sincere apology to all the passengers．

　　The train's "black box" has been discovered and the ministry is investigating the cause of the crash, Wang said．Wang said the ministry will make public the cause of the accident as soon as the investigation is done and publish the names of the killed and injured．

　　He said the crash has caused large number of casualties and great property losses．The ministry will find out the cause through thorough investigation and take effective measures to prevent similar accidents．

　　Despite the accident, the spokesman said the ministry is still confident in the high-speed train．"China's high-speed train is advanced and qualified．We have confidence in it," he said．

　　The damaged rails have been repaired and were ready to restart operation but the reopening was delayed by the stormy weather, according to Wang．Wang did not provide the exact time when the line would start operating again．

　　The accident occurred at about 8∶30 p. m．Saturday on a bridge near Wenzhou when bullet train D301 rear-ended(追尾)D3115, which reportedly lost power after lightning strike．

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　　In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression(侵略)in other animals．This sometimes happens with humans also．But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people．I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat．And I have discovered that it makes them happy．

　　From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, but sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily．They don’t get to see this soft side of others．Often, we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending．But only when we stop pretending we’re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’ s in them．

　　Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual．People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning(按喇叭)or even shouting at me．At that moment，I decided to do something I had never done in twenty-four years of driving．I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed．

　　No more angry shouts and no more horns!

　　When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to the other drivers, “I have a problem here．I am weak and doing the best I can．” And everyone understood．Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass．They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic．But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak．

　　Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’ t feel that way．But those are few and far between．More often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we’re brave when we’ re scared．

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　　Recently, university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged．It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours．

　　Unplugged is being run by Dr．Roman Gerodimos, a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University．During the experiment, Dr．Gerodimos said there were already signs of how much the exercise affected volunteers．He said：“They’re reporting withdrawal symptoms, overeating, feeling nervous, isolated and disconnected．”

　　During their 24-hour test, three of the experiment’s participants were followed around by a BBC reporter plus cameraman．They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day offline, but of course, they all waited until the next day when they had access to their laptops．

　　Elliot Day wrote：“Today, my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air．Despite being aware of the social importance of the media, I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers．”

　　From Caroline Scott, we read：“I didn’t expect it, but being deprived of the media for 24 hours resulted in my day-to-day activities becoming so much harder to carry out than usual…I didn’t break out in a cold sweat like our lecturer expected us all to, but It’s not something I would like to do again！”

　　And Charlotte Gay wrote：“I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been my mobile; not only is it a social device, it’s my main access point of communication．”

　　Earlier in the year, a UK government study found that in the UK we spend about half our waking hours using the media, often plugged into several things at once．So, with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate, how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future?

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　　Computer Technician(Part Time Student Helper)

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　　·Good at verbal and written English, Cantonese and Mandarin

　　·With basic knowledge or experience in IT networking

　　·Good working attitude, energetic and self-motivated candidate is highly preferred

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　　Attractive remuneration(报酬)package will be negotiated to the right candidate．

　　Interested parties please email a MS Word version resume and expected salary to technology@manpowerprofessional．com．hk(CC：iris．cheung@manpowerprofessional．com．hk)and quote the job reference．

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　　Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is not different．Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal．She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies．I’m sorry to say that the men in the family－my dad, my younger brother and myself－rarely pitch in to help．Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over．

　　Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table．Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it．At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling(流口水)all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat．

　　First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have．Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for．I grew up in a loving family．My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university．

　　But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank．I think it has something to do with my growling(咕咕叫)stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose．

　　Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in．To be sure, the day includes other highlights－visiting with family and watching football．But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in．

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　　Ever wondered how one person could save the planet from the effects of climate change?

　　A British-made computer game on trial release on Monday creates different ways of doing just that．

　　“Fate of the World”puts the Earth’s future in players’ hands, placing them in charge of an international environmental body which could save the world from the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions(排放)or let it destroyed by more emissions．

　　Through different scenes, players can explore options such as geoengineering(地球工程)and alternative energy sources to save the planet from rising temperatures, decreasing natural resources and a growing population over the next 200 years．

　　An improved version of the game will be followed by a three-month feedback period from players, with final release due in February next year．

　　Created by Oxford-based games developer Red Redemption, the game is different from other mainstream action games mainly by using data from real climate models and advice from scientists and economists．

　　“Science data is often inaccessible and we are trying to put players in a position of power and connected with the issues, ” Gobion Rowlands, Red Redemption’s founder and chairman said．

　　This year, a series of apparent errors in climate science and the failure of UN talks to reach an international deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions appeared to weaken the public’s interest in climate change．

　　However, games centered on sustainability(持续性)and human rights have been growing in popularity and are welcomed by green groups as a way of raising awareness．Using climate change as inspiration for entertainment shows the issue has affected global culture, which can only be a good thing．Friends of the Earth's head of climate Mike Childs said．“We need creative industries to work with these big issues as the results can be extremely powerful and can help us to understand what a sustainable future looks and feels like, ”he added．

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　　Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego(UCSD)for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, “Versed”．

　　“I’m delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win,” said Armantrout．

　　“For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising．”

　　Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University．She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think．

　　In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for “Versed．”

　　“This book has gotten more attention,” Armantrout said, “but I don’t feel as if it’s better．”

　　The first half of “Versed” focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq．The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006．

　　Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not．“Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry, ” said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD．

　　“Versed”, published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2, 700 copies．The new edition is scheduled to appear in May．