阅读理解

　　In China some radio broadcasting stations use hotlines to encourage the listeners to take part in the talk shows．

　　That's a good idea．Yes, the fact is some people do nothing but break the whole programmer．

　　Some people know little about the topic under the discussion．Sometimes they do not even know what the host(主持人)is talking about．So the host has to tell the caller what the show is about．Usually the caller will ask a few questions which express his hope and show his ignorance(无知)．The host has to answer and explain－how silly this is! It wastes a lot of time．

　　It seems that some people phone the hotlines for fun．They just want to let the listeners hear them．They don't care what the topic is, whether they themselves are interested in the topic or how silly they appear to be．

　　It's necessary for radio broadcasting stations to improve the hotline programmes．In my opinion, if a caller doesn't know what is going on, the operator should not let the caller take part in it．

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　　When a rather dirty, poorly dressed person kneels at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins, do you hurry on, not knowing what to do, or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money? What should our attitude to beggars be? There can't be no question that the world is full of terribly sad stories．It must be terrible to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from．It seems cruel not to give some money to beggars．

　　Certainly, most of the world's great religions(宗教)order us to be open－hearted and share what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves．But has the world changed? Maybe what was morally(道德方面)right in the old days, when one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune and needed help, is no longer the best idea．Quite a few people will not give to beggars．Let us look at their arguments．

　　First, some believe that many city beggars dress up on purpose to look pitiable and actually make a good living from begging．Giving to beggars only encourages this sort of evil(恶行)．Secondly, there is the worry that the money you give will be spent on beer, wine or drugs．Thirdly, there is the opinion that there is no real excuse for begging．One might be poor, but that is no reason for losing one's sense of pride and self－dependence．

　　Related to this in the opinion that the problem should be dealt with by the government rather than ordinary people．Some people think beggars should go to the local government department and receive help．

　　It is hard to come to any final conclusion；there are various cases and we must deal with them differently．A few coins can save a life in some situations, and even if the money is wasted, that does not take away the moral goodness of the giver．

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　　Will it matter if you don't have your breakfast? A short time ago, a test was given in the United States．People of different ages, from 12 to 83, were asked to have a test．During the test, these people were given all kinds of breakfasts, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all．Scientists wanted to see how well their bodies worked when they had different kinds of breakfasts．

　　The rules show that if a person eats a right breakfast, he or she will work better than if he or she has no breakfast．If a student has fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school ,he or she will learn more quickly and listen more carefully in class．

　　The result is opposite to what some people think．Having no breakfast will not help them lose weight．This is because they are so hungry at noon that eat too much for lunch．They will gain weight instead of losing it．You will lose weight if you reduce your other meals．

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　　When I was fifteen months old．I fell on a glass rabbit which cut my eye badly enough to blind it．And as I grew，this sightless eye in so many ways controlled me that I walked with my face looking at the floor so people would not see the ugly me．

　　Yet Mama would hold me in her arms and stroke my hair and say，“If you hold your head up high，it will be OK．And people will see your beautiful soul．”She continued this message whenever I wanted to hide．

　　As a little child，I thought Mama meant，“Be careful or you will fall down or bump into something because you are not looking．”As a teenager．I found that my mama's words helped me begin to realize that by letting people look at my face，I let them recognize the intelligence and beauty behind my eyes．

　　In high school I was successful both academically and socially．I was even elected class president，but inside me I still felt like a freak(畸形人)．When things got really bad，I would cry to my mama and she would look at me with loving eyes and say,“Hold your head up high and face the world．Let them see the beauty that is inside．”

　　When I met the man who became my partner for life，we looked each other straight in the eye，and he told me I was beautiful inside and out．Mama's love and encouragement were the spark that gave me the confidence to overcome my own doubt．

　　“Hold your head up high，”has been heard many times in my home．Each of my children has felt its invitation．The gift my mama gave me lives on in another generation．

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　　Dear Mom and Dad,

　　I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you．I have been very naughty and the school master is very angry with me．She is going to write to you．You must come and take me away from here．She does not want me in the school any longer．The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in bed．As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room．I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away．Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste--paper basket．It caught fire．

　　There was a curtain near the waste --paper basket．It caught fire too．Soon the whole room was burning．The master phoned the fire brigade．The school is a long way from the town and before the fire brigade arrived, the whole school was on fire．The master said that the fire was all my fault and I must pay for the damage．She will send you a bill for about a million dollars．

　　I'm very sorry for this．

Much love

Sarah

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　　On a hot summer day, a soft drink can really take away your thirst(口渴)．At home, at school, in the park or at the movies－you can find one almost anywhere．

　　There are different kinds of juice．One kind is made only from fresh fruit．This kind of fruit juice may not taste sweet enough for some people, but it is nutritious．Another kind of fruit juice tastes good but has lots of sugar in it．Many people buy this kind because of the advertisements．It is bad for your teeth and bones to drink lots of this．

　　These kinds of drinks have caffeine that make people get excited．They are sometimes called "party drinks．" Doctors say if you drink too much of this kind, you may have a heart attack．

　　You can see bubbles(泡沫)in these! Of all soft drinks sold, about 75％ are carbonated．But be careful, carbonated soft drinks have lots of sugar and caffeine(咖啡因)which is not good for you to do outdoor exercises because it takes water out of your body．Sugar makes you overweight if you drink too much．

　　We have lots of different kinds of bottled water, such as mineral water, purified water and distilled water(蒸馏水)．They are clean and easy to drink．But it is best not to drink very cold water．It may make your stomach feel bad．

　　Most of them have funny names like "Scream " and "G-Vital(激活)．" They have lots of vitamins and minerals(矿物质)in them．After you play sports, you may want to drink one of these．

　　But if you just spend your summer holiday sitting watching TV, you won't need them at all!

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　　Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy．It is an occasion(时候)which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, the aged, and children who have lost their parents, but also friends, workmates, relatives and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed．

　　Over 60 years ago, when a Cleveland man noticed that some people, such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed, too often felt forgotten and neglected, he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered．He did this by giving them small gifts．With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October．During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”．Over time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the poor, the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift．Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA．

　　Sweetest Day is not based on any single group’s religious beliefs or on a family relationship．It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning．

　　Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a positive way．

阅读理解

　　Around twenty years ago I was going through hard times．I could not find a satisfying job．To my shame, I had to drive a school bus to make ends meet and lived in a friend’s house．

　　One afternoon, while driving through a quiet suburban(郊外的)neighborhood I was so sad that I kept asking myself “Why has my life become so hard?” “What’s wrong with the world?” Then I pulled over the bus to drop off(让…下车)a little girl and as she passed she handed me a pretty earring, saying she found it on the floor of the bus and I should keep it in case(以防)the owner came to look for it．

　　In the evening, the owner did come to look for her earring．When I handed it to her, she got very excited and continued saying “Thanks, you’re a real gentleman．” I told her that she should thank the little girl who had found it．She said, “Yes, and you are a good driver, too．What a lovely world it is!” Then she left with satisfaction．I was touched by her last words．I had thought something was wrong with the world just because of my poor condition．In fact, nothing was wrong with the world．I should change my attitude towards life．I should be positive about life．

　　At first it was hard, and then it got easier．Every day I could find things to make me happy．Then one night there was a phone call for me at my friend’s house from a lady who was a manager in a large hospital．She said she had read my application form and asked me if I would like to work in the hospital．I said yes and got the job．Looking back at the experience I know the most important is to have a positive attitude towards life．

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　　Miss Gogers taught physics in a New York school．Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation．She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles．If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”

　　Tom at once answered, “Your brother．Because electricity travels faster than sound waves．” “That's every good,” Miss Gogers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gogers said．“Yes, Kate．”

　　“I disagree,” Kate said．“Your brother would hear you earlier because when it's 11 o'clock here it's only 8 o'clock in Los Angeles．”

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　　I want to let you know about an event that changed my life many years ago．We were living in College Station, Texas and my wife and I were on our way home from Houston, Texas one Sunday morning．We decided to stop at a local gas station to get something to eat since we had enough time．

　　When we finished, we got back into our car and before I started it, we noticed a homeless man standing in front of the building．His clothes were worn and it looked as if he didn’t have any money．It was cold and I was sure he wanted something to drink．However, it was not this that moved(感动)me．

　　　　A dog was also walking up to the front of the building．Being a dog lover, I noticed that the dog was a mother and that she had just had some puppies(小狗)．She was hungry and weak and I felt so bad for her．I knew if she didn’t eat soon, she and her puppies would not live on．

　　People walking by didn’t even notice her．She might not have been as pretty and clean as most, but she still deserved(值得)better．But we still did not do anything, someone else did．The homeless man, who I thought could not afford anything to eat, went back into a store and bought dog food with all the money he had．