阅读理解

　　In people's minds, Beijing women are taller, bold, and uninhibited, while Shanghai women are smaller in figure, and always speak in a soft voice．The image(形象．)of Beijing women is usually bigger than Shanghai women's．However, it turns out to be just the other way round after I have worked in Beijing for some time．

　　Everybody goes Dutch in Shanghai; even at a grand party, but in Beijing it' s usually the men' s treat．And it is also impossible to invite a female friend who already has a boyfriend or a young married woman out, even if you promise to see her home that night,

　　The conditions of the men in Beijing are no better at all．All their cellphones will ring one after another at 12 o'clock sharp at night．The voice on the other end is usually loud enough for anyone nearby to hear．"Where have you been? Do you remember that you've got a home? Now who's with you?" and these three sentences are usually the main parts of the call．

　　Shanghai women could never understand this．If it' s a Shanghai woman who shouts in the phone, the Shanghai man on the other end must think that she is crazy(or drunk, perhaps)．The Shanghainese go Dutch in life, and they appreciate the independence in both economic and love affairs．

　　Many of my friend girls in Shanghai are office ladies with very high income．The tiredness of life cannot kill their pride in saying："I don't depend on any men．" Thus no men can command them, for example, to force them to come back home before 10 pm．Beijingers do not admire the Shanghai way of life, anyhow．How can a couple be addressed as "a couple" when they don't know where the other has been last night? They wondered．

阅读理解

　　In today’s society, a college degree tells little about what you know in comparison to what it tells about what you can learn．For instance, the IT world is constantly changing．Anything you learn today will probably be useless in a few short years．The point is to learn to learn．

　　Blogging works exactly the same way．And I believe this to be true regardless of your end goal．If you’re trying to make money, this is abundantly clear．There’s always more money to be made．If you’re teaching on a subject, you are constantly looking for new information to share．Even if you’re just sharing your words with others for pleasure, you’re continuously improving your writing and storytelling, so people don’t get bored of you．

　　This is one of the reasons that bloggers burn out．They forget this．They think they have an unlimited amount of content just waiting to burst from their brain．They get comfortable．Then they start to run out of juice．Sure, at times it seems that some bloggers just have it．They are experts in their fields and will simply feed us with invaluable content forever．But this is not true．Pay attention．Even famous bloggers would run out of content eventually without constant learning．

　　The point is apparent．Don’t think you’ve succeeded．There are plateaus, but there are no peaks．What happens when someone thinks they’ve hit the peak? They quickly begin sliding down the other side．Always be learning from your experiences．See what posts work for your readers．Which get the best response? Which are completely ignored? Which bring in the most Google traffic, or get the most Absence clicks? Don’t settle or your blog will close for good eventually．

阅读理解

　　The 115-year-old prestigious Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like “shanzhai” “youtiao” and “fangnu”, as part of the modern Chinese language．

　　As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever evolving, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet vibrant(充满生气的)language．

　　For instance, the word “shanzhai” is used to describe the countless knockoffs(名牌仿制品)of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos．

　　Another new term in the new edition is the word “fangnu”, or a “mortgage(按揭)slave”－a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities whereby well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage．

　　All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English-Chinese,　Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week．

　　The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month．This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation．Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China－the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press－worked together on the project．According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary’s chief editor, most of the firm’s editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers．

　　“We don’t want to make it florid(绚丽的), we want it to be modern and conversational…many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use,” said Kleeman．“The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago…Precise, native and practical－that is our core advantage,” she said．

　　Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace．The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide．The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready “as soon as possible”, Kleeman said．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Winners Club

　　You choose to be a winner!

　　The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers．It has been made to help you better manage your money．The Winners Club is a transaction account(交易账户)where you receive a key–card so you can get to your money 24/7–that's 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

　　It's a club with impressive features for teenagers：

　　●No account keeping fees!

　　You're no millionaire so we don't expect you to pay large fees．In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!

　　●Excellent interest rates!

　　You want your money to grow．The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits(储蓄)without taking them out in a month．

　　●Convenient

　　Teenagers are busy–we get that．You may never need to come to a bank at all．With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet … You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account．This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part–time job!

　　●Mega magazine included

　　Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money．There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members．

　　The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers．And it is so easy to join．Simply fill in an application form．You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian(so we can organize that cool key–card)but it is easy．We can't want to hear from you．It's the best way to choose to be a winner!

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and Maggie and I were returning from our walk through the woods．We were only a couple of blocks from home when I spotted a cellphone and a credit card sitting on the road．We took them home．We always find amazing things on the street and Maggie looks upon them a movable feast－a chicken wing here and a barbecue rib there．

　　I found another cellphone a few years back, too, and called a number in its phone book．I explained the situation to the guy who answered．He said it was his sister's and that he'd come to pick it up, which he did．

　　And that was that．No verbal thank－you, no written thank－you, no“here's a box of chocolates” thank－you．

　　I didn't have time to call anyone on my latest found cellphone．I was pouring myself coffee when it started to vibrate(震动)and dance across the kitchen counter．

　　“Who's this?” someone asked when I picked up．

　　“Who's this?” I countered．(反问) “Sarah?”

　　She was surprised at my knowing her name until she realized her name was on the credit card, “Could you send them to me?” she asked．

　　She lives in Arlington, which is 2 miles from my house．

　　“Humm, no,” I replied, adding that I thought she could come to get them, and that if I wasn't at home, they would be in my mailbox．

　　A day later, when I was out for a run, someone retrieved(取回)them．There wasn't even a piece of paper put in the mailbox with “Thanks” on it．In this age of e-mail and cellphone, there's really no excuse．Years ago, I found something more precious than a ＄100 bill on the street： a driver's license．I saw that its owner lived a couple of blocks from me, so I called him up．He asked whether I could slip the license through his front door．

　　“I guess I could,” I replied．

　　And that was that．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Hans was an honest fellow with a funny round good－humored face．Living alone, every day he worked in his garden．In all the countryside there was no garden so lovely as his．All sorts of flowers grew there, blooming in their proper order as the months went by, one flower taking another flower's place, so that there were always beautiful things to see, and pleasant odors to smell．

　　Hans had many friends, the most devoted being the Miller．So devoted was the rich Miller to Hans that he'd never go by his garden without plucking a large bunch of flowers or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with fruits．The Miller used to talk about noble ideas, and Hans nodded and smiled, feeling proud of having such a friend．

　　The neighbors thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave Hans anything in return, though he had hundreds of sacks of flour, many cows and sheep, but Hans never troubled his head about these, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things about the unselfishness of true friendship．

　　In spring, summer, and autumn Hans was very happy, but when winter came, and he had no fruit or flowers to sell, he suffered from cold and hunger．Though extremely lonely, the Miller never came to see him then．

　　“There's no good in going to see Hans while the snow lasts．” The Miller said to his wife, “When people are in trouble they shouldn't be bothered．So I'll wait till the spring comes when he's happy to give me flowers．”

　　“You're certainly very thoughtful,” answered his wife, “It's quite a treat to hear you talk about friendship．”

　　“Couldn't we ask Hans up here?” said their son．“I'll give him half my meal, and show him my white rabbits．”

　　“How silly you are!” cried the Miller．“I really don't know what's the use of sending you to school．If Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire, our good supper, and our red wine, he might get envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil anybody's nature．I am his best friend, and I'll always watch over him, and see that he's not led into any temptation．Besides, if Hans came here, he might ask me for some flour．Flour is one thing, and friendship is another, and they shouldn’t be confused．The words are spelt differently, and mean quite different things．Everybody can see that．”He looked seriously at his son, who felt so ashamed that he hung his head down, and grew quite scared, and began to cry into his tea．

　　Spring coming, the Miller went down to see Hans．Again he talked about friendship．“Hans, friendship never forgets．I'm afraid you don't understand the poetry of life．See, how lovely your roses are!”

　　Hans said he wanted to sell them in the market to buy back his things which were sold during the hard time of the winter．

　　“I'll give you many good things．I think being generous is the base of friendship．”said the Miller．“And now, as I'll give you many good things, I'm sure you'd like to give me some flowers in return．Here's the basket, and fill it quite full．”

　　Poor Hans was afraid to say anything．He ran and plucked all his pretty roses, and filled the Miller's basket, imagining the many good things promised by the Miller．

　　The next day he heard the Miller calling：“Hans, would you mind carrying this sack of flour for me to market?”

　　“I'm sorry, but I am really very busy today．”

　　“Well,” said the Miller, “considering that I'm going to give you my things, it's rather unfriendly of you to refuse．Upon my word, you mustn't mind my speaking quite plainly to you．”

　　Poor Hans was driven by his friendship theory to work hard for his best friend, leaving his garden dry and wasted．

　　One evening Hans was sitting by fire when the Miller came．

　　“Hans,” cried the Miller, “My little boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I'm going for the doctor．But he lives so far away, and it's such a bad windy night．It has just occurred to me that you can go instead of me．You know I'm going to give you my good things, so you should do something for me in return．”

　　“Certainly,” cried Hans．He struggled into the stormy night, and got the doctor to ride a horse to the Miller's house in time to save the boy．However, Hans got lost in the darkness, and wandered off into a deep pool, drowned．

　　At Hans’ funeral, the Miller said, “I was his best friend．I should walk at the head of the procession．”Every now and then he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　It is easy for us to tell our friends from our enemies．But can other animals do the same? Elephants can! They can use their sense of vision and smell to tell the difference between people who pose a threat and those who do not．

　　In Kenya, researchers found that elephants react differently to clothing worn by men of the Maasai and Kamba ethnic groups．Young Maasai men spear animals and thus pose a threat to elephants; Kamba men are mainly farmers and are not a danger to elephants．

　　In an experiment conducted by animal scientists, elephants were first presented with clean clothing or clothing that had been worn for five days by either a Maasai or a Kamba man．When the elephants detected the smell of clothing worn by a Maasai man, they moved away from the smell faster and took longer to relax than when they detected the smells of either clothing worn by Kamba men or clothing that had not been worn at all．

　　Garment color also plays a role, though in a different way．In the same study, when the elephants saw red clothing not worn before, they reacted angrily, as red is typically worn by Maasai men．Rather than running away as they did with the smell, the elephants acted aggressively toward the red clothing．

　　The researchers believe that the elephants'emotional reactions are due to their different interpretations of the smells and the sights．Smelling a potential danger means that a threat is nearby and the best thing to do is run away and hide．Seeing a potential threat without its smell means that risk is low．Therefore, instead of showing fear and running away, the elephants express their anger and become aggressive．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　How often do you travel by plane?

　　How much electricity do you use?

　　These days everyone is worried about the size of their carbon footprint．In order to reduce global warming we need to make our carbon footprints smaller．But how much CO₂ are we responsible for?

　　A new book by Mike Berners Lee(a leading expert in carbon footprint)might be able to help．How bad are bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything looks at the different things we do and buy, and calculates the amount of CO₂ all of the following created： the ingredients, the electricity used in the brewery, the equipment, the travel and commuting of the beer, and the packaging．It's amazing how many different things need to be included in each calculation．And it's frightening how much carbon dioxide everything produces．

　　But all of this can help us decide which beer to drink．From Berners－Lee's calculations, it's clear that a pint(568ml)of locally－brewed beer has a smaller carbon footprint than a bottle of imported beer．This is because the imported beer has been transported from far away, and it uses more packaging．The local beer only produces 300g of CO₂, but the imported beer produces 900g! So, one pint of local beer is better for the environment than three cans of cheap foreign lager from the supermarket．

　　Berners－Lee has even calculated the carbon footprint of cycling to work．Nothing is more environmentally－friendly than riding a bike, surely? Well, it depends on what you've had to eat before．To ride a bike we need energy and for energy we need food．So if we eat a banana and then ride a kilometer and a half, our footprint is 65g of CO₂．However, if we eat bacon before the bike ride, it's 200g．In fact, bananas are good in general because they don't need packaging, they can be transported by boat and they grow in natural sunlight．

　　So, does this mean that cycling is bad for the environment? Absolutely not, for a start, if you cycle, you don't use your car, and the fewer cars on the road, the fewer traffic jams．And cars in traffic jams produce three times more CO₂ than cars traveling at speed．Cycling also makes you healthy and less likely to go to a hospital．And hospitals have very big carbon footprints!

　　So maybe it's time for us all to start making some changes．Pass me a banana and a pint of local beer, please．

阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　It is difficult to imagine what life would be like without memory．The meanings of thousands of everyday perceptions, the basis for the decisions we make, and the roots of our habits and skills are to be found in our past experiences, which are brought into the present by memory．

　　Memory can be defined as the capacity to keep information available for later use．It not only includes "remembering" things like arithmetic or historical facts, but also involves any change in the way an animal typically behaves．Memory is involved when a rat gives up eating grain because he has sniffed something suspicious in the grain pile．

　　Memory exists not only in humans and animals but also in some physical objects and machines．Computers, for example, contain devices for storing data for later use．It is interesting to compare the memory storage capacity of a computer with that of a human being．The instant access memory of a large computer may hold up to 100, 000 "words"－string of alphabetic or numerical characters－ready for instant use．An average U．S．teenager probably recognizes the meaning of about 100, 000 words of English．However, this is but a fraction of the total amount of information that the teenager has stored．Consider, for example, the number of faces and places that the teenager can recognize on sight．

　　The use of words is the basis of the advanced problem-solving intelligence of human beings．A large part of a person's memory is in terms of words and combinations of words．But while language greatly expands the number and the kind of things a person can remember, it also requires a huge memory capacity．It may well be this capacity that distinguishes humans, setting them apart from other animals．

阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Gadgets(小玩意儿)with education programs start to find a place in classroom．

　　While most public schools don't allow the devices because they are considered distractions--and sometimes portable cheating tools--some school districts have started to put the technology to use．The key, educators say, is controlling the environment in which they are used．

　　In St．Mary's, Ohio, a school district of 2, 300 students is continuing a program where students are assigned PDAs, or personal digital assistants, for use as a learning tool in the classroom, and at home．They use applications created by a company to draw pictures and create sketches, journals and write essays, said Kyle, the district's technology coordinator(协调者)．Other applications create flash cards for spelling and math．

　　Students took the phones on a museum field trip where they took photos, uploaded them to a server where the teacher could view the assignment and write comments on what they saw．

　　In addition to the applications that students use, having the PDA teaches them responsibility, he said．

　　"Cell phones aren't going away．Mobile technology isn't going away, " he said．"Right now, what we're telling kids is 'You go home and use whatever technology you want, but when you get to school, we're going to ask you to step back in time．' It doesn't make any sense, " he said．

　　The district started the program last school year with ＄40, 000 and 60 Palm personal data devices that were handed out to students．Kyle said teachers who used to wait weeks to use computer labs were now able to use technology right in their classrooms--and students love it．

　　But there are many questions districts face before opening the door to allow cellphones：If children had their own fancier phones, would they be allowed those instead of school-issued devices? How would they fund PDAs in large districts? And do kids really need technology always at their fingertips?