阅读理解

　　The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects．Consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement．For example, some advertisers have appealed to people's desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage．Some of the products work．Others are worthless and a waste of consumers' money．

　　Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading．A few years ago a brand of bread was offered to dieters(节食者)with the message that there were fewer calories in every slice．It turned out that the bread was not dietetic(适合于节食的), but just regular bread．There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin, but there were the same number of calories in every loaf．

　　On the positive side, emotional appeals may respond to a consumer's real concerns．Consider fire insurance．Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss．But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance．The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people．If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as well as the message in the ads, they will benefit from the advertising．

　　Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation．Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers, but it does not force them to buy the product．Consumers still control the final buying decision．

阅读理解

　　A new generation addiction is quickly spreading all over the world．Weboholism, a twentieth century disease, affects people from different ages．They surf the net, use e-mail and speak in chat rooms．They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit．They cannot stop, and it affects their lives．

　　Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become compulsive behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users．This obsessional behavior has affected teenagers and college students．They are likely to log on computers and spend long hours at different websites．

　　They become hooked on computers and gradually their social and school life is affected by this situation．They spend all free time surfing and don't concentrate on homework, so this addiction influences their grades and success at school．Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there．Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life．

　　They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends．The relation with their friends changes．The virtual life becomes more important than their real life．They have a new language that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society．

　　Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate themselves from the society and live with their virtual friends．They share their emotions and feelings with friends who they have never met in their life．Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real life friends they have known all their life．It is a problem for the future．This addictive behavior is beginning to affect all the world．

阅读理解

　　This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers from all over the world will spend about ten months in U．S．homes．They will attend U．S．schools, meet U．S．teenagers, and form impressions of the real America．At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world．

　　Here is a two-way student exchange in action．Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family．In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America．

　　Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’s study, the language began to come to him．The school was completely different from what he had expected－much harder．Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room．They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States．There were almost no outside activities．

　　Family life, too, was different．The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual．Fred found the food too simple at first．Also, he missed having a car．

　　“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time．In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it．”

　　At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea．“ I suppose I should criticize American schools,” he says, “It is far too easy by our level．But I have to say that I like it very much．In Germany we do nothing but study．Here we take part in many outside activities．I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens．There ought to be some middle ground between the two．”

阅读理解

Read the postcards and choose the best answer for each question．

阅读理解

　　When I was in junior high school, I was really a bad boy．My history teacher－Mr Oven criticized me a lot because I was naughty in his class．By the end of the first semester, I’d had enough of his words and had decided that I would get my revenge on him．

　　The opportunity arose one morning when Mr．Oven was called to the office for a certain reason．While Mr．Oven left, my company Billy and I grabbed Mr．Oven’s lunch bag from under his desk．I opened his sandwich and placed a bug in between the two slices of bread．We put it back and closed it．To keep it in memory, Billy took photos of the whole process．We laughed for weeks over this．

　　Well, it all went south during Thanksgiving break．Billy’s mother found the pictures in his room, and demanded that he should tell her where these pictures were from．Billy told his mother the whole story, and Mr．Oven was informed．Not only was I punished from school for two weeks, but also I was kicked off the football and basketball team．Before I could return to school, I had to turn in a 1000- word essay on what I did and why I did that．I really felt embarrassed every time I saw Mr．Oven in the hallway for the rest of the school year．I felt a little regret that Mr．Oven left our school the next year．

阅读理解

　　You probably know you should say “please” and “thank you” at restaurants．You probably know the rules of a library．You know you should respect and be nice to your classmates．But do you have music manners?

　　Keep It Down! You have to notice the volume of your music．You should not play your music so loud that everyone around you can hear it．Some people might even get angry．Usually, when you play the music loud on an MP3 player, other people can’t hear the words of the song．They just hear a loud sound．No one wants to listen to this．Very loud music can also be bad for your ears．So even if you are alone when listening to your MP3 players, you shouldn’t turn it up too high．

　　Turn Them Off! You need to know when to turn your MP3 off and put it away．Libraries, and schools don’t allow MP3 players．There are other places, like museums, that don’t have rules, but it would be rude to have your MP3 player on．Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to listen on your MP3 player at event．Why would you listen to music at a play, a movie or a sporting event? You would miss what is going on and others would wonder why you even came．

　　Take One Out! Once in a while it’s okay just to take out one earphone and not other．Imagine you are listening on your MP3 player when someone asks you the way．It would not be rude to take out one earphone, tell him the way, and put back the earphone and continue listening．You can also do this when you order food at a fast-food restaurant or when you answer the telephone and it’s not for you．

　　It’s Your Choice! There are times when you need to decide what is best．For example, some people can listen to music on their MP3 players when reading books, while others think it is disturbing．In cases like this, you need to do what seems right for you．

阅读理解

　　Wang Fengqin, a 61-year-old woman in Beijing, volunteers to sort rubbish in her living area in Beijing Chaoyang District．

　　At 6：30 every morning, while half of Beijing is still in sleeping dreams in bed or enjoying a delicious breakfast, Wang rushes through her busiest hours in the day．She gets up, gives her face a quick wash, takes a simple breakfast and rushes to the four rubbish dustbins beside the gate of her living area．There she checks the waste left by her neighbours to make sure it is sorted correctly．

　　"Sorting rubbish will improve the environment for all of us and it only takes a minute," Wang said．"I want to help my neighbours develop good habits．"

　　As Wang spoke, an old man came by and threw a plastic bag full of rubbish into the dustbin marked "recyclable(可回收)"．

　　"Hey, please there are some orange peels and fish bones in your bag, so they are supposed to be put into the dustbin marked ' kitchen waste '," Wang told him．

　　Learning the old man was in a hurry, Wang let him go, opened the bag herself, picked out the kitchen waste and threw it in the right dustbin．

　　Wang has been doing this every day from 7∶30 am to 9 am and from 6 pm to 8 pm since March 10．She says people usually go downstairs and throw out rubbish at this time．

　　Most people had no idea about sorting rubbish at first, but now 90 percent can put rubbish in the correct dustbin, Wang says．However, she plans to keep doing this job until all her neighbours sort correctly．

阅读理解

　　When you finish high school or university, is learning done? The answer is “no”．In many countries, people continue learning all their lives．Why is lifelong learning important? How can it help you? Let’s look at one example of lifelong learning in Japan．

　　You go to school and learn．You take tests．But learning doesn’t only happen in schools．And learning doesn’t stop when you graduate from high school or college．You are learning all the time．For example, learning can happen when you go to a museum．It can also happen when you get a job．You learn when you play a sport or when you take a trip．Learning is life! We never stop learning．Every day, you can improve yourself by learning something new．

　　In Japan, lifelong learning is very important．People in Japan like to try new learning activities．Music, calligraphy, flower arranging, and foreign languages are some of their favorite classes．The Japanese take classes to improve their skills and learn new things．

　　When we graduate from school, we can continue to learn．Make lifelong learning one of your goals!

阅读理解

阅读理解

　　I began reading words when I was eight months old．By the time I was two, I had read Charlotte’s Web．My parents thought it was odd, but because I didn’t have any siblings for them to compare me with, they didn’t realise just how odd．

　　At pre-school in Northport, New York, I quickly overtook everyone．At seven, I was going into high school for my classes but still doing all my social activities with kids my age．But when I was nine, the public school administration said that I had to go to high school full-time with 16-year-olds．I didn’t want to, because some kids there were always teasing me -it was pretty horrible when they called me a know-it-all and tried to grab my homework．

　　My parents tried to find me another school but, in the end, because I was so advanced, the only place that was on the same level as me was State University of New York at Stony Brook．

　　The admissions people said that if I thought I could manage I could have a place, as long as my mother accompanied me to classes．

　　So, aged 10, I started an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics．I was frightened on my first day, but I was also excited that I was going to attend my first real physics class．Most of the teachers were nice but one or two didn’t like me．One professor said that just because I did as well as the other, male, students, it didn’t mean I was as good as them．But the students were supportive and my parents always made sure that I had a group of friends of my own age; they didn’t want me to be a social misfit．

　　I graduated summa cum laude(with the highest honor)when I was 14 -the youngest student ever to do so in the US．

　　I was a perfectionist; I don’t think I would have settled for less than that．I went on to Drexel University and, at 17, I was awarded a Master’s and continued to study for a Ph．D．

　　But that was when I grew disillusioned with the science world．I saw bad conduct and realised that some professors weren’t motivated by a love of science．I fell out with the adviser who was supervising my Ph．D．I charged Drexel University in a civil lawsuit and the case has now gone into private, binding arbitration(仲裁)．

　　I believe my adviser applied for grants and patents using my ideas, and took credit for them．He denies this and has accused me of stealing his work．Even though the university has cleared me of plagiarism(剽窃)it has still refused to award me my Ph．D．

　　At the time I was fully expecting to receive my PhD, I applied for a post teaching advanced technology fusion at Konkuk university in Seoul．When I was appointed, I was just under 19, so I made it into Guinness World Records．

　　In South Korea, I was treated as a minor celebrity．People stared at me wherever I went on campus, and I was asked to give inspirational talks to teenagers．But I didn’t renew my contract：I’d had a great year, but I wanted to come home．

　　I still don’t have my PhD and I am angry and disappointed about that．I worked so hard all my life and my research ended up going nowhere．

　　There’s always hope, but the experience at Drexel has derailed me．If a university gave me a place to complete my studies, I would take it．But I am someone who is suing her former university, so a lot of colleges are afraid to touch me．

　　For now, I’m enrolled in law school and training to be a lawyer．I want to combine legal and science knowledge so that I can protect people’s research rights．

　　It’s strange being back at school：I’m 21 years old and for the first time in my life, I’m the same age as the other students．