阅读理解

Big Ben

　　Big Ben is not the name of a man．It is the name of a huge(庞大的)clock in London．London is the capital of England．This clock has four faces．So, no matter where you stand, you can read the time on the face of Big Ben．Each face is the size of a double decker(层)bus．The hands are about four metres long．It is about the size of two people standing on top of each other．If you go to London, you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament(国会大厦)．There you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower(塔)in the Houses of Parliament．Maybe you will hear it as well as see it．The huge clock makes such a loud noise．“Ding dong, ding dong, ”it goes every quarter of an hour．

　　The clock was named after a big man．He was Sir Benjamin Hall．This man did much building work in London many years ago．

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　　Reading is very important to help you learn English．To learn as much as you can from reading, you need to read different kinds of English．This book provides not only different kinds of English but also a good way to check your reading ability．

　　There are four parts in the book：

　　Part 1 is Messages：In this part somebody wants to wad information in writing to somebody else．There is a test on timetables and a test on text messages．

　　Part 2 is People：In this part all the tests are about people．For example, there is an informal letter between friends．There is formal(正式的)English in biography(传记)．There is a job application as a model to help with your writing, as well as testing your reading．

　　Part 3 is Places：In this part, too many different kinds of English are shown, some informal and some formal．There is the informal English of a holiday postcard．There is also the formal English in a letter of complaint(抱怨)．

　　Part 4 is Things：You will find some descriptive writing in this part．There are descriptions of clothes and of a computer．

　　You can do these tests in any order you like, or you can do alt the tests with a formal or informal text．I enjoyed writing this book and I hope you enjoy using it,

阅读理解

　　The population of the Earth is growing faster．It is important that we look after the Earth．We need it!

　　The Earth gives us a lot of things．We also give the Earth a lot, but some of the things are not good．

　　In nature, when something dies, other animals and plants get food from it．Every animal or plant gives food for other animals or plants．However, animals can't get food from many of the things that we ‘give' the Earth．Animals and plants can't eat metal, plastic and glass．These things will stay in the ground for many, many years．

　　Some rubbish is very dangerous for plants and animals．In some places, many animals live together．One animal makes food for many more animals．If we put rubbish and chemicals in the water, the plankton(浮游生物)can die．If there isn't any plankton, many animals have nothing to eat．

　　So what can we do?Don't leave any rubbish in the countryside!Don't make so much rubbish!

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　　Can animals be made to work for us?Some scientists think that one day animals may be taught to do a number of simple jobs．They say that in a film or on TV we may see elephants , or monkeys , dogs , bears , or other animals doing a lot of things．If you watch carefully , you may find that those animals are always given something to eat in return for doing them．The scientists say that many different animals may be taught to do a number of simple jobs if they know they will get something to eat in return．

　　Of course , as we know , dogs can be used to guard a house , and elephants can be used to do some heavy job．And we can also teach animals to work in factories．Apes(猿猴), for example , have been used in America to help make cars and scientists believe that these large monkeys may one day get in(收割)crops and even drive trains．

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　　Once an old man was walking in a street with his horse．It was raining hard．The old man was cold because he was walking in the rain．He wanted to stay in a restaurant．It was a quarter, past three in the afternoon．The old man got to a small restaurant．There were a lot of people in it．The old man couldn't come near the fire．He thought and thought, At last he said to the waiters, “ Take some fish to my horse．” The waiter and the people were very surprised．The waiter said, “A horse doesn't eat fish．” The old man told the waiter, “ This horse is very interesting．It can sing , dance and does all kinds of things．It can eat fish, too．” So the waiter brought the horse some fish．

　　All the people in the restaurant ran out to see the horse eat fish except the old man．Now the old man sat beside the fire．After a while the waiter came back and said．“Your horse didn't eat any fish．” The old man said , “All right , take the fish back and put it on the table．I'll eat it”．

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　　As the human brain evolved, humans were able to laugh before they could speak, according to a new study．But here’s the punch line：Laughter and joy are not unique to humans, the study says．Ancestral forms of play and laughter existed in other animals long before humans began laughing．

　　“Human laughter has its roots in our animation past,” said Jaak Panksepp, a professor of psychobiology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio．Panksepp has studied rats and found that when they “play,” they often chirp(唧唧叫)－an early－stage form of laughter, according to the scientist．In an article to be published tomorrow in the journal Science, he makes the argument that animal laughter is the basis for human joy．

　　In studying laughter, scientists have focused mostly on related issues－humor, personality, health benefits, social theory－rather than laughter itself．New research, however, shows that “circuits”(电路)for laughter exist in very ancient regions of the human brain．As humans have included language into play, we may have developed new connections to joyous parts of our brains that evolved before the cerebral cortex(大脑皮层), the outer layer associated with thought and memory．

　　There is plenty of evidence that many other mammals make play sounds, which are like human laughter．Indeed, animals are capable of many emotional feelings, just like humans, some scientists say．"The recognition by neuroscientists(神经系统科学家)that the brain systems for pain, pleasure, and fear are the same in humans and other mammals underline our similarity to other species and is extremely important," said Tecumseh Fitch, a psychology lecturer at the University of St．Andrews in Scotland．In a 2003 study Panksepp and Bowling Green State University neurobiologist Jeff Burgdorf showed that if rats are tickled(呵痒)in a playful way, they readily chirp．Rats that were tickled developed a relationship with the researchers and became rapidly conditioned to seek tickles．Understanding the chirping of the rats may help scientists better understand human laughter．

　　Robert Provine, a psychology professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, agrees there is an evolutionary continuity of laughter．"Its origin is in tickling play," he says．Provine has studied chimpanzees and found a link between their laughter - like noises and human laughter．"Laughter is actually the sound of play, with the original’ pant – pant’(喘气)- the heavy breathing of physical play - becoming the human ‘ha - ha,’” Provine said．By studying the shift from the panting of chimps to the human ha - ha, he discovered that breath control is the key to the appearance of both human laughter and speech．

阅读理解

　　Have you ever picked a job based on the fact that you were good at it but later found it made you feel very uncomfortable over time? When you select your career, there's a whole lot more to it than assessing your skills and matching them with a particular position．If you ignore your personality, it will hurt you long-term regardless of your skills or the job's pay．There are several areas of your personality that you need to consider to help you find a good job．Here are a few of those main areas;

　　1)Do you prefer working alone or with other people?

　　There are isolating(使孤立)jobs that will drive an outgoing person crazy and also interactive jobs that will make a shy person uneasy．Most people are not extremes in either direction but do have a tendency that they prefer．There are also positions that are sometimes a combination of the two, which may be best for someone in the middle who adapts easily to either situation．

　　2)How do you handle change?

　　Most jobs these days have some elements of change to them, but some are more than others．If you need stability in your life, you may need a job where the changes don't happen so often．Other people would be bored of the same daily routine．

　　3)Do you enjoy working with computers？

　　I do see this as a kind of personality characteristic．There are people who are happy to spend more than 40 hours a week on a computer, while there are others who need a lot of human interaction throughout the day．Again, these are extremes and you'll likely find a lot of positions somewhere in the middle as well．

　　4)What type of work environment do you enjoy？

　　This can range from being in a large building with a lot of people you won't know immediately to a smaller setting where you'll get to know almost all the people there fairly quickly．

　　5)How do you like to get paid?

　　Some people are motivated by the pay they get, while others feel too stressed to be like that．The variety of payment designs in the sales industry is a typical example for this．

　　Anyway, these are a great starting point for you．I've seen it over and over again with people that they make more money over time when they do something they love．It may take you a little longer, but making a move to do what you have a passion for can change the course of your life for the better．

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　　Human remains of ancient settlements will be reburied and lost to science under a law that threatens research into the history of humans in Britain, a group of leading archeologists(考古学家)says．In a letter addressed to the justice secretary, Ken Clarke, 40 archaeologists write of their “deep and widespread concern” about the issue．It centers on the law introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2008 which requires all human remains unearthed in England and Wales to be reburied within two years, regardless of their age．The decision means scientists have too little time to study bones and other human remains of national and cultural significance．

　　“Your current requirement that all archaeologically unearthed human remains should be reburied, whether after a standard period of two years or a further special extension, is contrary to basic principles of archaeological and scientific research and of museum practice,” they write．

　　The law applies to any pieces of bone uncovered at around 400 dig sites, including the remains of 60 or so bodies found at Stonehenge in 2008 that date back to 3,000 BC．Archaeologists have been granted a temporary extension to give them more time, but eventually the bones will have to be returned to the ground．

　　The arrangements may result in the waste of future discoveries at sites such as Happisburgh in Norfolk, where digging is continuing after the discovery of stone tools made by early humans 950,000 years ago．If human remains were found at Happisburgh, they would be the oldest in northern Europe and the first indication of what this species was．Under the current practice of the law those remains would have to be reburied and effectively destroyed．

　　Before 2008, guidelines allowed for the proper preservation and study of bones of sufficient age and historical interest, while the Burial Act 1857 applied to more recent remains．The Ministry of Justice assured archaeologists two years ago that the law was temporary, but has so far failed to revise it．

　　Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at Sheffield University, said：“Archaeologists have been extremely patient because we were led to believe the ministry was sorting out this problem, but we feel that we cannot wait any longer．”

　　The ministry has no guidelines on where or how remains should be reburied, or on what records should be kept．

阅读理解

　　In a world with limited land, water and other natural resources(资源), the harm from the traditional business model is on the rise．Actually, the past decades has seen more and more forests disappearing and globe becoming increasingly warm．People now realize that this unhealthy situation must be changed, and that we must be able to develop in sustainable(可持续的)ways．That means growth with low carbon or development of sustainable products．In other words, we should keep the earth healthy while using its supply of natural resources．

　　Today, sustainable development is a proper trend in many countries．According to a recent study, the global market for low-carbon energy will become three times bigger over the next decades．China, for example, has set its mind on leading that market, hoping to seize chances in the new round of the global energy revolution．It is now trying hard to make full use of wind and solar energy, and is spending a huge amount of money making electric cars and high-speed trains．In addition, we are also seeing great growth in the global markets for sustainable products such as palm oil(棕榈油)， which is produced without cutting down valuable rainforest．In recent years the markets for sustainable products have grown by more than 50％．

　　Governments can fully develop the potential of these new markets．First, they can set high targets for reducing carbon emissions(排放)and targets for saving and reusing energy．Besides, stronger arrangement of public resources like forests can also help to speed up the development．Finally, governments can avoid the huge expenses that are taking us in the wrong direction, and redirecting some of those expenses can accelerate the change from traditional model to a sustainable one．

　　The major challenge of this century is to find ways to meet the needs of growing population within the limits if this single planet．That is no small task, but it offers abundant new chances for sustainable product industries．

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The way we do things round here

　　Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank．I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us．" That "quite" saddened me．I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else．" Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly"．

　　So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak．It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on．The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures(文化)．

　　Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with．Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate(气候)，while getting on with business．

　　Some of the differences may be an improvement．People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again．However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality(准时)．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the

　　American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece．I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive．It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country．