阅读理解

　　Your friends might be in Australia or may be just down the road, but they are all just a few clicks(点击)away．Life has changed for millions of young people across the world who now make friends online．Whether you use chat-rooms, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are a member of this group．

　　“I don't often talk with my parents or grand-parents, but I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ,” said Fox's Shadow, the online name used by a girl student in China．“Most of my classmates use QQ after school．”

　　QQ is the biggest messaging service in China．A recorder from Tencent, the company which developed QQ, shows that 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October．And probably Fox's Shadow was one of them．“I log in(登陆)on Friday nights, and Saturdays when I feel everything around me boring．I usually spend about ten hours chatting on-line every week,” she said．“But I never talk with strangers, especially boys or men．”

　　Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making friends with strangers online．“You don't know who you're talking to．You should always be careful about whom you believe in online．” Many people would like to meet offline when they feel they have got to know someone very well．Fox's Shadow once met one of her online friends face to face．It was a girl who was a football fan like herself and they went to a football match together．

　　A 16-year-old Beijing boy, named Bart Simon online, dislikes QQ uses．“I used to chat on QQ, but I found that most people were talking about foolish things,” he said．Now he chats online in English, using MSN．“I only chat online because I've got friends in Japan, the US and Singapore,” he said．“I want to learn more about foreign cultures．” But he spends little time chatting on QQ as he sees it as a waste of time and money．

　　“If you are really addicted to(沉溺于)it, sometimes you can't give your mind to your lessons,” he said．“And friends in your real life are always more important than those so-called friends you meet online．”

阅读理解

　　If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong．Haven't you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

　　According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power．Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter．This is the area of the brain which processes information．It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles．

　　The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language．

　　A team led by Dr．Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English．They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners．

　　Scans showed that grey matter density(密度)in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language．But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference is．

　　“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language, ” said the scientists．

　　It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn．

　　Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills．“Having two languages gives you two windows in the world and makes the brain more flexible(灵活的), ” he said．“You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas．”

　　The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34．Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested．The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better they will do it．“Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world, ”explained the scientists．

阅读理解

　　People travel for a lot of reasons．Some travelers go to see places of a long history．Others are looking for cultures, or just want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places．Most European travelers are looking for a sunny beach to lie on．Northern Europeans like to pay a lot of money for the sun because they have so little of it．People of cities like London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam spend much of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain．This is the reason why the sea attracts them．Every summer many people travel to Mediterranean resorts(度假胜地)and beaches for their vacation．They all come for the same reason：the sun．

　　The large crowds mean lots of money for the countries along the sea．Italy's hotels are all booked without a break every summer, and also French beaches, Spain's coastline．

　　The Mediterranean is becoming one of the most polluted seas on earth．But people do not mind much．They don't go there for clean water and they allow traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches．No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful．If the sun shines, it is much better than sitting in the cold rain in those big cities．

阅读理解

　　The English translations of the names of traditional Chinese dishes on menus across the country have caused public discussion about the precision(准确)of the translations．

　　Since more and more foreigners come to China every day, many restaurants around China are providing English translations of their menus．They want to make it easier for foreigners to order Chinese dishes when they travel．Some restaurants also hope that the translations will increase foreigners’ knowledge of Chinese cuisine(烹饪)．

　　But an article in China Youth Daily says the English menu translations haven’t live up to public expectation(期望)．It argues most of the English names of Chinese dishes lack the cultural meaning and attraction of the dishes they describe．Instead, the translations only provide a list of each dish’s ingredients, the article notes．For example, one English name of a Chinese dish appears as “stir-fried mutton slice with Chinese onion and green scallion(葱爆羊肉)”．

　　Because the English translation focuses only on the ingredients, it fails to describe the dish’s rich cultural meaning and charm．The dish’s beautiful Chinese name, “Fo Tiao Qiang(佛跳墙)”, has a story behind it．Buddhist monks(和尚)are required to eat vegetables only, but they can’t resist(忍住)the delicious dish．So they jump over the temple walls to get a taste of the dish．

　　The article suggests that translators provide more beautiful translations of the names of Chinese dishes．It also notes a more vivid(生动的)English translation is very important to provide international visitors with a better understanding of Chinese cuisine．

阅读理解

　　Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona．He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends．

　　My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children．As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult(成年人)I feared him and felt bitter about him．He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was．Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard．

　　On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café．We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions．Gone was my father’s critical(挑剔的)air and strict rules．Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?

　　The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood．Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment．After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father．And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend．My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was．

阅读理解

　　“I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the net．”

　　“I often check my e-mail forty times a day．”

　　“I often spend more than three hours during one time on the net．”

　　“I spend more time in chat rooms than with my ‘real-life’ friends．”

　　Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction(上瘾)called Internet addiction．Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week．The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug(毒品)use．People lose control(控制)of the time they spend on the Internet．

　　For example, one college student was missing for several days．His friends were worried, and they called the police．The police found the student in the computer lab：he was surfing the net for several days straight．

　　Studies show that about 6％ to 10％ of Internet users become addicted．And people worry about the teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them．They spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family．

　　Is “surfing the net” a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have these symptoms(症状)：①You do not go to important family activities or you do not do school work because you like to spend hours on the Internet．②You can’t wait for your next online time．③You go out with your friends less and less．④You plan to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours．

阅读理解

　　There is a wonderful story about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her．

　　One day, feeling very sad and lonely, she was walking through a grassland when she noticed a small butterfly caught in a thorn(荆棘)bush．The young girl carefully released the butterfly．Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy．The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief．

　　“For your wonderful kindness,” the good fairy said to the girl, “I will give you any wish you would like．” The little girl thought for a moment and then replied, “I want to be happy．”

　　The fairy leaned toward her and whispered(耳语)in her ear．Then the fairy disappeared．

　　As the little girl grew up, there was no one in the land as happy as she．Everyone asked her secret of happiness．She would only smile and answer, “The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl．”

　　When she was very old and on her deathbed, the neighbors all gathered around her, afraid that her unbelievable secret of happiness would die with her．“Tell us, please,” they begged, “Tell us what the good fairy said．” The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, “She told me that everyone, no matter how secure(安全的)they seemed, no matter how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me．”

阅读理解

　　New technology that can “ see ” through clothing and detect what ' s underneath can now be used to scan crowds, making it a potentially effective tool to prevent terrorist attacks in public places．

　　The Thru Vision T5000 camera picks up Terahertz rays ，or T-rays, which are naturally sent out by all objects and can pass through clothes or even walls．The camera can then detect metallic and nonmetallic objects hidden under clothing on still or moving subjects without showing any body detail．

　　While similar technology is seen at airports around the world, the T5000 is designed to be used in large, open areas．With a range of 25 meters, the T5000 can screen people in public places, thus avoiding bottle-necks at border crossing or security checkpoints．It also means people can be screened without knowing it．

　　The technology develops from British astronomers ' work in studying dying stars．Astronomers use T-ray cameras to see through dust and clouds in space．The company sees uses for its camera at other sites where political or business activities take place．

　　For privacy concerns，Thru Vision Chief Executive Clive Beattie said the image produced by the camera did not show detailed parts of the body．“ It's almost a shining light bulb(灯泡)．” Beattie said．"You don' t see the detail that people might be concerned about．” In London' s busy Piccadilly Circus－which is already filled with closed -circuit surveillance(监视)cameras－reaction to the new technology was mixed．Some said the camera was going too far and violating privacy，but others said they are willing to put safety before privacy concerns．“ There ' s surveillance everywhere anyway, “ said one commuter．“I don' t think it' s much of a difference．I don' t care that they can see through me because they can see me anyway．”

　　Some experts said the privacy violation of the camera was not worth the benefit．“What we should consider is how much we want to lose our privacy in order to obtain a sort of national security，” said David Murakami Wood，director of the Surveillance Studies network，which deals with surveillance and privacy problems．“In most cases this isn't real security－it's a sense of safety that has very little real effect．”

阅读理解

　　Most of the 20^th century has been a development on the Industrial Revolution taken to an extreme：people now own more products than ever before; there are enough unclear weapons to destroy the earth several times over; there is hardly any forest left and pollution has got to the point where we buy water．Within a few years I predict you will be able to buy air．(There once was a time when you didn't need to buy food or shelter either．)

　　Important developments in the last century are the breading down of the class structures left over from the Industrial Revolution stage, bringing with it the empowerment of the “common man ”：the working day is set by law to only 8 hours a day, everyone has the vote, the media has less obvious government control, people have landed on the moon, sent spacecrafts to Mars and so on．Families have also shrunk drastically(强烈地); the nuclear family came about, and especially in the last half of the 20^th century, one-parent families are becoming more common．This shrinking in the size of the family shows the increased independence of people－once upon a time people had to live in large groups to survive．

　　As humans have “become the gods”, they have realized their individuality and independence and taken their control of the world to an extreme．In many countries the land is almost completely used in the land is almost completely used in the production of food and as living space and they live in small cities which are entirely human constructed, made from materials which are also entirely human constructed(concrete, bricks)with hardly any remains of nature．Weeds are poisoned because they are messy; even parks have trees grown in tidy lines; grass is mowed to keep it short and so on．I think the massive drug “problem” troubling people is a result of too much of this influence, humans needing to escape the stark world they have created by entering fantasy worlds．

　　Over the last 100 years, the 20^th century consciousness has spread throughout the world; most of Asia has been thoroughly “Westernized”, and most of the Third World is being overrun by western ways of doing things and living．

阅读理解

　　Away from home, eating is more than just a way to keep your stomach full．It is a language all its own, and no words can say, "Glad to meet you．．．glad to be doing business with you…" quite like sharing a meal offered by your host．

　　Clearly, mealtime is not the time for you to say, "Thanks, but no thanks．" Acceptance of the food on your plate means acceptance of host, country, and company．So, no matter how difficult it may be to swallow, swallow．Or, as one experienced traveler says, "Travel with a cast-iron stomach and eat everything everywhere．"

　　Often, the food offered represents proudly your host country's eating culture．What would Americans think of a French person who refused to take a bite of homemade apple pie or sirloin? Our discomfort comes not so much from the thing itself; it comes from our unfamiliarity with it．After all, an oyster has remarkably the same look as a sheep's eye; and a first look at a lobster would remind almost anybody of a creature from a science fiction movie, not something you dip in butter and eat．By the way, in Saudi Arabia sheep's eyes are a famous dish and in parts of China it's bear's paw soup．

　　Can you refuse such food without being rude? Most experienced business travelers say no, at least not before taking at least a few bites．It helps, though, to slice any item very thin．This way, you minimize the taste and the reminder of where it came from．Or, " Swallow it quickly, " as one traveler recommends．"I still can't tell you what sheep's eyeballs taste like．" As for dealing with taste, the old line that "it tastes just like chicken" is often thankfully true．Even when the "it" is really rat or snake．

　　Another useful piece of advice is not knowing what you are eating．What's for dinner? Don't ask．Avoid glancing into the kitchen or looking at English-language menus．Your host will be pleased that you are eating the food he offers, and who knows? Maybe it really is chicken in that soup．