阅读理解

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阅读理解

　　I received a call today asking if I would be willing to bring food to a family in need．The mother was having a major operation and would be lying down for several weeks．Of course, I responded with an immediate“Yes!”．As I planned the meal in my head, I thought of how many times over the years I had been asked to prepare food．I have done so countless times with a very open heart．

　　But the truly amazing thing is that I have received double over the course of my life．When my mother died, our house was filled with fresh dinners for weeks．A woman from the church of our community stopped by each evening with some food．The gift of food was her small way of trying to ease our pain．

　　Later in my life, when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy(怀孕)with twins, women of the church again stepped in to help．They arranged babysitting for my two-year-old daughter, and brought lovely dinners to our house．Even when I was put in the hospital, my husband would bring cooked meals to my hospital room．How we relied on these dinners to feed my tired husband and young daughter!

　　Food is all about comfort．It feeds our bodies, but it can also feed our souls．When you hear people talking about their favorite holidays, it usually includes their feelings connected with sharing food．I know that I will have many more opportunities in my lifetime to prepare food for others．It is truly a gift I look forward to preparing and delivering to someone in need．

阅读理解

　　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, feel my hair gently 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．Now, I’m a mother, too．Each of my children has felt its invitation．The gift my mama gave me lives on in another generation．

阅读理解

　　Today we will talk about expressions with “apple”．“Apple pie order” means very well organized．Nobody is sure when and where this expression began．It is said that the women of New England loved to have everything in its place, especially when they were making apple pie．

　　Another expression “apple of discord” describes the opposite condition．The ancient story says that all the gods and goddesses were celebrating a marriage when Discord, one of the gods, threw a golden apple on the table which was to be given as a prize to the most beautiful goddess．How could they choose among Juno, Minerva and Venus? When Paris decided to give the golden apple to Venus, Juno and Minerva were very angry and threatened(威胁)him．This began the long Trojan War．

　　Calling a tomato “a love apple” was a mistake．In the sixteenth century, Spain imported the tomato from South America to Morocco, and then Italian businessmen took it to Italy．The Italian name for the tomato was pomo di Moro－apple of the Moors(荒野)．When French growers imported it from Italy, they thought di Moro meant d’amour, the French word for love．And so pomo di Moro became the apple of love．

　　People believe many things about the apple．One belief is that it has great powers of keeping people healthy．“An apple a day keeps the doctor away．” Another belief is based on fact．“One rotten apple spoils the barrel．” The expression has come to mean that one bad person in a group can cause everyone to act badly．

阅读理解

　　It is sometimes said that English is English and that there are no differences between different kinds of English, but this is not the case．American English is in general quite different from UK English．The main differences relate to the use of certain words and to spelling．American English is much more phonetic(与发音近似的)than UK English and in American English a ‘z’ or a ‘c’ is often used where an ‘s’ would be used in British English．

　　Words can vary in different types of English as well．An “estate agent” in UK English is someone who works in “real estate” in American English．British people talk of “rubbish” while the Americans call this “garbage”．The UK people have “bins”, but the Americans have “dumpsters”．

　　The differences between these ways of using English make translating works into English a difficult business．There are translation tools available on the Internet, but these can often translate words in a very direct way and the end result is a sentence that has lost its meaning．

　　The best way of translating any written piece of work into the English language is to first decide what kind of English you want the piece to be translated into．For example, if it is for a British market, then use the UK English．For the best result, always use some kind of spelling and grammar checker so you can make sure that you are using the proper terms, spelling and vocabulary．

阅读理解

　　Surfing the Internet for fun will make you a better employee, according to an Australian study．

　　The University of Melbourne study shows that people who use the Internet for their own reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive than those who do not．Study author Brent Coker said, “Surfing the Internet at times helps increase an employee’s attention．”

　　“People need to relax for a bit to get back their attention,” Coker said on the university’s website．“Having a short break, such as a quick surfing of the Internet, helps the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total Internet attention for a day’s work, and as a result, increases productivity(生产效率),” he said．

　　According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work surf the Internet for their own reasons during office hours．Among the most popular surfing activities are searching for information about products, reading online news, playing online games and watching videos．“Firms spend a lot of money on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online,” said Coker．“That’s not always a good idea．”

　　However, Coker said the study looked at people who surfed the Internet in moderation(适度), or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office．“Those who spend too much time surfing the Internet will have a lower productivity than those without．” he said．

阅读理解

　　There are three different kinds of friends in our life．I classify(分类)them according to how well I know them and how well they know me．

　　The first type of friend is just an acquaintance(熟人)．This means that you only know their names．You might not even remember what they look like if you go away for a short vacation．You don’t miss them when they are elsewhere．It is also this type of friend who gives you the most amount of aggravation(恼怒)．Since most of the time you are placed in a position where you have to act friendly．You would not normally tell an acquaintance when he or she is doing something that makes you feel angry, such as tapping the fingers on a table or shouting loudly．I call them “pest friends”．

　　The second kind of friend is a “guest friend”．They are just social partners．You meet them at a certain location and at the end of the meeting you go your separate way and they go theirs．You don’t talk too often with this sort of friend, and you don’t share each other’s secrets．

　　Lastly, we have “best friends”．This sort of friend is there when you need them．They know you as a person and they are there through thick and thin．Best friends are the ones that you can lean and depend on no matter what happens．If you need a listening ear, they will be the one to lend support．

　　Friends come in all different shapes and sizes．Every friend has an impact on our life．…

阅读理解

　　After an earthquake most survivors can be expected to recover over time, particularly with the support of family and friends．Some families will be able to return to their normal life quickly, while others will have to contend with the destruction of their homes, medical problems, and injury to family members．Children especially will need time to recover from the loss of a loved one or a pet or from the closing down of their schools．

　　Children often turn to adults for information, comfort and help．Parents should try to remain calm, answer children’s questions honestly and remain understanding when they see changes in their children’s behavior．

　　Children react differently to an earthquake depending on their ages, developmental levels and former experiences．Some will respond by withdrawing(不与人交往), while others will have angry outbursts(爆发)．Parents should remain sensitive to each child’s reactions．Parents should spend time talking to their children, letting them know that it’s OK to ask questions and to share their worries．Although it may be hard to find time to have these talks, parents can use regular family mealtimes or bedtimes for them．They should answer questions briefly and honestly and be sure to ask their children for their opinions and ideas．Issues may come up more than once and parents should remain patient when you answer the questions again．For young children, parents, after talking about the earthquake, might read a favorite story or have a relaxing family activity to help them calm down．Parents should also tell children they are safe and spend extra time with them．They could play games outside or read together indoors．Most importantly, be sure to tell them you love them．

阅读理解

　　Psychology(心理学)has a new application in the field of medicine．Many doctors, together with their patients, are looking for alternative methods of treatment of physical problems．In large hospitals, modern therapy(疗法)seems to focus on the physical disease．Patients may feel they are treated like broken machines．Some doctors have recognized this as a problem．They are now using psychological therapy, in which the patient is working with the doctors against the disease with the help of medicine．The patient does not wait for the medicine and treatment to cure him or her, but instead the patient joins in the fight．

　　The doctor knows that a disease affects a patient's body physically．The body of the patient changes because of the disease．He is not only physically affected, but also has an emotional response to the disease．Because his mind is affected, his attitude and behavior change．The medical treatment might cure the patient's physical problems, but the patient's mind must fight the emotional ones．For example, the studies of one doctor, Carl Simonton, M．D．have shown that a typical cancer patient has predictable attitudes．She typically feels depressed, upset, and angry．Her constant depression makes her acts unfriendly toward her family, friends, doctors, and nurses．Such attitudes and behaviors prevent recovery．Therefore, a doctor's treatment must help the patient change that．Simonton's method emphasizes treatment of the “whole” patient．

　　The attitude of a cancer patient receiving radiation therapy, an X-ray treatment, can become more positive．The physician who is following Simonton's psychological treatment plan suggests that the patient imagine that he or she can see the tumor(肿瘤)in the body．In the mental picture, the patient "sees" a powerful beam of radiation like a million bullets of energy．The patient imagines the beam hitting the tumor cells and causing them to shrink．For another cancer patient, Dr．Simonton asks him to imagine the medicine going from the stomach into the bloodstream and to the cancer cells．The patient imagines that the medicine is like an army fighting the diseased cells and sees the cancer cells gradually dying and his blood carry away the dead cells．Both the medical therapy and the patient's positive attitude fight the disease．

　　Doctors are not certain why this mental therapy works．However, this use of psychology does help some patients because their attitudes about themselves change．They become more confident because they use the power within their own minds to help stop the disease．

　　Another application of using the mind to help cure disease is the use of suggestion therapy．At first, the doctor helps the patient to concentrate deeply．The patient thinks only about one thing．He becomes so unaware of other things around him that he is asleep, or rather in a trance(催眠状态)．Then the physician makes “a suggestion” to the patient about the medical problem．The patient's mind responds to the suggestion even after the patient is no longer in the trance．In this way, the patient uses his mind to help his body respond to treatment．

　　Doctors have learned that this use of psychology is helpful for both adults and children．For example, physicians have used suggestion to help adults deal with the strong pain of some disease．Furthermore, sometimes the adult patient worries about her illness so much that the anxiety keeps her from getting well．The right suggestions may help the patient to stop being anxious．Such treatment may help the patient with a chronic(慢性的)diseases．Asthma(哮喘)is an example of a chronic disorder．Asthma is a disease that causes the patient to have difficulty in breathing．The patient starts to cough and sometimes has to fight to get the air that he or she needs．Psychology can help relieve the symptoms of this disorder．After suggestion therapy, the asthma patient breathes more easily．

　　Physicians have learned that the psychological method is very useful in treating children．Children respond quickly to the treatment because they are fascinated by it．For example, Dr．Basil R．Collison has worked with 121 asthmatic children in Sydney, Australia, and had good results．Twenty-five of the children had excellent results．They were able to breathe more easily, and they did not need medication．Another forty-three were also helped．The symptoms of the asthma occurred less frequently, and when they did, they were not as strong．Most of the children also felt better about themselves．Doctors have also used suggestion to change habits like nail-biting, thumb-sucking, and sleep-related problems．

　　Many professional medical groups have accepted the medical use of psychology and that psychology has important applications in medicine．

阅读理解

　　Long after the 1998 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still cursing(咒骂)the disputed refereeing(裁判)decisions that denied victory to their team．A researcher was appointed to study the performance of some top referees．

　　The researcher organized an experimental tournament(锦标赛)involving four youth teams．Each match lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 minutes during which different referees were in charge．

　　Observers noted down the referees' errors, of which there were 61 over the tournament．Converted(转换)to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, a remarkably high number．

　　The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyze the matches in detail．Surprisingly, he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident．When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action．The average distance in the case of errors was 12 meters．The research shows the optimum(最佳的)distance is about 20 meters．

　　There also seemed to be an optimum speed．Correct decisions came when the referees were moving at a speed of about 2 meters per second．The average speed for errors was 4 meters per second．

　　If FIFA, football's international ruling body, wants to improve the standard of refereeing at the next World Cup, it should encourage referees to keep their eyes on the action from a distance, rather than rushing to keep up with the ball, the researcher argues．

　　He also says that FIFA's insistence that referees should retire at age 45 may be misguided．If keeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical．