阅读理解

　　This year, Chongqing primary schools decide to start morning classes an hour later．This will help students feel less tired．And most primary schools will begin the first classes at about9o’clock in the morning．

　　The students are happy about the change．

　　Liu Ming told us that his class were excited by the news on the first day of the school．“Great! From now on we students at Hope Primary School don’t have to get up so early!” Liu said that he used to get up at 6∶40 am．Now he can get up at 7∶50 am because class doesn’t start until 8∶50 am．

　　Wu Hong feels the same．She said the new timetable(时间表)was good for her health．“I used to get up at 6∶30 am．I had to drink coffee every night, or I would feel too sleepy to finish my homework,” said Wu．“Now I can finish it without coffee．Because I can sleep a little longer．”

　　Many teachers say the change will help students learn better．“Students used to doze(瞌睡)for the first two classes in the morning,” said Huang Shan, an English teacher at No．1 Primary School．“But now they are active and learn much better than before．”

　　But some parents are worried that more sleep will mean less learning．There used to be five classes in the morning．Now there are only four．

　　In fact, every coin has two sides．So does the change in the school timetable．

阅读理解

　　Driving in Spain is a lot of the time pleasurable, smooth new roads with few fellow drivers to look out for, allowing one to take in the beautiful, changing countryside, but at other times it can also be a nervous nerve　experience, and you try not to eyewink in case you cause serious damage to body and machine．

　　Spanish drivers are by no means the worst in the world but they do have many habits and manners that will make you fear but then smile; they posses the same love of the horn used by so many other nations' drivers．But their use of the horn doesn't seem to be for warning another driver of a serious driving infringement(违规)but instead to remind people that they are sitting at a red light or that Real Madrid or Barcelona or whoever they have promised their loyalty to, has just scored a goal!

　　Most drivers would agree that round-abouts(圆环)are quite simple to use, but they seem to be a complete mystery to many Spanish drivers．On many occasions, a Spaniard in the right hand lane will decide that he is turning left, often with no indication, the result of this being the screaming of quickly applied foot brakes from vehicles traveling in the left hand lane with the intension of carrying straight on．Amazingly though, this type of driving action, as mentioned earlier, is apparently considered quite acceptable by the average Spanish motorist and the constant whistling of horns one would expect is never heard．

　　The Spanish have rather a crazy way of overtaking(超车)also, or at least the speed merchants among them do．Many of the major roads in Spain are dual ways and at times you will need to overtake slower traffic．It is at this time that you are likely to meet the presence of “mad” driver．You will go through your overtaking procedure mirror, indicate－and then, as if by magic, a quick look in your back view mirror expose that you have a car practically riding your bumper(保险杠)with its left indicator flashing like there's no tomorrow．Strangely enough this is also supposed to be acceptable practice．

阅读理解

　　Sometimes you think your teacher hates you? You're not the only one．Teachers and students sometimes have personality clashes,just like any two people who don't get along．After all, teachers aren't perfect．

　　However, most of the time, there are lots of reasons why you and your teacher might not be getting along．So try to figure out if your teacher really does dislike you ,or if something else is going on．Here are some questions to ask yourself：

　　＊Is your teacher's anger aimed at you personally, or at something specific you’ve been doing?

　　All teachers have something that they strongly dislike．Maybe your teacher hates it when people whisper in class．If you try hard not to do these things, the situation might get better．

　　＊Are you the only person being treated badly, or is your teacher being rough on the whole classroom?

　　Ask your classmates if they've been having trouble with the teacher too．If they say yes, perhaps your teacher is having problems outside of school, or is new and feels overwhelmed(压力过大的)．

　　＊Are you working up to your ability?

　　You and the kid sitting beside you both got a C on the last test, and your teacher told you that you could do better, but didn't say anything to her! Isn't this totally unfair? Well, teachers often grade students by different standards, especially if they feel that someone isn't doing the work they're capable of doing．It's their way of motivating a student to try a little harder．

　　＊Are you more sensitive than most students?

　　Try to find out if you are just extra sensitive to criticism．If the other student aren't as sensitive, they will not be bothered even though the teacher treated them exactly the same way．There's nothing wrong with being sensitive, but if you react to criticism differently than most kids, this could be a factor in why you think your teacher doesn't like you．

阅读理解

　　American farmers first planted genetically engineered(GE)crops in 1996．Today eighty percent of the cropland for soybeans, corn and cotton in the United States is transgenic(转基因的)．Genetic engineering adds or changes genes in a plant to produce desired qualities．

　　The United States is one of the twenty-five countries where farmers planted genetically engineered crops in 2009．An agricultural biotechnology group says GE crops planting decreased in Europe．But the amount of cropland planted with GE crops rose by about seven percent worldwide．

　　The National Research Council, part of the National Academies in Washington, recently published a study．The study examined how genetically engineered crops have affected farming in the United States．It found that many farmers have better harvests, better weed control and fewer losses from insect damage compared to traditional crops．

　　LaReesa Wolfenbarger is a University of Nebraska biology professor and a member of the committee that wrote the report．She says they found that genetically engineered crops can be better for the environment．

　　LaReesa Wolfenbarger：“In general, we find that genetically engineered crops have had fewer harmful effects on the environment than non-GE crops produced conventionally．”

　　For example, she noted that crops designed to resist damage by glyphosate(草甘膦)need fewer pesticides(杀虫剂)．Glyphosate is a chemical used in weed killing products．

　　But some farmers have used so much glyphosate that a number of kinds of weeds can now resist it．David Ervin of Portland State University in Oregon led the committee that wrote the report．Professor Ervin says this means that some farmers are again using more poisonous herbicides(除草剂)to control weeds．He says the problem needs immediate attention．

　　Earlier this year, a professor at the University of Western Australia commented on the overuse of glyphosate．Stephen Powles wrote about it in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States．He said glyphosate is as important in worldwide food production as penicillin(青霉素)is in medicine for fighting disease．He called for better use of glyphosate-resistant crop technology．

阅读理解

　　The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems．

　　The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year,1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas．

　　People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www．bjbys．com from February 1 through March 15．

　　“We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers,” Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency．

　　The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000yuan(＄250)in the first year,2,500 yuan(＄320)the second year and 3,000 yuan(＄385)the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards, Sun said．

　　Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside．After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Beijing's Pinggu District．For one project, Wang contacted people at the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting．Her efforts paid off．The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year．

　　Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education．

　　The ministry predicts that 4．95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year,820,000 more than last year．About 1．4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate．

　　In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year．Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau．

阅读理解

　　I fell in love with the minister's son the winter I turned fourteen．He was not Chinese．For Christmas I prayed for the boy, Robert．When I found out that my parents had invited the minister’s family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried in panic．What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?

　　On Christmas Eve, my mother created abundant Chinese food．And then they arrived－the minister’s family and all my relatives．Robert greeted hello, and I pretended he was not worthy of existence．

　　Dinner threw me deeper into disappointment．My relative licked(舔)the ends of their chopsticks and reached across the table．Robert and his family waited patiently for a large plate to be passed to them．My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish．Robert made a face．Then my father reached his chopsticks just below the fish eye and picked out the soft meat．“Amy, your favorite,” he said, offering me the tender fish cheek．I wanted to disappear．

　　At the end of the meal, my father leaned back and burped(打嗝)loudly, thanking my mother for her fine cooking．“It's a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied,” explained my father to our astonished guests．Robert was looking down at his plate with a reddish face．The minister managed to bring up a quiet burp．I was shocked into silence for the rest of the night．

　　After everyone had gone, my mother said to me, “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside．” She handed me an early gift．It was a miniskirt．“But inside you must always be Chinese．You must be proud that you are different．Your only shame is to have shame．”

　　It was not until years later that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the purpose behind her particular menu．For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen excellent Chinese food．

阅读理解

阅读理解

　　Visitors worry that London is an expensive city but there really are so many things to do for free in London from museums and galleries to free music and walking tours．

　　Tate Modern and Tate Britain are exceptional national art galleries housing some of the finest artworks in the world．Tate Modern focuses on contemporary art while Tate Britain displays British Art from the sixteenth century to the present day．

　All of London's major museums are free, but most offer some special exhibitions for a fee．My favorite is the Museum of London where you can learn the history of London from Roman times to today．Other great major museums are the British Museum, the V&A, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum．Oh, and I love the Geffrye Museum．And the Horniman Museum．Now I can't decide which is the best!

　　Many of London's major art galleries and museums are open in the evening and often have special evening events．This can be a great way to relax at the end of a busy day seeing the sights．The main London galleries and museums are air-conditioned so it can be wonderful way to cool down in the height of summer in the city．Galleries and museums are not open late every night so here is a handy list to help you plan your days and evenings．

　　Many people say the Queen Mary's Rose Gardens in Regent's Park is their favorite spot in London, and who am I to argue? I would also recommend St．James's Park as it offers one of the best views of Buckingham Palace．Hyde Park is enormous and includes the ever popular Diana Memorial Fountain and the Peter Pan Statue．

　　There are often free talks and guided walks in the royal parks so do check the What's On section of the Royal Parks website．

　　No visit to London is complete without seeing this military tradition．The Queen's Guard in London changes in the Forecourt inside the gates of Buckingham Palace at 11.30am every day in the summer and every other day in the winter．Get there early and view the spectacle from outside the front gates．

阅读理解

阅读理解

　　Your friends might be in Australia or maybe just down the road, but they are all just a few clicks 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 grandparents, 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 record 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 Saturday or Sunday when I feel everything around me boring．I usually spend about 10 hours chatting online 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 are talking to．You should always be careful about whom you believe on line．”

　　Many people would like to meet offline when they feel they have got to be known to 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 Simon online, dislikes QQ users．“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 Australia, 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(上瘾)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．”