阅读理解

　　Holiday is finally here！It’s time to get into the spirit of the happy season．Here are two activities you can try with your friends and classmates．

　　About the game

　　Some students from Lancaster University in the UK are going to have their annual Jailbreak Competition．It is organized by the university’s division of Students in Free Enterprise, a non-profit organization, run by students, which helps to fund sustainable projects in developing countries．

　　How to play

　　Traveling in pairs, participants have 36 hours to journey as far as possible, without spending any money．Before setting off, they are given posters and T-shirts to raise as much money as possible．When they reach their destination, students are required to take a photo and buy a newspaper to prove that they were there．Prizes are awarded for most money raised and furthest distance traveled．

　　About the game

　　You don’t have to wait until Halloween to play a zombie game．Created in the fall of 2005 at Goucher College, US by students Brad Sappington and Chris Weed, the game Humans vs Zombies has taken the US by storm and is now played on more than 200 college campuses across the country．Many find that the game is a good way to make friends．

　　How to play

　　Everyone playing the game starts as “human” with the exception of one：the original zombie．

　　If a player is touched by the zombie, he or she then becomes a zombie and is required to “tag”(感染)at least one human every 48 hours to stay in the game．

　　If a human player manages to “stun”(打晕)a zombie with a toy gun or a pair of rolled up socks, they are safe for the time being．The “stunned” zombie is not allowed to tag a human for a predetermined length of time．The game can last days, weeks or even all semester．If less than a certain number of humans survive the attack, the zombies win．

阅读理解

　　I am a person who does not like to wait．I don’ t like lines, being put on hold when making a phone call, arriving at an appointment to find that my companion will be delayed and of course, I don’t like waiting rooms．

　　However, I realize that my agony(痛苦)will not be good for me, as an increasingly crowded world can only mean one thing－more waiting．

　　Owing to this, I have taken a measure and decided to turn my disappointment to productive ends．In short, I am looking for what I call “waiting in line books”．

　　These are books that contain material designed for being read in shortened words, so there is no extended story line to lose track of．Another requirement is that they be small enough to slip neatly into my back pocket．

　　The other day I went to the supermarket．Convinced that the rain would keep most people away, I was surprised to see that the place was crowded with shoppers．Every checkout was open－and jammed! But I could take out my pocket book and go to work．

　　The more the world demands that I wait, the more I learn from my waiting library．Look at these titles：One Hundred Things Every American Should Know; The Poetry of Robert Frost; Living Thoughts of Leading Thinkers; Still More Toasts．I have learned interesting and enriching things and much knowledge from these books．

　　On a recent visit to the general store, I placed my order at the counter along with six or seven other people．The one female employee seemed to have her hands full as she rushed about．“Just be patient,” she said to me．

　　No problem．I quietly opened my dictionary of prose(散文)and poetical quotations．Perhaps the other customers regarded me as a bookish, lonely soul．But little did they realize that I was enjoying the company of Shakespeare, Thoreau, Homer and Ben Johnson．

阅读理解

　　Many people turn to doctors or self-help books, but they ignore(忽视)a powerful thing that could help them fight illness：their friends．

　　Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in health．A 10-year Australian study found that old people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends．A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity(肥胖)among people whose friends gained weight．And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could improve brain health as we age．

　　“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t well realized,” said Rebecca, a professor at the University of North Carolina．“Friendship has a bigger effect on our psychological(心理的)health than family relationships．”

　　While many friendship studies are about the close relationships of women, some research shows that men can benefit, too．In a six-year study of 736 middle-aged men, having friendships reduces the risk of heart attack．Only smoking was as important a risk factor(因素)as having little social support．

　　Exactly why friendship has such a big effect isn’t entirely clear．While friends can send a sick person to the hospital or pick up medicine, the benefits go well beyond physical assistance．Friendship clearly has a big psychological effect．“People with stronger friendships feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen, a doctor．“The message of these studies is that friends make your life better．”

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．

　　Art Galleries

　　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∶30 a. m 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

　　Some places in the world have strange laws．It’s important for you to know about them before going there．

　　Whoever likes to chew gum(口香糖)may have to leave Singapore．The government really wants to keep the city clean and will fine you for chewing gum．

　　Before you leave for the United Arab Emirates you’d better make sure you aren’t visiting during Ramadan(斋月)．During that time you aren’t allowed to eat or drink in public．Tourists have been fined up to ＄275 for drinking in public．

　　Lovers spend so much time kissing each other goodbye at train stations that trains often start late．This law－no kissing your lover goodbye at train stations – is rather old, and isn’t in use today in France．

　　In Thailand it’s against the law to drive a car or motorcycle without a shirt on, no matter how hot it is．Punishments are different in different areas and can include warnings and tickets costing about ＄10．No joke -- the local police will stop you．

　　Studies in Denmark have shown that cars with their headlights on are more noticeable by other drivers than those with their headlights off．Drivers there are required to leave their headlights on even during the day, or they may face a fine up to ＄100．

　　Do you often buy things using coins? Don’t do it in Canada．The Currency Law of 1985 doesn’t allow using only coins to buy things．Even the use of the dollar-coin is limited(受限制的)．The shop owner has the right to choose whether to take your coins or not．

　　Make sure you know about these laws before your next trip．Better safe than sorry．

阅读理解

　　One fine afternoon I was walking along Fifth Avenue, when I remembered that it was necessary to buy a pair of socks．I turned into the first sock shop that caught my eye, and a boy clerk(职员)who could not have been more than 17 years old came forward．“What can I do for you, sir?” “I wish to buy a pair of socks．” His eyes lit up．“Did you know that you had come into the best place in the world to buy socks?” I had not been aware of that．“Come with me,” said the boy happily．He began to haul(用力拖)down from the shelves box after box．

　　“Hold on, boy, I am going to buy only one pair!” “I know that,” said he, “but I want you to see how beautiful these are．Aren’t they wonderful?” There was on his face an expression of joy, as if he were showing to me the mysteries of his religion．“My friend,” said I, “if this is not merely the enthusiasm that comes from novelty(新鲜), if you can keep up this zeal(热忱)day after day, in ten years you will own every sock in the United states．”

　　My amazement at his pride in salesmanship will be understood by all who read this article．In many shops the customer has to wait for someone to serve him．And when finally some clerk does deign(屈尊)to notice you, you are made to feel as if you were interrupting him．He shows no interest either in you or in the goods he is paid to sell．Yet possibly that very clerk who is now so apathetic(冷漠的)began his career with enthusiasm．The novelty disappeared; his only pleasures were found outside of working hours．He became a mechanical(机械般的), not inspired, salesman．

　　I have observed such change in the lives of so many men in so many occupations that I have come to the conclusion that the fastest road to failure is to do things mechanically．

阅读理解

　　Attractions in Wisconsin

　　30 N．Carroll Street on Madison’s Capitol Square

　　Discover Wisconsin’s history and culture(文化)on four floors of exhibits．Open for public program．Admission is free．

　　Open ：Tuesday through Saturday, 9∶00am－4∶00 pm．

　　(608)264-6555 www．wisconsinhistory．org/museum

　　612 Seventh Ave．, New Glarus

　　The Swiss Historical Village offers a delightful look at pioneer life in America’s heartland．14 buildings in the village give a full picture of every day life in the nineteenth-century Midwest．

　　Tue．－Fri．, May 1st－October 31st, 10∶00 am－4∶00 pm．Admission is ＄20．

　　(608)527-2317 www．swisshistoricalvillage．com

　　6858 Paoli Rd．, Paoli, WI

　　One of the largest collections of fine arts and crafts(手工艺品)in Wisconsin．Over 5000 sp．ft．of exhibition space in a historic creamery．While visiting enjoy a wonderfully prepared lunch at our café overlooking the Sugar River．Just minutes from Madison!

　　Gallery open Tue．–Sun．, 10∶00 am－5∶00 pm．

　　Café open：Wed．–Sat．, 11：00 am－3∶00 pm．

　　Sun．brunch with wine, 10∶00－3∶00 pm．

　　(608)845-6600 www．artisangal．com

　　239 Whitney St．, Columbus

　　World-class exhibit –2000 quality souvenirs(纪念品)marking Chicago’s 1893 World Columbian Exhibition．Tour buses are always welcome．

　　Open：daily, 8∶15 am－4∶00 pm．

　　(920)623-1992 www．columbusantiquemall．com

阅读理解

　　Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes．To some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence．On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings．Thus the limits of person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment．This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways．

　　It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with．The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligence．Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different．If, on the other hand, we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other．Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth．

　　Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments．We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring．We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part．This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence．

阅读理解

　　I entered high school having read hundreds of books．But I was not a good reader．Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read．Rather, I read in order to get a point of view．I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes－anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated．When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a “complicated idea” until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony(嘲讽)or its very complicated truth．I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read．Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times．(How, after all, could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length．(Could anything shorter be a book?)

　　There was yet another high school list I made．One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college．The article had a list of the “hundred most important books of Western Civilization．” “More than anything else in my life,” the professor told the reporter with finality(firmly), “these books have made me all that I am．” That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore．I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles．Most books, of course, I hardly understood．While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about．However, with the special patience and superstition(迷信)of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text．And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my list

阅读理解

Let children learn to judge their own work．A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time; if corrected too much, he will stop talking．He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use．Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s．In the same way, children learn to do all the other things without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle…They compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes．But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself．We do it all for him．We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake．If it is a matter in mathematics or science, give him the answer book．Let him correct his own papers．Why should we teachers waste time in such routine(日常的)work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer．Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what he does not know．