阅读理解

　　It was a dark and cold night．The car driver didn’t have even one passenger all day．When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands．So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “Where do you want to go, sir?”

　　“To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered．When the car driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy．The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station．But suddenly, he had an idea．He took the passenger through many streets of the big city．

　　After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel．“You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man．“What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars．I know how much I have to pay for the trip．I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week．”

阅读理解

　　English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet．One in every seven human beings can speak it．More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English．Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary－perhaps as many as two million words．

　　However, let’s face it：English is a crazy language．There is no eggs in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger．Sweet－meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat．

　　We take English for granted．But when we explore its paradoxes( 探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them．

　　And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don't groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural(复数形式)of tooth is teeth, shouldn't the plural of booth be teeth? One goose, two geese－so one moose, two meese?

　　How can a slim chance and a flat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?

　　English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects( 反映)the creativity of human beings．That’ why, when stars are invisible．And why , when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it．

阅读理解

　　There is no doubt that music plays a powerful role in our lives．It can calm our tired nerves after a busy day of work．Music even has the power to move us to tears when it stirs(激起)an emotional reaction．How then, does music play a role in special education?

　　If music has the ability to touch those hidden places we all carry inside, it proves an important tool for the special education teacher．For students with emotional problems, music can help soothe(抚慰)sadness．Consider the child that arrives in class depressed and upset．If music can indeed relax and calm him, he is more likely to focus and participate in class．

　　Dr．R．Joseph, author of Behavioral Neurology, writes, “It is well recorded that patients with left hemisphere(大脑半球)damage, who may be unable to speak or recognize words, can sing a melody(曲调)．”

　　For this reason, some special education teachers have found it helpful to set their lessons to music．When students cannot understand or remember certain things, singing them helps make it easier．

　　Nature magazine reported “Music training helps underachievers．In Rhode Island, researchers studied eight public school first grade classes．Half of the classes became ‘text－arts’groups, receiving ongoing music training．After seven months, the students were given a test．The tested group had caught up with their fellow students in reading and surpassed(超过)their classmates in math by 22 percent．In the second year of the project, the tested students widened this even further．Students were also tested on attitude and behavior．Classroom teachers also noted improvement in these areas．”

　　It seems music does, indeed, play an important role in education．For the special education teacher, this is especially encouraging．

阅读理解

　　I was packed and ready to leave for my two days’ trip．My mind had been filled with work and with so many small things to deal with．As I got into the car to leave, my thoughts turned to my children．I’d been preparing for the trip for the last few days, and now I’d be away for a few days．

　　How to keep in touch with your kids during busy time is often a father’s problem．Men tend to focus on one thing extremely well for long periods, but this can lead to trouble．Shifting(移开)from work to your family life isn't always the easiest thing to do．And if you don’t show your kids that you’re thinking about them, they may think that you are not．

　　As I started down the road, I suddenly stopped the car and turned around．I drove back to my house, found a couple of cards, and wrote a short message to each of my children．I put each in a “secret” place where I knew they’d find it．

　　When I called the next night, it was clear that they’d received the cards．“Daddy, I got your card,” they both said excitedly．“When did you do that?”

　　My heart was warmed when I heard this．It was such a small thing．But it had a big impact(影响)on my kids．It was their “proof” that I was thinking about them．And it was encouragement for me to continue to do the small things that have a big impact．

阅读理解

　　American is a mobile society．Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change．Neither side feels hurt by this．Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while－then no more．If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship．This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸)sometimes deeply into both families．

　　Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life．They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客)easily．

　　Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time．This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time．Sometimes , we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend．We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends．The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine(常规)．They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus．And they expect that we will phone them from there．Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real．We will find ourselves treated hospitably．

　　For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters．So accept their hospitality at home!

阅渎理解

　　Just seven years ago, the Jarvik-7 artificial heart was being cheered as the model of human creativeness．The sight of Barney Clark－alive and conscious after trading his diseased heart for a metal-and-plastic pump－convinced the press, the public and many doctors that the future had arrived．It hadn't．After monitoring production of the Jarvik-7, and reviewing its effects on the 150 or so patients(most of whom got the device as a temporary measure)the U．S．Food and Drug Administration concluded that the machine was doing more to endanger lives than to save them．Last week the agency cancelled its earlier approval, effectively banning(禁止)the device．

　　The recall may hurt Symbion Inc．, maker of the Jarvik-7, but it won't end the request for an artificial heart．One problem with the banned mode is that the tubes connecting it to an external power source created a passage for infection．Inventors are now working on new devices that would be fully placed, along with a tiny power pack, in the patient's chest．The first sample products aren't expected for another 10 or 20 years．But some people are already worrying that they'll work－and that America's overextended health-care programs will lose a precious ＄2.5 billion to ＄5 billion a year providing them for a relatively few dying patients．If such expenditures(开支)cut into funding for more basic care, the net effect could actually be a decline in the nation's health．

阅渎理解

　　The Internet will open up new vistas(前景), create the global village－you can make new friends all around the world．That, at least, is what it promised us．The difficulty is that it did not take human mind into account．The reality is that we cannot keep relationships with more than a limited number of people．No matter how hard the Internet tries to put you in communication, its best efforts will be defeated by your mind．

　　The problem is twofold(双重的)．First, there is a limit on the number of people we can hold in mind and have a meaningful relationship with．That number is about 150 and is set by the size of our brain．Second, the quality of your relationships depends on the amount of time you invest in then．We invest a lot in a small number of people and then distribute what’s left among as many others as we can．The problem is that if we invest little time in a person, our engagement with that person will decline until eventually it dies into “someone I once knew”．

　　This is not, of course, to say that the Internet doesn’t serve a socially valuable function．Of course it does．But the question is not that it allows you to increase the size of your social circle to include the rest of the world, but that you can keep your relationships with your existing friends going even though you have to move to the other side of the world．

　　In one sense, that’s a good thing．But it also has a disadvantage．If you continue to invest in your old friends even though you can no longer see them, then certainly you aren’t using your time to make new friends where you now live．And I suspect that probably isn’t the best use of your time．Meaningful relationships are about being able to communicate with each other, face to face．The Internet will slow down the rate with which relationships end, but it won’t stop that happening eventually．

阅渎理解

　　Roy wasn't the only one to receive his call-up(入伍)papers．Stephen Napier's call-up came at the beginnning of February and he was pleased to find that he would be going into the Royal Air Force(RAF)．

　　His father was not so pleased and made his feelings known as he and Stephen were on their daily walk．It was the first step in his plans for Stephen to take over the estate(地产)when the time came, and although Stephen was well aware of this, he could think of no reason not to accompany him．

　　“Thought you’d forgotten that nonsense．Still, I dare say I could pull a few strings to get you to the Army…”

　　“No, Father! I have told you I want to learn to fly．What chance would I have to do that in the Army? I'd be better off in the Navy－at least they’ve got the Fleet Air Arm．But I have been put in the RAF and that’s where I want to be, so let’s leave it at that．His face went red．Sent to his father’s school and then to Cambridge, much to his satisfaction, he had never had to defend his own desires and his father was a hard man to oppose．

　　The father glared at Stephen, "No, I won't leave it at that．I want to know what other ridiculous ideas are in your head．For a start, what's all this about America?”

　　“America?”

　　“Yes．All those books I saw in your room the other day．Brochures about emigration(移民)．”

　　The big, silvered head lowered, like that of a bull about to charge．“Don't trouble to deny it．”

　　“I won’t, Father．Some men at Cambridge have been talking about it．They want people like us here, mathematicians and scientists, for all kinds of research----the sort of research I could do．It would be a worthwhile life for me．”

　　The father responded exactly as his son had known he would．“You’ve got a worthwhile life here！You’ve got an estate to run！”

　　“No, Father．You’ve got an estate to run．I never asked for it．Why not ask Baden to do this stuff? He perhaps can make a good job of it, but I…”

　　“If he were here, I might think about this silly idea of yours－only think about it, mind you but…”

阅渎理解

How to Deal with the Association

Between Boys and Girls

　　If we want to deal with the association between boys and girls properly, here are some “dos and don’ts ” for you to follow．

　　Keep a normal and healthy state of mind．It is very natural for the boys and girls to make friends with each other．We can get in touch with the other sex in public, but not in secret．

　　When you stay with the other sex, don’t be too nervous or too shy．If you are a shy person, you can make friends with the students who have the same interest and hobby as you．You may have much to talk about．If you keep doing like that, you will gladly find you are also as free to express yourself as others．

　　Don't fall into the ditch of early love．The boys and girls at adolescence are rich in feeling．They are easy to regard the friendship as a sign of love and fall in love with each other at an early age．In my opinion, early love is a green apple that can't be eaten．An apple won't taste sweet until it is fully ripe．Boys and girls at middle school are too young to carry heavy duty of love．Do keep out of early love．

阅渎理解

　　Everyone has got two personalities－the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real．You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behaviour, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you．In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position．The important position is the one that you go to sleep in．

　　If you go to sleep on your back, you're a very open person．You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas．You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings．You're quite shy and you aren't very confident．

　　If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive(不坦率的)person．You worry a lot and you're always easily upset．You're very stubborn(顽固的), but you aren't very ambitious．You usually live for today not for tomorrow．This means that you enjoy having a good time．

　　If you sleep curled up(卷曲), you are probably a very nervous person．You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive．You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people．You prefer to be on your own．You're easily hurt．

　　If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality．You know your strengths and weaknesses．You're usually careful．You have a confident personality．You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed．You always say what you think even if it annoys people．