阅读理解

　　“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton(骨骼)in the closet(衣橱)?”Jessica asked．“A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully, “Well, it's something that you would rather not have anyone else know about．For example, if in the past, someone in Dad's family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family's closet'．He really wouldn't want any neighbor to know about it．”

　　“Why pick on my family?” Jessica's father said with anger．“Your family history isn't so good, you know．Wasn't your great – great grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners．” “Gosh, sorry I asked．I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse．

　　After dinner, the house was very quiet．Jessica's parents were still quite angry with each other．Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read．When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica's closet．Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor．Jessica's mother sank into a faint(晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead．She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter．

　　“What happened?Where am I?” she asked．“You just destroyed the school's skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica．“I brought it home to help me with my health project．I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad．” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly．“They're both crazy,” she thought．

阅读理解：

　　You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time．Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!

　　Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness．It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．

　　Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others' pity or respect．

　　When you communicate with positive people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首)of a negative person is put in you, you feel the heavy feeling that all in all, brings you down．

　　Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker, or a relative．In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible．Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person, but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won't feel ashamed of themselves about that．

　　Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着)you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible．

阅读理解：

　　When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like：“If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you' ll most certainly be right．” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”

　　Remembering that I' ll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choice in life．

　　About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer．The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months．My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors' code for preparing yourself to die．

　　I lived with that diagnosis all day．I was completely in despair．Later that evening, I had another examination and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery．I had the surgery and I' m fine now．

　　This was the closest I've been to facing death．To tell the truth, no one wants to die．And yet death is the destination we all share．No one has ever escaped it．It clears out the old to make room for the new．Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away．

　　Your time is so limited that you shouldn't waste it repeating someone else's life．Don' t be trapped by dogma(教条)－which is living with the results of other people' s thinking．Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice．And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart．It somehow already knows what you truly want to become．Everything else is secondary．

阅读理解：

　　Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way．Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar．

　　In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on January 1st．People may go to parties, dress in formal clothes－like tuxedos(小礼服)and evening gowns, and drink champagne at midnight．During the first minutes of the New Year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead．But some cultures prefer to celebrate the New Year by waking up early to watch the sun rise．They welcome the New Year with the first light of the sunrise．

　　It is also a common Western custom to make a New Year's promise, called a resolution．New Year's resolutions usually include promises to try something new or change a bad habit in the new year．

　　Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year．For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes．The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers．At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh(again)．Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year．

　　Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day．The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year．In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year．In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas(豇豆)for good luck－but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!

阅读理解：

　　I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro．He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs．

　　The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house．” It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of a horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses．As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted．When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up．”

　　That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch．He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track．Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch．”

　　He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher．Two days later he received his paper back．On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, "See me after class．”

阅读理解

　　Parents are often amazed at how fast their child grows and develops．New research has determined that the ability to quantify may develop much sooner than most parents realize．

　　Kristy Vanmarle, professor of the University of Missouri, has determined that contrary to what previous studies have shown, infants(婴儿)are able to quantify substances(物质)－like sand or water－as early as 10 months．As long as the difference between the two substances is large enough, infants will choose the larger amount, especially when it comes to food．

　　With the assistance of her team researchers, Vanmarle tested the quantifying skills of babies by presenting them with two cups：one containing a small amount of food, and one containing a larger amount．Consistently, the babies chose the larger amount．

　　“Several studies throughout the last 15 years have shown that infants are very good at telling how many objects they see; however, infants don't seem to count things like water or sand,” Vanmarle said．“What we're saying is that they can quantify substances; it's just much harder．The infants can see how much food goes into each cup and compare that in their memories．They decide which amount is larger, and they almost always select the larger one．”

　　“This information further refutes(驳斥)the long-held idea that babies know nothing of the world,” Vanmarle said．

　　“Since psychologists have begun studying infants with sensitive measures, we've discovered a lot of early abilities．I think for parents, it should be exciting to know that there's somebody in there that has some fundamental and basic knowledge of the world, and that knowledge is guiding their development,” Vanmarle said．

　　In the future, Vanmarle says this kind of study could be linked to a child's progress in math-related skills, although programs marketed to increase those abilities, such as “Baby Einstein,” still have mixed reviews when it comes to academic study．

阅读理解

　　TAIBEI－Increasing numbers of Taiwanese students are joining the island's “China rush”, seeking education on the Chinese mainland．

　　According to official Chinese figures, the number of Taiwanese students admitted into college and postgraduate(研究生)programs on the mainland totaled 461 in 1996, 928 in 1997 and 839 in 1998．Although no latest official numbers were available,” Netbig．com said this number had risen between 30 to 50 percent annually in the past two years with well over 1000 entering mainland campuses last year．

　　The Internet site, based in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, provides education service and information on Chinese mainland college and universities．“Many Taiwanese believe a Chinese education giving more knowledge about the people and culture in the mainland will increase their chances in the Chinese job market,” Netbig．com vice-president Ingrid Huang said．“I believe it will give me hands-on experience in the business field in the Chinese mainland and a better understanding of the Chinese mainland people,” said Lydia Chang, a 19-year-old majoring in journalism at Shih Shin University．Chang plans to go on to get a master's degree in business administration in Shanghai, which she says offers the best environment for such studies．

　　A journalism graduate student, surnamed Lin, at the National Taiwan University said he would like to study law on the Chinese mainland since “there will be better career prospects now that more Taiwanese companies are going there”．“They hope the children could build up connections which could later become useful in their business operations,” said Yang Ching-yao, professor of the Chinese mainland studies．A Netbig．com survey showed the campuses favored by Taiwan students included Beijing, Qinghua and Renmin universities in Beijing, and Jinan and Zhongshan universities in Guangzhou．The most popular studies were law, business and Chinese medicine．

　　At present, Chinese Taibei doesn't recognize diplomas earned in the Chinese mainland nor help with any inquiries about studying there．But recognizing the trend, education authorities are giving a final form to a policy accepting certificates(证书)from selected universities．

阅读理解

　　Knowing how to communicate well needs very personal attention between you and another human being．Is there a better way to learn how to communicate effectively? Yes, there is．Please follow the 3 basic steps below．

1．Relax and Breathe．

　　Whether it's a business meeting or the first date, the first thing you must do in order to communicate is to relax．When you relax you are in control．You control your reactions and your reactions do not control you．Breathing is central to relaxation．Take a few deep breaths and your body will begin to be more at ease．This will help you apply what you already know about how to communicate well．

2．Think and you will be prepared．

　　Have you ever heard the old saying, "think before you speak"? Well, it is true．By thinking ahead about how the conversation might flow, you will be better prepared, more at ease and more confident．

3．Follow the flow of the conversation．

　　If you are uncomfortable, being silent will only make it worse and make the other person uncomfortable as well．So when all else fails, follow through with small talk until a common topic appears．

　　A good way to keep a conversation going is to ask the other person questions．People love to talk about themselves and if you do this they will think very highly of you．Learning good communication skills is not something out of reach．If you make an effort, you will succeed．

阅读理解

　　She handed me a five dollar bill through the car window, then turned and walked away．I don't know her name, nor where she was going ,but I know I will never forget that stranger who generously saved me from a lot of frustration(挫折)and prevented me from walking a mile or more to my destination．

　　When we finally were able to exit, we tried to find parking lots near the hosting hotel．But they were all full．Not expecting this, neither of us had brought change; all we had was a twenty dollar bill．When we did find some space in a lot two blocks away from the conference, we were unable to pay the automatic(自动)box for parking．So we needed five dollars．

　　We asked several people approaching the pay box if they could change a twenty．“No”,“No”were their answers．So, dejected, we walked back to our car, got inside, and started to back out．We were going to look for other parking spot on the street that would surely have taken us a longer distance away．

　　That day My husband, Leo, and I were already a half hour late for an important conference．We had taken the wrong fork in the expressway, and found ourselves stuck in traffic that was blocked for four miles due to a serious accident．

　　Just then, one tapped on the window on the passenger side．It was a short, medium-built woman, who was all bundled up in jacket and scarf, wearing jeans and boots．Surprised, I was reluctant, at first, to roll the window down．What could she possibly want? I lowered the window just enough to hear what the woman had to say．Through the window, she shoved a five dollar bill．“I don't have change,” she said, “but here is an extra five dollar bill．Use it to pay for your parking spot．” I was floored! Was this woman, whom I'd never seen before, actually giving me this much money? Yes, that was exactly what she was doing! She wouldn't take the check I offered her for the cash．She just walked away．

阅读理解

　　AAAGH! The Generation 90s is coming!

　　Wearing earphones, using complex Net language and constantly text messaging friends, the Gen-90s following the Gen-80s begin to make their world debut(初次登台)．

　　Each generation or age group has its own symbols and lifestyle．Read on and judge for yourselves if you fit the Gen-90s profile(简介)．

　　Earphones

　　These little devices seem to grow on the heads of the Gen-90s．They might lead to MP3, MP4 or MP101 players, giving these young people a plugged-in，cool and perhaps self-addicted look, of course, life is not always music to the ears．

　　Martian language

　　They have created their own code-like online language．It's a mixture of English, Japanese and Chinese that perhaps only Martians can understand．This is an imaginative generation, though they need to be careful to keep it out of their term papers．

　　Self-Portrait

　　Saying “cheese” to their own digital cameras is routine for this generation．A little bit of narcissism(自恋)never hurts anyone．It helps them reflect a little on their own lives．But be aware of the risks of posting private photos online．

　　Text-messaging

　　They can type their mobile phones as fast as they can speak．This is a generation that respects efficiency．However, oral communication is important and will never go out of style．