阅读理解

　　How to Be a Winner

　　Sir Steven Redgrave

　　Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals

　　“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病)．Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low．Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing．That was it－the encouragement I needed．I could still be a winner if I believed in myself．I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes．But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet．Nothing is to stand in my way．”

　　Karen Pickering

　　Swimming World Champion

　　“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week．I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary．This is the key to success－you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized．List what you believe you can achieve．Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them．”

　　Kirsten Best

　　Poet & Writer

　　“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something．Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies．The key is to concentrate．When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind．It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence．This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool．”

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　　In ancient Egypt the pharaoh(法老)treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace if he brought good news．However if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off．

　　Shades of that spirit spread over today's conversations．Once, a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing．As we walked light-heartedly out of the door picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, "Oh boy, bad day for a picnic．The weatherman says it's going to rain．" I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches．Not for his stupid weather report, but for his smile．

　　Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus．As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile, “Oh, that bus left five minutes ago．” Dreams of head-cutting!

　　It's not the news that makes someone angry．It's the unsympathetic attitude with which it's delivered．Everyone must give bad news from time to time and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude．A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way．A boss informing an employee he didn't get the job takes on a sympathetic tone．Big winners know when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver．

　　Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this．When you're tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you, as traveler or diner, want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces．

　　Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warning．Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said “Oh that's all right．I'll catch the next one．” When they bear bad news, big winners deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轰炸的)person is sure to have

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　　Most mornings, the line begins to form at dawn：scores of silent women with babies on their backs, buckets balanced on their heads, and in each hand a bright-blue plastic jug．On good days, they will wait less than an hour before a water tanker goes across the dirt path that serves as a road in Kesum Purbahari, a slum on the southern edge of New Delhi．On bad days, when there is no electricity for the pumps, the tankers don’t come at all．“That water kills people,” a young mother named Shoba said one recent Saturday morning, pointing to a row of pails filled with thick, caramel(焦糖)-colored liquid．“Whoever drinks it will die．” The water was from a pipe shared by thousands of people in the poor neighborhood．Women often use it to wash clothes and bathe their children, but nobody is desperate enough to drink it．

　　There is no standard for how much water a person needs each day, but experts usually put the minimum at fifty liters．The government of India promises(but rarely provides)forty．Most people drink two or three liters－less than it takes to wash a toilet．The rest is typically used for cooking and bathing．Americans consume between four hundred and six hundred liters of water each day, more than any other people on earth．Most Europeans use less than half that．The women of Kesum Purbahari each hoped to drag away a hundred liters that day－two or three buckets’ worth．Shoba has a husband and five children, and that much water doesn’t go far in a family of seven, particularly when the temperature reaches a hundred and ten degrees before noon．She often makes up the difference with bottled water, which costs more than water delivered any other way．Sometimes she just buys milk; it’s cheaper．Like the poorest people everywhere, the people of New Delhi’s slums spend a far greater percentage of their incomes on water than anyone lucky enough to live in a house connected to a system of pipes．

阅读理解

　　Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee．And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea．The physical sensation(感觉)of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions－those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A．Bargh．

　　Psychologists have known that one person’s perception(感知)of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships．Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even beating evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable．Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness．Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle．Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills．

　　Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal．Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries．To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students．A research assistant handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form．The drink was then handed back．After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description．Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink．

　　“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh．

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　　People diet to look more attractive．Fish diet to avoid being beaten up, thrown out of their social group, and getting eaten as a result．That is the fascinating conclusion of the latest research into fish behavior by a team of Australian scientists．

　　The research team has discovered that subordinate(低一等的)fish voluntarily diet to avoid challenging their larger competitors．“In studying gobies we noticed that only the largest two individuals, a male and female, had breeding(繁殖)rights within the group,” explains Marian Wong．“All other group members are nonbreeding females, each being 5-10％ smaller than its next largest competitor．We wanted to find out how they maintain this precise size separation．”

　　The reason for the size difference was easy to see．Once a subordinate fish grows to within 5-10％ of the size of its larger competitor, it causes a fight which usually ends in the smaller goby being driven away from the group．More often than not, the evicted fish is then eaten up．

　　It appeared that the smaller fish were keeping themselves small in order to avoid challenging the boss fish．Whether they did so voluntarily, by restraining how much they ate, was not clear．The research team decided to do an experiment．They tried to fatten up some of the subordinate gobies to see what happened．To their surprise, the gobies simply refused the extra food they were offered, clearly preferring to remain small and avoid fights, over having a feast．

　　The discovery challenges the traditional scientific view of how boss individuals keep their position in a group．Previously it was thought that large individuals simply used their weight and size to threaten their subordinates and take more of the food for themselves, so keeping their competitors small．

　　While the habits of gobies may seem a little mysterious, Dr．Wong explains that understanding the relationships between boss and subordinate animals is important to understand how hierarchical(等级的)societies remain stable．

　　The research has proved the fact that voluntary dieting is a habit far from exclusive to humans．"As yet, we lack a complete understanding of how widespread the voluntary reduction of food intake is in nature," the researchers comment．"Data on human dieting suggests that, while humans generally diet to improve health or increase attractiveness, rarely does it improve long-term health and males regularly prefer females that are fatter than the females' own ideal．"

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　　As a youngster, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania．Surrounded by miles of winding stone walls, the house and field provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me．I was used to tidy living rooms that seemed to whisper, “Not to be touched!”

　　I can still remember one afternoon when I was eight years old．Since my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses．My parents would never approve．The walls were old；some stones were missing, others loose and falling．Still, my idea to climb across those walls grew so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner．

　　“I, uh－I wanna climb the stone walls,”I said．Everyone looked up．“Can I climb the stone walls?”Immediately voices of disagreement went up from the women in the room．“Heavens, no! You’ll hurt yourself!”I wasn’t too disappointed；the response was just as I’d expected．But before I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather’s loud voice．“Now hold on just a minute,”I heard him say．“Let the boy climb the stone walls．He has to learn to do things for himself．”

　　“Go,”he said to me, “and come and see me when you get back．” For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls－and had the time of my life．Later I met with my grandfather to tell him about my adventures．I’ll never forget what he said．“Fred,”he said, smiling, “You made this day a special day just by being yourself．Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are．”

　　Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America．There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same：my message to children at the end of almost every visit．“There’s only one person in this whole world like you,”the kids can count on hearing me say, “and people can like you exactly as you are．”

阅读理解

　　A nurse and her elderly uncle were waiting for a bus at a corner in downtown Chicago．Buses came by, not the one they wanted．The woman finally half-entered one of the buses and asked the driver if the bus she wanted stopped at that corner．

　　The driver looked at her but made no answer, so she repeated the question．To her surprise, he then closed the door on her arm, and drove off．

　　The woman, her arm stuck in the door, ran alongside the bus, shouting．Passengers said the driver stopped after almost a block only because they, too, were shouting．

　　When the driver finally did stop and open the door, the woman jumped on the bus to get his bus number．Then he took off again and went another couple of blocks before other shouting passengers persuaded him to stop and let the woman off．

　　After the driver’s bosses at a tax-supported governmental company(CTA)heard of the incident, they looked into it and set his punishment：a five-day suspension(停职)without pay．That struck me as rather light．

　　But Bill Baxa, the company’s public-relations man, said, “That’s pretty serious punishment．” Five days off work is serious punishment for dragging a woman alongside a bus by her arm? Baxa said, “Any time you take money away from someone, it is a terrible punishment．The driver makes ＄14 an hour．Multiply that by 40 and you can see what he lost．”

　　Yes, that comes to ＄560, a good sum．But we know that people in the private company are fired for far less every day．If the people who run the bus company think that the loss of a week’s pay is more than enough, I offer them a sporting suggestion：Give me a bus．Then have their wives stick their arms in the doorway of the bus, and I’ll slam the door shut, start the bus quickly and take them for a fast one-block run．

　　And I’ll pay ＄560 to anyone who is bold enough to try it．Any taker? Mr．Baxa? Anyone? I didn’t think so．

阅读理解

　　Let us say there is something you don’t know how to do．

　　In the past if you were determined to learn，you might have called a friend or relative，taken a night class or walked down to the local library for a research term．But now a host of websites are springing up，providing free practical advice on these subjects and actually anything else you can think of．

　　In one sense, these “how-to” sites represent a part of the growing world of online learning．This tradition found one of its earliest forms in the FAQs---or Frequently Asked Questions files－that began on Usenet, the Internet’s global, discussion group．These FAQs, many of which still circulate, took a specific subject－and explained it to complete novices．

　　But “how-to” sites take the FAQs idea in a somewhat different direction by addressing subjects that aren’t necessarily related to discussion forums(论坛)．These sites take the style of a written tutorial(teaching period)and a tone of friendly advice．Possibly the biggest and best known of these sites is learn 2．com(www．learn2．com)．It offers nearly 1000 free tutorials and adds new ones frequently for a job interview．

　　At ehow．com(www．ehow．com)you can learn how to train for your first marathon, how to buy a vacation home, or how to make a movie in eight steps．

阅读理解

Mr Zhu,

　　I am writing to your magazine’s “Teenagers Now” column to ask for some help with my 16-year-old son．At the moment, he refuses to do almost everything his mother and I ask him to do．He is our only child and we treat him very well．His grandparents buy him many things, and yet he is still rude to us．He refuses to spend time with us or do as we tell him．Sometimes he acts as if he doesn’t even love us at all．

　　Now he refuses to do his homework, and instead insists on wasting his time watching DVDs and listening to foreign music．I cannot understand this music, but I don’t like it．He also spends too much time in Internet cafes, where he either plays games or chats online．He is wasting valuable time during this important period in his life!

　　What am I to do? At present, to prevent making his mother unhappy with an argument, I am allowing him his freedom．However, I am worried that if I keep allowing him to do what he wants, he may fail at school, or worse．

　　How can I help my son without harming our relationship?

Yours

Liu Zhenhua

阅读理解

　　The 16-year-old girl Jessica Watson is said to be the youngest person to sail non-stop alone around the world．But her record has been questioned because someone thought that she has not sailed far enough．She will also not be recognized by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, as it was too dangerous for someone under 18 years old．

　　Ms Watson sailed into Sydney port on Saturday, seven months after leaving on a hard voyage．Family, friends and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have gathered to greet her．Thousands of well-wishers waited at the port and watched from boats as Ms Watson sailed her pink, 10m boat over the finishing line．Many more Australians watched the event broadcast live on television．Watson said she was just an “ordinary girl who believed in her dream”．

　　Ms Watson left Sydney on 18 October, despite that some people disagreed to her plan．Watson traveled northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator(赤道), south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia．The route took her through some of the world's most changeful waters, and she battled through huge storms and suffered seven accidents of her boat．

　　People around the world have followed Ms Watson's adventures on her blog, which she has daily updated(更新)．On her blog, she wrote down beautiful sunrise over seas, the excitement of meeting a blue whale and the bright, terrible sight of a shooting star flying across the night sky above her boat．Ms Watson has reportedly sold her story to a news company for ＄700,000．She is planning to write a book on her experience．