阅读理解

　　It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang．I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling g together inside the storm door on the top step．

　　“Any old paper, lady?” asked one of them．

　　I was busy．I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet．They were wearing thin little sandals, wet with heavy snow．

　　“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa．”

　　They walked over and sat down at the table．Their wet scandals left marks upon the floor．I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside．Then I went back to the kitchen ad stated again on my household budget．

　　The silence in the front door struck me．I looked in．the girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it．The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”

　　“Am I rich? Mercy, no!”

　　I looked at my shabby slipcover(家具套)．The girl put her cup back in its sauce carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucer．” Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply．They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the winD．They didn’t said “Thank you”．They didn’t need to．They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful．

　　Plain china cups and saucers were only worth five pence．But they matcheD．

　　I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup．Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof covered over our heads, my man with a good, steady job－these matched, too．

　　I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room．The muddy prints of small scandals were still wet upon my floor．Let them be for a whole, I thought, just in case I should begin to feel how rich I am．

阅读理解

　　If you’re ever apart from your children, a new study says just talking on the phone will help just as much as a hug(拥抱)．

　　If you’re a parent who spends long hours on the job, you probably feel sorry for spending so much time away from your kids．But the results of a new study show that a mother’s voice alone can be just as comforting to an anxious child as physical contact．

　　In an experiment, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked a group of girls between the age of 7 and 12 to solve math problems in front of judges – a stressful(充满压力了)situation for anyone．Before the girls were set to solve math problems, the researchers measured their levels of two hormones(荷尔蒙)：cortisol, which goes up during stressful periods, and oxytocin, the “love” hormone．

　　After they were finished, some of the girls got to meet up with their mothers right away．The mums came in and hugged the girls．Another group of the girls didn’t see their mothers, but received phone calls from them, in which their mothers told them how well they’d done．The final group had no contact with their mothers, but watched an animal movie, March of the Penguins instead．

　　Finally, the girls’ hormone levels were measured again．although the movie was interesting, it did noting to ease(缓解)the children’s anxiety – but, surprisingly, both the physical contact and phone calls from their mothers had the same effect on easing the girls’ stress levels．

　　So, no matter how old you are, if you’re feeling stressed about something in your life, a phone call to Mom might be just the key to help you feel better．

阅读理解

　　Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, America．In his life he built a successful printing and publishing business in Philadelphia; he conducted scientific studies of electricity and made several important discoveries; he was a diplomat(外交官)and statesman; he helped establish Pennsylvania’s first university and America’s first city hospital; he also organized the country’s first subscription library(收费图书馆)．

　　Franklin was also unequaled in America as an inventor until Thomas Edison．Ben had poor eyesight and needed glasses to read．He got tired of always taking them off and putting them back on, so he decided to figure out a way to make his glasses let him see both near and far．He had two pairs of glasses cut in half and put half of them together．Today, we call them bifocals(双光眼镜)．Another invention of his, an iron stove, allowed people to warm their homes．

　　He loved to learn about new things．He also thought it was important to make life better with the things that he invented．Electricity was one of the things he experimented with when he retired from his business．Ben discovered that lightning and electricity were the same thing．The lightning rod was an important invention that we still use today to protect buildings and ships from lightning damage．

　　Franklin preferred to have his inventions used freely for the comfort and convenience of everyone．Thomas Jefferson, the third president of America, called Benjamin Franklin “the greatest man of the age and country in which he lived”．To Benjamin Franklin there was no greater purpose in life than to “live usefully”．

阅读理解

　　A 13-year-old American boy on Saturday became the youngest climber to conquer Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain．

　　Jordan Romero from Big Bear, California, climbed up the 8,850-meter summit(峰顶)from the Tibetan side．On the same day, a Nepali(尼泊尔的)man, Apa Sherpa, broke his own world record of climbing Everest when he reached the summit for the twentieth time．Apa Shepa’s team set off from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, last month, heading for the base camp(大本营)on the Chinese side of the mountain．

　　“The team has just called in and believe that they are standing on top of Mt．Everest,” Romero’s blog said．“Their dreams have now come true．Everyone is happy．”

　　The climbing has put Romero one step closer to reaching his goal of climbing the highest mountains on all seven continents(大洲)．“It is just a goal．” Romero said．He had already climbed five peaks(高峰), and needs to climb only Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica, to hit his goal．

　　The youngest person before to climb Everest was 16-year-old Temba Tsheri Sherpa of Nepal．Romero climbed together with a team including his father Paul and three local guides．He wanted to pick a small piece of rock from the top of the world and wear it in a necklace．

　　While Nepal insists that anyone planning to climb Mount Everest must be at least 16．China does not have any age restrictions(限制)．Some mountain climbers haven’t agreed with the Romero family for letting him try it but his father said the climbing from the Chinese side is less dangerous．

阅读理解

　　The doctor examined Nuala’s leg．Nuala tried not to cry, but it was a challenge．Her leg really hurt．

　　“How did you hurt yourself?” asked the doctor．

　　“I jumped off a swing(秋千),” said Nuala．“Is it broken?”

　　“It sure is,” said the doctor, holding out the X ray．“See right here?”

　　Two hours later, Nuala left the hospital on crutches(拐杖)．Her leg was in a cast(石膏夹)．

　　“What will I tell Ms．Chang?” she asked her mother in the car．

　　Ms．Chang was Nuala’s dance teacher．The spring dance performance was only two weeks away．Nuala’s cast would be on for at least six weeks!

　　“She’s going to be so mad at me!” cried Nuala．

　　But Ms．Chang wasn’t mad．She said, “We’ll think of something．”

　　Nuala was unwilling to go on stage with her crutches．“I look stupid,” she complained．“I can’t dance with these．”

　　“Have you ever heard the expression ‘The show must go on’?” said Ms．Chang．Together, they went through the show．They thought of how Nuala could move to the music．They thought of ways for her to dance on crutches．

　　The night of the performance, Ms．Chang almost had to push Nuala on the stage．Nuala’s cast looked big and clumsy(难移动的), but she went out and danced．In the end, the audience went wild clapping．Lots of roses were thrown to Nuala’s feet! The show did go on!

阅读理解

　　Farmers grow cocoa trees in the shady areas of rainforests near the Earth's equator．These trees can be difficult to grow．They require an exact amount of water, warmth, soil and protection．After about five years, cocoa trees start producing large fruits called pods．The seeds inside these pods are harvested to make chocolate．

　　Today we travel around the world exploring the history of chocolate．Its story begins with a plant whose scientific name, The obroma cocoa, means “food of the gods”．People have been enjoying the rich flavor of chocolate, a product made from this plant．

　　Most people know that chocolate is made from cocoa and that the origins of chocolate can be traced back to Central and South America．For centuries, the natives there regarded cocoa as a gift from the gods．But how did chocolate go from being the food of the gods to being the food of love?

　　Historians believe the Maya of Central America first learned to farm cocoa plants around two thousand years ago．The Maya took the cocoa trees from the rainforests and grew them in their gardens．They cooked the cocoa seeds, and then crushed them into a soft substance．They used the cocoa bean as the main part in a dark, bitter drink that we would call “chocolate”．They believed that chocolate had mystical characteristics－ but cocoa also had commercial(商业的)value．In fact, cocoa beans were used as a form of currency that was worth its weight in gold!

　　The explorer Christopher Columbus brought cocoa seeds to Spain after his trip to Central America in 1502．But the Spanish explorer Conquistador Hernando Cortez was the first European explorer to realize cocoa's commercial possibilities．When he arrived in the New World in 1519, he soon established his own cocoa factory．In 1529, Cortez returned to Spain and introduced chocolate－ as a drink mixed with sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon－to European society．

　　The wealthy people of Spain first enjoyed a sweetened type of the chocolate drink．Later, the popularity of the drink spread throughout Europe．The English, Dutch and French began to plant cocoa trees in their own countries．Chocolate remained a drink that only wealthy people could afford to drink until the eighteenth century．During the period known as the Industrial Revolution, new technologies helped make chocolate less costly to produce．

　　It caught on－especially with the noble people, who enjoyed hot chocolate as an aphrodisiac(a kind of medicine)．As its popularity spread, people found new ways to make and use chocolate．These days, chocolate is enjoyed as both a tasty treat and a romantic gift everywhere．

阅读理解

　　As is known to all, colors appear in every language to express people's feeling and thoughts．Then, what is the situation in American English?

　　Red is a hot color．Americans may say they are red hot about something unfair．They are red hot when they are very angry about something．The small hot-tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hot for their color and their fiery taste．Fast loud music is popular with many people．They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland Jazz．

　　Pink is a lighter kind of red．People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health．The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century．It comes from the fact that many babies are born with nice pink skin that shows that they are in good health．

　　The color black is often used in expressions．People describe a day on which everything goes wrong as a black day．People or things on a blacklist are connected with things illegal now．But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations．

　　The color green is natural for trees and grass．But it is an unnatural color for humans．A person who has a sick feeling in his stomach may say he feels a little green．A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green．

　　Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has．That person may say he is green with envy．Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks．Dollars are called greenbacks because green is the color of the back side of the paper money．

阅读理解

　　Saturday, March 24th

　　We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Bangkok．This is our first trip to Thailand(泰国)．All the different smells make us want to try the food．We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight．The hotel we are staying in is cheap, and very clean．We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to Chiang Mai in the North．

　　Tuesday, March 27th

　　Bangkok(曼谷)is wonderful and surprising! The places are interesting．We visited the famous market which was on water, and saw a lot of fruits and vegetables．Everything is so colorful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai．We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days, and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai．

　　Friday，March 30th

　　Our trip to Chiang Rai was long and boring．We visited a small village in the mountains．The village people here love the quiet life-no computers or phones．They are the kindest people I have ever met．They always smile and say “hello”．Kathy and I can only speak a few words of Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness．I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year．

阅读理解

　　My mother was a household servant．Through her work, she found that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television．She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week．With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and write book reports．She would mark them up with check marks．Years later we realized her marks were a ruse(计策)．My mother had only received a third-grade education．Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody．

　　When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for long．I wanted the cool clothes．I wanted to hang out with the guys．I went form being an A- student to a B- student to a C-student, but I didn’t care．

　　One night my mother came home and I complained about not having enough shirts．She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week cleaning floors and bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills．With everything left over, you can have all the shirts you want．”

　　I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating(分配)money, there was nothing left．I realized my mother was a financial genius(天才)to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less(更不用说)buy clothes．

　　I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere．Success required intellectual(理智的)preparation．I went back to my studies and became an A-student again．I dreamed of becoming a doctor when I was just a kid．And now I have achieved my dream．

　　My story is really my mother’s story －a woman with little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of her children．

阅读理解

　　Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing．He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work．

　　One day he was walking along the shore．As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer．He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach．So he began to walk faster to catch up．

　　As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean．

　　As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”

　　The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean．” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?” “The sun is up and the tide(潮汐)is going out, and if I don’t throw them in they’ll die．”

　　“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it．You can’t possibly make a difference!”

　　The young man listened politely, then he bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one．”

　　There is something very special in each and every one of us．We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference．And if we can know that gift, we will gain, through the strength of our visions(远见卓识), the power to shape the future．

　　We must each find our starfish．And if we throw our starfish wisely and well, the world will be better．