阅读理解

　　Even a small reduction in salt in the diet can be a big help to the heart．A new study used a computer model to predict how just three grams less a day would affect heart disease in the United States．

　　The result：thirteen percent fewer heart attacks．Eight percent fewer strokes．Four percent fewer deaths．Eleven percent fewer new cases of heart disease．And two hundred forty billion dollars in health care savings．

　　Researchers found it could prevent one hundred thousand heart attacks and ninety-two thousand deaths every year．

　　The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine．Kirsten, at the University of California, was the lead author．She says people would not even notice a difference in taste with three grams, or one-half teaspoon, less salt per day．The team also included researchers at Stanford and Columbia University．

　　Each gram of salt contains four hundred milligrams of sodium, which is how foods may list their salt content．

　　The government says the average American man eats ten grams of salt a day．The American Heart Association advises no more than three grams for healthy people．It says salt in the American diet has increased fifty percent since the nineteen seventies, while blood pressures have also risen．Less salt can mean a lower blood pressure．

　　New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leading an effort called the National Salt Reduction Initiative．The idea is to put pressure on food companies and restaurants．

　　Mayor Bloomberg has already succeeded in other areas, like requiring fast food places in the city to list calorie information．Now a study by the Seattle Children's Research Institute shows how that idea can influence what parents order for their children．

　　Ninety-nine parents of three to six year olds took part．Half had McDonald's menus clearly showing how many calories were in each food．The other half got menus without the calorie information．

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　　Pupils work harder in lessons if they are taught by a man, a study has claimed．Male teachers are more likely to improve pupils' self-esteem and are judged by pupils to be more fair, according to a study published by the Department for Education．

　　But there is a significant shortage of male teachers, especially in primary schools, with reports last month indicating that almost one in three primaries has an all-female teaching staff．The latest figures heightened fears that schools are becoming dominated(主宰)by women and children are being denied access to male role models in the classroom．

　　Researchers at the London School of Economics and Westminster University conducted an experiment in which each of 1,200 pupils in 29 schools was given ￡2．They could use the money to "buy" up to 10 questions at a cost of 20p each, which they then had to answer．If they were right they were given an extra 20p, but if they were wrong they lost 20p．Boys and girls who had a male teacher chose on average almost half a question

　　more than those taught by women, indicating that they had a more positive outlook on the rewards of effort, the study said．

　　Researchers wrote："One of the most significant results featured in this experiment is the positive effect of male teachers on effort．The experiment suggests that higher ability pupils either believed that the teacher would reward them more favorably or had a preference for working hard to please the teacher．"

　　According to the Good Teacher Training Guide, 86 per cent of new teachers entering primary schools are female, along with 62 per cent of those entering secondary schools．

　　Professor Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, said："This is an interesting and somewhat surprising finding, but it does underline the importance of having a good mix of male and female teachers in classes．"

阅读理解

　　Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use．This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives．

　　To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so．Medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a mainly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today．It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized．In terms of energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient．

　　Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution．Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields．Throughout this period food became cheaper, safer and more reliable．However, these changes have also led to habitat loss and to reducing biodiversity．

　　All this means that agriculture in the 21st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th．This will require thorough thinking．For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are certainly more sustainable than new ones．We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”．The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static(稳定的)measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage．Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons of all the various way land is used．There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield：energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity．It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting．But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity．

　　What is important is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production．

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　　I’ve been writing for most of my life．The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction(区别)and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously．The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind．While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so．

　　Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter．If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting(稍纵即逝的)thought, the thought will die．If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand．You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is．

　　The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls “free writing．” In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes．No stopping, no going back, no criticizing．The goal is to get the words flowing．As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen．

　　Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you’ve persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly．Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near．

　　Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad．Halfway through your available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product．Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices．

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　　Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good．This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity．However, that is not always the case．Did you know that the same colour may mean differently in different places of the world?

　　In the English-speaking world, black is the colour of mourning．People wear black clothes at the funeral．Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed(流血)．Yellow is the word for fear．If you are afraid, you are yellow．Yet none of these sayings is true outside the English-speaking world．In China and Korea white is the colour of mourning．In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence．In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear．

　　Even within the English-speaking area it is not difficult to find colour contradictions．A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station．In Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman．Both names are logical because both men wear red caps．Similarly, the British term for an American white collar worker is sometimes called a black-coated worker．

　　One does not have to cross an area to find colour differences．Would you rather be red-blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest．The expression "blueblood" comes from Spain, where some noble families proudly said that they had "blue blood"．But then why "blue" blood? Because they were fairskinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels(血管)stood out appearing blue．

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　　There were quite a lot of things that the philosophers of the old times got right and one of those things was that there is a very strong need for lawyers and government in a society．The government looks to protect and help you in times of need and the lawyers are there to fight for your case if you are treated unfairly．Just like then, there is still a need for government to help people when they need help now in today’s world．This sort of help can come from when people need social security benefits because they become disabled after some sort of accident．

　　If you have become disabled in recent days, then you certainly have rights go to find out whether you are qualified to receive the social security disability benefits．The social security disability is for those who have become disabled or are disabled due to some sort of accident that may have happened and that forces you to be out of work．This can be very frustrating because being out of work means that you cannot make money that you need in order to provide for yourself and those you are possible taking care of．This is where the government comes into play．The government will help you out with this and possibly give you money in order to keep yourself from ending up on the streets．

　　They understand that accidents do happen and that there needs to be some sort of help for those who get into accidents and cannot provide for themselves．If you are sure that you have a disability, get in touch with the social security department for more information．Meyers Law Firm can help you get the social security disability benefits you have rights to gain．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　President Coolidge's statement, “The business of America is business, ” still points to an important truth today that business institutions(机构)have more prestige(威望)in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government．Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?

　　One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society．Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected．Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected．

　　Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly(垄断)of power．In contrast to one, all－powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits．Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly．Where many businesses compete for the customers' dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves．

　　A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly．Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not．Many Americans believe, that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy(民主)in protecting freedom．

　　Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity．Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background．Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background．Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic(贵族的)idea of inherited privilege(待遇)．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　One man tells of driving on a long and lonely road, the last 65 miles of it unpaved, in order to watch Indian dances in the state of Arizona．After the dances, he returned to his car only to find that it had a flat tire．He put on the spare and drove to the only service station in that town．

　　“Do you fix flats?” he inquired of the attendant．

　　“Yes, ” came the answer．

　　“How much do you charge?” he asked．

　　With a twinkle in his eye, the man replied, “What difference does it make?”

　　This is what has been called a “Hobson's choice” ．A Hobson's choice is a situation that forces a person to accept whatever is offered or go without．

　　According to Barbara Berliner, the phrase was inspired by sixteenth－century entrepreneur(企业家)Thomas Hobson．There was no choice by the customer－it was strictly Hobson's choice．

　　But often we really have a choice, and the choice does make a difference．We may not always believe it．We may feel as if we have no choice, but almost always there is a choice in the matter．And when we realize that we do most things by choice, then we are taking control of our own lives．

　　Someone challenged me to try an experiment that completely changed my perspective(看法，观点)．“For the next seven days, ” he said, “remove the words ‘I have to’ from your vocabulary and say ‘I choose to’．Don't say, ‘I have to work late tonight’．Instead, say, ‘I choose to work late’．When you choose to do it, you take control of your life．Instead of saying ‘I have to stay home’, try ‘I choose to stay home’．The way you spend your time is your choice．You are responsible．You have control．”

　　In just seven days I was no longer saying “I have to”and I felt better about my decisions．I learned that there is very little in my life I actually have to do．You and I decide to do certain things because we believe that it will be for the best．When we remove “I have to” from our vocabularies, we take control．

　　Try it for a week and you see what happens．I think you'll see it's a change for the better．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　There are four easy ways to book seats for performance：

　　－in person

　　The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a. m. －8 p. m．

　　－by telephone

　　Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card(Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted)

　　－by post

　　Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office．

　　－on line

　　Complete the on－line booking form at www．Satanfiedtheatre．com

　　DISCOUNTS：

　　Saver：＄2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday．Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full－time students．

　　Supersaver：half－price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion．It is advisable to book in advance．There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show．

　　Standby：best available seats are on sale for ＄6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible(suitable)for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers．

　　Group Bookings：there is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more．

　　School：school parties often or more can book ＄6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free．

　　Please note：we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances．

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　You're in a department store and you see a couple of attractive young women looking at a sweater．You listen to their conversation：

　　"I can't believe it－a Lorenzo Bertolla! They are almost impossible to find．Isn't it beautiful? And it's a lot cheaper than the one Sara bought in Rome．"

　　They leave and you go over to see this incredible sweater．It's nice and the price is right．You've never heard of Lorenzo Bertolla, but those girls looked really stylish．They must know．So, you buy it．You never realize that those young women are employees of an advertising agency．They are actually paid to go from store to store, talking loudly about Lorenzo Bertolla clothes．

　　Every day we notice what people are wearing, driving and eating．If the person looks cool, the product seems cool, too．This is the secret of undercover marketing．Companies from Ford to Nike are starting to use it．

　　Undercover marketing is important because it reaches people that don't pay attention to traditional advertising．This is particularly true of the MTV generation－consumers between the age of 18 and 34．It is a golden group．They have a lot of money to spend, but they don't trust ads．

　　So advertising agencies hire young actors to "perform" in bars and other places where young adults go．Some people might call this practice deceptive, but marketing executive Jonathan Ressler calls it creative．"Look at traditional advertising．Its effectiveness is decreasing．"

　　However, one might ask what exactly is "real" about of young women pretending to be enthusiastic about a sweater? Adverting executives would say it's no less real than an ad．The difference is that you know an ad is trying to persuade you to buy something．You don' t know when a conversation you overhear is just a performance．