阅读理解

　　How do you address(称呼)people in English when you want to talk to them? The following may be some simple rules the beginners should follow．

　　1．When talking to strangers there is often no special form of address in English．Usually, if you want to catch the attention of a stranger it is necessary to use such phrases as “Excuse me”．

　　2．In British English “Sir” and “Madam” are considered to be too formal(正式)for most situations．They are used mostly to customers(顾客)in shops or restaurants．While in American English “Sir” and “Madam” are not so formal and are commonly used between strangers, especially with older people whose names you don’t know．

　　3．When you talk to some people you know, you can use their names．If you are friends, use their first names; if your relationship is more formal, use “Mr”, “Mrs”, “Ms”, etc, before their family names．

　　4．There are many other forms of address which can be used between friends and strangers．However, many of these are limited in use．For example, “pal” and “mate” can be used between strangers, but are usually only used by men talking to other men．

阅读理解

　　Mr．Harris used to work in Dover, but then he changed his work, and he and his wife moved to another town．They did not have many friends there, but they soon met a lot of interesting people, and after a few weeks, they often went to dinner or to parties at other people’s houses．

　　Then Mrs．Harris said to her husband, “We’ve been to a lot of other people’s houses, and now we must invite them to our house, mustn’t we?”

　　“Yes, certainly,” answered her husband, “A big party will be the easiest thing, won’t it? Then we can start to invite people to dinner in small numbers next month．”

　　So Mrs．Harris said, “Yes, I’ll invite all our friends here to a big party on 5th December．”

　　“How many will that be?” Mr．Harris asked．“Don’t invite too many．”

　　Mrs．Harris was beginning to write the invitations when her husband saw that she was writing, “Party：6∶30 to 8∶30 p. m．”

　　“That isn’t very nice, is it?” he said．“You’re telling our guests that they must go at 8∶30．” So Mrs．Harris just wrote “Party：6∶30 p. m．”

　　A lot of guests came, and they all had a good time, so they did not go home at 8∶30．In fact they were still there at mid-night when the door bell rang and a policeman arrived．He said, “You must stop making a noise, because someone has complained(抱怨)．”

　　Mr．Harris said he did not want to quarrel with the policeman, so everyone went home．They were sorry to have to go．

　　When Mr．and Mrs．Harris were alone again, she said to him．“That was a surprise, wasn’t it? Who complained about the noise?”

　　“I did, ” Mr Harris answered in a tired voice．

阅读理解

　　The Board Meeting had come to an end．Bob started to stand up and knocked into the table, spilling his coffee over his notes．“How embarrassing! I am getting so clumsy in my old age．”

　　Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments．It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others．Someone said, “Come on, Frank．Tell us your most embarrassing moment．”

　　Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood．“I grew up in San Pedro．My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea．He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea．He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family．Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home．”

　　He looked at us and said, “I wish you could have met my Dad．He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch．When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean．He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls．His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow．No matter how much my mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish．”

　　Frank's voice dropped a bit．“When the weather was bad he would drive me to school．He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business．That truck was older than he was．It would wheeze and rattle down the road．You could hear it coming for blocks．As he would drive toward the school, I would shrink(畏缩)down into the seat hoping to disappear．Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch(喷出)a cloud of smoke．He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching．Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy．It was so embarrassing for me．Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!”

　　He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss．When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile．He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, “No, Dad．” It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face．I said, “Dad, I'm too old for a goodbye kiss．I'm too old for any kind of kiss．” My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up．Then he turned and looked out the windshield．“ You're right,” he said．“ You are a big boy……a man．I won't kiss you anymore．”

　　Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke．“It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back．It was a day when most of the fleet(船队)stayed in, but not Dad．He had a big family to feed．They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out．He must have gotten into a strong wind and was trying to save the nets and the floats．”

　　I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks．Frank spoke again．“Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek…to feel his rough old face… to smell the ocean on him…to feel his arm around my neck．I wish I had been a man then．If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss．”

阅读理解

　　We discuss the issue of when to help a patient die．Doctors of our generation are not newcomers to this question．Going back to my internship(实习)days, I can remember many patients in pain, sometimes in coma(昏迷), with late, hopeless cancer．For many of them, we wrote an order for heavy medication－morphine(吗啡)by the clock．This was not talked about openly and little was written about it．It was essential, not controversial．

　　The best way to bring the problem into focus is to describe two patients whom I cared for．The first, formerly a nurse, had an automobile accident．A few days later her lungs seemed to fill up; her heart developed dangerous rhythm disturbances．So there she was：in coma, on a breathing machine, her heartbeat maintained with an electrical device．One day after rounds, my secretary said the husband and son of the patient wanted to see me．They told me their wife and mother was obviously going to die; she was a nurse and had told her family that she never wanted this kind of terrible death, being maintained by machines．I told them that while I respected their view, there was nothing deadly about her situation．The kidney(肾)failure she had was just the kind for which the artificial kidney was most effective．While possibly a bit reassured, they were disappointed．Here was the head surgeon seemingly determined to keep everybody alive, no matter what．

　　Within a few days the patient's pacemaker(起搏器)could be removed and she awoke from her coma．About six months later, the door of my office opened and in walked a gloriously fit woman．After some cheery words of appreciation, the father and son asked to speak to me alone．As soon as the door closed, both men became quite tearful．All that came out was, "We want you to know how wrong we were．"

　　The second patient was an 85-year-old lady whose hair caught fire while she was smoking．She arrived with a deep burn; I knew it would surely be deadly．As a remarkable coincidence there was a meeting for discussion going on at the time in medical ethics(道德)．The speaker asked me if I had any sort of ethical problem I could bring up for discussion．I described the case and asked the students their opinion．After the discussion, I made a remark that was, when looking back, a serious mistake．I said, "I'll take the word back to the nurses about her and we will talk about it some more before we decide．" The instructor and the students were shocked："You mean this is a real patient?" The teacher of ethics was not accustomed to being challenged by actuality．In any event, I went back and met with the nurses．A day or two later, when she was making no progress and was suffering terribly, we began to back off treatment．Soon she died quietly and not in pain．As a reasonable physician, you had better move ahead and do what you would want done for you．And don't discuss it with the world first．There is a lesson here for everybody．Assisting people to leave this life requires strong judgment and long experience to avoid its misuse．

阅读理解

　　Below is a page adapted from an English dictionary．

　　verb(stuck, stuck)

　　[＋adv．/prep．] to push sth, usually a sharp object, into sth; to be pushed into sth：[VN] The nurse stuck the needle into my arm．◆ Don't stick your fingers through the bars of the cage．◆ [V] I found a nail sticking in the tyre．

　　[＋adv．/prep．] to fix sth to sth else, usually with a sticky substance; to become fixed to sth in this way：[VN] He stuck a stamp on the envelope．◆ We used glue to stick the broken pieces together．◆ I stuck the photos into an album．◆ [V] Her wet clothes were sticking to her body．◆ The glue's useless-the pieces just won't stick．

　　[VN ＋adv．/prep．](informal)to put sth in a place, especially quickly or carelessly：Stick your bags down there．◆ He stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled off．◆ Can you stick this on the noticeboard? ◆ Peter stuck his head around the door and said, 'Coffee, anyone?' ◆(spoken)Stick 'em up!(＝put your hands above your head-I have a gun)

　　[V]～(in sth)to become fixed in one position and impossible to move：The key has stuck in the lock．◆ This drawer keeps sticking．

　　(BrE, informal)(usually used in negative sentences and questions)to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation or person：[VN] I don't know how you stick that job．◆ They're always arguing-I can't stick it any longer．◆ The problem is, my mother can't stick my boyfriend．◆ [V -ing] John can't stick living with his parents．

　　[V] to become accepted：The police couldn't make the charges stick(＝show them to be true)．◆ His friends called him Bart and the name has stuck(＝has become the name that everyone calls him)．

　　[V] to not take any more cards

　　Idioms：stick in your mind(of a memory, an image, etc．)to be remembered for a long time：One of his paintings in particular sticks in my mind．

　　stick in your throat/craw(informal)

　　(of words)to be difficult or impossible to say：She wanted to say how sorry she was but the words seemed to stick in her throat．

　　(of a situation)to be difficult or impossible to accept; to make you angry

　　stick your neck out(informal)to do or say sth when there is a risk that you may be wrong：I'll stick my neck out and say that Bill is definitely the best candidate for the job．

　　stick to your guns(informal)to refuse to change your mind about sth even when other people are trying to persuade you that you are wrong

　　Phrasal Verbs：stick around(informal)to stay in a place, waiting for sth to happen or for sb to arrive：Stick around; we'll need you to help us later．

　　stick at sth to work in a serious and determined way to achieve sth：If you want to play an instrument well, you've got to stick at it．

　　stick by sb [no passive] to be loyal to a person and support them, especially in a difficult situation：Her husband was charged with fraud but she stuck by him．

　　stick by sth [no passive] to do what you promised or planned to do：They stuck by their decision．

　　stick sth＜－＞down(informal)to write sth somewhere：I think I'll stick my name down on the list．

　　stick out to be noticeable or easily seen：They wrote the notice in big red letters so that it would stick out．

　　stick sth＜－＞out(of sth)to be further out than sth else or come through a hole; to push sth further out than sth else or through a hole：His ears stick out．◆ She stuck her tongue out at me．◆ Don't stick your arm out of the car window．

　　to continue doing sth in spite of difficulties：She finds it impossible to stick to a diet．

　　to continue doing or using sth and not want to change it：He promised to help us and he stuck to his word(＝he did as he had promised)．◆ 'Shall we meet on Friday this week?' 'No, let's stick to Saturday．' ◆ She stuck to her story．

　　stick together(informal)(of people)to stay together and support each other：We were the only British people in the town so we tended to stick together．

　　stick up to point upwards or be above a surface：The branch was sticking up out of the water．

　　stick with sb/sth [no passive](informal)

　　to stay close to sb so that they can help you：Stick with me and I'll make you a millionaire!

　　to continue with sth or continue doing sth：They decided to stick with their original plan．

　　noun

　　[C] a thin piece of wood that has fallen or been broken from a tree：We collected dry sticks to start a fire．◆ The boys were throwing sticks and stones at the dog．◆ Her arms and legs were like sticks(＝very thin)．

　　[C](especially BrE)＝WALKING STICK：The old lady leant on her stick as she talked．

　　[C] a long thin object that is used in some sports to hit or control the ball：a hockey stick

　　[C](often in compounds)a long thin piece of sth：a stick of dynamite ◆ carrot sticks ◆(AmE)a stick of butter

　　[C](often in compounds)a thin piece of wood or plastic that you use for a particular purpose：pieces of pineapple on sticks ◆ The men were carrying spades and measuring sticks．

　　[C](informal, especially AmE)the control stick of a plane

　　[C](informal, especially AmE)a handle used to change the GEARS of a vehicle

　　[C] a BATON, used by the person who CONDUCTS an orchestra

　　[U](BrE, informal)criticism or harsh words：The referee got a lot of stick from the home fans．

　　(the sticks)[pl．](informal)country areas, a long way from cities：We live out in the sticks．

　　[C](old-fashioned, BrE, informal)a person：He's not such a bad old stick．

阅读理解

　　Here's a familiar version of the boy-meets-girl situation．A young man has at last plucked up courage to invite a dazzling young lady out to dinner．She has accepted his invitation and he is overjoyed．He is determined to take her to the best restaurant in town, even if it means that he will have to live on memories and hopes during the month to come．When they get to the restaurant, he discovers that this beautiful creature is on a diet．She mustn't eat this and she mustn't drink that．Oh, but of course, she doesn't want to spoil his enjoyment．Let him by all means eat as much fattening food as he wants：it's the surest way to an early grave．They spend a truly memorable evening together and never see each other again．

　　What a miserable lot dieters are! You can always recognize them from the sour expression on their faces．They spend most of their time turning their noses up at food．They are forever consulting calorie charts; gazing at themselves in mirrors; and leaping on to weighing-machines in the bathroom．They spend a lifetime fighting a losing battle against spreading hips, bigger tummies(肚子)and double chins．Some declare all-out war on FAT．Mere dieting is not enough．They exhaust themselves doing exercises, sweating in sauna baths, being massaged by weird machines．The really wealthy pay vast sums for “health cures”．For two weeks they can enter a nature clinic and be starved to death for a hundred dollars a week．Don't think it's only the middle-aged who go in for these fashions either．Many of these bright young things you see are living on nothing but air, water and the goodwill of God．

　　Dieters undertake to starve themselves of their own free will; so why are they so miserable? Well, for one thing, they're always hungry．You can't be hungry and happy at the same time．All the horrible foods they eat leave them permanently dissatisfied．“Wonderfood is a complete food”, the advertisement says．“Just dissolve(溶解)a teaspoonful in water…”．A complete food it may be, but not quite as complete as a juicy steak．And, of course, they're always miserable because they feel so guilty．Hunger just proves too much for them and in the end they may rush to eat five huge cream cakes at a time．And who can blame them? At least three times a day they are exposed to temptation．What torture(折磨)it is always watching others swallowing piles of mouth-watering food while you only have a water biscuit and sip unsweetened lemon juice!

　　What's all this torture for? Saintly people keep themselves away from food to achieve a state of grace．Unsaintly people do so to achieve a state of misery．It will be a great day when all the dieters in the world abandon their slimming courses; when they hold out their plates and demand second helpings!

阅读理解

　　A：I once heard someone shout, “Look out．” I put my head out of the window and a bucketful(一桶)of water fell on me．It seems that “Look out” may mean “Don’t look out”．

　　B：I was once on a ship and heard the captain(船长)shout, “All hands on deck(甲板)．” I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them．

　　C：I once called early on an English friend and the servant who came to the door said, “He’s not up yet．Come back in half an hour．” When I went again for him, she said, “He’s not down yet．” I said, “If he’s neither up nor down．Where is he?”

阅读理解

　　Pingyao, in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage(遗产)site．It’s 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River．

　　People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age．Its long period as a county government seat(县行政中心)has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history．Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhenguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City．

　　During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial(商业的)groups that did business nationwide．Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center．In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang(also called Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins．It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking．Branch(分支)banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao．Its lacquer ware(漆器)became well known．

　　In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition．Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi’s history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, ancient buildings and art．Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people．

　　In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as “World Culture Heritage Site”．

阅读理解

　　Did you know that a turtle(海龟)can lay 12 eggs in one minute? A large sea turtle lays around 150 eggs at a time．She lays all these eggs in just a few minutes．

　　Large sea turtles live in the warm seas of the world．Except when they lay their eggs, they spend their whole lives in the water．When it is time to lay their eggs, the female(雌性的)turtles swim to land．

　　They usually return to the place where they themselves were born．How they find their way back there is unknown．

　　When they reach the seashore, the big, heavy turtles crawl(爬)slowly up to the sand beach．Using their flippers, they pull themselves along the sand．They must struggle like mountain climbers．

　　When they finally reach dry sand, they rest before beginning the difficult task of laying eggs．The turtles lay the eggs in deep holes and cover them with warm sand．The sand protects the eggs from harm．Then the females leave them．After a few weeks, if you happened to be walking along the beach, you might see the sand begin to shake．You may see tiny black balls coming out of the sand．The tiny heads of baby turtles!

阅读理解

　　A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus．The conductor hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child．On seeing this, people began to talk．"You know this conductor used to be very rude．Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior, "said a middle-aged man．

　　"Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger．"That's right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor．"

　　Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said, "Excuse me, but can I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised．"

　　Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted, "I know his name．I call him Dad．"