阅读理解

　　Mrs．Janes gave music lessons at a school．She had a good voice and enjoyed singing, except that some of her high tones sounded like a gate that had forgotten to oil．Mrs．Janes knew her weakness well, and took every chance she could find to practise these high tones．As she lived in a small house, where she could not practise without disturbing the rest of the family, she usually went for long walks along the country roads whenever she had time and practised her high tones there．Whenever she heard a car or a person coming along the road, she stopped and waited until she could no longer be heard before she started practicing again, because she was a shy person．

　　One afternoon, a fast, opened car came up behind her so silently and so fast that she didn’t hear it until it was only a few yards from her．She was singing some of her highest and most difficult tones at that time and as the car passed, she saw an anxious expression came over the driver’s face．He stopped his car suddenly, jumped out and began to examine all his tyres(轮胎)carefully．

　　Mrs．Janes didn’t dare to tell him what the noise he had heard really was, so he got back into the car and drove off．

阅读理解

　　There is nothing in the Hippocratic Oath that tells doctors what to do when they make a mistake with a patient．Nor is there much on this subject in medical school curriculums or in training programs．

　　But there should be．

　　Much was made of the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report that 44,000 to 98,000 people die each year in hospitals from preventable medical errors, many of them made by doctors．

　　The report stated much first-hand information to address the problem, but there was little discussion about how doctors, when they have made mistakes, should deal with their patients,

　　Everyone assumes that the ever-present threat of accusation has made doctors more anxious about admitting error, and no doubt it has, But doctors have always been tight-lipped about their mistakes, in part to preserve an illusion(幻觉，错误的信仰)of medical omnipotence(全能)

　　Studies suggest that patients are less likely to accuse doctors when they apologize for mistakes, and many hospitals now encourage their physicians to admit their errors．According to an supportive group called The Sorry Works! Coalition, 16 states have already passed laws giving doctors legal immunity(饶恕)for their apologies to patients．

　　Of course, there are plenty of doctors with a nice bedside manner who can get away with bad treatment．How else to explain patients who often line up in court to support doctors accused of malpractice(失职)?

　　The surprising truth is that many patients have a hard time knowing whether they are really getting good medical care．

　　Because so many diseases change randomly over time, patients sometimes spontaneously(自发的)improve despite improper treatment．On the other hand, a patient who receives exemplary medical care may fare badly(情况不好)simply because the illness is hard to treat．In other words, doctors are often praised or blamed, when the outcome is in fact a chance event．

　　Many, perhaps even most, medical errors probably have little ill effect and go unnoticed by patients．Many lawyers would disagree, but doctors ought to let their patients know when they’ve made a mistake; it humanizes them and builds trust．

阅读理解

　　The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful, says Plato．Self-control is at the root of all the advantages．Let a man give in to his impulses(冲动)and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom．

　　A single angry word has lost many a friend．When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself．If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger．Many a person has dropped dead in great anger．Fits of anger bring fits of disease．Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad．Keep cool, says George Herbert, for fierceness(狂怒)makes error a fault．

　　To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself．Anger, says Pythagoras, brings with folly(愚蠢)and ends with regret．You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him．

　　Self-control is man’s last greatest victory．

　　If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything．Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling．If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also．

阅读理解

　　Vans, Keds, Dollies－they sound like the names of rock bands, but if you have teenagers, you’ll know they’re actually the latest in teenage footwear．

　　But experts are now warning that the current shoe fashions will be causing teenagers discomfort in the short term and storing up years of foot, knee and back pain in the future．

　Here, the experts identify the problems caused by teenagers’ shoe choice．

KEDS/VANS

　　Slip-on shoes with elastic(弹性的)sides are particularly popular among teenage boys-with Keds and Vans the most sought-after brands．

　　The main problem is that they are just too flat－so flat that the heel, which strikes the ground first, also becomes damaged and painful．

BALLET PUMPS

　　The worst shoes of all are such light and thin dolly shoes．The problem is partly their flatness, as with Keds and Vans．However ballet pumps, which have no string or heel, have other specific problems．

　　“As the shoe has no fastening device, it relies on the toes to keep the shoe on, causing an awkward gait(步法)，this leads to short-and long-term problems such as calluses(茧子)，heel and knee pain．”

WEDGES AND STILETTOS

　　These shoes can also cause problems with gait, They may look good, but the heels on these are so high they can force the wearer’s body weight forward, making them very unstable．

　　Teens who wear these shoes regularly are also in danger of joining those millions of women with constant back pain．

SCHOOL SHOES

　　So what do podiatrists(足科医生)have on their wish list, especially for everyday wear?

　　Something in a natural, breathable fabric, with a string to hold it on, with a small heel and a deep toe-box that does not press the toes, such as Clark’s, Marks & Spencer or Rhino．

　　If your teen insists on wearing ‘bad’ shoes, get them some simple foot orthotics(矫形器)in the shoes．These support and correct the movement of the foot and, properly fitted by a podiatrist, can often transform their walk and halt the damage．

阅读理解

　　It was a very different school from those in China．You're not met by imposing doors and concrete walls, and the buildings were inviting．On the front of the main building was inscribed “Lee Elementary School, 1904．” Wow! I knew it was an old school．Surrounding the main building were five trailers(拖车式活动房屋)．One of them was my classroom, 5T．The “T” stood for Mrs．Toalson, my 5th grade teacher．

　　Mrs Toalson showed me to my seat．A girl sitting at my table greeted me．Her name was Regina, and she was a blonde girl from Ukraine．Her eyes were like diamonds, and we had met at a party two days before．

　　During my first morning, we had math class, PE and science．We didn’t even have a break! I wondered why? Mrs Toalson said to us：“Guys, line up for the bathroom break please!” All the kids stood up and went outside．

　　I didn’t know what “bathroom break” meant．Was it break time? Lunch time? I was confused．Nevertheless, we followed Mrs．Toalson to the main building．We sat in the hallway across from the bathroom．In Chinese, “bathroom” means the WC, and a “break” means having a rest! Gosh, I thought that was weird and why did we have to go to the bathroom together?

　　“Mary and Regina, you may go．” When we heard Mrs．Toalson, we went into the bathroom．The bathroom was clean, and it smelled like perfume．I asked Regina what if someone wanted to go to the bathroom during class time．She told me that there was a special pass called a “bathroom pass．” All you had to do was raise your hand with the pass to let Mrs．Toalson know you need to go to the bathroom．Then you would be permitted to go．

　　At 3：30pm, school ended for the day．Students put their textbooks in their cabinets and lined up in front of the change room, where they collected their backpacks and coats．As they walked out of the door, each student said “Good bye” and gave Mrs．Toalson a high five．

　　“Did you have a good day today?” Mrs．Toalson asked me as she hugged me goodbye．

　　“Sure!” I nodded．

阅读理解

　　Car crashes are the top killer of American teenagers．Most of the crashes result from distracted driving not paying attention to the road．

　　Ryan Didone was a fifteen-year-old passenger in a car that hit a tree．He was one of the nation's more than thirty thousand victims of traffic crashes in 2008．Nearly four thousand deaths, about twelve percent, involved drivers aged fifteen to twenty．Ryan's father, Thomas Didone, is a police captain in Montgomery County, Maryland．He said, "It was an inexperienced," immature driver who felt that he was invincible(不可战胜的), driving at night with a carload of kids．He was distracted, he was going too fast, and it ended up causing one death and some upsetting experiences and tragedy for the rest of the community．"

　　Jim Jennings from the Allstate Insurance Company said "The number one cause of distracted-driving accidents is the mobile phone．Talking on the phone or reaching for it is like drinking four beers and driving．If you're texting while driving, you are twenty-three times more likely to get into an accident than somebody who isn't．

　　Reaching for a cell phone when it's going off, you're nine times more likely to get into an accident than normally driving," The insurance industry recently held a safety event near Washington for teen drivers．

　　At first, nineteen-year-old Kevin．Schumann easily avoided large, inflatable dolls thrown in front of the car to represent children．He also avoided orange cones representing the edge of the road．Then, as part of the test,he started texting．He hit several cones and at least one doll．

　　Debbie Pickford from the Allstate Insurance Company said, "Teens are especially at risk from distracted driving－and not just because they lack experience on the roads．What we know from research on teen brain development, is that teens don't really have fully developed brains until they are twenty-five years old．You put those two things together and you get a much, much higher risk．

阅读理解

　　BEIJING－Apple Inc is one step closer to beginning sales of iPad2 tablet computers with cellular　network compatibility(兼容)for the first time in the Chinese mainland, where the consumer-electronics giant is in the midst of an aggressive expansion．

　　According to China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, a device by Apple with third-generation high-speed wireless data capabilities was issued the network access license needed for the company to begin official sales in China．The device, listed under model number “A1396”, is compatible with the 3G standard WCDMA, and would work with the cellular network operated by Apple’s local iPhone partner, China Unicom(Hong Kong)Ltd．

　　China Unicom declined to comment．

　　Apple already offers the 3G iPad2 in Hong Kong through its partners, but currently only offers Wi-Fi versions of the device in the Chinese mainland．Still, consumers in China, which according to research firm IDC surpassed the US as the world’s largest PC market in the second quarter, have been purchasing 3G tablets through unofficial channels．

　　Separately, Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said Sept 6 that the company’s first Hong Kong store, set to open this quarter, will be located in the city’s central shopping and business district in the International Finance Center’s upscale(高档的)IFC mall, a commercial center and sightseeing spot along the city’s waterfront．Wu also said that Apple is planning a new store in Shanghai later this quarter, which will be its biggest store in China．She declined to give more details or to comment on the 3G iPad2．

　　Apple currently has four full-service Apple stores in the mainland, which receive the most traffic of any Apple stores in the world．The company otherwise relies on resellers to get its products into the market．

　　The new stores reflect Apple’s confidence in rising demand for its products such as smart phones and tablet computers．Sales in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan helped boost(增长)the company’s third-quarter results, newly appointed Chief Executive Tim Cook said in July．China revenue(收益)surged(激增)six-fold to about ＄3．8 billion during the three months ended June 25．

　　“This has been a substantial(重大)opportunity for Apple and I firmly believe that we’re just scratching the surface right now,” Cook said at the time, referring to strong sales in China．“I see an incredible opportunity for Apple there．”

　　From China Daily 2011-09-08

阅读理解

　　For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions．People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer．For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer．He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing．

　　Cold can affect other parts of the body．The expression“get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet．The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do．For example, you agree to be president of an organization．But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organization will be your responsibility．You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation．

　　The expression “give someone the cold shoulder” probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instesd of speaking to him face to face．You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you．Or, to someone who has lied about you to others．

　　A cold fish is not a fish．It is a person．But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth．A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone．Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted．Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy．Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers．

　　“Out in the cold” means not getting something that everybody else got．A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise－he was left out in the cold．And it is not a pleasant place to be．

阅读理解

　　Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food

　　9∶00－9∶45a. m．Blue Tent

　　Panelists(成员)：Jami Bernard, David Kamp, Marion Nestle and Peter Singer．

　　Hosted by Denise Gray, science writer for The New York Times．

　　How does what we eat not only affect our bodies, but also the world? The food and nutrition experts debate the role that the diet plays in both personal and global health, and present a look at food politics．

　　● Sports writing：For the Love of the Game

　　9∶50－10∶35a. m．Blue Tent

　　Panelists：Christine Brennan, Ira Rosen, Joe Wallace and Joe Drape．

　　Hosted by William C．Rhoden, sports writer for The New York Times．

　　Whether catching that key moment of victory or defeat, or covering breaking news, sports writers are anything but audience．Listen as some professionals discuss the special experience in reporting of sports news．

　　●The Art of the Review

　　11∶15－12∶00a. m．Green Tent

　　Panelists：John Freeman, Barry Gewen, David Orr, Celia McGee and Jennifer Schuessler．

　　Hosted by Sam Tanenhaus, editor for The New York Times Book Review．

　　How much of an effect does the book review have on book sales? Join this group of critics as they discuss the reality of the book review and bestseller lists, and how they choose books for review．

　　●New York Writers, New York Stories

　　3∶00－3∶45p. m．Green Tent

　　Panelists：Cindy Adams, Richard Cohen, Ric Klass and Lauren Redniss．

　　Hosted by Clyde Haberman, columnist for the City Section of The New York Times．

　　Join this inspiring group of New York－centric writers as they talk about why New York is a gold mine of ideas for their work．

阅读理解

　　Bonus(奖金)culture has become the subject of many studies nowadays．Many people have been angered by the way some bankers and high officials seem to have been rewarded for failure．Others find the idea of offering many-million-dollar bonuses morally disgusting．

　　But few have asked whether performance-related bonuses really do improve performance．The answer seems so obvious that even to ask the question can appear ridiculous．Indeed, in spite of all the complaints about them, financial encouragements continue to be introduced in more and more areas, from healthcare and public services to teaching and universities．

　　So it may come as a shock to many to learn that paying for results can actually make people perform badly in many circumstances, and that the more you pay, the worse they perform．

　　No one is arguing that bonuses can help companies and institutions attract and keep the best staff．Nor does anyone argue against the idea that you can encourage people to do specific tasks by linking payments to those tasks．Rather, the point is about how to get the best out of people．Do employees really perform better if you promise to pay them more for getting results?

　　There are some obvious reasons why such payments can fail．It has been argued, for instance, that cash bonuses contributed to the financial crash, because traders had little enthusiasm to make sure that their companies enjoyed long-term survival．

　　Most bonus projects are poorly designed, says Professor Malcolm Higgs．He thinks the reason is that organizations try to keep bonus arrangements simple．Nevertheless, he thinks bonus projects can work as long as they link the interests of individual employees with the long-term goals of a business．

　　Bonuses can also encourage cheating．“Once you start making people’s rewards dependent on outcomes rather than behaviors, the evidence is people will do whatever they can to get those outcomes,” says Professor Edward Deci．“In many cases the high officials simply lied and cheated to make the stock(股票)price go up so they got huge bonuses．”

　　But the work of Deci and others suggests the problem with bonuses runs far deeper than poor design or cheating．In 1971, he asked students to solve puzzles, with some receiving cash prizes for doing well and others getting nothing．Deci found those offered cash were less likely to keep working on puzzles after they had done enough to get paid．

　　These studies suggest that offering rewards can stop people doing things for the pure joy of it．This was the basis for a series of books by Kohn in which he argues that rewarding children, students and workers with grades, scholarships and other “bribes”(贿赂)leads to low-quality work in the long run．

　　Those who believe in the power of bonuses fail to distinguish between inner drive and outside pressure－wanting to do something because you like it for itself in contrast to doing something because you want the reward, Kohn says．“It’s not just that these two are different, it’s often that the more you reward people for doing something, the more their inner drive tends to decline．”

　　A “do this and get that” approach might improve performance in the short term, but over longer periods it will always fail, Kohn says．People who receive bonus will naturally play safe, become less creative, cooperate less and feel less valued, he adds．What’s more, the studies also suggest that offering rewards can also stop people taking responsibility．