阅读理解

　　What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术)．With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time．Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war．Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory．

　　In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days．But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times．How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death．Cells(细胞)are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever．But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine．Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官)．The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones．

　　It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future．

　　Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road

　　Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side．

　　Most people know this joke．But recently, some people have been much more concerned with how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road．

　　Millions of animals die each year on U．S．roads, the Federal Highway Administration reports．In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U．S．today．The main reason? Road kill．

　　"Ecopassages" may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars．They are paths both over and under roads．"These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid human conflicts," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Conservation Society．

　　But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes．Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway．This showed that the lion used the passage．

　　Builders of some ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them．Animals seem to be catching on．Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses．

　　The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around．You might see an animal overpass!

阅读理解

　　Students who say they never or hardly ever use dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes．

　　The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either．The ones who look up every new word do not read fast．So they do not have time to read much．Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems．Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations(翻译)of English．But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English．

　　The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often．When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context．Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand．They use dictionaries more for writing．If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables(音节), they always use a dictionary．Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary．

阅读理解

　　“Here is the Eight O’ Clock News．”

　　…

　　“Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year．This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan．”

　　“The children of Beijing No．2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20^th anniversary．They had been sister schools since 1986．They spent about two weeks together in Beijing．They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace．They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park．”

　　“Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by Japanese company could be the answer．The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags．The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006．”

　　“About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors(剪刀)” World Match in Canada．This event was founded in 1842．It is said playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people．”

　　…

　　“And now it’s time for Morning Music．”

阅读理解

　　Today, roller skating(滑旱冰)is easy and fun．But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all．Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels．That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin．Merlin’s work was making instruments(工具)．In his free time he liked to play the violin．Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams．People called him a dreamer．

　　One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party．He was very pleased and a little excited．As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think．He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party．Merlin had an idea．He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room．

　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll(滚动)．Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe．These were the first roller skate shoes．Merlin was very proud of them．He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin．He was sure that everyone would be very surprised．

　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin．Everyone was really surprised to see him．There was just one problem．Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating．He rolled on, playing the violin．Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall．The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise．

　　Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that．

阅读理解

　　So you’re between the ages of 13 and 24．What makes you happy?

　　A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this：Sex, drugs, a little rock ‘n’ roll(摇滚乐)．Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys．

　　It turns out the real answer is quite different．Spending time with family is the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey－more than 100 questions asked of 1, 280 people ages 13-24－conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America’s young people．

　　Next is spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other．And even better for parents：Nearly three quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy．

　　“They’re my foundation, ” says Kristiana St．John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York．“My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she’s still going to love me no matter what．Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed．”

　　You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness．But almost no one says “money” when asked what makes them happy, though people with the highest family incomes are generally happier with life．However, having highly educated parents is a stronger predictor of happiness than income．

　　From the body to the soul：Close to half say religion and spirituality are very important．And more than half say they believe there is a higher power that has an influence over things that make them happy．Beyond religion, simply belonging to an organized religious group makes people happier．

　　And parents, here's some more for you：Most young people in school say it makes them happy．Overwhelmingly(压倒性地), young people think marriage would make them happy and want to be married some day．Most also want to have kids．

　　Finally, when asked to name their heroes, nearly half of respondents mentioned one or both of their parents．The winner, by a nose：Mom．

阅读理解

　　The US company iRobot made a new kind of sub-marine(潜水艇), called the Seaglider, last week

　　The robotic submarine was developed by researchers at the University of Washington．It is about 1.8 meters long and weighs about 52 kilograms．It moves through water at a speed of up to 20-25 kilometers a day and can stay at sea for up to six months before needing a battery recharged．This special character results from its special propulsion system(动力系统)．Unlike a traditional submarine, the Seaglider does not have a propeller(螺旋桨)．It has an air tank that is emptied and filled to adjust(调整)depth, as well as a pair of wings that help to guide and lead the submarine．

　　A traditional submarine, on the other hand, “puts water inside tanks to make it heavier, or it will expel(排出)the water to make it lighter, ” explained Frederick, a professor at the University of Washington．

　　Each time the Seaglider comes to the surface, it sends the data which it collects to its controllers by satellite．Operators can also send the submarine new information．For example, they can change its course in their office through giving the computer orders．

　　Seagliders are already being used for scientific research, such as environmental studies．iRobot also hopes to sell the submarine to the military(军队)．At ＄100, 000 each, the Seaglider is a cheap way to keep an eye on the ocean．

　　“These things can go out there and monitor(监控)large areas of ocean because they’re very persistent．They can go for thousands of miles on their own．At the same time, you can tell them to stay in one place and they can circle, ” says Helen Greiner, chairwoman of iRobot．“This is science fiction stuff in many ways, but it’s really out there and working．”

阅读理解

　　Beautifully cut grass, elegant(雅致的)white clothes, cheering fans and exciting matches make Wimbledon, in London, the home of tennis．

　　Last Monday, the famous British tournament(锦标赛)opened at the All England Lawn Tennis Club．It is the third Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season．Wimbledon comes after the Australian Open and the French Open, and is followed by the US Open．

　　As the oldest tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon is famous for its special rules and traditions．The players’ clothing, including their shoes, must be entirely white．

　　In 2002, the Russian player Anna Kournikova was forced to change from her black shorts into another pair on court．Between 1988 and 1990, US legend Andre Agassi refused to play because of the all-white rule．

　　The UK’s unpredictable summer weather is part of the tournament．If it begins to rain, players and fans have to wait patiently for it to stop．Then, they cheer when the covers come off the grass courts．

　　Many British fans do not think the courts should have a roof, because they want to keep tradition．

　　Wimbledon is not just famous for great tennis matches．Fans like to eat strawberries and cream while watching．Every year 27, 000 kilos of strawberries and 7, 000 liters of cream are eaten．

　　Many British people are very proud of the tournament, but disappointment is another Wimbledon tradition for loyal(忠实的)fans of British players．Wimbledon has not been won by a British woman since 1977, and not by a British man since 1938．

阅读理解

Read the advertisements carefully．Then answer the questions that follow．

阅读理解

　　Walking is so simple and convenient that it couldn’t possibly count as exercise, right? Wrong．Study after study shows that regular walking can help you lose weight and reduce your risk of heart disease．

　　The study published in Diabetes Research in Clinical Practice shows that the blood pressure of the overweight men being tested improved and the amount of body fat greatly decreased．

　　That’s good news, because walking has now become the most popular fitness activity in the United States．Convenient, simple, and gentle on the joints, walking is perhaps the easiest form of exercise to maintain．According to a survey, four out of five women who start a walking program continue to walk, while half of women who attempt other types of aerobic exercise(有氧运动), such as swimming, drop out during the first few months．

　　Here are some basics for walking exercise．

　　Walk at a pace that makes you breathe heavily, but still able to talk．

　　Your goal, first and foremost, is to walk five days a week, 30 minutes a walk．Do that, and you are getting the base-level amount of exercise that research says should maintain your health and vigor(精力)．

　　Walk for as long as you are comfortable the first week, even if it is just to your mailbox and back．Each following week, increase that amount by no more than 10 percent．

　　Start every walk with five minutes of easy-paced walking, about the same pace at which you do shopping, to get your body warmed up．Then, cool down at the end of each walk with another five minutes of easy-paced walking．This allows your heart rate to gradually speed up and slow down．