Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore．We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the clinic．

　　One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door．I opened it to see a truly awful looking man－no taller than my eight-year-old son－I thought as I stared at the shriveled(皱缩的)body．But the shocking thing was his face－twisted from swelling．

　　He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success．"I guess it's my face…, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…”

　　I told him we would find him a bed．When I had finished the dishes, he told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly disabled from a back injury．He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence began with a thanks to God for a blessing．He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer．

　　The next morning before he left for his bus, he asked if he could come back and stay the next time he had a treatment．I told him he was welcome to come again．

　　In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden．

　　When I received these little gifts, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning．"Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away．You can lose roomers by accommodating such people!"

　　Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice．But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear．I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude．

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．

阅读理解

　　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．

阅读理解

　　He has vowed that he will not stop building his business until it is worth ￡100 million．But hard-working Owens can stop for at least a moment's celebration after making his first ￡1 million at the age of 16．Owens, who has used a computer since the age of seven, began teaching himself basic web design at the age of ten when he was given his first Mac computer．He used his pocket money to fund his first business project, website Mac Box Bundle at just 14 which has made ￡700,000 since its establishment in 2008．Mac Box Bundle sells a combination of popular Mac applications which are worth up to ＄400 together for under just ＄100 and donates 10 percent of the money to charities．

　　He then established an advertising company Branchr a year later and worked on the business after school and at weekends．Branchr made a surprising ￡500,000 in its first year．Branchr works as a platform for website owners to sell advertising．

　　Owens, from Northampton, currently employs eight staff－all adults－around the UK and America as sales and technical assistants．The young man lives with his parents．His mother who is a company secretary said he was inspired to go into business after observing the huge success achieved by Apple's chief executive officers(首席执行官)Steve Jobs．

　　Owens said, "I think everyone has business sense in them, and they just need to gain experience and be determined to make it．There is no magical formula(法则)for business, It takes hard work, determination and the drive to do something great．My aim is to become a leading name in the world of Internet and mobile advertising and push myself right to the top of the game．

　　The teenager insists his professional success has not affected his personal life, and says his interests include photography and playing the guitar．"My friends and I don't really talk about my success．To them I'm just a normal teenager and it doesn't change anything between us．"

阅读理解

　　How to improve my life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them．They'll say, "This is my fate, my destiny．I cannot change it．"

　　Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly．Your destiny depends on you, not on any other external factors．

　　I know someone who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it．Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, then goes to sleep．Next day, the same routine cycle follows．

　　Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that God has intended for her to live; that her luck can only change if God wills it．Of course God wants us to be happy and live our life to the fullest, but we have to do our share of exerting(运用)the effort to live the life of our dreams．

　　Remember that you reap what you sow．You just don't sit around and wait for a million dollars to fall from the sky．You have to get off the couch, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone．Don’t expect your luck to change unless you do something about it．If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; but use it as feedback．Learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem．It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively．

　　If someone's life is in the trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person．So it is with your own life．It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best．In other words, don't just stand(or sit)there, do something to improve your life．

阅读理解

　　Mr．Jackson was tired of living in his old house in the countryside and wanted to sell it and buy a better one．He tried to sell it for a long time, but was not successful, so at last he decided to go to an estate agent(房产经纪人)．

　　The agent advertised(登广告)the house straight away, and a few days later, the owner saw a very beautiful photograph of his house, with a wonderful description(描述)of his garden in an expensive magazine．

　　Having read the advertisement through, the house owner hurried to phone the estate agent, saying, “I'm sorry, Mr．Jones, but I've decided not to sell my house after all．” “Why?” the agent asked in a surprised voice．“Because from the advertisement in that magazine I can see it's just the kind of house I've wanted to live in all my life．”

阅读理解

　　It was Monday．Mrs Smith’s dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house．

　　Considering that there was no better way．Mrs Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it：“Give my dog half a pound of meat．” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently：“Take this to the butcher(屠夫), and he’s going to give you your lunch today．”

　　Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s．It gave the paper to the butcher．The butcher read it carefully, recognized(认出)that it was really the lady’s handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to．The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once．

　　At noon, the dog came to the shop again．It gave the butcher a piece of paper again．After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more．

　　The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon．And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth．This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers．

　　But, the dog came again at four o’clock．And the same thing happened once again．To the butcher’s more surprise, it came for the third time at six o’clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper．The butcher felt a bit puzzled．He said to himself, “This is a small dog．Why does Mrs Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”

　　Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!

阅读理解

　　Everyone needs friends．There is an old saying．“Friends are God’s way of taking care of us．” But how do you find real friendship and keep it?

　　The American writer Sally Seamans tells young students some smart ways to find friends．Sally says finding friendship is just like planting a tree．You plant the seed(种子)and take care of it to make it grow．

　　First, you should choose a friend．What makes a good friend? It is not because a person has money or good looks．A good friend should be kind and patient(耐心的)．For example, if you have a bad day, a good friend should listen to your complaints and do his or her best to help．To make a friend, you cannot be too shy．You should make each other happy and share your lives．

　　But things cannot always be happy．Even the best friends have fights．What should you do when you have a fight with your friends? You have to talk to him or her．When there is no one around, have an honest talk．If he or she doesn’t want to talk, you could write a letter．

　　There are three steps to being friends again：

　　Tell him or her how you are feeling; say what your friend has done wrong, and explain why you did this or that．Remember that friendship is the most important thing in your life．

阅读理解

　　Hellen Keller lived in the USA．She was a great woman．When Hellen was a baby, she got very sick．Several weeks later, the doctor said：“She is better, but now she can’t see and hear．” Her mother and father were very sad．

　　After a few years, things got worse; there was no way for Hellen to speak to other people．She heard nothing．She didn’t understand anything．

　　Then one day a teacher came to live with Hellen and her family．The teacher helped Hellen learn about words．Hellen was a very bright child and soon she learned to spell her first word．When she was old enough, she went to college．Hellen was very famous．She helped many blind and deaf people．She traveled around the world and helped many people．

　　The world remembers her today as a brave and wonderful woman．She was blind and deaf, but she found a way to see and hear．

阅读理解

　　In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition(学会)of each new skill－the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing．It is common that parents hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child．This might happen at any stage．A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, and a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads．On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm(热情)for life and his desire to find out new things for himself．

　　Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children．Some may be especially strict in money matters; others are severe over time of coming home at night or punctuality(准时)for meals．In general, the controls imposed(强加的)represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community(社区)as much as the child’s own happiness．

　　As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching．To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality．Also, parents should realize that “example is better than precept”．If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach(说教), their children may grow confused, and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled．

　　A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents’ principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment．