阅读理解

　　Most of us let our eyes decide what our bodies need．Our ideas about what we eat are more important than the food itself, what our stomachs can hold, or what we need in this moment for food, strong energy．Our families, social situations, society, and marketing campaigns dictate the choices most people make about how they feed themselves．Sometimes we’re provided with very useful guidelines and models．But you need to stop and ask：Are you feeding yourself in ways that personally make sense to your body’s unique and ever-changing needs and rhythms．

　　In this country, food is available all the time．Unlike our ancestors who ate in harmony with seasonal cycles of abundance and scarcity(缺乏)，harvest and hunting, we eat as though we’re constantly feasting．Really, we eat non-stop．We fill our stomachs until we’re uncomfortable, and we put more food in the shopping cart than we need．This abundance of food and our own fast-paced convenience culture keep us from recognizing our own personal rhythms．We eat for many reasons, not necessarily because we’re physically hungry or need certain nutrients to keep healthy．

　　With more and more processed foods(精加工的食品)in the marketplace, obesity in adults and children dramatically on the rise, and digestive problems increasingly more common, it’s clear that we’re facing a serious health crisis．The answer, however, isn’t to just put Americans on a diet．Reducing the intake of processed foods and increasing fresh produce and whole grains certainly can improve one’s health．But we need more．We need to feed ourselves with a sense of purpose, focus, self-love, and passion for our lives．

阅读理解

　　“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good”－these are the statements my mother used to make to raise my sense of discipline(纪律)when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework．

　　That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school．The schools and the educators made it easy for us．They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy．We stopped making our children do homework．We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation．

　　Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake．One such teacher is Sharon Clomps who says of her students－“so passive” －and wonders what has happened．Nothing is demanded of them, she believes．Television, says Clomps, contributes to children’s passivity(被动)．“We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ ve never been hurt or hungry．They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer．It takes greater energy to say no to a kid．”

　　Yes, it does．It takes energy and it takes work．It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work．It’ s time to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’ s for their own good．It’s s time to start telling them no again．

阅读理解

　　There are robots all around us．Some do very complicated jobs like flying airplanes and driving subway trains．And some do one simple job．When an automatic washing machine is switched on, water pours in．The machine waits until the water is warm enough for washing clothes．It does this by “feedback”(反馈)．Information about what is happening is feedback into the robot to tell what to do next．Our eyes, ears and other senses are our feedback．They tell us what is going on around us．So robots are like human beings in two ways．They work and they have feedback．

　　In some ways robots are better than human beings．They work quickly and do not make mistakes．They do not get bored doing the same job over and over again．And they never get tired．So robots are very useful in factories．They can be taught to do many different jobs．First their electronic brain must be shown how the job is done．A person moves the robot’s “arms” and “hands” through each part of the job．

　　The most intelligent robots can move and see．Their eyes are cameras．Their fingers can feel shapes and sizes of the objects．These robots have computer brains linked to their eyes and fingers, which control their actions．The most intelligent robots--cave robots are used in scientific research．They do such job as handling radioactive materials．

阅读理解

　　Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around．You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life．These people have something in common．And once we know what it is, we can try to do it ourselves．

　　How is it done? Here are several skills that good talkers have．If you follow the skills, they’ll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly．

　　First of all, good talkers ask questions．Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question．One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning．It’s a common question, but it will get things going．” From there you can move on to other matters－sometimes to really personal questions．And how he answers will let you know how far you can go．

　　Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers．This point seems clear, but it isn’t．Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to．And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively．

　　Real listening at least means some things．First it means not to change the subject of conversation．If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he’s really interested in it．Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones(音调)of voice．If the voice sounds dull, then, it’s time for you to change the subject．

　　Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting．If you’re saying good-bye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you．” If you want to see that person again, don’t keep it a secret．Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they’ve known you half their life．

阅读理解

　　As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food．Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more．

　　Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping(录像)the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes．They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children．But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make．That can have an important effect on the children．“In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores．” Lewis says．“And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is．”

　　The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹), Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis．“When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child．” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention：“When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event．”

阅读理解

If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again．Everybody knows that．Yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way．When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it．When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong．If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault(过错)．But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame(受责备), and few of us know that it is just his own fault．Have you ever found that some people can’t read or write but usually they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write and they have to remember things; they cannot write down in a little notebook．They have to remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised．So if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people：Practice remembering．

阅读理解

　　We have two daughters：Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four．Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner．I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang．Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests' coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom．

　　The guests arrived．I introduced my two daughters to each of them．The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids．

　　Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile．They said she was a remarkable(引人注目的)girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age．

　　I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she's the one who seems more easily hurt．We do it with the best of intentions．

　　But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child．I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being ignored．I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes．I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying．

　　I said, "What are you doing, my dear?"

　　She turned to me with a sad expression and said, "Mommy, why don't people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I 'm not pretty? Is that why they don't say nice things about me as much?"

　　I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better．

　　Now, whenever I visit a friend's home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first．

　　If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis．From there, you might, move on to the automakers in Detroit(底特律)．

　　But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee：public education．At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world．Yet in terms of its core mission－turning teenagers into educated college graduates－much of the system is failing．

　　The United States does a good job enrolling(招生)teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelors degree．

　　So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world's largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called "Crossing the Finish Line" tries to do precisely that．Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos．The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching．It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into．They instead go to a less selective one; perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive．About half of the low-income students with a grade-point average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have．"I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched," said Mr．Bowen．

　　In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates．Meanwhile, lower-income students－even when they are better qualified－often go to colleges that excel(擅长)in producing drop-outs．"It's really a waste," Mr．Bowen said, "and a big problem for the country．" As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students．Instead, it appears to have fallen．What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer．

Dear all,

　　Please read Professor Hume's email about his next lecture on Rosa Parks．

　　Susan Miller

　　Secretary

　　Dear Susan,

　　Please forward this message to students of my history class．

　　Besides the life story of Rosa Parks in the textbook, the students are also required to read the passage below and some related stories that can be borrowed from the school library．

　　Ted Hume

　　The early experiences of Rosa Parks(1913-2005), long known as the "mother of the civil rights movement", were not different from those of many African-Americans at that time．The black woman, however, turned the course of American history in December 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man．"By sitting down", remarked John Lewis, "she was standing up for all Americans．"

　　Among the numerous awards Parks received in her life were the Presidential Medal of Freedom(1996)and the Congressional Gold Medal(1999)．

　　Parks died on Oct．24, 2005．At St．Paul A．M．E．Church in Montgomery, a large crowd including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice celebrated her life．Rice said she and others, who grew up when the political activities of Parks held public attention, might not have realized her impact(影响)on their lives, "but I can honestly say that without Mrs．Parks, I probably would not be standing here as Secretary of State．"

　　After her casket(灵枢)was placed at the Capitol, U．S．President Bush, members of Congress and ordinary Americans paid their respects．In American history Parks is the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol, a very high regard usually reserved for Presidents of the United States．

　　Publisher：Sams(March 29,2005)

　　ISBN：0672327627

　　Product Dimensions：8.4x5.5x0.6 inches

　　Overview

　　This book offers straightforward practical answers when you need fast results．By working through each 10-minute lesson, you'll learn what you need to begin to use the PHP scripting language to make your websites interactive and dynamic．

　　Review

　　When I first laid eyes on this book and its title．Teach Yourself PHP in 10 minutes, my first thought was that I was going to see this．So I opened it up and figured I’d look through it for ten minutes and see what would hit me．Well, 10 minutes turned into 20, 20 into 30 and 30 into a valuable resource that sits on my desk．

　　Not only are the lessons within brief, but they are very easy to understand, well presented and very easy to understand for the beginners．Each lesson comes with tips to point out shortcuts, cautions to help you avoid common mistakes and notes to additional information．This book can be used in two ways, as a reference or as a complete tutorial on PHP basics．That alone is something that is very rare in teaching type books these days．

　　Some of the more valuable and informative lessons will take you into the areas of：

　　－Strings and variables

　　－Processing HTML forms

　　－Controlling and filtering data

　　－User authentication

　　－Cookies and sessions

　　－Security practices

　　－Configuring PHP and more!!!

　　The book is pretty basic for experienced PHP coders, but for new or intermediate users this book is worth more than the small ＄19.99 CAN suggested price．Although the cover suggests it covers PHP 5.0, the coding found within also applies to PHP 4．X

　　Conclusion

　　This book completely surprised me with its value and does indeed teach you in ten minutes what other books claim to do in 24 hours．Full marks to author Chris Newman for this handy guide．