阅读理解

　　In Britain and other countries, young people sometimes take a "gap year", a year off between high school and college．This idea never gained a big following in America．Recent news reports have suggested that interest may be growing, though there are no official numbers．

　　Charles Deacon, Dean of Admissions at Georgetown University in Washington, D．C．, estimates that in the first-year class of 1600 students, only about 25 decided to take a year off．He says this number hasn't changed much over the years．

　　Mr．Deacon says the most common reason for taking a "gap year" is to have a chance to travel, but he says international students may take a "gap year" to meet requirements at home for military(军事的)duty．

　　Some high school graduates see a year off as a chance to recover after twelve years of required education, but it can also give students a chance to explore their interests．Students hoping to be doctors, for example, could learn about the profession by volunteering in a hospital．

　　Many colleges and universities support gap-year projects by permitting students to delay their admission．Experts say students can grow emotionally and intellectually as they work at something they enjoy．

　　The Harvard admissions office has an essay on its Web site called "Time Out or Bum Out for the Next Generation"．It praises the idea of taking time off to step back．think and enjoy gaining life experiences outside the pressure of studies．It also notes that students are sometimes admitted to Harvard or other colleges partly because they did something unusual with that time．

　　Of course, a " gap year" is not for everyone．Students might miss their friends who go on directly to college, and parents might worry that their children will decide not to go to college once they take time off．Another concern is money．A year off, away from home, can be costly．

　　Holly Bull's job is to specialize in helping students plan their "gap year"．She notes that several books have been written about this subject．She says these books along with media attention and the availability of information on the Internet have increased interest in the idea of a year off, and she points out that many gap-year programs cost far less than a year of college．

阅读理解

　　We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter．We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine．Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack．Sometimes it's an ingredient(配料)in the main course of a meal．Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken．The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices(香料)like chili peppers．

　　Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree．The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say "Ugh!" and run away．Workers must first dry and then roast the beans．This removes the bitter taste．

　　The word "chocolate" comes from a Mayan word．The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico．They valued the cacao tree．Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink．

　　When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too．Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine．No one had the idea of adding sugar．The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes．Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion．

　　In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao．It quickly became a cheap and popular drink．Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate．Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together．People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better．

　　Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie．Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce．

阅渎理解

　　“Some day, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game, “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao．”

　　To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players．To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market．Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US．That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans：He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds(篮板)and got no points．Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10rebounds．“This was one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory．The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success．In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star．“Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese．”

　　The 22-year-old Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA：Wang Zhizhi broke down the Dallas Mavericks in November 2003．But Yao’s combination of modesty and skills make him a favorite back home．

阅渎理解

　　Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet, but what is it, do you know? The Internet is a network．It uses the telephone to join millions of computers together around the world．

　　Maybe that doesn’t sound very interesting．But when you’ve joined to the Internet, there are lots and lots of things you can do．You can send E-mails to your friends, and they can get them in a few seconds．You can also do with all kinds of information on the World Wide Web(WWW)．

　　There are many different kinds of computers now．They all can be joined to the Internet．Most of then are small machines sitting on people's desks at home, but there are still many others in schools, offices or large companies．These computers are owned by people and companies, but no one really owns the Internet itself．

　　There are lots of places for you to go into the Internet．For example, your school may have the Internet．You can use it during lessons or free time．Libraries often have computers joined to the Internet．You are welcome to use it at only time．

　　Thanks to the Internet, the world is becoming smaller and smaller．It is possible for you to work at home with a computer in front, getting and sending the information you need．You can buy or sell whatever you want by the Internet．But do you know 98％ of the information on the Internet is in English? So what will English be like tomorrow?

阅渎理解

　　In today’s world English is the most wildly used language．It is our duty to learn English in the new situation of the reform and opening(改革开放)to the outside world．How can we master the English language? I’d like to give you some good advice．

　　First, get interested in it．I enjoy listening to foreign friends talking when I was a child．At the same time I watched the English programme Follow Me on TV．From then on, I kept on learning English．The more I learned, the more progress I made．

　　Second, practice makes perfect．Many people study English very hard, but they are very shy to speak it in public, for they are afraid of making mistakes．Remember you have to make a mistake before you can correct it．A native English speaker makes mistakes sometimes, too．

　　Third, the beginners should be encouraged to pay attention to idioms．The English language has many idioms．For example, you should say “ He is as strong as a cow．”

阅读理解

　　Chinese netizens who like to create and use cyber words such as "geilivable" might find a new regulation very "ungeilivable"．The new regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication last week banned the use of Chinglish words created by netizens for publishing in the Chinese language．

　　"Geilivable", combining the pinyin geili(giving strength)with the English suffix(后缀)for adjectives, literally means "giving power" or "cool"．Different suffixes and prefixes were then added to the word．"Hengeilivable" means "very cool", and "ungeilivable" means "dull, not cool at all"．

　　Cyber language is popular among Chinese netizens, who create Chinglish words to reflect phenomenon in society．One example is "antizen", which refers to college graduates who earn a meager salary and live in small rented apartments, like tiny and laborious ants．

　　David Tool, a professor with the Beijing International Studies University, said it's very interesting to combine Chinese with English to create new words．"English is no longer mysterious to the Chinese people．They can use the language in a flexible way according to their own experiences," Tool said．

　　At the announcement of the regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication, netizens expressed their concern．

　　"The administration is totally 'ungeilivable'," said a netizen named laoda1713．"I know other netizens will shed tears with me…it is a good chance to enrich our language"．

　　"Language is always developing," said a columnist, Wang Pei．"It needs to be updated to absorb foreign culture and folk wisdom．"

　　But an unnamed official with the administration said that, in fact, many senior staff from news media who supported the regulation were worried that years later, the younger generation would forget how to use formal Chinese expressions．The official also pointed out that the regulation was only for formal publications in Chinese language, and it only banned Chinglish words in the publication．

阅读理解

　　Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day．"I was a clothes addict, "he jokes．" I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled．" Today David wears casual clothes – khaki pants and sports shirt – to the office．He hardly ever wears a necktie．"I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable．"

　　More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work．In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual．In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday, but only on Friday．This became known as "dress-down Friday" or "casual Friday．" "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing．" said business consultant Maisly Jones．

　　Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code．"A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code．" Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes．In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale(士气)．Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative effect on productivity．Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money．"Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said．"For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes．"

阅读理解

　　When an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take action if there are few or no other witnesses．This phenomenon is referred to as the bystander effect．

　　The bystander effect is also called the Genovese effect, which is named after Catherine “Kitty" Genovese, a young woman who was cruelly murdered on March 13, 1964．Early in the morning, 28-year-old Genovese was returning home from work．As she approached her apartment entrance, she was attacked and stabbed(刺)by a man later identified as Winston Moseley．Despite Genovese's repeated cries for help, none of the dozen or so people in the nearby apartment building who heard her cries called police for help．The attack first began at 3∶20, but it was not until 3∶50 that someone first contacted police．

　　Many psychologists were set thinking by the incident, as well as most Americans．As the conclusion, the bystander effect came out and later proved by a series of studies and experiments．

　　There are two major factors that contribute to the bystander effect．First, the presence of other people creates a division of responsibility．Because there are other observers, individuals do not feel as much pressure to take action, since the responsibility to take action is thought to be shared among all of those present．The second reason is the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways．When other observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a response is not needed or not appropriate．

　　Other researchers have found that onlookers are less likely to take action if the situation is ambiguous．In the case of Kitty Genovese, many of the 38 witnesses reported that they believed that they were witnessing a "lovers' quarrel", and did not realize that the young woman was actually being murdered．

阅读理解

　　WHAT happens to a teenage kid when the world he thought he knew suddenly changes? Find out in Little Brother by American author Cory Doctorow．It is a fascinating book for a new generation of sci-fi readers．

　　Marcus Yallow, 17, from San Francisco is much more comfortable in front of a computer than obeying the rules of society．Smart, fast and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting(骗过)his high school's monitoring system．This way he and his friends get to head off to play a popular online game in real life．

　　While they are playing, a bomb explodes on the Bay Bridge．Marcus stops a military vehicle to get help for his injured friend, but this simple act throws him into a Department of Homeland Security(DHS)secret prison．There he is treated as a possible terrorist．He is eventually let go after four days, but his injured friend disappears．

　　When he returns, Marcus discovers that there are many "security measures" in place and that now all citizens are treated like potential terrorists．While some consider this government action necessary for public safety, Marcus sees this as a complete destruction of the rights he is supposed to have as a citizen．

　　He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him with only one thing to do：to take down the DHS himself．He helps organize a large network called Xnet to spread the truth, anonymously(匿名地)．

　　The book presents a young man who is irresponsible, but learns about himself, and grows, in the course of the story．As part of this learning and growing he becomes aware of very serious issues about his society．

阅读理解

　　BEIJING－China will further open its financial sector in “an active and safe” way, the country’s central bank vowed on Friday．

　　“China will gradually broaden the chance for the participation of foreign capital in the domestic financial market,” said the People’s Bank of China in a sport．

　　“We will strengthen the connections between China’s financial market and international ones by attracting more foreign capital in Renminbi-denominated financial products,” the report said．

　　Meanwhile, channels will also be expanded to allow Chinese investment in foreign financial markets．

　　The bank said it would ease restrictions on enterprises and individuals possessing and using foreign currencies and increase the number of qualified foreign institutional investors and the value of their investment quotas(份额)．“We will make use of the financial market to achieve balanced international payments,” said the bank．

　　Last year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange(SAFE)raised the annual quota for individuals buying foreign currency from US＄20,000 to US＄50,000．

　　“China will work hard for a more efficient and vigorous financial market that can better serve international needs,” the bank said．

　　The country will adjust its financial market rules so they are accepted around the world, encourage reforms and promote more flexible, diversified ways of trading, according to the bank．

　　China fully opened its financial market to foreign capital on December 11 last year, ending a five-year transitional(过渡的)period after entering WTO．