阅读理解

　　The Mississippi is the major river system in the United States．The Yangtze is China's longest river．

　　Although a world apart, the two waterways share conservation concerns that provide a cultural bridge between students in the United States and China, as well as from around the world．

　　The Mississippi flows almost 3,800 kilometers from a small lake in Minnesota, gathering the waters of 250 other rivers and streams before reaching the Gulf of Mexico．

　　In mid-May, as spring flowers began to open, about 41 students from a dozen colleges, mostly in the Midwest, explored a section of the river in Wisconsin and Iowa, to learn about the environment, and each other．

　　The students, from the U．S．China and around the world, came to join the River Spirit Exchange program．

　　The cross-cultural educational experience-set up by the University of Wisconsin, Madison-based Environment and Public Health Network for Chinese Students-focuses on the Mississippi and China's longest river, the Yangtze．

　　This three day get-together featured story-telling, hiking, camping and canoeing, all part of a larger lesson about conservation projects that can be used on both the Yangtze and Mississippi．

　　While the students learned about the problems challenging the Mississippi and Yangtze, Jeb Barzen, a wildlife biologist, explained they should also learn about the importance of bridging each other's culture．

　　The president of the Environment and Public Health Network for Chinese Students, Xiaojun Lu, said the Mississippi and Yangtze Rivers are uniting these students from opposite ends of the earth．

　　Organizers say the success and spirit of this first gathering of students will lead to other trips, including one down the Yangtze．

阅读理解

　　Health insurance can be very expensive．Some working people do not make enough money to pay for it．In the US there is a program called Healthy Families．This program offers people health insurance at a low cost．

　　Families are charged about ＄7.00 a month for every child, and ＄10.00 for every adult．It costs much less than any other kind of health insurance．Having health insurance is very important．With this insurance, people can see a doctor when they are sick or hurt．

　　The program is not expensive at all, but many people are still not enrolling in it．People say that it still costs too much money．They need all of their money to pay for things like food and rent．

　　It would be great if everyone could have health insurance．People are working hard to come up with ways to make this happen．One idea is to make the Healthy Families Program free for some people．

　　It is important for people to see a doctor when they need to．The Healthy Families Program makes it possible for more people to do this．Many ideas are being considered．Hopefully some of them will allow even more families to get health insurance．

　　The Healthy Families Program is made to help those who don't have welfare(社会保障金)and cannot earn enough to pay for private health insurance．It is an important program, but officials say that too many people are signing up for it and then dropping out because of the Healthy Families Program's cost．

阅读理解

　　Jesse Owens is recognized as a hero not just because he is fast．Some people might say that they know him for just that reason．However, there are lots of fast people who are not known．Jesse Owens is known because Chancellor Adolf Hitler did not shake the hand of Jesse Owens or even recognize his feat of winning four gold medals, because Owens was an African American．

　　Jesse Owens owed much of his success to his coach Charles Riley, who probably was the most important one making him have the career that he did．Owens came from a background that required him to work after school in a shoe shop．He couldn't attend the regularly scheduled track practices organized by his school．However, Charles Riley saw the boy had both a passion(热情)and a talent for running, and so arranged for him to be able to practice before school instead．

　　Jesse Owens achieved this success despite(尽管)his racial background, which at the time was a huge limitation to him．He could only eat in certain restaurants and sleep in certain hotels, as could all African Americans of the time．He was also never offered a scholarship for school despite setting records for NCAA(美国全国大学生体育协会)championships．

　　The Berlin Olympics in 1936 is where his star rose as high as it would ever be able to．These Olympics were during the height of Hitler's rule．It took courage to race in front of Hitler and many other racist(种族主义者)．It took time, determination, and perseverance(坚持不懈)to race like him．He won four gold medals at those Olympics．It would take almost fifty years for someone else to walk away from the Olympics with four gold medals．He passed away at the age of 66 from lung cancer．

阅读理解

　　Paula and Rory have fives kids, three dogs, and a rabbit．When the house is very noisy, Megan, one of the children, is quietly inventing．A year ago, the 10-year-old had to design an anti-smoking poster, she came up with the idea of creating something that shows the average amount of tar(尼古丁)a smoker collects from just four packs of cigarettes．

　　“I like people to play with things more than read and write,” she says．So she researched her idea on the Internet, found a company in China that could make it, saved up her pocket money and got her idea made．

　　Paula says her daughter “think differently”：Ideas jump into her mind．After she got sunburnt on holiday, Megan invented a small plastic bracelet(手镯)that changes colors in the sun, telling you when to put on sunscreen(防晒霜)．Several sunscreen companies have expressed an interest in the idea．She also came up with an idea to make a ball filled with water to stop the dog from feeling thirsty．“But we didn't do anything with it,” says Paula．

　　Then she pulls out a picture of a special fishing rod(钓鱼竿)she had designed．“There is a camera on the hook(钩),” she explains, “and the screen is on the handle, and it shows if you've caught a fish or not．”

　　Megan doesn't want to go to university．She keeps her pink-and -cream bedroom tidy．Paula is amazed and a bit confused by her daughter．“Everything has to be in a certain order,” Paula says．“Her brothers and sisters go with the flow, but with Megan, it's ‘What time will that be happening?' or ‘Where am I being picked up from today?'”

阅读理解

The Cost of Higher Education

　　Individuals(个人)should pay for their higher education．

　　A university education is of huge and direct benefit to the individual．Graduates earn more than non-graduates．Meanwhile, social mobility is ever more dependent on having a degree．However, only some people have it．So the individual, not the taxpayers, should pay for it．There are pressing calls on the resources(资源)of the government．Using taxpayers' money to help a small number of people to earn high incomes in the future is not one of them．

　　Full government funding(资助)is not very good for universities．Adam Smith worked in a Scottish university whose teachers lived off student fees．He knew and looked down upon 18th-century Oxford, where the academics lived comfortably off the income received from the government．Guaranteed salaries, Smith argued, were the enemy of hard work; and when the academics were lazy and incompetent, the students were similarly lazy．

　　If students have to pay for their education, they not only work harder, but also demand more from their teachers．And their teachers have to keep them satisfied．If that means taking teaching seriously, and giving less time to their own research interests, that is surely something to celebrate．

　　Many people believe that higher education should be free because it is good for the economy(经济)．Many graduates clearly do contribute to national wealth, but so do all the businesses that invest(投资)and create jobs．If you believe that the government should pay for higher education because graduates are economically productive, you should also believe that the government should pay part of business costs．Anyone promising to create jobs should receive a gift of capital from the government to invest．Therefore, it is the individual, not the government, who should pay for their university education．

阅读理解

Pacing and Pausing

　　Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say．While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk．The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing．

　　Conversation is a turn-taking game．When our habits are similar, there's no problem．But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished．That's what was happening with Betty and Sara．

　　It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American．Betty often felt interrupted by Sara．But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland．And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel．

　　The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities．These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping(思维定式)．And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences．For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel．When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in－and never found it．Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring．When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up．

　　That's why slight differences in conversational style－tiny little things like microseconds of pause－can have a great effect on one's life．The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems－even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training．

阅读理解

Open Letter to an Editor

　　I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently－one who works for you．In fact, he's one of your best reporters．He wants to leave．

　　Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume(简历)and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you．The headlines showed you played them proudly．With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues(问题), approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best．I'm sure you would hate to lose him．Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy．In fact, he told me he really likes his job．He has a great assignment(分工), and said you run a great paper．It would be easy for you to keep him, he said．He knows that the paper values him．He appreciates the responsibility you've given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom．

　　So why is he looking for a way out?

　　He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him．He wants to be pushed, challenged, coached to new heights．

　　The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors usually ask how long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is．

　　He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into great ones．He wants someone to get excited about what he's doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it．He wants to be more valuable for your paper．That's what you want for him, too, isn't it?

　　So your reporter has set me thinking．

　　Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists－everyone－is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential．If we can't do it, they'll find someone who can．

阅读理解

Goldie's Secret

　　She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall．No way could I have sent her away．No way, not me anyway．Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before．"We're moving house．'; "No space for her any more with the baby coming．" "We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was a present．" People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal．And she was one of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen．

　　I called her Goldie．If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name．She was so unsettled during those first few days．She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her．There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed．Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous owner's．But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down．Always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire．

　　That's why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk．We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless．Eventually I couldn't hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could．

　　By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie．But when I saw her licking(舔)the four puppies(幼犬)I started to feel sympathy towards them．"We didn't know what had happened to her," said the woman at the door．"I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared．" "She must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from behind her．

　　I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother．And I've learnt a good lesson：not to judge people．

阅读理解

　　The US government has started a website, Admongo, to help children think critically about the advertising aimed at them．It claims to provide visitors with an “aducation” through games and other entertainment．

　　A cartoon man dressed in old time pilot clothing greets visitors to Admongo．"Call me Haiz", he says upon arrival in a rocket ship that opens up with a crazy world inside it．Spacey dance music plays in the background as Haiz tells visitors that they need to learn about advertising．

　　Its inventors say eight to twelve years old is the age kids develop their critical thinking abilities．Kids that age are also a big market for advertisers．

　　The idea behind Admongo is to teach children three things：To identify the advertiser．To know what the advertiser is really saying．And to know what the advertisement is trying to get the child to do．

　　Children learn these things through a video game．They create their own game character．They can choose different skin colors, hair styles, eye and mouth shapes．Then they begin a trip through ad-land, where there are ads on buses and billboards．The players have to find all the marketing in the neighborhood before they can move on to the next level．

　　The Admongo game takes players inside a home, to the advertising studio and everywhere else ads can be found．It is a complete exploration of the world of marketing．

　　One such area is food marketing．The Federal Trade Commission(FTC)says it is a big business．The FTC estimates that food, drink and fast-food restaurants spent more than one and a half billion dollars on advertising to young people in 2009．

　　The FTC says children are important for three reasons．They buy products．They influence parents and caregivers to buy．And they are the future adult buyers of the products．

　　A recent study says most advertising aimed at children is for foods of the lowest nutritional value．First Lady Michelle Obama has said she would like to see advertisers marketing healthy foods for children．

阅读理解

　　After decades of skimpy skirts and sleeveless tops on game days, some schools in the US are saying cheerleader uniforms will have to meet stricter dress codes when they are worn in class．

　　In Lake County, Florida, cheerleaders with uniforms too skimpy for the code are being asked to wear long shorts or trousers under their skirts and a T-shirt under the sleeveless tops, according to a district memo．Principals at two of Lake’s eight high schools – Leesburg and Lake Minneola – are not allowing the outfits in school at all．

　　Michelle Thomas, a cheerleader at Leesburg High School, was disappointed when she learned she couldn’t wear her outfit to school on game days．

　　“It shows that we’re a team just like all the other sports,” she said．

　　But the school administrators did not agree．“During the educational portion of the day, they have to meet the dress code just like every other student,” said school board chairwoman Debbie Stivender, who ordered the staff to bring the outfits into line with the dress code．

　　Bare midriffs are banned across the state by the Florida High School Athletic Association, but no state rules mention cheerleader miniskirts．Sheila Noone, a spokeswoman for cheerleading uniform company Varsity Brands, says the outfits haven’t become more revealing over the last 10 years．She says that the short skirts are designed to help the girls jump and kick．

　　“Cheerleading is athletic,” Noone said．“There’s a lot of jumping, so you won’t want a knee-length skirt that might hamper a tie touch．”

　　Most cheerleaders were sad to hear the news, but say they’ll follow the rules．Even male cheerleaders, whose pants and tops meet dress codes, chose not to wear their outfits to show unity．

　　“I understanding, because they are kind of short,” said Holly Bishop, 14, a Lake Minneola High School cheerleader, about her miniskirt．“It would have been really, really cool to wear them to school．”