阅读理解

　　Which is sillier：denying we ever went to the moon or trying to convince the true nonbelievers?

Once upon a time－July 20, 1969, to be specific－two men got out of their little spaceship and wandered around on the moon for a while．Ten more men walked on the moon over the next three and a half years．

　　Unfortunately, not quite．A fair number of Americans think that this whole business of moon landings really is a fairy tale．They believe that the landings were a big hoax(骗局)staged in the Mojave Desert, to convince everyone that U．S．technology was the “best” in the whole wide world．

　　Which is the harder thing to do：Send men to the moon or make believe we did? The fact is the physics behind sending people to the moon is simple．You can do it with computers whose entire memory capacities can now fit on chips the size of postage stamps and that cost about as much as, well, a postage stamp．I know you can because we did．

　　However, last fall NASA considered spending ＄15,000 on a public-relations campaign to convince the unimpressed that Americans had in fact gone to the moon．That idea was mostly a reaction to a Fox television program, first aired in February 2001, that claimed to expose the hoax．The show’s creator is a publicity hound(猎狗)who has lived up to the name in more ways than one by hounding Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon．Mr．X(as I will call him, thereby denying him the joyous sight of his name in print)recently followed Buzz Aldrin around and called him “a thief, liar and coward” until the 72-year-old astronaut finally lost it and hit the 37-year-old Mr．X in the face．

　　Anyway, NASA’s publicity campaign began to slow down．The nonbelievers took the campaign as NASA’s effort to hide something while the believers said that ＄15,000 to convince people that the world was round－I mean, that we had gone to the moon－was simply a waste of money．(Actually, the ＄15,000 was supposed to pay for an article by James E．Oberg, an astronomy writer who, with Aldrin, has contributed to Scientific American．)

　　If NASA’s not paying Oberg, perhaps it could put the money to good use by hiring two big guys to drag Neil Armstrong out of the house．Armstrong is an extremely private man, but he is also the first man on the moon, so maybe he has a duty to be a bit more outspoken about the experience．Or NASA could just buy Aldrin a commemorate plaque(纪念匾)for his recent touch on the face of Mr．X．

阅读理解

　　Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism(批评)．Their critics seem to hate or resent them because they have a gift for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around．“It’s unfair,” they say, “that this entirely unproductive industry(if we can call it that)should absorb millions of pounds each year．It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making．Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays…”

　　The poor old consumer! He’d have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn’t create mass markets for products．It is exactly because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap．But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods．Another equally important function is to inform．A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods comes largely from the advertisements we read．Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about．Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more likely that you would obtain details about performance, price, etc．, from an advertisement．

　　Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted．It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days．And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements．Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway regulations while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely-printed columns of news in your daily paper? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a dull wall or a newspaper full of the daily amount of great disasters．

　　We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets．Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not survive without this source of income．The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers．Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!

　　Another thing we mustn’t forget is the “small ads”, which are actually in every newspaper and magazine．What an extremely useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns! For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the “hatch, match and dispatch” column but so far the most fascinating section is the personal or “agony” column(读者来信专栏)．No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature．It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is!

阅读理解

　　Today, there’s hardly an aspect of our life that isn’t being upended by the tons of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail．“If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology,” says Microsoft, “a new car would cost about ＄ 2 and go 600 miles on a small quantity of gas．And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza．”

　　Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers．Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year．“We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global trend,” says Merrill Lynch, “along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity．”

　　You would be hard pressed to name something that isn’t available on the Internet．Consider：books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes, stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets．And even after you’ve moved on to your final resting place, there’s no reason those you love can’t keep in touch．A company called FinalThoughts．com offers a place for you to store “afterlife e-mails” you can send to Heaven with the help of a “guardian angel”．

　　Kids today are so computer literate that it in fact ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable(能预测的)future．Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than ＄75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation．Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52％ of those connected to the Internet．Most kids use computers to play games(some for 30 hours or more a week), and many teenage girls think nothing of rushing home from school to have e-mail chats with friends they have just left．

　　What’s clear is that, whether we like it or not, the Internet is an ever growing part of our lives and there is no turning back．“The Internet is just 20％ invented,” says cyber pioneer Jake Winebaum．“The last 80％ is happening now．”

阅读理解

　　Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another．Some societies, such as America and Australia, for example, are mobile and very open．People here change jobs and move houses quite often．As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, and they need to get to know people quickly．So it’s normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal．

　　On the other hand, there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long–term relationships are more important．A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business．But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society．

　　To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first．On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it’s no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don’t want to answer．

　　Cross-cultural differences aren’t just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them．All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different from place to place．This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with．

　　Some societies have “universalist” cultures．These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way．“Particularist” societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society’s unwritten ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person．So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person．

　　This difference can cause problems．A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a country which has a universalist culture．The Indian traveler has too much luggage, but he explains that he has been away from home for a long time and the suitcases are full of presents for his family．He expects that the check–in official will understand his problem and will change the rules for him．The check–in official explains that if he was allowed to have too much luggage, it wouldn’t be fair to the other passengers．But the traveler thinks this is unfair, because the other passengers don’t have his problem．

阅读理解

　　Do you think it is ever a good idea for a teenager to have a credit card?

　　My kids watch closely as I swipe the card through the register．They’ve seen me do it hundreds, thousands of times．Cool．They are itching to swipe it through the machine themselves．When we walk out of the store with our groceries or pet food, or whatever, it’s almost as though money has not changed hands, painless, easy．

　　So it shouldn’t be shocking to discover that teenagers are becoming card carrying consumers in their own right．The question is, should they?

　　While some argue it’s best to teach kids how to use a credit card while still living under the family roof, not everyone agrees．Dave Ramsey, financial expert says getting a credit card for your teenager is actually, “an excellent way to teach him or her to be financially irresponsible．”

　　Now parents are required to co-sign on credit cards for children under 21．“If their name is on the credit card, then the parent may say, ‘Hey, my name is on this．Don’t get me into trouble,” says Mary Beth Pinto, a marketing professor．“When parents were the co-obligors(共同借贷人), the children caused less debt．If the parents are the co-obligors, the tendency is that the parents were explaining how to use the cards．” Still, Pinto believes parents should start the process much earlier．“Yes, there has to be teaching going on and it has to start when they’re younger．You’re not going to get rid of credit cards．They are here to stay．You have to have them．You can’t fight progress,” Pinto said．

　　Ramsey, however, disagrees．“Throwing teens into a pool of(credit)sharks is a sure way to guarantee a life-time of heartache,” he said．“You can make online purchases and rent a car with a credit card．Of course, you must have money in your bank account before you can make a purchase with a credit card．But paying for things with money is what you are supposed to do．”

阅读理解

　　Roy wasn't the only one to receive his call-up(入伍)papers．Stephen Napier's call-up came at the beginning of February and he was pleased to find that he would be going into the Royal Air Force(RAF)．

　　His father was not so pleased and made his feelings known as he and Stephen were on their daily walk．It was the first step in his plans for Stephen to take over the estate(地产)when the time came, and although Stephen was well aware of this, he could think of no reason not to accompany him．

　　“Thought you’d forgotten that nonsense．Still, I dare say I could pull a few strings to get you to the Army…”

　　“No, Father! I have told you I want to learn to fly．What chance would I have to do that in the Army? I'd be better off in the Navy－at least they've got the Fleet Air Arm．But I have been put in the RAF and that's where I want to be, so let’s leave it at that．” His face went red．Sent to his father's school and then to Cambridge, much to his satisfaction, he had never had to defend his own desires and his father was a hard man to oppose．

　　The father glared at Stephen, “No, I won't leave it at that．I want to know what other ridiculous ideas are in your head．For a start, what’s all this about America?”

　　“America?”

　　“Yes．All those books I saw in your room the other day．Brochures about emigration(移民)．”

　　The big, silvered head lowered, like that of a bull about to charge．“Don’t trouble to deny it．”

　　“I won’t, Father．Some men at Cambridge have been talking about it．They want people like us here, mathematicians and scientists, for all kinds of research－the sort of research I could do．It would be a worthwhile life for me．”

　　The father responded exactly as his son had known he would．You've got a worthwhile life here! You’ve got an estate to run! ”

　　“No, Father．You’ve got an estate to run．I never asked for it．Why not ask Baden to do this stuff? He perhaps can make a good job of it, but I…”

　　“If he were here, I might think about this silly idea of yours－only think about it, mind you but…”

阅读理解

Dear Malia and Sasha,

　　I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have．But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart．I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey．

　　When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me－about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want．But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day．And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore．I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours．And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours．In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President：because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation．

　　I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential－schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them．I want them to have the chance to go to college－even if their parents aren't rich．And I want them to get good jobs：jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity．

　　I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer．And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other．

　　Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country－but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe．And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free－that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility．

　　That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something．

　　She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better－and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us．It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be．

　　I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had．Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much－although you do have that obligation．But because you have an obligation to yourself．Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential．

　　These are the things I want for you－to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world．And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have．That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure．

　　I am so proud of both of you．I love you more than you can ever know．And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House．

Love, Dad

阅读理解

　　What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science?

　　We all know that science plays an important role in our societies．However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science．The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop．The second is the application of the special methods of thought and action　that scientists use in their work．

　　What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious-he wants to find out how and why the universe works．He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, and looks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected．Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves．

　　He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective(客观的)and uses the facts he observes to the fullest．For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum(光谱)．

　　He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available．He rejects authority as the only basis for truth．Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively．

　　Furthermore,　he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation．

　　Lastly,　he is full of imagination　since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete．Furthermore,　he needs imagination　if he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place．

　　These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts．

阅读理解

　　Vincent Van Gogh was not always an artist．In fact, he wanted to be a church minister but was sent to the Belgian mining community of Borinage in 1879．He discovered that the miners there lived with terrible working conditions and received poverty-level wages．Their families were not well fed and struggled simply to survive．He felt concerned that the small salary he received from the church allowed him to live a normal life, which, in contrast to the poor, seemed unfair．

　　One cold February evening, while he watched the miners going home, tired and hungry, he spotted an old man staggering toward him across the fields, wrapped in a burlap sacks for warmth．Van Gogh immediately laid his own clothing out on the bed, set aside enough for one change, and determined to give the rest away．He gave the old man a suit of clothes and he gave his overcoat to a pregnant woman whose husband had been killed in a mining accident．He spent his money on food for miners while he left himself very little, only enough to make soul and body together．When children in one family suffered from fever, though feverish himself, he packed up his bed and took it to them．

　　A rich family in the community offered him free room and board．But Van Gogh turned down the offer, stating that it was the final temptation he must reject if he was to faithfully serve his community of poor miners．He believed that if he wanted them to trust him, he must become one of them．And if they were to learn of the love of God through him, he must love them enough to share with them．

　　He was fully aware of a wide chasm which can separate words and actions．He knew that people’s lives often speak louder and clearer than their words．Maybe it was that same knowledge that led Francis of Assisi to frequently remind his monks(修士，僧侣), “Wherever you go, preach．Use words if necessary．”

　　There are a million ways to say, “I love you,” without even saying a word!

阅读理解

　　We live in an age of unprecedented(空前的)opportunity：If you’ve got ambition, drive, and smarts, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession－regardless of where you started out from．But nowadays companies aren’t managing their knowledge workers’ careers．Rather, we must each be our own chief executive officer．Only when you operate from a combination of your strengths and self-knowledge can you achieve true and lasting excellence．

　　To build a life of excellence, begin by asking yourself these questions：

　　“What Are My Strengths?”

　　To accurately identify your strengths, use feedback analysis．Every time you make a key decision, write down the outcome you expect．Several months later, compare the actual results with your expected results．Look for patterns in what you are seeing：What results are you skilled at generating? What unproductive habits are preventing you from creating the outcomes you desire? In identifying opportunities for improvement, don’t waste time developing skill areas where you have little competence．Instead, concentrate on and build on your strengths．

　　“How Do I Work?”

　　In what ways do you work best? Do you process information most effectively by reading it, or by hearing others discuss it? Do you accomplish the most by working with other people, or by working alone? Do you perform best while making decisions, or while advising others on key matters? Are you in top form when things get stressful, or do you function well in a highly predictable environment?

　　“What Are My Values?”

　　What are your ethics(道德标准)? What do you see as your most important responsibilities for living a worthy, ethical life? Do your organization’s ethics resonate(共鸣)with your own values? If not, your career will be likely to be marked by frustration and poor performance．

　　“Where Do I Belong?”

　　Consider your strengths, preferred work style, and values．Based on these qualities, what kind of work environment would you fit it best? Find the perfect fit, and you’ll transform yourself from a merely acceptable employee into a star performer．

　　“What Can I Contribute?”

　　In earlier eras, companies told businesspeople what their contribution should be．Today, you have choices．To decide how you can best improve your organization’s performance, first ask what the situation requires．Based on your strengths, work style, and values, how might you make the greatest contribution to your organization’s efforts?