阅读理解

　　Talk to yourself

　　It may be obvious, but the best way to get better at a language is to speak it．Even if there is no one around to speak to, talk to yourself．Name things as you pass them – chair, television, cat, tree, school．Learn basic phrases like – ‘it is cold today’ or ‘it is sunny today’ and use whichever is appropriate when you first look out of the window．This simple language learning tip will help this everyday vocabulary sink in and become second nature．

　　Talk to friends

　　Even if they don’t speak the language, talk to the people you know in your new language．Warm them in advance that you are practicing your new knowledge and they will know what’s coming．Even a simple ‘good morning ’ or ‘see you later’ in your new language will make those phrases more natural to you．Your friends may even start to pick up a few phrases as well．

　　Listen to music

　　Listen to music in your new language．You’ll hear the language used in a real context and this will help you pick out the rhythm and the pronunciation even better．You will also come to further understand and better appreciate the culture behind the language．

　　Make mistakes

　　The easiest language learning tip to try! Go ahead and speak and write! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because I guarantee you will! In fact, you will learn as much from your mistake as you will learn from your success．Never let the fear of making any mistakes hold you back．Without making any mistakes, how will you ever to be fluent or even comfortable with the language?

　　Find a language club

　　When you are ready, try to find a language club in your area．Speaking with other people who have already gone through or are still going through the process of learning the language can be extremely helpful．They will give you lots of language learning tips and helpful advice．

阅读理解

　　The Chinese invented paper in 105 AD．They mixed the bark of a tree and rags(破布)with water, put a screen into the mixture, and lifted out a thin piece of wet paper．They dried the paper in the sun．The Chinese kept their secret of how to make paper until a war with Muslims in the ninth century．The art of papermaking soon spread throughout the Muslim world．

　　The Mayan Indians in Central America and Pacific Islanders also discovered how to make paper, but their knowledge never spread to the rest of the world．For centuries, all paper was made by hand．Rags were the main material．Then a French scientist discovered that people could make paper from wood, too．Finally, in the eighteenth century, a Frenchman invented a machine to make paper from wood．

阅读理解

　　Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush．He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly．He looked at it, and all joy left him．The fence was long and high．He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence．He repeated the operation．He felt he could not continue and sat down．

　　He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day．They would walk past him and laugh．They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday．The thought burned him like fire．

　　He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned．Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him．But there was nothing of value in his pockets －nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom．So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea．

　　At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him．It filled his mind with a great, bright light．Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash．

　　While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared．Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street．As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat．First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain．Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat．And he made other strange noises．When he came close to Tom, he stopped．

　　Tom went on whitewashing．He did not look at Ben．Ben stared a moment and then said：“Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”

　　No answer．Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist．Ben came nearer．Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working．

　　Ben said, “Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?”

　　Tom turned suddenly and said, “Why, it’s you, Ben! I wasn’t noticing．”

　　“Say－I’m going swimming．Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work－wouldn’t you? Of course you would．”

　　Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said “What do you call work?”

　　“Why, isn’t that work?”

　　Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered carelessly．

　　“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t．All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer．”

　　“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to say that you like it?”

　　The brush continued to move．

　　“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t like it．Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”

　　Ben stopped eating his apple．Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again．Ben watched every move and got more and more interested．Soon he said,

　　“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little．”

　　Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind．

　　“No－no－it won’t do, Ben．You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect．It has got to be done very carefully．I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand that can do it well enough．”

　　“No－is that so? Oh come, now－let me just try．Only just a little．”

　　“Ben, I’d like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly…”

　　“Oh, I’ll be careful．Now let me try．Say－I’ll give you the core of my apple．”

　　“Well, here－No, Ben, now don’t．I’m afraid…”

　　“I’ll give you all of it．”

　　Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart．And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help．There were enough boys．Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash．By the time Ben was tired, Tom sold the next chance to Billy for a kite; and when Billy was tired, Johnny bought in for a dead rat－and so on, hour after hour．And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures．

　　And he had not worked．He had had a nice idle time all the time, with plenty of company－and the fence had been whitewashed three times．If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends．

　　He had discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get．

阅读理解

　　While it is impossible to live completely free of stress, it is possible to prevent stress as well as reduce its effect when it can’t be avoided．The US Department of Health and Human Services offers the following suggestions for ways to deal with stress．

　　◆Try physical activity

　　When you are nervous, angry or upset, try releasing the pressure through exercise or physical activity．Running, walking, playing tennis, and working in your garden are just some of the activities you might try．

　　◆Take care of yourself

　　You should make every effort to eat well and get enough rest．If you easily get angry and can’t sleep well enough, or if you’re not eating properly, it will be more likely that you will fall into stressful situations．If stress repeatedly keeps you from sleeping, you should consult a doctor．

　　◆Make time for yourself

　　Schedule time for both work and entertainment．Don't forget, play can be just as important to your overall well-being as work．You need a break from your daily routine to just relax and have fun．Go window-shopping or work on a hobby．Allow yourself at least a half hour each day to do something you enjoy．

　　◆Make a list of things to do

　　Stress can result from disorganization and a feeling that “there’s so much to do, and not enough time”．Trying to take care of everything at once can be too much for you and as a result, you may not achieve anything．Instead, make a list of everything you have to do, then do one thing at a time, checking off each task as it is completed．Set out to do the most important task first．

阅读理解

　　There were quite a lot of things that the philosophers of the old times got right and one of those things was that there is a very strong need for lawyers and government in a society．The government looks to protect and help you in times of need and the lawyers are there to fight for your case if you are treated unfairly, Just like then, there is still a need for government to help people when they need help now in today’s world．This sort of help can come from when people need social security benefits because they become disabled after some sort of accident．

　　If you have become disabled in recent days, then you certainly have rights go find out whether you are qualified to receive the social security disability benefits．The social security disability is for those who have become disabled or are disabled due to some sort of accident that may have happened that forces you to be out of work．This can be very frustrating because being out of work means that you cannot make money that you need in order to provide for yourself and those you are possible taking care of．This is where the government comes into play．The government will help you out with this and possibly give you money in order to keep yourself from ending up on the streets．

　　They understand that accidents do happen and that there needs to be some sort of help for those who get into accidents and cannot provide for themselves．If you are sure that you have a disability, get in touch with the social security department for more information．Meyers Law Firm can help you get the social security disability benefits you have rights to gain．

阅读理解

　　Children's Books：Hawking's fact and fiction

　　George F．R．Ellis & Ruby

　　BOOK REVIEWED-George's Secret Key to the Universe

　　by Lucy & Stephen Hawking

　　Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time was a huge commercial success．Its achievements in bringing difficult scientific ideas to a wide audience are not so clear．Now the distinguished physicist has teamed up with his daughter Lucy to produce a children's book designed to communicate contemporary physics．Will it capture the attention of young minds and teach them some real science? Or will it be boring and over the heads of the prospective readers?

　　George's Secret Key to the Universe is an adventure story complete with villains and hero and is illustrated with enjoyable line-drawings．It involves a lost pig, a humorously portrayed intelligent computer, school bullies and a trip through the Solar System．Didactic discussions on aspects of modern physics, such as supernova explosions and black-hole physics are hung on this set-up．There are also fact boxes on physics and astronomy, and some photographs of astronomical phenomena：planets, comets, galaxies and so on．Overall, the book is a serious effort to convey facts and ideas in present day astronomy and astrophysics, within a science-fiction adventure story．

　　The mixture is great．Children love facts and adventure stories．The combination will catch their interest and keep them occupied for hours．After ten minutes of leafing through the book, my granddaughter Ruby was deeply absorbed and I had to promise to bring it back for her to read after I had completed my review．Like any educational tool, it will succeed for some and not for others．I suppose there should be more of the former．

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 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

　　“In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight．”

　　“Two full inches in the first three days!”

　　These are the kinds of statements used in magazine，newspaper, radio and television ads, promising new shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device．The promoters of products say they can shape the legs, slim the face, smooth wrinkles, or in some other way to add to beauty or desirability．

　　Often such products are nothing more than money-making things for their promoters．The results they produce are questionable, and some are dangerous to health．

　　To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public, it is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation．If the product is a drug, FDA(Food and Drug Administration)can require proof under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that is safe and effective before it is put on the market．But if the product is a device, FDA has no authority to require premarketing proof of safety or effectiveness．If a product already on the market is a danger to health, FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily, or it can take legal action, including seizure(查封)of the product．

　　One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor, which had been sold for reducing the waistline．The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads．FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds that it was dangerous to health and life．

　　Obviously, most of the devices on the market have never been the subject of court proceedings(法律诉讼)，and new devices appear continually．Before buying, it is up to the consumer to judge the safety or effectiveness of such items．

阅读理解

　　Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap．Some call it the summer learning setback．Simply speaking, it means the longer kids are out of school, the more they forget．The only thing they might gain is weight．

　　Most American schools follow a traditional nine-month calendar．Students get winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation．Some schools follow a year-round calendar．They hold classes for about eight weeks at a time, with a few weeks off in between．The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than three thousand such schools at last count．They were spread among forty-six of the fifty states．

　　But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school．Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said, "Year-round schools don't really solve the problem of the summer learning setback．They simply spread it out across the year．"

　　Across the country, research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summer than other students．Experts say this can be prevented．They note that many schools and local governments offer programs that can help．

　　But calling them "summer school" could be a problem．The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins, Ron Fairchild, said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term summer school”．In American culture, the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood．The parents welcomed other terms like "summer camp," "enrichment," "extra time" and "hands-on learning．"

阅读理解

　　Most American students go to traditional public schools．There are about 88, 000 public schools, all over the US．Some students attend about 3000 independent public schools called charter schools．

　　Charter schools are self-governing．Private companies operate some charter schools．They are similar in some ways to traditional public schools．They receive tax money just as other public schools do．Charter schools must prove to local or state governments that their students are learning．These governments provide the schools with the agreement called a charter that permits them to operate．

　　Charter schools are different because they do not have to obey most laws governing traditional public schools．Local, state, or federal governments cannot tell them what to teach．Each school can choose its own goals and decide the ways it wants to reach them．Class size is usually smaller than in traditional public schools．

　　The Bush Administration strongly supports charter schools as a way to re-organize public schools that are failing to educate students．But some education agencies and unions oppose charter schools．One teachers' union has just made public the results of the first national study comparing the progress of students in traditional schools and charter schools．

　　The American Federation of Teachers criticized the government's delay in releasing the results of the study, which is called the National Assessment of Educational Progress．Union education experts say the study shows that charter school students performed worse on math and reading tests than students in regular public schools．

　　Some experts say the study is not a fair look at charter schools because students in those schools have more problems than students in traditional schools．Other education experts say the study results should make charter school officials demand improved student progress．