阅读理解

　　When you donate blood, a small amount is usually taken in advance to test your blood type．If you are O＋, the O is your ABO type and the＋is your Rh type．It is possible to be A,B,AB, or O as well as Rh＋or Rh-．

　　The ABO system was discovered by Karl Landsteiner in the early 1900s．He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his achievements．There are four basic types of　blood in the ABO system：A,B,AB and O．Everybody is born with one of these four types of blood．We get blood type, just like hair color and height from parents．Because of the substances(物质)contained in each type, the four groups must be transfused carefully．If two different blood types are mixed together, it may put a person into an extremely dangerous situation．Basically, A and B cannot be mixed．A and B cannot receive AB, but AB may receive A or B．In an emergency, type O blood can be given because it is most likely to be accepted by all blood types，so it is often called the universal donor．However，there is still a risk．For the opposite reason，AB is sometimes called the universal receiver．However，because there can be so many reactions in transfusions，patients usually receive only salt until their blood can be matched as exactly as possible in the blood bank of the hospital．

　　There is a relationship between your blood type and your nationality．Among the Europeans, about 45 percent have type O while 42 percent have type A．The rarest is type AB．Other races have different percentage．For example, some American Indian groups have nearly 100 percent type out of 100 donors in the world．

阅读理解

　　In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bikes to work every day．In New York, some bike riders have even formed a group called Bike for a Better City．They declare that if more people rode bikes to work, there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown part of the city and so less dirty air from car engines．

　　For several years this group has been trying to get the city government to help bike riders．For example , they want the city to draw special lanes(车道)for bikes on some of the main streets, because when bike riders must use the same lanes as cars there are accidents．Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes．

　　But no bike lanes have been drawn．Not everyone thinks it is a good idea- they say it will slow traffic．Some store owners on the main streets don't like the idea- they say that if there is less traffic, they will have less business．

　　The city government has not yet decided what to do．It wants to keep everyone happy．On weekends, Central Park, the largest place of open ground in New York, is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bike only．

　　But Bike for a Better City says that this is not enough and keeps fighting to get bike lanes down-town．

阅读理解

　　Will it matter if you don't take your breakfast? Recently a test was given in the United States．Those tested included people of different ages, from 12 to 83．During the experiment, these people were given all kinds of breakfasts, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all．Special tests were set up to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast．The results show that if a person eats a proper breakfast, he or she will work with better effect than if he or she has no breakfast．This fact appears to be especially true if a person works with his brains．If a student eats fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen with more attention to class．

　　Opposite to what many people believe, if you don't eat breakfast, you will not lose weight．This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch, and end up gaining weight instead of losing．You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals．

阅读理解

　　Every day, 340 million people speak it．One billion people are learning it and it is said that by 2050, half of the world's population will be using it．What are we talking about? The global language－English．

　　The English language started in Britain in the 5th century．It is a mixed language．It was built up when German, Scandinavian and French invaders settled in England and created a common language for communication．

　　Today it is the official language of the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland as well as many islands in the Caribbean．Many other countries and regions use it for politics and business, for example, India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines．English is also one of the official languages of Hong Kong．

　　But global advertising and pop music mean that in most countries, you will see or hear some English．Thanks to McDonalds, we all know about "burgers”, “fries" and "milkshakes"．Songs by Madonna, Britney Spears and Celine Dion are in English．We can sing along, even if we do not understand what we are singing!

　　English is a messy(杂乱的)language．Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, computer-related words such as "blogging", "download" and "chatroom"．Also included are words that teenagers use．Who does not know "cool", "OK" and “hello”?

　　Other languages also influence English．Many English words come from French．Words like "cafe" and expressions like "c'est la vie"(that is life)are all part of the English language．On the other hand, the French language includes English words like "le weekend" and "le camping"．German words are also part of English．Words like "kindergarten" come from the German language．

　　Recently, British people have become interested in "yoga"．But the word comes from an ancient Hindu language in India．

阅读理解

　　Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home．

　　The host will provide accommodation and meals．Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week．You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health．

　　Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones2,3 and of the transport system．Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的)．Zones3 and 4often offer larger accommodation in a less crowned area．It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground．

　　?Continental Breakfast

　　?Breakfast and Dinner

　　?Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner

　　It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast．Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal(谷物类食品)，bread and tea or coffee．Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England．Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee．

　　If you wish to invite a friend over to visit．you must first ask your host's permission．You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy．

　　Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room．This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student．However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much．

阅读理解

　　Everyone has got two personalities-the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real．You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behavior, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you．In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position．The important position is the one that you go to sleep in．

　　If you go to sleep on your back, you're a very open person．You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas．You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings．You're quite shy and you aren't very confident．

　　If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive(不外露)person．You worry a lot and you're always easily upset．You're very stubborn(顽固), but you aren't very ambitious．You usually live for today not tomorrow．This means that you enjoy having a good time．

　　If you sleep curled up， you are probably a very nervous person．You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive．You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people．You prefer to be on your own．You're easily hurt．

　　If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality．You know your strengths and weaknesses．You're usually careful．You have a confident personality．You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed．You always say what you think even if it annoys people．

阅读理解

　　Good afternoon, and welcome to England．We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one．Today, I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws．

　　The first one is about drinking．Now, you may not buy alcohol(酒)in this country if you are under 18 years of age, nor may your friends buy it for you．

　　Secondly, noise．Enjoy yourselves by all means, but please don't make unnecessary noise, particularly at night．We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet．

　　Thirdly crossing the road．Be careful．The traffic moves on the left side of he road in this country．Use pedestrian crossings(人行横道)and do not take any chances when crossing the road．

　　My next point is about litter(throwing away waste material in a public place)．It is an offence(违法行为)to drop litter in the street．When you have something to throw away, please put it in your pocket and take it home, or put it in a litter bin．

　　Finally, as regards smoking, it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco(烟草)if you are under 16 years of age．

　　I'd like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance, you should contact your local police station, who will be pleased to help you．

　　Now, are there any questions?

阅读理解

　　The Queen's English is now sounding less upper-class(上层阶级), a scientific study of the Queen's Christmas broadcasts has found．Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble(贵族的)Upper Received to the Standard Received．

　　Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany's University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent(口音)changes recorded over the past half century would be found within one person．“As far as I know, there is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said．

　　He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels(元音)had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years．“Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago．But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don't notice from year to year．”

　　“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,”　he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper．“In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het'．Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat'．Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay' and ‘dutay', rather than ‘citee' and ‘dutee', and ‘hame' rather than ‘home'．In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst', but by the 1970s ‘lost'．”

　　The Queen's broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries．Each　Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch(传统火鸡午餐)．

　　The results were published(发表)in the Journal of Phonetics．

阅读理解

　　Ms Keller often said, “Without Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown．”

　　As a little girl, Sullivan was no stranger to hardship(困苦)．She almost couldn't see anything and was, at one time, locked in a dark underground room of a mental institution(精神病院)because of mental problems．Little Annie Sullivan would attack anyone who came near sometimes．However, an elderly nurse believed there was hope and she offered to help the child．Every day she made all her efforts to give little Annie words of love and encouragement．

　　At last, doctors noticed a change in the girl．They ever saw anger and hostility(敌意)in her eyes, while now they noted a little gentleness and love．They moved her upstairs where she continued to become better．Then the day finally came when this seemingly “hopeless” child was released．

　　Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as she herself, was helped by the kind nurse．It was she who saw hope in Helen Keller．She loved her, played with her until the flickering candle became a bright light to the world．Anne Sullivan brought wonders into Helen's life．But without that kind and warm-hearted nurse, how could little Annie become such a kind-hearted teacher?

　　And so it goes．Just how far back does the chain of love extend? And how far forward will it lead? You can never ignore the power of your love．It is a fire that, once lit, may burn forever．

阅读理解

　　This year 2,300 teenagers(young people aged from 13-19)from all over the world will spend about ten months in U．S．homes．They will attend U．S．schools, meet U．S．teenagers, and form impressions(印象)of the real American teenagers．American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and have a new understanding of the rest of the world．

　　Here is a two-way student exchange in action．Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George's family．In return, George's son, Mike, spent a year in Fred's home in America．

　　Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months study, the language began to come to him．School was completely different from what he had expected－much harder．Students rose respectfully(尊敬地)when the teacher entered the room．They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States．There were almost no outside activities．

　　Family life, too, was different．The family's word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than one of the members．Fred found the food too simple at first．Also, he missed having a car．

　　“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time．In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it．”

　　At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea．“I suppose I should criticize(批评)American schools．” he says．“It is far too easy by our level．But I have to say that I like it very much．In Germany we do nothing but study．Here we take part in many outside activities．I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens．There ought to be some middle ground between the two．”