阅读理解

　　I received pictures of my daughter floating(漂浮)on a lake in California．Right there under the sun during the hottest time of the day, she has only her swimsuit to cover her．

　　When I showed it to my students, it was as if I had shown them scenes from a horror(恐怖)movie．

　　“But she will get dark,” they said．

　　“That's what she wants,” I told them．“We think darker skin(肤色)is beautiful．”

　　They looked at me in disbelief．It was as if I came from the moon．

　　For years, American girls spend their summer trying to get as tanned(晒黑)as possible．In China, on the other hand, girls use umbrellas all year round．

　　What in the world is going on?

　　The pale skin we think looks unattractive(不漂亮)is what Asian women want．Both groups want to meet their culture's standard(标准)of beauty．

　　In the US, if you can afford to go on vacation in the summer, you head for a river, a lake or a beach, where you try to get as much sun as possible．If you are rich you take a winter vacation in some sunny spot．Your winter tan shows your wealth．

　　In China, once upon a time, the few wealthy were the ones who didn't have to work out in the hot sun．So the whiter the skin, the richer the woman．The folk opera performers who play these ladies wore lots of white makeup(妆容)．The tradition survives to this day．

　　So it comes naturally that none of my students wishes to follow the Western ways in this regard．

　　But now I am noticing that a new business－the tanning booth(美黑店)－started up in China．I admire those brave enough to define(给…下定义)their own idea of beauty, but I do wonder what their grandmothers would have to say to them about it!

阅读理解

　　Two students started quarreling at school．One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began．What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, the disputants sit down with peer mediators(同龄调解者)．Peer mediators are students with special training in this kind of problems．

　　Peer mediators help the disputants to talk in a friendly way．Here are some of the ways they use：

　　1)Put what you think clearly but don't say anything to hurt the other．Begin with “I feel…” instead of “You always…”

　　2)Listen carefully to what the other person is saying．Don't stop the other person's words．

　　3)Keep looking at the other person's eyes when he or she talks．

　　4)Try to see the other person's side of the problem．

　　5)Never put anyone down．Saying things like “You are foolish” makes the talk difficult．

　　6)Try to find a result that makes both people happy．

　　Peer mediators never decide the result or the winner．They don't decide who is right and who is wrong．Instead, they help the two students to find their own “win-win” result．

阅读理解

　　MONTREAL(Reuters)－Crossing the US-Canada border(边界)to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen ＄10,000 for breaking Washington's strict new security(安全)rules．

　　The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, who lives right on the Canadian border．Like the other half-dozen people of Township 15, crossing the border is a daily occurrence for Albert．The nearby Quebec village of St．Pamphile is where they shop, eat and go to church．

　　There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5, 530-mile border between Canada and the US, which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings．

　　As a result, Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada, as usual．The US customs(海关)station in this area is closed on Sundays, so he just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security．Two days later, Albert was told to go to the customs office, where an officer told him he had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally．

　　Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 US citizens in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed, but the US stopped a similar program last May．That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint．

　　Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday church since．“I feel like I'm living in a prison,” he said．

阅读理解

　　Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house．Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences．He always told me, “You should have goals like climbing the mountain．” Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed，we couldn't have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy．I really got a lot from mountain-climbing．It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience．

　　Once we climbed a very high mountain．It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old．During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds'singing, but as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs．I wanted to quit climbing．In fact, I hated it at that mountain, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can't see it before you reach the top．Only there at the top, can you see all of the nice things, just like in life．”

　　At that time, I was too young to understand his words．But later after that, I got new hope and confidence．I found myself standing at the top of the sky, which was as clear as crystal(水晶)．

阅读理解

　　Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast．Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素)three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death．And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance．

　　After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back．He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar．com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones－a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources．

　　Jason Swencki's son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six．Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛)together most evenings．"Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers．"They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone．"

　　Kody is anything but alone：Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases．And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages．

　　These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity(慈善机构), Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people－225 to date－who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses．Fight-it．org has raised about ＄23,000－in products and in cash．In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean．

　　Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables．"Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members．"But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now．"

阅读理解

　　A person may have an idea about himself that will prevent him from doing good work．He may have the idea that he is not capable of it．A child may think he is stupid because he does not understand how to make the most of his mental faculties(机能), or he may accept another person's mistaken estimate(评价)of his ability．Older people may be handicapped(阻碍)by the mistaken belief that they are incapable of learning anything new because of their age．

　　A person who believes that he is incapable will not make a real effort, because he feels that it would be useless．He won't go at a job with the confidence necessary for success．He is therefore likely to fail, and the failure will strengthen his belief in his incompetence．Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this．When he was a small boy he got off to a poor start in arithmetic．His teacher got the idea that he had no ability in arithmetic, and told his parents what she thought in order that they would not expect too much of him．In this way, they too developed the idea, “Isn't it too bad that Alfred can't do arithmetic？” He accepted their mistaken estimate of his ability, felt that it was useless to try，and was very poor at arithmetic, just as they expected．

　　One day Adler succeeded in solving a problem which none of the other students had been able to solve．This gave him confidence．He rejected the idea that he couldn't do arithmetic and was determined to show them that he could．His newfound confidence stimulated him to go at arithmetic problems with a new spirit．He now worked with interest, determination and purpose, and he soon became extraordinary good at arithmetic．

　　This experience made him realize that many people have more ability than they think they have, and that lack of success is as often the result of lack of knowledge of how to apply one's ability, lack of confidence, and lack of determination as it is the result of lack of ability．

阅读理解

　　If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems．Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view．Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different．

　　If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses．

　　Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses' convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors．A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St．Peter．He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on．Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself．"Who is that?" the new arrival asked St．Peter．"Oh, that's God．" came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he's a doctor．"

　　If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it'll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman's notorious bad taste in ties．With other audiences you mustn't attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman．You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system．

　　If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural．Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff(即兴的)remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner．Often it's the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light-hearted remark．

　　Look for the humor．It often comes from the unexpected．A twist on a familiar quote "If at first you don't succeed, give up" or a play on words or on a situation．Search for exaggeration and understatements．Look at your talk and pick out a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor．

阅读理解

　　When Charles Strattion was five, he stopped growing．His mother took him to see the famous showman, P．T．Barnum, and thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show．He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled around the world together．

　　He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, general Tom Thumb．He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes．When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads．To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England．

　　During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people．He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall．

　　Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money．By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich．He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five．

　　Fortunately for Tom, Mr．Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well．One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher．Tom was able to win her love, and they married．

　　The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town．They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests．Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage．The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon, just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut．

　　Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war．Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored “Tom Thumb” weddings．In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun．

阅读理解

　　The men dressed as police officers stole about ＄200 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum early this morning．

　　The two burglars(窃贼)knocked on a side door of the museum at about 1：15 am．They told the two security guards who were on duty that there was a disturbance in the area．The guards then made the very serious mistake of allowing the two men to go into the building．After they went in, the two burglars tied the guards up with tape．

　　The two men spent about two hours in the museum．During that time, they stole 11 paintings and an ancient Chinese vase．The stolen works included three paintings by Rembrandt．

　　A maintenance(保卫)worker discovered the two guards at about 7 am and called police．

　　One of the greatest losses was Rembrandt's works, “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee．” It was a very popular attraction at the museum and was one of the most valuable works stolen．

　　Museum officials said that the value of the stolen art is at least 200 million dollars, and may in fact be much more．The true value of the paintings is unknown, because they have not been on the market for nearly a century．According to law enforcement officials, this is considered to be the biggest theft ever in the United States．Officials are waiting to see whether the burglars will demand a ransom for the paintings or try to sell them to a private collector．

　　Museum officials and police are not sure why the burglars chose certain works and not others．There are other paintings in the museum that are even more valuable than the ones that were stolen．

　　Special investigators are looking into the theft and the museum's security system．They believe that this is a “professional job”, because the people involved were well prepared and knew what they wanted．Investigators have already questioned the museum's guards extensively．They would not give the names or ages of the guards, but one investigator said the Gardner hires and trains its own security staff．So far, the guards have not been identified as suspects in the case．An investigator said that anybody having any information about the robbery should contact the Boston Police Department immediately．

阅读理解

　　Generally speaking, nobody would like to put themelves into troubles what is actually a simple case．It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble．That's more or less happened on the night that Nashville police officer Floyd Hyde was on duty．

　　“I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville．As I got onto Highway 40, blue lights and sirens(警笛)going, I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway．The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me．He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder．”

　　But Hyde couldn't go after him．Taking care of injured people is always more important than worring about speeders, so the officer had to stay on his way to the accident．But he did try to keep the Firebird in sight as he drove, hoping another nearby unit(附近的警局)would be able to step in and stop the speeding car．As it turned out, keeping the Firebird in sight was not that difficult．Every turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene．

　　Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination．At that point he found unit had already arrived at the accident scene．His help wasn't needed．Now he was free to try to stop the driver of the Firebird, who by this time had developed something new to panic about．

　　“Just about that time,” Hyde says．“I saw fire coming out from under that car, with blue smoke and oil going everywhere．He had blown his engine．Now he had to stop．”

　　“After I arrested him, I asked him why he was running．He told me he didn't have a driver's license”．

　　That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty extra－a thousand dollars for the new engine－not to mention the charges for driving without a license, attempting to run away, and dangerous driving．