阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table．I couldn't help hearing by chance parts of their conversation．At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy－who could not have been more than seven or eight years old－replied．“Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately．”

　　This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed(确认)my growing belief that children are changing．As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn't find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school．

　　Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years．Children don't seem childlike anymore．Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to．

　　Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different．Childhood as it once was no longer exists．Why?

　　Human development depends not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge．Movement from one social role to another usually needs learning the secrets of the new social positions．Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders．

　　In the last 30 years, however, a secret－revelation(揭示)machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes．It is called television．Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults．Unable to reject the temptation(诱惑), many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures．

　　Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain．Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　From earliest times human beings have looked to the sky and wished to fly through it like the birds．Pioneer airmen Wilbur and Orville Wright launched the modern Aviation Age(飞机时代)with their motor－powered plane in 1903, but some 140 years earlier daredevils(铤而走险的人)had begun leaving the earth by balloon(气球), in a different way of flying that still continues today．

　　The first manned balloon took to the sky in France in 1783 after its inventors had safely tested their device(装置)with a sheep, a rooster and a duck as passengers．Though that hot－air－filled balloon remained high up in the air for only 20 minutes and traveled only five miles, within two years balloonists had travelled across the 30－mile－wide English Channel．In 1793 the first balloon went up in America, a hydrogen－filled device whose take－off was observed by George Washington himself．

　　Once airplanes had replaced balloons as the most important means of air transportation, balloonists concentrated on setting height, distance and duration(持续)records．In the 1970s and 1980s several transoceanic(横越海洋的)records were set and broken．These achievements were made possible because of new techniques for keeping balloons－now generally helium－filled－at steady temperatures．

　　But flying around the globe remained the final, most difficult target until March 1999．After a 19－day flight, Bertrand Piecard of Switzerland and Brian Jones of England landed in Egypt, having flown 29, 056 miles to circle the globe．At times they flew at more than 36, 000 feet and over 114 miles per hour．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party．The time printed on the invitation was 7∶30 pm．Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song．

　　By 9∶45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared．Jane and David were restless．Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving．But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear．By 11∶00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads．Jane and David left hungry and angry．

　　Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer．Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently．Most of us would agree that 6∶30－8∶30 pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8∶00 pm or 8∶30 pm means possible dinner, but 9∶30 pm and any time thereafter means no food, eat beforehand, roll up late．

　　But this is not always the case．If asked to a students’ party at 6∶30 pm, it is normal for guests not to appear before midnight, if at all, and no one cares．Being the first to arrive－looking eager－is social death．When my mother is asked to a party at 6：30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven．My age group(late thirties)falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we’re young, we’re probably closer to student－time than grown－up time．

　　The accepted custom at present is confusing(混乱的), sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element(成分)of surprise．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　One of Britain's bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected(可疑的)police killer David Bieber－and was thanked with flowers by the police．It was also said that she could be in line for a share of up to ￡30, 000 reward money．

　　Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in ending the nationwide manhunt．Vicki, who has worked at the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible experience when she had to steal into Bieber's bedroom and to watch him secretly．Then she waited alone for three hours while armed police prepared to storm the building．

　　She said："I was very nervous．But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen lined up in the car park I was so glad they were there．"

　　The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious(怀疑)of the guest who checked in at 3 pm the day before New Year's Eve with little luggage and wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face．She said："He didn't seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact(接触)．" Vicki, the only employee on duty, called her bosses Margaret, 64, and husband Stan McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm．

　　Officers from Northumbria Police called Vicki at the hotel in Dunston, Gateshead, at about 11：30 pm to make sure that this was the wanted man．Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki every 15 minutes．

　　"It was about ten past two in the morning when the phone went again and a policeman said 'Would you go and make yourself known to the armed officers outside?．My heart missed a beat．" Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers through passages and staircases to the top floor room and handed over the key．

　　"I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that part of the hotel, so I went to watch．I could not see into the man's room, but I could see the passage．The police kept shouting at the man to come out with his hands showing．Then suddenly he must have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed(戴上手铐)．"

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　People have strange ideas about food．For example, the tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable．It is one of the useful plants that can be prepared in many ways．It has rich nutrition(营养)and vitamin(维他命)in it．But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes．They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty．But they thought the vegetable was poisonous(有毒的)．They called tomatoes “poison apples”．

　　President(总统)Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat．He was a learned man．He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes．He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden．The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup．This beautiful pink soup was served at the President's party．The guests thought the soup tasted really good．They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples．Jefferson never spoke to his honored guests about the fact．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　When we don't understand each other's language, we can talk with the help of signs．A Frenchman was once travelling in England．He could not speak English at all．One day he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table．When the waiter came, he opened his mouth, put his fingers in it, and took out again．He wanted to say．“Bring me something to eat．”

　　The waiter soon brought him a cup of tea．The man moved his head from side to side．The waiter understood him and took the tea away．In a moment he came with a cup of coffee．But the man again refused it．He shook his head whenever the waiter brought him something to drink, for drinks are not food．

　　When the man was going away, another man came in．This man saw the waiter, and he put his hand on his stomach．That was enough．In a few minutes there was a large plate of meat and vegetables on the table in front of him．

　　So you see, we cannot understand the language of signs as well as we can understand the language of words．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Make Up Your Mind to Succeed

　　Kind－hearted parents have unknowingly left their children defenseless against failure．The generation born between 1980 and 2001 grew up playing sports where scores and performance were played down because “everyone's winter．” And their report cards sounded more positive(正面的)than ever before．As a result, Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, PhD, calls them “the overpraised generation．”

　　Dweck has been studying how people deal with failure for 40 years．Her research has led her to find out two clearly different mind－sets that have a great effect on how we react to it．Here's how they work：

　　A fixed mind－set is grounded in the belief that talent(才能)is genetic－you’re a born artist, point guard, or numbers person．The fixed mind－set believes it's sure to succeed without much effort and regards failure as personal shame．When things get difficult, it's quick to blame, lie, and even stay away from future difficulties．

　　On the other hand, a growth mind－set believes that no talent is entirely heaven－sent and that effort and learning make everything possible．Because the ego(自尊)isn't on the line as much, the growth mind－set sees failure as a chance rather than shame．When faced with a difficulty, it's quick to rethink, change and try again．In fact, it enjoys this experience．

　　We are all born with growth mind－sets．(Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to live in the world．)But parents, teachers, and instructors often push us into fixed mind－sets by encouraging certain actions and misdirecting praise．Dweck's book, Mind－set：The New Psychology of Success, and online instructional program explain this in depth．But she says there are many little things you can start doing today to make sure that your children, grandchildren and even you are never defeated by failure．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia－One of the world's most famous fossils(化石)– the 3.2 million－year－old Lucy skeleton(骨骼)unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974－will go on an exhibition tour abroad for the first time in the United States, officials said Tuesday．

　　Even the Ethiopian public has only seen Lucy twice．The Lucy on exhibition at the Ethiopian National Museum in the capital, Addis Ababa, is a replica while the real remains are usually locked in a secret storeroom．A team from the Museum of National Science in Houston, Texas, spent four years discussing with the Ethiopians for the U．S．tour, which will start in Houston next September．

　　“Ethiopia's rich culture of both the past and today, is one of the best kept secrets in the world, ” said Joel Bartsch, director of the Houston museum．

　　The six－year tour will also go to Washington, New York, Denver and Chicago．Officials said six other U．S．cities may be on the tour．But they said plans had not been worked out．

　　Travelling with Lucy will be 190 other fossils．

　　Lucy, her name taken from a Beatles song that played in a camp the night of her discovery, is part of the skeleton of what was once a 3－foot－tall ape－man(猿人)．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships．For example, in American culture(文化)the smile is in general an expression of pleasure．Yet it also has other uses．A woman's smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child．A smile may show love or politeness．It can also hide true feelings．It often causes confusion(困惑)across cultures．For example, many people in Russia smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper．Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places(although this is less common in big cities)．Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don't smile enough．In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings．Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile．

　　Our faces show emotions(情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture．The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions．Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted．For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do．When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly．

　　It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States．People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others．The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different．If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn it．You do not need to be strong．But you need to be quick．And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind．

　　First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side? ” You must think about this all the time on the boat．The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail．

　　Let's start with the wind blowing from the behind．This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction．Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat．It should be at a 90° angle(角度)to the boat．Then it will catch the wind best．

　　If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat．In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat．It should be at a 45° angle to the boat．It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn't flap(摆动)．It shouldn't look like on a flagpole．If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down．

　　Sailing into the wind is not possible．If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop．You may want to go in that direction．It is possible, but you can't go in a straight line．You must go first in one direction and then in another．This is called tacking．When you are tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat．

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