Reading Comprehension

　　When we hear the words “college students”, we usually think of a young person between 18 and 22 years old．But in the U．S．A today, a college student often is much older．In fact, educators say in the next few years colleges and universities may have more older part－time students than traditional full－time younger students．

　　Educators report a big increase in the number of Americans who attend college and university classes in the evening or at night or weekends．Most of them are older than 25 years old and more have full－time or part－time jobs．Many are in their thirties or forties．

　　Why are so many people deciding to spend their time and money in order to continue their education? Most are doing it because they believe more education will help them to get a better job．Some are industrial workers whose factories have closed．They are learning new skills to prepare for other kinds of work．Some of the part－time students are not pleased with the jobs they have．They are studying for new ones．Some have retired(退休)and are looking for new kinds of work．Two of every three of the students older than 35 are women．Many of them are returning to school after years of staying at home to care for children．

　　Are older students good students? Most teachers say yes．They say older students really want to learn．They ask difficult questions and are not pleased with simple answers．They often get high grades．

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Reading Comprehension

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Reading Comprehension

　　“Time is a problem for children,” states a news report for a new Swiss watch．Children in some countries “learn time slowly” because “they don't wear watches” and “parents don't really know how to teach them time．” The children grow up with this handicap and become adults and then can't get to work on time．Is there an answer to this problem? Of course it's the Flik Flak, made by a famous Swiss watch company．

　　The Flik Flak is being marketed as something teaching watch for children aged 4 to 10．The watch itself does not teach children how to tell time, of course; it merely “takes their imagination” by presenting the “hour” hand as a beautiful red girl named Flak and the “minute” hand as a tall blue boy named Flik．Flik points to related “blue” minutes on the dial, while Flak points to “red” hour numbers．The characters and colors combined with parental help, are supposed to teach young children how to tell time．

　　The watch comes equipped with a standard battery and a nylon band(尼龙表带)．Peter Lipkin, the United States sales manager for the Flik Flak, calls it “childproof： if it gets dirty you can throw the whole watch in the washing machine．” The product is being sold in select department stores in Europe, Asia and the United States for a suggested price of ＄25．Parents who buy the watch may discover that it is one thing to tell time; it's quite another for them to be on time．

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Reading Comprehension

　　Where is that noise coming from? Not sure? Try living with your eyes closed for a few years．

　　Blind people are better at locating sounds than people who can see, a new study says, without the benefits of vision the ears seem to work much better．

　　Previous studies have shown that blind people are better than others at reaching out and touching the sources of sounds that are close by．Researchers from the University of Montreal wanted to see if blind people were also better at locating sounds that are far away．

　　Twenty－three blind people participated in the study．All had been sightless for at least 20 years．Fourteen of them had lost their vision before age 11．The rest went blind after age 16．The experiment also included 10 people who could see but were wearing blindfolds(遮眼布、眼罩)．

　　In one task, volunteers had to pick the direction of a sound coming from about 3 meters away．When the sound was in front of them or slightly off center in front, both groups performed equally well．

　　When sounds came from the side or the back, however, the blind group performed much better than the blindfolded group．The participants who had been blind since childhood did slightly better than those who lost their sight later．

　　Recognizing the locations of distant sounds can be a matter of life－or－death for blind people, say the researchers．Crossing the street, for instance, is much harder when you can't see the cars coming．

　　Still, the researchers were surprised by how well the blind participants did, especially those who went blind after age 16．In another experiment, the scientists also found that parts of the brain that normally deal with visual information became active in locating sound in the people who were blind by age 11．These brain parts didn't show sound－location activity in the other group of blind people or in the sighted people．The scientists now want to learn more about the workings of brains of “late－onset” blind people．

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Reading Comprehension

　　Men always wanted to fly．For hundreds of years they watched birds flying and wished that they could fly too．Birds fly very easily．They beat the air with their wings and climb up through the air．The air keeps them up．

　　Men knew how to make kites hundreds of years ago．Kites could stay in the air for many hours．“If birds and kites stay up in the air, perhaps we can,” they thought．

　　At first they made wings like birds．Then they jumped off high buildings and tried to fly．Many men did this but they failed to fly．They crashed to the ground．Some were killed and some were badly hurt．After many times they stopped trying to fly with wings．Then two brothers tried another way．They tried balloons．“Hot air is lighter than cold air,” they said．“That is why hot air goes upwards．If we fill a balloon with hot air it will go upwards．”

　　They built a balloon．It was made of thin cloth and paper．They lit a fire beneath it．Up into the air it went! It reached a height of 1, 800 meters．Then the air inside the balloon became cool and it slowly downed and gently rested on the ground．

　　A few months later the brother sent up another balloon．This time there was a basket hanging underneath it．In the basket there were three animals： a sheep, a duck and a hen．The balloon traveled through the air to a place two and half kilometers away．Then it came down safely to earth．Now it was time for men to fly! In October 1783 another of the brothers’ balloons went up．This time a man went with it．The balloon did not rise very far．It went, only to twenty－five meter．It was tied to the ground by a rope．A month later two men went up in a balloon full of hot air．This time there was no rope! A great crowd of people watched．The balloon rose to a height of 900 meters．The wind blew it along for nine kilometers．Then it came gently back to earth．Men had traveled through the air for the first time．

　　Other men filled the balloon with a gas called hydrogen．Hydrogen is much lighter than air．Balloon filled with it were able to travel long distances．But the men in the basket underneath could not steer them．They went where the wind took them．

　　Later balloons were made in the shape of a cigar．These were called airships．They had engines to drive them alone, and they could be steered a little．But they were still blown about by the wind．The hydrogen gas was dangerous, too．It caught fire very easily．There were many accidents and many people died．At last they stopped making airships．

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阅读理解

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 following is a recent survey among teenagers：

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阅读理解

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。

　　With eco-tourism on the rise, eco-hotels are fast becoming the darling of the travel industry．These days, however, staying at an eco-hotel doesn't necessarily mean vacationing in a tree house in the Costa Rican jungle, although that is certainly a choice．

　　The majority of eco-hotels fall into one of several categories：hotels and resorts that conserve ecologically important habitats; “green” hotels that reduce, recycle, minimize waste, and protect water; sustainable hotels that harvest food from gardens on the hotel property or get part or all of their power from renewable energy; hotels that encourage community involvement such as guests taking part in trail clearing; and hotels that offer some form of environmental education to their guests．

　　As such, eco-hotels are a various group．Stylish urban hotels like the Willard Inter-Continental Washington focus on energy conservation whereas the Rosario Resort ＆ Spa on Orcas Island in Washington State offers a wildly popular “green” vacation package where guests can “take a hike, clear a trail”．

　　No matter what you call them, eco-hotel, eco-lodge, eco-resort, or green hotel, they're all part of the “greening” of the tourism industry．

　　Part of what drives this greening of the hotel industry is no doubt competition．Going green is yet another way to distinguish a hotel from the mass of other excellent hotels that consumers have to choose from．But for many hotels, it's also part of their philosophy．With the concept of “going green” firmly rooted in consumers' minds, eco-hotels have taken it to the next level, and whether or not money is the driving factor behind the greening of the hotel industry doesn't matter so much as it's good for the planet．

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阅读理解

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。

　　We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles of your neck, or because an unexpected twist has made your neck ache and stiff．Your whole body feels tight．The slightest move makes you jump with pain．Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck．That is why we use the phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling．We have all met such people．

　　One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands－often at the wrong time－during a performance in the theater．He keeps you from hearing the actors．

　　Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and the play begins．They come hurrying down to your row of seats．You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap．You must stand up to let them pass．You are proud of your self-control after they have settled into their seats… Well, what now…Good God, one of them is up again．He forgot to go to the men's room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass．Now, that is “a pain in the neck”．

　　Another, well-known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies．His mouth is full of popcorn; he is chewing loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him．None of them remain still．Up and down, back and forth, they go for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink．

　　Then, there is the man sitting next to you at a lunch counter smoking a smelly cigar．He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth．

　　We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway car and sits down next to you, just as closes you will let him．You are reading the newspaper and he leans over and stretches his neck so that he can read the paper with you．He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it．

　　We also call such a person a “rubber-neck”, always stretching his neck to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors．They enjoy invading your privacy．People have a strong dislike for rubber-necks．They hate being spied upon．

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阅读理解

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。

　　Every parent wants their child to grow up to enjoy life and be successful．Each and every one of us has something that we don't want our children to experience as they get older．We protect them hoping they will never experience hurt, yet as they get older they come across their own struggles．

　　We often do everything we can to keep them from making the mistakes that we have made．Your children are not you．They are incredible little beings that choose you to experience life with．They are not little “mini me's” that will make the same mistakes we have made or learn the way we learn from our own experiences．They go to school, have experiences that they only tell us about, and understand the experiences through their own thoughts and feelings mixed in with family behavioral patterns．This is where you can make a difference．Be an example．

　　Teach your child how to live life by being the person you would want them to be－helping others, loving yourself and making no judgments about other people．As you learn this in your own self and apply it, your child won't need you to speak a word．If little Joannie doesn't want to share with another child, show them how to share．Show by example．

　　If you don't want other to walk all over you, treat others as you want to be treated because there is a child learning behaviors from you．Be the example of what you want your child to be through your own positive thoughts and feelings．It is the best thing you can do for your child and yourself to ensure your child feel accepted and loved as they get older．

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阅读理解

阅读下列短文，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Companies often give work to an outside business that can do the job for less money than their own employees could．This is called outsourcing．Outsourcing has become a political issue in the campaign for the American presidential election in November．

　　Many companies in the United States have been moving jobs to countries where costs are much lower．Factory production jobs have moved away for years．But the jobs now also involve computer programming and other skills based on knowledge．

　　Labor groups and workers are angry．They point to reports that say the United States has lost two-and-a-half million jobs since 2001．Most were jobs in manufacturing．Some states have lost more jobs than others．But no one seems to know for sure how many jobs left the country．

　　There was a recession．Jobs were cut．Yet, so far, the economic recovery has produced fewer jobs than expected．So outsourcing has created an emotional debate．

　　Lou Dobbs has a business news program on CNN television．He keeps a list of companies that have sent jobs to foreign countries．Almost every night, Mister Dobbs talks about what he calls the "exporting of America．"

　　Gregory Mankiw [man-CUE] is the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Bush．Recently Mister Mankiw said outsourcing is probably good for the economy in the long term．He said it makes sense to import goods or services produced at lower cost．He called it "just a new way of doing international trade．"

　　Most economists would probably agree．But Democrats and Republicans criticized Mister Mankiw．He later apologized for having appeared to praise the loss of United States jobs．

　　Criticism of outsourcing has led some people to condemn free trade．They argue that if jobs are lost to foreign countries, then America should seek protective measures．

　　The director general of the World Trade Organization does not see it that way．Supachai Panitchpakdi says one-third of all economic growth in the United States since 1990 resulted from international trade．

　　Mister Supachai says training and education can create new opportunities for workers．He says exports have helped create five-million new jobs in America in the last ten years．He says those jobs pay ten-percent above the average．

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