阅读理解

　　China has lately been faced with serious issues of product safety．In Panama, it is said that medicine made with a poisonous chemical sickened some people．A Chinese company had identified it as diethylamide glycol([化]乙二醇), a low – cost substitute commonly used in automobile antifreeze(防冻剂)．

　　Some countries have banned Chinese-made toothpaste containing diethylamide glycol．China has now told companies to discontinue its use, even though it says the toothpaste is safe．Another industrial chemical, melamine, was found in wheat flour used to make pet food in North America．Thousands of dogs and cats became sick．

　　The United States has restricted some imports of Chinese seafood because they contained banned substance．And questions have been raised about other products, including children's toys covered with lead paint．

　　Chinese officials promised to provide the European Union, the biggest trading partner, with detailed reports on enforcement efforts against unsafe goods．

　　Meglena Kuneva, commissioner(理事)for consumer protection of the European Union said China should have kept its promise．

　　China recently closed three companies linked to the Panama and the pet food scare．And it dismissed the former head of its food and drug administration．He was found guilty of corruption(腐败)for approving unsafe drugs．This week, a conference of the State Council approved a proposed special measure on the supervision of food safety．The Xinhua News Agency said it calls for stronger controls over producers, greater responsibilities for government and more serious punishment for illegal activities．

　　But Chinese officials have accused some foreign media of overstating problems with goods made in China．They say food imports from the United States also fail inspection sometimes．Next Week, American and Chinese food safety officials are planning to hold 5 days of meetings in Beijing to discuss cooperation．

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　　Linda was kind of late．Linda, 25, had a lot to do at work, plus visitors on the way：her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown．But as she hurried down the subway stairs, she started to feel uncomfortably warm．By the time she got to the platform, Linda felt weak and tired － maybe it hadn't been a good idea to give blood the night before, she thought．She rested herself against a post close to the tracks．

　　Several yards away, Frank, 43, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop．They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying．

　　But when he heard the scream, followed by someone yelling, “Oh, my God, she fell in！”Frank didn't hesitate．He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails．“No! Not you! ”his girlfriend screamed after him．

　　She was right to be alarmed．By the time Frank reached Linda, he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming．The train was about 20 seconds from the station．

　　It was hard to lift her．She was just out．But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the arms and drag her away from the edge．That was where Linda briefly regained consciousness, felt herself being pulled along the ground, and saw someone else holding her purse．

　　Linda thought she'd been robbed．A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head．And she tried to talk but she couldn't, and that was when she realized how much pain she was in．

　　Police and fire officials soon arrived, and Frank told the story to an officer．Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40?minute train ride downtown－just as he had been seconds after the rescue, which made her think about her reaction at the time．“I saw the train coming and I was thinking he was going to die, ” she explained．

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　　Women turn to online shopping

　　Women have jumped ahead of men for the first time in using the Internet to do their holiday shopping，according to a study published last week in the US．

　　For years men have been more likely to shop on the Internet than women，but during the 2004 holiday season 58 percent of those making online purchases were women．

　　“It shows how mainstream the Internet is becoming”，said Lee Rainie，a director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project group，which carried out the study．

　　Rainie said it was only a matter of time before women shoppers caught up with men．This is because women traditionally make decisions about spending．

　　Users were more likely to shop online to save time．Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 were responsible for some of the most dramatic(显著的)increases in the online gift-buying population this time around．

　　However，three-quarters of the US Internet users did not buy holiday gifts online in 2004．They worried about credit card security，or just compared online prices with off-line prices，then dashed off to the shops to get the best deals．

　　“But even if shoppers don't buy online，websites are becoming promotion tools for stores，”said Dan Hess，vice president of Comscore Networks Inc．Hess said that actually most stores' websites can make shoppers fully believe the security of their credit card numbers．And most are able to ensure that gifts arrive on time．

　　“It's all about making the shopping experience more efficient，more reliable and more comfortable，” Hess said．

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　　As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things．When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers．Then they become interested in the physical world around them：the plants, the animals, the sky．Later, they become interested in the things that people have made：wheels, bicycles, cars．And when they are adults, their curiosity continues．Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career(生涯、职业)in science．

　　Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world．Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies．Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences．A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e．g．physics, chemistry．These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world．For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run．They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute．Your heart is a pump(泵)that pumps blood to all parts of the body．The blood carries oxygen and nutrition．When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them．The muscles need oxygen, too．So your brain sends a signal to the heart．The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen．Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles．It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute．

　　Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions．If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty ?” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks．When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks．Rain falls into cracks．The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers．The rivers carry the salt into the ocean．But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year．” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question．

　　We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious．

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　　In general, people talk about two groups of colours：warm colours and cool colours．Researchers in psychology think that there are also two groups of people：people who prefer warm colours and people who prefer cool colours．

　　The warm colours are red, orange and yellow．Where there are warm colours and a lot of light, people usually want to be active．People think that red, for example, is exciting．Sociable people, those who like to be with others, like red．The cool colours are green, blue and violet．These colours, unlike warm colours , are relaxing．Where there are cool colours, people are usually quiet．People who like to spend time alone often prefer blue．

　　Red may be exciting, but one researcher says that time seems to pass more slowly in a room with warm colours than in a room with cool colours．He suggests that a warm colour, such as red or orange is a good colour for a living room or restaurant．People who are relaxing or eating do not want time to pass quickly．Cool colours are better for offices or factories if the people who are working there want time to pass quickly．

　　Researchers do not know why people think some colours are warm and other colours are cool．However, almost everyone agrees that red, orange, and yellow are warm and that green, blue and violet are cool．Perhaps warm colours remind people of warm days and the cool colours remind them of cool days．Because in the north the sun is higher during summer, the hot summer sunlight appears yellow．

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　　You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight．They hit one another hard．At the start they only fight with their fists(拳头)．But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs．And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below．He is dead!

　　Of course he isn't really dead．With any luck he isn't even hurt．Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains, who crash cars of even catch fire, are professionals(专业人士)．They do this for a living．These men are called stuntmen(替身演员)．That is to say, they perform tricks．

　　There are two sides to their work．．They actually do most of the things you see on the screen．For example, they fall from a high building．However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress(床垫)．Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar!

　　But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training．Often a stuntman's success depends on careful timing(时间测量)．For example, when he is "blown up"in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of th explosion(爆炸)just at the right moment．

　　Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives．They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed．A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff(悬崖)a thousand feet high．His parachute failed to open, and he was killed．

　　In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only．Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action．For nowadays there are stunt-girls too!

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　　Jee Hock and Meng Kim were very good friends．Jee Hock could not see．He was blind．Meng Kim could not walk．He was lame．They lived in a village near a forest．Everyone in the village was going to a rich man's dinner on the other side of the forest．Jee Hock and Meng Kim were anxious to attend the dinner too．

　　Blind Jee Hock thought of a plan．He would carry Meng Kim．The lame man could tell him the way．Meng Kim said that the plan was a good one．

　　On the way through the forest, Meng Kim saw a tiger．He did not tell Jee Hock about it．Instead, he quietly asked Jee Hock to carry him to the nearest tree．Upon reaching an over banging branch,Meng Kim quickly hauled himself up．

　　Then the tiger roared．Jee Hock at once knew a tiger was near．He lay down quietly．The tiger came to him and sniffed his body．The tiger's whiskers touched Jee Hock's nose．At once Jee Hock sneezed, “Ah choooooo!” The tiger was afraid and ran away．

　　Then Meng Kim came down from the tree．He asked Jee Hock about the tiger．Jee Hock said that the tiger had told him to choose his friends wisely．

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　　Galaxy saw a man and a woman who communicated with the sign language at the train station when she was on the way home one evening．She noticed that the woman asked the man for the direction．He told her that he did not know．Galaxy decided to help them．She had learned the sign language when she served as a volunteer in the deaf and mute(聋哑)school．Then she showed the woman the direction and left her email address to them in case they needed her help later．

　　She received an email from that man the next day．Kazrim was his name．Galaxy replied his mail sincerely．They both started chatting online soon after and began seeing each other．Although they only communicated with the sign language, it never bothered her．

　　Galaxy was fond of him gradually．Obviously, Kazrim was the same too．He presented Galaxy with a bunch of sunflowers and asked her sincerely, “Are you willing to be my girlfriend?” Galaxy was pleasantly surprised．She requested him to give her some time to persuade her parents．

　　As she had expected, her parents were very angry after they had learned of their love story．Galaxy explained, “Kazrim is an excellent and a very optimistic person．He has a very positive attitude towards life and work．He cares for others always．He is 100％ better than the normal．Moreover, the mute is still a human．He should possess a perfect and wonderful love．”

　　Her parents asked to see him, then．The very worried Galaxy took Kazrim home a few days later．When they were on the train, Kazrim told her, ‘‘I'm going to tell your parents I'll be looking after you well with all my life!” Galaxy was deeply moved．

　　As soon as they had entered the house, Galaxy introduced him to her parents．She said, ‘‘This is Kazrim．” Just right after her speech, an unbelievable thing happened．Kazrim threw the gift away and held her in his arms tightly．zxxk

　　He said, “YOU CAN TALK?” It was the same question that Galaxy wanted to ask, too．

　　The four people were shocked all of a sudden．As a matter of fact, Kazrim always believed that Galaxy was a mute and he still fell in love with her deeply．

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　　I work at a Care Center where most of the people are elderly．About a year and a half ago a 59-year-old lady came to us who had cancer．She had to have her right leg amputated(切除)and she didn't have a family to take care of her after the operation．

　　This lady was a quiet lady who mostly stayed alone．But in the afternoons, when she was feeling well, she would go to visit the other people in the Care Center．She would visit a lady who was blind and read to her．She would go into the room of a young girl with severe cerebral palsy(脑瘫)and sing to her．In her quiet and gentle way, she would go about the Care Center doing goods．

　　She passed away last Wednesday and after her passing, stories are coming forward of her quiet acts of kindness in her own hour of sorrow．

　　We never know what impact we have upon others．She had every reason to be bitter, to be angry, or to be swallowed up in her own grief．But she wasn't．She didn't have a family and probably felt forgotten, but her small and quiet acts of service made an impact upon the entire Care Center．

　　Each of us feels better than before for having known her．We have pledged(发誓)to be more aware of the service that we can offer to others．

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　　“How can I learn English well?” This is a question many students ask．In my opinion, the most effective way is to learn lessons by heart．If you can recite the text and write it out, you've learned it fairly well．And if you can tell, in your own words, what the lesson says ,you're a very successful learner indeed．Your English will be quite perfect．

　　This is a difficult task．However, if you try to learn by heart only part of each lesson, you'll find it not half so hard as you might have thought．

　　Learning this way, you will make rapid progress．Of course, writing is also necessary．It helps you a lot on your way to success in English．

　　Equally important is to feel the language．You should be able to laugh at jokes and be shocked at bad news．When using English, you should try to forget your mother tongue．Instead of helping you, your own language gets in your way．So, never try to see English through translation．

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