阅读理解

　　Not long ago, people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old．Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life．

　　Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment．They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes．A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver．This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other human beings．

　　One study shous that babies can learn before they are born．The researchers placed a tape recorder on the stomach of a pregnant(怀孕的woman．Then, they played a recording of a short story．On the day the baby was born, the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the stoy repeated while in his mother．They did this by blacing a device in the mouth of the newborn baby．

　　The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way．If the baby moved his mouth the other way, he would hear a different story．The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born．They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again．

　　Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children．

　　Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years．The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers．The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not interfere(干涉)unnecessarily．They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old．Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of depression(抑郁症)．

　　The children of depressed women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression．The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear．

　　These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people．The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence(智力)development of their children．Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression．

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阅读理解

　　Ray's wedding had gone off smoothly．Everyone seemed to have had a good time．A few people had too good a time; they went home with designated(指派的)drivers．All evening, the gift table remained unguarded．Who would steal anything, Ray thought．He had never heard of such a thing happening at a wedding．But his best friend Aaron said there was a first time for everything．He strolled out regularly from the inside festivities(庆祝)to check on the gift table, making sure no one suspicious was hanging around it．

　　Ray and Julia went on a 3-week honeymoon to Italy right after the wedding．When they got back, they opened all the gifts and sent out thank-you notes．But there was one problem．A married couple that used to be good friends had apparently given nothing．This surprised Julia, because Walt and Mary said they were thrilled to be invited．And, they actually seemed to have had a great time at the wedding．Frankly, Ray didn't even care if they hadn't given a gift．He just needed to know whether to send a thank-you note．Ray called Aaron．Aaron said maybe Walt had left an envelope on the gift table like Aaron had．“Yes, but we got your envelope with the cash inside,” Ray said．

　　“Maybe my envelope looked too thin, and some thief thought Walt's envelope looked nice and fat．”

　　Aaron asked Ray if he had looked everwhere for Walt's gift．Had he called up the wedding site to see if anything been left behind? Ray said that he had looked everywhere and made a lot of calls that were fruitless．

　　Ray didn't know what to do．If he sent Walt and Mary a thank-you note for a gift they hadn't given, they would be insulted．If he didn't send them a thank-you note for a gift they had given, they would get angry．

　　“What would you do?” Ray asked．Aaron said he would call Walt up and tell him the problem．

　　“You can't go wrong with simply being honest,” Aaron said．

　　“Oh, yes, you can,” Ray contradicted(反驳)him．“Sometimes it's best to let sleeping dogs lie．” But he thought about it, and finally decided that Aaron was right．He called Walt and told him the problem．Walt said that yes, he had given an envelope．In fact, the envelope contained ＄500 cash．

　　“＄500?!” Ray asked．“That's a lot of cash, Walt!” Walt admitted that it was, but he had gotten a fat raise(加薪)early that year and Ray's was the only wedding he'd been to in quite a while．Ray thanked him very much, and apologized sincerely for someone stealing Walt's generous gift．Walt told him that it was “only money”．

　　When Ray told Aaron about Walt's gift, Aaron laughed．“The only thief at the wedding was Walt! I quit playing cards with him last year because I caught him cheating．And it was only a ＄10 pot! I'm sure I told you about that．”

　　“Yes, you did tell me,” Ray said．But, of course, he had to send Walt a thank-you note anyway．

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阅读理解

　　“A good book for children should simply be a good book in its own right,” says Mollie Hunter．Born and brought up near Edinburgh, Mollie has devoted her talents to writing primarily for young people．She firmly believes that there is always and should always be a wider audience for any good book whatever its main market is．In Mollie's opinion it is necessary to make full use of language and she enjoys telling a story, which is what every writer should be doing．“If you aren't telling a story, you're a very dead writer indeed,” she says．With the chief function of a writer being to entertain(让人愉快), Mollie is indeed an entertainer．“I have this great love of not only the meaning of language but of the music of language,” she says．“This love goes back to early childhood．I've told stories all my life．I had a school teacher who used to ask us what we would like to be when we grew up and, because my family always had dogs, and I was very good at handling them, I said I wanted to work with dogs, and the teacher always said ‘Nonsense, Mollie, dear, you'll be a writer．' So finally I thought that this woman must have something, since she was a good teacher and I decided when I was nine that I would be a writer．”

　　This childhood intention is described in her novel, A Sound of Chariots, which although written in the third person is clearly autobiographical(自传体的)and gives a picture both of Mollie's ambition(理想)and her struggle towards its achievement．Thoughts of her childhood inevitably(不可避免地)brought thoughts of the time when her home was still a village with buttercup meadows(草地)and strawberry fields－sadly now covered with modern houses．“I was once taken back to see it and I felt that somebody had lain dirty hands all over my childhood．I'll never go back,”she said．“Never．”“When I set one of my books in Scotland,”she said,“I can recall my romantic(浪漫的)feelings as a child playing in those fields, or watching the village blacksmith at work．And that's important, because children now know so much so early that romance can't exist for them, as it did for us．”

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阅读理解

　　Are morning people born or made? In my case it was definitely made．In my early 20s, I rarely went to bed before midnight, and I would almost always get up late the next morning．

　　But after a while I couldn't ignore the high relationship between success and rising early．On those rare occasions where I did get up early, I noticed that my productivity(效率)was almost always higher．So I set out to become a habitual early riser．But whenever my alarm went off, my first thought was always to stop that noise and go back to sleep．Eventually some sleep research showed me that I was using the wrong strategy．

　　The most common wrong strategy is this：You assume that if you're going to get up earlier, you'd better go to bed earlier．It sounds very reasonable, but will usually fail．

　　There are two main schools(流派)of thought on sleep patterns．One is that you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day．The second school says you should go to bed when you're tired and get up when you naturally wake up．However, I have found both of them are wrong if you care about producivity．If you sleep at set hours, you'll sometimes go to bed when you aren't sleepy enough．You're wasting time lying in bed awake and not being asleep．

　　If your sleep is based on what your body tells you, you'll probably be sleeping more than you need．Also, your mornings may be less predictable if you're getting up at different times．

　　The solution for me has been to combine both methods．I go to bed when I'm sleepy and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time．So I always get up at the same time(in my case 5 am), but I go to bed at different times every night － sometimes at 9：30pm, and other times at midnight．Most of the time I go to bed between 10-11 pm．

　　However, going to bed only when I'm sleepy, and getting up at a fixed time every morning is my way．If you want to become an early riser, you can try your own．

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阅读理解

If You Make a Mistake, Don't Worry!

　　Yeah, you'll want to forget about them, but mistakes can be useful．Making a mistake doesn't mean it's the end of the world．In real life you have to grow and mature, and with that comes some growing pains．

　　You know you should have studied hard but you went out with some friends instead．You know you should have put the money into the bank for a rainy day instead of spending it on all kinds of things you didn't need．

　　It's the growing pains called mistakes that most people make when they are growing up．Face them．You are going to make them．Learn from them．All of the people you wish to copy , such as all the experts in your business field, have made mistakes．They'll continue to make mistakes for all their successes．

　　One of the major differences between people like them and the vast majority(大多数)of others is that they don't let their mistakes stop them．Instead, they use their mistakes as learning tools．

　　At the very least, when you make a mistake, you'll know what not to do．And you can help others by warning them of the mistakes you've made．Don't let mistakes stop you from doing anything．Learn from them, don't hide in a closet．Facing up to your mistakes now and later will mature．

　　What mistakes are you making right now? Take a look at anything you might be doing wrong．Take a step back and evaluate your situation, then fix whatever needs to be corrected．Then move forward．

　　Always remember your mistakes to remind yourself of what not to do for the future．

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　　Here's a scene：a village where the sun always shines, crops always grow and your friends drop by to sweep your yard to the sound of guitar music．Animals do what they are told, there is no disease, and lendin' folks a helpin'hand makes you richer and wiser．Welcome to FarmVille－Current population 69m and rising fast．

　　“It reminds me of my childhood, ”says one player, Lia Curran, 37, a nurse from London．“Right now I'm growing wheat and flowers．I've got a small garden, and I'm raising some chickens and some cows．I like having the animals．It's relaxing．” Curran's animals, however, is nothing more than a collection of cartoons．FarmVille is an online computer game built into the social networking site Facebook and is described by its players as “addictive”．Launched last June by Zynga Game Network, FarmVille now has many players－more than the population of the UK．The players are largely women over the age of 35．

　　FarmVille unites the worlds of social networking and gaming．Players are given a ground with six fields, “cash”, a few seeds and a plough and have to build up wealth, skills and neighbors to create bigger, better, richer farms．Inviting your online friends to play means you earn more and get free gifts；you rise rapidly through the first levels but, once hooked, have to work harder and harder with no final level or goal in sight．

　　“Games like this draw people into a fantasy world that's separate from real life where there are no issues, and where things are simple and controllable, ” Brian Dudley says．In November, he opened the UK's first computer games addiction clinic, treating online gamers who stayed at the keyboard for up to eight hours a day－“the tip of the iceberg”, he says．Two weeks ago, a group of US players launched a class action against Zynga and Facebook．“Most, if not all, of the online advertisements presented through Zynga are scams(骗局), ”the lawsuit states．“The advertisements are highly misleading and often result in users ordering goods or services that they do not want or need．”

　　According to Nick O'neill from the social media site All Facebook, Zynga is making ＄500, 000(￡304, 000)a day, from its Facebook games, in turn spending some ＄50m(￡30m)a year on Facebook ads．

　　If all that weren't enough, FarmVille doesn't even function like a proper farm：in FarmVille, wheat grows in two days－in real life, it takes months．But play continues nevertheless．

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　　High school dropouts(辍学者)earn an average of ＄ 9,000 less per year than graduates．Now a new study moves away a common belief why they quit．It's much more than failing in exams at school．

　　Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can't cut it．They are lazy, and perhaps not too bright．So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left．

　　“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school．” John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said．About 1 million teens leave school each year．Only about half of African-American and Hispanic(美籍西班牙的)student will receive a diploma, and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision．So, if failing grades don't explain why these kids quit, what does? Again, John Bridgeland："The most dependable finding was that they were bored．” “They found classes uninteresting; they weren't inspired or motivated．They didn't see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their possible careers．”

　　The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit．In the US, only one state, New Mexico, has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate．Only four states：California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions, another researcher says raising the compulsory attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school．

　　“As these dropouts look back, they realize they've made a mistake．And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and it through to the end is probably a helpful measure．”

　　New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18．But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point－the need for reform．It's been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something．

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　　Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life．Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all work, but the biggest longevity (长寿) increase seems to come from marriage or an equal relationship．The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers (鳏夫) were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers．Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man's life and two to a woman's．The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm．

　　Even if the conditions are not good for you, marriage can more than compensate．Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart．Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn't smoke．There's a ________, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their husband's or wife's death, and caring for a husband or wife with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems．Even so, the odds favour marriage．In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects．

　　So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological (生理的) parts．For example, social contact can increase development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life．People in supportive relationships may handle stress better．Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner．

　　A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100．The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says：“People are interconnected, so their health is interconnected．”

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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、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　On Sundays my father always wore that dull gray apron-the one with the race cars all over it．The ritual began after breakfast when Dad always announced： "Go ahead everyone．I'll take care of the dishes! " With that my mother disappeared into the folds of the Sunday paper．Off came the suit coat he had worn to church that morning．Up went the shirtsleeves．On went that apron．For the next hour Dad did the dishes, singing ballads like "I Had a Hat When I Came In" and "Who Put the Chow in Mrs．Murphy's Chowder? "

　　I suppose it was strange for a boy's father to wear an apron-even one with race cars-but I never thought much of it until the day that Dad broke with tradition．It was the last Sunday in August．My father seemed in an expansive mood as we walked home from church together．

　　"Tommy, " he said letting my name roll off his tongue．My mind raced ahead of his words： The birds and the bees? A new bike? A part-time job?

　　"There comes a time in every boy's life when he must take on responsibilities．" This was important．I might even get to back the car out of the driveway．

　　"Responsibilities? " I asked．

　　"Yes．It's time you took a greater role in the household．" Power tools? Boss my baby brother?

　　"Starting today, I want you to do the dishes on Sunday morning so your mother and I can work the crossword puzzle together．"

　　"The dishes! ? "

　　"Anything wrong with taking over the dishes, son? "

　　I started to say something about a man's job or woman's work, but I knew immediately that my protests would fall on deaf ears．

　　I didn't taste a bit of breakfast that morning．Dad seemed in a cheerful mood and was describing a wonderful baseball game he saw last night．

　　Suddenly, everything grew quiet．My sister began to clear the table．My brother was finishing the last of the egg from his plate．And then that ancient family ritual(程序、仪式)that had filled so many Sunday mornings came to an end．My father announced： "Let's go read the paper, Hon．"

　　"Aren't you doing the dishes? " my mother asked in puzzlement．

　　"Your oldest son has generously offered to fill the position．"

　　My brother and sister stopped cold．So this was what my life had come to．A dark angel sat on my left shoulder and reminded me that I could hit a baseball farther than anyone in my class．I could bench-press my weight．Ask me to run through a rainstorm．Command me to ride the roller coaster – backward．These things I would do．But I could never do those dishes．There was nothing left but to refuse．

　　People often say there is a special chemistry between a father and a son．He came back into the kitchen just as I was about to storm out．He had loosened his tie and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt-ready to relax．In his right hand was the old apron．

　　"I want you to have this, Tommy．It'll keep your clothes from getting wet．" And before I could mount a protest, he had put the thing on me．"Thanks, Son．Your mother and I appreciate this．"

　　With that he disappeared into the Sunday paper．I looked down at the plastic．It had seen better days．I could see my dad reaching for the dishes．The dark angel flew off．Soon I was singing about Mrs．Murphy's chowder．The words came out of nowhere．And out of nowhere I knew the kind of man I wanted to be．

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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、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Just about every week now, we read a newspaper headline about the genetic basis for breast cancer, intelligence, or obesity．Such news stories may lead us to believe our lives are being revolutionized by genetic discoveries．We may be close to changing and getting rid of mental illness, for example and identify the causes of crime, personality, and other basic human weaknesses．

　　But these hopes, it turns out, are based on faulty assumptions about genes and behavior．

　　In many cases, people are motivated to accept research claims by the hope of finding solutions for frightening problems, like breast cancer．Accepting genetic causes for their characteristics can relieve guilt about behavior they want to change but can't．Efforts made to fight against them, at growing expense, have made little or no visible progress．The public wants to hear that science can help．

　　Meanwhile, genetic claims are being made for many ordinary and abnormal behaviors, from addiction to shyness and even to political views and divorce．If who we are is determined from pregnancy, then our efforts to change or to influence our children may be useless．There may also be no basis for insisting that people behave themselves and obey laws．Thus, the revolution in thinking about genes has great consequences for how we view ourselves as human beings．

　　Most claims linking emotional disorders and behaviors to genes are statistical in nature．The research finds are insufficient for deciding that alcoholism or mainic-depression(躁狂抑郁症患者)is inherited．In the late 1980s, genes for manic-depression were identified by teams of geneticists．The claims have now been definitively proved wrong．

　　Genetic data on the major mental illnesses make it clear that they can't be reduced to purely genetic causes．According to Myrna Weissman, Ph．D．, Americans born before 1905 had a 1 percent rate of depression by age 75．Among Americans born a half century later, 6 percent become depressed by age 24! Similarly, while the average age at which manic-depression first appears was 32 in the mid 1960s, its average beginning today is 19．Only social factors can produce such large shifts in rate and age of beginning of mental disorders in a few decades．

　　Scientists actively debate whether disorders like alcoholism are more or less biologically driven．If they are mainly biological-rather than psychological, social, and cultural-then there may be a genetic basis for them．In 1990, Kenneth Blum, Ph．D．, of the University of Texas, and Ernest Noble, M．D．, of the University of California, Los Angeles, found a certain gene in 70 percent of a group of alcoholics, but in only 20 percent of a non-alcoholic group．But in 1993 Joel Gelernter, M．D．, of Yale and his colleagues surveyed all the studies that examined this gene and alcoholism．Different from Blum and Noble's research, the results were that 18 percent of non-alcoholics, 18 percent of problem drinkers, and 18 percent of severe alcoholics all had the gene．As for Blum and Noble's work, a more reasonable model is that genes may affect how people experience alcohol．Perhaps some people's nerves are more activated by alcohol．But although genes can influence reactions to alcohol, they cannot explain why some people continue drinking to the point of destroying their lives．

　　Therefore, claims that our genes cause our problems, our misbehavior, even our personalities are more a mirror of our culture's attitudes than a window for human understanding and change．

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