阅读理解

　　BUKHANNON, West Virginia-Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident．

　　Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates(最新报道)on the rescuers’ progress．

　　The miners were trapped at about 6：30 and many families weren't informed of the accident until about 10 a．m-more than three hours after it happened．“It's very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess, ” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine．

　　The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10, 000 feet from the Sago Mine's entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group．

　　At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p．m．Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later．

　　He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years．The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each．The company has not released the names of the miners．

　　The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect(remove)the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that．“We don't want to be energizing anything if it's in an atmosphere with burnable gases, ” Kips said．The cause of the explosion was not immediately known．High levels of carbon monoxide were detected shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided(减退), authorities said．

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阅读理解

　　When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter(炼铜厂), and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest．One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area．Paul knocked him down．From then on, something happened inside him．

　　Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office．He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back．The answer from that big industry was “No．”

　　Paul then went to college to study the science of plants．Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds．It would be a waste of his life to try to do it．Everyone knew that, he was told．Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn't get his idea accepted．

　　Paul later got married and had some kids．But his dream would not die．And then one night he did what he could with what he had．As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote．Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges．” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting．

　　And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass．For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense．Slowly rabbits appeared．Later, as there was legal(法律上的)pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing．Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has．It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child．

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阅读理解

　　When you are curious about something, and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions．Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers．The steps below can guide you during the research．

　　Step 1 On a note card or a piece of paper, write down the subject that you are interested in．Just get the main idea down．For example, you might write：

　　Discover more about dinosaurs．

　　Step 2 Stop and think for a moment about what you already know about your subject．List what you already know like the sentences below：

　　1．Dinosaurs lived long before human beings appeared．

　　2．Dinosaurs lived on the earth for more than 150 million years．

　　3．Some dinosaurs fed on plants, some on meat．

　　Step 3 What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions．On your paper, start writing down questions about the dinosaurs as you think of them：

　　1．What's the best weather for dinosaurs to live in?

　　2．How many kinds of dinosaurs are there?

　　3．Have dinosaurs really disappeared?

　　Step 4 Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research．As you learn more about your subject, you'll probably discover some new questions．

　　For example, you might discover that dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago．Why? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely．

　　The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions．And remember－learning more always bring more questions．

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阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Sport is not only physically challenging, but it can also be mentally challenging．Criticism from coaches, parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create an excessive amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes(运动员)．Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout．Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable．

　　The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself．The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place．Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives．Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children．Youngsters may take their parents' and coaches' criticisms to heart and find a flaw(缺陷)in themselves．

　　Coaches and parents should also be cautious that youth sport participation does not become work for children．The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons．In today's youth sport setting, young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport．Following a game many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters' performances．Positive reinforcement should be provided regardless of the outcome．Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism．Again, criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout．

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阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Driving to a friend's house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend's rooftop．I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it is that most city people-myself included-usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors．

　　My friend had also seen it．He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then．It had touched much of his life．

　　I know the feeling．Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends．We stayed in a forest rest house with no electricity or running hot water．Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside．The moon grew to its fullest during our trip．Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys．Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard．It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence．And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply．

　　Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass．We have television, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers．

　　Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought, “Before long, I would like to live in a small cottage．There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains．And perhaps write, but not in anger．I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons．But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touched the moon．”

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阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters．But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes of each Chinese character when writing on paper．Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more．

　　Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school．And computer dependence is more widespread among university students．Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer．

　　All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer．

　　It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer．And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education．But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear．

　　“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I'm familiar with it．”

　　“I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper．”

　　Many students don't feel this is something to worry about．Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

　　Many educators think differently．Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic(审美的)value．But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value．All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost．And handwriting contains the writer's emotion．Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality．Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them．”

　　To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand．

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阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together．Like pairs of dogs you can find in any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their houses．

　　One evening, Brownie's family noticed that Brownie hadn't returned home．They went looking for him with no success．Brownie didn't show up the next day, and, although they made their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing, Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie's house alone, barking and jumping．Busy with their own lives, they paid no attention to the nervous little neighbor dog．

　　Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take “no” for an answer．Ted, Brownie's owner, was continuously disturbed by the angry, determined little dog．Spotty followed Ted about, barking all the time, then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, “Follow me! It's urgent! ”

　　Eventually, Ted followed Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty stopped to race back and barked encouragingly．The little dog led the man to a deserted spot a half mile from the house．There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his legs crushed in a steel trap(圈套)．Frightened, Ted now wished he had taken Spotty's earlier appeals seriously．

　　Then Ted noticed something．Spotty had done something else besides leading Brownie's human owner to his trapped friend．In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found some food remains of every meal．Brownie had been fed that week! Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in the hope of keeping his friend alive．Spotty had actually stayed with Brownie to protect him from hunger and other dangers, and keep his spirits up．

　　Brownie's leg was carefully treated and he soon got well again．For many years thereafter the two families watched the faithful friends chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses．

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阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Scientists have devised a way to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand of hair, a technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims．

　　The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in people's hair．

　　“You’re what you eat and drink, and that's recorded in your hair, ” said Thure Cerling, a geologist at the University of Utah．

　　While U．S diet is relatively identical, water supplies vary．The differences result from weather patterns．The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly as rain clouds move．

　　Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable, but traces of both elements are also present as heavier isotopes(同位素)．The heaviest rain falls first．As a result, storms that form over the Pacific deliver heavier water to California than to Utah．

　　Similar patterns exist throughout the U．S．By measuring the proportion of heavier hydrogen and oxygen isotopes along a strand of hair, scientists can construct a geographic timeline．Each inch of hair corresponds to about two months．

　　Cerling's team collected tap water samples from 600 cities and constructed a map of the regional differences．They checked the accuracy of the map by testing 200 hair samples collected from 65 barber shops．They were able to accurately place the hair samples in broad regions roughly corresponding to the movement of rain systems．

　　“It's not good for pinpointing(精确定位), ” Cerling said．“It's good for eliminating many possibilities．”

　　Todd Park, a local detective, said the method has helped him learn more about an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake．

　　The woman was 5 feet tall．Police recovered 26 bones, a T-shirt and several strands of hair．

　　When Park heard about the research, he gave the hair samples to the researchers．

　　Chemical testing showed that over the two years before her death, she moved about every two months．

　　She stayed in the Northwest, although the test could not be more specific than somewhere between eastern Oregon and western Wyoming．

　　“It's still a substantial area, ” Park said “But it narrows it way down for me．”

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阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Sirs,

　　Your twelve thousand ‘Smart’ watches were received by our company this morning．However, we wish to make a number of complaints concerning the serious delay in delivery and your failure to carry out our instructions regard to this order．

　　It was firmly pointed out from the beginning that the delivery date had to be less than six weeks from the original order in order to satisfy our own customers’ requirements．While we understand that delays in production are occasionally unavoidable, we must point out that the major reason why the order was placed with your company was that we were assured by you of its simplicity, and that your existing stocks were sufficiently high to ensure immediate shipment．Late delivery of the goods has caused us to disappoint several of our most valued customers, and will have an unfavorable effect on future orders．

　　The second complaint concerns the difference in colour between the watches we ordered and those delivered．It was stated clearly in the order that watches in combinations of green/purple and orange/purple only were required．However, only half the watches in the delivery received are of the colours specified．Our Hong Kong agent informed you of the importance of following our instructions exactly, since we consider there to be only a limited market in this country for watches of other colors at the present time．Any watches that are not of the specified colours will, of course, be returned to you．

　　We are also somewhat concerned about the rather poor quality of the goods received, since it is obvious that the watches that finally arrived have been made from not good enough materials and have been produced to a lower standard than those in the sample．We have also found that a number of the watches do not appear to be working．Whether the latter problem is due to poor production, or damage in transportation is not yet clear, but we should like to point out that we feel this matter to be entirely your fault．

　　As a result of the above problems, therefore, we feel that the most suitable course of action is to return to you unpaid any of the goods considered unsatisfactory．We shall also, of course, be forced to reconsider whether any further orders should be placed with your company．

　　We look forward to your early reply．

　　Yours sincerely,

　　John Smith

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阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy．After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy．

　　Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy．However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason．Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory．

　　Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own．Only he and his family are welcome there．No other families of the same species are welcome．Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome．If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout．Probably this would be enough to frighten him away．

　　If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him．A bird does the same thing．But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting season．So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not．This screaming is what we call a bird's song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away．

　　Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs．

　　You can see that birds have a language all their own．Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories．

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