阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Two years ago my grandmother was going to turn 75．My family discussed what was the best way to celebrate．Should we throw her a party? Should we take her on a trip? We remembered that she had touched so many people's lives, and there were so many people for her to consider．Then someone got the idea that we should include everyone in the celebration by turning it into a tribute(献礼)to my grandmother．

　　We secretly sent out letters to the people in Grandmother's address book and asked them to send a letter with a memory that they had shared with her．People sent us letters with poems, stories and pictures．The deep feeling that was shared through the response(回应)surprised us．We compiled(编辑)these letters into a memory book and amazed her with it on the morning of her birthday．

　　The unusual thing about my grandmother's friends was not the number that she had, but the connection they shared．In many ways this book of friendship was the greatest achievement of my grandmother's life．

　　I believe that developing true friendships is one of the most important things that anyone can do in one's lifetime．It is not a matter of the number of friends one has, but the quality of the bonds．If one has had at least one true friendship before dying, then one can say one has lived a successful life．I have made many friends and I believe I have begun to develop the same types of friendships my grandmother kept up over her lifetime．I only hope that I will be as successful as she has been．

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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。

　　Here are six questions about your approach to life．Try to answer them as honestly as you can．

　　Are you hard driving and competitive?

　　Are you usually pressed for time?

　　Do you want to control others?

　　Do you have a strong need to do better than others in most things?

　　Do you eat too quickly?

　　Do you get upset when you have to wait for anything?

　　If you have answered “yes” to most of these questions, then I can make a few predictions about you, based on a recent eight-year study of nearly two thousand people who live the way that you do．

　　You likely find that life is full of challenges and you often need to keep two or more projects moving at the same time．The chances are that you have been to college, that you have a management job and that you bring work home at night．You think that you put more effort into your job than many of the people you work with, and you certainly take your work more seriously than most of them．You get angry easily, and if someone is being long-winded, you help them get to the point．You also have trouble finding the time to get your hair cut．

　　And there's one other thing．You are about twice as likely to have a heart attack as someone who takes a more easygoing approach to life．

　　The beginnings of your hard-driving behavior go right back to childhood．In school you got recognition and perhaps prizes for being quick and bright, for being an achiever, for competing with others and for winning．You likely went on from school to get a series of increasingly better jobs against pretty stiff competition．They were jobs where you had to care about the results, where you constantly had to push things forward and get things done．In your present job you also feel some conflict, either with time or with other people．Some of those you work with don't seem able to understand the simplest ideas, and they often put a brake on what you’re trying to achieve．The conflict may not take place every day．You pride yourself on being able to keep the lid on．But it's always there, under the surface．

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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。

　　In the early 1950s, researchers found that people scored lower on intelligence tests if they spoke more than one language．Research in the sixties found the opposite．Bilingual people scored higher than monolinguals, people who speak only one language．So which is it?

　　Researchers presented their newest studies last month at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science．The latest evidence shows that being bilingual does not necessarily make people smarter．But researcher Ellen Bialystok says it probably does make you better at certain skills．

　　Ellen Bialystok said, “Imagine driving down the highway．There’re many things that could

　　capture your attention and you really need to be able to monitor all of them．Why would bilingualism make you any better at that? ”

　　And the answer, she says, is that bilingual people are often better at controlling their attention-a function called the executive control system．

　　Ms．Bialystok is a psychology professor at York University in Toronto, Canada．She says the best method to measure the executive control system is called the Stroop Test．A person is shown words in different colors．The person has to ignore the word but say the color．The．problem is that the words are all names of colors．

　　Ellen Bialystok said, “So you would have the word blue written in red, but you have to say red．But blue is so salient(显著的), it's just lighting up all these circuits(电路)in your brain, and you really want to say blue．So you need a mechanism(机制)to override that so that you can say red．That's the executive control system．”

　　Her work shows that bilingual people continually practice this function．They have to, because both languages are active in their brain at the same time．They need to suppress(抑制)one to be able to speak in the other．

　　This mental exercise might help in other ways, too．Researchers say bilingual children are better able to separate a word from its meaning, and more likely to have friends from different

　　cultures．Bilingual adults are often four to five years later than others in developing dementia or

　　Alzheimer's disease．

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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。

　　Chocolate soap is supposed to be good for the skin．But it's not so good for the tongue．Unfortunately for the US soldiers of World War II, the chocolate bars the army gave them tasted like they were intended for use in the bath．

　　In the army's defense, it wasn't trying to win any cooking awards．In fact, it specifically ordered that its chocolate bars not be too delicious, so soldiers wouldn't eat them too quickly．These bars were created for survival, not taste．“They were awful, ” John Otto, a former army captain in World WarⅡ said．“They were big, thick things, and they weren't any good．I tried them, but I had to be awful hungry after I tried them once．”

　　As unappealing as the chocolate bars were to some, others liked them．Samuel Hinkle, the chemist who created the chocolate bars, pointed out that the number of bars made were far greater than the army needed．“It soon became obvious that the generous American soldiers were sharing their valued possessions with their foreign friends, whether soldiers of other countries or local citizens．”

　　The bars turned many hungry Europeans into friends of the United States．“People wanted them, ” said Otto, “You'd give them to kids．In some places they were very hungry．And they sure helped relax people about American soldiers．”

　　Otto said he never saw a European turn his or her nose up at the chocolate．“It was food, ” he said, “At that time, everyone was very hungry．I saw German kids standing outside the U．S．army kitchen．They weren't begging, just standing there very politely．When we were done, the kids would eat the food out of the garbage．They were that hungry．”

　　Other Europeans did not see chocolate until well after the war ended．“We didn't see any Americans where I was, ” said Elizabeth Radsma, who was 25 years old when the Germans occupied her country, the Netherlands．“Even after the war, we saw only English．Maybe the Americans gave out some chocolate in the big cities, but we were only in a small town．Before the British, we saw only German soldiers．But chocolate? Don't make me laugh! Maybe in my dreams! ”

　　A soldier in the field might have responded “Be careful what you wish for”-and then gratefully bit on a chocolate bar, the only food available for miles．

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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。

　　It was an opportunity 19-year-old Jodi Sagorin felt she couldn't pass up．

　　The California student had received an admission letter to New York University, but she wanted to follow a calling to volunteer in India．When she got an offer to do just that, she decided there would be no better time to do it．

　　“It matches everything I'm interested in, ” she said．“It's just one of those things; it was meant to be．”

　　Last month, Sagorin packed up her belongings and headed over to Uttar Pradesh as an intern(实习生)for Drishtee, an organization that works for the economic and social development for the needy in India．

　　During her stay in India-for up to seven months-Sagorin will help with programs involving micro-finance, entrepreneurship(创业), healthcare and women's empowerment．

　　Since her younger days, Sagorin had read inspiring stories of change makers throughout the world and decided she wanted to get involved somehow．

　　She decided volunteering would be the path she'd take and NYU could wait．She wanted to make a difference even when others said it wouldn't be possible．

　　When Sagorin broke the news about deciding to put off college, her parents felt pride, nervousness, fear and excitement．

　　“We’re really proud of her of wanting to do this, ” said Mike Sagorin, her father．“We’re a little concerned about a 19-year-old girl going out there by herself and hope she'll be safe．”

　　Sagorin and her family researched everything they could about the organization and bought more than a dozen books about the country．

　　Before her trip to India, Sagorin raised ＄3, 500 to pay for her travel and living expenses, along with some to donate to the people she would work with in India．

　　She has promised to send various levels of gifts-from a personal postcard to a personalized video touring the Taj Mahal-to those who pledge money towards her trip．(Visit Sagorin's blog at ifyouneverdid．com for more information．)

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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。

　　Americans wear black for mourning while Chinese wear white．Westerners think of dragons as monsters．Chinese honor them as symbols of God．Chinese civilization has often shown such polarities(对立)with the West, as though each stands at extreme ends of a global string．Now in the University if California, Berkeley, a psychologist, has discovered deeper polarities between Chinese and American cultures－polarities that go to the heart of how we reason and discover truth．

　　His findings go gar toward explaining why American cultures seem to be aggressive and Chinese cultures so passive, when compared to each other．More importantly, the research opens the way for the peoples of the East and the West to learn from each other in basic ways．The Chinese could learn much from Western methods for determining scientific truth, said Kaiping Peng, a former Beijing Scholar, who is now a UC Berkley assistant professor of psychology．And Americans could profit enormously from he Chinese tolerance for accepting contradictions in social and personal life, he said．

　　“Americans have a terrible need to find out who is right in an argument, ” said Peng．“The problem is that at the interpersonal level you really don't need to find the truth,, or maybe there isn't any．” Chinese people, said Peng, are far more content to think that both sides have advantages and disadvantages, because they have a whole awareness that life is full of contradictions．They do far less blaming of the individual than do Americans, he added．

　　In studies of interpersonal argument, for example, when subjects were asked to deal with contradictory information resulting from conflict between a mother and a daughter or a student and a school, Peng found that Americans were “non-compromising, blaming one side-usually the mother-for the causes of the problems, demanding changes from one side to attain a solution and offering no compromise” in dealing with the conflict．Compared to this angry, blaming American method, the Chinese were paragons(模范)of compromise, finding fault on both sides and looking for solutions that moved both sides to the middle．

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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。

　　A study by St．．Louis University has found that a lovable dog named Sparky and a robotic dog, AIBO, were about equally effective at reducing the loneliness of nursing home residents．The study confirmed previous findings that dogs have a good effect on nursing home residents．

　　Dr．Andrew Smith led the Stanford University team that built a home-assistance robot．“If humans can feel an emotional tie with robots, some day they could be not just our assistants, but also our companions, ” he said．

　　To test whether residents responded better to Sparky, a trained dog, or the Sony-made robotic dog, researchers divided 38 nursing home residents into three groups at three long-term care centers in St．Louis．

　　One group had weekly 30-minute one-on-one visits with Sparky; another group had similar visits with AIBO; a control group had no contact with either dog．The groups’ respective levels of loneliness were tested by having them answer a number of questions at the beginning and near the end of the visits．

　　After two months, both groups that had contact with the dogs were less lonely and more attached．Most of the elderly regarded Sparky, a 9-year-old dog, as an audience for their life stories, said investigator Marian Banks．

　　“He listened attentively, wagged his tail, and allowed them to pet him, ” said Banks, who adopted and trained Sparky after finding him in a street behind her home seven years ago．

　　Those who were together with AIBO took a little longer to warm to the robotic creature．Over time, however, they grew comfortable with him, and petted and talked to him．He would respond by wagging his tail, vocalizing, and blinking his lights．．

　　“AIBO is charming once you start to interact with him, ” said the study's author, Dr．William Banks, “ He's an attractive sort of guy．He gives a feeling of being personal, not just a robot．”

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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。

　　Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch offers a unique outdoor adventure camp for international students．

　　Students who come to Skinner Creek have the opportunity to learn English in an environment entirely different from a regular school setting．English classes are designed to meet the academic and spoken levels of each student．All English classes will be taught by instructors qualified in teaching English as a second language．All levels of English are available．

　　After class, students can enjoy many outdoor activities in a controlled and safe environment．Experienced managers and camp teachers will prepare each activity to the level appropriate for each student．

　　Students’ safety is a priority(优先考虑的事)for the staff of Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch．Students are monitored at all times and supervisors are in the cabins with the students at night．Staff members have St．John's First Aid and Transportation and Wilderness First Aid．An emergency clinic is nearby and accessible 24 hours．

　　English Classes：

　　Class hours are from Monday to Friday, 9∶00 am-2∶00 pm with a one-hour break for lunch．

　　Students are challenged in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary building and conversational English．

　　Fun After-class Activities：

　　Great after-class activities include： horseback riding lessons, hiking, baseball, volleyball, badminton, mountain hiking, bonfires and much more．

　　Time to watch videos and TV and play games．

　　Experience Canadian family life．

　　Weekends：

　　Special all-day and overnight weekend activities include： camping, days at the lake(fishing, swimming and boating)and more．

　　Travel Information：

　　Students will be picked up at Vancouver airport and dropped off again for their individual flights．Transportation to and from the ranch will be provided as well as overnight stays in Vancouver．

　　Please contact the ranch directly for prices： skinnercreek@telus．net．

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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。

Don't talk to me; I'm busy with my iPhone

　　Riding a London subway, a person from China will notice one major difference： in London, people do not look at each other．In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times．That's not rudeness-people are just too busy to bother looking．

　　Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet reflection, nor are they reading a book．New technology has replaced quiet habits．Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book．

　　Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters(乘车上下班的人)．Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40, 000-yes, that's 40, 000-“apps”(programs downloaded for the iPhone)have been designed．

　　Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-fillers．One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks．Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination．ISteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone．You can then write in the “ steam” on your phone screen．

　　For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be another choice．It's not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music-iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages．

　　And if games, e-books and music aren't enough to keep you occupied．Then perhaps you would prefer a film．The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV show or film on the way to work．With all this entertainments, it's amazing that people still remember to get off the train．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

　　The Friday after the American holiday of Thanksgiving is called Black Friday．It's said that it's the day that store ledgers(分类账)move into the black and companies become profitable．On that day, retailers slash(砍)prices to get consumers to buy．It is also a time when many Americans start their Christmas shopping．VOA's Elizabeth Lee tells us how the economy may affect consumers on that bargain day．

　　This day should be a shopper's dream．“It's just the deals, the sales and everything you can get for a lesser price, ” said Sandy Thomas, a shopper．But it's a nightmare for others．“I think it's crazy．I’ve done all of my shopping throughout the week so I don't have to go out on Friday, ” she said．It's called Black Friday, the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States．Every year it's the day after the Thanksgiving holiday．Stores open before sunrise and there are deep discounts everywhere you look．

　　Last year a crowd of bargain-hunters killed a Wal-mart worker in a New York suburb．This year, many stores are increasing security while they slash prices．“This is a huge time for the retail stores, ” said Fred Joutz from George Washington University．“This is when they begin making their profits for the year．”

　　Economics professor Fred Joutz says how Americans spend the weekend after Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future．

　　With the unemployment rate above 10 percent, Joutz says Americans are saving more and spending less．Some retailers are attracting consumers by opening on Thanksgiving Day, when shops are traditionally closed．Other stores open their doors anywhere from midnight to four in the morning．

　　And shoppers will be lining up in front of the doors in order to be one of the first ones to walk through and get a big discount．Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually the first items to go．Sandy Thomas says it's an annual family tradition and well worth it．“I just save maybe half of what I would have spent on a regular, you know, shopping trip, ” she said．

　　Economists say U．S．consumers will spend money this Black Friday, but they will spend it more carefully．

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