Read Culture Corner and choose the best answers．

(阅读Culture Corner并选择最佳答案。)

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Reading comprehension(阅读理解)

　　Many young people want to become pop-stars．It is their great ambition(雄心)of life．They think：pop-stars earn a lot of money; they lead interesting and exciting lives; thousands of fans love them; they become famous!

　　Yes, but first they must become stars．Most performers start life with a group．This is the pattern nowadays．But there are many groups and the competition is hard．Groups appear and disappear almost overnight．Only a small number survive．Almost without exception(例外)they have to work very hard before they reach the top．

　　And very few reach the top-and stay there．In England there are perhaps thirty or so groups at the top．Most of these do not earn so much money：perhaps 500 pounds each time they perform．What’s more, they have quite a lot of expenses．They have to pay a manager, for example．He is the key person in their lives and he takes about 20％ of their earnings-perhaps more．Then there are their clothes, their instruments and their van(车)．Sometimes they are still playing for the last two items．

　　And don’t forget, they have to travel a great deal-sometimes 2000 miles in one week．At times they even sleep in their van instead of a hotel, just to save money．

　　So now, what do you think?Are pop-stars so rich?And do they have such exciting lives?

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Reading Comprehension(阅读理解)

Years ago people could hardly accept the ideas of a woman’s being a doctor．In order to get into medical school in 1847, Elizabeth Blackwell was asked to keep it a secret that she was a woman．This was contrary(相反的)to her beliefs, and she refused to do it．After entering medical school, Elizabeth often had to summon all her courage to free the unkindness of teachers and classmates．By her great efforts, she was able to complete her studies．Many people came to her graduation just to have a look at a woman doctor．Doctor Blackwell soon found that most people were not as ready as to go to a woman doctor．She had to struggle to make a living．Then came the great day when she was offered a job as a doctor in a hospital．She did so well that she was asked to organize a new hospital and medical college．The United States can now be proud of thousands of women doctors．

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Reading Comprehension(阅读理解)

　　There are two kinds of people in the world．Although they have equal degrees of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes miserable．This comes from different ways in which they consider things, persons and events, which affect their minds．

　　The people who are happy focus(把精力集中于)their attention on the good side of things, the pleasant parts of conversation, the well-prepared dishes, the goodness of the wines and fine weather．Those who are unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things．Therefore, they are always discontent．By their remarks, they offend many people and make themselves disagreeable everywhere．If this state of mind was found in nature, such unhappy persons would be more critical(苛刻)．The tendency to criticize and disgusted(厌恶)is perhaps taken up originally by imitation．It grows into a habit, unknown to the unhappy persons．The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it recognize its bad effects on their interests and tastes．I hope this little warning may be useful to them and help them to change this habit．

　　Although in fact it is chiefly an act of imagination, it has serious results in life, since it leads to deep sorrow and bad luck．Those people offend many others, nobody loves them and no one treats them with common politeness and respect．This often puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments．If they aim at getting some advantages in rank or fortune, nobody wishes them success．If they don’t change the bad habit, it is good for others to avoid any contact(接触)．

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Read Culture Corner and choose the best answers．

(阅Culture Corner并选择最佳答案。)

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阅读理解

　　“Father Christmas”(or“Santa Claus”)has become the human face of Christmas．Pictures will be seen everywhere of the old man with long white beard, red coat, and bag of toys．Children are taught that he brings them presents the night before Christmas, and many children up to the age of 7 or 8 really believe this is true．In most countries, it is said that he lives near the North Pole, and arrives through the sky on a sledge(snow-cart)pulled by reindeer(驯鹿)．He comes into houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree．

　　In shops or at children’s parties, someone will dress up as Father Christmas and give small presents to children, or ask them what gifts they want for Christmas．Christmas can be a time of magic and excitement for children．

　　Father Christmas is based on a real person, St．Nicholas, which explains his other name“Santa Claus”which comes from the Dutch“Sinterklaas”．Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra(in modern-day Turkey)in the 4th century AD．He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it．It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney．It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire!This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children’s stockings．

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阅读理解

　　“Life is speeding up．Everyone is getting unwell．”

　　This may sound like something someone would say today．But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it．

　　We all love new inventions．They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives．

　　But have all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?

　　Picture this：You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer．Your mobile phone rings; a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen; the noise from the television is getting louder and louder．Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work．Now you have to stay up all night to get it done．How calm and happy do you feel?

　　Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired．Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier?Perhaps because they lead simpler lives．

　　One family in the UK went“back in time”to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today．The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Tomas,7,spent nine weeks in a 1940s house．They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones．

　　The grandmother, Lyn, said,“It was hard physically, but not mentally．”She believed life was less materialistic．“The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,”she said．The boys said they fought less to fight over, such as their computer．Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a“trendy(时髦的),beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things”．

　　Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!

　　Don’t be available all the time．Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day．Don’t check your e-mail every day．

　　Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can．It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying．

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阅读理解

　　Thanks to the huge success of Harry Potter, many teenagers dream about living in an ancient castle．These dreams may include beautiful silk dresses, delicious food, servants and of course, magic．However, real life in an English castle was not easy．With thick stonewalls and high towers, castles were built for defence．So they were not good places to live in．In medieval times, castles must have been noisy and smelly places．Horses, cattle, chickens and sheep walked free, blacksmiths did ironwork, soldiers practised sword(剑)fights, and children of all ages played around them．Castles did not have central heating; the only heat came from the fireplace．Even in summer the castle was cool．People living in the castles had to use blankets to keep warm while at work．

　　Life during the Middle Ages began at sunrise．Servants lit the fire, swept the floor and cooked the morning meal．The mid-morning meal was the main meal of the day and often included three or four courses(一道菜)．After dinner, everyone continued his or her work．The owner of the castle, the lord, sometimes took his guests hunting or shooting．His wife, the lady, spent much of the day watching the maids(女仆)work, as well as people working in the kitchen．She also kept an eye on the weavers and embroiderers who made clothes for the family．Supper was simple and eaten late, just before bedtime．

　　You may find some old magic books in a castle as Harry Potter once did．Read them before you go to bed, because when you fall asleep the magic of castle life may appear before your eyes．

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阅读理解

　　Mobile music is also called wireless music; it is a kind of service that playing music on mobile phones by downloading from telecommunication networks．

　　Mobile music includes mobile phone ring tone, Color ring back tone and mobile phone music．

　　Mobile phone ring tone and color ring back tone are well-known Mobile Value-added(增值)service, while mobile phone music is an emerging(涌现)service and it has a great market potential in 3G Era(时代)．

　　Mobile phone music is the service of playing music files functioned by mobile phone playing software．

　　There is an inheritance(继承)relationship among mobile phone ring tone, color ring back tone and mobile phone music．In 2005, the market scale for mobile phone ring tone will reach 2.8 billion yuan, tend to be saturation(饱和状态)．Color ring back tone market will exceed(超越)mobile phone ring tong market with a market scale of 5 billion yuan by the end of 2005．However, from 2007, the color ring back tone market will start to decline(减少)．Due to the high market demand, starting from 2006, mobile phone music market will show a high growth, and its market scale will reach as high as 8 billion yuan．

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阅读理解

　　Korean culture is really exciting right now．The Korean Wave is sweeping Asian countries including China．Young people are going crazy about Korean TV dramas, Korean pop songs, taekwondo(跆拳道)and the Korean language．

　　The Korean Wave started a few years ago with the TV series“Winter Sonata”．This love story is still popular．People, especially girls, like the beautiful story and handsome actors like Bae Yong Jun(裴勇俊)．

　　In the music world, Korean girls are making themselves heard in China．You can often find big Korean names like Baby Vox, S．E．S and Finkle at the top of the Chinese music charts(排行榜)．

　　The Korean Wave has also made young people want to try the clothes and hairstyles of pop stars, too．Not only that．Now some girls in China are having plastic surgery(整容)to change the way they look．People say some beautiful Korean stars have had plastic surgery．These stars don’t make plastic surgery look shameful(丢面子的)．

　　Are all the faces of beautiful Korean girls not real?Find out for yourself when you next visit South Korea．

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