阅读理解

　　Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems．For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country．If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy．They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely．They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy．It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them．Tourism should help a country, keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists．Tourism should also increase the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants．

　　Too much tourism can be a problem．If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry．This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer．

　　On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs．Businesses can also lose money．It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads, and other support facilities(配套设施)needed by tourist attractions．For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build．If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money．

　　Building a hotel is just a beginning．There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water．All of these support facilities cost money．If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do．Birthdays celebrate the day when we were born．Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity(成熟)－or we hope so．We all like to imagine that we’re getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the miracle(奇迹)of growth in others as well．For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process(过程)．But growing old? That’s a different story．

　　Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented(以年轻人为中心)American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young．As the old saying goes, “You’re as young as you feel．” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”．

　　Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden．Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by．Retirement(退休)at age 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security(安全)benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition(营养), medical care and housing．Some even experience age discrimination．In 1987, American sociologist Pat Moore dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely－even cheated and robbed．However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect．

　　Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why? People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the groups of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles(皱纹)are “in”．Marketing experts are already noticing this growing group of consumers．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Every year, as the Spring Festival draws near, most Chinese people will get excited to make preparations for the most important festival and make plans for the winter break．It is a little like Christmas in the US, but there are some differences between the two festivals．

　　Superficially(表面上)speaking, both the major Chinese and the major Western holidays come during the cold season, which in both cases calls for extra eating．In Western countries, cookies and cupcakes begin just after Thanksgiving in November and show up everywhere from the boss’ desk to fireplace mantle(壁炉台)．Turkey, smashed potatoes and other food that protects a body from cold come later．Similar thing happens in China．Entering lunar December, most families will make shopping plans for the coming big day and food is certainly one of the most important things to be considered．At the end of the month, both parents in each family will be very busy－the father is busy buying food while the mother is busy cooking．

　　A deeper similarity is tradition－or the distortion of it．Christmas, as the letters “Christ” suggests, as a holiday to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ．Many people pray on this day, but others have severed or minimized the religious connection．In China, people living in cities or towns, though they don’t plan to sow seeds this month, still celebrate on the big day for farmers．

　　Followers of both holidays also differ from each other．While Chinese people travel to the homes of elder relatives, Americans usually call or send cards．Westerners prefer Christmas cards to fireworks．In Christmas, family gifts come by the stack instead of one by one, since adults may have only one day free to celebrate．

　　But the most curious difference concerns students．Chinese students headed home for Spring Festival sometimes report getting bored by the end of the vacation, yet American students seldom get bored around Christmas and western New Year．

　　Not everyone follows or enjoys classic holiday traditions．Students in Western countries may get upset, as too much homework, travel complexities or bad family relations may disrupt the relatively short holiday season．In China, more and more college students choose to travel or work during the winter holiday instead of going home to stay with their families．It’s against the tradition but many people accept it．

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　For the last fourteen years CPSB has had the pleasure of hosting a learning event we call a Forum．We started offering programs in Sarasota in February in 1991 and our first Forum was held in 1992 as a small group meeting．Being from the Northern USA, this was a particularly good time to go south for the warmth of our friendship with Dr．Treffinger and Dr．Noller and to keep away from the cold winter．

　　The Forum is the only chance to learn about various topics of the creativity and innovation(革新)and from those who have rich experience and interest in the field．The theme of the 2005 Forum includes searching for a few new methods, sharing lessons from experience, and learning and exchanging ideas on cutting-edge research．Space is limited, so early registration(登记)is welcome．

　　Meeting the Innovation Challenge

　　February 6 and 7,2005 Lido Holiday Inn

　　Sarasota, Florida

　　＄750(registration includes some meals and materials)

　　Interested in becoming qualified(有资格的)to use the VIEW assessment(评估)of Problem Solving Style? The two days just before our Forum provides you just that chance．For more information on VIEW see Pages 24-25．

　　VIEW Qualification Course

　　February 4 and 5,2005 Lido Holiday Inn

　　Sarasota, Florida

　　＄650(registration includes lunch and course materials)

　　Special Offer：If you would like to attend the VIEW qualification course and the Forum, you can register for both events for ＄1050．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

The American Thanksgiving Day celebration goes back to 1642．In that year a special dinner was prepared in Plymouth, Massachusetts．The people who had settled there had left England because they felt denied of religious freedom．They came to the new land and faced difficulties in coming across the ocean．The ship which carried them was called the Mayflower．The North Atlantic was difficult to travel．There were bad storms．They were assisted in learning to live in the new land by the Indians who inhabited the region．The Puritans, as they were called, had much to be thankful for．Their religious practices no longer a source of criticism by the government．They learned to adjust their farming habits to the climate and soil．When they selected the fourth Thursday of November for their Thanksgiving celebration, they invited their neighbors, the Indians, to join them in dinner and prayers of thankfulness for the new life．They recalled the group of 102 men, women, and children who left England．They remembered their dead who did not live to see the shores of Massachusetts．They reflected on the 65 days’ journey which tested their strength．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Customs are social habits．They have been handed down through generation among groups, social classes, etc．Customs can be described as ways of doing things．They are particularly strong in social practices on the occasion of births, marriages and deaths．

　　In China, these days, some people in cities are learning from Western customs．For example, some brides dress in the long white dress that is the usual bridal wear in many Western countries．

　　Every people has special customs for New Year．The Han people have many interesting Spring Festival customs．And now, quite a number of people living in the cities have followed the Western Festival customs of sending New Year greeting cards for January 1st．

　　One interesting custom in China is that mothers wrap up their babies tightly．This is not the custom in Western countries, where babies are dressed in loose garments．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Weddings

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Festivals

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读

　　People usually celebrate special occasions by preparing special food．Families may prepare traditional dinners for holidays such as New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving．Birthdays and other special days are often times for baking special cakes．Even celebrations famous only in small areas, such as memorial days for a place or event, can be a time for proud cooks to show off the food that they make the best．Sometimes this food may seem a little strange to the rest of us．

　　Weddings are celebrations where food is often an important part of the ceremony or party．Of course, the kinds of food prepared for weddings are different all around the world．One kind of food enjoyed at weddings in the Middle East and some parts of North Africa by members of the Bedouin tribe is roasted camel．This food is not easy to prepare, but when people want to go all out for the wedding, they ask the whole tribe to help with the effort．Tribe members first cook an egg mixture which they then put inside cooked fish．These fish are then put inside several cooked chickens．The chickens then get put into roasted sheep．Usually one or two sheep will be enough to fill one roasted camel．One roasted camel serves 20 to 30 people, so this dish may be enjoyed by the entire tribe at the wedding．

　　Chocolate chip cookies may not seem like a very special food, but organizers of the yearly festival which celebrates the city’s birth in Ripon, Wisconsin made one cookie that was very special．On July 11, 1992, festival organizers attempted to bake the largest chocolate chip cookie in the world．It took the organizers months of planning and experimentation before they thought up a way to bake the cookie on a large, slowly turning tray．The recipe which the bakers used called for one and a half tons of raw cookie dough, made up of a mixture of flour, sugar, eggs, and milk．They also mixed four million chocolate chips into the dough．The tray itself was 10 meters(34 feet)across the middle, and it rotated so that one art of the cookie passed over a low flame that did not move．The cookie took two and a half hours to bake．Organizers of the festival then cut up the cookie and served it to 8,163 people at the festival．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Suppose a key man in your firm had just met with a terrible accident．The doctor tells you that this man upon whom you depend for directing sales, checking your books or for performing some other important roles, will be laid up for months．You’d have to replace him, wouldn’t you? And probably at a pay about equal to his?

　　Then you’d be faced with double paying for one job because stopping the pay of an injured man would simply be out of the question．

　　You can prevent this kind of unproductive outgo(n．支出，消耗)on your payroll by providing your key man with the protection of Travelers Business Accident Insurance!

　　This insurance provides total medical expense and a weekly income in case a key man is disabled for some time．Should the disability prove everlasting, an income for life is certain．Why not make out a list of your key men now? Then get together with Travelers Insurance Company, and let us tell you how little it costs to apply this much needed protection to your business．

Write and we’ll serve you!

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)