阅读理解

　　Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s best-known novelist and incendiary social commentator, won the 2006 Nobel prize for Literature on Thursday．

　　Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, with an Ottoman era mosque in the background, talks during an interview with the Associated Press in Istanbul, Turkey, in this Jan．30, 2002 file photo．Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel literature prize on Thursday, Oct．12, 2006, for his works dealing with issues of identity and clashing cultures．The Swedish Academy said that Pamuk “in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures”．

　　Here are some reactions to the news from Turkey．

　　PINAR KUR, A LEADING FEMALE TURKISH NOVELIST：

　　“For years, everybody has wished someone from Turkey would win the Nobel．But it is also known, both in Turkey and abroad, that this prize is much more related to politics than to literature, it is given more for political reasons．It is very unfortunate that this prize announcement was made on the same day as the(Armenian genocide)bill in France．”

　　SUAT KINIKLIOGLU, GERMAN MARSHALL PLAN OF THE UNITED STATES

　　“With all due respect to Orhan Pamuk, whose books I read and like, I believe his comments on the Armenian genocide have been influential in his winning this prize．I think many Turks will see it in this way too and will not be cheering．”

　　“And this is the worst day that this could happen, when the French parliament approves a bill making it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide．”

　　“There is a political dimension to all this．I do not believe he was chosen purely on the basis of his artistic capacity, even though he is a great writer．”

　　BUKET UZUNER, TURKISH NOVELIST AND SHORT-STORY WRITER

　　From now maybe(the world)can speak about “Turkish Literature”．I attach great importance to that．We had all hoped Yasar Kemal(veteran chronicler of rural life in Anatolia)would win the Nobel, everyone knows this, but I’m also happy for Pamuk to win this prize．

阅读理解

　　One day in Key Largo, Florida, Al Parker, a policeman, drove after a speeding car．As he got closer, the car began to look very familiar to him．In fact, when he got close enough to read the license(执照)plate, he knew it was his own car．He radioed this back to the police station as the pursuit continued．The policeman drove the car for several miles as speeds of up to 85 miles an hour before the car thief finally got the message and pulled over．

　　When the car thief stopped, Al Parker asked him if the car he was driving belonged to him．The thief looked at him and replied that it wasn’t his car, but it belonged to a friend who permitted him to drive it．The policeman said it looked like Al Parker’s car．Of course, the thief agreed and said that Al was his good friend．Al Parker decided it was time to bring the story to a rapid end．He pointed to his own name on the police officer’s nameplate．The thief was puzzled and speechless．

阅读理解

　　Minh Pham was born in Vietnam．He left there when he was 21 years old．Minh has been in America for almost two years．There is still much he does not understand about America．

　　Once, Minh was in a supermarket．He saw an old man and an old woman．They wanted a box of cereal(麦片)．The box was on a high shelf．The man and the woman couldn’t reach it．Minh saw a stepladder．He got on the ?ladder? and got the box．He handed it to the elderly couple．They thanked him．

　　“Where are your children?”asked Minh．“Why don’t they help you buy food?”“Our children have their own lives, ”said the man and the woman．“We like to be independent．”Minh doesn’t think this is right．In his country, children help their parents．Minh gave the elderly couple his phone number．He told them to call him if they needed help．One night they asked Minh to dinner, but they never asked him for help．

　　One day, Minh was walking with a Vietnamese friend．The two men were going to a movie．Minh wanted to go to a restaurant first．Minh took his friend’s hand．He pulled him towards the restaurant．People on the street stared at Minh．In Vietnam, friends often hold hands．Minh found that the people in America are not used to men holding hands．

　　Minh Pham is going through a process(过程)known as resocialization is the process in which a person learns to live in a society．Everyone goes through this process．Minh went through it when he lived in Vietnam．But the Vietnamese way of life is rather different from the American way of life．When Minh came to America, he had to learn a new way of life．He had to learn how to live in a new society．Minh has learned a lot about American life in two years．He still has a lot to learn．The process of resocialization can take many years．

阅读理解

　　Following are opinions on the manner that people in the United States usually expect in various social situations．

　　Introductions and Conversation．Men usually shake hands with each other when they meet for the first time, but shake hands with women only if the woman extends(伸出)her hand first．Women do not usually shake hands with each other．

　　After the first meeting, shaking hands is unusual．However, if someone offers his or her hand by chance, one is expected to shake it．In general, people in the United States avoid physical touch with each other, since physical touch frequently(经常)suggests sexual attraction or attack．

　　Although, as has been noted, first names are used more often in the United States than elsewhere, this practice is governed(决定)by certain generally accepted rules of ?etiquette?(礼仪)．Thus, while it is proper for the foreign student to address people about his or her own age and status(身份)by their first name, the student would be expected to use“Mr”“Mrs．”“Miss”or“Ms．” and the person’s last name in addressing to another person who is clearly older than the student．(On the other hand, the older person will probably address the student by his or her first name from the beginning．)If the other person being ?addressed? has a title such as “Ambassador”or“Dean”, the student should use that title and the last name．For example, Senator Edward Kennedy would he addressed as“Senator Kennedy”．Any faculty(全体教员)member can be addressed as “Professor”, regardless of(不顾, 不管)?whether? he or she holds the rank(头衔)of Assistant(辅助的)Professor, Associate(副的)Professor, or full Professor．Equally acceptable are “Mr” and “Mrs” etc．

阅读理解

　　Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy．They see the sights that Pompeii is famous for its stadium(运动场)and theatres, its shops and restaurants．The tourists do not however, see Pompeii’s people．They do not see them because Pompeii has no people．No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 200 years．

　　Once, Pompeii was a busy city of 22 000 people．It lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, a grasscovered volcano(火山)．Mount Vesuvius had not erupted(喷发)for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe．But they were not．

　　In August of AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted．The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air．Soon stones and hot ashes began to fall on Pompeii．When the eruption ended two days later．Pompeii was buried under 20 feet of stones and ashes．Almost all of its people were dead．

　　For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stone and ash．Then, in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Giuseppe began to uncover Pompeii．Slowly, carefully, Giuseppe and his men dug．The city looked almost the same as it had looked in AD 79．There were streets and fountains, houses and shops, There was a stadium with 20 000 seats．Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii．Many glasses and jars had some dark blue colour in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine．They liked bread, too; metal bread pans were in every bakery．In one bakery there were 81 round, flat leaves of bread－a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today．Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye-makeup．

　　Giuseppe has died, but his work continues．One-fourth has not been uncovered yet．Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii．

阅读理解

　　Venice, a city in Italy, is considered as the “Queen of the Adriatic Sea(亚德里亚海)”．Every year thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world go to visit it．Why do so many people go there?It is because Venice is a beautiful and interesting place．Strangely enough, there aren’t any roads in this city．As a result, there aren’t any cars or buses．How, then, do people get around in the city?There are canals, a big one and 177 small ones．People move up and down the canals in motorboats．

　　But it has been observed that Venice is sinking; it is going down and the water is going up．And Venice will be under water in 2040．The Adriatic sea will cover the city．The people of Venice love their city and they want to stay there．They want to save Venice from the sea．They do not want to leave it．How can they save Venice?They can put some gates in the sea．The gates will close so Venice will not sink．

阅读理解

　　It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle．As Christmas drew near, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade, or so we thought．We bought the latest rages．Baby-Sitter’s Club dolls, and a doll house．Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she said that she “really wanted a bike more than anything else．”

　　It was just too late, what will all the details of preparing Christmas dinner and buying last-minute gifts, to take the time to select the “right bike” for our little girl．So here we were－Christmas Eve around 9∶00 p.m., with Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, nested snug in their beds．

　　Now we could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child．“What if the bicycle out of clay(a kind of earth)and write a note that she could trade the clay model in for a real bike?” her dad asked．“This is an expensive item and she is ‘such a big girl, ’ and it would be much better for her to pick it out．” So he spent the next four hours painstakingly working with clay to make a tiny bike．

　　On Christmas morning, we were excited for Almie to open the little heart-shaped package with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note．Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud．“Does this mean that I trade in this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?” Beaming, I said, “Yes．” Almie had tears in her eyes when she replied, “I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me．I’d rather keep this than get a real bike．” At that moment, we would have moved heaven and earth to buy every bicycle on the planet!

阅读理解

　　As we know, it is very important that a firm should pay attention to the training of its staff as there exist many weak parts in its various departments．Staff training must have a purpose, which is defined when a firm considers its training needs, which are in turn based on job descriptions and job specifications．A job description should give details of the performance that is required for a particular job, and a job specification should give information about the behavior, knowledge and skills that are expected of an employee who works in it．When all of this has been collected, it is possible to make a training specification．This specifies what the Training Department must teach for the successful performance of the job, and also the best methods to use in the training period．

　　There are many different training methods, and there are advantages and disadvantages of all of them．Successful training programs depend on an understanding of the difference between learning about skills and training in using them．It is frequently said that learning about skills takes place “off the job” in the classroom, but training in using these skills takes “on the job”, by means of such activities as practice in the workshop．

　　It is always difficult to evaluate the costs and savings of a training program．The success of such a program depends　not only on the methods used but also on the quality of the staff who do the training．A company can often check on savings in time and cost by examining the work performed by the workers and technicians who have completed a training program．The evaluation of management training is much more complex than that．

阅读理解

　　The U．S．Department of Labor statistics(统计)show that there is an oversupply of college-trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing．Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts and other specialists．Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren’t there．The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree．

　　On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts：carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen．

　　These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates．The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue-collar workers no longer holds true．The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen．

　　The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future．A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree．Parents begin indoctrinating(灌输) their children with this myth before they are out of grade school．High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life．Under this pressure the kids fall in line．Whether they want to go to college or not doesn’t matter．

　　Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go．And every year college enrollments(入学)go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them．

　　One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there．Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class．Many of them drop out within the first year．Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up．

阅读理解

　　It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble．That’s more or less what happened the sight that Nashville police Officer Floyd Hyde was on duty．

　　“I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville．As I got onto Highway 40, blue lights and sirens(警笛)going, I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway．The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me．He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder．”

　　But Hyde couldn’t go after him．Taking care of injured people is always more important than worrying about speeders, so the officer had．In stay on his way to the accident．But he did try to keep the Firebird in sight as he drove, hoping another nearby unit would be able to step in and stop the speeding car．

　　As it turned out, keeping the Firebird in sight was not that difficult．Every turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene．Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination．At that point he found another unit had already arrived at the accident scene．His help wasn’t needed．Now he was free to try to stop the driver of the Firebird, who by this time had developed something new to panic about．

　　“Just about that time,” Hyde says,“ I saw fire coming out from under that car, with blue smoke and oil going everywhere．He’s blown his engine．Now he had to stop．”

　　“After I arrested him, I asked him why he was running．He told me he didn’t have a driver’s license(执照)．”

　　That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty－a thousand dollars for the new engine－not to mention the charges for driving without a license, attempting to run away, and dangerous driving．