阅读理解

　　A college education can be very costly in the United States, especially at a private school．Rising costs have led more and more families to borrow money to help pay for college．

　　There are different federal loans(贷款)and private loans for students and parents．Interest rates on some of these loans will go up on July first．As borrowing has increased, there are growing concerns that many students graduate with too much debt．

　　In 1993, less than one-half of graduates from four-year colleges had student loans．Now two-thirds of them do．Their average loan debt when they graduate is 19, 000 dollars．

　　The Project on Student Debt is an action group that collects numbers from reports．It notes that averages do not present the full picture．

　　For example, in 2004, one-fourth of students graduated with more than 25, 000 dollars in debt．And that did not include borrowing from their parents．The Project on Student Debt says parents as well as students are borrowing more to pay for college．

　　Students can expect to take about ten years to pay back their loans．Repayment does not begin until after they are out of school．

　　Higher borrowing limits have helped push up student debts．Students from all economic(经济的)levels are borrowing more．Corrected for inflation(通货膨胀), student loans have increased around sixty percent in ten years．

　　Researchers say one effect is that the higher the debts, the more likely graduates are to look only for high paying jobs．That means there is less chance they will take jobs in areas like teaching or other public service．

　　A study done in 2002 for a major student lender found that debts can also affect lives in other ways．Some students paying back their college loans said they delayed buying their first house．Some delayed marriage or having children．

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　　Money doesn't buy happiness

　　As part of the environmental group on campus, my friends and I recently invited a recent college graduate, Colin Davis, to lecture about his deeds in climate change．

　　Davis graduated from Trinity College last spring．Despite a tempting(诱人的)internship(实习期)from Goldman Sachs that thousands of people dream about．Davis chose to ride a bike across the US to interview environmental experts．

　　Davis wasn't a born environmentalist．To prove his bike ride, he had to find a“trendy(新潮的), sexy and good cause”．The cause was climate change．But Davis became more concerned than ever about this issue after the cross-country bike ride．He read hundreds of books on climate change and environmental consulting．Now, he works for non-profitable organizations and serves as a consultant for energy efficiency．

　　One of his messages during his talk,“shopping with a moral in mind”occurred in my mind again and again throughout the day．

　　Facing two similar products in a market, do we stop and read the back before throwing the product into our cart(推车)?We all live in a fast-paced society, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't take a minute to choose a product that's safer for our bodies and better for the environment．Davis made me know how important it is to be a smart consumer, by supporting organic(有机的)food and green products instead of only looking at the brands．

　　With little age gap and his unique way of presenting serious messages in a light tone, Davis captured the attention of most non“hardcore(中坚的)environmentalists”students．Davis said,“Working for a good cause makes me feel better than being an investment(投资)banker．”

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　　Reading is very important to help you learn English．To learn as much as you can from reading, you need to read different kinds of English．This book provides not only different kinds of English but also a good way to check your reading ability．

　　There are four parts in the book：

　　Part 1 is Messages：In this part somebody wants to wad(填塞)information in writing to somebody else．

　　There is a test on timetables and a test on text messages．

　　Part 2 is People：In this part all the tests are about people．For example, there is an informal letter between friends．There is formal(正式的)English in biography(传记)．There is a job application as a model to help with your writing, as well as testing your reading．

　　Part 3 is Places：In this part, too many different kinds of English are shown, some informal and some formal．There is informal English of a holiday postcard．There is also formal English in a letter of complaint．

　　Part 4 is Things：You will find some descriptive writing in this part．There are descriptions of clothes and of a computer．

　　You can do these tests in any order you like, or you can do all the tests with a formal or informal text．I enjoyed writing this book and I hope you enjoy using it．

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　　Weekend one-day out

　　Beijing Hikers：Pinggu

　　Beijing Hikers is organizing a hike in Beijing’s northeastern Pinggu District along valleys, over hills and through winter woods before you at last reach a few little quiet villages located(坐落)in amazingly beautiful places．Prepare for a real hike!

　　Meet at 8：30 am, Dec 18 in front of Lido Holiday Inn, Jiangtai Lu．Please write to info @beijing-hikers．com or 139-100-25516．

　　Yungang Grottos

　　Board(乘坐)the overnight train to Datong in Shanxi Province and spend the next day visiting the Yungang caves．While there, check out the other sites in the area before heading back to Beijing by soft sleeper．

　　Time：December 17 to 18

　　Cost：920 yuan(US＄ 113.50)including two overnight sleepers, local transportation, tickets, meals and tour guide．

　　To sign-up and more information, contact Lucy at Lucy@hihgclub．cn or 8580-5080, 130-1117-1326．

　　Discover a lost world

　　Cycle China plans a trip taking in the Cock Crow Town, which was introduced by Beijing Weekend(Nov．25 to 27)．The trip first takes in a faraway village famous for cave dwellings(窑洞)and a ruined section of the Great Wall before reaching the town．250 yuan(US＄ 30．86)including transportation, guide and lunch．Meet at 8 am, Dec．10 opposite the east gate of Jingshan Park, Xicheng District．Email reserve@cyclechina．com or call 139-1188-6524．

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　　To：manager@ tastytreat．com．ca

　　Date：Monday, 7 October, 3∶34 p. m．

　　From：raymondyuen@ canda．net

　　Subject：Complaint

　　Dear Mr．Price,

　　I have eaten in your restaurant many times and have always been happy with the food and service．This makes what happened last Saturday even more disappointing．It was my son’s birthday so we booked a no-smoking table at your restaurant for 7∶30 p. m．We arrived on time but were told that our table was not yet ready．At 8∶00 p. m., we were given a table in the smoking section．I asked to move but I was told that there were no other tables．A lot of people were smoking so it was uncomfortable and unhealthy．

　　Our first waitress, Janet, was very polite and helpful．She gave us free drinks for waiting so long．Our food also came quickly and looked fresh and tasty．When my wife had eaten most of her meal, she found a dead cockroach(蟑螂)in her vegetables．She was shocked and wanted to leave．At first, the waitress told us it was a piece of garlic．When we told her that garlic does not have legs, she apologized and took the food away．

　　We asked for the bill, expecting not to pay for my wife’s meal．Nobody came．After 15 minutes, I asked to see the manager．The head waiter told us that you were on holiday．I complained again about the horrible cockroach．He told me Janet had finished work．He didn’t believe my story and gave me a bill for three meals．I argued with him but was force to pay．

　　The waitress, Janet, was always friendly, but I would like an apology from your impolite head waiter and a full refund(退款)for our meal．It cost ＄68．Until then, I will not be eating at your restaurant or recommending it to anyone．You can contact me at 742-3254 or through e-mail if you want more information．

　　Thank you for your attention．

Yours sincerely,

Raymond Yuen

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　　What’s your earliest childhood memory? Can you remember the first time you heard thunder or watched a television program? Adults seldom recall events much earlier than the year or so before entering school, just as children younger than three or four rarely retain(保持)any memory of specific, personal experiences．

　　A variety of explanations have been proposed by psychologists(心理学家)for this “childhood amnesia”(记忆缺失, 健忘)．One argues that the hippocampus, the region of the brain which is responsible for forming memories, does not mature(成熟)until about the age of two．But the most popular theory maintains(主张)that, since adults do not think like children, they cannot access(接近)childhood memories．Adults think in words, and their life memories are like stories．But when they search through their mental files for early childhood memories to add to this verbal life story, they don’t find any that fit the pattern．It’s like trying to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary．

　　Now psychologist Annette Simms offers a new explanation for childhood amnesia．She argues that there simply aren’t any early childhood memories to recall．According to Dr．Simms, children need to learn to use someone else’s spoken description of their personal experiences in order to turn their own short-term, quickly forgotten impressions of these experiences into long-term memories．In other words, children have to talk about their experiences and hear others talk about them- Mother talking about the afternoon spent looking for crabs(蟹)at the beach or Dad asking them about their day at Ocean Park．Without this verbal reinforcement, says Dr．Simms, children cannot form permanent(永久的，持久的)memories of their personal experiences．

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　　Fame troubled Marie Curie and also her husband, because science was their world and in their world of science fame and honor had no value．

　　One day, when a writer for a newspaper tried to ask Marie about herself and her thoughts and her belief, she answered him, “In science we must be interested in things, not in persons．” Much of the real character and spirit of this unusual woman is found in these few words, which she was later often to repeat．One evening, at a big party, a friend asked if she would like to see the king of Greece, who was also a guest．She answered in her simple manner, “I don’t see the value of it．” Then, seeing that she had hurt the feeling of her friend, she quickly added, “But…but…of course, I shall do whatever you please, just as you please．”

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　　After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student．An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him．I agreed．

　　During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew．He had muscular dystrophy(肌营养不良)．When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten．Now he was thirteen．He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifte, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams．

　　I spent over an hour talking to Matthew．Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams．Obviously, he knew what he was talking about．He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different．He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me．

　　When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck．I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles that ever would．He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me．He said, “You are a champion．You earned that medal．Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you．”

　　Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away．They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before：

　　Dear Rick,

　　My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me．I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more．But I still smile as much as I can．

　　I told you someday I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal．But I know now I will never get to do that．But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that, too．When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you．Thank you for loving me．

阅读理解

　　Industrial pollution is not only a problem for the countries of Europe and North America．It is an extremely serious problem in some developing countries．For these countries, economic growth is a very important aim．They want to introduce Industries, and so they put few controls on Industries which cause pollution．

　　Cubatao, an Industrial town of 85 000 people in Brazil, is an example of the connection between Industrial development an pollution．In 1954, Cubatao had no Industry．Today it has more than twenty large factories, which produce many pollutant(污染物)．The people of the town are suffering from the poisonous things in the surroundings(环境)，and the bad effects can be clearly seen．Birth shortcomings(生育缺陷)are extremely common．Among children and grown-ups, lung problems are sometimes twelve time more common in Cubatao than in other places．

　　It is true that Brazil, like many other countries, has against pollution, but these laws are not carried out strictly enough．It is cheaper for companies to pay the fines(罚款)than to buy the expensive equipment that will reduce pollution．It is clear, therefore, that economic growth is more important to the government than the health of the workers．However, the responsibility(责任)does not completely lie with the Brazilian government．The example of Cubatao shows that international companies are not acting in a responsible way either．A number of the factories in the town are owned by large companies from France, Italy and the USA．They are doing things in Brazil that they would not be able to do at home．If they caused the same amount of pollution at home, they would be severely(严厉地)punished or even put out of business．

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　　A giant panda from the Beijing Zoo has been saved by a transfusion of blood from two bears．It’s still under special care, according to the Beijing Zoo．

　　Yong Liang, two years old, is the first giant panda raised from birth in the zoo．Last month zoo keepers found the panda was suffering from serious anaemia(贫血)，calling for urgent(紧急的)blood transfusion．

　　The best way, according to the zoo’s experts, to save Yong Liang from anaemia would have been to transfuse blood from another panda．But it was the breeding(reproducing)season for giant pandas, making such a transfusion very difficult．

　　But the experts found that there exists a close consanguinity(血缘)between giant pandas and black bears, and so they decided to try to take blood from black bears in the zoo and transfuse it to Yong Liang．

　　With the help of hospitals and the Beijing Blood Donor Station, they made an experiment which proved that the red blood cell(细胞)in the blood of black bears can be used．

　　On the afternoon of February 15th the first red blood cell transfusion was given to the giant panda, from 600 ml of bear blood．Immediately the young panda started to recover．