阅读理解

　　We can make mistakes at any age．Some mistakes we make are about money．But most mistakes are about people．“Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” “When I got that great job, did Jim really feel good about it, as a friend? Or did he envy(嫉妒)my luck?” “And Paul一why didn’t he pick up that he was friendly just because I had a car?” When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad．But when we look back, it’s too late．

　　Why do go wrong about our friends or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning．And if we don’t really listen we will miss the meaning behind the words．Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog, "that’s being friendly．But。lucky dog”? There, s a bit envy in those words．Maybe he doesn’t see it himself．But bring in the “dog” bit puts you down a little．What he may be saying is that he doesn’t think you deserve your luck．

　　“Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for” is another noise that says one thing and means another．It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your lire as a whole．But is he? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important．It’s telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven't got a date for Saturday night．

　　How can tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking．Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture? The look in his eyes? Stop and think．The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save another mistake．

阅读理解

　　For the first nineteen rnonths of her life, Helen Keller was like other pretty babies in every way．Then a sudden illness

　　The person who changed Helen’s world was her teacher, Ann Sullivan, who entered her lire on March 2．1887．Miss Sullivan had accepted what seemed impossible．She had, agreed to teach a blind, child who had never learned to be like a human being, because no one had ever been able to guide her in any way．No one could control Helen．She acted like a young animal, rushing wildly around, throwing thing, and hitting anyone whom she could reach．Who could believe that such a child could be taught?

　　But Ann Sullivan was a very special kind of teacher．She had been blind during Part of her own childhood and had used Braille, raised dots(小点点)which could be touched by the fingers of a blind person．She had teamed to see again after several operations, but she had never forgotten the experience of being blind．

　　Miss Sullivan respected Helen．She loved her and believed she could teach her．Through years of effort, she succeeded in making Helen Keller one of the best known women scholars all over the world．

阅读理解

　　“The noise made by boats of whale watching tourists may be causing communication problems for the animals,” British researchers said last week．

　　Whale-watching is a popular tourist activity in places where groups of killer whales(虎鲸)live．Every day, dozens of boats filled with tourists go to watch the beautiful animals．Unfortunately, the engines of the boats make a lot of noise, and that may be causing problems for the whales, according to a report in the US science magazine Nature．

　　The whales travel in groups, and communicate with each other through sonic(声波的)calls that some scientists refer to as singing．The sounds of the boat engines may be creating too much background noise for the whales to be able to hear each other．

　　The researchers listened to recordings of whale calls made between 15 and 25 years ago, before whale watching became popular．These were compared to more recent recordings．

　　They found that the animals have started to sing for longer than they used to, like a person shouting to a friend across a noisy room．

　　It is believed that the whales are trying to communicate hunting or breeding(繁殖)information．Scientists said that, if this is prevented, the future of the world’s whale population could be in danger．

　　“Animals become slow in mind and repeat themselves in noisy areas, ” said Volker Deecke, a Canadian biologist．“They have to say things twice or three times in order to be understood．”?

　　The killer whales studied were living off the coast of northwestern America．The number of killer whales in this area has been falling for several years, but scientists are not sure why．

阅读理解

　　Now, I’ll tell you something about the Internet．The Internet is a network of computers．It became popular in the 1990s．Now, we live in the Internet Age．The Internet is very useful．You can get information, do some shopping or talk with people all over the world．You can do all these things in your room．

　　You can set up your own space on the Internet．We call it a homepage．It’s open to anyone in the world．Write your message on your homepage．Soon, you can get answers by e-mail from people around the world．

　　The Internet is also useful when a flood or an earthquake happens somewhere in the world．We can learn about the needs of the people there and send them food and medicine more quickly than before．

　　In the world of the Internet, everyone is equal．Famous writers, artists, and scientists－they are all your friends．A lucky person can even find a message from the president of a country．

　　Some people lose themselves in the world of the Internet．That’s really bad．Remember that the world of the Internet is not a real world．Face-to-face communication with family, friends, and neighbours is very important．Don’t forget that the Internet is only a tool for communication and information．

　　Many people say that the Internet has some problems, but most people agree the Internet still has a wonderful future．For the first time in history, anyone can exchange messages and information immediately with other people．

阅读短文，然后完成下面问题

　　The small black ants that we see running back and forth in the grass are the same ants that annoy(打扰)us by coming to our picnics uninvited．They are not trying to make pests of themselves, but are only doing the housekeeping job they were made for．They are nature’s cleanup crew．

　　One of these ants, scouting(侦察)in the grass, finds the trail of an injured beetle(甲虫)．In some mysterious way the news spreads．Soon there are two ants, then a few more．Then a dozen or more are running around the beetle．Enough ants will come to put an end to it．

　　When the beetle is dead, the ants carry it away to their underground burrows(穴)．The efficient(讲效率的)ants leave nothing in the grass but the empty shell．

阅读理解

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项

　　Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday．Today, more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns instead of hotels．They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning．

　　Rooms for the night in private homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years．In the past five to ten years, these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States．Many of these America’s bed-and-breakfast inns are old historic buildings．Some bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms, others are much larger．Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms, others do．

　　Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel．Usually the cost is much less．Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone’s home．The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit．Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families．

阅读理解

　　Here are a few tips we’ve put together to help you learn English well．

　　Tip 1　Speak, speak, speak!

　　Practise speaking as often as you can－even speaking to yourself is good practice．

　　Try recording yourself whenever you can．Compare your pronunciation with the master version, see how you can do better and have another go．If you do this several times, you will find that each version is better than the last．

　　Tip 2　Why not learn with someone else?

　　It helps if you can learn with someone else．If you can persuade a friend or family member to study with you, it will make you keep working．Agree times to meet and set goals for the week, and test each other regularly．

　　Tip 3　Don’t get stuck by a word you don’t know

　　Ptactise improvising(即兴的)ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously(本能地), even if you don’t know the exact words or phrases．Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time．A basic example is the rise of tenses．If you don’t know the past tense but want to talk about yesterday, use the verb in the present tense and use the word for “yesterday”．Use facial expression, hand movements, anything to get your meaning across．

　　Tip 4　Language learning is also about intuition(直觉)

　　Guesswork is an important strategy in learning a new language．When listening to recorded material, you aren’t expected to understand everything first time round．If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time．Learn to make maximum use of all the clues you can pick up．For example, what do the speakers sound like? Happy? Angry? Calm? etc．

　　Tip 5　Build up your vocabulary

　　A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once．It’s best to study frequently, for short periods of time．Take a maximum of six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them．Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, then come back to them later．Much of the vocabulary in the course is presented by topic．

　　And above all, have fun!

阅读理解

　　One British school is finding that allowing children to listen to music or even to have the TV on while studying is helping to improve grades．Next time your teenager precipitates(使陷入)a family noise by sprawling in an armchair listening to music while doing his homework, why not try a simple experiment？Rather than taking the heavy-hand line of ordering him to his bedroom to get on with it quietly, let him do the homework the way he wants．You might well find that his essay is more sparkling(有文采的)than anything he’s done before．

　　According to research at Millfield prep school, around 20％ of youngsters work best with background music, 10％ excel when allowed to break their work with short walks around the room while up to 80％ can concentrate(集中)better if allowed to fiddle with(乱动)a small object．

　　The research has made the school adopt(采用)a new approach, analysing pupils to discover which learning styles suit them best－then letting them do their work listening to music or even lying down．Sceptical(怀疑的)parents first considered the move as a lay bout’s(懒惰者)charter but many are now applying it at home where children are also allowed to do their work with the television on．