阅读理解

　　Education is compulsory and free for every child in the United States．Most children start school by the age of six．They attend eight years of elementary school and four years of high school(or secondary school)．The money for free public school comes from taxes, and each state is responsible for its own education system．State legislatures set the educational requirements but leave the management of the school in the hands of the local communities．Most states require their children to go to school until a certain age．This age varies from 16 to 18 years according to the law of the individual states．The Federal government contributes funds to the states for additional schools and school services．After graduation from high school, a student can start his higher education in a two-year college, a four-year college, a university, or a specialized professional school－either public or private．Most colleges admit students on the basis of their high school records．

　　The cost of a college is expensive in private universities, but it is much less in those supported by states and cities．Many students receive scholarships from the schools, the government, or private foundations and organizations．More than 50 percent of the college students work to help pay their college expenses．Only 2 percent of the population of the country cannot read and write．

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　　The United Nations published a report that was called “The State of World Population”．It shows that the growth rate of world population will actually go down in the next ten years．The growth rate will fall from the present 1.8％ to a rate of about 1.6％ by the end of this century．But the report also points out that problems of food, health care, housing, jobs and schools will get worse unless we do something about the situation．

　　Why is this？Although the total growth rate of the world population will decrease, in some countries there will still be a big rise in the population．More people will be born in the Third World countries than in the richer Northern countries．So the population will grow faster in poor countries; and the problems in these countries will be very serious．This is because the family is more likely to survive if there are a lot of children to work for the members who become old or who cannot find work．A survey of the UN also shows that the growth rate is low where there is a higher level of income, better education, more health care and better living conditions．In this aspect, government plays an important role．So, the conclusion of the UN report is：“Look after the people and the population will look after itself．”

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　　When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog．Her body was numb(麻木的)．She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours．Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions．Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast．

　　On that fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so thick that she could hardly see her support boats．Sharks swam toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots．Against the frigid(寒冷的)grip of the sea, she struggled on－hour after hour－while millions watched on national television．

　　Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement．They told her it wasn’t much farther．But all she could see was fog．They urged her not to give up．She never had…until then．With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out．

　　Still thawing(使变暖和)her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it．” It was not tiredness or even the cold water that defeated her．It was the fog．She was unable to see her goal．

　　Two months later, she tried again．This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact(完整无损的)and her goal clearly pictured in her mind．She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it!Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing(超越)the men’s record by two hours!

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First Woman Walking The Great Wall

　　Karen Churches has been dreaming of becoming the first woman to walk the entire length of the Great Wall for six years．Her dream is about to become a reality．She stopped her job as a manager in London early this month to set out on her expedition：to follow the Great Wall from Yumenguan in the Gobi Desert to Shanhaiguan on the east coast where the Wall meets the Yellow Sea．

　　“It will truly be a life changing adventure．To say that I am excited is an understatement(保守的说法), ” she said at Monday’s press conference in Beijing．She reckons the journey will take her seven months．That time will be divided up into 22 different 10 to 15 day sections on which she will be joined by women from around the world．“Up to now, 250 women from all over the world have enrolled(登记)to join me on different sections”．

　　“The walk is largely in aid of charity, ” Churches said, “for the British charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer and two other Chinese based charities－Plan International(a charity to help women and children living in deprived(缺乏足够食品的)rural areas)and Roots ＆ Shoots which aims to raise awareness of environment and wildlife protection)．” Actress and comedienne(喜剧女演员)Josie Lawrence will join Churches for the first two and a half months and also will rejoin her at the end of the journey for two months．“I never feel I give myself a real challenge．When I am on stage or on TV, I do not feel afraid．But in my normal life, I often find myself afraid．Joining this walk is a way of facing my fears．”Also walking the first section, an 80 kilometer four-day trek(艰苦跋涉), will be three other British women．Erica Jackson, a part time doctor who has recently recovered from breast cancer, says she is taking part in the walk to show that women can completely overcome the disease．

　　“My daughters support me but my husband says I am crazy, ” says Fiona Leslie, a nurse who has also recently overcome breast cancer．“I think it will be great fun．”“I am not that strong, ” says Samantha Pinder．“But I think if I can try this then other people might take on similar challenges．”She says she wants to lead by example．

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Migrating Birds May Spread Flu

　　Every year, residents of Kunming, Yunnan Province welcome thousands of black headed gulls(红嘴鸥)with food and happy laughter．The lovely white birds fly from Siberia to stay in the Dianchi area of the city in winter．But this year the white angels are no longer lovely in locals eyes, due to their fear of bird flu．

　　Although scientists have not found the deadly virus in the birds, few people will dare to risk their lives to feed the birds this year．

　　Across the world, wild migratory birds(候鸟)seem to have become public enemy number one．Since the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was discovered not only in Asia but also as far away as Europe and Africa, migratory birds were regarded as the carriers．Geographically speaking(从地理上说), the spread of bird flu appears to be following the migratory routes of wild birds．Bird flu is a common disease among wild migratory birds．But the virus may change itself when transferred to fowls and human．

　　Since the World Health Organization warned last month that migratory birds could carry the deadly H5N1 virus that causes bird flu, many countries, like China, have started tracking migratory birds and cleaning up poultry markets(家禽市场)．China also cancelled(取消)all pigeon races last week．

　　Scientists said that the migratory routes of wild birds are often far away from big cities．The risk of transferring(传染)the virus directly from wild birds to humans is very low．Scientists also warned that wild birds are shy creatures．They see you coming and fly away at once．But if a wild bird becomes easy to approach, people should be careful that it may be sick．

　　There are already three areas hit by bird flu in the provinces of Hunan and Anhui and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, areas all on the migratory routes of wild birds．In the past two weeks China has reported three outbreaks of the H5N1 virus that killed 3800 chickens, ducks and geese(鹅)．

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　　Gestures are the silent language of every culture．We point a finger or move another part of the body to show what we want to say．It is important to know the body language of every country or we may be misunderstood．

　　In the US, people greet each other with a handshake in a formal discussion．The handshake must be firm．If the handshake is weak, it is a sign of weakness or unfriendliness．Friends may place a hand on the other’s arm or shoulder．Some people, usually women, greet each other with a hug(拥抱)．

　　Space is important to Americans．When two people talk to each other, they usually stand about 2．5 feet away and at an angle, so they are not facing each other directly．Americans get uncomfortable when a person stands too close．They will move back to have their space．If Americans touch another person by accident, they say, “Pardon me．” or “Excuse me．”

　　Americans like to look at the other in the eyes when they are talking．If you don’t do so, it means you are bored, hiding something, or are not interested．When you stare at someone, however, it is not polite．

　　For Americans, thumbs up means “yes”, “very good” or “well done”．Thumbs down means the opposite．To call a waiter, one might put up one hand to head level or above．To show you want the check, make a movement with your hands as you are signing a piece of paper．It is all right to point at things but not at people with the hand and index finger(食指)．Americans shake their index fingers at children when they scold them and pat them on the head when they admire them．

　　Learning a culture’s body language is sometimes confusing(困惑的)．If you don’t know what to do, the safest thing to do is to smile．

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　　Tony Morrison has won this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature．Tony Morrison is sixty-two years old．She was born in Lorain, Ohio．She is the daughter of farmers who moved to Ohio from the southern state of Alabama．She studied at Harvard University in Washington D．C．and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York．

　　Her first success came in 1970 with the book called The Bluest Eye．It tells the story of a young black girl in a society where golden hair and blue eyes are considered beautiful．Her next book was called Sulla．It tells the story of two black girls and pain in their lives as they grow up in a small town in Ohio．Her book The Song of Solomon is about a black man who tries to forget his past as a slave and begin a new life．And Tar Baby explores the relationship of a black man and a black woman．In the story the writer argues that black men and women can not get along with each other until they join together to fight racial hatred(种族仇视)．

　　Miss Morrison won America’s highest prize for literature, the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her book Beloved．It is a powerful story of a slave woman who kills her baby daughter so she will not grow up to be a slave, too．Her latest book Jazz was published last year．It tells about the sad stories in the lives of a black man and woman who moved from a small town in the south to New York City．It took place in the 1920s, a time when Jazz music became popular in America．

　　Tony Morrison is a professor in literature at Princeton University in New Jersey．She says the most wonderful thing about winning the Nobel Prize is that it has finally been awarded to an African American writer．The prize is valued at more than 800 000 dollars．It will be awarded on Dec．10 in Stockholm in Sweden．

阅读理解

　　The wide spread of the photographic industry has led to a greater demand for skilled technicians in darkrooms and photographic laboratories．However, qualified workers are hard to find, because not many people seem to be attracted by this kind of work．Some people like to take pictures during their holidays, but they seldom produce their pictures all by themselves－that is the work of a photographic technician．Although it may not be easy to spend a full working day in the darkroom, it can be very satisfying to produce carefully processed photographs．

　　Especially, if one can produce a very good photograph of high quality, his sense of achievement is gained．Besides achieving job satisfaction, the photo technician can move on into production if he or she desires．For instance, the technician may choose to learn related skills such as photo restoration or photo retouching．Of course, these will make photo production more like an art, and it is not easy to become skilled in these kinds of work．Although it is a good idea to seek classroom theory and technical knowledge, the individual interested in becoming a darkroom technician will learn the most by actually working in a photographic laboratory．The use of photography in research and development is increasing; therefore, the need for more technicians will undoubtedly increase．

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　　About ten men in every hundred suffer from colour blindness in some way; women are luckier only about one in two hundred is affected in this manner．There are different forms of colour blindness．A man may not be able to see deep red．

　　He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades of green．Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green．In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green－a strange world indeed．

　　In certain occupations color blindness can be dangerous and candidates are tested most carefully．For example, when fighting at night, soldiers use lights of flares to signal to each other．A green light may mean “Advance” and a red light may mean “Danger! Keep back!”, You can see what will happen if somebody thinks that red is green! Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain．In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”, these help to see in a bright light and to tell the difference between colors．There are also millions of “rods” but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark．They show us shape but not color．Wait until it is dark tonight, then go outside．Look round you and try to see what colors you can recognize．

　　Birds and animals which hunt at night have eyes which contain few or no cones at all, so they cannot see colors．As far as we know, bats and adult owls cannot see colors at all only light and dark shapes．Similarly cats and dogs cannot see colors as well as we can．

　　Insects can see ultraviolet rays which are invisible to us, and some of them can even see X-rays．The wings of a moth may seem grey and dull to us, but to insects they may appear beautiful, showing colors which we cannot see．Scientists know that there are other colors around us which insects can see but which we cannot see．Some insects have favorite colors．Mosquitoes like blue, but do not like yellow．A red light will not attract insects but a blue lamp will．

阅读理解

　　The dog, called Prince, was an intelligent animal and a slave to William．From morning till night, when William was at home, Prince never left his sight, practically ignoring all other members of the family．The dog had a number of clearly defined duties, for which William had patiently trained him and, like the good pupil he was, Prince lived for the chance to demonstrate his abilities．

　　When William wanted to put on his boots, he would murmur “Boots” and within seconds the dog would drop them at his feet．At nine every morning, Prince ran off to the general store in the village, returning shortly not only with William’s daily paper but with a half ounce packet of William’s favorite tobacco．A gundog by breed, Prince possessed a large soft mouth specially evolved for the safe carrying of hunted creatures, so the paper and the tobacco came to no harm, never even showing a tooth mark．

　　William was a railway man, an engine driver, and he wore a blue uniform which smelled of oil and oil fuel．He had to work at odd times －“days”, “late days” or “nights”．Over the years Prince got to know these periods of work and rest, knew when his master would leave the house and return, and the dog did not waste this knowledge．If William overslept, as he often did, Prince barked at the bedroom door until he woke, much to the annoyance of the family．On his return, William’s slippers were brought to him, so were the paper and tobacco．

　　A curious thing happened to William during the snow and ice last winter．One evening he slipped and fell on the icy pavement somewhere between the village and his home．He was so badly shaken that he stayed in bed for three days, and not until he got up and dressed again did he discover that he had lost his wallet containing over fifty pounds．The house was turned upside down in the search, but the wallet was not found．However, two days later－that was five days after the fall－Prince dropped the wallet into William’s hand．Very muddy, stained and wet through, the little case still contained fifty-three pounds, William’s driving license and a few other papers．Where the dog had found them no one could tell, but he recognized it probably by the faint oily smell on the worn leather．