阅读理解

　　On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more than they did in 1981．They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet(芭蕾舞)．Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50％ from 1981 to 1997：boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log half that time．All in all, however, children’s leisure time dropped from 40％ of the day in 1981 to 25％．

　　“Children are affected by the same time crunch(危机)that affects their parents, ” says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children’s timetable．A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home．Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner” households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19 hours and 22 hours respectively．In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers．

　　All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids．“Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself, ” says T．Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School．Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it．

　　The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television．But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news．If they’re spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren’t replacing it with reading．Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading．Let’s face it, Who’s got the time?

阅读理解

　　Mr．Brown(the motorist)

　　At about 9∶20 p. m. on October 14th, I was driving along Market Road in the direction of Midwick．I wanted to go to Sturham to collect my wife, who had been visiting some friends．I prepared to turn into Sturham Road, which was on my right．In the distance, I saw the lights of a car moving towards me but it was a long way from me．I put out my hand to show that I was going to turn right．Then I started to turn slowly towards Sturham Road．Suddenly there was a loud noise on the passenger’s(near)side the car．I stopped the car and got out．A motorcycle had hit my car．The motorcyclist had been thrown over the car．He was injured, so I ran to a shop to phone for help．

　　Mr．Smith(the injured motorcyclist)

　　On the evening of October 14th, I was going home along Market Road towards Newtown．I was riding my motorcycle．I was going slowly because some of the streetlights were out and the road was wet and slippery．Just before Sturham Road, a car suddenly drove right across my path．The driver did not flash his lights to give a warning．I would not turn in time, so I hit the side of the car．When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital in Market Road．

　　Mr．Lee(another motorcyclist)

　　At about 9∶10 p. m. on October 14th, I left my home in Midwick．Ten minutes later I was riding my motorcycle along Market Road．I was going to Newtown．There was a motorcycle about 40 metres in front of me．It was not going very quickly．The man on it was riding near the curb(路边)but I was near the center of the road．The motorcyclist in front of me tried to turn to his right but there was no time．He hit the car and was injured．There was no car going along in front of us or put by the road．

阅读理解

　　If you’re in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you．As a director, I suggest, I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go．

　　In the 1986 movie Nothing in Common, Jackie Gleason’s character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman．The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max’s hopelessness about being out of work．I was looking for some ways that would allow Max to show his feelings．

　　Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened．What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene．“So Max is sad, right?” I said．Gleason nodded．

　　“And he’s probably still carrying his pens with his name on them－the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”

　　Gleason nodded．

　　“So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?”

　　He was silent for a moment．“Why don’t I throw them overboard?”

　　I stood up and turned toward the crew．“Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea．Let’s shoot it．”

　　After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile, “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?”

　　You and your team can discover the answers to problems together．When there are no prizes or gold stars for those who get the solution first, you’ll all benefit when everything turns out right．

阅读理解

　　An informal survey conducted by Shanghai Star reveals that support for the Olympics is widespread．

　　“The Olympic Games are more than just a sport, it is a way of life, ” said Noah Janssen when asked about his views of the Olympics．This was the most enthusiastic response received in the survey, which was conducted yesterday, and consisted equally of Chinese and foreigners．Respondents were given the opportunity to name their favorites sport and, among other questions, were asked if they planned to attend the next Olympic Games．

　　Here are some of the more interesting things that we uncovered．

　　★The Chinese liked to watch water sports such as swimming and diving more than other sports．

　　★Westerners preferred to watch field sports such as football and track and field．

　　★Most of the people said they watched the Games from home, although one person claimed to watch it from the stadium．

　　★None of the people interviewed had any plans for attending the next Olympic Games．

　　★Ninety per cent of the people were more than satisfied with the Chinese coverage of the Games．

　　★Most said they would like to attend the Games personally, but none expected to do so．

阅读理解

　　Pennsylvania－When Connie Beck and her husband awoke to strange noises last weekend, they thought high winds were rattling(使发出响声)their home．

　　What they found was even more unexpected：A deer was taking a bubble(泡沫)bath in their bathtub．

　　“I wasn’t exactly dressed for company, ”Mrs．Beck said．“We were just waking up．”

　　The deer burst through the front door early on Saturday, ran past the couple’s bedroom and into the bathroom．

　　Somehow he managed to turn on the water in the bathtub and knock over a bottle of bubble bath into the bathtub．

　　He then got himself into the bubbly water．

　　“You could hear the water running over the kicking, ” Beck said．

　　The Becks called State Game Commission officials, who arrived with tranquilizers(镇静剂)and a lot of laughter．

　　“A guy said, ‘There’s nothing wrong…he’s just in there taking a bubble bath, ’” Mrs．Beck said．

　　The animal was soon brought under control, removed from the house and released．

　　“He was unharmed except for a little cut above the eye,” said Mrs．Beck．“We were also fortunate．There wasn’t much damage, except for the front door, some marks on the tub, and a few hoof(蹄)prints on the floor．”

阅读理解

　　The producer appeared behind the recording studio window and smiled and waved to me like an old friend．And after I had read out a little test piece, he said, “That’s fine, wonderful, your voice is perfect, lively, wonderful．” Then I read a longer passage in English about the delights of touring in Britain, and another about the delights of visiting London, and both were “excellent” and “just right”, and I began to consider a job in radio．

　　To be honest, I was fairly sure of myself though I lacked experience．Across the room in the Hamburg News Agency where we both worked, a friend named Peter Turner called to me, “I say, Mike, a man on the phone here wants someone to do a recording in English, and I’m booked up．Would you read something to him in English as a sort of test?” I did, and they said, “Perfect, lovely, wonderful．”Would I come round?

　　It was after reading their passage in English in the studio that they noticed my vowel(元音)pronunciations were not altogether King’s English, or even Prince Philip’s, there was a larger silence than usual, then the voice said：“Fine, lovely…, but you said the word ‘castle’ with a short ‘a’．Could we have the passage again please, but this time say ‘castle’．”

　　This was easy．But then he noticed other differences in my pronunciation．

　　“It’s my northern English accent, ” I said angrily, because I had to apologize for it．

　　“Oh, I see…but Mike, we’ll have to get it right, I’m afraid．The recording is for teaching English to German schoolchildren, and it must be spoken in the way it is taught in German schools．”

　　I read the passage again…and again…and again．But of course you cannot change the pronunciation of a lifetime in an hour．The studio men were in the state of having lost hope and underlined the vowels which caused me to feel angry, so that I’d remember them．But because I had to concentrate(集中)on them, I made a lot of mistakes in my reading．Everyone got somewhat irritable(easily made angry), so we all went out for a beer．

阅读理解

　　What’s on Oscar Film Themes Symphony

　　Concert

　　Film highlights are accompanied by live performances of movie theme music by the China Opera and Dance Drama Theatre Symphony Orchestra, which has recorded the music for many films．Familiar tunes will come from such flicks as Titanic, Jurassic Park and Waterloo Bridge．

　　Where：Nationality Cultural Palace Theatre

　　When：March 8, 7∶30 pm．

　　Admission：80-380 yuan

　　Tel：6528 7674 ext 508

　　Fantastic View All the Way

　　Mountains in this area are not very high, but the vistas(景色)are excellent．This walk is gentle and very interesting, going through valleys, over passes, along a ridge and through a few little tranquil(宁静的)villages that are located in amazing places．Many sites along the walk offer panoramic view of the surrounding mountains．

　　Where：Pinggu, northeast of Beijing

　　When：March 9, meet 8∶30 am．Outside Starbucks at Lido hotel, or 9 am at Capital Paradise front gate, return 5 pm．

　　Admission：adults 150 yuan, children 100 yuan

　　Tel：13701003694

　　Email：fjhikers @ yahoo．co．uk

　　Spring Greetings

　　Paintings in bold colors in a traditional Chinese style by young artist Tian Xifeng are displayed to welcome the spring．Tian is a student of famous bird-and-flower painting artist Wang Qing．He has won several prizes at various national painting exhibitions and developed a styleemphasizing vivid close-ups of natural scenes．

　　Where：Melodic Gallery, 14 jianwai Dajie, opposite Friendship Store

　　When：9 am-5 pm．Until March 31

　　Admission：free

　　Tel：65188123

　　Cala, My Dog

　　Directed by Lu Xuechang, starring Ge You, the story is about a middle-aged workingman, known as Lao Er, whose chief source of stability and comfort in life is his dog, Cala．One day, when his wife is out walking Cala, a policeman confiscates(没收)the unregistered canine．As Lao Er endeavors to recover his dog, the difficult circumstances of his life are revealed．Chinese with English Subtitle(字幕)．

　　Where：Dongchuang Theatre, 3 Xinzhongjie, Dongzhimenwai

　　When：March 13 and 20, 8∶30 pm．

　　Admission：20 yuan

　　Tel：64169253

阅读理解

　　One evening in October, Dr Berlin was having dinner when the phone rang．He went to answer it．It was Mrs．Green．

　　“Please, Dr Berlin, come to my house．I had a necklace on my desk and now it is gone．”

　　Dr Berlin hurried to the Green’s house．He arrived at eight o’clock．First he asked Mrs．Green．“When did you see the necklace lost?”

　　“At seven o’clock, I took the necklace from my pocket and put it on the desk in my living room．Then I went to wash my hair．I came back at seven thirty and the necklace was gone．”

　　“I see,” Dr Berlin said, “Were you alone in the house?”

　　“No, my sister’s daughter, Nancy, is here, too．She’s a student at the university．Her parents live far away, so she lives here with me．”

　　“Let’s talk to Miss Nancy, ” said Dr Berlin．Then he and Mrs．Green went to Nancy’s room．

　　“Please sit down,” Nancy said．Dr Berlin sat on the only chair in the room．The chair was cold．Mrs．Green and Nancy sat on the bed．Dr Berlin saw some books on the floor near his feet．

　　“What have you been doing this evening?” Dr Berlin asked．

　　“I came home at six thirty, and went right to my room．I’ve been studying because I have an exam tomorrow．I’ve been sitting in that chair and reading all evening．I never got up and never left the room．But at seven fifteen I heard a sound, like somebody shutting the door．I didn’t go out to look for I was too busy．Maybe somebody came into the house and took my aunt’s necklace．”

　　After hearing that, Dr Berlin was clear．Then he told Mrs．Green, “Well, you won’t have to be worried, and you’ll find the necklace in this room．”

阅读理解

　　A sense of humor, God’s greatest gift to mankind, is universally considered the valuable personal wealth．It is to be cultivated(培育)．A person without humor is just like a spring without flowers, a dish without seasoning．In a sense, your personality lies in your sense of humor．

　　Humor can improve physical as well as mental well-being．It helps us bear our burdens, lessen our tension, overcome our frustration(挫折), relax our body muscle．With a crack of joke, all our worries, sadness and tiredness are gone like mist and smoke, and we are full of energy once again．

　　Humor helps us live in harmony with others．It is unavoidable to have misunderstanding and tension with others during work or study．But humor can, as a “comforter”, ease these problems quicker than angry words or quarrels．With it you can always keep in good terms with others．

阅读理解

　　Ron Barrister awoke once again with a slight ringing in his ears．After he showered and dressed, the condition got worse．He was also short of breath．

　　When he looked in the mirror to see if his tongue were coated or if there were some other signs of a cold coming on, he noticed that his eyes looked peculiar．He turned sideways and looked again．Sure enough, his eyes seemed to be bulging out．

　　He decided to explain his symptoms to Dr．Klien, the eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist．

　　Dr．Klien examined Ron very carefully．He took X-rays to see if he could find any reason for the bulging eyes, ringing ears, and shortness of breath．

　　After a complete examination he was stumped．Everything appeared normal and tests showed no signs of disorder．“Ron, ” he said, “I really can’t find anything wrong, and I’m at a loss to explain your strange symptoms．However if you’d like another consultation, Dr．Brown is next door．She might be able to discover something I missed．”

　　After another full examination, even Dr．Brown was stumped．“I can think of nothing to tell you except that you should be admitted to the hospital for a closer examination．”

　　When Ron was being admitted to the hospital, the nurse asked him, “What size pajamas(睡衣)do you wear, Mr．Barrister?”

　　“I really don’t know, ”he replied．

　　“Well, do you know your shirt size?” She asked as she reached for a measuring tape．

　　“Yes,” answered Ron, “I wear 15.5 collar with a…”

　　The nurse measured his neck and said, “You mean a 16.5, don’t you?”

　　“No, ” answered Ron, “I’ve always worn a 15.5 collar on all my shirts．”

　　“OK, but if you wear a 15.5 collar with your neck size, sooner or later you’re surely going to have a ringing in your ears, bulging eyes, and you’ll be short of breath．”