阅读理解

　　Eric liked to save pennies．He saved pennies from jobs for his mother, and gifts from relatives．Whenever his grandfather came to visit, he told Eric that he could have all the pennies in his pocket．Grandpa always had quite a few．

　　He filled a small box with pennies．Then he put some into an empty bottle．The bottle was soon full of pennies, so he started another one．

　　When his uncle came to visit, Uncle Alan said, “What are you going to do with all those pennies, Eric? penny doesn’ buy much these days．Maybe you should start a collection．”

　　Uncle Alan took him to a store, and they bought two books．One book had little spaces for pennies made in different years．The other one told how much money a coin dealer would pay for rare pennies．Eric was amazed that a penny sometimes was worth much more than one cent．

　　“Let’ look through your pennies and see what you have here, ” Uncle Alan said．

　　They looked at the dates on the pennies and sorted them into piles by the years in which the pennies were made．Eric then chose the best one from each year to put into his collection book．He soon filled up most of the spaces with pennies．

　　One penny, however, was different．It was one Eric had found in his own backyard under a big bush．It had been there for a long, long time．He checked the date on the penny, and then looked into the book that told the value of pennies．

　　“Thirty dollars, ” the book said! Not many pennies had been made that year, so each one was rare．

　　“Well, what are you going to do, Eric?” his uncle asked：“Are you going to sell it so that you can have a lot of money?”

　　Eric thought of all the things he could buy with that much money．Then he said, “No, I would rather keep the penny as my own．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Are you planning a vacation this summer? You should, because now you can fly to anywhere Freedom Airlines covers for only ＄98 or less(each way with round trip purchase)．

　　In a survey(调查)conducted by Travel World magazine, Freedom Airlines ranked NO．1 in customer satisfac-tion．

　　Customer Satisfaction Survey

　　Travel World Magazine

　　Don’t miss out on this great opportunity．Simply purchase your round trip ticket at least seven days in advance．You must pay for your ticket within 24 hours after making the reservation．Travel must be completed by August 31．Other restrictions(限制)are listed below．

　　Call your travel agent now．Remember, seats are limited．There may be no ready seats on some flights during busy travel times and holiday periods．

　　Restrictions：Your travel plans must include a stayover of at least one night．If your travel plans change, your airline fare cannot be refunded, but the value of the ticket can be applied toward future travel on Freedom Airlines．Fares do not include airport and federal taxes．

(1)

(2)

(3)

阅读理解

　　It is not always easy to understand inventions and new developments in science．To understand fiber optics(光纤), however, you can try an experiment．

　　Put a drop or two of milk into the glass of water．Turn off the lights．Shine the light from your flashlight(手电筒)through the top of the glass at an angle(角度)of about 45 degrees．Put a piece of white paper against the glass when the beam(光束)of light is shining．Move the paper so you can see where the beam is coming out of the glass．You should see a spot of light．Some of the light has passed through the water and through the glass．You see it on the paper．You also see another beam going down into the glass．It is being reflected down into the glass．

　　Next move the flashlight so that the beam is coming straighter down(30 degrees)into the water．You will see the same phenomenon：some of the light is reflected back into the glass．And some escapes out．Now move the beam of light from the flashlight slowly up until you cannot see any light escaping．This point is called the “point of total internal reflection”．The word internal means “inside”．All the light is staying inside the glass．There is no beam showing a bright spot on the white paper．All the light energy is inside the glass．

　　The glass of milky water is like a strand(线)of glass．A fiber optic tube is a bundle of long thin strands of glass, really many tubes．However, the principle(原理)is the same：at a certain angle, all the light energy that goes into the glass fiber comes out the other end．

　　Light is energy．Sound is energy．Radio waves and electricity are both energy．They can all be changed into light, and as light they can all travel along a glass fiber．Light travels at the rate of 186 000 miles per second．Therefore, a message can travel that fast in a glass fiber．This is the principle, or law of nature, that makes fiber optics work．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　When Johnny Cash sings, people listen．His big, deep voice rumbles out of radios and jukeboxes across North America．His records sell by the million．Country-music fans everywhere know his big hits．They love songs like “Hey Porter”, “Ring of Fire”, and “Folsom Prison Blue”．

　　Johnny Cash sings about a hundred concerts a year．People like what they hear and what they see, too．Rugged and big-shouldered, the singer stands six-two without his black boots on．He-s a two-hundred-pound package of muscle and talent．And that scar(疤痕)on his cheek is a bullet(子弹)hole, of course!

　　In the minds of most people, Johnny Cash is“Mr．Tough(violent)Guy”．He’s an ex-drug addict(上瘾者)who was once put in prison．His grandmother was an Indian．To keep from starving, he once had to live on wild rabbits killed from forty feet away with a knife．Some people say he even killed a man．

　　In fact, most of the Johnny Cash story is just that－a story．True, years ago he had a “drug habit” for a short time．He “popped” pills．But he never used heroin or other “hard” drugs．Sometimes he’d go wild and get locked up for a few hours．But he never served a prison sentence．There’s no Indian blood in his veins．He’s been a killer only in song．As for the “bullet hole”, it’s an old scar left by a doctor who opened a cyst(囊肿)．

　　People who know Johnny Cash well say he’s a “gentle guy”, a “generous guy”－anything but a “tough guy”．How did the stories get started? Some of them, like the story about the “Indian grandmother”, made up by Johnny Cash long ago to add excitement to his career．Others, like the “bullet hole”, simply got started．Now there’s little the singer can do to change people’s minds．“They just want to believe it, ” he says．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Friends are very important in people’s lives．No one can live alone in the world without friends．I think it’s easy to make friends with other people and build a friendship between each other．However, I think it is not easy to get a true friendship．

　　So what is true friendship? In my opinion, a true friendship includes four aspects(方面)．

　　First of all, a true friendship requires people to treat their friends truthfully and believe each other．In other word, you must not take advantage of your friends．For example, some people make friends in order to cheat money and emotion, or obtain(获取)a certain secret and so on．I think these are all not true friendship．

　　Second, true friends must try their best to help each other．For instance, a true friend will use personal connections to help a friend get something hard to obtain such as a job, an appointment with a good doctor, an easier path through an official procedure(步骤)or an introduction to another person who might also be able to give help．If a friend is indeed in need of money to escape from some trouble or buy some necessary things, true friends might give each other money and help each other financially over a long period of time．

　　Third, friends must share their happiness and sadness as well．One of the greatest men once said：“If you tell your happiness to your friend, you will get double happiness．If you tell your sadness to your friend, you will get half sadness．” It is true．A true friend will give you comfort and emotional support when you are sad．

　　Forth, a true friendship is a relationship that endures(经得起)through changes in the lives of the friends．People expect their friendship to stay the same over a long period of time even for a lifetime, no matter where and when they are．

　　In a word, a true friendship must depend on people to believe each other, help each other, and share their happiness and sadness to each other．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Boss or parent? It’s difficult to tell when Chan Laiwa sits with farmers on her new high-tech farm or migrant workers at building sites, eating, talking and laughing together．

　　Inside her company Fu Wah International Group(Hong Kong) the grandmotherly chairwoman with a smile for everyone is called “Boss Mum” for her kindness and affability．

　　As a leading business figure, she has made the Forbes List of China Rich for the last three years and served on various boards of Chinese philanthropies(慈善事业)．

　　Fu Wah is a private Hong Kong-registered multinational company established in 1988 involved in real estate development, the hotel business, tourism and electronics．The company’s key business is in Beijing, where fixed assets exceed 5 billion yuan(US＄625 million)．

　　The company is not only like a big family but has been praised by the government for its contributions to society．

　　“I should be responsible for everybody around me, ” says Chan, 65, who believes the basic responsibility for an entrepreneur(企业家)is taking care of staff as well as corporate social responsibility．

　　As for her own family, Chan is married, with one son, two daughters and grandchildren．After living in Hong Kong, she moved to Beijing and now lives in her Chinese Red Sandalwood Museum．

　　“Boss Mom” is low key about her contributions, saying, “It is a natural thing to give money to those most in need．”

　　The successful private businesswoman indicates that she does not keep track of how much she spends on philanthropy．

　　For more information about Fu Wah, please click here．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　People and the sources of air pollution are found in the same places．This means that cities with large populations have the biggest problem of dirty air．Air pollution is caused by many different things．A major source of air pollution is the gas fumes from cars．Statistics show that 93 percent of all auto trips are within cities．Another major source of dirty air is the burning of coal and oil for energy．This energy is needed to make electricity．Of course, much more electricity is used in the city than in the country．

　　On the average, we throw away more trash and garbage than the year before．The burning of garbage contributes to air pollution．Many major industries are also responsible for the dirty air in the around cities．The fumes from iron, steel, chemical, and petroleum production add particles to the air．

　　The effects of air pollution range from mild headaches to death．The levels of pollution found in heavy for traffic may cause headaches for loss of clear vision．Wherever coal and oil are used for fuel, fumes may kill trees and plants and cause metal to corrode．In some of the larger cities, these fumes endanger the lives of human beings by contributing to lung diseases and causing early death．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　6 Devon Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

　　a technology day camp for students 12－17

　　Tech-Camp is a day camp with a focus on computers and electronics technology．We offer 2week summer programmes for students of 12 to 17 years of age．We have a computer lab with the latest and fastest equipment, an electronics lab, and a video production studio．Our staff is special, too．Our programme leaders are experts in computers and electronics, of course, but they are also people who care about children and enjoy working with them．

　　In all of our programmes, we show students how to work in teams and how to solve problems by themselves．We encourage them to think creatively．

　　Each day at Tech-Camp is filled with useful, interesting and challenging activities．For example, in the Computer Programme, students learn basic computer programming, and how to use the Internet．In the High-tech Programme, they make radio-controlled model cars and produce their own short videos．

　　Fee：HK ＄ 2000 per student

　　(10％ discount(打折) available for groups of 10 or more students)

　　For more information about Tech-Camp,

　　please contact Director of Summer Programmes, Ms Julia Brown, by phone, fax or e-mail．

　　Telephone：26548898　Fax：26948850

　　e-mail：juliab@ techcamp．com．HK

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　On hearing the words “Just do it!”, you will know there is a Nike product nearby．If it’s “Always Coca Cola”, you can be sure someone wants to sell you a refreshing drink．

　　An advertising slogan is to a brand what eyes are to a person．The slogan helps people understand the brand better by telling them what it wants to sell to its customers．Good slogans leave a message inside people’s minds．It’s almost certain that every brand has a popular slogan．

　　Here are a few examples：

　　“Just do it!”－This slogan speaks out to teens．It tells them to do something, but only if they think it’s worth it．And if so, why not to do it wearing Nike?

　　“Always Coca-Cola．”－Coke’s slogans change every few years, but this one has enjoyed a lasting popularity．Because it shows the brand’s spirit．It seems to say “Coke is the only drink there is; there are no other forms of drinks．”

　　“Share moments, share life,”－This slogan from Kodak connects photos and beauty．It asks people to remember the happy moments in life by taking photos of them－using Kodak film of course!

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　When did you last see a polar bear? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club．These “Polar Bears”are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water．That day the air temperature was 3 degrees．And the water temperature was a little higher．The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60．Members must satisfy two requirements．First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club．Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February．

　　Doctors don’t agree about the medical effects of cold0water swimming．Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body’s temperature drops so low that finally the heart stops beating．Other doctors, however, point out that there is a greater danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and the water temperature is much greater in summer than in winter．

　　The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold0water swimming．They say their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm．Cold0water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water．A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and could not try cold0water swimming．

　　The main benefits of cold0water swimming are probably mental．The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round．They find it fun and relaxing．As one 70-year-old woman says, “When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away．”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)