阅读理解

　　Modern science suggests that a healthy lifestyle matters much to how long you can live and how well you live．Here are some tips for you to form a healthy lifestyle．

　　Keep a scientific diet．Keep in mind that sugar can be removed from our diet completely．Over intake of sugar is one of the main reasons for getting fat．Over intake of protein or fat and low intake of fiber can also lead to getting fat．We need only a few grams of protein every day to keep our body in order．Like rain to crops, not the more the better．

　　Be always in a good mood．There is a relationship between the mood and health．A good mood keeps you in high spirits．Thanks to the Internet, we can enjoy and learn much without going out．Take a look at some online shops and pick up some bargains, enjoy music and movies and chat with some good friends．Just keep happy．

　　Enough sleep．Two studies show the reasons why teens and adults don’t have enough sleep．With teens, a major reason is mobile phone use; with adults, it’s work．Meanwhile, a third study of young children shows that a lack of sleep in early life may lead to serious problems in future．Everyone needs at least 8-hour sleep to recover from tiredness and the hurt caused by hard work in the daytime．

　　Proper exercise．Do exercise to keep away from fatness．Because of the quick pace of modern life, you don’t have time to do exercise every day, but at least three times a week and 45 minutes each time．

阅读理解

I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday．The announcement in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theater box office in Richland Hills any day between 10∶00 and 4∶00．Since I work from 9 o’clock to 5∶30, the only time I could go to the theater was during my 45-minute lunch break．Unfortunately, the theater is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good．But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes．Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for fifteen minutes waiting for a bus．By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip－so I gave up and went back to the office．The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday．On Thursday, my luck changed．I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly twenty minutes．When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the box office．I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour．Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back across the town．By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi．It was expensive, but I felt it would be worth hearing the concert．The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me．When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line．The reason, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets．

阅读

　　America is a mobile society．Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change．Neither side feels hurt by this．Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while－then no more．If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship．This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸)sometimes deeply into both families．

　　Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life．They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客)easily．

　　Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time．This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time．Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend．We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends．The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine．They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus．And they expect that we will phone them from there．Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real．We will find ourselves treated hospitably．

　　For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters．So accept their hospitality at home!

阅读

　　There are many ways to find a job．It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board．Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide．Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses．

　　Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper．Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers．

　　Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet．For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job．Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month．

　　Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university．For example, students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job．Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do．For example, there is a book called “What Color is Your Parachute?” by Richard Bolles．This book has been helping people choose a career since it was first published in nineteen seventy．

　　Some experts also help people find jobs．Susan W．Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles．She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests．Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job．

阅读

　　The clock struck eleven at night．The whole house was quiet．Everyone was in bed except me．Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff they call “books”．

　　I was going to have my examination the next day．“When can I go to bed?” I asked myself．I didn't answer．In fact I dared not．

　　The clock struck twelve．” Oh, !” I cried．“Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world．Dad does not agree with me on this．He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy．

　　The clock struck one．I was quite desperate(绝望的)now．I forgot all I had learned．I was too tired to go on．I did the only thing I could．I prayed, “Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow．I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen．” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them．A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep．

阅读

　　A very strict officer was talking to some new soldiers whom he had to train．He had never seen them before, so he began, “My name is Stone, and I'm even harder than stone, so do what I tell you or there'll be trouble．Don't try any tricks(诡计)with me, and then we'll get on well together．”

　　Then he went to each soldier one after the other and asked him his name, “Speak loudly so that everyone can hear you clearly,” he said, “and don't forget to call me ‘sir'．”

　　Each soldier told him name, until he came to the last one．This man remained silent, and so Captain Stone shouted at him, “When I ask you a question, answer it! I'll ask you again：What's your name, soldier?”

　　The soldier was very unhappy, but at last he replied, “My name's Stonebreaker, sir,” he said nervously．

阅读理解

　　Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked．

　　Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup(基因构成)as human beings．What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival．Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible．

　　Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for．Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger．With knowledge, we can lessen its effects．

　　Exploration also allows minerals and other potential(潜在的)resources to be found．Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later．Resources may be more than physical possessions．Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration．The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives．We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems．Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products(副产品)of technological developments in the space．

　　While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us．While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers．The danger exists, but knowledge can help human being to survive．Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist．

　　While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets．It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future．

阅读理解

　　Long ago, poemd were recited out loud instead of being written down．When the Greeks first started the Olympics, they held poetry contests as well as athletic competitions．

　　Now, poetry competitions have been revived(恢复)．This year 120,000 high school students competed in the first Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest, performing poems from memory for $100,000 in prizes．The first competitions were held in classrooms．The winners went on to school wide contest and then they competed in city and state competitions．Finally the 50 state champions, along with the District of Columbia champion came to Washington, D．C．, last week for the last showdown．After the 51 champions competed against one another, 12 went on to the finals．Then the field was narrowed to five．The final five had one last chance to “perform” a poem．The overall champion, Jackson Hille, a high school senior from Ohio, won a $20,000 scholarship．

　　The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation started Poetry Out Loud because they realized that hearing a poem performed is a different experience from reading it on a page．

　　It’s not just a matter of saying the words in the right order．It’s the tone of voice, the pauses, the gestures, and the attitude of the performer that bring the words to life．“Each time we hear somebody recite a poem, we understand again what we found fresh and interesting about it,” says National Public Radio broadcaster Scott Simon, master of ceremonies for the finals．Hearing it in a new voice offers something new to the listeners．

　　Not only do the people hearing poems have a new experience, but memorizing and presenting poems helps the participants(参加者)understand those poems in a new way．Another benefit of a competition such as Poetry Out Loud is that the participants learn public-speaking skills that can help them for life．

阅读理解

　　I’m fat．I’m too skinny．I’d be happy if I were taller, shorter, had curly hair, straight hair, smaller nose, bigger muscles, longer legs．Do any of these statements sound familiar? Do you often put yourself down? If so, you’re not alone．As a teen, you’re going through a ton of changes in your body．And as your body changes, so does your image of yourself．Lots of people have trouble getting used to it, and this can affect their confidence．

　　Some people think they need to change how they look or act to feel good about themselves．But actually all you need to do is to change the way you see your body and how you think about yourself．

　　The first thing to do is recognize that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it comes in．If you’re very worried about your weight or size, go to your doctor to check that things are OK．But it’s no one’s business but your own what your body is like－finally, you have to be happy with yourself．

　　Next, find which aspects of your appearance you can change and which can’t．Everyone, even the most perfect-seeming celebrity(名人), has things about themselves that they can’t change and need to accept－like their height, for example, or their shoe size．

　　If there are things about yourself that you want to change and can do it by making goals for yourself．For example, if you want to get fit, make a plan to exercise every day and eat nutritious foods．

　　When you hear negative comments coming from within yourself, tell yourself to stop．Try building your confidence by listing three things in your day that really give you pleasure．It can be anything like the way the sun felt on your face, the sound of your favorite band, or the way someone laughed at your jokes．

阅读理解

　　Why buy art? To answer this question, ask yourself what your reasons are for thinking of getting a piece of art．Artwork can cost a large amount of money, but if it meets your needs, it’s worth every penny．Anyone can buy art, for almost any reason．Many people buy art simply because they like it, even if the artwork may be by an unknown artist．Art, as long as you enjoy it, is never a waste of money．

　　Art is meant to be shown．Don’t ever feel pressured to buy something you won’t enjoy looking at day after day, no matter what other people may say．Don’t buy something that doesn’t attract you just because it is trendy, or because the artwork will make a good investment．If you don’t like the artwork at all, don’t buy it!

　　Have you ever noticed that all beautiful homes have art as an integral(不可分割的)part of the decoration? Art lends life and color to otherwise plain and ordinary walls．A well thought-out art collection will help create a unique ambience(格调)in your home and make it more attractive．

　　The kind of art you surround yourself with says much about your personality, tastes and values．Art truly is a mirror of the soul．

　　Love(even the love of a work of art)contributes to healthier living and a longer lifespan．(寿命)．Art should enrich your life．Otherwise, why do you spend specious time and resources on it?

　　Just remember to select something that will appeal to your tastes, and keep to a sensible budget．Good art needn’t cost an arm and a leg．

　　Happy art collecting!