阅渎理解

　　The weather is getting hotter．You are thirsty playing basketball or riding home from school．A cold drink may be just the thing．But be careful what you are drinking．Something that looks cool may not be good for your health．There are plenty of “energy drinks” on the market．Most of them have beautiful colors and cool names．The lists on them tell you they are helpful to your health．Sounds great!

　　But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks have lots of caffeine in them．These drinks are especially aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players．Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake．But be careful not to drink too much．

　　Caffeine makes your heart beat fast．Because of this, the International Olympic Committee(IOC)has limited(限制)its use．Caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as strong as that in a cup of coffee or tea．Possible health dangers have something to do with energy drinks．Just one box of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart problems．Scientists say that teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them．

阅渎理解

　　Television has changed our lives in many ways．Many people now spend more time watching TV than doing anything else．Researchers in the USA has estimated(估计)that when most students leave school they have spent 11000 hours in the classroom and 22000 hours watching television．But what effect does this have?

　　Benefits(好处)of television：

　　Television helps us to learn more about the world and to know and see many new things．Television can offer present information to us in a more effective way than books．It can also make things more memorable．

　　It entertains(使欢乐)us．It is an enjoyable way to relax．For millions of people around the world, television is a source of companionship and helps them to cope with everyday life．

　　It has increased the popularity of sports and arts．

　　It has made us aware of our global responsibilities．In 2000, for example, 1．5 billion people in 147 countries watched a TV pop concert and helped to collect more than ＄100 million for people in Africa．

　　Dangers：

　　Television can make us passive(消极的)．We don’t have to think and our brains become lazy．

　　It encourages us to buy things that we don’t need, and can make us unhappy with our own life．

　　It takes time away from activities such as reading, conversation, and games．

　　It gives a false picture of society．A study in 2003 showed that people who watch a lot of TV are more afraid of crime．They also think that there is a lot more crime than there really is．

　　Some critics(批评家)say that television make people violent．A ten-year study in the United States showed that children who watch violent television programmes are more likely to be violent themselves．

阅读理解

　　One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O．Henry．From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum．Visitors to Austin can see the house．It was saved from destruction(破坏)and turned into a museum in1934．The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer．

　　William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years．Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters．Others did not．An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here．It was taken there in the house about 1895．The piano there goes back to the 1860s．His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin．

　　Porter did not start his career as a successful writer．He worked at a farm, land office and bank．He also loved words and writing．The museum has a special proof(证明)of Porter’s love of language－his dictionary．It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary．

Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged(指控)with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job．Because he was afraid of a trail(审判), he left the country secretly．But he returned because his wife was dying．After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal．He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio．

　　William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret．But there was one good thing about it．It provided him with time to write．By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O．Henry．

　　Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there．He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life．

阅读理解

　　I travel a lot, and I find out different "styles"(风格)of directions every time I ask "How can I get to the post office?"

　　Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑)in Japan because most streets there don't have names in Japan, people use landmarks(地标)in their directions instead of street names．For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, "Go straight down to the corner．Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market．The post office is across from the bus stop．"

　　In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks．There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles．Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances．In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, "Go north two miles．Turn east, and then go another mile．"

　　People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles．"How far away is the post office?" you ask．"Oh," they answer, "it's about five minutes from here．" You say, "Yes, but how many miles away is it?" They don't know．

　　It's true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes．What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, 'Sorry, I have no idea．" But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know．" People in Yucatan believe that "I don't know" is impolite, They usually give an answer, often a wrong one．A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

阅读理解

　　Nowadays everybody seems to think that they know English．Many people speak it but few speak it really well．Practice is necessary in speaking English well．

　　Reading is also one of the things that will help you to speak English better．Read whenever you can and whatever you like! Read papers and Internet sites that you like in English every day．Then, you will see that the number of known words is increasing and you are able to speak with more skills．Then you will have made the foundations(基础)and a good basis of English．It is not good to stop and get stuck there．

　　Going to England or an English－speaking country is a good choice, but many people cannot afford it．If you cannot go, reading and speaking with your friends will also help you to practice your English．However, I think it is very good to visit some English – speaking country to see and test your knowledge in everyday life．You will understand the everyday usage of the language in its natural environment．There your level of English is going to improve even faster．You ability to speak English is better．Nothing can match the excitement and happiness when a native speaker tells you that your English is very good!

　　Finally, in order to speak English well, you must be persistent(坚持的)and do it every day．It is like playing the piano．Pianists play it every day and so should you．Include English in your life and you will see where it is going．Practice, practice! Read, write and improve your language skills and you are on you way when you will be able to speak it with more and more confidence!

阅读理解

　　At the head of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question：are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they're bad．Yet the consensus among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small encouragement to the economy．Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets．So why is there such a difference between the perception(认知)of immigrants’ impact on the economy and the reality?

　　There are a number of familiar theories．Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers．Others highlight the strain(紧张)that undocumented immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails．Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nation's fears and insecurities．There's some truth to all these explanations, but they aren't quite sufficient．

　　To get a better understanding of what's going on, consider the way immigration's impact is felt．Though its total effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unequally．David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants' low-cost labor are businesses and employers－meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, or agricultural businesses in California．Granted(假定，就算), these producers' savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated．Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor．According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9％ between l980-2000．

　　Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services．What worried them most, in other words, was the financial burden of immigration．That conclusion was emphasized by another finding：that their opposition appeared to soften when that financial burden decreased, as occurred with welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed(约束)immigrants’ access to certain benefits．

　　The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the effect of immigration is minimal．Even for those most acutely affected－say, low-skilled workers, or California residents－the impact isn’t all that dramatic．“The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate(控制，影响)our perceptions,” says Daniel Tichenor, a political science professor at the University of Oregon．“But when all those factors are put together and the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a positive, but a small one．” Too bad most people don’t realize it．

阅读理解

　　Human remains of ancient settlements will be reburied and lost to science under a law that threatens research into the history of humans in Britain, a group of leading archeologists(考古学家)says．In a letter addressed to the justice secretary(律政司司长), Ken Clarke, 40 archaeologists write of their “deep and widespread concern” about the issue．It centers on the law introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2008 which requires all human remains unearthed in England and Wales to be reburied within two years, regardless of their age．The decision means scientists have too little time to study bones and other human remains of national and cultural significance．

　　“Your current requirement that all archaeologically unearthed human remains should be reburied, whether after a standard period of two years or a further special extension, is contrary to basic principles of archaeological and scientific research and of museum practice,” they write．

　　The law applies to any pieces of bone uncovered at around 400 dig sites, including the remains of 60 or so bodies found at Stonehenge in 2008 that date back to 3,000 BC．Archaeologists have been granted(同意给予)a temporary extension to give them more time, but eventually the bones will have to be returned to the ground．

　　The arrangements may result in the waste of future discoveries at sites such as Happisburgh in Norfolk, where digging is continuing after the discovery of stone tools made by early humans 950,000 years ago．If human remains were found at Happisburgh, they would be the oldest in northern Europe and the first indication of what this species was．Under the current practice of the law those remains would have to be reburied and effectively destroyed．

　　Before 2008, guidelines(准则)allowed for the proper preservation and study of bones of sufficient age and historical interest, while the Burial Act(法令)1857 applied to more recent remains．The Ministry of Justice assured archaeologists two years ago that the law was temporary, but has so far failed to revise it．

　　Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at Sheffield University, said：“Archaeologists have been extremely patient because we were led to believe the ministry was sorting out this problem, but we feel that we cannot wait any longer．”

　　The ministry has no guidelines on where or how remains should be reburied, or on what records should be kept．

阅读理解

Humpback whales

阅读理解

　　School districts are turning to high-tech solutions-from fingerprint scans to electronic cards－to track kids on school buses and keep them from getting off at the wrong stops．A fingerprint scanning system, approved this month for testing at the Desert Sands district, northeast of San Diego．Students will be scanned as they get on and off the bus．

　　"Kids get lost．It happens in every school district, every year," says John DeVries, president of Global Biometrics Security, which developed the Biometric Observation Security System(BOSS)that's being tested．It happened Oct．13 when a Prince George's County(Md．)school employee took a 5-year-old student to the wrong bus and the student got off several blocks from home．

　　With BOSS, students' fingerprints are scanned and sent to a database．When they get off, they provide a "check out" print．An alarm sounds if the child tries to get off at the wrong place．The fingerprints are not stored, DeVries says．They are converted into a series of numbers that cannot be used to re-create the print, he says．

　　Margaret Gomez of Palm Springs, Calif．, whose daughter, then 6, was let off a bus about a mile from her home three years ago, supports the idea．"Anything is better than what they have in place now．"

　　Other tracking systems include the ZPass from Seattle-based Zonar Systems, which uses a programmed card carried by students or tied to a backpack．It is in about 30 districts, including North Kansas City Schools and Illinois School District 128 in Palos Heights, company executive Chris Oliver says．

　　Paul Stephens, of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego, says tracking students is reasonable, but the data could fall into unauthorized hands．"What if a child predator was able to get access to this?" he says．

阅读理解

　　"Grandma, Grandma, tell us a story!" Four darling children sat by my feet, looking up at me expectantly．

　　Suddenly, we were interrupted by clapping．"Terrific," the director said, stepping up to the stage from the aisle(过道)．“Except, could you kids face the audience a bit more?"

　　The kids shifted to face the empty seats, which would be filled in a few days for the church play．"Perfect," the director said．"Now, Grandma, read to your grandchildren．" A pang of sadness hit me．If only I could read to my real grandchildren!

　　I had a granddaughter, but I'd never met her．Sixteen years earlier my son was involved in a relationship that ended badly．But out of it came a blessing：a baby girl named Lena．I hoped to be a grandmother to her-- but shortly after the birth, the mother moved without any address left．Over the years, I asked around town to try and find my son's ex-wife, but it seemed that she didn't want to be found．

　　I'd just joined this new church a week earlier, and was at once offered the part of Grandma in the play．At least now I could pretend to be a grandma．The rehearsals went well, and finally the day of the show arrived．The performance was great．"You all looked so natural up there," one of my friends said．

　　Afterward, we went to the church basement for refreshments．I walked over to one of the girls in the play．Rehearsals had been in such a hurry that we never really got to talk．"How's my granddaughter?" I joked．

　　" Fine!" she answered．Just then, someone else walked up and asked the girl her name．

　　I wasn't sure I heard the girl's answer correctly．But it made me ask her another question．"What's your mother's name?"

　　She told me．I was still in shock．"And what's your father's name?" I asked．It was my son．

　　She'd only started going to that church a week before I did．Since that day of the play, we've stayed close．Not long ago, she even made me a great grandma．