阅读理解

　　The huge thirst for jobs in the civil service has made the national civil servant(公务员)exam one of China's most competitive tests．The first exam was held in 1995, and since then more and more people have signed up for it, with applications reaching a peak over the last two years．

　　The latest online survey, carried out by China Youth Daily and www．qq．com, found that more than 73 percent of young people want to work as civil servants．Of the 17,330 respondents, about 83 percent said they were attracted by the job's stability, guaranteed health care and pension(退休金)．Meanwhile, 55 percent said it could bring "practical profits"．Nearly 1 million people applied to take the exam last year, yet only just over 10,000 were finally employed．

　　This year the competition continued．The exact number of applicants is not known, with the final day for applications today．But the flood of applicants has already broken the exam's website once．China Youth Daily reported that the site was forced to close for maintenance due to unusually high traffic on the night of October 16, which has never happened in the past．

　　In a typical year several hundred applicants will apply for many of the jobs listed．For example, the five job vacancies provided by the secretariat(秘书处)of the Central Committee of the CPC have attracted more than 3,880 applicants this year．Positions as civil servants are attractive, not only because of the stable income and good health care, but also because of the low risks compared with the power and resources the positions enjoy．Among the total 6 million public servants, around 20,000 were dismissed between 1996 and 2007．

阅读理解

　　If you see someone drowning, speed is very important．Once you get him out of the water, if he isn't breathing, you have four minutes before his brain is completely destroyed．Support his neck, move his head back and press his chin upwards．This stops the tongue blocking the airway in the throat and is sometimes enough to get him breathing again．If that doesn't work, start mouth-to-mouth breathing．Press his nostrils(the two holes at the end of your nose, through which you breathe and smell things)together with your fingers．Open your mouth and take a deep breath．Blow into his lungs until his chest rises, then remove your mouth and watch his chest fall．Repeat twelve times a minute．Keep doing until professional help arrives．

　　To bring a child back to life, keep your lips around his mouth and gently blow into his mouth．Give the first four breaths as quickly as possible to fill the blood with oxygen．If, in spite of your efforts, he starts turning a blue-grey colour, and you can feel no pulse, then pressing is the last chance of saving his life．

　　With arms straight, rock forwards, pressing down on the lower half of the breastbone．Don't be too hard or you may break a rib．Check how effective you are by seeing if his colour improves or his pulse becomes independent to your chest pressing．If this happens, stop the pressing．Otherwise continue until rescue arrives．

阅读理解

　　Today, the world is rapidly urbanizing．With half of the world population expected to live in cities by the early part of the 21st century, the Shanghai 2010 World Expo's focus on a better city bears profound meaning．

　　What might future cities look like 28 years from now?Here are some scenarios：things to come, things to go．

　　Zero waste

　　Waste disposal is one of the biggest headaches for cities．Apart from recyclable waste, everything is buried or incinerated, only to pollute the environment．Plastic waste remains underground for several decades．The world produces much more garbage that it can dispose of．

　　Now at the Expo, all waste is delivered to a compression station where the waste is sorted, filtered, decontaminated, deodorized and compressed before finally being disposed of at designated spots．In Beijing, people living in the Asuwei area turn their household waste into organic fertilizers which are used to grow plants at residence communities．

　　No more transportation problems during Spring Festival

　　The Spring Festival, the most important Chinese holiday when everyone returns home, has caused headaches for millions of Chinese．More than 2 billion people travel at the same time, making obtaining travel tickets and the journey difficult．

　　But in 28 years．Spring Festival travel may not be a problem at all．China plans to have more than 120,000 kilometers of railway and a rapid transportation network that will serve 90 percent of the population by 2020．And because most of China will be cities, people will not have to go to other places to find a job, so migration will no longer be so large-scale．

　　Newspapers to disappear

　　American scholar Philip Meyer predicts that newspaper will come to an end in 2043．Utagawa Reizou, former editor-in-chief of The Mainichi Daily News．believes that the newspaper will be gone in 2030．This kind of prediction may worry those in print news business．In the U．K．, the circulations of national newspapers are declining．Major Japanese newspapers have gone into debt．In the US, declining circulations and ad revenues have forced several newspapers to stop printing paper

　　Editions

　　Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch thinks the future of media relies on interaction through the Internet．In the future, digital newspapers will be sent to portal web terminals through wirelessly．Readers can discuss issues with journalists and editors．Information will move faster．

　　Oil to run out

　　In August 2009, Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, said that oil is running out faster than expected and that the world will likely feel the tightness in supply in the next five years．Scientists have found substitutes for oil as fuel，coal，natural gas，solar power, nuclear power and even water can replace oil as sources of energy．Flammable ice reserves alone can support humans for the next 1,000 years．

阅读理解

　　An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond．The concept is simple：help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time．

　　In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit(追求)to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools．The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched(发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998．Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong．

　　In Chicago, the mayor(市长)appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program．As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city．Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character．

　　The only problem came up in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population．This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities lr large towns, where a greater sende of unity can be achieved．Or it may show that New Yourkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself．

　　Ultimately, as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word．

阅读理解

　　Movie magic can defy reality, but actors are inescapably human．They grow and change, and don't necessarily change for the better．

　　Harry Potter actors, who are now saying their final goodbyes to their roles, have all become fully-fledged(成熟的)grown-ups, worlds apart from the little kids who began the Hogwarts' adventures in 2001．

　　While many fans feel sad that the magical franhise is coming to an end, some feel even sadder to dee how much the actors have changed over the years．

　　"Daniel Radciffe(who plays Harry Potter)went from being a really cute kid to a thin, pale-looking guy,"daid Filipino internet User Lealuvy．"I kind of wish he stayed a kid forever．"

　　Radcliffe himself doesn't seem to be bothered by his change of appearance．In an interview with GQ magazine last week, he teased himself："If people find me sexy or cool, it's because they like short, little, nerdy guys．And we do have our niche(合适的职业)．"

　　Meanwhile, actors growing up to be handsome have their headaches．

　　Harry Melling, who played Potter's cousin Dudley Dursley, told The Telegraph that he was almost recast for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when producers discovered he' d lost a lot of weight he had as a kid．He was too thin for the part．

　　"They(the producers)did this double take, 'Oh my God, we are going to have to do something', and I felt guilty," said Meiling．

　　Aside from changes in looks, the gradual personality change of child stars is another big concern of audience and producers．

　　Miley Cyrus began her career at 13 in Disney's hit TV series Hannah Montana．

　　When Cyrus decided to show her adult personality by releasing "sexy" photos, people began to get uneasy about her．Reports said that furious Disney bosses were considering replacing Cyrus with a more clean-cut teen star．

　　Cyrus finally kept her role after public apologies．But some parents banned their children watching the show．

　　"My daughter has been banned from watching the show," supermodel Cindy Crawford told Showbiz Spy．"I really don't think Miley Cyrus is much of a role model for my kid．"

阅读理解

　　I was walking along the deserted main street of a small seaside town in the north of England looking somewhere to make a phone call．My car had broken down outside the town and I wanted to get in touch with the Automobile Association．Low gray clouds were drifting across the sky and there was a cold damp wind blowing off the sea．It had rained in the night and water was dripping from the bare trees that lined the street．I was glad that I was wearing a thick coat．

　　I could see no call box, nor was there anyone at that early hour I could ask．I had thought I might find a shop selling the Sunday papers or a milkman doing his job, but the town was completely dead．

　　Then suddenly I found what I was looking for．There was a small post office, and almost hidden from sight in a dark narrow street next to it was the town's only public call box, which badly needed a coat lf paint, I hurried forward but stopped in astonishment when I saw through the dirty gladd that there was a man inside．He was very fat, and was wearing a cheap blue plastic raincoat and rubber boots．I could not see his face-he was bending forward over the phone with his back pressed against the glass and didn't even raise his head at the sound of my coming nearer and nearer．Carefully and surprisedly, I remained standing a few feet away and lit a cigarette to wait my turn．It was when I threw the dead match on the ground that I noticed something bright red trickling from under the call box door．

阅读理解

　　If you feel at present that you don’t have enough friends in your life，one reason may be that you have let yourself become too busy to make time for the relationships you already have．

　　Starting and keeping friendship requires effort and commitment．Many of us let our lives become so busy with work and other commitments that we don’t get around to scheduling time for pleasure and renewal(叙旧，更新)with the friends，relatives and acquaintances we already have．

　　Making the effort to call your friends more regularly and to accept more of the invitations you receive from others can improve your social life in a hurry!

　　Are there any people you could call right now and be assured of a pleasant welcome? Are there people that you could count on to help you in time of difficulty? Can you have close talks with them? Do you have fun when you are together? Are you happy to have them in your life?

　　If you haven’t seen much of them lately, is it because you have become too busy? Have you grown apart? Was there an argument?

　　If the main reason you haven’t been getting together with the people you already know is because you have gotten too busy, take a good look at how you spend your time．Compare it with your real values and priorities(优先考虑的事)in life．Is your busy lifestyle really bringing you the quality of life that you want?

　　If you have become too busy for friends，why has this happened? Are you seeking material toys in your life at the expense of relationships with other human beings? Have you allowed your time to be over-committed because you never say “No” to anyone? Do you insist on doing things yourself that could be delegated to others? If so, why? Do you believe that everything depends on you?

　　Examine whether the way you are now spending your time accurately reflects your deepest values and priorities．Make sure that you schedule adequate time for the things that are truly most important to you．

　　If you really want to keep friends in your life, make a space in your schedule, and a space in your heart for them．

阅读理解

　　If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong．Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

　　According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power．Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter．This is the area of the brain which processes information．It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles．?

　　The study also found the younger people learn a second language, the greater the effect is．

　　A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English．They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners．

　　Scans showed that grey matter density(密度)in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language．But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference．?

　　“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists．?

　　It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn．?

　　Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills．“Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible(灵活的),”he said．“You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas．”

　　The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34．Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested．The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better．“Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists．

阅读理解

　　“Everybody loves a bargain．” One person's useless, ugly, or broken object can be another person's bargain．That is why so many Americans do not throw things away．They put them outside their houses．They put on a “For Sale” sign．And, as simple as that, they have a yard sale．

　　The sellers put a paid announcement(付费通告)in a local newspaper．It tells when and where the yard sale will take place．These sales are very popular during weekends in spring, summer, and autumn．Early in the morning, all the things to be sold are carried out of the house．Then they sit all day in the sunlight－like tired guests at a party－waiting for someone to take them home．

　　Just about anything can be sold at a yard sale．Sometimes, there are more clothes than anything else．Cooking equipment is also popular．So are old toys, tools, books, tables and chairs．Then there are objects called “white elephants”．A white elephant is something you think is extremely ugly or useless．It may be an electric light shaped like a fish．You feel a sharp pain whenever you look at it．To someone else, however, it might be a thing of beauty and joy．

　　Some people go to yard sales to find a special thing that they collect．It may be old toy trains, for example, or painting of dogs．Experts say more Americans are collecting old things now than ever before．Most people who go to yard sales, however, are not looking for anything special．They might buy an object simply because it costs so little．They enjoy negotiating(谈判)over prices, even if they really do not need the object．Later, they may hold their own yard to sell all the things they have bought．