阅读理解：

　　Most of us let our eyes decide what our bodies need．Our ideas about what we eat are more important than the food itself, what our stomachs can hold, or what we need in this moment for food, strong energy．Our families, social situations, society, and marketing campaigns dictate the choices most people make about how they feed themselves．Sometimes we’re provided with very useful guidelines and models．But you need to stop and ask：Are you feeding yourself in ways that personally make sense to your body’s unique and ever-changing needs and rhythms．

　　In this country, food is available all the time．Unlike our ancestors who ate in harmony with seasonal cycles of abundance and scarcity(缺乏)，harvest and hunting, we eat as though we’re constantly feasting．Really, we eat non-stop．We fill our stomachs until we’re uncomfortable, and we put more food in the shopping cart than we need．This abundance of food and our own fast-paced convenience culture keep us from recognizing our own personal rhythms．We eat for many reasons, not necessarily because we’re physically hungry or need certain nutrients to keep healthy．

　　With more and more processed foods(精加工的食品)in the marketplace, obesity in adults and children dramatically on the rise, and digestive problems increasingly more common, it’s clear that we’re facing a serious health crisis．The answer, however, isn’t to just put Americans on a diet．Reducing the intake of processed foods and increasing fresh produce and whole grains certainly can improve one’s health．But we need more．We need to feed ourselves with a sense of purpose, focus, self-love, and passion for our lives．

阅读理解：

　　“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good”－these are the statements my mother used to make to raise my sense of discipline(纪律)when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework．

　　That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school．The schools and the educators made it easy for us．They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy．We stopped making our children do homework．We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation．

　　Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake．One such teacher is Sharon Clomps who says of her students－“so passive”－and wonders what has happened．Nothing is demanded of them, she believes．Television, says Clomps, contributes to children’s passivity(被动)．“We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ ve never been hurt or hungry．They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer．It takes greater energy to say no to a kid．”

　　Yes, it does．It takes energy and it takes work．It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work．It’ s time to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’ s for their own good．It’s s time to start telling them no again．

阅读理解：

　　There are robots all around us．Some do very complicated jobs like flying airplanes and driving subway trains．And some do one simple job．When an automatic washing machine is switched on, water pours in．The machine waits until the water is warm enough for washing clothes．It does this by “feedback”(反馈)．Information about what is happening is feedback into the robot to tell what to do next．Our eyes, ears and other senses are our feedback．They tell us what is going on around us．So robots are like human beings in two ways．They work and they have feedback．

　　In some ways robots are better than human beings．They work quickly and do not make mistakes．They do not get bored doing the same job over and over again．And they never get tired．So robots are very useful in factories．They can be taught to do many different jobs．First their electronic brain must be shown how the job is done．A person moves the robot’s “arms” and “hands” through each part of the job．

　　The most intelligent robots can move and see．Their eyes are cameras．Their fingers can feel shapes and sizes of the objects．These robots have computer brains linked to their eyes and fingers, which control their actions．The most intelligent robots--cave robots are used in scientific research．They do such job as handling radioactive materials．

阅读理解：

　　Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around．You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life．These people have something in common．And once we know what it is, we can try to do it ourselves．

　　How is it done? Here are several skills that good talkers have．If you follow the skills, they’ll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly．

　　First of all, good talkers ask questions．Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question．One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning．It’s a common question, but it will get things going．” From there you can move on to other matters－sometimes to really personal questions．And how he answers will let you know how far you can go．

　　Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers．This point seems clear, but it isn’t．Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to．And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively．

　　Real listening at least means some things．First it means not to change the subject of conversation．If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he’s really interested in it．Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones(音调)of voice．If the voice sounds dull, then, it’s time for you to change the subject．

　　Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting．If you’re saying good-bye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you．” If you want to see that person again, don’t keep it a secret．Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they’ve known you half their life．

阅读理解

　　After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high calorie fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American, a new study finds．That’s one reason why immigrants approach US levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America．

　　The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents’ food choices．After being questioned about their ability to speak English, 75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite．Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same．

　　When their American identiy was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes, such as hamburgers and cheese sand wiches In that experiment, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant．Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study．Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories, including 12grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat(饱和脂肪)．

　　“People who feel like they need to prove they belong to a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in, ”said Sauna Cheryan , an anthor of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington．” If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives, this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health．Cheryan added．

　　Social pressures, the study concluded, are at the heart of the problem．“In American society today, being American is associated with being white．Americans, who don’t fit this image even if they were born here and speak English, feel that pressure to prove that they’re American, ” said Cheryan．

阅读理解

　　Efforts to reduce the damage from the huge oil spill(漏油)in the Gulf of Mexico are under way．How can you help?A number of organizations are recruiting(招聘)volunteers．

　　The Deep Water Horizon response team is looking for help in identifying shoreline and animals affected．Oiled wildlife should not be captured but instead reported at 1-866-557-1401．To report areas with oil ashore or to leave contact information to volunteers in the affected areas, call 1-866-448-5816．

　　The National Wildlife Federation is looking for volunteers and support to help spot distressed or oiled wildlife, and to assist in the cleanup and restoration efforts along the coast of Louisiana．You can text the word “NWF” to 20222．That’ss donate ＄10 to the National Wildlife Federation through your phone bill．

　　United Way has launched the Gulf Recovery Fund．which is providing emergency assistance and long-term recovery support for the communities affected by this oil spill．Those who need help or want to volunteer can dial 2-1-1．You can donate to this fund by going to liveunited．org/gulfrecovery．or text the word “United” to 50555 to donate ＄10 from your mobile phone．

　　The First Response Team of America is working with the National Guard in Southern Louisiana to build dams to hold back the oil from the fragile coastal habitats．Their founder, Tad Agoglia－who was named a CNN Hero in 2008－has made their work on the oil．spill their top Priority(首位)until the disaster is contained．They are looking for volunteers．Call 941-388-3010．

　　AmenCares is providing medical care and supplies to oilspill victims along the Gulf, and is funding and assisting mental health assessments and counseling needs for the immediate and long-term health and mental health issues affecting children as a result of this disaster．Mental health experts are in great demand．The Children’s Health Fund can be reached at 1-800-535-7418．

阅读理解

　　At 20 year of age F．W．Woolworth found work in exchange for room and board at a local dry goods store, and after his employers held a successful clearance sale he saw the possibilities of a discount store．His key improvements were having the goods on open display instead of behind the counter, and having prices plainly marked instead of bargaining．

　　With borrowed funds he opened his first F．W．Woolworth store in the suburb of Utica, New York in 1879, but the store closed the following year．Deciding that his problem had been a poor location．He opened a new store in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylyania in 1881．Within months he was opening multiple stores in business partnerships with local retailers, and within a few years Woolworth was a millionaire．In 1909 he opened his first store in England, and in 1913 the company opened its new headquarters in New York’s Woolworth Building－then the tallest building in the world．

　　Woolworth had a deep fear of dentists, allowing his teeth to rot , and died of a dental(牙齿)lunch counters in many stores, Woolworth was America’s largest restaurant chain through the 1940s．The company peaked as the world’s largest department store chain in the late 1970s, with more than 4.000 stores．By the late 1990s business was sputtering(喷溅), and the company closed all of its American department stores, renamed itself Venator, and sold the Woolworth Building．In 2003 Venator renamed itself after the company’s most successful division, Foot Locker, Inc．Under separate ownership, Woolworth stores are still operated in Austria, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom．

阅读理解

　　For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me．My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed．I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up．I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail．It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me：turn to nature!

　　The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain．Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again．To be honest．I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, “I’m singing in the rain．”a song I used to sing when I was a child．I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制)our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress．

　　Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels．But this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre．

　　If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play．

阅读理解

　　The brown widow spider became established in Southern California in early 2000 and has become part of the local spider family in urban Los Angeles and San Diego．The brown widow spider is continuing its expansion in Southern California and could possibly move northward into Central California．

　　The brown widow is suspected to have evolved in Africa although it was first described from South America, which adds confusion as to where it might have originated．It is a tropical and subtropical spider having established populations in Hawaii, Florida, parts of Australia, South Africa and Japan．In North America, the brown widow was restricted for many decades to the Florida peninsula．However, around the year 2000, it started showing up in other Gulf Coast states．Brown widows are now known from Texas to Georgia and South Carolina．

　　The brown widow builds its web in protected sites around homes and in woody vegetation with branches．Some typical sites selected by brown widows for web building are empty containers such as buckets and nursery pots, mail boxes, entry way corners, under eaves, storage closets and garages, undercarriages of motor vehicles that are stationary for long periods, and the undersides of outdoor furniture．They choose places that are more exposed than sites chosen by black widows and therefore, appear to be at higher risk for interactions with humans as far as bites are concerned．

　　One recent study demonstrates that the brown widow spider is less poisonous than other widow species．The reason for the weaker effect of brown widow bites on humans is possibly because the brown widow does not have much poison as its larger relatives, but it is really a threat to humans as to its poison．The two major symptoms of a brown widow bite were that the bite hurt when it was given and it left a red mark．These two symptoms are not much different from the bite of normal household spiders．

　　There is no specific information regarding the control of brown widows by farm chemicals．Most current advice is what is used for controlling spiders in general．Therefore, most commercially available farm chemicals should work on brown widows．Avoiding a mess of the house and the garage should reduce nest sites for them．Also, one should store garage items in plastic bags where there might be interactions with spiders．These items include rarely worn garments such as gardening clothes and gloves, recreational items like sports equipment(i．e．, baseball gloves)and other items where spiders can crawl up into holes where fingers can be inserted．

阅读理解

　　The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded every year for a novel written by a writer from the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and it aims to represent the very best in contemporary fiction．The prize was originally called the Booker-McConnell Prize, which was the name of the company that sponsored it, though it was better-known as simply the “Booker Prize”．In 2002, the Man Group became the sponsor and they chose the new name, keeping “Booker”．

　　Publishers can submit books for consideration for the prize, but the judges can also ask for books to be submitted they think should be included．Firstly, the Advisory Committee formed by sponsors give advice if there have been any changes to the rules for the prize and select the people who will judge the books．The judging panel(group)changes every year and usually a person is only a judge once．

　　Great efforts are made to ensure that the judging panel is balanced in terms of gender and professions within the industry, so that a writer, a critic, an editor and an academic are chosen along with a well-known person from wider society．However, when the panel of judges has been finalized, they are left to make their own decisions without any further involvement or interference from the prize sponsor．

　　The Man Booker judges include critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent quality of the prize and its influence is such that the winner will almost certainly see the sales increase considerably, in addition to the ￡50,000 that comes with the prize．

　　Worth ￡60,000 to the winner, the Man Booker International Prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language．The winner is chosen solely at the mercy of the judging panel; there are no opinions from publishers．

　　The Man Booker International Prize reflects and reinforces the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that literary excellence will be its sole focus．The Man Booker International Prize is significantly different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that it highlights one writer’s overall contribution to fiction on the world stage．In seeking out literary excellence the judges consider a writer’s body of work rather than a single novel．