阅读理解

　　“The pen is more powerful than the sword(刀)．” There have been many writers who used their pens to fight things that were wrong．Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them．

　　She was born in the U．S．A．in 1811．One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the enslaved race．The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won．

　　This book that shook the world was called Uncle Tom's Cabin．There was time when every English-speaking man, woman, and child had read this novel that did so much to stop slavery．Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting．The book has shown us how a warm-hearted writer can arouse(唤起)people's sympathies．The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor been a slave．The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were wildly excited over it and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free．

阅读理解

　　What is the color of the universe? Astronomers had not answered this question until two months ago．That is when two American astronomers reported on their study of all the light in the universe．They said that the universe would appear to the human eyes to be a light greenish color．

　　Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, reported their finding in January．They presented the research at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society．They said that finding the color of the universe was not part of their more serious scientific research．They did it for fun．

　　However, earlier this month, the scientists admitted making a mistake．They said their finding was much more colorful than it should have been．They now say the light from our universe is closer to white．It is more like a milky or creamy white color．

　　Their study attempted to show what people might see if they could observe the universe from far away．The scientists found the average color by combining light from about two-hundred-thousand star systems．Their information came from an observatory in New South Wales, Australia．

　　The scientists gave a number value to the colors of the different star systems．Then they added the numbers together and found the average measurement．The scientists used this average to identify the color of the universe．They said it was a very pretty light green．Many newspapers and television stations reported their finding．

　　Other scientists and color engineers attempted to reproduce the result．Mark Fairchild of the Rochester Institute discovered a mistake in the computer software program used by the Johns Hopkins scientists．

　　When the mistake was corrected, the results changed．The new color of the universe is much less colorful．It is very close to white．

阅读理解

　　Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes．To some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence．On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings．Thus the limits of person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment．This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways．

　　It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with．The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligence．Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different．If, on the other hand, we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other．Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth．

　　Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments．We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring．We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part．This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence．

阅读理解

　　I entered high school having read hundreds of books．But I was not a good reader．Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read．Rather, I read in order to get a point of view．I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes－anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated．When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a “complicated idea” until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony(嘲讽)or its very complicated truth．I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read．Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times．(How, after all, could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length．(Could anything shorter be a book?)

　　There was yet another high school list I made．One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college．The article had a list of the “hundred most important books of Western Civilization．” “More than anything else in my life,” the professor told the reporter with finality(firmly), “these books have made me all that I am．” That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore．I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles．Most books, of course, I hardly understood．While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about．However, with the special patience and superstition(迷信)of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text．And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my list

阅读理解

Let children learn to judge their own work．A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time; if corrected too much, he will stop talking．He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use．Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s．In the same way, children learn to do all the other things without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle…They compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes．But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself．We do it all for him．We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake．If it is a matter in mathematics or science, give him the answer book．Let him correct his own papers．Why should we teachers waste time in such routine(日常的)work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer．Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what he does not know．

阅读理解

　　People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June．These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents．They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens．They give love and care．These two days offer a chance to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers．More mothers now work outside the home．More fathers must help with child-care．

　　These two special days are celebrated in many different ways．On Mother’s Day people wear carnations．A．red one stands for a living mother．A．white one shows that the mother is dead．Many people attend religious services(宗教仪式)to honor parents．It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit their graves．On these days, families get together at home and in restaurants．They often have outdoor BBQs for Father’s Day．These are days of fun and good feelings and memories．

　　Another tradition is to give cards and gifts．Children make them in school．Many people make their own presents．These are valued more than the ones bought in stores．It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”．Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephones companies and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays．

阅读理解

　　Some people think that they will get ill if they use their brains(大脑)too much．It is not true．Through many studies, scientists show us that the more you use your brains, the better it will be, and the cleverer you will become．

　　Of course, if you want to keep your mind clear and active, you must take a proper rest and study properly．To the teenagers, using their brains in the morning is good for their health．

　　There are many ways to rest．One is a peaceful rest．Sleep is a peaceful rest．Another is an active rest．For example, take a walk outdoors, do more exercises every day．To change the way of the brains’ activities is also a good way to rest．

　　In everyday life, to eat some eggs, meat, fresh vegetables and fruit(水果)is also good for the brains．

　　Wish you a wise man and a happy life．

阅读理解

　　A man was travelling abroad in a small red car．One day he left the car and went shopping．When he came back, its roof was badly damaged．

　　Some boys told him that an elephant had damaged it．The man did not believe them, but they took him to a circus which was near there．The owner of the elephant said, “I am very sorry! My elephant has a big, round, red chair．He thought that your car was his chair, and he sat on it!” Then he gave the man a letter, in which he said that he was sorry and that he would pay for all the damage．

　　When the man got back to his own country, the customs officers would not believe his story．They said," You sold your new car while you were abroad and bought this old one!"

　　It was only when the man showed them the letter from the circus man that the officer believed him．

　　Multiple choice

阅读理解

　　Peter King, 15, and Mary King, 13, went to see a doctor．Peter had a bad cold, so the doctor gave him some pills to take．Mary had a bad cough, so the doctor gave her some cough medicine．

　　There are the words on the bottle of the medicine：

　　Cough Medicine

　　Shake well before use．

　　Take three times daily after meals．

　　At one time：adults－2 teaspoonfuls

　　Children 8＝14　1 teaspoonful

　　Children 4－7　1/2 teaspoonful

　　Not suitable for children below the age of 4

　　Store in a cold place．

　　Use before Oct．2007．

READING COMPREHENSION

　　Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must today．They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed．They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them．Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them, often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers．

　　Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes．Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore．At such times, there were inquiries(调查)into the causes of the disasters or the problems．New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries, however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill．

　　Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers．In the U．S．, for example, there is a department which examines new planes and gives warnings about possible problems．It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow．Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell．A third department looks at the places where people work, and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers．Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness, but they are having some good results．Our work places are safer and cleaner than before．The planes and cars which we use for travel are better．Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products．