M：Have you heard?The British government is planning to tax plastic bags?

W：Yes, it was on the news．They want to r

　　1　　 the amount of rubbish．I can’t help but feel that it’s a good idea because they can’t be recycled．

M：They’ve already done it in Ireland．If you go to the supermarket there, you have to p

　　2　　 for each plastic bag．

W：So most people use the s　　3　　 bags over again, do they?

M：Yes．And the supermarket sells thick plastic bags which last l　　4　　．

W：And there’s a lot less rubbish in the streets, isn’t there?

M：Yes．But it’s not just in Europe that plastic bags are Damaging the e　　5　　．In many d　　6　　 countries it’s even worse．

They’re causing a serious problem．In south Africa, for example, they call plastic bags the national flowers because the wind blows them e　　7　　．Now the government has stopped them and you can go to prison for 10 years if you use them．

W：In Bangladesh too．They say that plastic bags were largely responsible for the terrible floods in 1988 and 1998．They blocked the drains and rainwater couldn’t flow a　　8　　．

M：It’s scary．They don’t look dangerous but there’re so many that t hey can kill．In India, cows eat them in the streets and then die．

W：In some parts of India they are stopped．From what I understand, you can go to prison for 7 years if you use them．

M：I can’t help but feel that sending people to prison is very hard．

W：That’s because the situation is so s　　9　　．And people are not reasonable．They won’t change their h　　10　　．

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阅读理解

　　Growing up across the street from each other in Twin Falls, Idaho, Lisa Fry and Paula Turner never doubted that their friendship would last forever．But after Fry married, moved to New York City and had a baby, her letters to Turner suddenly went unanswered．“Do you think I’ve somehow offended her?” Fry asked her husband．

　　Turner, meanwhile, had convinced herself she was no longer important to Fry．“She’s got a family now,” she told herself．“We’re just too different to be as close as before．”

　　Finally, Fry picked up courage to call her old friend．At first, the conversation was awkward, yet soon they both admitted that they missed each　other．A month later, they got together and quickly fell into their old habit of laughing and sharing their secrets．

　　“Thank goodness I finally took action,” Fry said．“We both realized we were as important to each other as ever．”

　　There are many good reasons to cherish our friendship．Some years ago, a public-opinion research firm, Roper Starch Worldwide, asked 2,007 people to identify one or two things they cherished most．Friends far outranked homes, jobs, clothes and cars．

　　“A well-established friendship carries a long history of experience and interaction that defines who we are and keeps us connected,” said Donald, the executive officer of the Western Psychological Association．“It is heritage we should protect．”

　　Ironically, Brant R．Burleson, a professor at Chicago University, said, “The better friends you are, the more likely you’ll face conflicts．And the outcome can be exactly what you don’t want-an end to friendship．”

　　However, the good news is that most troubled friendship can be mended．

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阅读理解

　　The sometimes tense relationship between presidents and New York City mayors was seemingly set 30 years ago with the famous Daily News headline following President Gerald R．Ford's decision not to help the city out from a financial crisis．(“Ford to City：Drop Dead,” it read．)

　　But yesterday provided something of a role of the opposite：President Bush came to promote strong national economic data and to do it in the glow of a New York City economy that he said was “booming with a bond rating(债券评级)at an all-time high, and unemployment near an all-time low．”

　　The moment highlighted the unique relationship Mr．Bush has with New York City, to which he has been linked since the 2001 terrorist attacks, even though he is unpopular with many voters here．

　　And as he spoke at the Federal Hall National Memorial on Wall Street for an event held by the Association for a Better New York, he addressed an audience that included not only business leaders but also three New York City mayors-one of them a Republican, two of them Democrats．

　　There was Mayor Michael R．Bloomberg, a late-blooming Republican, who kept his distance from the president throughout the 2005 mayoral campaign in case the president's low poll(选举投票)ratings rub off on him．

　　Mr．Bloomberg seemed to receive slightly louder applause than Mr．Bush did yesterday, though, to be fair, both were warmly received and many of Mr．Bloomberg's own officials were in the audience．

　　But Mr．Bush did not seem to take offense either way．

　　“Mr．Mayor, thanks for being here, I appreciate your coming,” Mr．Bush told Mr．Bloomberg．“You're doing what people want you to do, and that is to lead this city．”

　　Then there was former Mayor David N．Dinkins, the liberal Democrat．“Mr．Mayor-David Dinkins, thank you for being here,” Mr．Bush said from the lectern．“Proud you're here．”

　　His warmest words were for Mayor Edward I．Koch, the Democrat who crossed party lines to endorse Mr．Bush in 2004．

　　“And it's good to see my buddy(密友), Mayor Ed Koch,” Mr．Bush said．“Mr．Mayor, thank you for coming．”

　　One former mayor who was not there：Rudolph W．Giuliani, the man at or near the top of many polls of possible Republican presidential contenders(竞争者), who, according to an aide, was at tending a fund-raiser out of town．

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