阅读理解

　　People cannot reach an agreement on the use of science and technology．For example, will radiation from electronic equipment destroy the environment? Should medical scientists change gene structures to prevent genetic disease or to create “more perfect” human beings? While people are arguing about these and others, technology continues to influence our everyday lives－the home, health and education, entertainment and communication, and so on．

　　Some people carry on active social lives with computers－their own or the ones in public places like cafes, social centers, libraries, and so on．Communicating with others in chat rooms, computer users can get to know people they might never meet in traditional ways．With live online video connections, two people with cameras in their computers can see and talk to each other from separate places．

　　With modern telephone technology, most people stopped writing lettters－especially personal letters and notes．But now, writing to communicate has returned in electronic form, or e-mail, which is a way of sending messages from one computer to another．For some computer users, the wish to communicate intelligently or creatively with others makes them want to write better．

　　Computer technology has also made it possible to run a house electronically．From turning lights on and off to starting the coffee and cooking the hot meal, computers are taking care of people at home．Many modern machines have computer chips that allow their owners to program them．For instance, you can “instruct” a microwave oven how to cook a dish．Most entertainment equipment operates with computer technology too．Computers can even start cars automatically so that on cold winter mornings you can get into a warmed-up vehicle and drive off．

　　Although much of the technology in our everyday lives has good effects, there are some uses that raise questions．For example, are interactive media(i．e．, a combination of television, telephone, and computer)going to control minds, cause people to forget about family life and personal relationships?What effects will the genentic engineering of food have on people’s health?High-tech medical treatments can make a person live a much longer life, but can they improve the health and happiness of human beings? Only time will tell, but, in the meantime, science and technology will continue to move forward．

阅读理解

　　Before you can start speaking and writing in English, your brain must get enough correct English sentences．This is obvious(显而易见的)．

　　There are two ways to get correct English sentences：listening and reading．Both are good, but reading is much easier than listening．With the help of a good dictionary, you will be able to understand English texts much more easily than movies．If you just read one book in English, you will see that your English has become much better．English phrases will just come to you without thinking when you are writing or speaking．

　　This is true for hundreds of words and grammar structures(结构)．If you read in English, you can forget about grammar rules．Throw away your grammar book! You needn't know the rules for the present perfect tense(现在完成时)．Instead, read a few books in English, and soon you will feel that “I have seen Paul yesterday” is wrong．The only difference between you and native speakers is that they have heard and read more English sentences than you have．