阅读理解

　　The Golden Gate Bridge joins the beautiful city of San Francisco with the suburbs(郊区)to the north．Each day, about one hundred thousand cars cross the bridge, taking people to and from the city．More than half of them cross the bridge during the morning and evening rush hours, as a result, the trip is not pleasant．

　　Now, however, there is at least one group of happy commuters(经常来往于市郊区者)．These are the people who travel under the bridge instead of on it．They go to work by boat and enjoy it so much that most of them say they will never go by car again．

　　The ferry(渡船)they take is the large, quiet, comfortable“Golden Gate．”Commuters can enjoy the sun on the boat．In the morning they can have breakfast in the coffee shop, and in the evening they can have a drink in the bar while they are looking at San Francisco's famous scene and the nearby hills．

　　The trip takes only thirty minutes and is not expensive．But best of all, being on a boat seems to make people feel more friendly towards each other．Two commuters who met on the“Golden Gate”have already got married．

　　Because the boat has been so successful, there are plans to use other, still larger boats．There is also a plan for a high－speed boat that will make the trip in only fifteen minutes．Not everyone is happy about that．“A lot of people don't want to get the trip faster,”said one commuter．“They feel that half an hour is just enough time to rest．”

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　　This ancient city is known to the world as Angkor Wat－after its most beautiful temple, but the true wonder is the city itself, which is actually called Angkor．

　　The first temples were completed in the eighth century by early Khmer(高棉)king Jayavarman and his heirs(继承人)kept building on his project．The whole of Angkor was built over a period of about 600 years．It never stopped．It was to recreate in Hindu mythology(印度神话)the Mount Mira, the Hindu Heaven．And the kings wanted to raise themselves to a god－like position and progressive kings enlarged upon it．And so it just grew and grew．Each king wanted to build another temple．They were trying to create Heaven on Earth．

　　The flourishing jungle heaven they created certainly caught the attention of the neigh boring kingdom of Siam－now known as Thailand(泰国)．After one hundred years of off and on battle, the Thai armies began to get the upper hand．At the end of it, the Cambodian people were worn out．Their resources had run out．The Thais had a relatively easy victory when they finally seized Angkor in 1431．But a mystery surrounded their victory．Without warning the Thai armies deserted Angkor as suddenly as they conquered it and to this day, no one knows why．

　　The Royal Court(朝廷)just walked away from Angkor completely．The couple of temples were repaired and visited from time to time．But basically they just turned their back on it．And the magnificent(宏伟)city became lost in the mists(薄雾)of time．Tales of this mysterious city floated throughout the jungles of Southeast Asia for centuries．

　　The locals were telling stories．There had been French naturalists through the area, but no one believed the tales．Then, in 1860 the French explorer Henri Mahout set out to find Angkor．One day he stepped into a jungle clearing and found himself walking through the imperial ruins of the ancient city．Over one hundred years later, the world is also beginning to understand the glory of Angkor．

　　For being a heavenly city that transcends(超越)time, Angkor rises to number three on our list．

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　　London is one of the largest cities in the world, and one－sixth of all the people in England, Wales and Scotland live in or near it．The center, or City of London, is quite small, only about one square mile．However, the area known as Greater London is much larger and has a population of over 8 million．London has grown rapidly during the last 100 years．This is because many of the roads and railways in the country meet in London．It is not only the most important port in Britain but also the most important city in the world．

　　There are many factories in the country．They make things that people need, such as clothes and furniture．There are many important banks and companies in London, too, and every year thousands of businessmen from all over the world visit London．At the London airport, which is a few miles outside the city, a plane lands or takes off every minute of the day．

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阅读理解

　　Imagine life as a game in which you are playing some five balls in the air．You name them－work, family, health, friends and spirit, and you're keeping all these balls in the air．

　　You understand that work is a rubber ball．If you drop it, it will bounce back．But the other four balls are made of glass．If you drop one of these, it will be worn off, marked, damaged or even broken into pieces．They will never be the same．You must understand that and strive for balance in your life．How?

　　Don't reduce your worth by comparing yourself to others．It is because we are different and each of us is special．Don't set your goals by what other people consider important．Only you know what is best for you．Don't take for granted(理所当然地认为)the things closest to your heart．Hold on to them as you would to life, for without them, it's meaningless．Don't let life slip through your fingers by living in the past or in the future．By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life．Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going．Don't use time or words carelessly．Life is not a race, but a journey to be enjoyed slowly each step of the way．Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift．That's why we call it－the present．

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阅读理解

　　As people continue to grow and age, our body systems(系统)continue to change．At a certain point in your life your body system will begin to weaken．Your strength may become weaker．It may become more difficult for you to see and hear．The slow change of aging causes our bodies to lose some of their ability to bounce back from disease and injury．In order to live longer, we have always tried to slow or stop this change that leads us toward the end of our lives．

　　Many factors(因素)decide your health．A good diet plays an important role．The amount and type of exercise you get is another factor．Your living condition is yet another．But scientists studying aging problem want to know：Why do people grow old?They hope that by studying the aging medical science they may be able to make the length of life longer．

　　There is nothing to be afraid of as old age comes．Many consider the later part of life to be the best time for living．Physical activity may become less, but often you get better understanding of yourself and the world．

　　What we consider old age now may only be middle-aged some day soon．Who knows, with so many advances in medical science happening so quickly, life length may one day be measured in centuries, rather than in years!

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　　New Year and Its Celebrations(新年习俗)

　　January 1, the beginning of a New Year．

　　As far back in history as we can tell, people have celebrated(庆祝)the start of a New Year．The people of ancient Egypt began their New Year in summer．That is when the Nile River flooded its banks bringing water and fertility(肥沃)to the land．The people of ancient Babylon(巴比伦)and Persia(波斯)began their New Year on March 21, the first day of spring．And some native American Indians(美洲土著印第安人) began their New Year when the nuts of the oak(橡木)tree became ripe．That was usually in late summer．

　　Now almost everyone celebrates New Year's Day on January 1, the day as before people observed the New Year's holiday in many different ways．The ancient Babylonains celebrated it by forcing their king to give up his crown(王冠)and royal(皇家)clothing．They made him get down on his knees and admit all the mistakes he had made during the past year．This idea of admitting wrongs and finishing the business of the old year is found in many societies at new year．

　　So is the idea of making resolutions(决定)．The resolution is a promise to change your ways, to stop smoking, for example, or to get more physical exercise．

　　Noise making is another ancient custom at the New Year．The noise is considered necessary to chase away(赶走)the evil(邪恶)spirits of the old year．People around the world do different things to make a lot of noise．They may hit sticks together, beat on drums(鼓)，blow horns(号)，or explode fire-works(烟火)．

　　Americans celebrate the New Year in many ways．Most do not have to go to work or school．So they visit family and friends, attend church services, share a holiday meal, or watch New Year's parades(游行)on television．Most years university teams play in special holiday games．For those who have been busy at work or school, new year may be a day of rest．They spend the time thinking about and preparing for the demands of the New Year．

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　　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 an opportunity 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 symbolizes a living mother．A white one shows that the mother is dead．Many people attend religious services to honor parents．It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery(公墓)．On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants．They often have outdoor barbecues 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, telephone companies, another stores do lot off business during these holidays．

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阅读理解

　　The First of May is a Bank Holiday－the first public holiday of the year in England．

　　Most people consider it a special day, the beginning of summer, a day when the light lasts long into the evening, and when we can look for warm weather．We don't always get it．We feel disappointed, but not surprised if there are cold winds and frosts at night in May．Winter should be over．Most people know that in the past, when farming occupied almost everyone, the changing seasons were of great importance．In that older time there was every reason to celebrate May Day．Customs of those celebrations remain．

　　Of these customs, the best known is the choosing of a May Queen and the dancing round Maypole．Even these customs are little more than memories now－but in the last century it was quite common in villages and small towns, and even in schools and colleges, for a pretty and popular girl to be chosen Queen of the May．It was a great honour to be chosen．For a day she wore a light and flowery dress, carried garlands(花环)，and was ceremonially crowned with flowers．She presided over a procession, as a rule with a number of attendants, and over the Maypole dancing and all kinds of entertainment．The Maypole was slender(苗条的)tree trunk, cut off its branches, with beautiful ribbons fastened to the top．The dancing was designed in such a way that the dancer's movements move the ribbons into a pattern．This, as you can imagine, required skill from the dancer, and was not achieved without practice．

　　It's the Celtic(凯尔特的)people who celebrated the First of May as a spring festival．Their celebration seems to have had little to do with taking pleasure in early, beautiful flowers and in warmer weather!They called it Beltane－the fire of the god Bel．They lit fires, in the expectation that their blaze would help the sun in its struggle to regain its strength．They drove their cattle between banks of flame in the expectation that the terrified beasts would be purified(净化)and protected from disease．A tree, which must have been blackened with smoke, stood in the middle of the fires, and is thought to have been the origin of the Maypole．Their priests(牧师)made sacrifices to the goods in the hope of good harvests and sufficient store of food for the winter．There was dancing certainly, but it was noisy and cheerful, since its purpose was not to weave a pattern of colored ribbons, but to drive out evil spirits from the earth and to arouse those kind spirits．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Friends play a very important part in everyone's life．Friendship usually develops during childhood．New friends are made when you progress through school．Those friends that you make as a student can usually last long．Friends influence your development, maturity(成熟)and sense of responsibility(责任)．A familiar expression is“You can tell a lot about a person by knowing who his friends are．”Friendship is based on common interests．If you like sports, most of your friends are likely to be athletic(竞技的)．If you enjoy reading and shopping, most of your friends do the same．

　　Some people call you their friends for the wrong reasons．These people are not really friends．They are superficial(表面的)only“friends”on the outside, not the inside where it counts．Superficial friends only want to be your friends if it is to their advantage．True friends are there whether you are rich or poor．It is easy to have many so-called“friends”if you are rich．By this time you should be able to separate your friends into the real or the“phoney”．

　　True friends are most special．They are also difficult to find．You can consider yourself very lucky if you have one true friend．This friend is eager to help you whenever necessary．He or she knows you would do the same for them．A true friend is someone you can talk to about any subject or problem．You and your true friend have good understanding of each other．True friends support you, take your side, and build up your confidence．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Joe Bloggs always had a cigarette on his lips．He smoked while he read, while he looked at the television, and while he drank a cup of coffee．He smoked forty cigarettes a day, but he was happy．

　　Joe's friend, Fred Brown, said to him, “It is very bad to smoke．”When Joe heard this, he started to worry and became thin．So he did not buy any more cigarettes．He became so thin he went to Fred for help．

　　Fred said, “You must eat more．”So Joe did not smoke, but he ate chocolate, and he became very fat．Again he went to Fred for help．

　　Fred said．“You must not eat chocolate．”So Joe stopped eating chocolate, but he went back to smoking cigarettes．He became thin again but he was not happy,

because he still smoked．

　　Sometimes Joe Bloggs wished Fred Brown was not his friend!

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