天使之城结局-关于汶川地震的作文

Passage 1 Professor Bumble
Professor Bumble is not only absent-minded but short-sighted as well. His mind is always busy
with learned thoughts and he seldom notices what is going on around him.
On a fine day recently he went for a walk in the countryside. But as always he read the book as he
walked. He hadn't gone far when he ran into a large cow and fell down. He had lost his
spectacles in the fall, and he thought he had stumbled over a fat lady. beg your pardon,
madam,，he
realized his mistake.
Soon he was concentrating on his book again and paying no attention to anything else. He had
scarcely been walking for five minutes when he fell over again, losing both his book and his
glasses. This time he became very angry. Seizing his umbrellas, he struck the
Then, after finding his glasses, he realized with horror that he had made a second mistake. A
large fat woman was running away from him in terror.
Passage 2 Teamwork
Teamwork is just as important in science as it is on the playing field or in the gym. Scientific
investigations are almost always carried out by teams of people working together. Ideas are
shared, experiments are designed, data are analyzed, and results are evaluated and shared with
other investigators. Group work is necessary and is usually more productive than working alone.
Several times throughout the year you may be asked to work with one or more of your classmates.
Whatever the task your group is assigned, a few rules need to be followed to ensure a productive
and successful experience
What comes first is to keep an open mindbecause everyone's ideas deserve consideration and
each group member can make his or her own contribution. Secondly, it makes a job easier to
divide the group task among all group members. Thirdly, always work together, take turns, and
encourage each other by listening, clarifying and trusting one another. Mutual support and trust
often make a great difference.
Passage 3 Mistakes Are Good Teachers
After the birth of my second child, I got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an experienced
waitress for a few days, I was allowed to wait tables on my own. When Saturday night came, I
was luckily given the tables not far from the kitchen. However, I still felt a little hard to carry the
heavy trays. So I moved slowly, minding every step. I remember how happy I was when I saw the
tray standing next the tables. It looked different from the one I was trained on. It had nice handles
which made it easier to move around. I was pleased with everything and began to believe I was a
natural at this job. Then, an old man came to me and said that was his wife’s walker. I stood frozen
as ice, but my face was on fire. Since then, I have learned to be more careful and not to be too sure
of myself.
Passage 4 Time Has the Power to Change Attitude
Last week, my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home.
My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work
and family but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young
adult, I feared him and felt bitter about him.
On the first day of my visit, we did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my
son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical air and strict rules. Who was this
person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around?

The next day, my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his
own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closet to
him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father.
Passage 5 Experiences Speak
There are many different ways of seeing a town for the first time. One of them is to walk around it,
guidebook in hand. Of course, we may study with our guidebooks the history and special
developments of a town and get to know them. But then, if we take out time and stay in a town for
a while, we may get to know it better. When we look it as a whole, we begin to have some
questions, which even the best guidebooks do not answer. Why is the town just like this, this shape,
this plan, this size?
Here even the best guide-book fails us. We can’t find in it the information about how a town has
developed to the present appearance. However, we may get some idea of what it used to look like
by walking around the town. A personal visit to a town may help one better understand why it is
attractive than just reading about it in a guidebook.
Passage 6 Representatives of Civilization: Pottery
Ancient people made clay pottery because they needed it for their survival. They used the pots
they made for cooking, storing food, and carrying things from place to place. Pottery was so
important to early cultures that scientists now study it to learn more about ancient civilizations.
The more advanced the pottery in terms of decoration, materials, glazes and manufacture, the
more advanced the culture itself. The artisan who makes pottery in North America today utilizes
his or her skill and imagination to create items that are beautiful as well as al, transforming
something ordinary into something special and unique. The potter uses one of the Earth's most
basic materials, clay. Clay can be found almost anywhere. Good pottery clay must be free from all
small stones and other hard materials that would make the potting process difficult. The most
important tools potters use are their own hands; however, they also use wire loop tools, wooden
modeling tools, plain wire, and sponges.
Passage 7 Words Can Make a Difference
On August 26, 1999, New York City was struck by a terrible rainstorm during the morning rush
hour that caused the streets to flood.
Many people who were going to work were forced to go home. Some battled to call a taxi, get a
bus or walk miles to get to work. I soon discovered most of the subway lines had stopped service.
I finally found an operating line, but there were so many people that I couldn’t initially get to the
platform. Finally, I got to my office, wet through, and exhausted.
After an unenjoyably day, Garth, my Director, sent an e-mail to everyone:
“Thanks to everyone who reported to work. It is always reassuring when employees show their
devotion to their jobs. Thank you.”
Garth’s email was short，but welcomed. It made me realize that even when times are tough, a
few words can make a big difference.
Passage 8 Fairy Tales
Tales of the supernatural are common in all parts of Britain. In particular, there was a belief in
fairies. Not all of these fairies are the friendly, people-loving sprites that appear in Disney films,
and in some folktales they are cruel and cause much human suffering. This is true in the tales
about the Changeling. These tell the story of a mother whose baby grows sick and pale and has
changed so much that it is almost unrecognizable to the parents. It was then feared that the fairies

had come and stolen the baby away and replaced the human baby with a fairy Changeling. In
those cases there was often a way to get the real baby back. You could place the Changeling on the
fire--then it would rise up the chimney, and you would hear the sound of fairies’ laughter and soon
after you would find your own child safe and sound nearby.
Passage 9 Self-Image
Self-image is your own mind’s picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way
you act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our self- images are often quite
different from the images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more
negative than they should be. Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to
changing your self- image and your whole world.
It might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can’t move past one flaw
or weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as
your primary task. The best way to get rid of a negative serf-image is to realize that your image
is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the
way you think and working on those, you will go a long way towards promoting a positive
self-image.
Passage 10 Shopaholics
The word addiction usually makes you think of alcohol or drugs, but in modern-day society we are
seeing some new kinds of addictions. Some people are compulsive shoppers. Others find it
impossible to pull themselves away from their work. Still others spend countless hours watching
TV or playing computer games.
Over the years, shopping has become a very common activity. Many people enjoy going to malls
or stores more and more every day, but it’s more than a common hobby for some of them. They
have turned into shopaholics. They are people who simply enjoy shopping and walking around
spending money without being able to stop doing it. They are hooked on shopping and usually buy
things that they don’t need. Even though they don’t have enough money, they buy everything they
want.
Why do they have this addiction? There isn’t a specific answer. Some people go shopping when
they are sad, worried, upset or lonely. Some even tend to have this addiction when they feel
guilty.
Passage 11 Time Management
Time is something from which we can’t escape. Even if we ignore it, it’s still going by, ticking
away, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. So the main issue in using your time
well is, “Who’s in charge?” We can allow time to slip by and let it be our enemy. Or we can take
control of it and make it our ally.
By taking control of how you spend your time, you’ll increase your chances of becoming a more
successful student. Perhaps more importantly, the better you are at managing the time you devote
to your studies, the more time you will have to spend on your outside interests.
The aim of time management is not to schedule every moment so we become slaves of a
timetable that governs every waking moment of the day. Instead, the aim is to make informed
choices as to how we use our time.
Passage 12 Charity Shops
The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at
very good prices. You can get things you won't find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best

about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven
companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.
Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager
who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public.
The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more
than ￡110 million a year, funding medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor
children, homeless and disabled people, and much more.
Passage 13 Passive Learning
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively. We achieve it actively by direct experience,
by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning. We achieve knowledge passively by being told by
someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens
when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive
learning, it's not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and
co- workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told
even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor.
That's what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words
changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own
creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping it with their own personal style. Yet
those who hear it think they know.
Passage 14 Different “Styles” of Directions
I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask ”How can I get to the
post office?”
In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the
Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go
past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions
and distances. For example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another
mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in
time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five
minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
Passage 15 Rain Forests
Rainforests are the lungs of the planet – storing vast quantities of carbon dioxide and producing a
significant amount of the world’s oxygen. Rainforests have their own perfect system for ensuring
their own survival; the tall trees make a canopy of branches and leaves which protect themselves,
smaller plants, and the forest animals from heavy rain, intense dry heat from the sun and strong
winds.
Amazingly, the trees grow in such a way that their leaves and branches, although close together,
never actually touch those of another tree. Scientists think this is a deliberate tactic to prevent the
spread of any tree diseases and make life more difficult for leaf-eating insects.
They are not called rainforests for nothing! Rainforests can generate 75% of their own rain. At
least 80 inches of rain a year is normal – and in some areas there may be as much as 430 inches of
rain annually. This is real rain. In just two hours, streams can rise ten to twenty feet.

Passage 16 Juana Lopez’s Invention
One day, Juana Lopez had an idea for a dish washing machine that worked without using water.
She went to see several dish washer manufacturers about producing the machine, but none of them
were interested. Joanna found investors to support her idea and founded her own production
company. She spent millions of dollars on developing her dish washer, and it was lunched three
years later. From then on, sales were very good, better even than Joanna had hopped. But Global
Domestic, one of the companies that she has been to, made its own waterless dish washer. Joanna
obtained one and found they use the technical ideas she had developed. She had obtained legal
protection for these ideas so that other companies could not use them. After a long legal process,
glob domestic was forced to stop making its competing dish washer and to pay Joanna several
million dollars. Now Joanna’s waterless dish washer has 40℅of the worldwide dish washer
market, and this is increasing every year.
Passage 17 Rising Sea Level
Latest research predicts that the global sea level is expected to rise 9 to 88 centimeters by 2100,
with a “best estimate” of 50 centimeters. This is due to global warming which is causing the ice
caps to melt.
This great rise of close to one meter would threaten huge areas of low-lying coastal land as well as
major cities such as London, New York and Tokyo.
In many places, 50 centimeters would see entire beaches being washed away. On low-lying pacific
islands, the highest point is only two or three meters above the current sea level. If the sea level
was to rise by 50 centimeters, big parts of these islands would disappear under the water. Even if
they remain above the sea, many island nations will have their supplies of drinking water reduced
because sea water will pollute their freshwater.
There are also tens of millions of people living in low- level coastal areas of southern Asia, such as
the coastline of Pakistan and India, who would be in danger.
Passage 18 What Is a Father?
A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. He growls when he
feels good and laughs very loud when he is scared half-to-death.
A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He is never quite the hero his
daughter thinks. Never quite the man his son believes him to be. And this worries him sometimes.
A father is a person who goes to war sometimes and would run the other way except that war is
part of an important job in his life, which is making the world better for his children than it has
been for him.
I don’t know there father goes when he dies, but I’ve an idea that, after a good rest, where it is he
won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be busy
there too repairing the stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.
Passage 19 Little Boy’s Big Idea
The Intellectual Property Owner Association (IPO) is running a project to encourage young
inventors. Samuel Houghton, a five-year-old boy has become the youngest Briton to hold a patent
after watching his father struggling in the garden. Samuel developed a garden tool after watching
his father Mark use two brushes to sweep up leaves outside their house. His father used a large
brush to gather leaves and small branches, and then got a small brush to pick up what was left.
Samuel came up with the idea for a labor-saving tool, which has been patented and named the
Improved Broom.

It is a simple idea that combines two ordinary brooms with different-sized bristles and brush-heads
to enable different-sized dirt to be swept up more efficiently. “The small one gets the first bits and
the one at the back gets those left behind, Samuel explains.
The IPO says that Samuel is its youngest known patent holder.
Passage 20 Cultural Differences
Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. Different cultures emphasize the importance
of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is
not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend
a lot of time in
In many European countries—like the UK or France—people find it easier to build up a lasting
working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English
and German cultures share similar value; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more
quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and
makes decision more quickly.
Passage 21 Stress
Stress is what you feel when you react to pressure, either from the outside world or from inside
yourself. Stress is a normal reaction for people of all ages.
Most people think that pressure is always a bad thing. In fact, a little bit of stress is good. Without
stress, most of us couldn’t push ourselves to do well, especially in difficult things.
People usually complain about feeling pressed for time when they are under certain pressure. It is
true that you can’t always control the things that are stressing you out, but you can control how
you react to them. The way you feel about things results from the way you think about things. If
you change how you think, you can change the way you feel. Try the following tips to deal with
your stress:
Make a list of the things that are causing your stress.
Give yourself an excuse.
Don't promise to do things you can't do or don't want to do.
Find someone to talk to.
Passage 22 Love is a telephone
Love is a telephone which is always silent when you are hoping for a call, but rings when you are
not ready for it. As a result, we often miss the love coming from the other end.
Love is a telephone which is seldom program-controlled or directly dialed. You cannot get an
immediate answer with a simple “hello”, let alone go deep into your lover’s heart with one call.
Usually it has to be relayed by an operator, and you have to wait patiently.
Love is a telephone that is always busy. When you are ready to dial for love, you only find, to your
disappointment, the line is already being used by someone else.
Love is a telephone, but it is difficult to know when to dial. You will miss the opportunity if your
call is either too early or too late.
Passage 23 Jealousy
The experience of jealousy varies enormously from age to age, from culture to culture, from
couple to couple, from person to person, and can be different within the same person from time to
time. In the United States, there has been a change of attitude toward jealousy in recent years.
“Normal” jealousy, which has been seen as an inevitable accompaniment of love and support of

marriage, has come to be seen by some as evidence of personal insecurity and weakness in the
relationship, and therefore a threat to the partnership.
Most jealous flashes come from feeling left out of an activity involving your partner and another
person or other people. When your partner pays attention to another, your first reaction is to note
that they are “in” and you are “out”. You feel excluded, ignored, unappreciated.
This kind of experience is not uncommon, and dealing with it gracefully is part of the etiquette of
our time.
Passage 24 Differences Between Television and Radio Announcers
When television first began to expand, very few of people who had become famous as radio
announcers were able to be equally effective on television. Some of the difficulties they
experienced when they were trying to adapt themselves to the new medium were technical. When
working on radio, for example, they had become accustomed to seeing on behalf of the listener.
This art of seeing for others means that the commentator has to be very good at talking.
In the case of television, however, the announcer sees everything with the viewer. His role,
therefore, is completely different. He is there to make sure that the viewer does not miss some
point of interest, to help him focus on particular things, and to help him understand the images on
the television screen. Unlike his radio colleague, he must know the value of silence and how to
use it, at those moments when the pictures speak for themselves.
Passage 25 The African Elephant
The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African
ecosystem. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna surroundings in which it
lives, setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an
important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have
every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in
numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the
African savannas.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the
elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of
forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.
Passage 26 Operations on the Brain
It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain
lives for only three to five minutes.
Dr. White thinks doctors should try to make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can
live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctors a longer time to do something for the
brain.
Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs. Then he operated
on them. He made the monkeys' blood go through a machine which cooled the blood, and then
sent the blood back to the monkeys' brains. When the brain temperature was 50 degrees, Dr. White
stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the
blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they were before. They were healthy
and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them.
Passage 27 Depression
The dictionary describes depression as the state of feeling very sad, anxious and hopeless. The

question here is why one gets depressed. Is it the inability to deal with the situation or the high
stress levels that come with success or failure?
Life is full of twists and turns. Some are pleasant and some are not so pleasant, and sometimes
even terrible. No one has a lack of problems in his or her life. Everyone has a personal set of
problems.
Even the people who constantly have a smile on their faces have problems. The only difference is
that they know how to deal with the problems and smile about the fact that they can overcome
them.
Seasonal changes are the main reason for depression in nature. Change is unavoidable. It may
happen in nature or in life, but the way the change makes us feel is subjective1. They differ from
person to person, along with the ways we deal with them.
Feeling depression is a normal phenomenon2, but letting it overtake3 us completely is not the best
thing. There are no specific rules or concepts to deal with it. Whatever way a person feels is the
best way to deal with it should be adopted, but be sure it will not hurt another person.
Passage 28 White Noise
There are different kinds of noise with distinct frequencies that are classified by color，namely:
white noise, pink noise, brown noise, blue noise, and gray noise. Below is an overview of white
noise.
Generally speaking, white noise is a part of the full scale of sound frequencies a human ear can
recognize. White noise is a mixture of sound frequencies in equal levels. It is a very quiet sound
that is relaxing and pleasant to the ears of anyone. A number of people say that it is similar to the
sound of the rain or the ocean waves.
White noise offers countless benefits. The noise comes in different forms that serve different
purposes. Some white noise works better than others for particular uses. Some people may find
some white noise sounds more pleasing than others. Moreover, white noise is said to have a more
calming effect than music does.
Passage 29 Cell Phone
Nowadays, with the rapid development of IT and information industry, cell phones play a
dominant role in people’s life. On the one hand, the mobile phone is portable and convenient.
Being wireless, you can carry them everywhere with great ease. You can reach a person
wherever and however far away he is. On the other hand, it is a friend indeed. Whenever you
come across trouble, you can call for help immediately.
However, just as every coin has two sides, the cell phone also has its many disadvantages. Some
people complain that mobile phones give unpleasant noise on some important occasions when the
owner forgets to turn them off. And it also cuts into people’s spare time, because with the mobile
phone the boss can easily reach them and call them to duty during their spare time. Worst of all,
the electromagnetic wave emitted from the phone is said to be harmful to people’s health and
does often cause headaches to the owner.
Passage 30 Facing the Enemies Within
We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of your fears are
brought on by your own experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you’ve read in the
papers. Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy your ambitions, fortunes, relationships,
and even life.
Another enemy we face is indecision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will

steal your chances for a better future.
The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure you can’t believe everything. But don’t let doubt take over
you. It will destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty both your bank account
and your heart.
Also, there are indifference, worry and over caution that you should do battle with. Be courageous
in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.
Passage 31 The tower of London
In 1078, King William began to build a large stone building on the north bank of the Thames
River and named it the Tower of London. The tower was finished 20 years later.
Around 1240, King Henry III made it his home. He painted the tower white, and widened the
grounds to include a church, a great hall and other buildings.
In 1381, Richard II became King of England. A group of farmers attacked the tower. In the end,
Richard was forced to give up his power to Henry IV.
Queen Elizabeth was held prisoner in the tower for two months by Queen Mary, her half-sister.
She was set free on May 19, 1554, and in 1558 became the Queen of England.
In I603, part of the tower became a museum. A lot of royal jewels were kept in the tower for
visitors to see. The tower has been a place of interest in London ever since. (158 words)
Passage 32 Can’t

strong spirits have been broken by it. It springs from the lips of thoughtless people each morning
and robs us of the courage we need that day. It rings in our ears like a timely sent warning and
laughs when we fall by the way.
It weakens the
efforts of clever craftsmen, and makes people work less. It poisons the soul of a person with an
illusion.
It laughs at people's hopes and dreams.
Whatever the goal you are seeking, keep trying, and answer by saying, can!is the
enemy that is ready to ruin your will. It will only give way to courage, patience and skill. Treat it
with strong and continuous hate, for once it is welcomed it can break any man. (160 words)
Passage 33 The First Music Road in the U. S.
In the city of Lancaster, there is a wonderful road that can play music. Due to its special design,
when cars drive on it, the road will produce beautiful notes.
This road is believed to be the first music road in the U.S.. Citizens have different attitudes
towards it. Some of them live near the road. They complain that the road is so noisy that it keeps
them awake. But there are still many local people who are in favor of the road.
and you didn't know what to happen. When I got to the end, I was smiling from ear to ear,
old driver. In addition, the city has received hundreds of calls praising the road.
The road has become a tourist attraction and the city has decided to recreate the road in an
industrial area away from homes. (146 words)
Passage 34 Easter
Easter is a festival that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A Sunday between March 22
and April 25 is called Easter Sunday. People eat some cakes during this festival. They also give
colorful eggs to each other. It is said that the Earth came from an egg. In England, people write
messages and dates on their eggs and give them to friends or loved ones.

A rabbit called the Easter Bunny visits children on Easter Sunday. He often leaves some candy and
eggs. So on Easter Sunday morning, children always get up early to find these candy and eggs all
around the house. In fact, it is their parents who buy them candy and hide their eggs.
The story of the Easter Bunny’s visit comes from Germany. The story goes that a poor woman hid
eggs for her children to find. At the moment they found them, they looked up to see a big rabbit
running away.
Passage 35 Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder affecting an estimated 10 percent of all humans at least once in
their lives. It is far more common in kids than in adults, as most sleepwalkers outgrow it by the
early teen years. It may run in families. So if you or your partner are or were sleepwalkers, your
child may be too. Other factors that may bring on sleepwalking include lack of sleep, irregular
sleep schedules, illness or fever, and stress.
Of course, getting out of bed and walking around while still sleeping is the most obvious
sleepwalking symptom. But young sleepwalkers may also sleep talk. Also, sleepwalkers’ eyes are
open, but they are not awake and may not realize what they’re doing. It’s hard to wake them up.
Sleepwalking is not usually a sign that something is emotionally or psychologically wrong with a
child. And it doesn't cause any emotional harm. They probably won't even remember the nighttime
stroll.
Passage 36 Why Are Some People Left-handed?
Why is a mere 4% of the population left-handed? Most authorities agree, to the relief of many a
mother of a left-handed child, that if the child prefers using the left hand, and functions well with
it. There is no need to correct this
One theory centers on the two halves of the brain, each of which functions differently. Medical
science believes that the opposite sides of the body are supplied by the opposite sides of the brain.
The predominant left half of the brain, which controls the right half of the body, makes it more
skillful in reading, writing and speaking, and makes most people right-handed.
are the product of an inversion. They also work best with the left side of their bodies.
There is no doubt that all exist in a
96%. But don't forget many of the greatest geniuses are left- handed, including Leonardo da Vinci.
(159 words)
Passage 37 Summon Up Courage
There were two men who both decided to get a horse for riding. One man found a red horse with
much spirit while the other chose one more docile. The two men would go riding together every
day. It so happened that one day on the route, there was a ditch about eight or nine feet wide.
When coming up to this ditch, the red horse was quick to respond and jumped it with no difficulty.
Yet the more docile horse would shrink every time it came to the edge. It would stand on the edge,
shaking. Then after a while, coming up to the ditch and watching its companion jump it easily,
something happened within it—an idea was born that it could too. So it smoothly jumped over the
obstacle.
Life is much like what happened to the two horses. It all comes to a choice whether we look for
the spirit within or just stand on the edge and shrink. (162 words)
Passage 38 A Burden You Don’t Deserve
It's easy to blame someone else for your troubles. Yet, when you're truly honest with yourself, it's
clear that blaming others will not add the slightest bit of value to your life.

To move your life in the direction you choose to go, you must be willing to take full responsibility
for it. That means you must accept that things are not always going to be fair.
Perhaps life has given you a burden you don't deserve. Instead of seeing that as an excuse to give
up, see it as an opportunity to give more.
Though you may not have brought your troubles upon yourself, you can still make positive use of
them. Choose to take full responsibility for your own situation, and you'll begin to see how you
can rise from it to a level that's higher than ever before.
Real success does not result from everything going perfectly. Real success comes when you're
willing to move forward no matter what may happen. (164 words)
Passage 39 Culture
Living in a new country means experiencing a different way of life. This is very exciting and
interesting! But it can also be a little challenging at times, because the cultures of all countries are
unique.
Culture is like an iceberg. You can see some parts of an iceberg—just like you can see some parts
of a country's culture when you visit it. For example, you can see different ways of greeting
people, hear different languages and observe different festivals and customs. However, a much
bigger part of every iceberg is hidden under water. Even though this part of the iceberg is hard to
see, it is very important— without it, the iceberg would not exist. The same is true of culture.
There are many aspects of it which you cannot see when you visit a different country, for example,
the nature of friendship and the importance of time. It will take a long time to understand those
values and beliefs. (162 words)
Passage 40 Benjamin Franklin
Franklin's life is full of charming stories which all young men should know— how he sold books
in Boston, and became the guest of kings in Europe; how he was made Major General Franklin,
only to quit because as he said, he was no soldier, and yet helped to organize the army that stood
before the trained troops of England and Germany.
This poor Boston boy, without a day's schooling, became master of six languages and never
stopped studying; this neglected apprentice conquered the lightning, made his name famous,
received degrees and diplomas from many colleges, and became forever remembered as
Franklin
He built America, for what America is today is largely due to the management, the forethought,
the wisdom, and the ability of Benjamin Franklin. He belongs to the world, but especially he
belongs to America. (144 words)
Passage 41 Light Pollution
We usually think of pollution as a harmful waste substance that threatens the air and water. But
some people have become concerned about another kind of pollution. It can be everywhere,
depending on the time of day. And it is not thought of as a substance. It is light.
The idea of light pollution has developed with the increase of lights in cities. In many areas, this
light makes it difficult or impossible to observe stars and planets in the night sky. Light pollution
threatens to reduce the scientific value of research telescopes.
Light pollution is the result of wasted energy. Bright light that shines into the sky is not being used
to provide light where it is needed on Earth. Lights that are brighter than necessary also cause light
pollution. Recently, two Italian astronomers and an American environmental scientist created a
world map of the night sky. The map shows that North America, Western Europe and Japan have

the greatest amount of light pollution. (165 words)
Passage 42 Monkeys That Eat Less Live Longer
A study of monkeys over a twenty- year period suggests that eating less may extend life and
prevent disease. American researchers said they believe their findings could apply to people as
well.
Half of the monkeys were permitted to eat as much as they wanted. The other half ate a controlled
diet.
The researchers found that thirty-seven percent of the monkeys that ate as much as they wanted
had died of causes related to aging after twenty years. In comparison, only thirteen percent of the
monkeys on restricted diets had died.
Extended life was not the only observable difference between the two groups. The monkeys that
ate less bad half the amount of heart disease and cancer.
In addition, there is also a difference in the appearance. The monkeys that ale less look younger
and healthier than fatter monkeys on a normal diet.
The researchers say this study is not complete and that they will continue to observe the remaining
monkeys throughout their lives. (163 words)
Passage 43 Dangerous Lead-based Faint Common Around me World
A new study shows that lead- based paint remains a worldwide threat to public health. Paint
containing lead is a major cause of lead poisoning in children.
The heavy metal enters the body when children breathe the paint dust or fumes in the air. Or when
babies put their mouth on painted surfaces or swallow pieces of paint.
Lead can damage the brain and the nervous system. It can decrease intelligence* create behavior
problems and slow a child's growth.
Researchers tested new household paints from twelve countries in Africa, Asia and South America.
The paints were sold under different brand names. The study found that almost three-fourths of the
brands had dangerously high levels of lead.
The professor says high quality paint can be produced without lead. He and his team are calling
for a worldwide ban on lead-based paint. He says many parts of the world are doing too little to
correct the problem of lead poisoning in children. He notes that research has found no safe level of
lead. (171 words)
Passage 44 Expressions That Are Old and True
A proverb is a short, well-known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Many proverbs
give advice about how to live.
For example, my son is just like his father in many ways. We often say the two of them prove the
proverb that the apple does not fall far from the tree.
My daughter is very short. She would like to be taller. But I tell her that good things come in small
packages，like diamonds and other jewels. Also, I tell them do not judge a book by its cover. Do
not be fooled by appearances.
Another proverb is, do not bite off more than you can chew. This means do not try to do more than
you are able to do.
Finally, I always like this proverb: You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Honey
is sweet while vinegar is not. In other words, you can win people to your side more easily with
gentle persuasion than by hostile actions.
Passage 45 Death Valley: A Beautiful but Dangerous Place

Death Valley is a land of beautiful but dangerous extremes. There are mountains that reach more
than three thousand meters into the sky. There is a place called Badwater that is the lowest area of
land in the Western Hemisphere. If there were water there, it would be eighty-six meters below the
level of the ocean.
Death Valley can be dangerously cold during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can
produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley. The extreme heat in summer has killed people
in the past. It will continue to kill those who do not honor this extreme climate. Death Valley does
not forgive those who are not careful.
It is a good example of the violence of nature. However t it would be wrong to think that nothing
lives there. The Valley is full of life. Wild flowers grow very quickly after a little rain. Birds,
snakes and other animals always enjoy their stay. (159 words)
Passage 46 Death Valley: the Coming of the Name
The area was named by a woman in 1849. That was the year after gold was discovered in
California. Thousands of people from other parts of the country traveled to the gold mining areas
in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did.
Many people were not careful. They made bad choices or wrong decisions. One group trying to
reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December, they had
reached Death Valley. They did not have to survive the terrible heat of summer, but there was still
an extreme lack of water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat.
The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains. Gradually, they began to suffer from a
lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the
Valley. As they left, one woman looked back and said,
never been changed. (169 words)
Passage 47 An Old Saying
Today we explain a very old saying that has had a big influence on rock-and-roll music. That
saying is a rolling stone gathers no moss. It has several meanings. One meaning is that a person
who never settles down in one place will not be successful. Another is that someone who is always
moving, with no roots in one place, avoids responsibilities.
This proverb was said to be first used in the 1500s. But in the 1960s, the expression rolling stone
became famous in the world of rock-and-roll music. It became the name of a rock group, a song
and a magazine.
Experts say it all started with a song by the American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. He was
one of the country's top blues musicians until his death in 1983. His music influenced singers like
Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. In 1950, Muddy Waters recorded a song called Stone.
(152 words)
Passage 48 Study Finds More Trees on Farms Than Was Thought
Farmers, especially in developing countries, are often criticized for cutting down forests. But a
new study suggests that many farmers recognize the value in keeping trees.
Researchers using satellite images found at least ten percent tree cover on more than one billion
hectares of farmland. That is almost half the farmland in the world.
Earlier estimates were much lower but incomplete. The authors of the new study say it may still
underestimate the true extent worldwide.
The study found that climate conditions alone could not explain the amount of tree cover in
different areas. Nor could the size of nearby populations, meaning people and trees can live

together.
There are areas with few trees but also few people, and areas with many trees and many people.
The findings suggest that things like land rights, markets or government policies can influence tree
planting and protection. (144 words)
Passage 49 Going Digital: California's Textbook Project
California approves traditional textbooks in six-year cycles. Digital ones can offer the latest
information. They lighten the load of school bags. They save paper and trees, and make learning
more fun and interactive. And lastly they help schools with their finances.
The state has had to make severe cuts in school spending because of deep financial problems.
More than six million students attend California public schools.
Earlier this year, California invited content developers to offer digital math and science materials
for high schools. These had to meet at least ninety percent of the state's learning requirements.
Specially trained teachers examined sixteen textbooks and approved ten of them.
School administrators point out that the texts may be free online, but students need a way to access
them. Not everyone has a computer or electronic reader. Schools could print out copies, but that
would not help the environment. Also, there is the cost to train teachers to use digital textbooks
effectively. (165 words)
Passage 50 American and British English
Language experts say that spoken English was almost the same in the American colonies and
Britain. Americans began to change the sound of their speech after the Revolutionary War in 1776.
They wanted to separate themselves from the British in language as they had separated themselves
from the British government. Webster published The American Dictionary of the English
Language in 1828. It established rules for speaking and spelling the words used in American
English.
The different languages of the immigrants who came to the United States also helped make
American English different from British English. Many foreign words and expressions became
part of English as Americans speak it. Sometimes Americans and British people do not understand
each other because of different word meanings. For example, a in America is a

these differences led British writer George Bernard Shaw to joke that Britain and America are two
countries separated by the same language. (170 words)
Passage 51 Town and Country Life in England
There is a big difference between town life and country life in England. In the country, everybody
knows everybody else. They know what time you get up, what time you go to bed and what you
have for dinner. If you want help, you will always get it and you will be glad to help others.
In a large town like London, however, it can sometimes happen that you have never seen your
next door neighbor and you do not know his name or anything about him. People in London are
often very lonely. This is because people go to different places in the evenings and at weekends. If
you walk through the streets in the centre of London on Sunday, it is like a town without people.
One is sorry for old people living on their own. They could die in their homes and would not be
discovered for weeks or even months.
Passage 52 A Change in Women’s Life
The important change in women’s life-pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on
women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity,

and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once
and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after
that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least
until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or
part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband
accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life and with both husband and
wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the
abilities and interests of each of them.
Passage 53 A Popular Pastime of the English People
One of the best means of understanding the people of any nation is watching what they do with
their non-working time.
Most English men, women and children love growing things, especially flowers. Visitors to
England in spring, summer or autumn are likely to see gardens all the way along the railway lines.
There are flowers at the airports and flowers in factory grounds, as well as in gardens along the
roads. Each English town has at least one park with beautifully kept flower beds. Public buildings
of every kind have brilliant window boxes and sometimes baskets of flowers are hanging on them.
But what the English enjoy most is growing things themselves. If it is impossible to have a garden,
then a window box or something growing in a pot will do. Looking at each other’s gardens is a
popular pastime with the English.
Passage 54 British and American Police Officers
Real policemen, both in Britain and the U.S., hardly recognize any common points between their
lives and what they se on TV—if they ever get home in time.
Some things are almost the same, of course, but the policemen do not think much of them much of
them.
The first difference is that a policeman’s real life deals with the law. Most of what he learns is the
law. He has to know actually what actions are against the law and what facts can be used to prove
them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a lawyer, and what’s more, he has to put it
into practice on his feet, in the dark and, running down a narrow street after someone he wants to
talk to.
Little of his time is spent in talking with beautiful girls or in bravely facing cruel criminals. He
will spend most of his working life arranging millions of words on thousands of fomp3s about
hundreds of sad, ordinary people who are guilty--- or not of stupid, unimportant crimes.
Passage 55 Living Space
How much living space does a person need? What happens when his space needs are not met?
Scientists are doing experiments on rats to try to detemp3ine the effects of overcrowded
conditions on man. Recent studies have shown that the behavior of rats is greatly affected by
space. If rats have enough living space, they eat well, sleep well and produce their young well. But
if their living conditions become too crowded, their behavior and even their health change
obviously. They cannot sleep and eat well, and signs of fear and worry become clear. The more
crowded they are, and more they tend to bite each other and even kill each other. Thus, for rats,
populations and violence are directly related. Is this a natural law for human society as well? Is
enough space not only satisfactory, but necessary for human survival? These are interesting
questions.
Passage 56 The United Nations

In 1945, representatives of 50 nations met to plan this organization. It was called the United
Nations. After the war, many more nations joined.
There are two major parts of the United Nations. One is called the General Assembly. In the
General Assembly, every member nation is represented and has an equal vote.
The second part is called the Security Council. It has representatives of just 15 nations. Five
nations are pemp3anent members: the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China. The 10
other members are elected every two years by the General Assembly.
The major job of the Security Council is to keep peace in the world. If necessary, it can send
troops from member nations to try to stop little wars before they turn into big ones.
It is hard to get the nations of the Security Council to agree on when this is necessary. But they did
vote to try to stop wars.
Passage 57 Plastic
We use plastic wrap to protect our foods. We put our garbage in plastic bags or plastic cans. We sit
on plastic chairs, play with plastic toys, drink from plastic cups, and wash our hair with shampoo
from plastic bottles!
Plastic does not grow in nature. It is made by mixing certain things together. We call it a produced
or manufactured material. Plastic was first made in the 1860s from plants, such as wood and
cotton. That plastic was soft and burned easily.
The first modern plastics were made in the 1930s. Most clear plastic starts out as thick, black oil.
That plastic coating inside a pan begins as natural gas.
Over the years, hundreds of different plastics have been developed. Some are hard and strong.
Some are soft and bendable. Some are clear. Some are many- colored. There is a plastic for almost
every need. Scientists continue to experiment with plastics. They hope to find even ways to use
them!
Passage 58 Display of Goods
Are supermarkets designed to persuade us to buy more?
Fresh fruit and vegetables are displayed near supemp3arket entrances. This gives the impression
that only healthy food is sold in the shop. Basic foods that everyone buys, like sugar and tea, are
not put near each other. They are kept in different aisles so customers are taken past other
attractive foods before they find what they want. In this way, shoppers are encouraged to buy
products that they do not really need.
Sweets are often placed at children’s eye level at the checkout. While parents are waiting to pay,
children reach for the sweets and put them in the trolley.
More is bought from a fifteen-foot display of one type of product than from a ten-foot one.
Customers also buy more when shelves are full than when they are half empty. They do not like to
buy from shelves with few products on them because they feel there is something wrong with
those products that are there.
Passage 59 Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was born in Gemp3any in 1879, His father owned a factory that made electrical
devices. His mother enjoyed music and books. His parents were Jewish but they did not observe
many of the religion’s rules. Albert was a quite child who spent much of his time alone. He was
slow to talk and had difficulty learning to read. When Albert was five years old, his father gave
him a compass. The child was filled with wonder when he discovered that the compass needle
always pointed in the same direction—to be north. He asked his father and his uncle what caused

the needle to move. Their answers about magnetism and gravity were difficult for the boy to
understand. Yet he spent a lot of time thinking about them. He said later that he felt something
hidden had to be behind things.
Passage 60 Private Cars
With the increase in the general standard of living, some ordinary Chinese families begin to afford
a car. Yet opinions of the development of a private car vary from person to person.
It gives a much greater degree of comfort and mobility. The owner of a car is no longer forced to
reply on public transport, and hence no irritation caused by waiting for buses or taxis. However,
others strongly object to developing private cars. They maintain that as more and more cars are
produced and run in the street, a large volume of poisonous gas will be given off, polluting the
atmosphere and causing actual hamp3 to the health of people.
Whether private cars should be developed in Chicago is a difficult question to answer, yet the
desire for the comfort and independence a private car can bring will not be eliminated.
Passage 61 A Henpecked Husband and His Wife
There was once a large, fat woman who had a small, thin husband. He had a job in a big company
and was given his weekly wages every Friday evening. As soon as he got home on Fridays, his
wife used to make him give her all his money, and then she used to give him back only enough to
buy his lunch in his company every day.
One day, the small man came home very excited. He hurried into the living-room. His wife was
listening to the radio and eating chocolates there.
“You will never guess what happened to me today, dear.” he said.
He waited for a few seconds and then added, “I won ten thousand dollars on the lottery!”
“That is wonderful! ” said his wife delightedly. But then she pulled a long face and added angrily,
“But how could you afford to buy the ticket?”
Passage 62 A Young Man’s Promise
One day, a young man was writing a letter to his girlfriend who lived just a few miles away in a
nearby town. He was telling her how much he loved her and how wonderful he thought she was.
The more he wrote the more poetic he became. Finally he said that in order to be with her, he
would suffer the greatest difficulties, he would face the greatest dangers that anyone couldn’t
imagine. In fact, to spend only one minute with her, he would swim across the widest river, he
would enter the deepest forest, and he would fight against the fiercest animals with his bare hands.
He finished the letter, signed his name and then suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to
mention something quite important. So, in a postscript below his name, he added:
“By the way, I’ll be over to see you on Wednesday night, if it doesn’t rain.”
Passage 63 A Kind Neighbor
Mr. and Mrs. Jones’ apartment was full of luggage, packages, furniture and boxes. Both of them
were very busy when they heard the doorbell ring. Mrs. Jones went to open it and she saw a
middle-aged lady outside. The lady said she lived next door. Mrs. Jones invited her to come in and
apologized because there was no place for her to sit. “Oh, that’s OK.” said the lady. “I just come to
welcome to your new home. As you know, in some parts of this city, neighbors are not friendly at
all. They are some apartment houses where people don’t know any of their neighbors, not even the
ones next door. But in this building, everyone is very friendly with everyone else. We are a big
happy family. I am sure you will be very happy here.” Mr. and Mrs. Jones said, “But madam, we
are not new dwellers in this apartment. We’ve lived here for two years. We are moving out

tomorrow.”
Passage 64 That Isn’t Our Fault
Mr. and Mrs. Williams got married when he was twenty-three, and she was twenty. Twenty-five
years later, they had a big party, and a photographer came and took some photographs of them.
Then the photographer gave Mrs. Williams a card and said, “They’ll be ready next Wednesday.
You can get them from studio.”
“No,” Mrs. Williams said, “Please send them to us.”
The photographs arrived a week later, but Mrs. Williams was not happy when she saw them. She
got into her car and drove to the photographer’s studio. She went inside and said angrily, “You
took some photographs of me and my husband last week, but I’m not going to pay for them.”
“Oh, why not?” the photographer asked.
“Because my husband looks like a monkey,” Mrs. Williams said.
“Well,” the photographer answered, “that isn’t our fault. Why didn’t you think of that before you
married him?”
Passage 65 A Guide's Answer
In 1861, the Civil War started in the United States between the Northern and the Southern states.
The war continued with great bitterness until 1865, when the Northerners were victorious.
However, even today, many Southerners have not forgotten their defeat, or forgiven the
Northerners.
A few years ago, a party of American tourists were going round one of the battlefields of the Civil
War with a guide who came from one of the Southern states. At each place, the guide told the
tourists stirring stories about how a few Southern soldiers had conquered powerful forces of
Northerners there.
At last, one of the tourists, a lady who came from the North, stopped the guide and said to him,
“ But surely that the Northern amp3y must have won at least one victory in the Civil War?”
“Not as long as I’m the guide here, madam,” answered the Southern guide.
Passage 66 A Qualified Pilot
The captain of a small ship had to go along a rocky coast, but he was unfamiliar with it, so he tried
to find a qualified pilot to guide him. He went ashore in one of the small ports, and a local
fishemp3an pretended that he was a pilot because he needed some money. The captain took him
on board and asked him where to steer the ship.
After half an hour, the captain began to suspect that the fishemp3an did not really know what he
was doing and where he was going.
“Are you sure you are a qualified pilot?” he asked.
“Oh, yes,” answered the fishemp3an. “I know every rock on this part of the coast.”
Suddenly there was a terrible crash from under the ship. At once the fishemp3an added, “And
that’s one of them.”
Passage 67 Living Things React
You and all organisms live an environment. An environment is made up of everything that
surrounds an organism. It can include the air, the water, the soil, and even other organisms.
An organism responds to changes in its environment. When an organism responds to a change, it
reacts in certain ways. All living things respond in some way.
Have you ever noticed how plants and insects respond to light? Plants bend toward light. Insects
fly toward light.

Living things also respond in other ways. The leaves on some trees respond to a change in season.
In autumn, they change colors and then fall off the branches Animals also respond to a change in
season. Squirrels save nuts for the winter. Bears sleep through the winter in a cave.
You respond to your environment in many ways, too. You may shiver if you are cold. What other
ways do you respond to changes in your environment?
Passage 68 Flowering Plants
What are the parts of a flower?
Flowers can have male parts and female parts. The female parts make eggs that become seeds. The
male parts make pollen. Pollen is a powdery material that is needed by the eggs to make seeds. To
make seeds, pollen and eggs must come together. The wind, insects, and birds bring pollen to eggs.
Many animals love flowers’ bright colors. They also like a sugary liquid in flowers. This is called
nectar. While they drink nectar, pollen rubs off on their bodies. As they move, some of this pollen
gets delivered to the female flower parts.
Over time, the female parts turn into fruits that contain seeds. Animals often eat the fruits and the
seeds pass through their bodies as waste. The animals do not know they are working for the plants
by planting seeds as they travel to different places!
Passage 69 Finding the Direction and Location
How can you tell which direction? By day, look for the Sun. It is in the east in the morning and the
west in the afternoon. At night, use the Big Dipper to help you find the North Star. It would be
better to bring a compass because its needle always points north.
How do you know how far you have gone? You could count every step. Each step is about two
feet. You’d better wear a pedometer which is a tool that counts steps. If you know where you
started, which direction you are heading, and how far you have gone, you can use a good map to
figure out exactly where you are.
Today there is a new way for travelers to figure out where they are. It is the GPS. It has 24
satellites that orbit the earth and constantly broadcast their positions. Someday you may carry a
small receiver as you hike and use GPS to find out if you are there yet!
Passage 70 Waves
How does light get from the sun to the earth? How does music get from the stage to the audience?
They move the same way-----in waves!
Light and sound are fomp3s of energy. All waves carry energy, but they may carry it differently.
Light and sound travel through different kinds of matter. For example, light waves cannot move
through walls, but sound waves can. That is why you can hear people talking in another room
even though you cannot see them. The energy of some waves is destructive. An earthquake
produces seismic waves.
Catch a wave. Ask a friend to stand a few feet away from you. Stretch a spring between you.
Shake the spring to transfer energy to it. What happens? The spring bounces up and down in
waves. When the waves reach your friend, they bounce back to you!
Light waves travel 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) per second! They can also travel through a
vacuum. That is why light from the sun and distant stars can travel through space to the earth!

Passage 71 Soils
There are many different kinds of soils. Different soils have different types of rock and minerals in
them. Some soils have more water in them than others. Some soils might have more plant and

animal material in them, too.
Different kinds of soils are found in different parts of the world. There are several kinds of soils
found in the United States. In some areas, the soil has a lot of clay. Other soils are very sandy.
Loam is a kind of soil that has a good mixture of clay and sand.
In some places, soil layers are very thick. Lots of plants grow in places with a thick soil layer. In
dry and windy places soil layers are much thinner. Layers of soil on mountains are thin because
gravity pulls the soil downhill.
The type of soil in a particular place affects what kinds of plants can grow there.
Passage 72 Crisis
Life is a contest! Who will win? A bluebird and sparrow both compete for space to build their
nests. A fast-growing maple tree and slower-growing dogwood compete for the sunlight they both
need. Oil competes with coal and nuclear power as an energy source for electric power plants!
There is a problem. There is a limited amount of space for birds, sunlight for trees, and energy for
people! If we do not cut back on our uses of some of our resources, someday they will be gone!
How can we use energy today and know we will have enough to go around in the future? We can
choose alternate, or replacement, energy resources. It takes the earth millions of years to create
coal, oil, and gas. They are nonrenewable resources.
Solar energy, wind energy and water energy are renewable resources. It takes the earth millions of
years to create coal, oil, and gas. They are nonrenewable resources.
Solar energy, wind energy and water energy are renewable. What other ways can we conserve our
sources? How can we make sure there is always enough to go around?
Passage 73 America’s Worst Surprise
December 7, 1941 was one of the worst days in American history. Nearly all Americans who are
old enough to remember that day can still remember what they were doing at the moment they
heard “the news”. The news was that America had been attacked!
Shortly before 2:00 P.M., a radio dispatch came into Washington from Honolulu, Hawaii. “Air
Raid, Pearl Harbor— This is no drill.” Japanese planes had begun an attack on the largest
American military base in the Pacific. They first destroyed planes on the ground. Then they
bombed the ships in the harbor.
No one had expected the attack. So no one was prepared for it. And it did not take long for
Japanese to do their damage. When the smoke cleared, the Navy counted its losses. Eighteen ships
had been sunk or badly damaged. Nearly 150 planes had been destroyed. More than 2,400
Americans had been killed and more than 1,200 wounded.
Passage 74 Great Depression in the U.S.
In 1929, the bills started to come in. American industry had produced too many goods. Americans
could not afford to buy all of them. So factories had to cut down on their production. Many
workers lost their jobs. Investors tried to get their money back. But businesses did not have
enough money to pay them. Banks tried to get their money back from investors. But the investors
could not pay, either. Too many people owed money. And few of them could pay their bills.
During the next few years, business got worse and worse. By 1932, banks all over the country
were closing.
People without money could not buy goods. So more businesses closed. More and more people
lost their jobs. By 1932, more than 12 million Americans were jobless. Millions more were
earning barely enough to live on. The country was in a great depression they had never

experienced before.
Passage 75 A Place of Our Own
We are all usually very careful when we buy something for the house. Why? Because we have to
live with it for a long time. We paint a room to make it brighter, so we choose the colors carefully.
We buy new curtains in order to match the newly decorated room, so they must be the right color.
We move the furniture round so as to make more space—or we buy new furniture—and so on. It is
an endless business.
Rich or poor, we take time to furnish a room. Perhaps some people buy furniture in order to
impress their friends. But most of us just want to enjoy our surroundings. We want to live as
comfortably as we can afford to. We spend a large part of our lives at home. We want to make a
small corner in the world which we can recognize as our own.
Passage 76 Travel for Work
You can see them in every airport in the world. They are businessmen and women who have to
travel for their work.
When they first applied for the job, they may have thought of good food and hotels, huge expense
accounts and fashionable cities. Now they have to sit in airport lounges, tired and uncomfortable
in their smart clothes, listening to the loudspeaker announce “The fight of Tokyo, or Berlin, or
New York is delayed for another two hours.” Some people say to me, “How lucky you are to be
able to travel abroad in your work! You can go sightseeing without paying any money by
yourself!” They think that my job is like a continual holiday. It is not.
There are advantages, of course, and I do think I am lucky, but only because I can go to places I
would never visit if I was a tourist.
Passage 77 Intelligence
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 us
at birth, and no amount of special 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 a person’s
intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his
environment. This view, held by most experts now, can be supported in a number of ways. As is
easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood
relationship between two people is, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence.
Passage 78 A Free Dress Every Week
The temptation to steal is greater than ever before especially in large shops and people are not so
honest as they once were.
A detective recently watched a well-dressed woman who always went into a large store on
Monday mornings. One Monday, there were fewer people in the shop than usual when the woman
came in, so it was easier for the detective to watch her. The woman first bought a few small
articles. After a little time, she chose one of the most expensive dresses in the shop and handed it
to an assistant who wrapped it up for her as quickly as possible. The woman simply took the
parcel and walked out of the shop without paying. When she was arrested, the detective found out
that the shop assistant was her daughter. Believe it or not, the girl “gave” her mother a free dress
every week!

Passage 79 Time
Time is tangible. One can gain time, spend time, waste time, save time, or even kill time. Common
questions in American English reveal this concrete quality as though time were a possession. “Do
you have any time?”, “Can you get some time for this?”, “How much free time do you have?” The
treatment of time as a possession influences the way that time is carefully divided.
Generally, Americans are taught to do one thing at a time and may be uncomfortable when an
activity is interrupted. In businesses, the careful scheduling of time and the separation of activities
are common practices. Appointment calendars are printed with 15-,30-, and 60-minute time slots.
The idea that “there is a time and place for everything” extends to American social life. Visitors
who drop by without prior notice may interrupt their host’s personal time. Thus, calling friends on
the telephone before visiting them is generally preferred to visitors’ dropping by.
Passage 80 Cartoonists
In a good cartoon, the artist can tell in a few lines as much as a writer can tell in half a dozen
paragraphs. The cartoonist not only tells a story but he also tries to persuade the reader to his way
of thinking. He has great influence on public opinion. In a political campaign, he plays an
important part. Controversial issues in Congress or at meetings of the United Nations may keep
the cartoonist well-supplied with current materials.
A clever cartoonist may cause laughter because he often uses humor in his drawings. If he is
sketching a famous person, he takes a prominent feature and exaggerates it. Cartoonists, for
instance, like to lengthen an already long nose and to widen an already broad grin. This
exaggeration of a person’s characteristics is called caricature. The artist uses such exaggeration to
put his message across.
Passage 81 Water Pollution
Water is very important to us. Factories and plants need water for industrial uses and large pieces
of farm land need it for irrigation. Without water to drink, people die in a short time.
Today most water sources are so dirty that people must purify water before drinking. Water
becomes dirty in many ways: industrial pollution is one of them. With the development of industry,
plants and factories pour tons of industrial wastes into rivers every day. The rivers have become
seriously polluted, and the water is becoming unfit for drinking or irrigation. The same thing has
also happened to our seas and oceans. So, the problem of water pollution is almost worldwide.
Scientists of many countries have done a lot of work to stop pollution. The polluted water in some
places has become clean and drinkable again. Perhaps one day the people in all towns and cities
will be drinking clean water. That day, we believe, is not very far off.
Passage 82 Making a Complaint
Complaining about faulty goods or bad services is never easy. But if something you have brought
is faulty or does not do what was claimed for it, you are not asking for a favor to get it put right.
Complaints should be made to a responsible person. Go back to the shop where you bought the
goods, taking with you any receipt you may have. In a small store the assistant may also be the
owner so you can complain direct. In a chain store, ask the manager. If you telephone, ask the
name of the person who handles your enquiry, otherwise you may never find out who dealt with
the complaint later. If you do not want to do it in person, write a letter. Stick to the facts and keep
a copy of what you write. At this stage you should give any receipt numbers, but you should not
need to give receipts or other papers to prove you bought the article.
Passage 83 Where Do the British Live

Nearly everyone in Britain would like to own their own home and, whether they do or not, they
are prepared to put time and money into decorating and furnishing it or even making structural
alterations to it. Because of the climate and because of the expense involved in going out for the
evening, the British spend a lot of time at home and a large part of their social life takes place
there.
Young people tend to stay with their families longer these days as accommodation is expensive
but, when they move away to a job or college, there are various options open to them. They can
get lodgings with a landlady. This means that they rent a room in someone’s house and have
breakfast with the family. They can also get a bed-sitting room, that is to say one self- contained
room in which they can cook, live and sleep. Alternatively, they can share a rented flat or house
with a group of young people, perhaps the most popular option of all.
Passage 84 Will Computers Replace Human Beings?
We are in the computer age today. The computers are working all kinds of wonders now. They are
very useful in automatic control and data processing. At the same time, computers are finding their
way into the home. They seem to be so clever and can solve such complicated problems that some
people think sooner or later they will replace us.
But I do not think that there is such a possibility. My reason is very simple: computers are
machines, not humans. And our tasks are far too various and complicated for any one single kind
of machine to perfomp3.
Probably the greatest difference between man and computer is that the fomp3er can do things of
his own while the latter can do nothing without being progmp3med. In my opinion, computers
will remain nothing but an extension of our human brains, no matter how clever and complicated
they may become.
Passage 85 Soccer
Soccer has had a slow start in America. In fact, the majority of schools still have no official soccer
teams or coaches. But the blossoming popularity of the game cannot be denied. Thanks to the
efforts of some world- famous soccer stars, soccer is soon to have its place in American culture.
Although soccer has enjoyed decades of popularity elsewhere, it was literally ignored in America.
Instead, a variation of the game called “football” was most popular in the U.S. and still is to this
day. But the obvious advantages of playing soccer instead will soon win even most avid football
enthusiasts.
For one thing, soccer is a much safer game to play than football. No one deliberately tries to knock
an opponent down in soccer. In fact, the players are discouraged from even touching each other.
Soccer is a game that requires skill and dexterity in controlling the ball. Since no one may use
hand to do this, soccer players soon acquire incredible control of their heads, knees, and feet. (171
words.)
Passage 86 Artists
Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public. Not only does he want to
say it well, but he wants it to be something which has not been said before.
What visual artists, like painters, want to say is easy to make out but difficult to explain, because
painters translate their experiences into shapes and colors, not words. They seem to feel that a
certain selection of shapes and colors, out of the countless billions of possible, is exceptionally
interesting for them and worth showing to us.
Most artists take their shapes and colors from the world of nature and from human bodies in

motion and response; their choices indicate that these aspects of the world are worth looking at,
that they contain beautiful sights. Contemporary artists might say that they merely choose subjects
that provide an interesting pattern, that there is nothing more in it. Yet even they do not choose
entirely without reference to the character of their subjects.
Passage 87 Professional Sports in the U.S.
Professional sports are not only very popular in the United States, but also a big business. The
most popular sports are baseball, football and basketball. Each sport has its own season and
individual teams have millions of supporters. Professional teams are named for the cities where
they are located. For example, the Lakers are in Los Angeles. The strongest supporters of the
Lakers are residents of Los Angeles and Southern California. When the Lakers play, many people
in Los Angeles enthusiastically follow the game. When we mention “NBA”, almost everyone
knows it has some relationship with U.S. professional basketball. However, what does it really
stand for? N.B.A is gaining new fans and supporters around the world. Basketball has been called
the “national pastime”. However, football is the most popular professional sport in the U.S..
American football is different from international football, which Americans call “soccer”. Both
games require strength and specialized skills.
Passage 88 “How to” Books
Books which give instructions on how to do things are popular in the United States today.
Thousands of these “how to” books are available. In fact, there are about for thousand books with
titles that begin with the words “how to’.
Many “how to” books give advice on careers. They tell you how to choose a career and how to
succeed in it. Many of these books help people to use their free time better. Some people want
book which will give them useful infomp3ation about sports, hobbies and travel. Other people use
their free time to make repairs and improvements on their homes. They prefer books which give
step-by-step instructions on how to repair things like plumbing and electrical wiring or on how to
redecorate or enlarge a house.
Why have “how to” books become so popular? Probably because life has become more complex.
Today people have far more free to use, more choices to make, and more problems to solve, “how
to” books help people to deal with modern life.
Passage 89 Don’t give up
If we would ever accomplish anything in life, let us not forget that we must persevere. If we
would learn our lessons in school, we must be diligent and not give up whenever we come to
anything difficult. We shall find many of our lessons very hard, but let us consider that the harder
they are the better they will do to us if we will preserve and learn them thoroughly.
But there are some among us who are ready to give up when they come to a hard example in
mathematics, and say, “I can’t do this.” They never will if they feel so. “I can’t” never does
anything worthwhile, but “I’ll try” accomplishes wonders.
Let us remember that we shall meet with difficulties all through life. They are in the pathway of
everyone. If we will only try and keep trying, we shall be sure to conquer and overcome very
difficult we meet.
Passage 90 How High Can You Jump?
Fleas trainers have observed a strange habit of fleas while training them.
Fleas are trained by putting them in a cardboard box with a top on it. The fleas will jump up and
hit the top of the cardboard box over and over and over again. As you watch them jump and hit the

lid, something very interesting becomes obvious. The fleas continue to jump, but they are no
longer jumping high enough to hit the top.
When you take off the lid, the fleas continue to jump, but they will not jump out of the box. They
will not jump out because they cannot jump out. Why? The reason is simple. They have
conditioned themselves to jump just so high. Once they have conditioned themselves to jump just
so high. Once they have conditioned themselves to jump just so high, that is all they can do!
Many times, people do the same thing. They restrict themselves and never reach their potential.
Just like the fleas, they fail to jump higher, thinking they are doing all they can do.
Passage 91 Apology Helps
It is never easy to admit you are in the wrong. Being human, we all need to know the art of
apologizing. Look back with honesty and think how often you have judged roughly, you said
unkind things, and pushed yourself ahead at the expense of a friend. Then count the occasions
when you indicated clearly and truly that you were so sorry. A bit frightening, isn’t it? It is
frightening, isn’t it? It is frightening because some deep wisdom in us knows that when even a
small wrong has been committed, some mysterious moral feeling is disturbed; and it stays out of
balance until fault is acknowledged and regret expressed.
A heartfelt apology can not only heal a damaged relationship but also make it stronger. If you can
think of someone who deserves an apology from you, someone you have wronged, or judged too
roughly, or just neglected, do something about it right now.
Passage 92 Sleep
Why is it so difficult to fall asleep when you are overtired? There is no one answer that applies to
every individual. It is possible to feel “tired” physically and still be unable to fall asleep, because
while your body may be exhausted, you do not feel sleepy. It is not so easy to simply “turn off”.
Lack of sleep complicates matters even more. Experts say adults need at least seven to eight hours
of sleep a night to function properly. When you get less sleep than that on consecutive three nights,
you begin to accrue four “sleep debt”. As sleep debt increases your body experiences a stress
response. Now a vicious cycle has been created: You experience the feeling of being more and
more tired, but your body is increasingly stimulated. “Power sleeping” for more hours on
weekends is only a temporary solution. There is no substitute for getting a good night’s sleep on a
regular basis.
Passage 93 Our Concern
The history of life on earth has been a history of interaction between living things and their
surroundings. To a large extent, the physical fomp3 and the habits of the earth’s vegetation and its
animal life have been molded by the environment. Only in the present century has one species of
man acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.
The rapidity of change follows the pace of man rather than the pace of nature. Radiation is now
the unnatural creation of man’s tampering with the atom. The chemicals are the creations of man’s
inventive mind, having no counterparts in nature.
We have put poisonous and biologically potent chemicals into the hands of persons largely
ignorant of their potentials for hamp3. We have subjected enomp3ous numbers of people to
contact with these enomp3ous numbers of people to contact with these poisons, without their
consent and often without their knowledge. We have allowed these chemicals to be used with little
or no advance investigation of their effect. Future generations are unlikely to forgive our lack of
concern.

Passage 94 Gardening in America
Believe or not, 43,000,000 Americans are gardening. That is about one in six. Gardeners, of
course, come in many varieties. Not surprisingly, most of them are people who live in the suburbs,
and enjoy planting flowers, or maybe a small vegetables garden.
The average age of gardeners in America is about 45 years old; they usually fall somewhere in the
middle class. But the fastest growing groups are city dwellers. Urban residents are finding ways of
gardening even in their crowded areas. Many go to large public gardens, as a place designed by
the city for garden, and you can actually ranch your own plot.
Still other people use their balconies or roof tops, wherever they can find the space to plant small
patches of green.
Passage 95 The Influence of Life
In the early times when human beings hunted and gathered food, they were not in control of their
environment. They could only interact with their surroundings as the other lower animals did.
When they learned to make fire, however, they became capable of altering their environment. To
provide themselves with fuel, they cut down trees. They also burned clearings in forests to
increase the growth of grass and to provide a greater grazing area for the wild animals that human
beings fed upon. This development led to farming and the domestication of animals. Fire provided
the means for cooking plants which had previously been inedible. Only when the process of
meeting the basic need for food reached a certain level was it possible for humans to follow other
pursuits such as setting up families, fomp3ing societies and founding cities.
Passage 96 Automobiles
It is impossible to say that any one man invented the automobile. Many individuals living and
working in different countries and at different times contributed to its development. Many of the
discoveries that went into the creation of the automobile were small in themselves. But together
they were important. Here are two examples.
“Carriage is running at a speed of 8 to 9 miles an hour.” It was almost unheard of in those days.
According to automobile historians, this was the first practical use of mechanical power to move a
vehicle. After its first run, the machine reportedly burned up while the inventor and his friends
were celebrating its success at a pub.
Henry Ford is considered the father of modern automobiles mass production. His famous Model-T
car, because of its low price, made it possible to produce cars on a large scale and his efforts made
it accessible to ordinary people.
Passage 97 House and Home
“House” and “home” are two words that have similar meanings.
“House” and “home” both refer to places where people live. However, there is a difference
between them. “Home” is often referred to as the place that we live in with our families. Sadly, in
our society, people can hardly distinguish a home from a house because they often see no
difference between them. This confusion can be traced back to the indifference between family
members. Therefore, we can say that love is an important factor in a home. A home is a shelter,
not only for our bodies but also for our minds. Whenever we are depressed, we can go home for
comfort. Everyone in the family will do his best to take care of each other and share their
happiness as well as sorrow. Without love, a home is merely a house where loneliness is all that
can be found. And a house can never be a home unless there is love.
Passage 98 Population Growth

It is well-known that there has been a drastic increase in world population. But it is probably less
well-known that the extinction rate of wildlife species is experiencing a parallel trend.
Take the United States for instance. In 1990, U.S. population reached an unprecedented level of
250 million, which is approximately 250 times of that of 1800. On the other hand, wildlife species
are disappearing from the country at an alamp3ing rate. By 1990, about 70 wildlife species would
never be seen in U.S. We are fully justified in declaring that the explosive population growth has
had an adverse effect on the survival of wildlife species and will be a constant threat to the
wildlife resources if no immediate actions are taken.
Nothing has ever equaled the magnitude and speed with which the human species is altering the
physical and chemical world. It has been demolishing the environment we are living in.
Passage 99 Natural Resources
Through the changes in the ways of making a living in a family over several generations, the
cartoon aims at sounding a warning against man’s wasteful use of natural resources and
emphasizing the urgent need to preserve these resources.
Ever since man appeared on the earth, man’s survival has been heavily dependent on nature.
Almost everything we use in our everyday life comes from nature, ranging from the food we eat,
the water we drink, to the wood which is turned into furniture. With the development of
technology and population growth, the amount and range of materials used has increased at an
alamp3ing rate.
However, natural resources are not inexhaustible. Some reserves are already on the brink of
exhaustion and there is no hope of replacing them. The widespread water shortage is an example
in point. If man continued to squander natural resources with no thought for the future, the whole
world would be in a mess.
Passage 100 Reading
Nowadays few of us read books after we leave school.
This is rather disturbing, for one should know that books are no less necessary to one’s mental life
than fresh air is to one’s physical life. From good reading we can derive companionship,
experience and instruction. A good book is our faithful friend. It can increase our contentment
when we are cheerful and happy, and lessen our pain when we are sad or lonely. Books can also
offer us a wide range of experience. Few of us can travel far from home or live long over 100, but
all of us can live many lives through the pages of books. What’s more, reading books can increase
our intellectual ability, broaden our minds and make us wise.
With the coming of TV, books are no longer read as widely as they once were. However, nothing
can replace the role that books play in our lives.

美妙的春天秋天-港澳台签证

长春建筑学院图书馆-台北人读后感

说课的基本要求-邮电局上班时间

关于清明节的资料-宿州会计网

舞狮的作文-红旗谱观后感

苦才是人生-交通安全儿歌

洪晃语录-五年级语文上册教学计划

材料学专业排名-六一儿童节目