阅读理解

　　Read a whole book in English? Me?

　　Yes, you．Believe it or not, that may be easier than you think．Not all classics are too difficult or complicated．So you’re not limited to the simplified versions．And the easier books are not all for children．

　　Books in their original versions may send you to the dictionary．And you might not understand everything you read．But reading one from cover to cover will give you a real sense of accomplishment(成就)．

　　The key is to find the right books．Let’s take a look at these．

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C．S．Lewis)

　　Stepping into an old wardrobe, four English schoolchildren find themselves in the magical world of Narnia．On this delightful land, they find friends among the many talking creatures．

　　The children soon discover, however, that Narnia is ruled by the White Witch．Edmund, one of the children, falls under her power．Who can free Narnia? Only Aslan, the great and noble lion．He alone knows the Deeper Magic．But the children themselves must help fight the battle against the White Witch and those who serve her．

The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)

　　Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, hasn’t caught any fish in more than 80 days．Sailing far out from land, the old man hooks an enormous fish．That begins an agonizing three day battle．First he struggles against the great fish．Then he must fight off the sharks that circle the little boat and threaten to eat his fish．Exhausted and bleeding, the old man arrives back at shore．But his fish, his beautiful fish．．．

　　Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for this superb story of strength and courage, of victory and regret．

A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine Lingle)

　　Meg’s father, a U．S．government scientist, has been missing for many months．He had been experimenting with time travel when he mysteriously disappeared．

　　Now Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin will try to rescue him．But first they must outwit the forces of evil they encounter(遇到) on their journey through time and space．Can they find Meg’s father before it’s too late?

　　This novel is more than just a science fiction adventure．It’s an exploration of the nature of our universe．

The Pearl (John Steinbeck)

　　One day Kino, a poor Mexican pearl diver, finds a magnificent pearl．With it he dreams of buying a better life, new clothes and schooling for his son．Instead, it brings only evil．His wife pleads with him to get rid of it．“No,”says Kino．“I will have my chance．I am a man．”But when he kills a man who is trying to steal the pearl, Kino and his wife must run for their lives．

　　This tale of dreams, justice and the power of greed is told simply and beautifully．

The Long Winter (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

　　It’s winter, 1880－1881, on America’s northern prairies．Mr．and Mrs．Ingalls and their four girls stay near the kitchen stove to keep warm．Heavy snowstorms cut them off even from neighbors．With the trains stopped, no supplies can reach the town．Food and fuel are running out．Day after day the girls must grind wheat for bread and twist hay to burn．At times they nearly lose the battle to keep their spirits up．

　　This story provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of early American settlers．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　“Who made your T-shirt?” A Geo letdown University students raised that question. Pietra Rivoli a professor of business wanted to find the answer . A few weeks later she bought a T-shirt and began to follow its path from Texas cotton . rim to Chinese factory to charity bin （慈善捐赠箱）. The result is an interesting new book The tran’s of a T-shirt in the Global Economy（经济）.

　　Following a T-shirt around the world in a way to make her point more interesting but it also frees Rivoli from the usual arguments over global trade . She goes wherever the T-shirt goes and there are surprises around every corner . In China Rivoli shows why a clothing factory even with its poor conditions means a step towards a better are for the people who word there . In the colorful used-clothing markets of Tanzania she realizes that . “it is only in this final stage of life that the T-shirt will meet a real market ” where the price of a shirt changes by the hour and is different by its size and even color . Rivoli’s book is full of me able people and scenes like the noise the bad air and the “muddy sweet smell（泥土香味）of the cotton . ”She says “ Here in the factory Shanghai smells like shallot water Texas .”

　　Rivoli is at her best when making those sorts of unexpected connections . She even finds one between the free traders and those who are against globalization . The changes opened up by trade are vase she argues but free markets need the correcting force of politics to keep them in check . True economic progress needs them both .

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States．In a recent Hollywood comedy（喜剧）,that is exactly what happens．

　　Dave Kovic,played by Kevin Kline,is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs．He leads a typical（典型的）American way of life,except for one thing— he looks exactly like the President,Bill Mitchell．In fact,the only thing that makes him different from the nation's leader is that he is very nice!

　　The President has started using look-alikes during some public appearances．Dave is offered a chance to“serve his country”by becoming one．

However,things go wrong．The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever．

　　Director Ivan Reitman,who made the popular and successful comedies like Tzwins,Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles,could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government．Instead,Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations．Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President,and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady．The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real ctassic（经典）．

　　The film is 100% American．However,if you've ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power,then you'll enjoy Dave!

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　The unusual ability of blind people to“sense”unseen objects has been demonstrated for the first time in sighted volunteers whose vision was blanked out by scientists．

　　The findings suggest“blindsight”, which has been observed in blind people whose eyes function normally but who have suffered damage to the brain’s visual centre, is a real and not imagined phenomenon．

　　In the tests, the blind have been able to distinguish basic shapes of objects they cannot see, as well as their orientation(定向)and direction of motion．On other occasions a blind person has reported experiencing a“feeling”that an object is present, while not being able to see it．

　　A number of theories have been proposed to explain“blindsight”．Generally, it is suggested that other parts of the brain besides the primary visual cortex respond to nerve messages from the eyes at an unconscious level．

　　Scientists from the University of Houston in Texas temporarily blinded a group of 12 volunteers by using an electromagnetic field to shut down the primary visual cortex．Images were then flashed in front of them on a screen．

　　In one experiment, volunteers were shown either a horizontal(水平的)or vertical bar．In another, a red or green dot appeared．

　　Most of the time, the volunteers were unaware of the images with which they were presented．But they guessed either the orientation of the bar or the colour of the dot correctly more often than would have been expected by the law of averages．

　　The researchers said the findings suggested that a visual pathway bypassing the primary visual cortex must be responsible for“blindsight”．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)