阅读理解

　　Some people say that seals are the fairies of the sea and should not be killed．The seals are the cleverest creatures that have ever been found in the sea．“In the Kingdom of the Seals” is an English fairy story by Donald A．Mackenzie．It tells of a seal hunter who wounds a seal．The seal swims away with the hunter’s knife still in its back．That evening a stranger on a black horse calls at the home of the seal hunter and takes him to the edge of a cliff．Suddenly the seal hunter finds himself falling．He falls to the bottom of the sea．

　　The stranger changes into a seal and leads him towards a huge underwater palace．Inside the palace he sees an old grey seal lying on a bed in terrible pain．Beside the bed is a knife which the hunter recognizes as his own．He is ashamed of his cruelty and begs forgiveness of the old seal．Because this is a fairy story the wound is healed when the seal hunter lays his hand on it and wishes．The old seal regains his strength straight away．The seal hunter promises never to hunt seals again．Then he is led back to dry land．When he gets home he finds his pockets are filled with pearls．

　　So much for the story－what about the reality？True seals are earless．There are 18 species of earless seals．Fur seals are not true seals．Fur seals feed mainly on krill－a small type of shrimp．When diving for food seals have been known to reach depths of 300 meters, but throughout the breading season of several weeks, male seals do not eat or drink．

本文是记叙文。文章讲述了一个关于海豹的神话故事，结尾时介绍了一些海豹的知识。

阅读理解

　　Some people say that seals are the fairies of the sea and should not be killed．The seals are the cleverest creatures that have ever been found in the sea．“In the Kingdom of the Seals” is an English fairy story by Donald A．Mackenzie．It tells of a seal hunter who wounds a seal．The seal swims away with the hunter’s knife still in its back．That evening a stranger on a black horse calls at the home of the seal hunter and takes him to the edge of a cliff．Suddenly the seal hunter finds himself falling．He falls to the bottom of the sea．

　　The stranger changes into a seal and leads him towards a huge underwater palace．Inside the palace he sees an old grey seal lying on a bed in terrible pain．Beside the bed is a knife which the hunter recognizes as his own．He is ashamed of his cruelty and begs forgiveness of the old seal．Because this is a fairy story the wound is healed when the seal hunter lays his hand on it and wishes．The old seal regains his strength straight away．The seal hunter promises never to hunt seals again．Then he is led back to dry land．When he gets home he finds his pockets are filled with pearls．

　　So much for the story － what about the reality？True seals are earless．There are 18 species of earless seals．Fur seals are not true seals．Fur seals feed mainly on krill－a small type of shrimp．When diving for food seals have been known to reach depths of 300 meters, but throughout the breading season of several weeks, male seals do not eat or drink．

本文是记叙文。文章讲述了一个关于海豹的神话故事，结尾时介绍了一些海豹的知识。

阅读理解

　　Between 1977 and 1981, three groups of American women, numbering 27 in all, between the age of 35 and 65, were given month-long tests to determine how they would respond to conditions resembling those aboard the space shuttle．

　　Though carefully selected from among many applicants, the women were volunteers and the pay was barely above the minimum wage．They were not allowed to smoke or drink alcohol during the tests, and they were expected to accompany with each other for the entire period．Among other things they had to stand pressure three times the force of gravity and carry out both physical and mental tasks whole exhausted from strenuous physical exercise．At the end of ten days, they had to spend a further twenty days absolutely confined to bed, during which time they suffered backaches and other discomforts, and when they were finally allowed up, the more physically active women were especially subject to pain due to a slight calcium loss．

　　Results of the tests suggest that women will have significant advantages over man in space．They need less food and less oxygen and they stand up to radiation better．Men’s advantages in terms of strength and stamina, meanwhile, are virtually wiped out by the zero-gravity condition in space．

　　本文是说明文。但是文章大部分内容叙述了一次试验，所以前面部分也可以说是记叙文体。文章通过对27位年龄不等的妇女进行的模拟宇宙飞船上的试验得出结论：女性在太空比男性更有优越性。

阅读理解

　　You got red with anger, green with envy, and white with fright．If you’re unhappy you’re blue, and if you’re a coward, you’re yellow．Whatever your feelings are you can find a color to describe them．

　　But colors not only describe feelings, they can also have a very strong effect upon us．Everybody has noticed how you feel colder in a blue room than a red room even though the rooms are at the same temperature．So colors can affect our moods．And it is also possible that our own choice of a favorite color can tell us something about ourselves．If green is your favorite color, you are strong-minded and determined．You do not wish to change, but you certainly wish to succeed and what’s more, you want other people to see you are successful．Red makes bulls charge and makes your blood pressure go up．You are fiercely competitive, very strong-minded and full of energy．If you choose blue, the color of calm seas and clear skies, you like peace and quiet and like to feel you belong to a group of trusted friends．Purple is a mixture of red and blue, and is a compromise between peaceful blue and aggressive red．You are romantic and tender and wish to charm and please others．

　　本文是说明文。文章说明了人们用颜色词表达思想的情况。不管你的感觉如何，你都可以用颜色来表达自己的心情。颜色本身对我们的感觉也有影响，它可以影响我们的心情。人们可以从你对颜色的偏爱了解你，因为你所喜爱的颜色表达了你的性格。

阅读理解

　　You got red with anger, green with envy, and white with fright．If you’re unhappy you’re blue, and if you’re a coward, you’re yellow．Whatever your feelings are you can find a color to describe them．

　　But colors not only describe feelings, they can also have a very strong effect upon us．Everybody has noticed how you feel colder in a blue room than a red room even though the rooms are at the same temperature．So colors can affect our moods．And it is also possible that our own choice of a favorite color can tell us something about ourselves．If green is your favorite color, you are strong-minded and determined．You do not wish to change, but you certainly wish to succeed and what’s more, you want other people to see you are successful．Red makes bulls charge and makes your blood pressure go up．You are fiercely competitive, very strong-minded and full of energy．If you choose blue, the color of calm seas and clear skies, you like peace and quiet and like to feel you belong to a group of trusted friends．Purple is a mixture of red and blue, and is a compromise between peaceful blue and aggressive red．You are romantic and tender and wish to charm and please others．

本文是说明文。文章说明了人们用颜色词表达思想的情况。不管你的感觉如何，你都可以用颜色来表达自己的心情。颜色本身对我们的感觉也有影响，它可以影响我们的心情。人们可以从你对颜色的偏爱了解你, 因为你所喜爱的颜色表达了你的性格。