阅读理解

　　The desire to make explorations is born with man．Wherever his imagination goes, man also has a strong wish to go．A large part of human history is connected with the exploration of the world in which we live．Again and again people have set out with surprising courage and patience to look into unknown regions and lands to see what had not yet been seen, to make known the unknown．With kites, balloons and aircraft they left the ground to pass through the lower atmosphere．Now the outer space receives their attention．

　　Why should man take the trouble of conquering space?It is hard to list the specific practical benefits that will result in．But one knows, from past experience in other areas, that man will surely see and discover new things in space that will increase our scientific knowledge, and this new knowledge will find its way into valuable practical uses．What we learn about man himself, from his experience in space, and from the effects of space and the space flight environment on him, will be extremely valuable．The new techniques developed to carry out the exploration of space, and to keep man alive in space, will certainly find practical uses in everyday life in some way．The areas that will benefit are manifold．They include communication, generation of power, transportation and travel, food production, materials, fuels and many others．But to say definitely just what the practical results will be is almost impossible．

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　　Cairo, the cradle of civilization(文明的摇篮)，is the melting pot of ancient and modern Egyptian civilizations．It is the largest city in the Middle East and lies at the center of all routes leading to and from the three continents：Asia, Africa and Europe．It is the city where past and present meet．On its south side lies the Ancient Egyptian city of Memphis, and the site of the Pyramids, the only surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the World．Indeed, a journey through Cairo is a journey through time．In spite of a thousand years of history, Cairo is young by Egyptian standards, because modern Cairo appeared only with the Arab conquest(征服)of Egypt．

　　The most famous of Cairo's sights is the string of 60 pyramids that stretches along the western border of the desert．Contrary to(和……相反)the common belief, only the Great Pyramid of Khufu, not all three Great Pyramids, is on the list of Wonders．The monument was built by the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he died．When it was built, the Great Pyramid was 145.75 meters high．Over the years, it has lost 10 meters off its top．It was the tallest building on earth for more than 43 centuries．Throughout their history, the pyramids have inspired human imagination．When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his pride was expressed through his famous words：“Soldiers!From the top of these Pyramids, 40 centuries are looking at us．”

　　Cairo has been the most important arts center in the Islamic world for a thousand years．Cairo's long history and rich heritage are displayed in its many museums．The famous sights in this area are the Entomological Society Museum, with an excellent collection of Egyptian insects and birds．Also in the area is the museum housing the mysterious Sun Boat, only discovered in 1954 near the south side of the pyramid．The boat is believed to have been used to carry the body of Khufu in his last journey on earth before being buried inside the pyramid．

　　This is Cairo－radiant with a long and glorious past; showing people the achievements of a wonderful present．

　　This is Cairo－a cradle of civilization, a source of culture, and a meeting-place of the Asian, African, and European Worlds．

　　This is Cairo－an international center for social economics, and political activity, which is making the noblest efforts, aimed at peace among all nations and the benefits of all mankind．

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阅读理解

　　Trees are useful to man in three important ways：they supply him with wood and other products; they gave him shade, and they help to prevent drought and floods．

　　Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important．Eager to make money from trees, he has cut them down in large numbers, only to find that without them he had lost the best friends of his．And besides, he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees, so the forests slowly disappear．

　　This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees．The results are even more serious：for where there are trees, their roots break up soil, allowing the rain to sink in; and also bind(固定)the soil, thus preventing from being washed away; but where there are no trees, the rain falls on hard ground and flows away, causing floods and carrying away the rich topsoil．With the top-soil gone, nothing remains but worthless desert．

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阅读理解

　　The Headrow, Leeds．Tel．430808

　　Oct 10－11 only A Night at the Varieties．All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Duval and the Tony Harrison Trio．Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favourite songs．

　　Performances：8 pm nightly．

　　Admission：￡5; under 16 or over 60：￡4．

　　St Leonard's Place, York．Tel．223568

　　Sept 23－Oct 17 Groping for Words－a comedy by Sue Townsend．Best-known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class which two men and a woman attend．A gentle comedy．

　　Admission：First night, Mon：￡2; Tues－Fri：￡3.25－5.50; Sat：￡3.50－5.57．

　　King's Cross Street, Halifax．Tel．365998

　　Oct 10－17 On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson．This is magical comedy about real people．A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone．Don't miss it．

　　Performances：7∶30 pm．

　　Admission：￡2．Mon：2 seats for the price of one．

　　Grand Theatre

　　Oxford Street, Leeds．Tel．502116

　　Restaurant and Cafe．

　　Oct 1－17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13．Sue Townsend's musical play, based on her best-selling book．

　　Performances：Evenings 7∶45．October 10－17, at 2∶30 pm．No Monday performances．

　　Admission：Tues－Thurs：￡2－5; Fri ＆ Sat：￡2－6．

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　　Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer(扫盲志原者)．The training I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however．When I began to discover what other people's lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading．

　　My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three．In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take．When I told her I would get her a bus schedule(时刻表)，she told me it would not help because she could not read it．She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn't always remember what she needed．Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list．Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label(标识)，she would not recognize it as the product she wanted．

　　As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie's self-confidence(自信心)，which encouraged her to continue in her studies．She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket．After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt．At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading．She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories．When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face, and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off．As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well．I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before．

　　As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others．In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did．

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　　In the middle of winter, when snow is falling in many parts of the United States, scientists have sounded a warning to people who plan to spend many hours in the sun this summer．The warning is：The sun's summertime rays(射线)are more dangerous than once thought．

　　A team of scientists from 80 nations recently reported to the United Nations that a layer of ozone(臭氧层)in the atmosphere(大气)，which protects humans from harmful levels of ultraviolet(紫外线)radiation(放射)，will be thinner over the United States this summer．The thinner layer allows more ultraviolet rays from the sun to reach the earth．The extra amount of ultraviolet radiation could cause an increase in the number of cases of skin cancer(癌症)．

　　Scientists first became concerned about the ozone layer in the mid 1980s when a hole was discovered in the layer above Antarctica during the winter．The hole was caused by chemicals used in refrigerators(冰箱)and air conditioners．When these chemicals are sent out into the atmosphere, they produce gases that destroy the ozone．

　　Concern about the protective ozone layer rose more recently when data(数据) from satellites and ground stations showed that ozone levels were dropping over areas other than Antarctica．Low ozone levels were recorded in the spring and summer over the United States and over other populated areas in the world．Although many countries have already begun stopping the use of ozone-destroying chemicals, the new findings are expected to advance the timetable for a total ban(禁止)of the chemicals．

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　　Tens of thousands of couples across the United States are racing to get married by April 30．This is the result of a new law that makes illegal(不合法的)immigrants(移民) legal(合法的)if they marry by then．

　　The law has sent marriages rising by 50 percent to 300 percent this year in immigrant-rich Los Angeles, Houston and New York．The new law, passed in the last days of the Clinton administration(任期)，contains a large number of measures to help immigrants and their loved ones become legal．

　　Critics(批评家)say it also brings many marriage frauds(诈骗)．A key aspect allows immigrants to look for houses while remaining in the USA－if they are married to a citizen or legal resident and hand in applications by April 30．After the date, applicants will have to return to their native countries to deal with their paperwork－a requirement that could take as long as 10 years．

　　Demand for marriage licenses in Manhattan this year jumped from 100 a day to more than 300．The Los Angeles County registrar(户籍员)recorder's office supplied 12 997 marriage licences during January and February, and 59 percent increase over last year．

　　Critics say the new law encourages false marriage．There are a lot of frauds as people rush to make use of this window．In the past cases citizens or legal residents were paid US ＄10 000 or more to marry illegal immigrants in which immigration is concluded may be investigated for as long as the years after the vows．

　　“It's not worth the risk to attempt an illegal marriage, ”says INS spokesman Bill Strassberger．

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　　Southern China prepared itself for heavy rains on Monday as a storm front dropped heavy rains on central and southern parts of the country．

　　Light to moderate(适度的)showers are still forecast(预报)for the next few days along the Xiangjiang River in Hunan Province, where floods caused by torrential rains in the past week killed 25 people and left 13 others missing．

　　China's Meteorology(气象)Administration warned some regions in Yunnan Province and the city of Chongqing of possible torrential rains over the next few days．In the Hunan provincial capital, Changsha, water levels on the Xiangjiang rose to 38 metres early Monday morning, about 3 metres above the danger line．

　　But, the flood peak(高峰)has passed the city and water levels are sinking to a lower level．Local flood control authorities reported no major losses or deaths．In Guangdong Province, at least 21 people have been killed, while three were seriously injured and seven went missing when heavy floods struck northern parts by Saturday．The cities of Shaoguan, Meizhou and Heyuan were hardest hit and many people were left homeless．The floods have done an estimated(估价)620 million-yuan in damage．The provincial government has sent relief teams to Meizhou, Heyuan and Shaoguan to help flood victims(受害者)rebuild their homes and resume(恢复)farming as soon as possible．

　　According to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, parts of Hunan, Guangdong, and Jiangxi, Fujian and Guizhou Provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were hit by heavy rains between May 12 and 18．The Xiangjiang River basin was hit by the worst flood in a decade, it said．

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　　Imagine the battery on your mobile phone has run out．You can't make any calls for help and no one can contact you．You are all alone－well, not quite．Just reach into your pocket and take out a piece of sugar．Put it into the battery, wait a minute and you're back on the phone．

　　Thanks to a couple of American scientists, this situation could become real．Swadesh Chaudhuri and Derek Lovley have invented the “bacteria(微生物) battery”－powered by bacteria that eats sugar and turns it into electricity．

　　“This is a special organism(有机体)，”Lovley said．“You can harvest enough electricity to power a cell phone battery for about four days from a spoonful of sugar．”

　　In the past, bacteria batteries have been expensive and not long-lasting．But this battery uses more efficient bacteria that can turn 80 percent of sugar into electrical energy．This is 30 percent more than similar batteries can manage．The bacteria battery could become as small as a household battery．It's also cheap and stable, as sugar can be taken from waste and crops．

　　But the sugar to electricity process is slow：it could take weeks for the bacteria to digest a cup of sugar．And it produces “greenhouse” gases which pollute the environment．The scientists understand there is a lot more work to be done．“It is still young, ”said Lovley．“Where we are now is where solar power(太阳能)was 20 or 30 years ago．”

　　But he believes the battery could be used in scientific equipment at the bottom of the ocean．Other ideas include using sugar in the blood to run medical devices in the human body, and taking sugar from animal waste to provide energy to power homes in rural areas．

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阅读理解

　　Here are two cars that may some day take the place of today's big automobiles(汽车)．If everyone drives such a car in the future, there will be less pollution in the air．There will be more parking space in cities, and the streets will be less crowded．Three such cars can fit in the space now needed for one car of the usual size．The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive．Driving will be safer, too, as these little cars can go only 65 kilometres per hour．

　　The cars of the future will be fine for getting round a city, but they will not be useful for long trips．If the car is powered by electricity, it will have two batteries(电池)，one battery for the motor and one for the horn(喇叭)，signals, etc．Little cars which are powered by gasoline(汽油)will go 450 kilometres before needing to stop for more gasoline．

　　If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed in the future．Some roads will be used for the big, fast cars, and other roads will be needed for the small, slower ones．

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