阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Allison Schwartz from Connecticut：

　　Marie Curie is my hero because she shows determination, and that if you keep at your goal you will get what you want．She was an inventor and a scientist．She discovered radium and she invented the first mobile X-ray machine so that soldiers could be X-rayed in the field when they were hurt．I thought it was neat(极好的)that she was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize for science．

　　Sebastian Robbins from Washington：

　　Someone who failed at something and moved beyond it．For me, it was Albert Einstein．When I heard that he failed algebra(代数)，I knew we had a connection．When I heard at age nine he spoke hesitantly(吞吞吐吐的)I knew I had arrived．I didn't let the facts dissuade (劝阻)me．In reality he never failed math but he did fail the entrance exam to the Polytechnic Institute of Zurich; that was enough for me．I had to walk home with my share of papers that had“have your mother call me”written in red on part of the paper．I would periodically think of the words from his“gymnasium”(high school)teacher in Munich, “Your mere presence here undermines(破坏)the class's respect for me．”

　　Rachel Kern from New Mexico：

　　I am a senior at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, majoring in chemistry with a minor(兼修)in environmental(环境的)sciences．I am interested in many environmental issues, including alternative(替代性的)energy．I really admire scientists such as Linus Pauling, Rachel Carson, and Albert Einstein who did not separate their private beliefs from their work．They combined their scientific knowledge with their moral(道德的)and ethical(伦理的)beliefs to educate others on environmental, political, and social issues．

　　Owen Paine from New Jersey：

　　I admire Einstein．Okay, I admit it; I'm an Einstein groupie．Some mornings I even have his hair．I have Einstein calendars, coffee mugs, posters, neckties, T-shirts, biographies(传记)and even a life size soft sculpture(雕刻)of him sitting in my office．I have everything Einsteinium except his problem solving skills．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Albert Einstein

　　Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on Mar．14, 1879．Einstein's parents moved from Ulm to Munich when Einstein was still a baby．The family business was the manufacture of electrical parts．When the business failed, in 1894, the family moved to Milan, Italy．At this time Einstein decided officially to give up his German citizenship．Within a year, still without having completed secondary school(中学)，Einstein failed an examination that would have allowed him to continue with a course of study leading to a diploma(文凭)as an electrical engineer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology．He spent the next year in nearby Aarau at a secondary school, where he enjoyed excellent teachers and first-rate facilities(设备)in physics．Einstein returned in 1896 to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where he graduated, in 1900 as a secondary school teacher of mathematics and physics．

　　After two years he got a post at the Swiss patent(专利)office in Bern．The patent-office work required Einstein's careful attention, but while employed(1902-1909)there, he completed an astonishing range of publications in theoretical physics．For the most part these texts were written in his spare time and without the benefit of close contact(接触)with either the scientific literature or theoretician colleagues．Einstein submitted one of his scientific papers to the University of Zurich for a Ph．D．degree in 1905．In 1908 he sent a second paper to the University of Bern and became a lecturer there．The next year Einstein received a regular appointment as associate professor of physics at the University of Zurich．

　　By 1909, Einstein was recognized throughout German-speaking Europe as a leading scientific thinker

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阅读理解

　　NEWTON(1642－1727)

　　Southeast of an area that was to become the English industrial heartland, in a little village called Woolsthorpe, Isaac Newton made his entry into the world．He was prematurely(过早地)born, and, was so small at his birth, his mother used to say that“he might then have been put into a quart mug”．His widowed mother－Newton's father had died several months before his birth－was to re-marry; and there apparently being no room for a two-year-old boy in the new Newton household－this small misplaced child passed into the care of his grandmother．

　　Newton had a bad start with his schooling; he has been described as having been one of the poorest performing students in the grammar school in which his grandmother had placed him．The story is that the boy suffered from a blow delivered by a schoolyard bully(欺凌弱小者)；or was it that he was struck on the head by an apple：whatever it was, an event occurred whereby“the hard shell which imprisoned his genius was cracked wide open”．The boy was to make a dramatic(戏剧性的)turn around, early in his scholastic career．He was to ask questions which many of us sooner or later have come to ask．What is light and how is it transmitted(传送)?What keeps the moon in the orbit of the earth, and the planets in the orbit of the sun?Why does the apple fall to the ground?Newton came, in time, to answer these questions and was to give positive proof(证据)of these answers, proofs and answers which serve us yet today．

　　Somehow, interested people managed in 1661 to see that Newton entered Trinity College, Cambridge．

　　His famous saying“If I have seen further(than you and Descartes)it is by standing upon the shoulders of Giants．”is still well-known nowadays．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Michael Jackson has been on the road of performing since he was five years old．For anyone who wants to know, the road to fame and fortune is a long, hard one to travel．

　　Michael remembers those early years when he was young．“My father was a machine operator．”he explained,“and he worked at a steel plant．My mother worked at Sears, a big department store．But they were both musicians．”

　　Mr．Jackson realized that his sons had a lot of talent(才能)，and he knew he could train them to become fine musicians．In those days there were plenty of music groups and some of them were very good．He knew if his sons were to stand out, they would have to be the best．

　　Practice makes perfect．And the Jackson boys practised! Gradually the group took shape．When the Jacksons took their first professional jobs, their total pay was only five dollars!They kept on working．They played at parties．They entered any bigger contests．

　　They worked at clubs．Then word of this group began to get around．All of a sudden, the Jackson Five became popular in the country：their first album(歌曲集)sold a million copies!Michael, 11 years old then, was the star．It just didn't seem possible that so much talent could come from such a young performer．

　　Then Michael got a chance to do some solo(独唱)songs．For the following years Michael has always been on the top．One million records of his were sold in New Zealand, which has only a total population of three million!

　　When Michael was eighteen, he entered another field of his career(生涯)：acting．“I plan to star in movies,”he told his friends,“but of course, my first love is music．”

　　Michael wrote a lot of his own songs．“Songs came about in the strangest ways,”he said．“I'll just wake up from sleeping and there is a whole song coming into my head．And then I put it down on the paper．”Whatever he is doing, it works!

　　Still, with all his success, Michael manages to keep his head calm．“I just do a different job from other people,”he said,“but it doesn't make me think I'm better than other people．”

　　To be quite honest, his fans just love to hear and watch him!

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　Americans have contributed to many art forms, but jazz, a type of music, is one of the art forms that were created in the United States．Jazz was created by black Americans．Many people were brought from Africa to America as slaves．The black slaves sang and played the music of their homeland．

　　Jazz is a mixture of many different kinds of music．It is combination of the music of West Africa, the work songs the slaves sang, and religious(宗教的)music．

　　Improvisation is an important part of jazz．This means that the musicians make the music up as they go along, or create the music on the spot．This is why a jazz might sound a little different each time it is played．

　　Jazz bands formed in the late 1800s．They played in bars and clubs in many towns and cities of the south, especially New Orleans．

　　New Orleans is an international seaport, and people from all over the world come to New Orleans to hear jazz．

　　Jazz became more and more popular．By the 1920s, jazz had been popular all over the United States．By the 1940s, you could hear jazz not only in clubs and bars, but in concert halls as well．Today people from all over the world play jazz．

　　Jazz musicians from the United States, Asia, Africa, South America and Europe meet and share their music at festivals on every continent．In this way jazz continues to grow and change．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　NEW YORK－America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history．Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings．

　　But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the sidewalk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel．

　　Brown is homeless－one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street．

　　During the day, Brown collects aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece．At night, he sleeps on the street．

　　“I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that,”said the 62-year-old former construction worker．

　　Brown admits he's had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine, but he said he still wants a more stable(not likely move)housing arrangement．

　　He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available．

　　However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York． With the strong economy and unemployment down．beautiful housing is being built to meet demands．

　　US report shows the rent in New York City rose more than 27 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US 549 to US 700 a month．

　　One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up．

　　The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help．

　　But few housing companies have been built for the poor．Many small apartments in the city now rent for US 1500 a month or more．

　　Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her．She is angry with his drinking and won't allow it in her house．

　　Smiling, he said he also has seven grand-children whom he'd like to see more often．“All I've got to do is clean up my act,”he said．

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阅读理解(Reading Comprehension)

　　If you were to dive deep into the ocean, you would notice the colors act strangely as you move deeper into the water．

　　At first before you've gone very far down, the colors will seem normal．But as you dive deeper, you begin to wonder where all the warm colors have gone．You try to catch sight of reds or yellows or oranges．

　　Then as you sink still farther, you will see only blues and purples．Soon these, too, begin to lose colors as you go down．

　　Now, far below the surface of the water, you will find yourself in a grey(灰色)，colorless place．The water above you is filtering out all of the sunlight's rainbow(彩虹)of light．

　　If you continue to go down, you will soon be far below the surface that no light can reach you．The blackness will become so complete that your eyes will ache to see nothing．Now you are ready to return to the surface, with its changing colors．

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完形填空(Cloze Test)

　　Each Indian tribe(部落)had a different language．Many Indians never learned any language 　　1　　 their own．Do you know 　　2　　 Indians from different tribes talked to 　　3　　?They had two ways 　　4　　 without 　　5　　．One way was by sign language; 　　6　　 way by signals(信号)．

　　Sign language is a way of talking by 　　7　　 signs．Indians used sign language 　　8　　 they met strangers．　　9　　 this way, they could 　　10　　 out whether the stranger was a friend or an enemy．In Indian 　　11　　 language, signs were made with the 　　12　　．One sign meant“man”．Another meant“horse”．　　13　　 the time of the day when something happened, an Indian 　　14　　 to the sky．He showed 　　15　　 the sun had been at the time．

　　He could also 　　16　　 many signals with a mirror(镜子)．He usually used the mirror to warn(告诫)someone of 　　17　　．Or he tried to get the 　　18　　 of a person far away．But he also used it to send 　　19　　 in code．Of course, mirrors could be used only when the 　　20　　 was shining．At night, Indians used fire arrows(箭)for signaling．

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