阅读理解

　　More than 3 million years ago, our ancestors(祖先)were already on the march, rising on two legs to search for food, seek greener lands and, above all, to grow in body and brain．Let’s meet some of them：

　　1．Australopithecus afarensis：

　　They had apelike(像猿一样的)faces and their brains were a third the size of modern humans’ brains．They lived in 3.9 million years ago．Fossils(化石)were found in Ethiopia(埃塞俄比亚)in 1974．

　　2．Paranthropus boisei：

　　Covered with fur, they had strong arms and gorilla-like(像大猩猩一样的)faces．They lived 1－2.5 million years ago．Fossils were found in Tanzania(坦桑尼亚)in 1959．

　　3．Homo habilis：

　　Homo habilis, which actually means “handy man”, was the first species to make and use primitive^⑨ stone tools．They lived 1.6－2.2 million years ago．Fossils were found in Tanzania in 1960．

　　4．Homo erectus：

　　With skeletons(骨骼)very similar^⑩ to those of modern humans, they were probably the first to use fire．They lived 30 000－1.8 million years ago．Fossils have been found in Africa and Asia since 1893．

　　5．Homo heidelbergensis：

　　They were skilled hunters who used spears to kill animals．Their bodies were similar to ours, although more muscular(肌肉发达的)and larger boned．They lived 200 000-500 000 years ago．Fossils have been found in Ethiopia, Germany, France and Spain since 1921．

　　6．Homo Neanderthal：

　　Their brains were at least as large as the average modern humans’, while their smaller bodies helped them deal with cold climates．They lived 30 000-230 000 years ago．Fossils have been found in France and Iraq since 1856．

阅读理解

　　In the last 500 years, nothing about people－their clothes, ideas, or languages has changed as much as what they eat．The original^⑦ chocolate drink was made from the seeds of cocoa tree(可可树)by South American Indians．The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500’s．And although it were very expensive, it quickly became fashionable．In London, shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places．Some still exist today．

　　The potato is also from the New World．Around 1600, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe, where it soon was widely grown．The potato was the main food at Irish table．Ireland became so dependent on it that thousands of Irish people starved(饿死)when the crop failed during the “Potato Famine(饥荒)” of 1845-1846, and thousands more were forced to leave their homeland and move to America．

　　There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World．But some others went in the opposite direction．Brazil is now the world’s largest grower of coffee, and coffee is an important crop in Colombia and other South American countries．But it is native to Ethiopia, a country in Africa．It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400’s．

　　According to an Arabic legend(传说), coffee was discovered when a person named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red fruits on a coffee bush．He tried one and experienced the “wide-awake” feeling that one third of the world’s population now start the day with．

阅读理解

　　Sailing may seem like a difficult sport, but it really is not hard to learn．You do not need to be strong．But you do need to be quick．And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind．First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from?Is it from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must be thinking about this all the time on the boat．The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail^⑤．

　　Let’s start with wind blowing from behind．This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction．(Picture 1)You should let the sail out all the way．It should be a 90 angle(角)to the boat．(Picture 2)Then it will catch the wind best．

　　If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat．(Picture 3)In this case, you must let the sail about half way out．(Picture 4)It should be at about a 45 angle to the boat．It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn’t be flapping^⑥．It shouldn’t look like a flag on a flagpole．If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down．

　　Sailing into the wind is not possible．(Picture 5)If you try, the sails will be of no use and the boat will stop．You must go back and forth．(Picture 6)This is called tacking(逆风而行)．When you are tacking, you should bring your sail in all the way．It should be parallel(平行的)to the boat．(Picture 7)This is the most difficult kind of sailing．It is also the most exciting．You have to watch the sail all the time．The wind may change suddenly．Then you must be ready to change the sail．

　　These are the basic rules about wind direction．They may be difficult to follow at first．Sometimes it is difficult to know where the wind is even coming from!But soon you will learn to feel it on your face．Before long, you will also get used to the boat and the sail．

　　But remember－do not get out alone until you really know what you are doing．Sailing boat is fun, but they are not toys!

阅读理解

　　When nature is left alone, a balance is reached among the animals and plants living in one area．But when man starts his work in nature, the balance is likely to be destroyed．He grows a crop and takes it away to eat; then there are no dead leaves to fall on the ground, holding water while it sinks into the surface, or decaying(腐烂)and adding humus(腐殖质)to the soil．Unless a farmer acts with knowledge and skill, he is therefore most likely to make the land poorer．To take the place of the useful matter in the crops that he removes, he uses some kind of fertilizer(肥料)．Chemical fertilizers are of great help, but the waste products of animals and decaying remains of plants should also be put on the land．In some places, it is a habit to burn waste material lying about, but such burning destroys the useful matter in the dead plants．Although the ashes that are left are valuable when put on the land, a better practice is to bury the waste so that it decays and increases the humus in the soil．

　　In the past, when the world population was much lower than it is now, a man had little difficulty in ordinary times in growing the food that was needed．When a field had been used some years and had become tired, the farmer could move to another place．The tired land then slowly recovered．Gradually grasses and other plants would appear on it and its productive power would slowly return to normal through their decay．But nature, left alone, would take a long time to bring back the land to its former state; the length of time required would depend on local conditions, but it might well be ten years．

　　It is a bad practice to grow the same crop in a field year after year．If the crop is changed, the land will suffer less because it is treated and used in a different way．Different plants have different effects on the soil．Therefore, a change of crop will do less harm than the growing of the same crop year after year and a regular change to grass will do good to the soil．Much will therefore be gained if different crops are grown one after another, a method known as the rotation(轮作)of crops．

阅读理解

　　In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas．Of these, only about half a dozen cause the strong, circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that are named hurricanes, and several usually make their way to the coast．There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people．

　　The great storms that hit the coast start as harmless circling disturbances(大气扰动)hundreds－even thousands－of miles out at sea．As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the trade winds．When conditions are just right, warm, wet air flows in at the bottom of such a disturbance, moves upward through it and comes out at the top．In this course, the wetness in this warm air produces rains, and with it the heat is changed into energy in the form of strong winds．As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to swirl(旋转)in a counter-clockwise(逆时针)motion．

　　The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days but it contains almost more power than we can imagine．The hidden energy of the heat given off by a hurricane’s rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the US for more than six months．Water, not wind, is the main source of death and destruction(破坏)in a hurricane．A typical(典型)hurricane bring 6 to 12 inch downpour resulting in sudden floods．Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea－the mountains of water moving toward the low-pressure hurricane center．The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore．

阅读理解

　　Scientists used to explore(探测)on the surface of the ocean．Now they are exploring below the surface, too．They want to know about the ocean water and the plant and animal life deep in the ocean．In 1943 the scientist William Beebe dived 3000 feet below the surface in a hollow^③ steel ball．In 1945 August, Piccard dived 10 330 feet．In 1960 his son Jean dived to a depth of 35 800 feet．

　　All these early dives were deep．But the divers could not stay down for very long．They had to come back up to the surface after a few seconds．Scientists needed to stay down longer to study life below the surface．Gradually they succeeded．Cousteau, a Frenchman, was able to keep men down to a depth of 36 feet for one month and to a depth of 90 feet for a week．

　　Now scientists are developing even better equipment．With this new equipment, men can stay below the surface for days or even weeks．In 1962 Cousteau set up a research station 35 feet below the surface．Then, in 1964, he set up another station on the ocean floor of the Red Sea．This was the first undersea station to operate without help from the surface．

　　Many countries are now studying undersea living．The former Soviet Union has an undersea laboratory in the Crimean Sea．The United States has a laboratory 50 feet down on the ocean floor off the Virgin Islands．In 1970 five men lived there for two weeks．Then a team of five women scientists stayed in the laboratory．Next came other teams of men．All were there to explore the ocean depths and to make plans for the use of its resources^④．Scientists hope to find enough mineral, vegetable, and animal wealth there to provide food for the entire world．

VIKING VOYAGES TO AMERICA

UNDERWATER WORLD

Zheng He and His Seven Voyages

阅读理解

　　You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature．But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation(撤离)of an island nation－the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland．

　　During the 20th century, sea level rose 8－12 inches．As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water．

　　Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years．Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms．

　　Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions(导致温室效应的气体排放), which are a main cause of global warming．“By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years, ” Laupepa told the BBC．

　　Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries．

　　Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable(易受影响的)to rising sea levels．Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311 000 an “endangered nation”．

阅读理解

　　The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone．Enter the Red Hat Society－a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun．

　　“My grandmothers didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody．They were programmed to do that, ” said Emily Cornette, head of a chapter of the 7yearold Red Hat Society．

　　While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age．But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers(生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their parents’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old．

　　If you take into consideration feminism(女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable(必然的)．In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple(紫色的)clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing．

　　“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins：’When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple/With a red hat which doesn’t go, ’”said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998．When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention．

　　“The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper said．“Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves．” This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful．“We’re a ladies’ play group．It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood．

阅读理解

　　These days a green building means more than just the color of the paint．Green building can also refer to environmentally friendly houses, factories, and offices．

　　Green building means “reducing the impact(影响)of the building on the land”, Taryn Holowka of the U．S．Green Building Council in Washington, D．C．, said．

　　According to Holowka, building account for(占了)65 percent of total U．S．electricity use．But green building can reduce energy and water use．Also, the building are often located near public transportation such as buses and subways, so that people can drive their cars less．That could be good for the environment, because cars use lots of gas and give off pollution．Green buildings are often built on developed land, so that the buildings don’t destroy forests．

　　Marty Dettling is project manger for a building that put these ideas into action．The Solaire has been called the country’s first green high rise building．According to Dettling, “We’ve reduced our energy use by one third and our water by 50 percent．”

　　The Solaire cuts energy in past by using solar power．“On the face of the building we have solar panels which change the sun’s energy into electricity, ” Dettling explained．

　　The solaire also has lights that automatically turn off when people leave the room．In addition, the building has lots of windows, allowing people to use the sun for light during the day．The solaire cuts water reusing it．

　　Not everyone is eager to move into a green building, however．Some people think that things like solar panels cost more money than more traditional energy sources．Anyhow, Holowka said, “It’s going to be big．”