Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want to see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying．

　　Peter and Maria, university students, want to travel as far as possible on very little money and would like to get to know a country by working there for three months with other young people．

　　Michael, a young computer programmer, has been working hard and needs a holiday to relax in winter．He would like to go somewhere warm and sunny, where he can swim in the sea, and he enjoys sports and dancing．

　　Harry and Kate, both teachers, and their two teenage sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays．There must be plenty for boys to do, although Harry and Kate just want beautiful scenery, good food and wine and peace．

　　A man steps on what seems like solid ground but discovers with horror that the ground is giving way beneath his feet．The man struggles desperately, but he is trapped．He cannot escape．Slowly he sinks deeper and deeper until at last he is gone, buried in the treacherous earth．The solid ground is solid only in appearance．It is actual quicksand, which is a deep mass of fine sand mixed with water．

　　How is quicksand formed?Water pushes up from below the surface and is held by the sand．The grains of sand are forced apart by the water．They cannot hold any weight．The surface water may have come from a spring, a river or a stream．Sometimes pools of water near beaches become filled with sand．When the soil under these pools does not allow for good drainage(排水), the sand can become stretches of quicksand．

　　Is it true that a man who steps into quicksand is doomed to(注定)die?No, for men have fought their way from quicksand to firm land again．It is panic(恐慌)that creates the condition that can result in death, for the more a person struggles, the worse matters become．Quick movements will make the sand give way temporarily(临时地), but then it rushes and settles solidly around the body．A man trapped in quicksand should either lie back, or not move at all, except to stretch out his arms．When the weight of the sand his body has displaced equals his weight, he will stop sinking．With feet held still, and with slow movements of the arms, as in the backstroke in swimming men have managed to roll to safety and reach firm ground．

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Hawking has left much for Chinese to think about．British physicist Stephen Hawking，possibly the world’s most famous scientist after Albert Einstein，gave lectures in Zhejiang and Beijing in August．An illness left him unable to move any part of his body except for three fingers．But his continuing efforts in the field of science have made many young people take him as their idol(偶像)．His books，such as A Brief History of Time，become bestsellers in Chinese bookstores．“Hawking helps people expand their horizons and become interested in science，”said Pan Yunhe，president of Zhejiang University．Indeed，experts don’t think it likely that Hawking’s lectures and profound(深奥的)ideas will be easily understood by the average person．

　　But he has certainly sowed the seeds of science among many young people．And the “Hawking fever” caused by his visit has made people ask：How can China produce more top scientists like Hawking?

　　“Nurturing(培养)top scientists will take as much work to change society as to educate the scientists themselves，”said Zhang Fan．Zhang has studied in the UK since 1999 and will be a sophomore(大学二年级学生)at Trinity College in October, 2002．In Britain，Zhang said，teachers inspire students to have a general understanding of the subjects they are interested in．And they encourage students to develop new ideas，which helps them to nurture their creativity．In China，the Ministry of Education has encouraged schools to provide quality education to tap(开发)students’ potential(潜力)．

　　“I hope teachers will pay more attention to helping us use our imaginations and solve problems on our own，”said Lu Jie，a Junior Three student in Sanfan Middle School in Beijing．

阅读理解

　　The private automobile(私家车)has long played an important role in the United States．In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life．In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one．By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work．This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems．

　　For farm families the automobile is very helpful．It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools．

　　Family life has been affected in various ways．The car helps to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences．However, when teenage children have the use of the car, their parents can’t keep an eye on them．There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs－or is “showing off” by speeding or breaking other traffic laws．Mothers of victims(受害者)of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD(Mothers Against Drunk Driving)．These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧)．They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age．Students have formed a similar organization, SADD(Students Against Drunk Driving)and are spreading the same message among their friends．

　　For many Americans the automobile is a necessity．But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult．Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans．

阅读理解

　　Dear editor,

　　I appreciate your comments about age discrimination and support them completely．At age 65 I work and teach at a large Beijing university which hired me after some concern about my age．

　　I teach subjects in which my many years of experience are very useful．I teach Managerial Economics, Business Analysis, Intellectual Property Law and Business English．

　　As a teacher, I am much more valuable to my students because of my many years of experience as a lawyer and as a businessman．

　　During a recent visit to Hong Kong, I was impressed by posters in the subway system which said “Consider experience not age when hiring”．

　　As you knew and pointed out in your article, experience is not something which can be acquired without years of life．

　　As a lawyer in the United States for many years, I know that laws against employment discrimination do not fix the problems but at least they indicate that government is opposed to such discrimination．

　　Recently Beijing was host to a number of Nobel laureates．Not a single one of them was under the age of 60．

　　Some have said that youth is “wasted” on the young．Experience should not be wasted simply because it is something that the old have and the young do not．

　　Jim Gaylord, Beijing

阅读理解

　　There are many people who could be Olympic Champions, all Americans who have never tried．I’d estimate(估计)that five million people could have beaten me in the pole vault(撑竿跳高)on the years I won it, at least five million．Men who were stronger, bigger, and faster than I could have done it, but they never picked up a pole, never made the efforts to vault their legs off the ground to try to get over the bar．

　　Greatness is all around us．It’s easy to be great because great people will help you．What fantastic about all the conventions(大会)I went to was that the greatest in the business would come and share their ideas, their methods and their techniques with everyone else．I have seen the greatest salesmen opening up and showing young salesmen exactly how they did it．They didn’t hold back．I have also found it true in the world of sports．

　　I’ll never forget the time I was trying to break Dutch Warmer Dam’s record．I was about a foot below his record, so I called him on the phone．I said, “Dutch, can you help me?I seem to have leveled off．I can’t get any higher．”

　　He said, “Sure, Bob, come on up to visit me and I’ll give you all I got．”I spent three days with the master, the greatest pole-vaulter in the world．For three days, Dutch gave me everything that he’d seen．There were things that I was doing wrong and he corrected them．To make a long story short, I went up eight inches．That great guy gave me the best that he had．

　　Great people will share．Great people will tell you their secrets．Look for them, call them on the phone or buy their books．Go where they are, get around them, and talk to them．It is easy to be great when you get around great people．

阅读理解

　　When I was a boy I was always told, “Peter, the more you know, the further you go．”So I stayed in school until I graduated from college and then went forth into the world, holding firmly the idea and my new teaching certificate．During the first year of teaching, I was upset to find that a number of teachers, school principals and superintendents(管理人员)appeared to know nothing about their professional responsibilities and incompetent(不称职的)in carrying out their duties．For instance, my principal’s main concerns were that classrooms should be quiet and that no one should step on or near the flower beds．The superintendent’s main concerns were that all official forms should be presented on time．The children’s education appeared farthest from their mind．

　　At first I thought this was a special weakness of the local school system in which I started to work as a teacher．So I applied for certification in another state．I filled out the forms, enclosed the required documents and sent them off．Several weeks later, back came my application and all the documents!

　　No, there was nothing wrong with my forms; they were all correctly filled out; an official departmental stamp showed that they had been received in good order．But an accompanying letter said, “The new regulations require that such forms cannot be accepted by the Department of Education unless they have been registered(注册)at the Post Office to ensure(保证)safe delivery．Will you please remail the forms to the Department, making sure to register them this time?”

　　I began to believe that the local school system did not have a monopoly(垄断)on incompetence．

　　As I grew older, I saw that every organization contained a number of persons who could not do their jobs．

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　How do successful people think?What drives them?Interviews and investigations indicate that there are several keys to success that successful people share．

　　First of all, successful people never blame someone or something outside of themselves for their failure to go ahead．They realize that their future lies in their own hands．They understand that they cannot control things in life, such as nature, the past and other people．But in the meantime, they are well aware that they can control their own thoughts and actions．They take responsibility for their life and regard this as one of the most empowering(给人以权力的)things they can do．Perhaps what most separate successful people from others is that they live life “on purpose”－they are doing what they believe they are put here to do．In their opinion, having a purpose in their life is the most important element that enables them to become fully functioning people．They hold that when they live their life on purpose, their main concern is to do the job right．They love what they do and it shows．People want to do business with them because of their commitment(投身，献身)．To live their life on purpose, successful people find a cause they believe in and create a business around it．Besides, they never easily give up．Once they have set up goals in their life, they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals．Top achievers always bear in mind what they don’t have forever．

　　Rather than seeing it negative or depressing, they use the knowledge to spur themselves on and go after what they want energetically and passionately．

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The journey to the moon had been the first step towards future exploration(探险)in space．The distance between the Moon and Earth is very short indeed when compared with the distances between Earth and the other planets．Mars, the nearest planet to Earth is millions of miles away!Travelling to the planets will be man’s next aim．Such travels will be more challenging than the trip to the moon and certainly more adventurous．

　　Recently, two American spaceships, Vikings Ⅰ and Ⅱ, landed on Mars trying to discover whether that planet has any life on it．So far the signs of life on Mars have neither been confirmed(确认)nor ruled out．Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus(金星)is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there．Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense(稠)and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the Earth’s atmosphere．

　　Scientists believe man may find planets which have the same conditions as those we have on Earth, but man should realize Earth will be his only home for a long time and begin to love and care for it．

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours．This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact, it is quite normal．For some people, though, loneliness can last for years．Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness．

　　The first kind of loneliness is temporary(暂时的)．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation－for example, family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place．Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year．

　　The third kind of loneliness is the most severe．Unlike the second type, chronic(长期的)loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others．Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition．

　　Psychologists(心理学家)agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person’s social contacts, e．g．friends, family members, co-workers, etc．We depend on various people for different reasons．For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities．However, psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more．They question their popularity．

　　Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons：they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease．While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a sad, and sometimes dangerous condition．