阅读理解

　　Listening to music while you drive can improve your speed and ability to get away from accidents, according to Australian psychologists(心理学家)．But turning your car radio up to full volume could probably make you end up in an accident．The performance of difficult tasks can be affected if people are subjected to loud noise．The experience of pulling up at traffic lights alongside cars with loud music made some psychologists in the University of Sydney look into whether loud music has something to do with driving．

　　The psychologists invited 60 men and women aged between 20 and 28 as subjects and tested them on almost the same driving tasks under three noise conditions：silence, rock music played at a gentle 55 decibels(分贝),and the same music at 85 decibels．

　　For 10 minutes the subjects sat in front of a screen operating a simple machine like a car．They had to track a moving disk on screen, respond to traffic signals changing color, and brake(刹车)in response to arrows that appeared without warning．

　　On the tracking task, there was no difference in performance under the three noise conditions．But under both the loud and quiet music conditions, the performers “braked” at a red light about 50 milliseconds sooner than they did when there was no rock music at all．That could mean a reduction in braking distance of a couple of meters actually, the difference between life and death for a pedestrian(行人)．

　　When it came to the arrows that appeared across the visual field, the psychologists found that when the music was quiet, people responded faster to objects in their central field of sight by about 50 milliseconds．For the people listening at 85 decibels, response times dropped by a further 50 milliseconds－a whole tenth of second faster than those “driving” with no music．

　　“But there’s a trade-off,” the psychologists told the European Congress of Psychology．“They lose the ability to look around the whole situation effectively．” In responding to objects that suddenly appeared, people subjected to 85－decibel rock music were around 100 milliseconds slower than both the other groups．Since some accident－such as children running into the road－take place without any notice, drivers listening to loud music must be less safe as a result．

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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．

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阅读理解

　　It was a day to celebrate if your family had put most of its money in a bank．You will get more money back because of a recent rise in interest rates(利率)．

　　On October 29, for the first time in nine years, the People’s Bank of China(PBOC)raised interest rates．The rate for one-year renminbi deposits(存款)was increased from 1.98 per cent to 2.25 per cent．And the rate for one-year renminbi loans(代款)went up from 5.31 per cent to 5.58 per cent．Longer term rates saw higher increases．

　　So what are interest rates?Banks offer some money to encourage people to keep their savings in a savings account(储蓄帐户)，and ask more money in return if you borrow money from them．The percentages of the extra money are the interest rates．

If your parents have borrowed money from banks to pay for houses or cars, the interest rates rise was not good news．

　　An increase in the interest rates on a loan means the borrower will need to repay more to the bank．For example, a person who borrowed, 10,000 yuan from the bank had to return 10,531 yuan before the interest rise．But after the interest rates are increased, he has to pay extra 27 yuan per year．

　　The rise came following a great demand for the cooling of the over-heating Chinese economy．For several years, pushed by a huge investment and construction projects, the country has had the fastest economic growth in the world．But this can be damaging just as it is when a person grows too fast and can no longer fit their clothes．It is hoped that with a higher interest rate people will act more cautiously and take less risks when borrowing money．

　　“The rate rise will help the economy to cool down．It will reduce investment in unnecessary industrial and construction projects．”said Su Ning, deputy governor(副行长)of the PBOC．

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阅读理解

　　One of the goals of American education officials is to have all public schools connected to the Internet computer system and have computer for all students．Government studies show that in 1994 only thirty-five percent of American public schools were connected to the Internet．Last year, that number reached eighty-nine percent．

　　Virginia Polytechnic Institute of State University is a large university in the southern state of Virginia．Officials at Virginia Tech say computers are very important to a student’s education．All students at Virginia Tech have been required to have a computer since 1998．

　　Each student’s living area at Virginia Tech has the necessary wires to link a computer to the Internet．The students can send and receive electronic mail, use the World Wide Web part of the Internet and link with other universities, all without leaving their room．They can also use their computers to send electronics copies of their schoolwork to their teachers．And they can search for books in the school’s huge library．

　　Most major American universities and colleges strongly urge or require new students to have a computer．Most colleges and universities also have large rooms where students can use computers for class work．

　　American high schools also have computers．Many have their own areas on the World Wide Web．If you have a computer you can learn about Fremont Union High School in Sunnyvale, California, for example．Its Web site provides information about the school, the teachers and their electronic mail addresses．It also lists student events and organizations．

　　Young children also use computer in school．Smoketree Elementary School in Lake Havasu, Arizona has given us a good example．The school also has a World Wide Web site．It tells about the school and the teachers and has a area for young children．These young children use computer in school to learn numbers and letters．They also learn how to use the computer they will need later in their education．

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阅读理解

　　The following are four forms about medicine．How to use the medicine is very important．Never take any by mistake．

　　1)Take the medicine with water, followed by one tablet every eight hours, as required．For further night－time and early morning, take two tablets at bedtime．Do not take more than six tablets in 24 hours．For Children six to twelve years old, go to your doctor for advice．Reduce dosage if nervousness, restlessness or sleeplessness takes place．

　　2)Each pill of the medicine taken three times every day for fourteen years old．As usual, a pill 6∶00 a.m．, before breakfast, one before 11∶00 and one before sleep．Not for children under six years old and old persons with heart attack．

　　3)The medicine for a person with a fever．Once two pills a day before sleep for adult．Not take the medicine without fever．Half for Children under 12 years old．Children with a high fever, go to see a doctor．

　　4)The medicine taken three times a day, once five pills for adult with a cold．Half of the pills for children 10 years old．Take the medicine before breakfast, lunch, supper or before sleep．

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阅渎理解

　　Malaria, the world's most widespread parasitic(寄生虫引起的)disease, kills as many as three million people every year－almost all of whom are under five, very poor, and African．In most years, more than five hundred million cases of illness result from the disease, although exact numbers are difficult to assess because many people don't(or can't)seek care．It is not unusual for a family earning less than two hundred dollars a year to spend a quarter of its income on malaria treatment, and what they often get no longer works．In countries like Tanzania, Mozambique, and the Gambia, no family, village, hospital, or workplace can remain unaffected for long．

　　Malaria starts suddenly, with violent chills, which are soon followed by an intense fever and, often, headaches．As the parasites multiply, they take over the entire body．Malaria parasites live by eating the red blood cells they infect(感染)．They can also attach themselves to blood vessels in the brain．If it doesn't kill you, malaria can happen again and again for years．The disease passed on to humans by female mosquitoes infected with one of four species of parasite．Together, the mosquito and the parasite are the most deadly couple in the history of the earth－and one of the most successful．Malaria has five thousand genes, and its ability to change rapidly to defend itself and resist new drugs has made it nearly impossible to control．Studies show that mosquitoes are passing on the virus more frequently, and there are more outbreaks in cities with large populations．Some of the disease's spread is due to global warming．

　　For decades, the first-choice treatment for malaria parasites in Africa has been chloroquine, a chemical which is very cheap and easy to make．Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, malaria parasites have become resistant to it．Successful alternatives that help prevent resistance are already available, but they have been in short supply and are very expensive．If these drugs should fail, nobody knows what would come next．

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阅渎理解

　　Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings．

　　Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness．

Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item．If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement．Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune．On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty．We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul．

　　Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?

　　In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen．Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief．In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect．We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends．We damage our own reputations by telling others．In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen．Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable．Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased．Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility．

　　There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions．Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions．Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence．And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy．While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue．Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness．

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阅渎理解

　　How should one invest a sum of money in these clays of inflation(通货膨胀)？Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate．Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market．Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past．Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques．

　　I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life．"The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound．It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands．Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people's wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control．This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves．"

　　Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time．Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of clay according to the beating of their own hearts．They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout tire time．So it seems that the first clocks were human beings．

　　However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time．They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun．They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour- glasses, and invented water-clocks．Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past．

　　Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home．After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in air antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?

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阅读理解

　　Throughout the history of the arts, the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists．No matter what objects they select, artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change-to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before．

　　Landscape(风景)is another unchanging element of art．It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists．In the 1970s Alfred Leslie, one of the new American realists, continued this practice．Leslie sought out the same place where Thomas Cole, a romanticist, had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before．Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature, Leslie paints what he actually sees．In his paintings, there is no particular change in emotion, and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background．He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术)to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom．

　　Besides, all art begs the age-old question： What is real?Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another．The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects, the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes, and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient forests．To sum up, understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods．

　　Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant．Past or present, Eastern or Western, the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience．Many and different are the faces of art, and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings．

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阅读理解

　　The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统)．Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment．As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat(栖息地)．

　　It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat．In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees．This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of

　　the African savannas．In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters．

　　Take the rain forests for example．In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor．By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor．In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well．

　　What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species．If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem．

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