About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table．I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation．At one point the woman asked,“So, how have you been？”And the boy-who could not have been more than seven or eight years old replied．“Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately．”

　　This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed(确认)my growing belief that children are changing．As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn't find out we were“depressed”,that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school．

　　Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years．Children don’t seem childlike anymore．Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to．

　　Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different．Childhood as it once was no longer exists．Why？

　　Human development depends not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge．Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions．Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders．

　　In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation(揭示)machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes．It is called television．Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults．Unable to resist the temptation(诱惑), many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures．

　　Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain．Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials．

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　　That“Monday moring feeling”could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath．Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday moring and doctors blame the stress of returnign to work after the weekend break．

　　The risk of having a heart attack on any given day shoud be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free Uiversity of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the avwrage person had a 20 percent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day．

　　Working Germans are particularly ont protected against attack, with a 33 percent higher risk at the beginning of the working week．Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day．

　　A study of 11 000 Italians proved 8 a. m. on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewest heart attacks in both countries．

　　The finding could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Wildish of the Free University．“We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,”he said．

　　Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work．

　　“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal(荷尔蒙)changes in their bodies,”Wildish explained．“All these tings can have an unfavorable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot(血凝块)which will cause a heart attack．”

　　“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life chandes．They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activities,”said Wildish．

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Culture determines what kind of thinking is important and what kind is not so important．Learners use the language, tools, and practice of their culture to learn concepts．Although students have their individual learing styles, their learning styles are often combined with cultural values．For example, Navajo(North American Indians living in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah)children often learn first by observing and listening．Then, when read, they continue learing on their own in cooperation with and under the supervision of and adult．In this way, the children learn all the skills they need．Navajo children speak very little during this process．In contrast, many African-American children learn effectively by acting and performing, they like classroom activities such as oral presentations, role-plays, and framatic performances．Lots of talking is useful for these students．Another ways of learning is through reading and writing．Asian students generally need writing to support their leaning, and therefore do well in classes where there is lots of writing．It is common to see Japanese students pay special attention to the spelling of words they have learned．They are more comfortable seeing new materials than hering them．Koreans are believed to be the most visual(can be seen)learners．So, although learning styles greatly determine how a person takes in new materials, one’s culture also influences how he learns．

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　　Everybody in this world is different from one another．But do you know that understanding“differences”can help you better manage your money？

　　As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs．

　　These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on．

　　Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life．

　　Financial experts say that every one also has their own beliefs of how to manage their finances．This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money．

　　According to our different values, edperts put us in three categories．They are：the ant, the cricket and the smail．

　　The ant－works first

　　Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don’t care about enjoying the moment．They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire．The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk．

　　The cricket－funs first

　　The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn’t think too much about the future．They even vorrow money when they really want something．Many young people now belong to this group．These people have few savings．When they get old, they might have problems．They should learn to save and buy insurance．

　　The snail－lives under pressure

　　The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves．They take big longterm loans form the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses．They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford them．This can cause problems in the future．They should plan more carefully．

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阅读下列短文从每题所给的四个选项(A，B，C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　COLUMBUS, Ohio－The heart operation taking place in the pale-green operating room at the Ohio State University Medical Center was unusual．The patient, a 62-year-old man, was made to sleep, tied with blue drapes(消毒帷帘)and lying face up on a narrow table．But no one was touching him．

　　Instead, the operation was being performed by a robot, whose three metal arms went through pencil-sized holes in the man’s chest．At the ends of the robot’s arms were tiny metal fingers, with turning wrists, which held a tiny instrument, a light and a camera．The robot’s arms and fingers were controlled by Dr．Randall K．Wolf, sitting at a computer in a corner of the operating room about 20 feet away．

　　This sort of operation, heart surgeons say, is the start of what may be the biggest change in their profession since heart bypass surgery(心脏搭桥手术)began nearly 30 years ago．“The reason we make cuts is that we have big hands,”said Dr．Wolf, the director of the surgery at Ohio State．The robot’s dainty fingers, no longer than a nail on the small finger, at the end of the long sticks could work better．

　　Eventually, surgeons believe, most heart surgery will be done by robots whose arms are put in through pencil-sized holes punched in patients'chests．Instead of directly staring into a patient’s body, surgeons will view magnified images of the operation on computer screens．In theory, the doctor would not have to be in the same room, or even the same country, as the patient．

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阅读理解

　　Among various programmes, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television．And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style．But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows．

　　Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “rubbish talk”．The contents on his show are as surprising as can be．For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level．Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to et up the troubles of other people's lives．

　　Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction．The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality of life．Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors．

　　Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society．Jerry ends every show with a “final word”．He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show．Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable．

　　Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone．The show's main viewers are middle class Americans．Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life's tougher problems．Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society．These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug．They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show's exploitation．

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阅读理解

　　When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying：“We have to go to work now,” you're left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy．After all, this is the already the twenty-first century and the idea of children working is just unthinkable．That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre．

　　Stage schools often act as agencies(代理机构) to supply children for stage and television work．More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education．

　　A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves．After all, what lively children wouldn't settle for(满足) spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?

　　Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows．Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age．But the law is very tight on the amount they can do．Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 to 80 days．

　　The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained．So what happens to those who don't make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case．

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阅读理解

Tales From Animal Hospital

David Grant

　　Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans Animal Hospital．Here Dr Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated, including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess, the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond．He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day, from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery(外科手术)．Tales from Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the programme and anyone who has a lively interest in their pets, whether it is a cat, a dog or a snake!

　　$ 14.99 Hardback 272pp Simon Schuster

　　ISBN 0751304417

Isaac Newton：The Last Sorcerer

Michael White

　　From the author of Stephen hawking：A Life in Science, comes this colorful description of the life of the world's first modern scientist．Interesting yet based on fact, Michael White's learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him．Newton is shown as gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic ended and science began．

　　$ 18.99 Hardback 320pp　　Fourth Estate

　　ISBN　1857024168

Fermat's Last Theorem

Simon Singh

　　In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew whiles reading in his school library came across the world's greatest mathematical problem：Fermat's Last Theorem(定理)．First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds, including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem, and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole Polytechnique．Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995．An unusual story of human effort over three centuries, Fermat's Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike．

　　$ 12.99　　Hardback 384pp　　Fourth Estate

　　ISBN　1857025210

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阅读理解

　　Maybe ten-year-old Elizabeth put it best when she said to her father, “But, Dad, you can't be healthy if you're dead.”

　　Dad, in a hurry to get home before dark so he could go for a run, had forgotten to wear his safety belt－a mistake 75% of US population make every day．The big question is why．

　　There have been many myths(荒诞的说法) about safety belt ever since their first appearance in cars some forty years ago．The following are three of the most common．

　　Myth Number One：It's best to be “thrown clear” of a serious accident．

　　Truth：Sorry, but any accident serious enough to “throw you clear” is able to be serious enough to give you a very bad landing．And chances are that you'll have traveled through a windshield(挡风玻璃) or door to do it．Studies show that chances of dying after a car accident are twenty-five times in cases where people are “thrown clear”．

　　Myth Number Two：Safety-belts “trap” people in cars that are burning or sinking in water．

　　Truth：Sorry again, but studies show that people knocked unconscious(昏迷) due to not wearing safety belts have a greater chance of dying in these accidents．People wearing safety belts are usually protected to the point of having a clear head to free themselves from such dangerous situation, not to be trapped in them．

　　Myth Number Three：Safety belts aren't needed at speeds of less than 30 miles per hour．

　　Truth：When two cars traveling at 30 mph hit each other, an unbelted driver would meet the windshield with a force equal to diving headfirst into the ground from a height of 10 meters．

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阅读理解

　　Compassion(热情) is a desire within us to help others．With effort, we can translate compassion into actions．An experience last weekend showed me this is true．I work part time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly．These old people are our main customers, and it's not hard to lose patience over their slowness．But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson．This dirty man walked up to my register(收款机) with a box of biscuits．He said he was out of money, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards．He asked if we could let him have the food on trust(赊欠)．He promised to repay me the next day．

　　I couldn't help staring at him．I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way．I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world．I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn't allow me to do so．I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job．

　　Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up．If anything, he looked more pitiable．“Charge it to me,” was all he said．

　　What I had been feeling was pity．Pity is soft and safe and easy．Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action．I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either．Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself．I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion．

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