阅读理解

　　Twenty years are just a blink in time．But 20 years is also long enough for a man to grow up．It is always painful．For Andre Agassi, maturing in the spotlight of international tennis competition was even harder．

　　On September 3, the American tennis player said a tearful goodbye to his 21-year career after a third-round defeat in the US Open．The 36-year-old tried his best, but was unable to keep up with German Benjamin Becker, more than ten years his junior．

　　“The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what I've found,”Agassi said to the fans．“I have found inspiration and you willed me to succeed．”It was an emotional speech at the end of a long career．

　　Agassi hated tennis as a teenager as much as he loves it now．His father made him play when he was a child．He got bored, and became a rebel(叛逆)．The strict training that his father pushed upon him got in the way of his wild lifestyle．He grew hair long, wore colourful clothes and spat at a judge．Over the years, he has made bad jokes during news conferences Asked what he would say to his 17-year-old self, Agassi answered,“I would say, I understand you a lot more than I want to be you．”

　　The turning point in Agassi's career came in 1992 when he unexpectedly won his first Grand Slam(大满贯赛事)at Wimbledon．It was the first time Agassi understood what real champions finally understand：winning is a test of courage and not just power, it's a marathon, not a sprint(短跑)．

　　And what a marathon Agassi was about to begin．He cut his long hair, got fitter and tightened up emotionally．On the court, he was ranked No．1 for almost two years．His lowest point came in 1997 when his ranking dropped to No．141．He didn't quit though．“I knew that I would try to get the most out of myself every day from that day forward．That was my promise,”he said．“That never stopped．”

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阅读理解

　　The human body is a living machine, and, like all machines, it needs“fuel”to supply it with energy．This is provided by the food we eat．But how much do we need to stay healthy?

　　The energy value of food is usually measured in calories．A calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1℃．The number of calories people need per day is different, as the chat below shows．Also, the number of calories you use at any moment normally depends on the activity you are in．For example, you need more calories for standing than for sitting, more for running than for walking, and so on．

　　The energy in food is mainly in the form of three kinds of chemical materials-carbohydrate,protein and fat．Carbohydrate provides 3.8 Cal/gm(calories per gram)of energy, protein 4.0 Cal/gm,and fat 8.8 Cal/gm．Each food contains different amounts of these materials, as the second chart shows．

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阅读理解

　　Thousands of jobs come into our Job Centre every week, but they get snapped up(抢购)quickly．So although we shall do all we can to help you, it's important for you to do all you can to help yourself．This passage tells you how．

　　Registered(注册)for work

　　Once you have registered for work we will match you will available vacancies．If you want to claim unemployment benefit(失业津贴), you also have to get registered at our Job Centre．But you actually apply for and claim it at the local Unemployment Office．

　　Getting a job through self- service

　　Jobs that come in are put on self- service show as soon as possible．Half the people who find jobs through our Job Centre find them through self- service．You can call in at any time to look at the jobs shown．

　　Come to our Employment Advisers

　　If you want more help or advice, don't forgot that's what we're here for．Our Employment Advisers can help you with things like：

　　★thinking about the different sorts of jobs you could do and which are best for you．

　　★jobs available locally or elsewhere．

　　★whether you are suitable for a TOPS training course．

　　★funds to help you look for, and move to, work in other parts．

　　Even though you have a clear idea of the sort of job and pay you want, you may find that something different will suit you quite well．Keep this in mind when you are talking with Employment Advisers．

　　If you don't find a job on your fast visit

　　Go into self- service as often as you can to look at the jobs on show there．Good vacancies are coming in all the time just because you've been registered for work．

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阅读理解

　　As the basic building materials of communication, words communicate meaning, but as we have seen, the meanings of words are very much influenced by culture．Meaning is in the person, not in the word, as each person is the product of a particular culture which passes on shared and appropriate meanings．Thus, if we want to learn to communicate well in a foreign language, we must understand the culture that gives that language meaning, Culture gives meaning and provides the context for communication, and the ability to communicate allows us to act out our cultural values and to share our language and our culture．

　　But our own native language and culture are so much a part of us that we take them for granted．When we travel to another country, it’s as if we carry along with our passports．We view the new environment using our own culture as the standard, and although not purposely, our ways of thinking and acting often get in the way of our understanding other languages and cultures．The ability and willingness to change lenses(视角)when we look at a different culture is both the cure and the prevention for such cultural blindness．Studying a new language provides us the opportunities to practise changing lenses when we also learn the context or the culture to which it belongs．

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　　TOKYO, Japan(AP)–Japan is pretty serious about robotics(机器人技术)．If the droids are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea．

　　Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that．In a show this week, a humanoid with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc．poured tea from a bottle into a cup．

　　Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate life with robot technology．

　　“A human being may be faster, but you’d have to say ‘Thank you,’”said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato．“That’s the best part about a robot．You don’t have to feel bad about asking it to do things．”

　　Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden．

　　Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan．

　　The walking, child–size Asimo from Honda Motor Co．greets people at showrooms．NEC Corp．has developed a smaller companion robot–on–wheels called Papero．A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship．

　　Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices monitor a person’s movements down to the smallest detail．

　　On the bright side, the tea–pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes．

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　　People can be addicted to different things, e．g．alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television．People who have such an addiction are compulsive(难以抑制的); i．e．, they have a very powerful psychological need that they feel they must satisfy．According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders; they feel that they must spend money．This compulsion, like most others, is irrational–impossible to explain reasonably．For compulsive spenders who buy on credit, charge accounts are even more exciting than money．In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything．Their pleasure in spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasures that they get from the things they buy．

　　There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting．To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts．Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap．They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game：when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning．Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior：a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason．

　　It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people．Stores, companies and advertisers use psychology to increase business：they consider people’s need for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods．

　　Psychologists often use a method called“behavior therapy”to help individuals solve their personal problems．In the same was, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money．

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　　Some children are natural-born bosses．They have a strong need to make decisions, manage their environment, and lead rather than follow．Stephen Jackson, a Year One student,“operates under the theory of what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine,”says his mother．“The other day I bought two new Star Wars light sabers(剑)．Later, I saw Stephen with the two new ones while his brogher was using the beat-up ones．”

　　“Examine the extended family, and you’ll probably find a bossy grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin in every generation．It’t an inheritable trait,”says Russell Barkley, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina．Other children who may not be particularly bossy can bradually gain dominance(支配地位)when they sense their parents are weak, hesitant, or in disagreement with each other．

　　Whether it’s inborn nature or developed character at work, too much control in the hands at the young isn’t healthy for children or the family, Fear is at the root of a lot of bossy behavior, says family psychologist John Taylor．Children, he says in his book From Defiance to Cooperation, “have secret feelings of weakness”and“a desire to feel safe．”It’s the parents’role to provide that protection．

　　When a“boss child”doesn’t learn limits at home, the stage is set for a host of troubles outside the family．The overly willful and unbending child may have trouble obeying teachers or coaches, for example, or trouble keeping friends．It can be pretty lonely as the top dog if no one likes your bossy ways．

　　“I see more and more parents giving up their power,”says Barkley, who has studied bossy behavior for more than 30 years．“They bend too far because they don’t want to be as strict as their own parents were．But they also feel less confident about their parenting skills．Their kids, in turn, feel more anxious．”

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　　“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!”cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood．

　　One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for ＄1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door．

　　Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work．As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year．bushes must be pruned(剪枝)in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later．It was the space available(可用的)in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant．A big mistake．

　　Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out be even more perfect for tomatoes．The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing(施肥)have turned the little plant into a tall bush．The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves．

　　Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回)my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won．I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June．But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light．

　　Here I am faced with a painful small decision：To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses．Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow．

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　　In a moment of personal crisis(危机), how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver?I began studying this question and found the answers interesting．

　　One morning I got into three different taxis and announced：“Well, it’s my first day back in New York in seven years．I’ve been in prison．”Not a single driver replied, so I tried again,“Yeah, I shot a man in Reno．”I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, so I could say casually,“Just to watch him die．”But nobody asked．The only response came from a Ghanaian driver：“Reno?That is in Nevada?”

　　Taxi drivers were uniformly sympathetic(有同情心的)when I said I’d just been fired．“This is America,”a Haitian driver said,“One door is closed．Another is open．”He argued against my plan to burn down my boss’ house：“if you do something silly and they put you away, you cannot look for another job．”A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit(获益)from my loss of hope．He refused to take me to the middle of the George Washington Bridge, a ＄20 trip．

　　“Why you want to go there?Go home and relax．Don’t worry．Take a new job．”

　　One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask(面具)and holding a stuffed(塞满的)pillowcase with the word“BANK”on it, I tried hailing(招呼)a taxi five times outside different banks．The driver picked me up every time．My ride with Guy Caaude Thevenain, a Haitian driver, was typical of the superb assistance I received．

　　“Is anyone following us?”

　　“No,”said the driver, looking in his rearview mirror at traffic and me．

　　“Let’s go across the park,”I said．“I just robbed the bank there．I got ＄25,000．”

　　“＄25,000?”he asked．

　　“Yeah, you think it was wrong to take it?”

　　“No, man．I work 8 hours and I earn just ＄70．If I can do that, I do it too．”

　　As we approached the 86th of Lexington, I pointed to the Chemical Bank．

　　“Hey, there’s another bank,”I said,“Could you wait here a minute while I go inside?”

　　“No, I can’t wait．Pay me now．”His reluctance may have something to do with money - taxi drivers think the rate for waiting time is too low - but I think he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can’t expect unconditional support．

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　　The U．S．Department of Labor statistics(统计)show that there is an oversupply of college trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing．Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists．Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren’t there．The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree．

　　On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts：carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen．These people have more work than, they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates．The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue collar workers no longer holds true．The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen．

　　The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future．A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree．Parents begin indoctrinating(灌输)their children with this myth before they are out of grade school．High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life．Under this pressure the kids fall in line．Whether they want to go to college or not doesn’t matter．

　　Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go．And every year college enrollments(入学)go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them．

　　One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there．Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class．Many of them drop out within the first year．Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up．

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