I travel a lot, and I find out different "styles"(风格)of directions every time I ask "How can I get to the post office?"

　　Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑)in Japan because most streets there don't have names; in Japan, people use landmarks(地标)in their directions instead of street names．For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner．Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market．The post office is across from the bus stop．”

　　In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks, There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles．Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances．In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, "Go north two miles．Turn east, and then go another mile．

　　People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles．"How far away is the post office?" you ask．"Oh," they answer, "it's about five minutes from here．" You say," Yes, but how many miles away is it?" They don't know．

　　It's true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes．What happens in such a situation?A New Yorker might say, "Sorry, I have no idea．" But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know．" People in Yucatan believe that "I don't know" is impolite．They usually give an answer, often a wrong one．A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

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　　The meaning of the word "volunteer" may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means" one who offers his or her services．"There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage(垃圾)from beaches and parks．Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries．They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves．Volunteers don't expect any kind of pay．

　　At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people．Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means．She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa's homes in Calcutta．The following is her story．

　　"I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school．We watched a video(录像) about her work in India and all over the world．I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I too wanted to try her kind of work．So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks．"

　　"I was asked to work in a home for sick people．I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch．I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up．I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them．To be honest, I don't think I was helping very much．It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture(文化)that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world．"

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阅读理解

　　Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family．As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had "seven fathers," because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her．Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避)into books．Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate．

　　In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine．Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband．Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa．At the university's Writers' Workshop, however, she felt lonely－a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families．The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her "creative voice．"

　　"It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice．I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn't think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it!That's when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn't write about．"

　　Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine．The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child．The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level．Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children's book, and a short-story collection．

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　　My first performance in front of an audience was coming up soon．

　　I tried as hard as I could to remain calm, but my heart was racing．I looked down at my sweat-covered, shaking hands．

　　I looked up again at the audience, realizing that these were real people．They were not just my mum and dad, who would say, “Good job!” even if I messed up the entire piece．

　　“What if I had the wrong music?What if I played the wrong notes?”

　　As it turned out, I was never able to answer these questions because the spotlight was waiting for me．I grasped my hands tightly together, drying off the sweat．

　　Slowly I walked to the piano in the center of the room．It contained 88 demanding keys, which were waiting impatiently to be played．Slowly, I opened the music．Next, I rested my still shaking hands on the ivory keys．

　　As my fingers played across the keys, I was becoming more unsure of my preparation for this moment．But the memory of my years of training came flooding back．I knew that I had practiced this piece so many times that I could play it backwards if requested．

　　Although at one point I accidentally played two keys instead of the intended one, I continued to move my fingers automatically．

　　My eyes burned holes into the pages in front of me．

　　There was no way that I was going to lose my concentration．To keep this to myself, I leaned forward and focused carefully on the music．

　　When I came to the end of the page, a warning went off inside my head：DON’T MAKE A MISTAKE WHEN YOU TURN THE PAGE!

　　Needless to say, I obeyed myself with all my heart and mind．And, proud of my “page-turning” feat, I finished the rest of the piece without making a single mistake．

　　After the final note died away, a celebration went into action inside my head．I had finished．I had mastered the impossible．

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　　The Government should raise taxes on air travel and high-polluting cars in order to help the environment, an important committee of MPs has said．It also said that the 70 mph speed limit on motorways should be reduced or enforced to bring down the amount of carbon dioxide given off by cars The House of Common Enviromental Audit committee’s latest report said that transport was the only sector(部门)of the UK where carbon emissions have continued to rise since 1990．

　　It said it was time for the Government to make demand for cheap air impossible by raising air passenger tax．Emissions from air traffic have risen by 5 times as much since 1900 and are continuing to rise．

　　The committee welcomed the recent introduction of changed car tax, which means that the lowest-carbon cars pay no road tax, while gas-guzzling(耗油的)4×4s pay an increased rate of ￡210．However, the MPs say it doesn’t go far enough and are calling for a top limit of ￡1,800 with lower limit of ￡200．

　　Committee chairman Tim Yeo said：“Air travel in particular is the fastest growing source of CO₂, with emissions more than five times since 1900．The Government should take much more decisive action to reduce the difference of income favor of trains, buses, and lower carbon cars and lorries．”

　　Friends of the Earth’s senior organizer Tony Bosworth said：“Emissions from transport are still rising and forecasts suggest they will carry on rising for years to come．”

　　“Tinkering(随意或部分修补)around the edges is no longer enough to deal with the greatest threat the world faces．” A spokesman for the Department for Transport said：“Dealing with carbon emissions in transport is a key problem．”

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　　A bully is a person who enjoys hurting other people．A bully can hurt people with words or by hitting them．85％ of children in the UK have been bullied at least once．

　　How can I tell if a person is a bully?

　　He or she will…

　　·Try to find your weak point－perhaps you are shy, nervous or easily made worried．

　　·Make fun of you in front of your friends．

　　·Borrow money then won’t pay you back．

　　·Tell the bully to leave you alone．

　　·Do not be afraid to ask other people for help, even though the bully tells you not to．

　　·Do not feel ashamed because you have been bullied．You have done nothing wrong!The bully should feel ashamed．

　　·Do not believe the bad things a bully says about you．

　　·Help people who are being bullied, even though you don’t know them．

　　·Be a friend to people who are bullied．

　　·Tell a teacher if you see bullying．

　　·Tell bullies to stop．Sometimes bullies are afraid, too．

　　Some bullies…

　　·Have never learnt to think about other people’s feelings．

　　·Don’t like themselves, so they are sad．They think they will be happy if they make another person sad．

　　·Have been bullied themselves by other bullies．

　　Yes!Bullies can change when they learn to think about other people’s feelings．

Sometimes bullies must be punished(惩罚)before they understand．Sometimes, bullies just need friends．

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　　Dogs are social animals, but without proper training, they will behave like wild animals．They will soil your house, destroy your belongings, bark wildly, fight other dogs and even bite you．Nearly all behavior problems are perfectly normal dog activities that occur at the wrong time or place or are directed at the wrong thing．The key to preventing or treating behavior problems is learning to teach the dog to react in a normal way．

　　One of the best things you can do for your dog and yourself is to obedience train (服从训练)it．Obedience training doesn’t solve all behavior problems, but it is the most important．Training opens up a line of communication between you and your dog．Effective communication is necessary to instruct your dog about what you want it to do．

　　Training is also an easy way to build the social rank order．When your dog obeys a simple request of “come here, sit,” it is showing obedience and respect for you．It is not necessary to make yourself as of the dog by using extreme ways．You can teach your dog its subordinate(从属的)role by teaching it to follow your orders．Most dogs love performing tricks for you to happily accept that you are in charge．

　　Training should be fun and rewarding for you and your dog．It can enrich your relationship and make living together more enjoyable．A well-trained dog is more confident and can more safely be allowed a greater amount of freedom than an untrained animal．

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阅读理解

　　Camp memories last forever!We make sure they are unforgettable!

　　Sun Summer Camps offer so many exciting things for campers to do．Unlike other camp programs that include horses as a small part of their program, at Sun Camp, horses ARE the program!We are 100％horse from stable(马厩)management, nature walks, and track rides to bedroom furnishings．

　　Horses help us achieve many of our aims．Girls can learn to develop responsibility, self-confidence and personal connections in their lives while having fun．Using horses as a wonderful tool for education, our camps offer an interesting place for growth and learning．

　　Imagine each girl having her very own horse to spend time with and a best friend to love and take care of!Each camper is responsible for a horse for the week．Our riding program provides a lot of riding and lesson time．Campers will learn how to take care of the horse as well as how to ride．Days are filled with horse-related activities to strengthen the connection between each girl and horse, as the girls learn to work safely around the horses．

　　At Sun, we try to create a loving, caring family atmosphere for our campers．We have “The Bunkhouse”(4 girls), the” Wranglers Roost”(4 girls), and “The Hideout”(2 girls)in our comfortable 177-year-old farm house．All meals are home cooked, offering delicious and healthy food for the hungry rider．

　　Our excellent activities create personalized memories of your child’s vacation, Each child will receive a camp T-shirt and a photo album(usually 300-500 pictures)of their stay at camp．

　　Our camps are offered during June, July and August 2008, for small groups of girls aged 13-16 years, not only from Canada but also other parts of the world．

　　We will send you full program descriptions at your request．

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　　The more I learn about how your oral health can affect your overall health, the more of a brushing fanatic(狂热者)I am．But it wasn’t always that way．As a kid, I resisted tooth-brushing at bedtime－what a bore!I remember my mom asking if I’d brushed my teeth．I’d say yes and she’d say “Let me smell your breath,” so she could confirm it with a smell of Crest．But I’d learned just to take a bite of toothpaste right from the tube, without even making contact with a brush．What a stupid mistake!Soon my teeth were full of holes－something I’ve regretted ever since．

　　In those days we weren’t much into preventive care at either the dentist or doctor．That wasn’t part of the way of thinking of my parents’ generation, who grew up during the Great Depression．We didn’t know how important it could be, either．"So much of dental care is reactionary．”says Mark Helpin, head of dentistry at Temple University．“Parents will bring their children in only if there’s a problem．”

　　Medical research has shown the dangers of tooth decay(蛀牙)and gum disease, including heart disease, low birth weight in babies, dangerous and even deadly infections and now maybe Alzheimer’s disease(老年痴呆)．There’s no longer any excuse to avoid regular dental checkups and careful oral maintenance－especially with young kids to get them started on the right path．It’s important to establish a relationship with a dentist the same way you would with a pediatrician．

　　The Alzheimer’s news is especially alarming．We reported back in January on a study at the University of Kentucky that found a preliminary link between tooth loss and dementia．Now there’s further evidence, thanks to a study presented last week at the Alzheimer's Association 2008 International Conference in Chicago．While this study in no way proves that gum disease causes Alzheimer’s, it’s pretty clear that the inflammation and immune response to these harmful bacteria aren’t good!

　　It takes less than a minute to brush your teeth．It takes two minutes to do a thorough job of brushing your teeth．If doing those two things twice a day may save me from mental disease later, I’m never going to miss these small tasks again－and neither should you．

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