阅读理解

　　We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles of your neck, or because an unexpected twist has made your neck ache and stiff．Your whole body feels tight．The slightest move makes you jump with pain．Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck．

　　That is why we use the phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling．We have all met such people．

　　One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands－often at the wrong time－during a performance in the theater．He keeps you from hearing the actors．

　　Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and the play begins．They come hurrying down to your row of seats．You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap．You must stand up to let them pass．You are proud of your self-control after they have settled into their seats…Well, what now…Good God, one of them is up again．He forgot to go to the men’s room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass．Now, that is“a pain in the neck”．

　　Another, well-known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies．His mouth is full of popcorn; he is chewing loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him．None of them remain still．Up and down, back and forth, they go－for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink．

　　Then, there is the man sitting next to you at a lunch counter smoking a smelly cigar．He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth．

　　We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway car and sits down next to you, just as closes you will let him．You are reading the newspaper and he leans over and stretches his neck so that he can read the paper with you．He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it．

　　We also call such a person a“rubber-neck”, always stretching his neck to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors．They enjoy invading your privacy．People have a strong dislike for rubber-necks．They hate being spied upon．

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　　Every human being, no matter what he is doing, gives off body heat．The usual problem is how to dispose of it．But the designers of the Johnstown campus of the University of Pittsburgh set themselves the opposite problem--how to collect body heat．They have designed a collection system which uses not only body heat, but the heat given off by such objects as light bubs and refrigerators as well．The system works so well that no conventional fuel is needed to make the campus's six buildings comfortable．

　　Some parts of most modern buildings--theaters and offices as well as classrooms are more than amply heated by people and lights and sometimes must be air-conditioned even in winter．The technique of saving heat and reusing it is called “heat recovery．”A few modern buildings recover heat, but the University's system is the first to recover heat from some buildings and reuse it in others．

　　Along the way, Pittsburgh has learned a great deal about some of its heat producers．The harder a student studies, the more heat his body gives off．Male students emit more heat than female students, and the larger a student, the more heat he produces．It is tempting to conclude that“the hottest prospect”for the Johnstown campus would be a hardworking, overweight male genius．

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　　The campaign is over．The celebrations have ended．And the work for the newly-elected US president Barack Obama has begun．

　　The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his attitude against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix an ailing(欠佳的)economy．But what will the first African-American president do for race relations?

　　A USA today poll(民意测验)found that two-thirds of Americans believe that under Obama's leadership relations between blacks and whites“will certainly be worked out”．This is the most hopeful response since the question was first asked in 1963．

　　However, it is still too early to tell whether Obama's presidency will be able to solve many of the social problems facing low-income black communities．

　　Although blacks make up only 13 percent of the US population, 55 percent of all prisoners are African-American．Such numbers can be blamed on any number of factors on America's racist past, a failure of government policy and the collapse(破裂)of the family unit in black communities．

　　It is unlikely that Obama will be able to change such trends overnight．

　　In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama's rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US．

　　“When the G8 meets, the four most important people in the room will be the president of China, the prime minister of India, the prime minister of Japan and Barak Obama,”he told London's The Times newspaper．“It will be the first time we've seen that on our television screens．That will be a huge psychological shift(心理转变)for both the white people and the colored ones in the world．

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　　BUGET(预算)FOR ENGLISH SCHOOL'S VISIT TO DALIANI．TEACHER COSTS

　　H．PROJECT COSTS

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　　High-school students in France and Germany are to learn modern history from the same textbook starting in the new school year．It's thought that the new book will help the next generation of French and Germans develop a shared European identity．

　　The book, called“Histoire/Geschichte”the French and German words for“history”, was co-written by historians from both countries．It will provide students from both sides of the Rhine with the different explanations of their common history．The idea for the books came about in 2003, when high school students from both countries celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty(爱丽舍条约)–a friendship treaty signed to show that France and Germany had buried their post-war differences．The students' suggestion soon got strong support from both governments．“The big lesson is that hatred(仇恨)won't last forever,”said French Education Minister Gilles de Robien．“This book allows us to create a joint future and build on our past,”he added．

　　“The book is another milestone in France-German relations,”Peter Miler, a German official told Reuters．He said that it's the first time that two nations have sat down and written history together．“If France and Germany can do it, why shouldn't other countries follow suit?”

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　　One night I was sitting in my kitchen half-listening as 15-year-old Tommy fought with his 12-year-old brother Kevin．I didn't pay attention when Kevin charged up the stairs with the hurt on his face．

　　About 20 minutes later, as I was walking upstairs I heard Kevin inside the bathroom．I knocked on the door and asked,：“Hey Kevin, do you want to talk?”

　　No response．

　　I tried again,“why don't you come out of there?”No response again．

　　So, joking around, I grabbed some index cards(索引卡)and a pencil and wrote,“If you don't want to talk, we can write notes to each other．”

　　An hour later I was sitting on the floor outside the bathroom with stacks of(堆积的)index cards in front of me from Kevin．As I read one of Kevin's notes, tears came to my eyes．It said,“Nobody in this family cares about me．I'm not the youngest, and I am not the oldest, and I am not the talented．Tommy thinks I'm stupid and Dad wishes he had the other Kevin as a kid because he is good at basketball．And you are never around to even notice me．”

　　Tears came to rny eyes as I wrote back to him,“You know Kevin, I really do love you and I am sorry I don't always show it．I am here for you and you are loved in this family．”

　　There was no response for a while, but than I heard a tearing sound coming from the inside the bathroom．Kevin, who had run out of index cards, wrote on a torn up paper cup,“Thanks．”

　　I wrote back,“for what?”it returned to me with“loving me”written on it．

　　Since than, I try my best to give more attention to my family members．Kevin and．

　　I have a closer relationship now, and sometimes when one of us noticed the other is upset, we'll smile and say,“write it on a piece of cup?”

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　　“Life is speeding up．Everyone is getting unwell．”

　　This may sound like something someone would say today．But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it．

　　We all love new inventions．They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives．

　　But have all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?

　　Picture this：You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer．Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder．Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work．Now you have to stay up all night to get it done．How calm and happy do you feel?

　　Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired．Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier?Perhaps because they lead simpler lives．

　　One family in the UK went“back in time”to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today．The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Tomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house．They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones．

　　The grandmother, Lyn, said,“It was hard physically, but not mentally．”She believed life was less materialistic．“The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,”She said．The boys said they fought less to fight over, such as their computer．Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a“fashionable, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things．”

　　Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!

　　Don’t be available all the time．Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day．Don’t check your e-mail every day．

　　Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can．It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying．

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　　Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population．Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago．Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time．In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion．?

　　Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load．In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them．In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die．In times of famine(饥荒), infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, but if the parents survived they could have another child．In most contemporary(当代的)societies, people feel a moral responsibility to keep people alive whether they can work or not．We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age．Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them．In America many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty．Older people have more illness than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often“go on welfare”if they have a serious illness．?

　　When older people become senile(衰老的)or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families．In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died．Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person．To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent(疗养的)hospitals have been built．These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored(主办)by religious and other nonprofit groups．While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply“dumping(倒垃圾的)grounds”for the dying in which“care”is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel．

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　　China’s economic growth“hard to predict”

　　The worsening global economic situation makes it difficult for China to predict its growth for next year, a senior official said on Friday．

　　“How fast China’s economy will grow next year is uncertain,”Liu He, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economy Work, told China Daily．

　　“To a large extent, the rate will be decided by the external(外部的)situation,”Liu said during a discussion with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and other economists in Beijing．

　　This year, GDP is estimated to grow at 9.4 or 9.5 percent, down from 10.6 percent last year, he said．However, the impact of the current financial turbulence(波动)“on our economy is much less than on the rest of the world”, he said．

　　Nicholas Stern, a former UK government advisor, also told China Daily it will take at least one or two years for the world to recover from the recession, which is now spreading from the US and the UK to the rest of the world．

　　“We don’t know how long the recession will last, but it is unlikely to be short,”he said．

　　Liu said China can use the downturn(衰退)as an opportunity to restructure its economy, which has relied heavily on government investment, foreign trade and low-cost technology over the past years．

　　“When the economy is experiencing fast growth, companies are unwilling to upgrade their technologies,”Liu said．

　　“The slowdown gives such firms the opportunity to enhance(提高)their competitive edge through better technologies．”

　　From China Daily 2008-10-25

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　　Lively beachfront dining and shopping strips, and charming harbours．

　　●Bondi, Bronte, Coogee and Maroubra all offer a delightful seaside town atmosphere－complete with beachwear and surf shops, pubs and outdoor cafes．

　　●Take a boat from Circullar Quay to one of the harbour suburbs－there is Rose Bay with its parks and harbourside restaurants, Vaucluse, home of 1820s Vaucluse House, and Watsons Bay, with a famous seafood restaurant and wonderful views up the harbour．

3．Inland

　　Shops, cafes, restaurants, parks and several major attractions．

　　●Paddington and Woollahra are famous for their cafes, small shops, art galleries, markets and nearby Centennial Park, one of Sydney’s largest open spaces．

　　●Visit Bondi Junction for its largest shopping center and cinema complex．

4．Activities

　　From surfing and diving to walks, golf and seaplane rides．

　　●Learn to surf at Bondi, Bronte or Coogee, go diving at Gordons Bay(where there is an underwater trail), or watch a summer surf carnival(狂欢节)．

　　●Play golf at Bondi Beach, Rose Bay or Moore Park, enjoy a game of tennis, and go horse riding at Centennial Park．

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