阅读理解

　　A new idea called“business at the speed of thought”is quite popular in our business world．It makes quick marketing progress, but it also presents a terribly dangerous way to run a company．Here’re the main points: The businesses today that will succeed are those able to jump around in high spirits．Chances must be seized immediately and decisions made quickly．Everyone needs more immediate answers, and the window of expected response to any questions has dropped from weeks to days even to hours．

　　The problem with this way of thinking is that too often such quickness comes at the expense of properly understanding the details of a situation．Sure, the networked society allows us to gather information within a short time, but does it really speed up our ability to make better decisions?How do you balance the need for speed with sharp and correct thinking?That’s the puzzler on the minds of a lot of people these days, including Future Shock author, Alvin Toffler, who studies the idea in our cover story．It’s also a subject of a new study by Kepner Tregoe．It reports that 77 percent of managers believe that during the past three years the number of decisions they made each workday has increased．But 85 percent of those same people say the time given to making those decisions has either decreased or stayed the same．Result: Speed kills．Different opinions are not shared．Other choices are dismissed too easily．Aims never seem to be clear．On the contrary, good records aren’t kept about how successful decisions are made．If your company really does well, the Kepner report suggests taking apart the decision-making process and figuring out what you did right．Study your successes, as well as your failures．Fast decision-making is a necessity sometimes-no question about that．But decisions are only as good as the brains that go into them．By that measure, many of today’s decisions are weak and could cut some companies off at the knees．Business may be keeping the quickness of thought, but it’s going to be torn to pieces if managers are not thinking with great care and patience．

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阅读理解

　　Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them．Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there’s no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment．You only have to share your children’s curiosity．Firstly, listen to their questions．I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job．The children asked me“textbook questions”about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job．When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence．Finally I said,“Now that we’ve finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”

　　After a long pause, a boy raised his hand,“Have you ever seen a grasshopper(蚱蜢)eat?When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache．Why?”

　　This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours．

　　Secondly, give them time to think．Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think．When adults increase their“wait time”to three seconds or more, children give more logical, complete and creative answers．

　　Thirdly, watch your language．Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don’t jump in with“That’s right”or“Very good”．These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior．But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over．Instead, keep things going by saying,“That’s interesting”or“I’d never thought of it that way before”, or coming up with more questions or ideas．

　　Never push a child to“think”．It doesn’t make sense．Children are always thinking, without your telling them to．What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance．The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement．

　　Lastly, show; don’t tell．Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program．Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass(放大镜), and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner．Rather than saying that water evaporates(蒸发), set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop．

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阅读理解

　　Latrice Brown was excited about starting her junior year．She had volunteered to take part in the Lincoln High School Friendship Program．As an upperclassman, she would be assigned a“freshman(新生)friend．”Her duties would include helping her friend get used to high school life by offering friendship．Latrice thought it was important to have someone with whom to talk and share concerns．She knew that the friendship program was likely to make the freshman year of high school a positive experience．On July 24 Latrice received a notice in the mail about the schedule of events for the freshman orientation(适应指导)

　　Please call your freshman friend and introduce yourself over the telephone．Confirm that he or she will be attending the orientation

　　Upperclassmen and freshmen will gather for a gathering in the hall．Student Council president Sarah Wilke will give a speech titled“What It Means to Be in High School”．

　　Mr．Reick, the principal, will welcome everyone to Lincoln High School and formally introduce each upperclassman to his or her freshman friend．After being introduced, please go to the café．At this time pick up your friend’s class schedule and locker number at the guidance counselors’(顾问)table．

　　Start your school tour at your friend’s locker to ensure it works．If there is a problem, report it to Mr．Mulholland, the assistant principal．Then walk to the classrooms on the class schedule in the order in which they are listed．This will help familiarize your freshman friend with the schedule and the layout(布局)of the school．Discuss high school life but try not to supply your freshman friends with too much information．High school is confusing and frightening when you’re just starting and everything is new．

　　Return to the café to enjoy pizza and to take part in a question-and-answer meeting．

　　Meet you freshman friend in the café during lunch and discuss the morning of the first day．After lunch take your friends to the courtyard between the gym and the art rooms．Each club will have a table set up with information about its activities after class and a sign-up sheet for students who wish to join．Club officers will be available to answer questions and to encourage freshmen to take part．

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阅读理解

　　I’m sure many of you have seen Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Multiplicity, or many of the other movies that describe cloning．Most of what you see in these movies is false．What you don’t know is that cloning could be dangerous, to the clone and to our society as a whole．It’s immoral to have a human clone．

　　What about identity?Humans are promised the right to their own personality．What would happen if we ignore those rights by giving them someone else’s genetic identity?True, personality is not fixed in someone’s genes, but the clone would share any physical appearance or genetic fault of the cloned．

　　Also, there is a large power struggle here．Cloning means a degree of power and control over another person’s physical identity and that ignores their rights and their only personality．The person doing the cloning would have more power than any parent would have．

　　Cloning would also deal with killing embryos(胚胎)．You might not have known, but Dolly, the sheep that was cloned in 1996, was one of over 200 sheep embryos and hers was the only embryo that survived．The rest died or were thrown away．Imagine if the failure rate was that high when we started to clone humans．More than 200 embryos, the start of 200 human beings, would die for the sake of just one embryo that would have the same DNA as someone else．

　　Cloning someone, at this present time, would be extremely dangerous to the birth mother and the clone．In studies done on cows, 4 out of 12 birth mothers died．There is a very high failure rate, which is showed in the cloning of Dolly．Even if you had a few good embryos, failures have been noticeable in animal tests．

　　So, should we work ahead in the world of cloning?I say no．The risks are greater than the benefits．It’s dangerous to the clone and to the birth mother．We would be killing human lives in the process．It would also be a violation(侵害)of the clone’s right to its own genetic identity and personality．

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　　A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors．

　　On one side stand those who see clothes dryers(干衣机)as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment．As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I –can do environmentalism(环境保护主义)．”

　　On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at．They have persuaded Homeowners Associations(HOAs)access the U．S．to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood．This had led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines．

　　So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline．Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be move．

　　Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious(有生态意识的)person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants．His family also uses a clothesline．But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighlzir had telephoned them about him clothesline．The Recks paid no attention to the warming and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard．“Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters in their own hands,” says Reck．The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them．

　　North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do．But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods．They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall．

　　Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change．As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful”．Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged．We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming．”

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　　For a while, my neighborhood was taken ever by an army of joggers(慢跑者)．They were there all the time：early morning, noon, and evening．There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces．“Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening．“You’ll feel great．”

　　Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could．So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more．Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army．I’m not alone in my opinion．

　　First of all, jogging is very hard on the body．Your legs and feet a real pounding(追击)ruining down a road for two or three miles．I developed foot, leg, and back problems．Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about．Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me．

　　Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging．Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun．Jogging is also a lonely pastime．Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt．

　　And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain?And that wasn’t just the first week：it was practically every day for two months．I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun．What a cruel way to do it!So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?

　　I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will．I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good．I bicycle to work when the weather is good．I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time．I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape．

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　　A Brown University sleep researcher has some advice for people who run high schools：Don’t start classes so early in the morning．It may not be that the students who nod off at their desks are lazy．And it may not be that their parents have failed to enforce(确保)bedtime．Instead, it may be that biologically these sleepyhead students aren’t used to the early hour．

　　“Maybe these kids are being asked to rise at the wrong time for their bodies,” says Mary Carskadon, a professor looking at problem of adolescent(青春期的)sleep at Brown’s School of Medicine．

　　Carskadon is trying to understand more about the effects of early school time in adolescents．And, at a more basic level．she and her team are trying to learn more about how the biological changes of adolescence affect sleep needs and patterns．

　　Carskadon says her work suggests that adolescents may need more sleep than they did at childhood, no less, as commonly thought．

　　Sleep patterns change during adolescence, as any parent of an adolescent can prove．Most adolescents prefer to stay up later at nigh and sleep later in the morning．But it’s not just a matter of choice-their bodies are going through a change of sleep patters．

　　All of this makes the transfer from middle school to high school－which may start one hour earlier in the morning－all the more difficult, Carskadon says．With their increased need for sleep and their biological clocks set on the “sleep late, rise late” pattern, adolescent are up against difficulties when it conics to trying to be up by 5 or 6 a.m.for a 7∶30 a.m.first hell．A short sleep on a desktop may be their body’s way of saying．“I need a timeout．”

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阅读理解

　　Adrian’s “Amazing Race” started early when his parents realized that he, as a baby, couldn’t hear a thing, not even loud noises．In a special school for the hearing-impaired(听觉受损的)，he learned sign language and got to mix with other disabled children．However, the sight of all the disabled children communicating with one another upset his mother．She wanted him to lead a normal life．So after speaking to an advisor, she sent him to private classes where he learned to read lips and pronounce words．

　　Later on, Adrian’s parents decided to send him to a regular school．But the headmaster tried to prevent them from doing so, saying regular school couldn’t take care of a special needs students．His parents were determined to take the risk and push him hard to go through his work everyday because they wanted to prove that, given the opportunity, he could do anything．Adrian made the grade and got accepted．It was a big challenge．The pace(节奏)was faster so he had to sit at the front of the class and really pay attention to the teacher, which wasn’t always easy．But he stuck to it and did a lot of extra work after school．

　　The efforts made by Adrian and his parents paid off．Adrian graduated with good grades and got into a top high school．He also achieved a lot in life outside school．He developed a love for the outdoors and went to Nepal to climb mountains．He even entered the World Yacht Race 05/06－being the first hearing-impaired Asian to do so．

　　But none of these achievements would have been possible without one of the most important lessons from his mother．” “If you believe in yourself and work hard, you can achieve great results．” She often said．

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　　Napoleon, as a character in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, is more than once described as having “fat little hands．’’ Nor does he “sit well or firmly on the horse．’’ He is said to be “undersized．’’ with“short legs’’ and a “round stomach”．The issue here is not the accuracy of Tolstoy’s description－it seems not that far off from historical accounts but his choice of facts：other things that could be said of the man are not said．We are meant to understand the difference of a warring commander in the body of a fat little Frenchman．Tolstoy’s Napoleon could be any man wandering in the streets and putting a little of powdered tobacco up his nose－and that is the point．

　　It is a way the novelist uses to show the moral nature of a character．And it turns out that, as Tolstoy has it, Napoleon is a crazy man．In a scene in Book Three of War and Peace, the wars having reached the critical year of 1812,Napoleon receives a representative from the Tsar(沙皇)，who has come with peace terms．Napoleon is very angry：doesn’t he have more army?He, not the Tsar, is the one to make the terms．He will destroy all of Europe if his army is stopped．“That is what you will have gained by engaging me in the war!” he shouts．And then, Tolstoy writes, Napoleon “walked silently several times up and down the room, his fat shoulders moving quickly．’’

　　Still later, after reviewing his army amid cheering crowds, Napoleon invites the shaken Russian to dinner．“He raised his hand to the Russian’s…face,” Tolstoy writes, and “taking him by the ear pulled it gently…．” To have one’s ear pulled by the Emperor was considered the greatest honor and mark of favor at the French court．“Well, well, why don’t you say anything?’’ said he, as if it was ridiculous in his presence to respect any one but himself, Napoleon．

　　Tolstoy did his research, but the composition is his own．

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