Alexis Goggins climbed aboard a special tricycle(三轮车) and maneuvered through hospital hallways, beginning the months of physical therapy(治疗) because she needed to recover from six gunshot wounds．To many people, the soft-spoken 7-year-old is a hero after she threw herself across her mother just as a gunman was about to shoot the woman in an SUV．

　　“An angel is what I call her,” Seliethia Parker said of her daughter．

　　After more than two months in the hospital and six surgeries, Alexis was recently released．She returns twice a week for physical therapy．

　　The young girl bears several scars from the shooting, including a long, thin surgical line stretching from one side of her hairline to the other．Her right eye, which was blinded in the attack, has also been removed．

　　“I’ll be good for therapy,” Alexis promised her mother before bounding back to the games．

　　Alexis speaks little about the shooting．

　　The mother and daughter were getting a ride from a friend when Parker’s former boyfriend emerged from the shadows outside Parker’s house and jumped into the vehicle．He then forced the friend to drive at gunpoint for several minutes．

　　Under the pretense of needing fuel, Parker’s friend stopped at a Detroit gas station to call 911．

　　Inside the SUV, Parker pleaded(恳求) with the gunman not to shoot．As he was about to open fire, Alexis cried，“Don’t hurt my mother” and jumped into her mother’s arms from the back seat．

　　Despite her daughter’s efforts, Parker was shot twice．But Parker has said that if her daughter had not put herself in between she might have been killed．

　　Since the attack, Alexis and her family have received more than 200 letters from well-wishers, some from as far away as London．Supporters have also contributed ＄30,000 to a fund set up for Alexis through her school．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　The South Pole is a particular place on the earth．When people stand at the top of it looking around, they will find all directions face to north．No matter how they make their first step in each direction, they will always walk towards the north．That’s to say, only north and south exist there, neither east nor west exists．

　　At the top of the South Pole, any clock or watch keeps good time because all meridians(子午线) join there．All kinds of local time are completely suitable there．It is even difficult to distinguish(区别) New Year’s Eve from New Year’s Day．

　　The explorers and scientists from different countries always fix the time according to their own．Therefore the time by their watches was different when the people with different nationality gathered there．

　　The Winter Solstice(冬至日) is an important festival at the South Pole．It is always on June 21 or 22．This day is called Midwinter Festival, on which the daytime is the shortest in a year and the night the longest．All people at the South Pole extend greetings to each other and present gifts to each other．They usually give all kinds of celebrations．From that day on, the daytime will get longer day by day．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　What’s people reading all over? Not newspapers, at least not anymore．In fact, if you’re like most young people, you probably don’t read the newspaper at all．

　　In one recent survey, just 19 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds said they read a newspaper every day．In contrast, 37 percent watch local TV news and 44 percent visit Internet news sites daily．As people turn more and more to new technologies, they turn the pages of newspapers less and less．

　　“There’s a revolution in the way young people access news,” says media consultant Merrill Brown．

　　Just a generation or two ago, the newspaper was the main way in which many people got their news．Now, nearly every home has at least one TV set．There’s highspeed, wireless Internet access in many cafes．

　　You no longer have to wait for a bundle of newsprint to arrive on your doorstep every morning．Thanks to new technology, if you want to know what’s going on in the world, you can get breaking news instantly in more ways than one．

　　Newspapers face a major challenge．Raised on MTV and video games, today’s kids and young adults want flashy displays, special effects, instant access to information, and the chance to interact in real time, even when they’re reading about serious issues．

　　If newspapers can’t find creative ways to be more than just ink on paper, some experts suggest, they might disappear completely．

　　Traditional newspaper articles are supposed to be read from beginning to end．With Web pages, on the other hand, there’s more freedom．You can zero in on the things you’re interested in, then follow links to other sources．You can join discussion groups, read other people’s reactions to a topic, or start a blog to express your own views．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly died of a heart attack．About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students．

　　As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there．With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, “Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important．Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love and appreciate．None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end．It can be taken away at any moment．”

　　Her eyes beginning to water, she went on：

　　“So I would like you all to make me a promise．From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice．It doesn’t have to be something you see, it could be a scent－perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting(飘荡)out of someone’s house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground．”

　　The class was completely quiet．We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently．That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester…．

　　Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today．Go barefoot or walk on the beach at sunset．For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn’t do．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　In Britain and the United States, young people sometimes take a “gap year”, a year off between high school and college．

　　Charles Deacon, dean of admissions at Georgetown University in Washington, D．C．says the most common reason is to have a chance to travel．But he says international students may take a gap year to meet requirements at home for military duty．

　　Some high school graduates see a year off as a chance to recover after twelve years of required education．But it can also give students a chance to explore their interests．Students who think they want to be doctors, for example, could learn about the profession by volunteering in a hospital for a year．

　　Many colleges and universities support gap year projects by permitting students to delay their admission．Experts say students can grow emotionally and intellectually as they work at something they enjoy．

　　The Harvard admissions office has an essay on its Web site called “Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation．” It praises the idea of taking time off to step back, think and enjoy gaining life experiences outside the pressure of studies．

　　Of course, a gap year is not for everyone．Students might miss their friends who go on directly to college．And parents might worry that their children will decide not to go to college once they take time off．

　　Another concern is money．A year off, away from home, can be costly．

　　Holly Bull is the president of the Center for Interim(过渡期)Programs．Her company specializes in helping students plan their gap year．She notes that several books have been written about this subject．She says these books along with the availability of information on the Internet have increased interest in the idea of a year off．

　　And she points out that many gap year programs cost far less than a year of college．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities．Of course, there have always been people who have looked for adventure, those who have climbed the highest mountains, traveled into unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans．Now, however, there are people who try to find an immediate thrill(毛骨悚然)from a risky activity which may only last a few minutes or even seconds．

　　I would consider bungee jumping to be a good example of such an activity．You jump from a high place(perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon)200 meters above the ground with an elastic rope tied to your ankles．You fall at up to 150 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground．Other activities which most people would say are as risky as bungee jumping include jumping from tall buildings and diving into the sea from the top of high cliffs(峭壁)．

　　Why do people take part in such activities as these? Some psychologists suggest that it is because life in modern societies has become safe and boring．Life, according to many people, offers little excitement．They live and work safely and comfortably．The answer for some of these people is to try to find danger in activities such as bungee jumping．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　The United States has been criticized for its treatment of its elderly citizens．Although in many other countries the elderly usually live with their children’s family, many older Americans live alone, without the close companionship(陪伴)of their children．This situation is sometimes blamed on the “selfishness” of the younger generation, but a closer look shows that many of the elderly prefer to maintain their independent lives．

　　Research on the situation of the elderly in America has shown that while grandparents are delighted to be visited periodically(间隔地)by their children and grandchildren, they prefer to continue living in the surroundings that they are familiar with．This suggests that children should permit their parents to live alone if they wish to, and should encourage them to maintain close ties to the rest of the family．Another surprising result of research on the elderly in the United States is that pets have positive influence on the elderly people．It has been shown that elderly people who care for small pets, such as cats and dogs, live longer, are healthier, and have better attitudes towards their lives than similar elderly people without these companions．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　We often hear people say, “I have a good memory for things like that” or “I can remember names”．But do you know memory is the single most important thing and it has played a very important part?

　　For early men, there were dangers all around them－bad weather, wild animals．The keys to keep on living lay in man's ability to remember these dangers and the ways he had dealt with them in the past．In order for memories to be stored, the human brain became more complex．And as man learned how to deal with them, he became civilized(文明的)．Surprisingly, scientists today understand little about memory and how it works．They have not yet found a way to open up the brain and observe its function without destroying it．Perhaps there are two types of memory：short-term and longterm．Short-term refers to those facts that stay with us for a few seconds to a few hours．For instance, when you stay at a hotel, you remember the room number and forget as soon as you leave．Long-term memory, on the other hand, means you remember things for a long period of time．If you spend your honeymoon in a particular hotel, it's likely that you'll remember your stay quite clearly．

　　Scientists also believe that a short-term memory can become a long-term memory through consolidation(巩固)．A lot of chemical and physical changes take place in the brain．Although the human brain weighs three pounds, it contains 30 million nerve cells acting like a computer．When those changes strenghten the links in certain nerve cells, a thought becomes a part of the long-term memory．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

　　Before you get a tattoo(文身) you know that you want a tattoo, so what comes next? You have to know the laws in your area, and make yourself aware of the health problems．If you don't make a right decision, you may regret what you have done．Here, I put together some needed information for the tattoo-hungry friends．

　　The most important thing you need to consider before getting tattooed is how your parents feel about it．If your parents don't care, nothing else will matter．Ask your parents what they think and how they feel．If they don't agree, listen carefully and do as they wish．

　　Sure, the tattoo flash that you see on body may not be unique to you．Some takes a picture that he or she likes and modifies it to his or her personality．

　　Do you know the risks? There are risks related to tattooing besides the obvious short-term pain．Dirty tattoos do exist and they can be deadly．There are always risks of allergic reaction(过敏反映) and diseases when you have a tattoo．You can reduce the risk by knowing about the health risks and what should be done to keep you safe before getting tattooed．

　　And finally, I don't have a tattoo myself just because I do think it's harmful especially for us students when we are growing up．Anyway, it's not cool for me and I never think personality can be expressed by maltreating(虐待) our bodies．

(1)

(2)

(3)

　　Randy was born in a rich family．His father owned a big company and he had four brothers．He was the strongest of them five but he didn't like to use his head．Of course, he couldn't pass the examinations．

　　Suddenly the war broke out．Young men were called on to join the army．His father thought for a long time and at last he decided to send him to the military camp．Soon after that he was sent to France where they fought with Germans．The young man hated the life in the camp．They could not be supplied enough food and had to live in the cold and wet houses．Sometimes they had to sleep on the hard ground and he was often afraid to be shot．He usually remembered the life in his country and tried to leave the camp．

　　Once he made an excuse in order not to go to the front．Another soldier whose name was Bob reported to the captain about it．Randy was punished for it．He hated Bob and the captain very much．In a fight he hurt the captain and he was sent to court at once．

　　“Have you hurt the captain?”asked a judge．

　　“Yes, I have, sir,”answered the young man．“But it was a fortuitous(偶然的) accident．”

　　“Oh？”the judge said in surprise．“Why?”

　　“The captain was standing just in front of Bob while I was shooting at the young soldier．So I hurt him by mistake．”

(1)

(2)

(3)