阅读理解

　　People tend to be more impressed by evidence that seems to confirm some relationship．Thus many are convinced their dreams are prophetic(预言的)because a few have come true; they fail to notice the many that have not．

　　Consider also the belief that “the phone always rings when I'm in the shower．”If it does ring while you are in the shower, the event will stand out and be remembered．If it doesn't ring, that nonevent probably won't even register(留下印象)．

　　People want to see order, pattern and meaning in the world．Consider, for example, the common belief that things like personal misfortunes, plane crashes, and deaths “happen in threes．”Such beliefs stem from the tendency(倾向)of people to allow the third event to define the time period．If three plane crashes occur in a month, then the period of time that counts as their “happening together” is one month; if three crashes occur in a year, the period of time is stretched．Flexible(易适应的)end points reinforce(加强)such beliefs．

　　We also tend to believe what we want to believe．A majority of people think they are more intelligent, more fair-minded and more skilled behind the wheel of an automobile than the average person．Part of the reason we view ourselves so favorable is that we use criteria that work to our advantage．As economist Thomas Schelling explains, “Everybody ranks himself high in qualities he values：careful drivers give weight to care, skilled drivers give weight to skill, and those who are polite give weight to courtesy．”This way everyone ranks high on his own scale．

　　Perhaps the most important mental habit we can learn is to be cautious(谨慎的)in drawing conclusions．The “evidence” of everyday life is sometimes misleading．

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　　Female Chinese space pioneers

　　CHINA plans to recruit(招募)women astronauts thanks to the lobbying(游说)of the leading women's organization．Gu Xiulian, president of All-China Woman's Federation(ACWF)(全国妇联), said on Saturday that she put forward a proposal that women be trained for space missions after the manned space flight last October．And it was accepted by the central authorities(当局), local media reported．But the plan to recruit female astronauts has yet to be worked out, according to sources close to the astronaut training programme．

　　Beijing needs mental health care

　　MORE than 1,000 people committed suicide(自杀)in Beijing last year, and experts have been encouraging the capital to set up a mental health care system as soon as possible, local media reported last week．About 20 percent of the people of Beijing live in unhealthy conditions, with 3 percent of these suffering from effective disorder and 5 percent reporting symptoms(症状)of depression, according to the Beijing Mental Health Service Centre．

　　No need to fear your license plate(招牌)

　　CAR license plates in Sbenzhen and Guanzhou, Guangdong Province, will not have the number “four” from this month on－a move that has led to heated discussion among officials, scholars(learned men)and residents．The word for “four” sounds like “death” in Cantonese．The numeral has been cleared away from the computer data banks that generate the six-digit license numbers for local cars．Some say that, for the first time, a public service has considered local customs and bans(禁令)．Others worry it will encourage superstitious(迷信的)beliefs．

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　　An affordable housing law passed three years ago promises a possible supply of below-market-rate homes, but has failed to encourage increased housing production and is unlikely to affect San Francisco's poorest families．

　　Barbara, 44, who came to the City in 1970, have been trying to pick herself up from the bottom, where she and her children started out with just the clothes on their backs-through the kindness of others they got by．

　　They were last homeless in 1999．Since then, Barbara has worked hard to keep from returning to the streets and the shelters, taking advantage first of transitional(过渡的)housing, then a rent assistance, and studying for a job as a nursing assistant and a home health aid．

　　However, the cost for housing has made it difficult for her to live within her limit．She can't afford proper housing．Even an improper shelter costs as much as＄1,200 for rent．She has to spend every night in a dining room．In this respect, she is not alone．There are hundreds of thousands of San Franciscans who are in the same boat with her．

　　Since 2000, she's been providing health care in the homes of charity(慈善机构), and relying on an assistance program to pay the rent for her two-bedroom apartment in the Lower Height．A few months ago she lost her full-time job due to budget cuts, just as she had hoped to get a permanent post that would allow her to cover her＄1,700 monthly rent．

　　Now she works three or four hours shifts six days a week for ＄10.50 an hour, taking the bus around from client to client and worrying that in February, when her rent assistance is gone, she could end up on the streets with her family again．

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The results of LIT CRIT magazine's poll to find the greatest American authors of all time．

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　　Some experts feel that cars are certain to fall into disuse．They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all cars will be deserted and made useless．Other experts, however, think the car is hereto stay．They hold that the car will remain a leading means of city travel in the foreseeable future．

　　The car will undoubtedly change greatly over the next 30 years．It should become smaller, safer, and more practical, and should not be powered by the gas engine．The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types．

　　Unless change takes place in the power system, the car in the future will still be the main problem in city traffic jams．One suggested solution to this essential problem is the automated(自动的)system, which seems to hold water．

　　When the car enters the highway system, a small arm will drop from the car and connect with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains electrically．Once joined to the rail, the car will become electrically powered from the system, and control of the car will pass to a central computer．The computer will then monitor all of the car's movements．

　　The driver will use the telephone to dial instructions about his position and the place he heads for into the system．The computer will find the best way and reserve space for the car all the way to the correct exit from the highway．The driver will be free to relax and wait for the call that will warn him of his coming exit．It is believed that an automated highway will be able to deal with 10,000 cars per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 cars that can be carried by a present-day highway．

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　　If you have read the fairytale about the Italian boy Pinocchio, you will remember that every one knew when he lied because his nose grew．But did you know that your brain can also betray(出卖)you when you tell a lie?

　　A study released last Monday showed that the brains of people who are lying look very different from those who are telling the truth．According to the US researchers, this finding could lead to creating a more accurate lie detector(测谎仪)．

　　“There may be separate areas in the brain involved in truth-telling and cheating that can be measured,” said Scott Faro, head of the research group．

　　Faro and other scientists tested nine volunteers．Six of them were asked to shoot a toy gun and then lie and say they didn't do it．Three others who watched told the truth about what happened．

　　The volunteers were connected to a special machine, which used a strong magnet(磁铁)to provide a real-time picture of brain activity．Clear differences were seen between the liars and the truth-tellers．A total of seven areas were active in the cheating group, but only four in the truth-telling team．

　　“It seemed to take more brain effort to tell the lie than to tell the truth,” Faro said．

　　The traditional lie-detector machine looks at sweat, skin, breathing and heart rate changes．

　　Using such new technology as a lie detector would be expensive, but it might be worthwhile in some criminal cases．

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　　She must be the wisest woman on this planet, for she has lived up to the three words “Seize the moment”．Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, or because they are unwilling to try something new．

　　My sister died a few years ago．We never did have lunch together．I can't remember how many times I was refused when I called her to go to lunch．She would say to me：“I can't．I have clothes on the line．”“My hair is dirty．I wish I had known yesterday．”“I had a late breakfast．”“It looks like rain．”Only after her death did I choose to be a little more flexible．

　　Life is not made up of things that you do at a particular time, but it demands variety and adventure．As we grow older, the list of promises made to ourselves may get longer．Perhaps one morning, when we awaken, we will find to our surprise that our life is full of “I'm going to”, “I plan to” and “Someday, when things are settled down a bit．”

　　My seize-the-moment friend is open to adventure and ready at any moment to make a new start．She keeps an open mind about new ideas．Her great interest in life is contagious．With her around you, you may trade your bad feet for good shoes．

　　I have not touched ice cream for 10 years．The other day, I stopped off and bought a triple-decker．If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy．

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　　You're out to dinner．The food is delicious and the service is fine．You decide to leave a big fat tip．Why? The answer may not be as simple as you think．

　　Tipping, psychologists(心理学家)have found, is not just about service．Instead, studies have shown that tipping can be affected by psychological reactions to a series of different factors from the waiter's choice of words to how they carry themselves while taking orders to the bill's total．Even how much waiters remind customers of themselves can determine how much change they can pocket by the end of the night．

　　“Studies before have shown what the mimicker(逗乐者)brings into positive feelings for the customers,” wrote Rick van Baren, a social psychology professor．“These studies show that people who are being mimicked become more generous toward the person who mimics(逗乐)them”．

　　So Rick van Baren divided 59 waiters into two groups．He requested that half serve with a phrase such as, “Coming up!”．Those in the other half were instructed to repeat the orders and preferences back to the customers．Rick van Baren then compared their take-home．The results were clear-it pays to mimic your customer．The copycat waiters earned almost double the amount of tips to the other group．

　　Leonard Green and Joel Myerson, psychologists at Washington University in St．Louis, found the generosity of a tipper may be limited by his bill．After research on the 1,000 tips left for waiters, cab drivers, and hair stylists, they found tip percentages in the three areas dropped as customers' bills went up．In fact, tip percentages appear to reach a plateau(稳定水平)when bills topped＄100 and a bill for＄200 made the worker gain no bigger percentage tip than a bill for＄100．

　　“That's also a point of tipping,” Green says．“You have to give a little extra to the cab driver for being there to pick you up and something to the waiter for being there to serve you．If they weren't t here you'd never get any service．So part of the idea of a tip is for just being there．”

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　　Most people need to hear those “three little words”-I love you．Once in a while, they hear them just in time．I met Connie the day she was admitted to the hospital ward, where I worked as a woman volunteer．Her husband, Bill, stood nervously nearby as she was transferred to the hospital bed．Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight against cancer, she was cheerful．We got her settled in．I asked if she needed anything．

　　“Oh, yes,” she said, “would you please show me how to use the TV?I enjoy the soaps．”Connie was a romantic．She loved soap operas, and movies with a good love story．As we became acquainted, she said how frustrating it was to be married 32 years to a man who often called her “a silly woman．”

　　“Oh, I know Bill loves me,” she said, “but he has never been one to say he loves me．”She sighed and looked out of the window at the trees in the courtyard．“I'd give anything if he'd say ‘I love you,’ but it's just not in his nature．”

　　Bill visited Connie every day．In the beginning, he sat next to the bed while she watched the soaps．Later, when she began sleeping more, he paced up and down the hallway outside her room．Soon, when she no longer watched television and had fewer waking moments, I began spending more of my volunteer time with Bill．

　　He talked about having worked as a carpenter．He and Connie had no children, but they'd been enjoying retirement by travelling, until Connie got sick．Bill could not express his feelings about the fact that his wife was dying．

　　One day, over coffee I got him on the subject of women and how we need romance in our lives; how we love to get cards and love letters．

　　“Do you tell Connie you love her?” I asked(knowing his answer), and he looked at me as if I was crazy．

　　“I don't have to,” he said．“She knows I do!”

　　“I'm sure she knows,” I said, “but she needs to hear what she has meant to you all the years．”

　　We walked back to Connie's room．Bill disappeared inside, and I left to visit another patient．The date was February 12．

　　Two days later I walked down the ward at noon．There stood Bill, leaning up against the wall in the hallway, staring at the floor．The head nurse told me that Connie had died at 11 a.m.．

　　When Bill saw me, he allowed himself to come into my arms．His face was wet with tears．Finally, he leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath．“I have to say something,” he said．“I have to say how good I feel about telling her．”He stopped to blow his nose．“I thought a lot about what you said, and this morning I told her how much I loved her…and loved being married to her．You should have seen her smile!”

　　I went into the room to say my own good-bye to Connie．There, on the bedside table, was a large Valentine card from Bill．“To my wonderful wife…I love you．”

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　　A profound(意味深长的)truth about language is contained in the statement that “Words by themselves have no meanings．”People sometimes overlook that truth．They tend to mistake the word for the thing itself．They imagine that there is one “right” word for a given idea, action, or object．

　　But words mean only what people agree they should mean, and no more．The word “snake” may cause shudders(颤栗)even if the creature is absent, but it is only a word．The word “steak” may cause mouths to water, but the word is not the thing．People are responding to certain sounds or to a few ink spots on a page, not the actual object that is a snake or a steak．

　　If a small child calls her highchair chy, is chy a word? Three other questions will help to provide an answer．Does chy play a role in the life of the child? Does chy stand for a particular object in the child's environment? Do the child's parents understand what is meant by chy? Since the answer to all the three questions is “YES,” chy qualifies as a word．However, it is a word of very limited use．It will not appear in any dictionary, in any magazine or newspaper, or in any news report．In a practical sense, chy does not function as the kind of word we mean when we say the word．It is a genuine word, but one that very few people use．

　　Older children sometimes make up special words to communicate with their friends．Just as the small child created chy to mean “highchair,” older children invent words for certain objects or ideas．They then send messages in a kind of code．These children have made new words that perform all the functions that words should perform．Of course, outsiders(旁观者)are confused when faced with these words．They don't know the code－just as you probably don't know the code when faced with the language of the Finns on the Watusi．

　　Language is a contract．Words mean only what people agree they should mean．Travellers abroad soon find out that the contract they are familiar with-the English language-is not in force in many countries of the world．English, for example, is not the principal language of Hungary．Hungarians have a different contract, one that is understandable to even a small Hungarian child but a mystery to most American tourists．

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