阅读理解

阅读理解

Here are three notices on the school bulletin board．

阅读理解

　　A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童)was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?”he asked．

　　Paul answered,“Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．”The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing?Boy, I wish…”He hesitated．

　　Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He wished he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．

　　“I wish,”the boy went on,“that I could be a brother like that．”Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again,“Would you like to take a ride in my car?”

　　“Oh yes, I'd love that．”

　　After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said,“Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

　　Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?”the boy asked．

　　He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled(残疾)brother．He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car．

　　“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent．And some day I'm going to give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I've been trying to tell you about．”

　　Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．

阅读理解

Doing Favours Can Be Dangerous

　　I found out one time that doing a favour for someone could get you into a lot of trouble．I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test．During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn't understand．So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen．She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write．I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk．

　　Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed．As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she mentioned how important it was to stand on your own feet and be responsible for your own acts．For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating themselves．She made me promise that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave．I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things．

　　Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test．When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as though I was copying answers from the girl's test paper．I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed awfully strange to her that I hadn't mentioned anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test．Even though I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favour by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test．

　　"Friendship is one of the basic bonds between human beings．While the characteristics of friendship might vary from one country to another, people from all cultures not only enjoy friends but need them．

　　Many studies have shown that teenagers who have no friends often suffer from psychological disorders．It has been shown that teenagers, perhaps more than any other age group, need companionship and a sense of belonging．The negative consequences of loneliness have also been observed among the elderly．The death of a spouse often leaves a widow or a widower totally bereft．If, however, they are surrounded by friends and relatives and if they are able to express their feelings, they are more likely to recover from their grief．

　　“No man is an island．” In other words, we are all parts of society．We all need the love, admiration, respect and moral support of other people．If we are fortunate, our friends will provide us with all of these necessary aspects of life．

　　As most people observe, there are many levels of friendship．The degree or intensity of friendship varies depending on the personality of the individuals involved and the context of the relationships．Outgoing persons enjoy being surrounded by many people whereas shy persons are perhaps content with fewer but more intense friendships．

　　Everyone is not equally open with all their friends．The degree of closeness is determined by many factors．Close friends can be formed at any stage in one's life but they are usually very rare．Not very many people have more than a few really close friends．Irrespective of the level of closeness, all friendships are based on reciprocity(互惠), honesty and a certain amount of love and affection．

　　CONGRATULATIONS

　　We've organized the following information to help you prepare for your arrival at Boston College．Please feel free to contact our Admissions Office at any time over the coming months with any questions．

　　Your First Steps…

　　Please return the Acknowledgment Form sent with your acceptance letter to Dean Robert Howe, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, McGuinn Hall 221,140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467．

　　■For Ph．D．Acceptances and Master's Acceptances with funding, we ask you to reply by April 25, 2008．

　　■For Master's Acceptances without funding and Non-degree Acceptances, we ask you to reply by May 31, 2008．

　　■You should also contact your department to receive any department information．

　　Over the Coming Months…

　　Get informed about services around campus．We have provided links for you to the following offices．

　　■Student Services

　　After you return your Acknowledgment Form, you should receive a letter containing your BC Username and Eagle ID number．With this information you can reach email and Agora．In Agora, BC's online community, you can update your student information, check your student account, and register (登记) for classes．

　　The Office of Student Services issues (发行) your BC Eagle One Card．This ID card acts as your campus library card and meal card．

Student Services' website offers a complete listing of courses for the school year, as well as student forms and other important student information．The Office of Student Services also handles billing．

　　■Housing

　　…

　　CLICK HERE for more information．

　　If we can be of any more help to you, just contact us．Congratulations again!We look forward to you joining our University!

　　With the theme "Cherishing the earth's resources, transforming the mode of development and living a low-carbon lifestyle," China's Ministry of Land and Resources held a ceremony this Thursday to mark the 41st World Earth Day, aims to generate new ideas of resource-saving, especially among the younger generation．In fact, Chinese young urbanities are turning to the seemingly trendy low-carbon lifestyle．

　　But for the country as a whole to achieve a low-carbon economy, it could mean ordinary people paying more for electricity, water, gas or simply every purchase．Of necessity, a low-carbon economy would be the basis of China's economic growth, yet it comes with a high price tag．Everybody longs for fresh air, clean water and healthy surroundings．But, who is going to pay for that?

　　For those who are still working hard for the basic necessities of life, sharing the cost of a greener environment can be taxing．For those who are already victimized by environmental pollution, additional expenditure for saving the environment is hard to bear．Behind all the lofty goals and loaded phrases of climate change negotiations, in everyday terms, the Chinese want to know whether companies will make them pay the cost of saving energy or whether government would come up with new levies．

　　They have reasons to worry．The recent hike in the charges of utilities, such as natural gas, water and electricity, have led to widespread public grievance(抱怨,牢骚), for the increases were imposed without proper public hearing．Besides the practice of monopoly State-owned enterprises raising prices at will does not seem to bode well for a low-carbon economy．

　　The government has a responsibility to strengthen regulation of utility charges and make the pricing mechanism more transparent．In the age of the low-carbon economy, the Chinese government needs to strike a new balance between public welfare and business competitiveness．

　　How far the initiatives toward a low-carbon economy succeed depends on whether they truly benefit ordinary people and is accepted by them．The majority cannot sacrifice their life to build a greener world for the few．

　　Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a tough working-class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side．But Hell's Kitchen lies right next door to Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a teen．Being stage-struck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his partners．Fearing their ridicule, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons at age 17．If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction worker, longshoreman(码头搬运工人)or criminal．Not an actor．

　　Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east．He studied acting, turned out for all the cattle calls－－and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of $2,000．"I wasn't a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with my life," he says．

　　He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a bartender(调酒师)．"My father said, 'Stop this craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter．“But Moresco kept working at his chosen craft．

　　Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a mob-linked killing．Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore the pain and the patrimony of Hell's Kitchen．Half-Deserted Streets, based on his brother's killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988．A Hollywood producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay．

　　His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood．By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him．Haggis wanted help writing a film about the country after September 11．The two worked on the writing, but every studio in town turned it down．They kept pitching it．Studio executives, however, thought no one wanted to see a severe, honest vision of race and fear and lives in collision in modern America．

　　Moresco believed so strongly in the script that he borrowed money, sold his house．He and Haggis kept pushing．At last the writers found an independent film producer who would take a chance, but the upfront money was too little, Moresco delayed his salary．

　　Crash slipped into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a hit and a critical success．It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three－－Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Paul Haggis and the kid from Hell's Kitchen．

　　At age 54, Bobby Moresco became an overnight success．"If you have something you want to do in life, don't think about the problems," he says, "think about other ways to get it done．"

阅读理解

　　According to the Chinese traditional lunar calendar, we're having the Tiger Year．Chinese tradition proposes that people born in a certain animal year will meet bad luck when their animal representative comes into power in the 12-year turn．

　　People born in Tiger Year：Be cautious in every aspect of life．

　　"But this is not 100 percent true," says Dong Yilin, who comes from a long line of masters of I Ching．"Tiger is the chief executive of this year, thus people born in Tiger Year are also proposed to be the king of the year," Dong explained．"But Chinese have a saying that a mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, thus Tiger people are in effect threatened by their peers．"

　　"As a result, people born in the Tiger Year must be cautious in dealing with affairs in every aspect of their life to pursue good fortune and shun the course of disaster．"

　　People born in Horse Year and Pig Year：________．

　　Dong foretells that the luckiest people in this year will be Horse people and Pig people．

　　"Horse people will have good fortune in the Tiger year, both in career and in family．It's a good time for Horse people to make investments or fall in love．"

　　The other lucky star falls on people born in Pig Year．"Pig people will always meet a good turning point in Tiger Year," he said．"So it's the best time in the 12-year cycle for Pig people．""This year, Pig people will gain great achievements in their career and thus make a fortune．It's especially good for unmarried Pig people to get engaged or form a family．"

　　People born in Snake Year and Monkey Year：An unstable year．

　　"Only a small number of Snake people can pursue good developments in the Tiger Year．Most of them may suffer from bad health or bad relationships with their surroundings," Dong said．"They should also be prudential in the whole-year financial issues．"

　　"Monkey people will encounter upheavals for a whole year, in almost all aspects of their life, like career, marriage, and even housing," Dong said．

　　Since the gene, called DAF-16 in worms, was found in many animals and in humans, the finding could open up new ways to affect aging, immunity(免疫)and resistance in humans, the scientists said．

　　“We wanted to find out how normal aging is being governed by genes and what effect these genes have on other traits, such as immunity,”said Robin May of the University of Birmingham, who led the study．

　　Populations across the world are aging at a surprising pace, bringing potentially big challenges for health and social care systems．A study by Danish scientists last year found that half of babies born in the rich world today will live to celebrate their 100th birthdays．Scientists are eager to find out how people age to try to develop drugs to help them stay healthier as their lives extend．

　　“What we have found is that things like resistance and aging tend to go hand in hand,”May said in an interview．

　　May's team compared longevity, stress resistance and immunity in four related species of worm．They also looked for differences in the activity of DAF-16 in each of the four species, and found that they were all quite distinct．

　　May said DAF-16 was active in most cells in the body and was very similar to a group of human genes called FOXO genes, which scientists believe play a role in the aging process．

　　“The fact that subtle(微妙的)differences in DAF-16 between species seem to have such an impact on aging and health is very interesting and may explain how differences in lifespan and related traits have arisen during evolution,”May said．