阅读理解

　　Family stories are amazing to me．You hear of family members long ago and by hearing about their stories, you can find timeless wisdom that can apply to your own life．

　　I'll never forget the story my mom told me about Grandma．Grandma cooked for a crew of 24 farmhands so most of her days were taken up cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a bunch of(一群)loud complaining men coming in from hunting or farming．She took care of five children as well so her house was a busy little place, but where you would find Grandma the most would be in front of her stove, stirring(搅拌)a pot of something．

　　The kids would run in and she'd give them a hug and then she'd go back to stirring．The men would come in and clean up all the biscuits and bacon and then she'd start on the next meal, once again standing and stirring at the stove．They'd tell her how wonderful her food was and then pour out their troubles to her as she listened and stirred．

　　One time Ruth watched as the farmhands ate quickly and went back out to work, hearing all of them grumbling about their lives．Then one by one the children came in to tell Grandma their own worries．She would smile, give them some kind of advice, and keep stirring．Ruth watched sitting at the table and when everyone left she said,“Mother．How can you just sit there and stir?Everyone tells you how bad their life is and you just smile and stir?Why don't you just tell them that you've had enough and you can't take anymore?Do something…Stop stirring!”Grandma looked up at Ruth and smiled…and kept stirring．

　　“Ruth, don't you know that the stirring is very important?You see, when I'm stirring I'm putting all my thoughts and dreams into that pot．As everyone comes in and tells me about their life I put the love and positive thoughts into my pot and stir．Then when they eat it they have been given a pot full o hope．If we have any kind of problems I envision(想象)a solution and put it in my pot and stir．My stirring is what keeps me focused on what is good in the world．So instead of worrying about all that is around me I keep stirring knowing that all is well．”

阅读理解

　　When an ant dies, other ants move the dead insect out．Sometimes, the dead ant get moved away very soon－within an hour of dying．This behavior is interesting to scientists, who wonder how ants know for sure－and so soon－that another ant is dead．

　　One scientist recently came up with a way to explain this ant behavior．Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist．Choe found that Argentine ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants,“I'm dead－take me away．”

　　But there's a twist to Choe's discovery．Choe says that the living ants－not just the dead ones－have this death chemical．In other words, while an ant crawls around, perhaps in a picnic or home, it's telling other ants that it's dead．

　　What keeps ants from dragging away the living ants?Choe found that Argentine ants have two additional chemicals on their bodies, and these tell nearby ants something like,“Wait－I'm not dead yet．”So Choe's research turned up two sets of chemical signals in ants：one says,“I'm dead,”and the other set says,“I'm not dead yet．”

　　Other scientists have tried to figure out how ants know when another ant is dead．If an ant is knocked unconscious, for example, other ants leave it alone until it wakes up．That means ants know that unmoving ants can still be alive．

　　Choe suspects that when an Argentine ant dies, the chemical that says“Wait-I'm not dead yet”quickly goes away．Once that chemical is gone, only the one that says“I'm dead”is left．”It's because the dead ant no longer smells like a living ant that it gets carried to the graveyard, not because its body releases new unique chemicals after death,”said Choe．When other ants detect the“dead”chemical without the“not dead yet”chemical, they drag away the body．

　　Understanding this behavior may help scientists figure out how to stop Argentine ants from invading new places and causing problems．Choe would like to find a way to use the newly discovered chemicals to spread ant killer to Argentine ant nests．

　　The ants' removal behavior is important to the overall health of the nest．“Being able to quickly remove dead individuals and other possible sources of disease is extremely important to all animals living in societies, including us,”says Choe．“Think about all the effort and money that we invest daily in waste management．”

阅读理解

　　It was near dusk, and Kim Cooper and her husband, Steve, were trucking through northern Kentucky transportation auto parts from Louisville to Detroit for a goods company．“Steve, wake up!”she shouted．“There's a truck on fire!”

　　Inside the burning truck, Ronnie Sanders, 38, was fighting for his life．He'd been running a heavy load of tractors and forklifts from Georgia to Indianapolis when a van in front of him stopped suddenly in traffic on the icy road．As Ronnie bore down, he could see children in the backseat．The truck's bulk would probably protect him from the worst of the impact, but the force of 23 tons would likely crush(压碎)everyone inside the van．

　　“I figured instead of killing other people, I'd just put the truck in the ditch．”At the bottom, rocks cut a fuel tank, which caught fire．A tree branch destroyed the windshield and knocked Ronnie unconscious．He came to life a couple of minutes later to find the cab in flames and his legs on fire．

　　Steve dashed to Ronnie, who was hanging headfirst from the passenger door．Ronnie had used his pocket-knife to cut himself free from the driver's-side seat belt only to get his boot trapped in another one．Steve climbed into the burning cab to free him．

　　He tried three times to pull Ronnie out before finally freeing him．But Ronnie's legs were still burning, so Steve laid him on the ground, ripped off his own shirt, and beat the flames with it．He'd managed to drag him about 20 yards when one of the truck's 150-gallon fuel tanks exploded．

　　Both Steve and Ronnie paid a price for risking their lives for strangers．Ronnie spent two months in the hospital and received skin grafts on both of his legs．Steve suffered smoke breathing and minor burns, and shrapnel from the fuel tank explosion broke a tooth．

　　In February, the Coopers received a Hero of the Highway award from the Open Road Foundation for rescuing an injured driver．Steve insists Ronnie is the real hero．“If he hadn't gone into the ditch, he would have hit that van．It was his decision to drive off the road．”

　　“I feel pretty good about it,”says Ronnie．“A lot of people could have been hurt．”

阅读理解

　　KANDAHAR, Afghanistan－Afghans burned tires and chanted“Death to America”after U．S troops fired Monday(April 12,2010)on a civilian bus near Kandahar, killing four people and wounding more than a dozen．Afghanistan's president accused NATO of breaking its commitment to safeguard civilian lives．

　　The attack angered Afghan officials and the public in Kandahar, the Taliban's birthplace, and dealt a blow to U．S and NATO efforts to win popular support for a coming offensive to drive the insurgents(叛乱分子)from the biggest city in the south．NATO expressed regret for the loss of civilian lives and said it was investigating．

　　Nearly 200 Afghans blocked highway where the shooting occurred, burning tires, firing weapons and chanting“Death to America”and other slogans．They also called for the ouster(forcing somebody out of a pasition)of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a Kandahar native who has been appealing for the people here to support the U．S-led campaign against the Taliban．

　　“The Americans are constantly killing our civilians and the government is not demanding an explanation,”protester Mohammad Razaq said．“We demand justice from the Karzai government and the punishment of those soldiers responsible．”

　　Kandahar, a city of about a half million people, is nominally under government control, but the Taliban have stepped up infiltration(浸润), staging attacks and threatening local people．

　　“These foreigners have their enemies, but killing Afghans is not the answer,”said Abdul Hadi, who sells homemade herbal medicine in a public market．He said international forces should publish a schedule of their patrols(巡逻)so Afghans can keep out of the way．

　　“Better yet, I would like to see them leave Afghanistan,”he added．

　　Haji Zahir, who runs a transport firm, said it was time for U．S．and other foreign forces to withdraw from the country．

　　“They say they want to bring security．It is all lies, lies．They kill Afghans．That is not the way to bring security,”Zahir said．

阅读理解

　　Have you ever wanted to travel back through time and see what life was like at the dawn(起始)of man?Well, museums can make history come alive．And one museum in particular can take you on an exciting journey from the beginning of human culture to the present day．

　　It is the British Museum．Being one of the largest museums in the world, it is home to over 7 million objects from all the world's continents．While most of us may not have the opportunity to visit London, we can catch a glimpse of the treasures it holds in Beijing．More than 100 cultural relics will be on display in the Palace Museum．Named“Britain and the World”, a range of pencil sketches(素描), watercolor paintings, sculptures and many other objects have traveled to China．

　　There will be several Chinese objects on show．But“they were obtained by the British Museum before 1830 mainly by trade,”said Ma Jige, deputy director of the Exhibition Department of the Palace Museum．

　　In fact, there are more than 23,000 Chinese relics in the British Museum, including national treasures like gems(宝石), artwork and ancient bronze ware objects．

　　The museum is famed for its exquisite Chinese paintings．Picture of Lady Officials(《女史箴图》)by Gu Kaizhi, a top painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty(AD 317-420), is there．The British Museum also holds 13,700 Buddhist records from the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province．

阅读理解

　　In Japan's capital city of Tokyo, earthquake danger limits(限制)the height of buildings．The city has spread out so far and the traffic has become so heavy that it is very difficult to go from one place to another．The price of the land, too, has skyrocketed．All these explains why a group of Japanese land developers came to the conclusion(结论)that there was nowhere to go but down．So far they have dug out space underground for fifteen shopping centres．

　　What are some of the advantages(优势)of shopping and eating underground?Clean air is one of them．The city of Tokyo has one of the most serious smog problems in the world．

　　Another advantage is that you escape the ever-present threat(威胁)of traffic accidents on the city's busy streets．Still another is the convenience(便利)of getting around：you are usually right next to, or even in, a subway station．And you can even spend the night underground if you like．The Kibosh station, for example, in downtown Tokyo, has a hotel with a bar, restaurant, and barbershop．

阅读理解

　　For many years, no one could communicate with people who had been born without hearing．These deaf people were not able to use a spoken language．

　　But, beginning in the 1700s, the deaf were taught a special language．Using the language, they could share thoughts and ideas with others．The language they used was a language without sound．It was a sign language．

　　How did this sign language work?The deaf were taught to make certain movements using their hands, faces and bodies．Their movements stood for things and ideas．A man might move his forefinger across his lips．This meant,“You are not telling the truth．”He might tap his chin with three fingers．This meant,“my uncle．”The deaf were also taught to use a finger alphabet．They used their fingers to make the letters of the alphabet．In this way, they spelled out words．Some deaf people could spell out words at a speed of 130 words per minute．

　　Sign language and finger spelling are not used as much as they once were．Today the deaf are taught to understand others by watching their lips．They are also taught how to speak．

阅读理解

　　Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed．When a person does a certain thing again, he is impelled(推进，敦促)by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly; thus a habit is formed．Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of．It is therefore very important that we should pay great attention to the formation(形成)of habits．Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live．Older persons also form bad habits as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by them．

　　There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help．Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and thoroughness(周详)．

　　Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on．These are all easily formed habits．Unfortunately older persons form habits which ought to have been avoided．

　　We ought to keep from all these old habits, and try to form such habits as will prove good for ourselves and others．

阅读理解

　　Zinc(锌)is one of about 20 elements necessary for good health．It is present in the body in a very small amount, but it makes it possible for important chemical actions to be carried out in cells．Scientists are just beginning to discover how zinc and other elements work．

　　Researchers first studied zinc as a way to speed recovery．Dr．Waltor Powys, formerly with the United States Air Force, noted that the laboratory animals recovered faster when some matters were added to their food．One of these matters was zinc．Dr．Powys later tested the zinc treatment on an American airman recovering from medical operations．The airman who received zinc sulphate(硫酸盐)recovered in half of the usual time．Other doctors studied persons who had a number of strange disorders．The doctors learned that all of these problems were caused by lack of zinc in the body．They treated these disorders successfully by giving the patients zinc sulphate．

　　The amount of zinc in the body can be found by examining blood and hair．A lack of this important element is not uncommon among people in both industrial and developing countries．Zinc is found in most high protein foods, such as meat milk, fish and eggs．It is also found in whole grains．But many people do not eat enough of these foods．Food markets should add these elements so that more people could get needed amount of these necessary matters．

阅读理解

　　Laptop computers are popular all over the world．People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels．These laptops connect people to their workplace．In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms．

　　Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want．Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop．The laptops are part of a ＄10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college．The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet．In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to“speak”with their teachers, their classmates, and their families．However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs．They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all!

　　Because of the many changes in computer technology, laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable．As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers．In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources．State higher-education officials are studying how laptops can help students．State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too．

　　At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers．The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons．As one Westlake teacher said,“Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we're giving students a window on the world．They can see everything and do everything．”