阅读理解

　　People bury treasure to stop other people from taking it．They choose a quiet place, dig a deep hole and bury the treasure in it．Then they make a map of where the treasure is or write down other clues(线索)that will help them or someone else to find it again．

　　In Britain a few years ago, a writer wrote about some treasure that he had buried．He put clues in the story to help readers find it．Thousands of people hunted for the treasure．They dug holes all over Britain, hoping to find it．

　　One of the most popular adventure stories ever written is Robert Louis Stephenson's “Treasured Island”, an exciting story about a young boy, Jim Hawkins, who is captured by pirates(海盗)and later finds some buried treasure．

　　Then there is the true story about a man who had to travel overseas for a year．He did not trust banks, so he buried his life savings in a park．Then he went away．On his return, he went straight to the park．But the park was no longer there．In its place there was a huge building．

　　And then there was the man who buried his savings, all in bank notes, in a waterproof(防水的)bag．When he dug it up years later, there was nothing left．Worms and insects had eaten the bag and everything in it．

　　And of course, these are stories about people who bury things and either forget where they have buried them or lose the map．

　　Although it is true that people sometimes lose their money because a bank fails, banks are still the safest place to keep our savings and treasures．

阅读理解

　　In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life．In another way, failure may be a way towards success．The “spider story” is often told．Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a cave from the English．He watched a spider spinning a web(蜘蛛织网)．The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock．He tried six times without success．On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web．Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English…Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one．

　　So what? First, always think about your failure．What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top from yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?

　　Second, is the goal(目标)you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be．Think about his question, “If I do succeed in this, where will it get me?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway．

　　The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s a part of life．Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed．Remember, “You can’t win them all．”

阅读理解

　　The greatest recent changes have been in the lives of women, during the twentieth century there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children．A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old．By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work．Today women marry younger and have fewer children．Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty．Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances(家用电器)and convenience foods．

　　This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position．Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full time job．However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it．Today the school leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born．Very many more afterwards, return to full or part-time work．Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each them．

阅读理解

　　Worn by the rich and famous around the world and now a ＄799.04 million-a-year enterprise(企业), Ugg boots have come a long way since their 1973 creation－designed to keep surfers’ feet warm in cold Australian conditions．

　　Twenty-eight years after selling the rights to his woollen-lined creation, Aussie Ugg boot inventor Shane Stedman says he has no regrets though missing out on a great footwear fortune(财富)．

　　A lifelong surfer, Mr．Stedman, now 69, who lives at beachside Mona Vale in Sydney, said his invention grew from need．“The sea is bloody cold in the Aussie winter…I used to wear football jerseys(毛衫)to keep them(feet)warm”, Mr．Stedman said．

　　But his sheepskin invention soon solved the problem and Mr．Stedman went on to spend a decade selling the sturdy(结实的)boots, until 1983 when he sold the rights to US company Deckers, for ￡10,000 plus three pairs of Ugg boots each year for the rest of his life．

　　“If I had wanted to make my Uggs the number one band, I’d have to move to the US and that’s just not me,” Mr．Stedman said．“I’ll never give up Sydney and surfing．It’s my life．So I was happy to let go．”

阅读理解

　　Stonehenge(巨石阵)is the most famous of the stone circles of the British Islands for its unusual engineering．It is good in condition, so it is a good example to study．Built in 2800 B．C．, Stonehenge shows that early people were very good at problem-solving and organization．The builders of Stonehenge had to figure out how to build it without modern machines．They also had to organize the work of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of workers to build it．

　　First they had to carve the stones．Then, they had to transport the heavy stones(up to four tons!)twenty kilometers to Stonehenge．The next task was to stand the stones up．The most difficult task was putting the top stones in place．Each one of these tasks took a lot of planning and a lot of strength, but the workers of Stonehenge were excellent builders．

　　Why did these people work so hard to build Stonehenge? Researchers believe that Stonehenge is a huge calendar．Certain stones mark the location of the rising and setting moon in midwinter．Other stones mark the rising and setting sun in midsummer．The ancient people held religious ceremonies on these days．These ceremonies probably asked the gods to bring good weather for crops and to protect the people from bad weather．

　　As a historical site, Stonehenge is an engineering success．Thousands of years later, it still stands．As a calendar, Stonehenge is very accurate．It shows that early people had a deep understanding of astronomy(天文学)and the movements of the sun and the moon．They didn’t have machines or computers, but Stonehenge shows people could do many things using only their muscles and their brains．

阅读理解

　　The disadvantage you usually find about MP3 players like the iPod is that they are too big．But get ready for the MP3 player in your hand to get much smaller－the size of a Band-Aid(创可贴)．

　　It’s called the Skinny Player, and it’s being designed by industrial designers Chih-Wei Wang and Shou-His Fu．Unlike the current types of iPod Shuffles and iPod Nanos, the Skinny Player does not need to be fixed onto your clothes or put into your pocket．It could stick to your skin(皮肤)like you would attach a Band-Aid．But unlike Band-Aids, this tiny MP3 player will not lose its stickiness as you pull it off for the hundredth time．

　　The Skinny Player features flexible speakers allowing the user to enjoy music conveniently．When it gets dirty, the user can simply clean it using a damp cloth．No batteries either．The Skinny Player’s designers say it will be powered by body heat, using a flexible battery charging device(充电器)that is in contact with skin whenever the player is being used．

　　The design only include an on/off button and flexible speakers, no word yet on arranging the volume．Besides, the memory capacity(储存容量)won’t be the best, as it is designed to only store one album．

　　The small size and the ability to stick it onto your skin like a Band-Aid should make the Skinny Player perfect for runners who now depend on their iPod to keep them energized on the running path．

阅读理解

　　There was a Bulgarian(保加利亚的)boy who was an exchange student in the USA．He lived with an American family．One day, he went to his room in the evening, and did his homework．His host-mom came to him and asked if he would like to go along to the movies．He wanted to go, so he shook his head from side to side, said “Yes”．His host-mom did a couple of steps back, and looked puzzled．

　　She thought that he didn’t want to go out because he shook his head from side to side．However, he wanted to go out to the movies．Bulgarians shake their heads from side to side when they mean “yes”．People in other countries shake their heads from side to side when they mean “no”．

　　Gestures can have different meanings according to different cultures．For example, in America, putting your index finger(食指)and your thumb(拇指)in a circle is commonly used as an OK sign that means everything is all right．However, in France, that sign is used to express “nothing” or “zero”, which can have a negative meaning．

　　Generally speaking, gestures are a type of communication that uses a part of our body, and when speaking with people from other cultures, gestures can be important keys or clues to understand them．However, we need to understand that those gestures vary from culture to culture, and it is necessary for us to have an open mind in understanding the different gestures．

阅读理解

　　Good posture certainly shows good health．It also adds to a body’s energy and beauty．The body is not handsome when the back is bent and neck thrusts forward．Bad posture suggests the impression that a person is tired, lacking in energy, bored, or weak．Tiredness may sometimes be the cause of bad posture．Most often, however, it is due to careless and poor health habits．Whatever it causes, bad posture affects one physically．The muscles are stretched and pulled into unnatural positions, which can lead to poor base of the body’s various systems．

　　Nutrition is the study of how the body takes food and uses it．This science provides information about the kinds of food a person must eat to improve and maintain good health．Such knowledge helps him develop and form people habits to his problems of healthful living．People habits of nutrition can be developed by paying attention to：(1)the variety of food included in the diet;(2)the quality of each kind of food eaten．A diet, or the food regularly eaten, must contain all the necessary factors．

　　Many physicians believe that overweight is one of the greatest dangers to good health．This condition often leads to a shorter life．An overweight person is also easier to suffer disease, and various disorders of the digestive system．A person’s weight directly has something to do with the amounts of food he eats．

　　All foods can make a person fat if too much is eaten．In reducing, the safe weight loss is about two pounds a week．The sensible way to lose weight is to decrease the gaining starchy(含淀粉的)foods, fats and sweets in the diet．

阅读理解

　　We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose．Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution．

　　The 16-year-old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has-discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(降解)in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair, a ＄10,000 prize, a ＄20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue．

　　Burd’s strategy was simple：Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms(微生物)．If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions．

　　With this goal in mind, he grounded plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制)a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母)and tap water to encourage microbes growth．Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months．Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control．Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17％ lighter than the control after six weeks．

　　The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide．

　　“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me．One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags．The answer：not much．So I decided to do something myself．” Said Daniel Burd．

阅读理解

　　In 2006, a large number of new Internet sites became popular around the world．Some of these are for communication, others for entertainment．

　　The blog is one form of communication that increased in popularity．Through these personal websites, people can share their lives, ideas and opinions on the Internet．People of all ages have their own blogs．For young people, they are a way to show their writing and other forms of self-expression．Blogs also connect people with other people who have the same interests．For example, teachers use blogs to share ideas with other teachers’, as well as experiences and concerns about their work．

　　YouTube is another Internet site that became more popular last year．This website lets anyone create, share and watch short videos．These include videos of people singing or dancing, or animals doing funny things．Three young men created YouTube almost two years ago as a personal video sharing service．They recently sold it to Google for more than one and a half billion dollars．

　　Games and entertainment also became a larger part of the Internet last year．One Internet social site is called Second Life．It is an online world in which computer users create a new self and live a different life．They get married, build homes, operate businesses, buy and sell goods, work, play and attend school．

　　People also take part in fantasy sports leagues with the help of the Internet．A fantasy sport is a game in which each member of a group acts as the owner of a team．Each owner creates a team of real-life professional players to compete against other teams in the league．More than fifteen million American adults play fantasy sports．The industry earns more than one billion dollars each year from publications, memberships and other costs．