-
Passage 1
Professor Bumble
Professor Bumble is not only absent-
minded but short-sighted as well. /His mind is
always busy
with learned thoughts and
he seldom notices what is going on around him./
On a fine day recently he went for a
walk in the countryside. /But as always he read
the book as he
walked.
/He
hadn't
gone
far
when
he
ran
into
a
large
cow
and
fell
down./
He
had
lost
his
spectacles
in
the
fall,
and
he
thought
he
had
stumbled
over
a
fat
lady.
/
beg
your
pardon,
madam,
，
he
realized his mistake./
Soon
he was concentrating on his book again and paying
no attention to anything else./ He had
scarcely
been
walking
for
five
minutes
when
he
fell
over
again,/
losing
both
his
book
and
his
glasses. /This time he became
very angry./ Seizing his umbrellas, he
struck the
/Then,
after
finding
his
glasses,
he
realized
with
horror
that
he
had
made
a
second
mistake.
/A
large fat woman was
running away from him in terror./
Passage 2
Teamwork
Teamwork is just as
important in science/ as it is on the playing
field or in the gym./ Scientific
investigations
are
almost
always
carried
out
by
teams
of
people
working
together./
Ideas
are
shared,
experiments
are
designed,
data are
analyzed,
/and
results
are
evaluated
and
shared
with
other
investigators./ Group work is necessary and is
usually more productive than working alone./
Several times throughout the year you
may be asked to work with one or more of your
classmates.
/Whatever the task your
group is assigned, /a few rules need to be
followed to ensure a productive
and
successful experience/
What
comes
first
is
to
keep
an
open
mind/because
everyone's
ideas
deserve
consideration
/and
each
group
member
can
make
his
or
her
own
contribution./
Secondly,
it
makes
a
job
easier
to
divide
the group task among all group members./ Thirdly,
always work together, take turns, and
encourage each other by listening,
clarifying and trusting one another. /Mutual
support and trust
often make a great
difference. /
Passage 3
Mistakes Are Good Teachers
After the birth of my second child, I
got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an
experienced
waitress for a few days, I
was allowed to wait tables on my own. When
Saturday night came, I
was luckily
given the tables not far from the kitchen.
However, I still felt a little hard to carry the
heavy trays. So I moved slowly, minding
every step. I remember how happy I was when I saw
the
tray standing next the tables. It
looked different from the one I was trained on. It
had nice handles
which made it easier
to move around. I was pleased with everything and
began to believe I was a
natural at
this job. Then, an old man came to me and said
that was his wife’s walker. I stood frozen
as ice, but my face was on fire. Since
then, I have learned to be more careful and not to
be too sure
of myself.
Passage 4
Time Has the Power to Change Attitude
Last week, my youngest son and I
visited my father at his new home.
My
earliest memories of my father are of a tall,
handsome, successful man devoted to his work
and family but uncomfortable with his
children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl
and young
adult, I feared him and felt
bitter about him.
On the first day of
my visit, we did some shopping, ate on the street
table, and laughed over my
son’s
funny
facial
expressions. Gone
was
my
father’s
critical
air
and
strict
rules. Who
was
this
person I
knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and
interesting to be around?
The next day, my dad pulled out his
childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories
about his
own childhood. Although our
times together became easier over the years, I
never felt closet to
him at that
moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing
another side of my father.
Passage 5
Experiences Speak
There are
many different ways of seeing a town for the first
time. One of them is to walk around it,
guidebook
in
hand.
Of
course,
we
may
study
with
our
guidebooks
the
history
and
special
developments of a
town and get to know them. But then, if we take
out time and stay in a town for
a
while,
we
may
get
to
know
it
better.
When
we
look
it
as
a
whole,
we
begin
to
have
some
questions, which even the best
guidebooks do not answer. Why is the town just
like this, this shape,
this plan, this
size?
Here even the best
guide-
book fails us. We can’t find in
it the information about how a town has
developed to the present appearance.
However, we may get some idea of what it used to
look like
by walking around the town. A
personal visit to a town may help one better
understand why it is
attractive than
just reading about it in a guidebook.
Passage 6
Representatives of Civilization:
Pottery
Ancient people made clay
pottery because they needed it for
their survival. They used the pots
they
made
for
cooking,
storing
food,
and
carrying
things
from
place
to
place.
Pottery
was
so
important
to early cultures that scientists now study it to
learn more about ancient civilizations.
The
more
advanced
the
pottery
in
terms
of
decoration,
materials,
glazes
and
manufacture,
the
more advanced the culture itself. The
artisan who makes pottery in North America today
utilizes
his
or
her
skill
and
imagination
to
create
items
that
are
beautiful
as
well
as
al,
transforming
something
ordinary
into
something
special
and
unique.
The
potter
uses
one
of
the
Earth's
most
basic materials, clay.
Clay can be found almost anywhere. Good pottery
clay must be free from all
small
stones
and
other
hard
materials
that
would
make
the
potting
process
difficult.
The
most
important tools potters use are their
own hands; however, they also use wire loop tools,
wooden
modeling tools, plain wire, and
sponges.
Passage 7
Words Can Make a Difference
On August 26, 1999, New York City was
struck by a terrible rainstorm during the morning
rush
hour that caused the streets to
flood.
Many people who were going to
work were forced to go home. Some battled to call
a taxi, get a
bus or walk miles to get
to work. I soon discovered most of the subway
lines had stopped service.
I finally
found an operatin
g line, but there were
so many people that I couldn’t initially get to
the
platform. Finally, I got to my
office, wet through, and exhausted.
After an unenjoyably day, Garth, my
Director, sent an e-mail to everyone:
“
Thanks to everyone who
reported to work. It is always reassuring when
employees show their
devotion to their
jobs. Thank you.”
Garth
’
s email was
short
，
but welcomed. It made
me realize that even when times are tough, a
few words can make a big difference.
Passage 8
Fairy Tales
Tales of the
supernatural are common in all parts of Britain.
In particular,
there was a
belief in
fairies. Not all of these
fairies are the friendly, people-loving sprites
that appear in Disney films,
and
in
some
folktales
they
are
cruel
and
cause
much
human
suffering.
This
is
true
in
the
tales
about the Changeling. These tell the
story of a mother whose baby grows sick and pale
and has
changed so much that it is
almost unrecognizable to the parents. It was then
feared that the fairies
had
come
and
stolen
the
baby
away
and
replaced
the
human
baby
with
a
fairy
Changeling.
In
those cases there was often a way to
get the real baby back. You could place the
Changeling on the
fire--
then
it would rise up the chimney, and you would hear
the sound of fairies’ laughter and soon
after you would find your own child
safe and sound nearby.
Passage 9
Self-Image
Self-
image is your own
mind’s picture of yourself. This image includes
the way you look, the way
you
act,
the
way
you
talk
and
the
way
you
think.
Interestingly,
our
self-images
are
often
quite
different
from
the
images
others
hold
about
us.
Unfortunately,
most
of
these
images
are
more
negative
than
they
should
be.
Thus
changing
the
way
you
think
about
yourself
is
the
key
to
changing
your self-image and your whole world.
It might be that you are experiencing a
negative self-
image because you can’t
move past one flaw
or weakness that you
see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and
make a change of it as
your primary
task.
The best way to get
rid of a negative serf-image is to realize that
your image
is far from objective, and
to actively convince yourself
of your
positive qualities. Changing the
way
you
think
and
working
on
those,
you
will
go
a
long
way
towards
promoting
a
positive
self-
image.
Passage 10
Shopaholics
The word addiction usually makes you
think of alcohol or drugs, but in modern-day
society we are
seeing
some
new
kinds
of
addictions.
Some
people
are
compulsive
shoppers.
Others
find
it
impossible to pull themselves away from
their work. Still others spend countless hours
watching
TV or playing computer games.
Over the years, shopping has become a
very common activity. Many people enjoy going to
malls
or stores more and more every
day, but it’s more than a common hobby for some of
them. They
have
turned
into
shopaholics.
They
are
people
who
simply
enjoy
shopping
and
walking
around
spending money without being able to
stop doing it. They are hooked on shopping and
usually buy
things that they don’t
need. Even though they don’t have enough money,
they buy everythi
ng they
want.
Why do they have this
addiction? There isn’t a specific answer. Some
people go shopping when
they
are
sad,
worried,
upset
or
lonely.
Some
even
tend
to
have
this
addiction
when
they
feel
guilty.
Passage 11
Time Management
Time is something
from which
we can’t escape. Even if we ignore it, it’s still
going by, ticking
away, second by
second, minute by minute, hour by hour. So the
main issue in using your time
well is,
“Who’s in charge?” We can allow time to slip by
and let it be our enemy. Or
we can take
control of it and make it our ally.
By taking control of how
you spend your time, you’ll increase your chances
of becoming a more
successful student.
Perhaps more importantly, the better you are at
managing the time you devote
to your
studies, the more time you will have to spend on
your outside interests.
The
aim
of
time
management
is
not
to
schedule
every
moment
so
we
become
slaves
of
a
timetable
that
governs
every
waking
moment
of
the
day.
Instead,
the
aim
is
to
make
informed
choices as to how we use our time.
Passage 12
Charity Shops
The charity shop is a British
institution, selling everything from clothes to
electric goods, all at
very good
prices. You can get things you won't find in the
shops anymore. The thing I like best
about them is that your
money is going to a good cause and not into the
pockets of profit-driven
companies, and
you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new
home for unwanted goods.
Most of the
people working in the charity shops are
volunteers, although there is often a manager
who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in
the charity shops are donated by the public.
The shops have very low running costs:
all profits go to charity work. Charity shops
raise more
than
￡
110
million
a
year,
funding
medical
research,
overseas
aid,
supporting
sick
and
poor
children, homeless and disabled people,
and much more.
Passage 13
Passive
Learning
We can achieve knowledge
either actively or passively. We achieve it
actively by direct experience,
by
testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning. We
achieve knowledge passively by being told by
someone else. Most of the learning that
takes place in the classroom and the kind that
happens
when we watch TV or read
newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as
we are to passive
learning, it's not
surprising that we depend on it in our everyday
communication with friends and
co-
workers.
Unfortunately, passive
learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend
to accept what we are told
even when it
is little more than hearsay and rumor.
That's what happens in daily life. The
simple fact that people repeat a story in their
own words
changes the story. Then, too,
most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy
adding their own
creative touch to a
story, trying to improve on it, stamping it with
their own personal style. Yet
those who
hear it think they know.
Passage 14
Different
“Styles” of Directions
I
travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of
directions every time I ask ”How can I get to the
post office?”
In
Japan,
people
use
landmarks
in
their
directions
instead
of
street
names.
For
example,
the
Japanese will say to travelers, “Go
straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big
hotel and go
past a fruit market. The
post office is across from the bus
stop.”
In the countryside of
the American Midwest, instead of landmarks, people
will tell you directions
and distances.
For example, people will say, “Go north two miles.
Turn east, and then go another
mile.”
People in
Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance
on the map; they measure distance in
time, not miles. “How far away is the
post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s
about five
minutes from here.” You say,
“Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t
know.
Passage 15
Rain Forests
Rainforests are the lungs of the planet
–
storing vast quantities of
carbon dioxide and producing a
significant amount of the world’s
oxygen. Rainforests have their own perfect system
for ensuring
their own survival; the
tall trees make a canopy of branches and leaves
which protect themselves,
smaller
plants, and the forest animals from heavy rain,
intense dry heat from the sun and strong
winds.
Amazingly, the trees grow in such a way
that their leaves and branches, although close
together,
never actually touch those of
another tree. Scientists think this is a
deliberate tactic to prevent the
spread
of any tree diseases and make life more difficult
for leaf-eating insects.
They are not
called rainforests for nothing! Rainforests can
generate 75% of their own rain. At
least 80 inches of rain a year is
normal
–
and in some areas
there may be as much as 430 inches of
rain annually. This is real rain. In
just two hours, streams can rise ten to twenty
feet.
Passage 16
Juana Lopez’s Invention
One day, Juana Lopez had an idea for a
dish washing machine that worked without using
water.
She went to see several dish
washer manufacturers about producing the machine,
but none of them
were
interested.
Joanna
found
investors
to
support
her
idea
and
founded
her
own
production
company. She
spent millions of dollars on developing her dish
washer, and it was lunched three
years
later. From then on, sales were very good, better
even than Joanna had hopped. But Global
Domestic, one of the companies that she
has been to, made its own waterless dish washer.
Joanna
obtained one and found they use
the technical ideas she had developed. She had
obtained legal
protection for these
ideas so that other companies could not use them.
After a long legal process,
glob
domestic
was
forced
to
stop
making
its
competing
dish
washer
and
to
pay
Joanna
several
million
dollars.
Now
Joanna
’
s
waterless
dish
washer
has
40
℅
of
the
worldwide
dish
washer
market, and this is increasing every
year.
Passage 17
Rising Sea Level
Latest research predicts that the
global sea level is expected to rise 9 to 88
centimeters by 2100,
with a “best
estimate” of 50 centimeters. This is
due
to global warming which is causing
the ice
caps to melt.
This
great rise of close to one meter would threaten
huge areas of low-lying coastal land as well as
major cities such as London, New York
and Tokyo.
In many places, 50
centimeters would see entire beaches being washed
away. On low-lying pacific
islands, the
highest point is only two or three meters above
the current sea level. If the sea level
was to rise by 50 centimeters, big
parts of these islands would disappear under the
water. Even if
they remain above the
sea, many island nations will have their supplies
of drinking water reduced
because sea
water will pollute their freshwater.
There are also tens of millions of
people living in low-level coastal areas of
southern Asia, such as
the coastline of
Pakistan and India, who would be in danger.
Passage 18
What Is a Father?
A father
is a person who is forced to endure childbirth
without an anesthetic. He growls when he
feels good and laughs very loud when he
is scared half-to-death.
A
father never feels entirely worthy of the worship
in a child's eyes. He is never quite the hero his
daughter thinks. Never quite the man
his son believes him to be. And this worries him
sometimes.
A father is a
person who goes to war sometimes and would run the
other way except that war is
part of an
important job in his life, which is making the
world better for his children than it has
been for him.
I
don’t know there father goes when he dies, but
I’ve an idea that, after a good rest, where it is
he
won't just sit on a cloud and wait
for the girl he's loved and the children she bore.
He'll be busy
there too repairing the
stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets,
smoothing the way.
Passage
19
Little Boy’s
Big Idea
The
Intellectual
Property
Owner
Association
(IPO)
is
running
a
project
to
encourage
young
inventors. Samuel Houghton, a five-
year-old boy has become the youngest Briton to
hold a patent
after watching his father
struggling in the garden. Samuel developed a
garden tool after watching
his father
Mark use two brushes to sweep up leaves outside
their house. His father used a large
brush to gather leaves and small
branches, and then got a small brush to pick up
what was left.
Samuel
came
up
with
the
idea
for
a
labor-saving
tool,
which
has
been
patented
and
named
the
Improved Broom.
It is a simple idea that combines two
ordinary brooms with different-sized bristles and
brush-heads
to enable
different-
sized dirt to be swept up
more efficiently. “The small one gets the first
bits and
the one at the back gets those
left behind, Samuel explains.
The IPO
says that Samuel is its youngest known patent
holder.
Passage 20
Cultural Differences
Meeting people from another culture can
be difficult. Different cultures emphasize the
importance
of relationship building to
a greater or lesser degree. For example, business
in some countries is
not possible until
there is a relationship of trust. Even with people
at work, it is necessary to spend
a lot
of time in
In many European
countries
—
like the UK or
France
—
people find it easier
to build up a lasting
working
relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than
at the office.
Even within Northern
Europe, cultural differences can cause serious
problems. Certainly, English
and German
cultures share similar value; however, Germans
prefer to get down to business more
quickly. We think that they are rude.
In fact, this is just because one culture starts
discussions and
makes decision more
quickly.
Passage 21
Stress
Stress is what you feel when you react
to pressure, either from the outside world or from
inside
yourself. Stress is a normal
reaction for people of all ages.
Most
people think that pressure is always a bad thing.
In fact, a little bit of stress is good. Without
stress, most of us couldn’t push
ourselves to do well, especially in difficult
things.
People usually
complain about feeling pressed for time when they
are under certain pressure. It is
true
that you can’t always control the things that are
stressi
ng you out, but you can control
how
you react to them. The way you feel
about things results from the way you think about
things. If
you change how you think,
you can change the way you feel. Try the following
tips to deal with
your stress:
Make a list of the things that are
causing your stress.
Give yourself an
excuse.
Don't promise to do things you
can't do or don't want to do.
Find
someone to talk to.
Passage 22
Love is a
telephone
Love is a telephone which is
always silent when you are hoping for a call, but
rings when you are
not ready for it. As
a result, we often miss the love coming from the
other end.
Love
is
a
telephone
which
is
seldom
program-controlled
or
directly
dialed.
You
cannot
get
an
immediate answer with a
simple “hello”, let alone go deep into your
lover’s heart with one call.
Usually it
has to be relayed by an operator, and you have to
wait patiently.
Love is a telephone
that is always busy. When you are ready to dial
for love, you only find, to your
disappointment, the line is already
being used by someone else.
Love is a
telephone, but it is difficult to know when to
dial. You will miss the opportunity if your
call is either too early or too late.
Passage 23
Jealousy
The
experience
of
jealousy
varies
enormously
from
age
to
age,
from
culture
to
culture,
from
couple to couple, from person to
person, and can be different within the same
person from time to
time.
In
the
United
States,
there
has
been
a
change
of
attitude
toward
jealousy
in
recent
years.
“Normal” jealousy, which has been
se
en as an inevitable accompaniment of
love and support of
marriage, has come to be seen by some
as evidence of personal insecurity and weakness in
the
relationship, and therefore a
threat to the partnership.
Most jealous
flashes come from feeling left out of an activity
involving your partner and another
person or other people. When your
partner pays attention to another, your first
reaction is to note
that they are “in”
and you are “out”. You feel excluded, ignored,
unappreciated.
This kind of
experience is not uncommon, and dealing with it
gracefully is part of the etiquette of
our time.
Passage 24
Differences
Between Television and Radio Announcers
When
television
first
began
to
expand,
very
few
of
people
who
had
become
famous
as
radio
announcers
were
able
to
be
equally
effective
on
television.
Some
of
the
difficulties
they
experienced when they were trying to
adapt themselves to the new medium were technical.
When
working on radio, for example,
they had become accustomed to seeing on behalf of
the listener.
This art of seeing for
others means that the commentator has to be very
good at talking.
In
the
case
of
television,
however,
the
announcer
sees
everything
with
the
viewer.
His
role,
therefore,
is
completely
different.
He
is
there
to
make
sure
that
the
viewer
does not
miss
some
point of interest, to
help him focus on particular things, and to help
him understand the images on
the
television screen. Unlike his radio colleague, he
must know the value of silence and how to
use it, at those moments when the
pictures speak for themselves.
Passage
25
The African
Elephant
The African elephant, the
largest land animal remaining on earth, is of
great importance to African
ecosystem.
As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the
forest-and-savanna surroundings in which it
lives, setting the terms of existence
for millions of other animals that live in its
habitat.
It
is
the
elephant's
great
desire
for
food
that
makes
it
a
disturber
of
the
environment
and
an
important builder of its
habitat. In its continuous search for the 300
pounds of plants it must have
every
day,
it
kills
small
trees
and
underbushes,
and
pulls
branches off
big
trees.
This
results
in
numerous open spaces in both deep
tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover
part of the
African savannas.
What worries scientists now
is that the African elephant has become an
endangered species. If the
elephant
disappears,
scientists
say,
many
other
animals
will
also
disappear
from
vast
areas
of
forest and savanna, greatly changing
and worsening the whole ecosystem.
Passage 26
Operations on the Brain
It
is difficult for doctors to help a person with a
damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain
lives for only three to five minutes.
Dr.
White thinks doctors should try to make
the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain
can
live without blood for 30 minutes.
This gives the doctors a longer time to do
something for the
brain.
Dr.
White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he
taught them to do different jobs. Then he operated
on them. He made the monkeys' blood go
through a machine which cooled the blood, and then
sent the blood back to the monkeys'
brains. When the brain temperature was 50 degrees,
Dr. White
stopped
the
blood
to
the
brain.
After
30
minutes
he
turned
the
blood
back
on.
He
warmed
the
blood again. After their
operations the monkeys were like they were before.
They
were healthy
and busy.
Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had
taught them.
Passage 27
Depression
The
dictionary
describes
depression
as
the
state
of
feeling
very
sad,
anxious
and
hopeless.
The
question here
is why one gets depressed. Is it the inability to
deal with the situation or the high
stress levels that come with success or
failure?
Life is full of twists and
turns. Some are pleasant and some are not so
pleasant, and sometimes
even
terrible.
No
one
has
a
lack
of
problems
in
his
or
her
life.
Everyone
has
a
personal
set
of
problems.
Even the people who constantly have a
smile on their faces have problems. The only
difference is
that they know how to
deal with the problems and smile about the fact
that they can overcome
them.
Seasonal
changes
are
the
main
reason
for
depression
in
nature.
Change
is
unavoidable.
It
may
happen in nature or in
life, but the way the change makes us feel is
subjective1. They differ from
person to
person, along with the ways we deal with them.
Feeling depression is a normal
phenomenon2, but letting it overtake3 us
completely is not the best
thing. There
are no specific rules or concepts to deal with it.
Whatever way a person feels is the
best
way to deal with it should be adopted, but be sure
it will not hurt another person.
Passage 28
White Noise
There are
different kinds of noise with distinct frequencies
that are classified by
color
，
namely:
white noise, pink noise, brown noise,
blue noise, and gray noise. Below is an overview
of white
noise.
Generally
speaking, white noise is a part of the full scale
of sound frequencies a human ear can
recognize. White noise is a mixture of
sound frequencies in equal levels. It is a very
quiet sound
that is relaxing and
pleasant to the ears of anyone. A number of people
say that it is similar to the
sound of
the rain or the ocean waves.
White
noise
offers
countless
benefits.
The
noise
comes
in
different
forms
that
serve
different
purposes. Some
white noise works better than others for
particular uses. Some people may find
some white noise sounds more pleasing
than others. Moreover, white noise is said to have
a more
calming effect than music does.
Passage 29
Cell Phone
Nowadays,
with
the
rapid
development
of
IT
and
information
industry,/
cell
phones
play
a
dominant
role
in
people’s
life.
/On
the
one
hand,
the
mobile
phone
is
portable
and
convenient.
/Being
wireless,
you
can
carry
them
everywhere
with
great
ease.
/You
can
reach
a
person
wherever
and however far away he is./ On the other hand, it
is a friend indeed./ Whenever you
come
across trouble, you can call for help
immediately./
However, just as every
coin has two sides,/ the cell phone also has its
many disadvantages. /Some
people
complain that mobile phones give unpleasant noise
on some important occasions/ when the
owner forgets to turn them off. /And it
also cuts into people’s spare time,/ because with
the mobile
phone the boss can easily
reach them and call them to duty during their
spare time. /Worst of all,
the
electromagnetic
wave
emitted
from
the
phone
is
said
to
be
harmful
to
people’s
health/
and
does
often cause headaches to the owner./
Passage 30
Facing the Enemies Within
We
are not born with courage, but neither are we born
with fear. Maybe some of your fears are
brought on by your own experiences, by
what someone has told you, by what you’ve read in
the
papers. Fears, even the most basic
ones, can totally destroy your ambitions,
fortunes, relationships,
and even life.
Another enemy we face is indecision.
Indecision is the thief of opportunity and
enterprise. It will
steal your chances for a better future.
The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure
you can’t believe everything. But don’t let doubt
take over
you. It will destroy your
life and your chances of success. It will empty
both your bank account
and your heart.
Also, there are indifference, worry and
over caution that you should do battle with. Be
courageous
in your life and in your
pursuit of the things you want and the person you
want to become.
Passage 31
The tower of London
In
1078,
King
William
began
to
build
a
large
stone
building
on
the
north
bank
of
the
Thames
River and named it the Tower of London.
The tower was finished 20 years later.
Around
1240,
King
Henry
III
made
it
his
home.
He
painted
the
tower
white,
and
widened
the
grounds to include a church, a great
hall and other buildings.
In 1381,
Richard II became King of England. A group of
farmers attacked the tower. In the end,
Richard was forced to give up his power
to Henry IV
.
Queen Elizabeth
was held prisoner in the tower for two months by
Queen Mary, her half-sister.
She was
set free on May 19, 1554, and in 1558 became the
Queen of England.
In
I603,
part
of
the
tower
became
a
museum.
A
lot
of
royal
jewels
were
kept
in
the
tower
for
visitors to see. The tower has been a
place of interest in London ever since. (158
words)
Passage 32
Can’t
strong spirits have been
broken by it. It springs from the lips of
thoughtless people each morning
and
robs us of the courage we need that day. It rings
in our ears like a timely sent warning and
laughs when we fall by the way.
It weakens the
efforts of clever craftsmen, and makes
people work less. It poisons the soul of a person
with an
illusion.
It laughs
at people's hopes and dreams.
Whatever
the
goal
you
are
seeking,
keep
trying,
and
answer
by
saying,
can!
is
the
enemy that is ready to
ruin your will. It will only give way to courage,
patience and skill. Treat it
with
strong and continuous hate, for once it is
welcomed it can break any man. (160 words)
Passage 33
The First Music Road in the U. S.
In the city of Lancaster, there is a
wonderful road that can play music. Due to its
special design,
when cars drive on it,
the road will produce beautiful notes.
This
road
is
believed
to
be
the
first
music
road
in
the
U.S..
Citizens
have
different
attitudes
towards it. Some
of them live near the road. They complain that the
road is so noisy that it keeps
them
awake. But there are still many local people who
are in favor of the road.
and you
didn't know what to happen. When I got to the end,
I was smiling from ear to ear,
old
driver. In addition, the city has received
hundreds of calls praising the road.
The
road
has
become
a
tourist
attraction
and
the
city
has
decided
to
recreate
the
road
in
an
industrial
area away from homes. (146 words)
Passage 34
Easter
Easter is a festival
that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A Sunday between March 22
and April 25
is called Easter Sunday. People eat some cakes
during this festival. They also give
colorful eggs to each other. It is said
that the Earth came from an egg. In England,
people write
messages and dates on
their eggs and give them to friends or loved ones.
A rabbit called
the Easter Bunny visits children on Easter Sunday.
He often leaves some candy and
eggs. So
on Easter Sunday morning, children always get up
early to find these candy and eggs all
around the house. In fact, it is their
parents who buy them candy and hide their eggs.
The story of the Easter Bunny’s visit
comes from Germany. The story goes that a poor
woman hid
eggs for her children to
find. At the moment they found them, they looked
up to see a big rabbit
running away.
Passage 35
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is
a sleep disorder affecting an estimated 10 percent
of all humans at least once in
their
lives. It is far more common in kids than in
adults, as most sleepwalkers outgrow it by the
early teen years. It may run in
families. So if you or your partner are or were
sleepwalkers, your
child
may
be
too. Other
factors
that
may
bring
on
sleepwalking
include
lack
of
sleep,
irregular
sleep schedules,
illness or fever, and stress.
Of
course,
getting
out
of
bed
and
walking
around
while
still
sleeping
is
the
most
obvious
sleepwalking symptom. But young
sleepwalkers may also sleep talk. Also,
sleepwalkers’ eyes are
open,
bu
t they are not awake and may not
realize what they’re doing.
It
’
s hard to wake them up.
Sleepwalking is not usually a sign that
something is emotionally or psychologically wrong
with a
child. And it doesn't cause any
emotional harm. They probably won't even remember
the nighttime
stroll.
Passage 36
Why Are Some People Left-handed?
Why is a mere 4% of the population
left-handed? Most authorities agree, to the relief
of many a
mother of a left-handed
child, that if the child prefers using the left
hand, and functions well with
it. There
is no need to correct this
One theory
centers on the two halves of the brain, each of
which functions differently. Medical
science believes that the opposite
sides of the body are supplied by the opposite
sides of the brain.
The predominant
left half of the brain, which controls the right
half of the body, makes it more
skillful in reading, writing and
speaking, and makes most people right-handed.
are the product of an inversion. They
also work best with the left side of their bodies.
There is no doubt that all exist in a
96%. But don't forget many of the
greatest geniuses are left-handed, including
Leonardo da Vinci.
(159 words)
Passage 37
Summon Up Courage
There were
two men who both decided to get a horse for
riding. One man found a red horse with
much spirit while the other chose one
more docile. The two men would go riding together
every
day.
It
so
happened
that
one
day
on
the
route,
there
was
a
ditch
about
eight
or
nine
feet
wide.
When
coming up to this ditch, the red horse was quick
to respond and jumped it with no difficulty.
Yet the more docile horse would shrink
every time it came to the edge. It would stand on
the edge,
shaking. Then after a while,
coming up to the ditch and watching its companion
jump it easily,
something happened
within it
—
an idea was born
that it could too. So it smoothly jumped over the
obstacle.
Life is much like
what happened to the two horses. It all comes to a
choice whether we look for
the spirit
within or just stand on the edge and shrink. (162
words)
Passage 38
A Burden You Don’t
Deserve
It's easy to blame
someone else for your troubles. Yet, when you're
truly honest with yourself, it's
clear
that blaming others will not add the slightest bit
of value to your life.
To move your life in the direction you
choose to go, you must be willing to take full
responsibility
for it. That means you
must accept that things are not always going to be
fair.
Perhaps life has given you a
burden you don't deserve. Instead of seeing that
as an excuse to give
up, see it as an
opportunity to give more.
Though you
may not have brought your troubles upon yourself,
you can still make positive use of
them. Choose to take full
responsibility for your own situation, and you'll
begin to see how you
can rise from it
to a level that's higher than ever before.
Real
success
does
not
result
from
everything
going
perfectly.
Real
success
comes
when
you're
willing to move forward no matter what
may happen. (164 words)
Passage 39
Culture
Living
in
a
new
country
means
experiencing
a
different
way
of
life.
This
is
very
exciting
and
interesting! But it can also be a
little challenging at times, because the cultures
of all countries are
unique.
Culture is like an iceberg. You can see
some parts of an
iceberg
—
just like you can
see some parts
of
a
country's
culture
when
you
visit
it.
For
example,
you
can
see
different
ways
of
greeting
people,
hear
different
languages
and
observe
different
festivals
and
customs.
However,
a
much
bigger
part of every iceberg is hidden under water. Even
though this part of the iceberg is hard to
see,
it
is
very
important
—
without
it,
the
iceberg
would
not
exist.
The
same
is
true
of
culture.
There are many
aspects of it which you cannot see when you visit
a different country, for example,
the
nature of friendship and the importance of time.
It will take a long time to understand those
values and beliefs. (162 words)
Passage 40
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin's
life is full of charming stories which all young
men should know
—
how he sold
books
in Boston, and became the guest
of kings in Europe; how he was made Major General
Franklin,
only to quit because as he
said, he was no soldier, and yet helped to
organize the army that stood
before the
trained troops of England and Germany.
This
poor
Boston
boy,
without
a
day's
schooling,
became
master
of
six
languages
and
never
stopped
studying;
this
neglected
apprentice
conquered
the
lightning,
made
his
name
famous,
received degrees and diplomas from many
colleges, and became forever remembered as
Franklin
He built America,
for what America is today is largely due to the
management, the forethought,
the
wisdom,
and
the
ability
of
Benjamin
Franklin.
He
belongs
to
the
world,
but
especially
he
belongs to America. (144 words)
Passage 41
Light Pollution
We usually
think of pollution as a harmful waste substance
that threatens the air and water. But
some
people
have
become
concerned
about
another
kind
of
pollution.
It
can
be
everywhere,
depending on the time of day. And it is
not thought of as a substance. It is light.
The idea of light pollution has
developed with the increase of lights in cities.
In many areas, this
light makes it
difficult or impossible to observe stars and
planets in the night sky. Light pollution
threatens to reduce the scientific
value of research telescopes.
Light
pollution is the result of wasted energy. Bright
light that shines into the sky is not being used
to provide light where it is needed on
Earth. Lights that are brighter than necessary
also cause light
pollution.
Recently,
two
Italian
astronomers
and
an
American
environmental
scientist
created
a
world
map of the night sky. The map shows that North
America, Western Europe and Japan have
the greatest amount of
light pollution. (165 words)
Passage 42
Monkeys That
Eat Less Live Longer
A
study
of
monkeys
over
a
twenty-year
period
suggests
that
eating
less
may
extend
life
and
prevent
disease.
American
researchers
said
they
believe
their
findings
could
apply
to
people
as
well.
Half of the monkeys were permitted to
eat as much as they wanted. The other half ate a
controlled
diet.
The
researchers found that thirty-seven percent of the
monkeys that ate as much as they wanted
had died of causes related to aging
after twenty years. In comparison, only thirteen
percent of the
monkeys on restricted
diets had died.
Extended life was not
the only observable difference between the two
groups. The monkeys that
ate less bad
half the amount of heart disease and cancer.
In addition, there is also a difference
in the appearance. The monkeys that ale less look
younger
and healthier than fatter
monkeys on a normal diet.
The
researchers say this study is not complete and
that they will continue to observe the remaining
monkeys throughout their lives. (163
words)
Passage 43
Dangerous Lead-based Faint
Common Around me World
A
new
study
shows
that
lead-based
paint
remains
a
worldwide
threat
to
public
health.
Paint
containing lead is a
major cause of lead poisoning in children.
The heavy metal enters the body when
children breathe the paint dust or fumes in the
air. Or when
babies put their mouth on
painted surfaces or swallow pieces of paint.
Lead can damage the brain and the
nervous system. It can decrease intelligence*
create behavior
problems and slow a
child's growth.
Researchers tested new
household paints from twelve countries in Africa,
Asia and South America.
The paints were
sold under different brand names. The study found
that almost three-fourths of the
brands
had dangerously high levels of lead.
The professor says high quality paint
can be produced without lead. He and his team are
calling
for a worldwide ban on lead-
based paint. He says many parts of the world are
doing too little to
correct the problem
of lead poisoning in children. He notes that
research has found no safe level of
lead. (171 words)
Passage 44
Expressions
That Are Old and True
A proverb is a
short, well-known saying that expresses a common
truth or belief. Many proverbs
give
advice about how to live.
For example,
my son is just like his father in many ways. We
often say the two of them prove the
proverb that the apple does not fall
far from the tree.
My daughter is very
short. She would like to be taller. But I tell her
that good things come in small
packages
，
like
diamonds and other jewels. Also, I tell them do
not judge a book by its cover. Do
not
be fooled by appearances.
Another
proverb is, do not bite off more than you can
chew. This means do not try to do more than
you are able to do.
Finally,
I always like this proverb: You can catch more
flies with honey than with vinegar. Honey
is sweet while vinegar is not. In other
words, you can win people to your side more easily
with
gentle persuasion than by hostile
actions.
Passage 45
Death Valley: A Beautiful
but Dangerous Place
Death Valley is a land of beautiful but
dangerous extremes. There are mountains that reach
more
than three thousand meters into
the sky. There is a place called Badwater that is
the lowest area of
land in the Western
Hemisphere. If there were water there, it would be
eighty-six meters below the
level of
the ocean.
Death
Valley
can
be
dangerously
cold
during
the
winter
months.
Storms
in
the
mountains
can
produce sudden flooding on the floor of
the Valley. The extreme heat in summer has killed
people
in the past. It will continue to
kill those who do not honor this extreme climate.
Death Valley does
not forgive those who
are not careful.
It is a good example
of the violence of nature. However t it would be
wrong to think that nothing
lives
there.
The
Valley
is
full
of
life.
Wild
flowers
grow
very
quickly
after
a
little
rain.
Birds,
snakes and other
animals always enjoy their stay. (159 words)
Passage 46
Death Valley: the Coming of the Name
The
area
was
named
by
a
woman
in
1849.
That
was
the
year
after
gold
was
discovered
in
California. Thousands of people from
other parts of the country traveled to the gold
mining areas
in California. They were
in a hurry to get there before other people did.
Many people were not careful. They made
bad choices or wrong decisions. One group trying
to
reach
California
decided
to
take
a
path
called
the
Old
Spanish
Trail.
By
December,
they
had
reached Death Valley.
They did not have to survive the terrible heat of
summer, but there was still
an extreme
lack of water. There were few plants for their
work animals to eat.
The people could
not find a pass through the tall mountains.
Gradually, they began to suffer from a
lack
of
food.
To
survive,
they
killed
their
work
animals
for
food
and
began
to
walk
out
of
the
Valley. As they left,
one woman looked back and said,
never
been changed. (169 words)
Passage 47
An Old Saying
Today
we
explain
a
very
old
saying
that
has
had
a
big
influence
on
rock-and-roll
music.
That
saying is a rolling
stone gathers no moss. It has several meanings.
One meaning is that a person
who never
settles down in one place will not be successful.
Another is that someone who is always
moving, with no roots in one place,
avoids responsibilities.
This proverb
was said to be first used in the 1500s. But in the
1960s, the expression rolling stone
became famous in the world of rock-and-
roll music. It became the name of a rock group, a
song
and a magazine.
Experts
say it all started with a song by the American
singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. He was
one of the country's top blues
musicians until his death in 1983. His music
influenced singers like
Elvis
Presley
and
Bob
Dylan.
In
1950,
Muddy
Waters
recorded
a
song
called
Stone.
(152 words)
Passage 48
Study Finds More Trees on Farms Than
Was Thought
Farmers,
especially
in
developing
countries,
are
often
criticized
for
cutting
down
forests.
But
a
new study suggests that many farmers
recognize the value in keeping trees.
Researchers using satellite images
found at least ten percent tree cover on more than
one billion
hectares of farmland. That
is almost half the farmland in the world.
Earlier estimates were much lower but
incomplete. The authors of the new study say it
may still
underestimate the true extent
worldwide.
The
study
found
that
climate
conditions
alone
could
not
explain
the
amount
of
tree
cover
in
different
areas.
Nor
could
the
size
of
nearby
populations,
meaning
people
and
trees
can
live