阅读理解Takeover hostility Acquisitions of Chinese enterprises by foreign companies are increasingly being challenged amidst a growing mood of " economic patriotism. " The former National Bureau of Statistics Commissioner Li Deshui is one of the most prominent of the critics. During last month''s session of the National People''s Congress(NPC) , the country''s law -making body, he warned that the acquisition of promising local companies by multinational investors was creating monopolies in a number of sectors. " If China lets multinationals'' malicious mergers and acquisitions go ahead freely, China can only act as labour in the global supply chain," said Li, worrying that Chinese brands and the innovation ability of the national industry would disappear gradually and core parts, key technologies and high value added of China''s leading enterprises might be completely controlled by multinationals. His pointed criticism generated wide media exposure and created fears of a foreign mergers and acquisitions (M it only makes matters worse. " Compared with other regions around the world, the M&A wave in China has not yet reached its peak and has been picking up only in recent years with the easing of restrictions. The total volume of Asia -Pacific M&As last year hit a record US $474. 3 billion, up 46 per cent from US $324.5 billion in 2004. China leads the race as the most targeted country outside Japan, recording a total US $ 66 billion in announced deals in 2005, compared to US $ 58. 9 billion in 2004, according to market data firm Dealogic. At the same time, MOFCOM data shows that foreign greenfield investment last year fell 0. 5 per cent to US$60.33 billion. Many foreign investors now prefer acquisitions of Chinese enterprises rather than greenfield investments , because it saves time for those eager to gain a foothold in the country, Wang says, m. Investment bankers warn that the current negative sentiment could reduce overseas companies and buyout groups'' appetite for takeovers. Carlyle Group''s landmark 3 billion yuan (US $370 million) takeover of Xugong Group, China''s largest construction equipment maker, has been stalled. People familiar with the situation say MOFCOM is refusing to approve the deal-the country''s largest private equity buyout-unless Carlyle promises not to sell its majority stake to a foreign construction-equipment group in the future. It remains to be seen whether the tougher conditions being imposed on foreign investors will result in longer-term restrictions on foreign takeovers of Chinese companies and the creation of an anti-trust regime that is aimed at foreigners, according to an analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Carlyle''s problems are matched by similar delays for Caterpillar, the world''s largest construction-equipment company, in its efforts to buy into Xiamen Engineering Machinery. The company has already purchased Shandong Engineering Machinery Corp. James Owens, chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar, says he is amused that people think Caterpillar is seeking a monopoly. "Our market share in China is less than 5 per cent, lower than any other country in Southeast Asia. Owens says he expects the company''s sales to more than double in the next five years as China continues to build expressways and subways. But the expectation is based on its current expansion plan in China, which hinges on a mix of joint ventures, wholly-owned enterprises and acquisitions, a strategy under threat in the present climate.

阅读理解Your Actions Speak Louder Communication Nonverbal communication (非语言交际) — teaching it and measuring effect — is more difficult than formal language instruction. But now that language has achieved its proper recognition as being essential for success, the area of nonverbal behavior should be taught to people who will live in another country in a systematic way, giving them actual experience, awareness, sensitivity. Indeed, it is the rise in linguistic (语言上的) fluency which now makes nonverbal fluency even more critical. A linguistically fluent visitor may tend to offend even more than those who don''t speak as well if that visitor shows ignorance about interface etiquette (礼节) ; the national may perceive this disparity (不等) between linguistic and nonlinguistic performance as a disregard for the more subtle aspects of intercultural communication. Because nonverbal cues reflect emotional states, both visitor and host national might not be able to articulate (清晰明白地说 ) what''s going on. While it would be difficult to map out all the nonverbal details for every language that Peace Corps (美国和平队) teaches, one can hope to make visitors aware of the existence and emotional importance of nonverbal channels. I have identified five such channels: kinesic, proxemic, chronemic, oculesic, and haptic. Kinesics (身势语) Kinesics — movement of the body (head, arms, legs, etc.) . The initial example from the health center in Ethiopia was a problem caused by a kinesic sign being used which had different meanings cross-culturally. Another example, the American gesture of slitting one''s throat implying "I''ve had it," or "I''m in trouble," conveys quite a different message in Swaziland. It means "I love you." Americans make no distinction between gesturing for silence to an adult or to a child. An American will put one finger to the lips for both, while an Ethiopian will use only one finger to a child and four fingers for an adult. To use only one finger for an adult is disrespectful. On the other hand, Ethiopians make no distinction in gesturing to indicate emphatic (断然的) negation (拒绝) . They shake their index finger (食指) from side to side to an adult as well as to a child, whereas this gesture is used only for children by Americans. Thus, if visitors are not conscious of the meaning of such behavior, they not only offend their hosts but they will be offended by them. Drawing in the cheeks and holding the arms rigidly by the side of the body means "thin" in Amharic. Diet-conscious Americans feel complimented if they are told that they are slim and so may naturally assume that to tell an Ethiopian friend this is also complimentary. Yet, in Ethiopia and a number of other countries, this is taken pejoratively (轻蔑地) , as it is thought better to be heavy-set, indicating health and status and enough wealth to ensure the two. Proxemics (空间语) Proxemics — the use of interpersonal space. South Americans, Greeks, and others find comfort in standing, sitting, or talking to people at a distance which Americans find intolerably close. We give their unusual closeness the social interpretation of aggressiveness and intimacy, causing us to have feelings of hostility, discomfort, or intimidation (胁迫). If we back away to our greater distance of comfort, we are perceived as being cold, unfriendly, and distrustful. Somalis would see us as we see South Americans, since their interface distance is greater still than ours. Chronemics (语空) Chronemics — the timing of verbal exchanges during conversation. As Americans, we expect our partner to respond to our statement immediately. In some other cultures, people time their exchanges to leave silence between each statement. For Americans this silence is unsettling (使人不安的). To us it may mean that the person is shy, inattentive, bored, or nervous. It causes us to repeat, paraphrase, talk louder, and "correct" our speech to accommodate our partner. In the intercultural situation, it might be best for the visitor to tolerate the silence and wait for a response. Oculesics(目光语) Oculesics — eye-to-eye contact or avoidance. Americans are dependent upon eye contact as a sign of listening behavior. We do not feel that there is human contact without eye contact. In many countries there are elaborate patterns of eye avoidance which we regard as inappropriate. Haptics (体触语) Haptics — the tactile (触觉的) form of communication. Where, how, and how often people can touch each other while conversing are culturally defined patterns. We need not go beyond the borders of our own country to see groups (Italians and black Americans, for example) which touch each other more often than Anglo-Americans do. Overseas, Americans often feel crowded and pushed around by people who have much higher toleration for public physical contact and even need it as part of their communication process. A visitor may feel embarrassed when a host national friend continues to hold his or her hand long after the formal greetings are over. These five channels of nonverbal communication exist in every culture. The patterns and forms are completely arbitrary, and it is arguable as to what is universal and what is culturally defined.

阅读理解Does Economic Growth Improve Human Morale? During the mid-1980s my family and I spent a sabbatical year in the historic town of St. Andrews, Scotland. Comparing life there with life in America, we were impressed by a seeming disconnection between national wealth and well-being. To most Americans, Scottish life would have seemed Spartan (清贫的) . Incomes were about half that in the U. S. Among families in the Kingdom of Fife surrounding St. Andrews, 44 percent did not own a car, and we never met a family that owned two. Central heating in this place not far south of Iceland was, at that time, still a luxury. In hundreds of conversations during our year there and during three half-summer stays since, we repeatedly noticed that, despite their simpler living, the Scots appeared no less joyful than Americans. We heard complaints about Margaret Thatcher, but never about being underpaid or unable to afford wants. With less money there was no less satisfaction with living, no less warmth of spirit, no less pleasure in one another''s company. Are Rich Americans Happier? Within any country, such as our own, are rich people happier? In poor countries, such as Bangladesh and India, being relatively well-off does make for somewhat greater well-being. Psychologically as well as materially, it is much better to be high caste (印度的社会等级) than low caste. We humans need food, rest, warmth, and social contact. But in affluent (富裕的) countries, where nearly everyone can afford life''s necessities, increasing affluence matters surprisingly little. In the U. S., Canada and Europe, the correlation between income and happiness is, as University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart noted in the 1980s 16-nation study, "surprisingly weak (indeed, virtually negligible)." Happiness is lower among the very poor. But once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns. The second piece of pie, or the second $ 50,000, never tastes as good as the first. So far as happiness is concerned, it hardly matters whether one drives a BMW or, like so many of the Scots, walks or rides a bus. Even very rich people — the Forbes'' 100 wealthiest Americans surveyed by University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener — are only slightly happier than average. With net worths all exceeding $ 100 million, providing ample (足够的) money to buy things they don''t need and hardly care about, 4 in 5 of the 49 people responding to the survey agreed that "Money can increase OR decrease happiness, depending on how it is used." And some were indeed unhappy. One fabulously wealthy man said he could never remember being happy. One woman reported that money could not undo misery caused by her children''s problems. Does Happiness Rise with Affluence? We have scrutinized the American dream of achieved wealth and well-being by comparing rich and unrich countries, and rich and unrich people. That leaves the final question: Over time, does happiness rise with affluence? Typically not. Lottery winners appear to gain but a temporary jolt of joy from their winnings. Looking back, they feel delighted to have won. Yet the euphoria (愉快和兴奋的感觉) doesn''t last. In fact, previously enjoyed activities such as reading may become less pleasurable. Compared to the high of winning a million dollars, ordinary pleasures pale. On a smaller scale, a jump in our income can boost our morale, for a while. "But in the long run," notes Inglehart, "neither an ice cream cone nor a new car nor becoming rich and famous produces the same feelings of delight that it initially did... Happiness is not the result of being rich, but a temporary consequence of having recently become richer." Ed Diener''s research confirms that those whose incomes have increased over a 10-year period are not happier than those whose income has not increased. Wealth, it therefore seems, is like health: Although its utter absence can breed misery, having it does not guarantee happiness. Happiness is less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have. Are We Happier Today? We can also ask whether, over time, our collective happiness has floated upward with the rising economic tide. Are we happier today than in 1940, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or bathtub, heat often meant feeding a furnace wood or coal, and 35 percent of homes had no toilet? Or consider 1957, when economist John Galbraith was about to describe the United States as The Affluent Society. Americans'' per person income, expressed in today''s dollars, was less than $ 8,000. Today it is more than $ 16,000, thanks to increased real wages into the 1970s, increased nonwage income, and the doubling of married women''s employment. Compared to 1957, we are therefore "the doubly affluent society" — with double what money buys including twice as many cars per person, not to mention microwave ovens, big screen color TVs, home computers, and $ 200 billion a year spent in restaurants and bars — two and a half times our 1960 inflation-adjusted restaurant spending per person. From 1960 to 1990, the percentage of us with --dishwashers zoomed from 7 to 45 percent, --clothes dryers rose from 20 to 69 percent, --air conditioners soared from 15 to 70 percent. Not the Best of Times for the Human Spirit So, believing that a little more money would make us a little happier, and having seen our affluence ratchet upward little by little over nearly four decades, are we now happier? We are not. Since 1957, the number telling the University of Chicago''s National Opinion Research Center that they are "very happy" has declined from 35 to 30 percent. Twice as rich, and a little less happy. In fact, between 1956 and 1988, the percentage of Americans saying they were "pretty well satisfied with your present financial situation" dropped from 42 to 30 percent. We are also more often downright miserable. Among Americans born since World War II, depression has increased dramatically — tenfold, reports University of Pennsylvania clinical researcher Martin Seligman. Today''s twenty-five year olds are much more likely to recall a time in their life when they were despondent (失望的，沮丧的) and despairing than are their 75-year-old grandparents, despite the grandparents having had many more years to suffer all kinds of disorder, from broken legs to the anguish (极度痛苦) of depression. Researchers debate the actual extent of rising depression. . . but no matter how we define depression, the findings persist: Today''s youth and young adults have grown up with much more affluence, slightly less overall happiness, and much greater risk of depression, not to mention tripled teen suicide and all the other social pathologies (病理学) we have considered. Never has a culture experienced such physical comfort combined with such psychological misery. Never have we felt so free, or had our prisons so overstuffed. Never have we been so sophisticated about pleasure, or so likely to suffer broken relationships. These are the best of times materially, "a time of elephantine (巨大的) vanity and greed," observes Garrison Keillor, but they are not the best times for the human spirit. William Bennett, no critic of free market economies, is among those who recognize the futility (无效，无益) of economics without ethics and money without a mission: "If we have full employment and greater economic growth — if we have cities of gold and alabaster (雪花石膏) — but our children have not learned how to walk in goodness, justice, and mercy, then the American experiment, not matter how gilded, will have failed."

阅读理解Stress Stress is the body''s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you—and many things that you do yourself—put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. How does stress affect health? The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked, and stress-related tension builds. Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress—a negative stress reaction. Distress can disturb the body''s internal balance or equilibrium—leading to physical symptoms including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and sleeping problems. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases. Stress also becomes harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try to relieve their stress. Unfortunately, instead of relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause more problems. Consider the following facts: -Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress. -Seventy-five to 90% of all doctor''s office visits are for stress-related ailments (烦恼) and complaints. -Stress is linked to six of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis (硬化) of the liver, and suicide. -The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace. In terms of lost hours due to absenteeism, reduced productivity and workers'' compensation benefits, stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually. -The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic (长期的), untreated stress reactions. What''s normal anxiety? The cold sweat of anxiety is that "fight or flight" response that kept our early relatives safe from grizzly (灰色的) bears and other scary characters. That adrenaline rush still serves us well under certain circumstances. Anxiety is a natural reaction to those very real stresses. In today''s world, that reaction helps motivate us, prepares us for things we have to face, and sometimes give us energy to take action when we need to. Big job interview is coming up, and it''s got you in knots. So you spend a little more time getting dressed or rehearsing what you''re going to say. You''ve got an appointment with the divorce lawyer, so you do more homework. That kind of anxiety can motivate you to do better. It helps you protect yourself. But as we know too well, sometimes it doesn''t take a specific threat—only the possibility of crisis—to send humans into anxiety mode. The difficulty comes in learning to tone down that automatic response—to think, "How serious is the danger? How likely is the threat?" The thing about anxiety is, it can take on a life of its own. Everything becomes a potential crisis. The unthinkable has happened. So around every corner, there''s the next possible disaster. What are symptoms of harmful anxiety? When anxiety is taking a toll, your body knows it. You have trouble sleeping, eating, and concentrating. You get headaches; your stomach is upset. You might even have a panic attack— the pounding heart, a feeling of lightheadedness. Anxiety may also feel like depression. The two sometimes overlap. When anxiety becomes so overwhelming that it interferes with day-to-day activities—when it keeps you from going places, from doing things you need to do—that''s when you need help. Generalized anxiety disorder is a bigger syndrome—like a worry machine in your head. If it''s not one thing, it''s another. You''re procrastinating to the point that you''re almost afraid to take a step. You''re so nervous about going to your child''s school to talk to the teacher, you just don''t go —you miss the appointment. In the case of such overwhelming anxiety, people are not making good decisions. They''re avoiding things, or they''re unable to rise to the occasion because the anxiety is too much. They''re procrastinating because they can''t concentrate, can''t stay focused. It''s really interfering with their day-to-day life. At that point, they may have a more serious anxiety problem and need professional help. How Can You Cope? To cope with plain-vanilla anxiety, separate out the real risks and dangers that a situation presents and those your imagination is making worse. It''s a twist on the old adage: "Take control of the things you can, and accept those you can''t change. " Ask yourself: Where can you take control of a situation? Where can you make changes? Then do what needs to be done. What things do you simply have to accept? That''s very important. Very often, it''s possible to get past an anxiety cycle with the help of friends or family— someone who can help you sort out your problems. But when anxiety becomes overwhelming, it''s time for a therapist, or perhaps medication. Here are two strategies that therapists use to help us conquer anxiety: Challenge negative thoughts Ask yourself: Is this a productive thought? Is it helping me get closer to my goal? If it''s just a negative thought you''re rehashing, then you must be able to say to that thought: "Stop." That''s difficult to do, but it''s very important. Rather than becoming paralyzed with anxiety, here''s another message you can send yourself: "I may have to take a job I don''t like as much, may have to travel further than I want, but I''ll do what I have to do now. At least I will have the security of income in the short term. Then I can look for something better later. " The most important thing: "to realize when you''ve done everything you can, that you need to move forward." Learn to relax You may even need "breathing retraining". When people get anxious, they tend to hold their breath. We teach people a special diaphragmatic breathing—it calms your system. Do yoga (瑜伽), meditation, or get some exercise. Exercise is a terrific outlet for anxiety. Most of all, try not to compound your problems. When things are bad, there is a legitimate reason to feel bad. But if you don''t deal with it, you''re going to lose more than just a job—you''ll lose relationships, your self-confidence, you could even lose technical abilities if you stay dormant in your profession. Try not to compound one stress by adding another. Often your ability to work through anxiety—get past it—varies depending on the type of crisis you faced. The more severe, the more surprising it was, the longer it''s going to take to get over it. You may be on autopilot for several weeks. If you''re depressed, that can complicate things. In the case of divorce, it may take months to years to really get back to yourself. But take heart. If you''re doing well in one aspect of your life—in your work or your relationships—you''re probably on your way. Fear and anxiety are no longer running your life.

阅读理解Iris Rossner has seen eastern German customers weep for joy when they drive away in shiny, new Mercedes—Benz sedans. "They have tears in their eyes and keep saying how lucky they are," says Rossner, the Mercedes employee responsible for post-delivery celebrations. Rossner has also seen the French pop corks on bottles of champagne as their national flag was hoisted above a purchase and she has seen American business executives, Japanese tourists and Russian politicians travel thousands of miles to a Mercedes plant in southwestern Germany when a classic sedan with the tradermark three-pointed star was about to roll off the assembly line and into their lives. Those were the good old days at Mercedes, an era that began during the economic miracle of the 1960s and ended in 1991. Times have changed. "Ten years ago, we had clear leadership in the market," says Mercedes spokesman Horst Krambeer, "But over this period, the market has changed drastically. We are now in a pitched battle. The Japanese are partly responsible, but Mercedes has had to learn the hard way that even German firms like BMW and Audi have made efforts to rise to our standards of technical proficiency. Mercedes experienced one of its worst years ever in 1992. The auto maker''s worldwide car sales fell by 5 percent from the previous year, to a low of 527,500. Before the decline, in 1988, the company could sell close to 600,000 cars per year. In Germany alone, there were 30,000 fewer new Mercedes registrations last year than in 1991. As a result, production has plunged by almost 50,000 cars to 529, 400 last year, a level well beneath the company''s potential capacity of 650,000. Mercedes''s competitors have been catching up in the U. S. , the world''s largest car market. In 1986, Mercedes sold 100,000 vehicles in America; by 1991, the number had declined to 39,000. Over the last two years, the struggling company has lost a slice of its U. S. market share to BMW, Toyota and Nissan. And BMW outsold Mercedes in America last year for the first time in its history. Meanwhile, just as Mercedes began making some headway in Japan, a notoriously difficult market, the Japanese economy fell on hard times and the company saw its sales decline by 13 percent in that country. Revenues (收益) will hardly improve this year, and the time has come for getting down to business. At Mercedes, that means cutting payrolls, streamlining production and opening up to consumer needs. Revolutionary steps for a company that once considered itself beyond improvement.

阅读理解What docs the author think is one of the results of government involvement in education?

阅读理解What is the author's comment on the current school reform movement?

阅读理解What is the main idea of the passage?

阅读理解How does the author view the argument of the Food and Agriculture Organisation?

阅读理解Rainforests Did you know there are two types of Rainforest—the temperate and the tropical? Tropical rainforests are found close to the equator. Temperate rainforests are found along coasts in the temperate zone, such as the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Both are endangered! Rainforests Endangered! Today only about three percent of the original temperate rainforest in the U. S. A. remains, mostly inside Olympic National Park in Washington State. Prior to the arrival of homesteaders just over a century ago, the Olympic Peninsula contained more than a million acres of old-growth spruce and hemlock. Because of habitat destruction, many plants and animals have become "island dwellers" inside the park now. Tropical rainforests comprise only 40% of the world''s tropical forests and only 20% of the world''s total forests. They cover 6%—7% of the Earth''s land surface. Half of the world''s plant and animal species live in the tropical rainforests of the world. Thirty acres of trees are cut in the tropical rainforests every minute. As you read this, tropical rainforests are shrinking. Each second a portion of rainforest the size of a football field is destroyed or damaged. What Makes the Tropical Rainforest Special? -The rainforests are home to half of the Earth''s plant and animal species. -They are winter homes to many birds that breed in temperate latitudes. -Tropical rainforests are some of the most beautiful wildernesses on our planet. -They are home to tribal cultures that have survived successfully in the forests for many thousands of years. -The forests are a potential source of medicinal plants that may benefit everyone on Earth. -The ecosystem of the rainforest is based on the most complex interdependence of plants and animals. This is both the forest''s strength and its weakness: highly specialized organisms are particularly vulnerable to disturbance, because they cannot adapt fast enough to survive the change. -Tropical rainforests help maintain global rain and weather patterns. Much of the water that evaporates from the trees returns in the form of rainfall. Removal of the forest can change the natural rainfall patterns. Tropical Rainforest Layers Tropical rainforests have four layers: Emergent Layer These giant trees thrust above the dense canopy layer(树冠层) and have huge mushroom-shaped crowns. These trees enjoy the greatest amount of sunlight but also must endure high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds. Canopy Layer The broad, irregular crowns of these trees form a tight, continuous canopy 60 to 90 feet above the ground. The branches are often densely covered with other plants (epiphytes) and tied together with vines (lianas). The canopy is home to 90% of the organisms found in the rain forest; many seeking the brighter light in the treetops. Understory Receiving only 2%—15% of the sunlight that falls on the canopy, the understory is a dark place. It is relatively open and contains young trees and leafy herbaceous plants that tolerate low light. Many popular house plants come from this layer. Only along rivers and roadways and in treefall and cut areas is sunlight sufficient to allow growth to become thick and impenetrable Forest Floor The forest floor receives less than 2% of the sunlight and consequently, little grows here except plants adapted to very low light. On the floor is a thin layer of fallen leaves, seeds, fruits, and branches that very quickly decomposes. Only a thin layer of decaying organic matter is found, unlike in temperate deciduous (落叶性的) forests. Soil and Nutrient Recycling Most tropical rainforest soils are relatively poor in nutrients. Millions of years of weathering and torrential rains have washed most of the nutrients out of the soil. More recent volcanic soils, however, can be very fertile. Tropical rain forest soils contain less organic matter than temperate forests and most of the available nutrients are found in the living plant and animal material. Nutrients in the soil are often in forms that are not accessible by plants. Constant warmth and moisture promote rapid decay of organic matter. When a tree dies in the rainforest, living organisms quickly absorb the nutrients before they have a chance to be washed away. When tropical forests are cut and burned, heavy rains can quickly wash the released nutrients away, leaving the soil even more impoverished. Causes of Destruction Tropical rainforests are being cut at an alarming rate. Although estimates vary, some scientists believe that we are losing an area of rainforest the size of Pennsylvania each year. If deforestation continues at this rate we may lose rainforests altogether within the next one hundred years. Tropical deforestation occurs for a number of reasons. As human populations increase in tropical regions, people move away from the overcrowded cities into the forest areas where they practice small-scale farming. Commercial agricultural projects may require conversion of large plots of rainforest land and may cause more permanent damage. Logging of forests for firewood, charcoal, building materials, and other wood products is another cause of deforestation. The conversion of rainforest to pasture land for cattle ranching has led to the destruction of millions of acres of forest. Mining for gold, bauxite from which aluminum is made, and other minerals can lead to the drastic destruction of the land. Once the land is scarred by mining efforts it is left vulnerable to massive erosion. Other events and issues such as natural disasters, war, the construction of dams, and poverty in developing countries also contribute to the destruction of tropical rainforests. What Can You Do to Help Save the Tropical Rainforest? Preserving tropical rainforests involves more than just deciding not to cut trees. Social, political and economic factors all need to be taken into consideration. The following are some suggestions about how you can contribute to the solution. -Learn more about tropical rainforests and the plants and animals, including people, which live there. Investigate the complex issues surrounding deforestation and possible solutions through further reading. -Write letters to your congressional representatives or your local paper to express concern about the destruction of the tropical rainforests. The more you know about the topic and issues, the more specific you can be in suggesting actions you would like your elected officials to take. -Visit tropical countries to see the rainforest. Gaining firsthand experience is one of the best ways to develop an understanding of and commitment to an issue. -Work to protect tropical rainforests and their indigenous peoples. -Think globally and act locally. Practices at home, like the ones listed below, can have an impact on the preservation of rainforests. -Recycling aluminum cans reduces the need for bauxite, which must be mined from the ground in tropical countries. Bauxite is the source of aluminum. -Buy only pets which were captive bred here in the United States. Those which were not bred here may have been taken from the wild and imported illegally from tropical countries. When purchasing tropical woods for furniture or construction, investigate the source of the wood to determine whether it was grown in a sustainable manner. In all things you do, practice the environmentally sound use and reuse of our resources. This will not only have a positive impact on the tropical rainforest but on all the ecosystems of the world.

阅读理解A major sociological theory known as symbolic interactionism offers some important insights into how men and women are taught to fill different roles in society. The key concept in symbolic interactionism is that communication makes a big difference in behavior: people act on the basis of messages they receive from others, and how they understand those messages. This can be seen in a concept developed by sociologist Charles Horton Cooley known as the looking-glass serf. By the looking-glass self, Cooley meant the self-image that each of us develops according to the messages we receive from others; we think and behave according to our understanding of those messages. If, for example, a young girl is repeatedly told that she is pretty, she will come to believe that: (1) she is in fact pretty, and (2) being pretty is an important thing in her life. Similarly, if she is told that she is not good (or not expected to be good) at certain things such as math, she will come to believe that she is not good at such things and would be better off working at things she can be successful at. The likely product is a young woman who devotes a great deal of attention to her appearance, regards being pretty as a key to success in life, and who is intimidated by anything connected with numbers. Since we know that young girls are given messages like these, and that young boys are given different messages, we can see a good part of how sex roles are taught. There is little or no evidence of differences in what young girls and young boys can do, but the older children become, the greater the differences in the areas in which boys and girls are interested.

阅读理解Passage Two When we think of animals and plants, we have a pretty good way of dividing them into two distinct groups: one converts sunlight into energy and the other has to eat food to make its energy

阅读理解Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, "The business of America is business." By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world. Few would argue with Ford''s statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as "the entertainment industry" or "show business." The positive side of Henry Ford''s statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U. S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance (大题) because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system creates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life. The negative side of Henry Ford''s statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business -- referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the right to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing -- the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high -- creates feelings of insecurity for many.

阅读理解Man and Nature The balance of nature is a delicate system of checks and counter-checks. Nature has its own way of checking the life and distribution of the different organisms and helping their growth. An epidemic may be considered nature'' s way of checking population growth. Man in his attempt to conquer nature and to utilize it to his advantage has interfered with the balance of nature, thereby creating problems of a complex nature. Nature'' s ways of maintaining the balance are intricate and not easily understood and man'' s application of his scientific knowledge and techniques has upset this balance so much that today, being aware of the disastrous consequences, he takes measures against them. No animal or plant can live in isolation ,for different organisms are parts of a vast dynamic complex of living things. As no man or community is self-sufficient, no organism can live by itself. When man interferes with the interdependence and interrelationships of the different organisms, he is, in effect, upsetting their balanced relationships and his action can have a chain reaction. If we prevent fish eggs from being deposited in a pond, we are allowing an unchecked growth of weeds. The waterfowl which feeds on tadpoles will look for alternatives, thereby tending to upset these balanced relationships. It is important that for the preservation of beauty in nature the balance of nature is maintained. Man for his own survival has to make his peace with plant and animal life, the size and distribution of which he has interfered with. It is to be noted that in every plant and animal community there is a trend towards a balance between the different species. When each successive species is of the right number to maintain a constant population, a balance between the different species is maintained and this state is referred to as the climax stage. Man is forever upsetting the balance of the climax stage. He has added to the numbers of animals and plants that are useful to him. In the process he has unwittingly helped the increase in the number of insects and vermin and as a result he has to wage a relentless war against them. If man continues to interfere with the balance of nature, it is possible that some animals and birds may soon become extinct. The indiscriminate hunting of whales has reduced the number of some species almost to the verge of extinction and international laws have been drawn up to protect them. The balance of nature is to be maintained in order to prevent soil deterioration. Human intervention has altered the established relationship between the plants of an area and the soil of that area. Animals introduced by man, sheep and goats for example, have led to widespread soil deterioration. By cutting down trees or by practising unsuitable systems of agriculture, man destroys the crumb structure of soil, thereby making it susceptible to erosion. Soil erosion results in loss of soil fertility and maintaining soil fertility is considered the biggest problem facing mankind apart from the prevention of war. The increase in world population and the growth of civilization have been the two major factors that have led man to cut down forests on an unprecedented scale and the erosion caused by the cutting down of huge areas of forests has resulted in floods on a scale hitherto unknown. Soil erosion can whittle away soil fertility and if adequate and effective measures are not taken it can become a menacing specter tearing at the prosperity of many countries. Pollution, in its different forms, interferes with the balance of nature. Water pollution affects nature''s balance in oceans, lakes and rivers. Man - made pollution of water is due to municipal sewage, dumping by factories and the depositing of pesticides. Solid wastes can permeate the soil and pollute lakes and rivers. Man has to adopt the philosophy of thrift by conserving natural resources and not destroying them by interfering with the balance of nature. He has to exploit natural resources, taking the environment as a whole. He has to practise fertilization, soil conservation and water management to make a balanced use of the resources of nature possible.

阅读理解The view over a valley of a tiny village with thatched (草盖的) roof cottages around a church; a drive through a narrow village street lined with thatched cottages painted pink or white; the sight over the rolling hills of a pretty collection of thatched farm buildings in these are still common sights in parts of England. Most people will agree that the thatched roof is an essential part of the attraction of the English countryside. Thatching is in fact the oldest of all the building crafts practiced in the British Isles (英伦诸岛). Although thatch has always been used for cottage and farm buildings, it was once used for castles and churches, too. Thatching is a solitary (独自的) craft, which often runs in families. The craft of thatching as it is practiced today has changed very little since the Middle Ages. Over 800 full-time thatchers are employed in England and Wales today, maintaining and renewing the old roofs as well as thatching newer houses. Many property owners choose thatch not only for its beauty but because they know it will keep them cool in summer and warm in winter. In fact, if we look at developing countries, over half the world lives under thatch, but they all do it in different ways. People in developing countries are often reluctant to go back to traditional materials and would prefer modem buildings. However, they may lack the money to allow them to import the necessary materials. Their temporary mud huts with thatched roofs of wild grasses often only last six months. Thatch which has been done the British way lasts from twenty to sixty years, and is an effective defense against the heat.

阅读理解How to Get Ready for Studying Abroad It was ail so misleadingly simple. I had studied French in college, and my university offered a year abroad in France. My scholarship would apply; credit for courses was assured; advisers were available on campus to discuss passports, visas, shots, international student IDs and driver''s licenses. A charter flight had been booked and housing had been arranged. There was even a list of suggestions for packing. What could be simpler? Of course, we were told at the orientation meetings that it might be difficult to adjust to a foreign language, strange customs, and the European academic system. I remember paying insufficient attention. "The tour is arranged," I said to myself. "Everything works out." And everything did work out--more or less--but I came across some big surprises. If you are planning to study overseas, let me suggest a few key points to consider before you leave the USA. Learn the Language In France, they speak French. Why, then, did I not strive vigorously to learn the language before I arrived? The requirement of two years of college French is minimal. One of my teachers warned that I was only marginally grounded in the language. But learning to speak French in the US was hard work, so I put it off until I got to France, where I assumed language skills could be acquired effortlessly. Unfortunately, I was so embarrassed by my poor command of the language that I was afraid to speak. Help came in the form of a Gallic proverb: "In order to speak good French, you have to relax; and in order to relax, you have to drink wine. "At least half of that adage (谚语) proved to be true. The greatest obstacle to learning a foreign language isn''t vocabulary or grammar or pronunciation; it'' s self-consciousness. I eventually learned to relax while making ridiculous mistakes. Don''t Insist on the American Way Adjusting to another country demands changes in behavior and an open mind. Daily bathing, for example, is an American way of life, while many European cannot imagine why anyone would want to shower more often than once a week. Because I lived in a dorm, I could follow my hygienic habits, and the French theirs. But in some student housing, such freedom wasn''t possible, either because the proprietors (经营者) considered dally showers extravagant or because there were no showers at all. Social interactions can be a lot more complex. In France, for instance, a woman will not let a man pay for so much as a cup of espresso (浓咖啡) --to do so would be equal to inviting amorous (性爱的) advances. American women were assumed to play by the same rules, whether they knew the rules or not. On the other hand, the French see absolutely nothing wrong with a group of young men dancing together. We male Americans were not about to dance without women--until one night when we went out on the town with several male French friends, and the lot of them took to the dance floor. Whenever such cultural customs conflicted, I had to choose to remain aloof and risk offending, or embrace their ways. I dance. Some of these rules and customs can be learned in advance; others are picked up easily abroad. Remaining flexible is the key. Be Prepared for Independent Study The cultural difference that jolted me the most was in the university system itself. In Europe, the professor is a man on a pedestal (显要地位), expecting and receiving deference. His contact with students is minimal. Even in the classroom, students neither question nor discuss the material presented. Attendance at the once-a-week classes is entirely voluntary. No assignments are given. The final exam does not consist of materials presented in lectures. The course is defined not by how much material a professor covers, but by a syllabus which lists the texts, periods, or literary works the student is expected to be familiar with. The classroom is supplemental, a model for the kind of preparation the student should be doing. Classroom discussion, mid-term exams, threats of pop quizzes, an occasional paper--in short, all those methods of forcing the students to do the work--are missing. Go the Tourist Route in Moderation When classes meet infrequently, the lust to wander is hard to resist. Living abroad meant that I could usually take short excursions--a week here, four days there. At Easter I splurged (挥霍) with a 25-day swing (two weeks were a school holiday) through seven European countries. After three weeks, churches, museums, historic sites, even countrysides and people began to run together. I can still recall Florence, one of the first stops on that marathon, in great detail; Munich, one of the last stops, is hazy, indistinct. All in all, the brief trips I made were far more satisfying than my longer expeditions. Moreover, all that art and history can become a blur (模糊的东西) if you don''t know what you are seeing. When touring Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, the Louvre, I could respond to their beauty with considerable respect but no much understanding. I wished I had taken a general course in art and history before going to Europe. Stay Loose Because we had come for all extended stay and spoke (at least haltingly) the language, many opportunities for making friends were opened up to us. We met French undergraduates in university classes and at the student restaurants where we ate all our meals. Others came to the meetings of a Franco-American club, which also arranged parties, dances, evenings of entertainment, and sporting events to bring Americans and French together. Some strong attachments were formed, but we naturally met with some anti-American sentiment as well. The best course was to ignore it, but discussions with fellow students about American political actions and policies were inevitable.

阅读理解The word conservation has a thrifty(节俭) meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials; most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were "limitless" and "inexhaustible". Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others. Fifty years ago nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; timber was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; people had hardly studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word "conservation" had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today. For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about repairing the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should therefore, be made a part of everyone''s daily life. To know about the water table (水位) in the ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic arithmetic. formulas. We need to know why all watersheds (分水岭) need the protection of plant life and why the running currents of streams and rivers must be made to yield their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, mature trees, because living space for most of man''s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic volume above the earth. In brief, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.

阅读理解Passage One Roughly the size of a soda can, sitting on a bookshelf, a relatively harmless gadget may be turning friends away from your home

阅读理解Do we need laws that prevent us from running risks with our lives? If so, then perhaps laws are needed prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and alcoholic drinks. Both products have been known to kill people. The hazards of drinking too much alcohol are as bad or worse than the hazards of smoking too many cigarettes. All right then, let''s pass a law closing the liquor stores and the bars in this country. Let''s put an end once and for all to the ruinous disease from which as many as 10 million Americans currently suffer — alcoholism. But wait. We''ve already tried that. For 13 years, between 1920 and 1933, there were no liquor stores anywhere in the United States. They were shut down — abolished by an amendment (修正案) to the Constitution (to 18th) and by a law of Congress (the Volstead Act). After January 20, 1920, there was supposed to be no more manufacturing, selling, or transporting of " intoxicating (醉人，使中毒) liquors." Without any more liquor, people could not drink it. And if they did not drink it, how could they get drunk? There would be no more dangers to the public welfare from drunkenness and alcoholism. It was all very logical. And yet prohibition of liquor, beer, and wine did not work. Why? Because, law or no law, millions of people still liked to drink alcohol. And they were willing to take risks to get it. They were not about to change their tastes and habits just because of a change in the law. And gangs of liquor smugglers made it easy to buy an illegal drink — or two or three. They smuggled millions of gallons of the outlawed beverages across the Canadian and Mexican borders. Drinkers were lucky to know of an illegal bar that served Mexican or Canadian liquor. Crime and drunkenness were both supposed to decline as a result of prohibition. Instead people drank more alcohol than ever — often poisoned alcohol. On December 5, 1993, they repealed (撤销) prohibition by ratifying (批准) the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

阅读理解Some people believe that international sports create goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests. One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation after the hockey (曲棍球) final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the loser''s objection to the final decisions. They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents'' victory was unfair. Their manager was in rage when he said, "This wasn''t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished." The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension of the team for at least three years. The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their contest. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals. Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism.