阅读理解Is Your Life Worth 30 Minutes a Day? Don''t be afraid of the E word — it could mean your survival. People who aren''t engaging in regular exercise can reap significant health benefits if they accumulate 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week. What can help prevent stroke (中风), heart disease and some cancer? What can lift depression, ease arthritis (关节炎) pain and increase both the length and quality of life — to name just a few of its benefits? "If packed into a pill," sums up Dr. Robert Butler, former director of the National Institute on Aging, "it would be the single most widely prescribed (写处方) and beneficial medicine in the nation. "Best of all, it is free and available to everyone." Exercise Can Help People Stay Healthy Give up? The answer is the E word: exercise. But you don''t have to change into gym shorts or, heaven forbid, sweat for an hour. Instead, the U.S. Surgeon General''s report Physical Activity and Health offers this simple exercise prescription: people who aren''t engaging in regular exercise can reap significant health benefits if they accumulate 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week. Americans Expend Much Less Energy and Time on Exercise Americans today expend much less energy than did previous generations, perhaps as much as a few hundred calories per day less. All the "advances" that make our lives easier — like e-commerce (电子商务) , and automatic doors — contribute to the current epidemic (流行病) of obesity (肥胖) and related disease. Experts say that if you expend just ten extra calories a day by being more active, over a year you can lose a pound — mostly fat. And if you burn 150 extra calories a day — the equivalent of a 30-minutes'' walk — in a year that''s ten pounds. (If you also eat 150 calories less — that''s about half a candy bar — you could lose an additional ten pounds.) The sad fact is that only about 15 percent of American adults engage regularly in vigorous physical activity for at least 20 minutes three times a week. More than 60 percent are not regularly physically active, and 25 percent are totally sedentary (久坐的). The Benefit of Moderate Exercise Yet the benefits of moderate exercise are amazing. Consider how exercise helps the following: diabetes (糖尿病) . The number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes has increased six fold since 1958, to a record high of ten million. This alarming rise is linked to our expanding waistlines, junk food diet and inactivity. Some experts feel that the most common form of diabetes is preventable with a proper diet — and regular activity. In diabetics, the hormone insulin (荷尔蒙胰岛素) does not properly regulate glucose (葡萄糖) levels in the blood. When people exercise, the body fuels the activity by taking glucose out of their blood to use for energy. Exercise Can Help Patients Suffering from the Following Diseases Heart Attacks and Stroke. One of the simplest, safest, least expensive and most effective strategies for improving heart health is frequently neglected: exercise. It reduces blood pressure and can help raise the level of "good" cholesterol (胆固醇) , while lowering "bad" cholesterol when combined with dietary changes. Remember: for every one percent reduction in blood cholesterol, the occurrence of coronary (冠状动脉的) heart disease is reduced by two percent. Moreover, people who exercise one hour per day cut their risk for stroke nearly in half, according to a study of 11,130 Harvard University alumni (男女校友). Mental Health. When asked why she started swimming during her freshman year at Boston University, world-class endurance swimmer Julie Ridge replied, "It was a mental thing." While sedentary people may assume that working out is about looking good, habitual exercisers like Ridge know that it is largely about feeling good. A growing body of research shows that physical activity does, indeed, exert a "feel good" effect that can work as a powerful treatment for depression. Arthritis. Many people — including some physicians — still haven''t heard the new message that exercise can help people with arthritis now affecting nearly 43 million Americans. "We''ve come from thinking that physical fitness was impossible for people with arthritis to know that exercise is one of the best ways to manage their disease and minimize their disability," says Marian Minor, an associate professor of Physical therapy at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Exercise can reduce pain by keeping joints (关节) flexible and the muscles around the joints strong. A person with arthritis who has other medical conditions or a lot of pain should get a physician''s referral (建议) to a physical therapist who can design an individualized exercise program. Cancer. Each year over a million Americans learn they have cancer — the second leading cause of death in the Unites States after heart disease. In 1996 the American Cancer Society added regular physical activity to the list of preventive measures it advocates. According to one large study of people at various levels of fitness, the least fit men died from cancer at a rate more than three times higher than that of the most fit men. And, notes Informed Decisions, the American Cancer Society''s guide to the disease, an earlier study found "the least fit women had fully 16 times the cancer death rate of the most fit women." Scientists still don''t know the precise mechanisms by which exercise appears to exert an "anticancer" effect, but current thinking points to physical activity''s effect on the immune and endocrine (内分泌的) system. So Choose to Move. Stop viewing exercise as a "workout" and start thinking of it as play — a welcome daily recess (暂歇) that frees your body from the confines of its workaday routines. And if you have any health concerns, you should, of course, consult a physician first.

阅读理解American travelers plan to take 10 million more trips this summer than last, despite increases in hotel rates, airfare, car-rental costs and gasoline prices. Thanks to high consumer confidence, people will travel more often, stay longer and spend more money on their vacations this year. "It''s going to be a record travel season," says Jason Ader, a senior analyst with in vestment bank Bear, Stearns & Co. "The economy''s strong. Consumers feel good. The stock market''s up. And the prices we''re seeing are as high as they''ve been since we''ve been keeping records, and that''s since the fifties." In all, American vacationers will take more than 270 million trips this summer -- 4 percent more than last year, according to the travel association. The top 10 destinations are Florida, California, Hawaii, Colorado, New York, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Washington state and Washington. During such trips, a family of four will spend $ 213 a day for meals and lodging -- an increase of $ 3 from last year, according to a forecast released by the Travel Industry Association of America. In some cases, price increases are expected to double the inflation rate, which was 2.1 percent in March. The average daily price tag on a hotel room will increase 3.9 percent to $ 81.77 from $ 78.67, according to a report by Price Waterhouse Coopers and Bear, Stearns. Traveling by car this summer is expected to cost about $10.66 per 100 miles, which covers gas, tires and maintenance, according to the American Automobile Association. The recent increase in gasoline prices should make long road trips more expensive. Nevertheless, car-rental companies are expecting more leisure rentals this summer compared with last and are pushing prices up accordingly. Tickets on the major North American airlines will continue to increase, with prices jumping 10 percent by year''s end, ac. cording to the Price Waterhouse Coopers'' report. But the higher prices are not turning vacationers away from air travel. "Given the strong economy, and if all other factors are constant, travelers will most likely take to the domestic skies in record numbers despite higher costs to the wallet," says Dexter Wood, a Price Waterhouse Coopers consultant.

阅读理解Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids (小行星) now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists. Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids (流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don''t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth. Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now. then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we''ll have a way to change its course. Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn''t be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare — but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. "If we don''t take care of these big asteroids, they''ll take care of us," says one scientist. "It''s that simple." The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? "The world has less to fear from doomsday (毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them," said a New York Times article.

阅读理解PassageTwo The brain is a seemingly endless library, whose shelves house our most precious memories as well as our lifetimes knowledge

阅读理解President Coolidge''s statement, "The business of America is business," still points to an important truth today -- that business institutions have more prestige (威望) in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions possess this great prestige? One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected. Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly (垄断) of power. In contrast to one, all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers'' dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves. A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Became business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy in preserving freedom. Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic (贵族的) idea of inherited privilege.

阅读理解Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?

阅读理解The author stresses that it is important to recognise employers' _____ to their disabled employees.

阅读理解Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids (小行星) now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists. Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids (流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don''t threaten us, But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth. Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes fight now. Then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we''ll have a way to change its Course. Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn''t be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences ff the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare m but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. "If we don''t take care of these big asteroids, they''ll take care of us," says one scientist. "It''s that simple." The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting a- round on Earth? "The world has less to fear from doomsday (毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them," said a New York Times article.

阅读理解Throughout history man has had to accept the fact that all living things must die, but people now live longer than they used to. Yet, all (47)________ things still show the effect of aging, which will eventually result in death, the body and the (48)________ they form do not function as well as they did in childhood and adolescence (青春期)- The body provides less (49)________ against disease and is more prone (易于……的) to accident. A number of related causes may (50)________ to aging. Some cells of the body have a (51)________ long life, but they are not (52)________ when they die. As a person ages, number of brain cells and muscle cells decreases. Other body cells did and are replaced by new cells. In an aging person the (53)________ cells may not be as viable(能生存的) or as capable of growth as those of a young person. Another factor in aging may be changes within the cells (54)________. Some of the protein chemicals in cells are known to change with age and become less elastic. This is why the skin of old people wrinkles and hangs loose. This is also the reason old people shrink in (55)________ There may be other more important chemical changes in the cells. Some complex cell chemicals. Such as DNA and RNA, store and pass on information that the cells need. Aging may (56)________ this process and change the information carrying molecules so that they do not transmit the information as well. WORD BANK A. brains B. contribute C. replaced D. high E. living F. protection G. fairly H. new I. itself J. affect K. lively L. organs M. rearranged N. themselves O. height

阅读理解What could possibly account for the amazing success of Coca-Cola? How has this combination of carbonated water(苏打水), sugar, acid and flavorings come to symbolize the American way of life for most of the world? After all, even the manufacturers could hardly describe Coke as a healthy product since it contains relatively high amounts of sugar (admittedly not the case with Diet Coke which contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar) and phosphoric acid (磷酸), both of which are known to damage teeth. One explanation may be found in the name. The original recipe(配方) included a flavoring from the coca plant and probably included small amounts of cocaine (an addictive (使人上瘾的) substance), but since the early part of this century all traces of cocaine have been removed. However, Coke (like all cola drinks) also includes a flavoring from the cola tree; cola extract(提炼物)contains caffeine, which is a stimulant, and the Coca-Cola company adds extra caffeine in addition. While caffeine is not thought to be an addictive substance in itself, there is considerable evidence that over a period of time the consumption of caffeine has to be increased in order for its stimulating effect to be maintained, and so sales of Coke perhaps benefit as a result. A more likely reason for the enduring popularity of Coke may, however, be found in the company''s enviable marketing(营销) strategies. Over the years it has come up with some of the most memorable commercials (商业广告), tunes, slogans and sponsorship in the world of advertising, variously emphasizing international harmony, youthfulness and a carefree(轻松愉快的) lifestyle. Few other companies have been able to match such marketing techniques so consistently or effectively. As suggested earlier, the influences of American culture are evident just about everywhere, and Coca-Cola has somehow come to represent a vision of the United States that much of the rest of the world dreams about and aspires to(热望). Perhaps drinking Coke brings people that little bit closer to the dream.

阅读理解Logging is destroying the rainforests Every second, 1 hectare of the world''s rainforest is destroyed. That equals to two football fields. An area the size of New York City is lost every day. In a year, that adds up to 31 million hectares — more than the land area of Poland. This alarming rate of destruction has serious consequences for the environment; scientists estimate, for example, that 137 species of plant, insect or animal become extinct every day due to logging. In British Columbia, where, since 1990, thirteen rainforest valleys have been clear-cut, 142 species of salmon have already become extinct, and the habitats of grizzly bears, wolves and many other creatures are threatened. Logging, however, provides jobs, profits, taxes for the government and cheap products of all kinds for consumers, so the government is reluctant to restrict or control it. Canadian forests are especially under threat Much of Canada''s forestry production goes towards making pulp and paper. According to the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world''s wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. If these paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian forests could be preserved. Recently, a possible alternative way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp. Hemp has been cultivated throughout history Hemp has been cultivated by many cultures for thousands of years. It produces fiber which can be made into paper, fuel, oils, textiles, food, and rope. For many centuries, it was essential to the economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing ships; colonial expansion and the establishment of a world-wide trading network would Not have been possible without hemp. Nowadays, ships'' cables are usually made from wire or synthetic fibres, but scientists are now suggesting that the cultivation of hemp should be revived for the production of paper and pulp. According to its supporters, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the large-scale cultivation of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada''s forests. It is illegal to grow hemp However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world. This plant, so useful for fiber, rope, oil, fuel and textiles, is a species of cannabis, related to the plant from which marijuana (大麻) is produced. In the late 1930s, a movement to ban the drug marijuana began to gather force, resulting in the eventual banning of the cultivation Not only of the plant used to produce the drug, but also of the commercial fiber-producing hemp plant. Although both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp in large quantities on their own land, any American growing the plant today would soon find himself in prison—despite the fact that marijuana cannot be produced from the hemp plant, since it contains almost NO THC (the active ingredient in the drug). Recently, many people have been working to legalize hemp In recent years, two major movements for legalization have been gathering strength. One group of activists believes that all cannabis should be legal—both the hemp plant and the marijuana plant — and that the use of the drug marijuana should not be an offense. They argue that marijuana is not dangerous or addictive, and that it is used by large numbers of people who are not criminals but productive members of society. They also point out that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. The other legalization movement is concerned only with the hemp plant used to produce fiber; this group wants to make it legal to cultivate the plant and sell the fiber for paper and pulp production. This second group has had a major triumph recently: in 1997, Canada legalized the farming of hemp for fiber. For the first time since 1938, hundreds of farmers are planting this crop, and soon we can expect to see pulp and paper produced from this new source.

阅读理解What do critics say about “nevertirees”？

阅读理解Sugar is so much a part of our modern life that we only really think about it when, for some reason, we cannot obtain it. It has been known to man for at least 3,000 years, but has come into common use only in modern times. Until quite recently it was considered as a medicine and as a luxury for the very rich only. Sugar is, then, very important to our civilization. But what exactly is it? Of course, most of us recognize sugar immediately as the sweet material which we put in coffee or cakes. This common form of sugar is derived from two plants: the sugar cane (a type of grass which grows to a height of twenty feet) and the sugar beet (which grows underground). But there are in fact many types of sugar, and the chemist recognizes hundreds of different varieties, each coming from a different source. About 90% of the sugar produced as food. Only 10% is used in industry for purposes other than food production. Yet sugar has great possibilities for use as the basis of chemicals. It can even be used for making plastics. In the future these potential uses will certainly be developed more than in the past. There are many reasons why we should increase the production of sugar. Most important is that it is one of the most highly concentrated of energy foods. Thus sugar cane and beet produce an average of 7, 000,000 calories per acre. In this way they have the advantage over potatoes which give only 4,000,000, while figure for wheat and beans is 2,000,000 each. So three acres of land growing wheat and potatoes give only slightly more energy than one acre of sugar.

阅读理解What does the passage say about the authors of The New Digital Age?

阅读理解The picnics, speeches, and parades of today''s Labor Day were all part of the first celebration, held in New York City in 1882. Its promoter was an Irish-American labor leader named Peter J. McGuire. A carpenter by trade, McGuire had worked since the age of eleven, and in 1882 was president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBCJ). Approaching the City''s Central Labor Union that summer, he proposed a holiday that would applaud (赞许) "the industrial spirit-the great vital force of every nation." On September 5 his suggestion bore fruit, as an estimated 10,000 workers, many of them ignoring their bosses'' warnings, left work to march from Union square up Fifth Avenue to 42nd Street. The event gained national attention, and by 1893 thirty states had made Labor Day an annual holiday. The quick adoption of the scheme may have indicated less about the state lawmakers'' respect for working people than about a fear of risking their anger. In the 1880s the United States was a land sharply divided between the immensely wealthy and the very poor. Henry George was accurate in describing the era as one of "progress and poverty." In a society in which factory, owners rode in private Pullmans while ten-year-olds slaved in the mines, strong anti-capitalist feeling ran high. Demands for fundamental change were common throughout the labor press. With socialists demanding an end to "wage slavery " and anarchists (无政府主义者) singing the praises of the virtues of dynamite (炸药), middle-of-roaders like Samuel Gompers and McGuire seemed attractively mild by comparison. One can imagine practical capitalists seeing Labor day as a bargain: A one-day party certainly cost them less than paying their workers decent wages.

阅读理解Even as the economy improves, a jobless executive may face up to a year or more of unemployment. This is a lot of time, especially for hard-charging high-performers who are not used to having any free time. While some job seekers spend hundreds—even thousands—of hours discovering daytime television, others seem to thrive on activities that boost their professional careers or resolve family issues when they aren''t working. Having an extended period of free time in the prime of one''s life can in fact be a unique opportunity to focus on volunteer service, professional education or personal growth. Community Involvement For Lisa Perez, the wakeup call was burned pork chops. An executive who previously hadn''t been particularly interested in home and health had become obsessed with homemaking during a stint of unemployment. She realized that cleaning and organizing her home wasn''t helping her job search. Nevertheless, "I made lists of 50 things to do every day," says Ms. Perez, a political and public-relations consultant in Scottsdale, Ariz. "My house was spotless, just so I''d have something to do." One day, her boyfriend didn''t arrive on time for dinner because he had to work late, and her pork chops were ruined. She threw a fit. "I" d never been a person like that," she says. "So I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself, and go out and do something productive." Ms. Perez, 35, resolved to become an active volunteer for the duration of her search. She gave her time to a health-care concern, a housing program and a political campaign. The work bolstered her self-confidence. "Volunteering takes the focus off you. One thing you have that''s still valuable is your time. And, of course, you learn that there are thousands of people with a life that''s much worse than yours," she says. Volunteer assignments are also great ways to meet powerful and well-connected people. Over a six-month period, her volunteering evolved into working as a paid consultant and then as a full-time employee, a job she still holds today. In all, she was unemployed for eight months. Before her job loss, she thought she didn''t have time to volunteer while working. "Now, even though I have a demanding job, I still volunteer, because of what I got out of it," says Ms. Perez. Continuing Education Gene Bellavance, a 36-year-old information-technology project manager, took another route during his unemployment. When he was laid off from a steel company near Cleveland, he knew his immediate prospects were bleak. He expected his search to take a year. He faced a decision: take a job that would set back his career or hold out for an offer he really wanted. Mr. Bellavance, single and virtually debt free, shifted his finances into survival mode. He cashed out his pension, sold his house, unloaded things he didn''t need at garage sales, and rented an apartment with a roommate. Then, he says, "I signed up for every benefit I could find. " But he wasn''t just waiting out the year. He spent the rest of his search updating his skills, including becoming certified in new database and project-management software. "You have to invest in yourself," Mr. Bellavance says. "I estimated what technology was going to be the most beneficial and chose applications that were going to be pervasive, that were right for my market, and that were going to ensure top pay. " In addition to income from the occasional IT-consulting assignment, he relied on a combination of displaced-worker-retraining grants and unemployment benefits. "I went out and found the classes, submitted the paperwork, and dealt with the bureaucracy. You have to stay after them, keeping your benefits moving forward. It''s up to you to make it work with your overall transition plan," he says. His job search was one month shy of the full year he''d expected. He looked for work during his training and says he would have finished the certification programs even if he''d been hired before completing them. "People should not feel guilty" about accepting government aid, he says. "I saw this in a lot of people. They felt they were some kind of loser for taking benefits. My advice is: Get all you can. You''ve been paying for these programs in your entire career, and you may as well start to benefit from them. " Family Matters In addition to pursuing training or volunteering, some displaced careerists use their time off work to attend to family matters. Many executives rediscover their children or find time to help their parents. Stanford Rappaport held three jobs in San Francisco, including high-tech and teaching positions. When he was laid off from the high-tech job last year, he knew it might be a long slog before he could get another post like it in the Bay Area. "I was able to do the math," says Mr. Rappaport, 46. "The number of people laid off: huge; and the number of available jobs: miniscule. At the time, I thought it might be two or three years before the tech industry recovered." Mr. Rappaport'' s remaining job, a part-time faculty position with City College of San Francisco, didn''t pay enough to support him. After a couple of months of searching with no results, he decided to escape the Northern California jobs meltdown. "My plan," he says, "was to get out of an expensive living situation, and either seek work in another section of the U.S. or overseas, for those two years. " Mr. Rappaport, who speaks five languages, had worked overseas before. Before he found an assignment, his Arkansas-based mother was diagnosed with a serious chronic illness, and he was called into duty as a son. Mr. Rappaport was able to help his mother get her affairs in order not to interrupt his search by using a San Francisco mail drop and cellphone. "I continued to look for work in California while I was in Fayetteville, Ark. , helping my mother through this crisis." He took his mother to medical appointments, made repairs on her house, bought her a better car, and straightened Cut her legal and financial affairs. "I even got to go through my father''s effects, which in the five years since he had died were simply piled in boxes in his office, " he says. Mr. Rappaport''s stay in Arkansas lasted six months. "It''s amazing that at this stage I had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with my mother and improve her life and get a lot of things done for her. Most people never have that opportunity. I''m very thankful that I had the chance. It was absolutely worth it," he says. One of the unexpected benefits was the huge boost in confidence he gained from his role as caregiver. He''d been feeling depressed and defeated when he left California, but after returning, he felt renewed. He landed a job with a former employer after returning to San Francisco and remains a part-time faculty member. Discovery and Exploration Instead of spending time off lamenting your unemployed status, ask yourself: "Is there something I''ve always wanted to do but haven''t because of the demands of my job?" Felice Fisk, a 29-year-old in Seattle, recently left an account-manager position at a contract-furniture company. During seven months of unemployment, she took an interest in fine-art painting and completed 18 pieces before returning to work. "I found the art work, or some kind of creative outlet, to be really beneficial," she says. She''s now an interior designer for an interior-design firm. Michael Ross, 42, a former IT administrator in El Cerrito, Calif., recently spent his 10 months of unemployment playing guitar and exploring his lifelong interest in scriptwriting and the movie business. "After 18 years at my former employer and how hard I had worked, I knew I had to recover, to get restored," he says. "I looked at this as an opportunity, rather than a penalty. This was very much about clearing space for me." At the executive level, even a very efficient and successful job search may be quite lengthy. It makes sense to spend that time in an enriching and productive manner. These job seekers pursued service, continuing education and shoring up family bonds. How you''ll look back on a period of unemployment depends on what you do with it.

阅读理解Picnic in the Dining-Room "We shall be having a picnic tomorrow afternoon," said my hostess, Mrs. Brown. "It will be quite simple and we shan''t make any fuss. I think an afternoon in fife open air will do us good, don''t you? Would you like to come with us?" I had already made an appointment with the hairdresser but I weakly agreed to cancel it. Mrs. Brown smiled graciously. "I shall be making some cakes this afternoon," she explained, "so I shan''t have any free time. I wonder whether you would mind doing some shopping for me during your lunch hour, that is, if you can fit it in." She handed me a typewritten list made up of twenty-four separate items, from shrimps to sugared almonds, including an order for a chicken, four sliced loaves, a half-litre of fresh cream and some Camembert, all to be delivered at the house before five o'' clock. That still left me with plenty to carry myself, and it seemed that if only I could manage to stagger home with my load, there would be no danger of starving the next afternoon. That evening a violent thunderstorm broke. Rain poured down; the sky was split by terrifying flashes of forked lightning while peals of thunder drowned conversation. But Mrs. Brown was not upset. "It will have cleared up before morning," she prophesied.'' "When this storm has passed we'' It have ideal weather, you'' 11 see. The B. B. C. weather forecast has promised sunshine, and they don'' t often make mistakes." She was right. The following morning was glorious. Early in the morning I could hear her moving about in the kitchen. Breakfast was late and consisted of corn flakes and toast. "I must apologize for neglecting you," said Mrs. Brown. "So much to do ! You won''t mind making your bed this morning, will you7 I''m so busy. I''m afraid we shall have to make do with cold meat and potatoes for lunch." The whole morning seemed to be spent in loading the car with a variety of bags, baskets and mysterious parcels. After a lunch of cold mutton, boiled potatoes, and limp damp lettuce, we took our rain jackets and umbrellas and fitted ourselves into the car. I was in the back seat, squeezed uncomfortably in the midst of'' a mountain of equipment. We crawled for the next two hours along a main road where a line of traffic was wedged so tightly together that it was almost stationary. Mr. Brown was in charge of the steering wheel but Mrs. Brown controlled the driving. At last we turned down a narrow lane and started looking for a suitable place for tea. Each one that we saw had its drawbacks: too sunny, too shady, too exposed, too sheltered. "If we were to picnic there, we should be too hot, cold, conspicuous, shut in," declared Mrs. Brown as she inspected each in turn. At last she decided that a certain meadown ( in reality no different from ally other meadow we had examined) would do. Mr. Brown opened the gate and drove the car inside. We started to unload. I had never in my life realized that so much stuff could be required for a simple picnic. A folding table was produced together with a clean glossy tablecloth, folding chairs (with cushions), enough crockery and cutlery for a banquet and more than enough food for six courses, paper napkins, a transistor radio, half a dozen illustrated magazines and even soap, a towel, water and a bowl for washing our hands after the meal. I half expected a crimson carpet, possibly footstools for our feet, with red candles as tasteful table decorations. I did discover a tin of fly killer, a bottle of ammonia for the treatment of stings and even some indigestion tablets. For a whole hour we made our preparations and at last everything that we needed was ready. As we were enjoying our first mouthful of thermosflask soup, a stout man opened the gate and came towards us. "Sorry to make a nuisance of myself, but in five minutes we shall have finished milking the cows," he announced. "They''ll be coming back here directly after." Mrs. Brown gazed at him speechless for a moment. At last she found words. "But you can see we''ve only just started eating," she protested indignantly. "surely you can delay sending them in for an hour or so?" "Sorry ma''am, we''ve other jobs to do. We''ll give you time to clear up: that'' s the most that we can allow. Say twenty minutes. You know you''re trespassing, of course?" Mrs. Brown seemed to collapse in her chair. I wished I were fifty miles off. Mr. Brown was the only one that accepted the situation philosophically. "It seems to be high time we departed," was his only comment. Half an hour after we moved off as the cows were wandering down the lane and as the first drops of rain were falling. We joined the traffic jam in the main road. Three hours later we unpacked again and had our picnic in Mrs. Brown''s dining-room--with a carpet underfoot but still no candles. We were strangely silent but our deep sense of grievance did not in any way prevent us from eating a great deal.

阅读理解New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It''s now a "global village" where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly enhanced by foreign language skills. Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed of modem businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modem markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts. Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being "out of sight and out of mind." He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company''s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more prevalent (普遍的). Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets. English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn''t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal. The employee posted abroad who speaks the country''s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.

阅读理解Biotechnology is the name that has been given to a very wide range of agricultural, industrial and medical technologies that make use of living (47)______ (e.g., plants or animals) or parts of living organisms to provide new products and services. Biotechnology''s (48)______ lie in the ancient crafts of brewing(酿造), baking and the production of fermented(发酵) foods such as yoghurt and cheese. It was not until 1859 that the cause of both desirable and (49)______ changes in food was identified. Louis Pasteur provided a scientific understanding of these natural processes, which helped to improve the (50)______ of traditional fermentations and ensure the safe (51)______ of food and drink. Pasteur thought that living organisms were always needed to bring about the changes which occur during fermentation. Towards the end of the last century, however, it was realized that non-living extracts from cells could also cause changes that are normally associated with the activities of whole organisms. These extracts were named "enzymes" (酶). We now know that all living things produce enzymes—proteins that are (52)______ for many of the processes of life. During the 1940s, methods of growing living organisms were developed for the production of penicillin and other antibiotics used in medicine. Today this technology permits the (53)______ production of a wide range of products. These include enzymes for food and drink production processes, vitamins and other useful chemicals. In 1973, two scientists, Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer, managed for the first time to make very specific changes to the genetic make-up (i.e., the DNA) by means of "genetic engineering" (also called genetic modification). The techniques have since been applied to plants and animals, and in a limited way they have also been applied to humans in an attempt to (54)______ the symptoms of inherited illness. Although the term biotechnology refers to a much older and (55)______ technology than genetic engineering, the techniques of genetic engineering are of such importance that the two terms have become virtually synonymous, (56)______ in the USA. Word Bank A) reliability B) commercial C) broader D) transfer E) undesirable F) alleviate G) progress H) particularly I) reveal J) organisms K) comment L) responsible M) preservation N) origins O) genetics

阅读理解Passage Two You probably know about the Titanic， but it was actually just one of three state-of-the art（最先进的） ocean ships back in the day