One day, when I was 14, my uncle sent me a pink T-shirt from ST. Louis, Missouri as my birthday present. On a beautiful Sunday morning, I wore this pink T-shirt and walked gently to the market. On the way, some boys whistled at me. I became very nervous, so I walked faster and more properly with more decorum, but more and more boys whistled at me later. Therefore, I couldn’t help but become more agitated. Suddenly, I turned back and run to my home. I asked my mother, “Why did the boys whistled at me?” My mother looked at my T-shirt with a smile and said nothing. Then I turned to my father. “Why did the boys whistle at me?” My father looked at my beautiful new T-shirt and then laughingly asked, “Are you lonely?” Suddenly, I realized why the boys were whistling at me. The message on my pink T-shirt was“I am lonely”.
[注释]：
whistle: a small wind instrument for making whistling sounds by means of the breath 口哨 properly: characterized by appropriateness or suitability; fitting 恰当的 decorum: the conventions of polite behavior 礼貌 agitated: 激动的，表现不安的
Vacations in Space
Want a ride in a spaceship? It will cost you about 20 million US dollars. At least that’s what Dennis Tito recently paid for a trip to the International Space Station. What if you aren’t rich, but still want to travel in space? Don’t worry. Research supported by NASA might make your dream come true. Scientists are refining a process that, if successful, will enable rockets to take off from the back of an airplane. If people do end up taking vacations in space, don’t worry about finding somewhere to stay. Businessmen like British Richard Branson are already thinking about building hotels out there.
[注释]：
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (美国) 国家航空航天局；美国航天及太空总署 end up: 结束；告终
Keeping Pleasant
In these grim times, weighed down with tension and pressure from the
realities of life, many people have lost their sense of humor. They tend to keep a straight face all day long and fail to keep life in perspective. They forget how to smile and finally become physical and mental wrecks. They regard life as a burden, and tend to look on the dark side of things. Well goes a saying, “Laugh, and grow fat.” Laughter releases tension, and smiling helps create a pleasant social atmosphere. And, thus, in a way,
a sense of humor is an elixir that helps cure mental diseases. Some patients even improve their physical and mental health by reading humorous stories or watching funny movies. This proves that a sense of humor helps us look at the world in a true and healthy light and makes our life worth living.
[注释]：
grim: rigid 无情的，严酷的
tension: uneasy suspense 紧张(状态)，不安
perspective: subjective evaluation of relative significance; a point of view 观点，评价； in dim bimbo 又笨又坏的女人
The Man I Respect Most
My father is the man I respect most. Stern as he may be, he never fails to
show his care and consideration. Once I broke a neighbor’s window. Seeing nobody around, I ran away immediately. When Dad came home, he noticed my uneasiness and asked me what had happened. I could only tell him the truth. Rather than scold me, he praised my honesty and then encouraged me to apologize to our neighbor. I learned from this episode that not only does Dad take care of our health but he also teaches us how to be good citizens. How lucky I am to have such a good father!
[注释]：
stern : severe, strict 严厉的
consideration : careful thought; deliberation 体谅，考虑 uneasiness : 不安
episode : an incident or event that is part of a progression or a larger sequence 插
My Time of Happiness Each Day
As a student, most of my time is spent on school work and other school-related activities. Consequently, my time of happiness each day is
very limited.
However, this is not to say that I am not happy every day. In fact, I really enjoy coming home from school each evening and having dinner with my family. After dinner, I read or watch some TV with my family. This is a happy time for me every day.
But my happiest time of a day is just before I fall asleep. Lying in bed, I think about all I achieved that day, and it makes me happy to know that the day was full.
[注释]：
consequently : therefore 从而，因此
achieve : to perform or carry out with success; accomplish 完成，达到
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
《风雪夜 林边停》是一首著名的诗歌。写的是雪夜美景？写的是守诺如一？写的是 人生不得不向前行？不同的读者会有完全不同的理解。这大概就是文学批评中所说的“接受
美学”的观点吧。
Whose woods these are I think I know, His house is in the village though. He will not see me stopping here, To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer, To stop without a farmhouse near, Between the woods and frozen lake, The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake, To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep,
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Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. —— Robert Frost
[注释]：
queer : deviating from the expected or normal; strange 奇怪的 farmhouse : a dwelling on a farm 农舍，农家
harness : the gear or tackle, other than a yoke, with which a draft animal pulls a vehicle or an implement (全套)马具, 系在身上的绳子
downy : made of or covered with down 绒毛的，柔和的 flake : a flat, thin piece or layer; a chip 薄片；雪片
Robert Frost: 弗罗斯特·R.（1874—1963）美国诗人。生于旧金山，求学于哈佛大学。它 的诗集《新罕布什尔》、《诗选》和《又一片牧场》均获得普利策奖，被公认为美国无冠的 桂冠诗人。
Home—A Joy Forever
Home means a lot to me. “Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.” I appreciate the warmth of my home, and regard it as one of the brightest and dearest spots on earth. It is the place where I can take refuge
whenever I meet with difficulties, failures and even frustrations in my daily life. At home, my dear parents and brothers and sisters will comfort me and cheer me up. And with their concern and encouragement, I will regain my self-confidence and muster up all my strength and courage to face the stern realities of life. To me, home is forever a joy where I can always find love, understanding, care and help.
[注释]：
humble : low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly 粗陋的
refuge : protection or shelter, as from danger or hardship 庇护，避难，避难所
frustration: the act of frustrating or an instance of being frustrated 挫败，挫折，受挫 muster : to call forth; summon up 鼓起(勇气等)，积聚
stern : hard, harsh, or severe in manner or character 严厉的，严酷的
Summer
夏日晨风，拂过我的脸庞，扰动我的梦想，飞扬在这青春读书的好时光。
I chanced to rise very early one particular morning this summer, and took a walk into the country to divert myself among the fields and meadows, while the green was new, and the flowers in their bloom. As at this season
of the year every lane is a beautiful walk, and every hedge full of nosegays, I lost myself, with a great deal of pleasure, among several thickets and bushes that were filled with a great variety of birds, and an agreeable confusion of notes, which formed the pleasantest scene in the world to one who had passed a whole winter in noise and smoke. The freshness of the dews that lay upon everything about me, with the cool breath of the morning, which inspired the birds with so many delightful instincts, created in me the same kind of animal pleasure, and made my heart overflow with such secret emotions of joy and satisfaction as are not to be described or accounted for. —Joseph Addison, Tulips
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[注释]：
divert : to entertain by distracting the attention from worrisome thoughts or cares; amuse 消遣， 通过把注意力从烦恼之事上转移开而娱乐 meadow : 草地 hedge : 树篱 nosegay : 花束 thicket : 灌木丛
animal pleasure： 快感 instinct : 本能
overflow : to have a boundless supply and to be filled beyond capacity 溢出，充满
Joseph Addison 艾迪生·J. (1672—l 719)，英国随笔作家和诗人。生于威尔特郡，曾就读于 牛津大学。曾任贸易和殖民地事务专员，1717 年被任命为国务大臣。同年他还创办《旁观 者》杂志。本文选自他的《郁金香》。
Exploring the Oceans
海洋是生命的摇篮，风雨的故乡，气候的调节器，交通的要道，资源的宝库。缤纷的海 洋世界到底有多少未知的秘密?
Ever wonder what lives in the Earth’s waters? Some 300 scientists from 53 different countries are wondering the same thing. For the first time in history, scientists are trying to count how many species of fish, animals
and plants live under water.
They are conducting a census of life in the world’s oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface. The study began in 2000 and is expected to end in 2010, at a cost of US$1 billion. So far, scientists have counted more than 15,000 species of fish and around 200,000 species of animals and plants in the oceans. They expect to find at least another 5,000 species of fish.
Scientists believe that the animals and plants they’ve found so far represent just 10 per cent of the world’s total underwater population. That means that they expect to find almost 2 million species of animals and
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plants by 2010. “Our goal by 2010 is to know as much about life in the oceans as we know about life on land now,” says a marine biologist who is working on the project.
The newly-discovered species are not all new species. Many of them have just never been recorded before. Scientists fear that the growing human population is decreasing the variety of species living in the ocean. They hope the census will help them learn how human activity, such as fishing and agriculture, is affecting the oceans.
[注释]：
species : 品种（单复数同形）
census : official counting of the information 普查，种群普查 conduct : to direct the course of; to manage or control 进行，主持 surface : the outer or the topmost boundary of an object 表面 represent : to stand for; to symbolize 代表
underwater : relating to, occurring, used, or performed beneath the surface of water 水中的 biologist : 生物学家
decrease : to grow or cause to grow gradually less or smaller, as in number, amount, or intensity 减少
variety : a group that is distinguished from other groups by a specific characteristic or set of characteristics 种类
Spring Song
布莱克的诗读起来朗朗上口，有音乐的美感，充满感性，喜欢的人很多。希望你也喜欢。
Spring is coming, spring is coming, Birdies, build your nest;
Weave together straw and feather, Doing each your best.
Spring is coming, spring is coming, Flowers are coming too: Pansies, lilies, daffodillies Now are coming through. Spring is coming, spring is coming, All around is fair,
Shimmer and quiver on the river, Joy is everywhere. —— William Blake
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[注释]：
straw : a single stalk of threshed grain 稻草，麦秆
pansies, lilies, daffodillies: 三色紫罗兰、百合花、喇叭水仙花 sahimmer : to shine with a subdued, flickering light 微光
quiver : to shake with a slight, rapid, tremulous movement 颤抖，振动
William Blake， 布莱克（1757—1827），英国诗人，著有诗集《天真之歌》(1789)《经验之
歌》（1794）。他最重要的绘画有《坎特伯雷香客》和《雅各的梦》。
New Pictures of an Old Universe
这段科技文章看似复杂难懂，其实不难。读的同时不妨仔细分析这类文章的特点，这对 于在考试中阅读理解同类文章一定有帮助。
For thousands of years humans have wondered how and when the universe first began. Now, thanks to some photographs taken by Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), scientists are much closer to understanding, even seeing, the universe in its beginning years.
This is all possible thanks to the WMAP satellite in orbit about one million miles above Earth. The satellite is specially designed to record one kind of cosmic energy: microwave radiation. It can use this radiation to show us what the universe looked like 13.3 billion years ago! Wait a minute ... how can this satellite show us a picture of the universe billions of years ago? The Big Bang created the universe in a huge explosion, and at the same time it created a specific field of radiation—called the cosmic microwave background, or CMB. This CMB still lingers in the universe today. What the satellite actually does is take pictures of the CMB.
So what did scientists learn from these new pictures? First, they learned that stars formed very soon— merely 200 million years— after the Big Bang. And they were able to confirm estimates of the universe’s age: it was born about 13.7 billion years ago. This is the age that
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scientists long suspected to be true, but now they have the birthday pictures to prove it!
[注释]：
microwave: a high-frequency electromagnetic wave, one millimeter to one meter in wavelength, intermediate between infrared and short-wave radio wavelengths 微波
probe: an exploratory action, expedition, or device, especially one designed to investigate and obtain information on a remote or unknown region 探测（器、卫星、宇宙飞船） satellite: a celestial body that orbits a planet; a moon 卫星
orbit: the path of a celestial body or an artificial satellite as it revolves around another body（运 转）轨道
cosmic: of or relating to the universe, especially as distinct from Earth 宇宙的
radiation: energy radiated or transmitted in the form of rays, waves, or particles 辐射
explosion: a release of mechanical, chemical, or nuclear energy in a sudden and often violent manner with the generation of high temperature and usually with the release of gases 爆炸 specific: special, distinctive, or unique 特定的，明确的
linger: to be slow in leaving, especially out of reluctance; tarry 徘徊 suspect: to have doubts about; distrust 怀疑，猜测
Three Days to See
下面的文字摘选自海伦·凯勒的自传《假如给我三天光明》。海伦虽然自幼丧失了视力 和听觉，但却是一个生活在黑暗中而给人类带来光明的女性。她在1904 年获得学位，成为 优秀的讲师和作家。“我要把别人眼睛所看见的光明当作我的太阳，别人的耳朵听见的音乐 当作我的乐曲，别人嘴角的微笑当作我的快乐。”她接受了命运的挑战，获得了超越自己的 喜悦。我们为之感动的不仅是文字本身的优美和其中所含的真情，还包括字里行间所反映的 那颗伟大心灵。
Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must
die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in
buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life. …
I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.
Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they
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see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed. “Nothing in particular,” she replied. I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such reposes, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.
How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough, shaggy bark of a pine. In the spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud the first sign of awakening Nature after her winter’s sleep. I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and
discover its remarkable convolutions; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song.
I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush through my open finger. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips. ——Helen Keller
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[注释]：
buoyant: having or marked by buoyancy 有浮力的，轻快的 unimaginable: 想不到的，不可思议的
vista: an awareness of a range of time, events, or subjects; a broad mental view 展望，回想 listless: lacking energy or disinclined to exert effort; lethargic 倦怠的，冷漠的，情绪低落的 incredulous: expressive of disbelief 怀疑的，不轻信的
accustom: to familiarize, as by constant practice, use, or habit 使习惯于
symmetry: exact correspondence of form and constituent configuration on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane or about a center or an axis 对称，匀称 silver birch: 白桦树
shaggy: having a rough nap or surface, as a textile 表面粗糙的 delightful: greatly pleasing 令人愉快的，可喜的
velvety: suggestive of the texture of velvet; soft and smooth 像天鹅绒的，柔软的
remarkable : attracting notice as being unusual or extraordinary 不平常的，非凡的，值得注意 的，显著的
convolution: a form or part that is folded or coiled 回旋，盘旋，卷绕 brook: 小溪
lush: having or characterized by luxuriant vegetation 青葱的，豪华的 luxurious : fond of or given to luxury 奢侈的，豪华的 pageant: 壮观
thrilling: 颤动的, 发抖的，令人振奋的
I Have a Dream
马丁·路德·金(1929—1968)，美国黑人解放运动的著名领袖，1968 年被种族主义者刺 杀。1963 年8 月28 日，美国首都华盛顿举行大规模的黑人集会，为黑人争取自由、平等和 就业。马丁·路德·金在会上发表本篇演说。
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s
lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall
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be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. ——Martin Luther King
[注释]：
Alabama: a tribe of the Creek confederacy formerly inhabiting southern Alabama and now located in eastern Texas 阿拉巴马州(美国的一个州)
lip: either of two fleshy folds that surround the opening of the mouth 嘴唇 drip: to let fall in or as if in drops (使)滴下 interposition: 异议
nullification: the state of being nullified 无效
transform: to subject (a construction) to a transformation 改变
exalt: 升高
crooked: having or marked by bends, curves, or angles 弯曲的 glory: a highly praiseworthy asset 荣誉，光荣
reveal: to make known (something concealed or secret) 显示，透露 jangling: 刺耳的
discord: inharmonious combination of simultaneously sounded tones; dissonance 意见不合，嘈 杂声
symphony: 交响乐，交响曲
brotherhood: the state or relationship of being brothers 手足情谊
jail: a place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention; a prison 监狱
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