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　　Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing(令人迷惑的)．A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences．They decided that miscommunications(溝通誤解)were always possible, even over something as simple as “yes” and “no”．

　　On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific(太平洋), Lisa thought people weren't paying any attention to her．The day was hot．She went into a store and asked, “Do you have cold drinks?” The woman there didn't say anything．Lisa repeated the question．Still the woman said nothing．She later learned that the woman had answered her：She had raised her eyebrows(眉毛)，which in Micronesia means “yes”．

　　Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe．She went to a restaurant that was famous for its cabbage．She asked the waiter, “Do you have cabbage today?” He nodded his head．Jan waited, but the cabbage never came．In that country, a nod means “no”．

　　Tom had a similar problem when arrived in India．After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood．They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head．He thought some people had not understood, so he explained again．When he asked again, they did the same thing．He soon found out that his students did understand．In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on(依據(jù))where they come from．You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean “yes” or “no”．

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　　Once a baby cries, the parents will go to see what happened as soon as possible．According to a new study, a baby's cry can make adults react(反應(yīng))very quickly, even if they are not related．

　　Oxford University researchers used the classic game whack-a-mole for the study．Whack-a-mole(打鼴鼠游戲)requires people to hit one of nine buttons(按鈕)．The players must react as quickly as they can to whichever of the buttons lights up at random(隨機(jī))．It is a game that requires speed and accuracy(準(zhǔn)確度)．

　　The study included 40 men and women volunteers aged 19 to 59．Some of them had sons or daughters but none had a baby at the time．They played whack-a-mole after listening to different sounds, including babies crying, the crying of adults in trouble and birdsong played at a similar pitch to the babies' cries．

　　The volunteers' scores were higher after listening to the sound of crying babies．Men and women had similar scores overall．The results showed that a crying baby gets special attention．

　　"Few sounds make people react quite like the cry of a baby," said Morten Kringelbach of Oxford's psychiatry(精神病學(xué))department, who led the study．"For example, it's almost impossible to ignore(忽視，不理)crying babies on planes．This is true even though there are so many other noises around．"

　　He added that a baby's cry can increase adults' heart rate and blood pressure．This is understandable, because in the course of human evolution(進(jìn)化), taking care of babies has always been an important job for adults．When a baby is hungry or feeling bored or unwell, it will cry．As a result, human brains and bodies develop a special reaction to a baby's cry．

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　　One day, Jack's parents told him that his grandpa would retire(退休)after working for forty years．Jack said in surprise, “I'm only seven, so it means Grandpa has been…er…A really long time!”

　　His parents said, “Yes．That's why we are going to have a surprising party for him．”

　　Jack loved his grandpa and wanted to do something special for him．He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before．He knew that his grandpa would no longer have the position(職位)on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa．

　　When the big day came, Jack was ready．But he didn't want to put his gift together with others'．He carried it around with him the whole evening．

　　When all the other people left, he took his grandpa's hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift．

　　His grandpa smiled, “Well, it must be a beautiful gift．May I open it now?” “Sure!” Jack said excitedly．

　　As Grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes．Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with new position：FULL－TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, “Now your full-time job is my grandpa!”

　　Well, how much do I get paid?” his grandpa asked, smiling．“As many hugs as you want!” With these words, Jack gave Grandpa a hug．“Well, I guess that means I'm the richest man in the world!” said Grandpa．

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　　Sometimes people are not clear about what kind of food is healthy, and what kind of food may do harm to our health．The USDA has prepared a food guide to help people learn about which kind of food is the healthiest to eat．The food guide describes six main food groups：meat(like fish and chicken), dairy(like milk and cheese), grains(like bread and rice), fruit and vegetables．The last group is fats and sweets．The USDA also suggests how much of each food group is healthy to eat daily．Though this guide was prepared by the US government, it is very useful for people all over the world．

　　As a result of years of study, we know that too much animal fat is bad for our health．For example, Americans eat a lot of meat and only a small amount of grains, fruit and vegetables．Because of the way they eat, they have a high rate of cancer and heart disease．In Japan, people eat large amounts of grains and very little meat．The Japanese also have a very low rate of cancer and heart disease．The Japanese live longer than anyone else in the world．However, when Japanese people move to the US, the rate of heart disease and cancer goes up as their eating habit changes．And as hamburgers, ice creams and other high-fat foods become popular in Japan, the rate of heart disease and cancer is going up there as well．People are also eating more meat and dairy food in other countries, in which the disease rate is going up along with the change of the way people eat．Doctors everywhere suggest people eat more grains, fruit and vegetables and less meat and dairy food．

　　Eating healthily is important for children as well as their parents．When parents have poor eating habits, their children usually do, too．After all, children eat in the same way as their parents．When parents eat healthy food, the children will learn to enjoy it, too．Then they will develop good eating habits．Doctors suggest parents give their children healthier food such as fruit, vegetables and juice．

　　Everyone wants to live a long, healthy life．We know that the food we eat affects us in different ways．For example, doctors believe that fruit and vegetables can really protect people from many different diseases．On the other hand, animal fat can cause diseases．We can change our eating habits now and enjoy many years of healthy living．

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閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C、D)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

　　Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers．But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son：suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents．"The door to his room is always shut．" Joanna noted．

　　Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter．"She used to sit in my arms on the sofa and talk with me, " said Mark．"Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something．Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady．The problem is figuring out which time is which．"

　　Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what's on their minds．"In fact, parents are first on the list．" said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers．"This completely changes during the teen years．" Riera explained．"They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last．"

　　Parents who know what's going on in their teenagers' lives are in the best position to help them．To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them．And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young．Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them．

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閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C、D)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

　　Why don't birds get lost on their long flights from one place to another? Scientists have puzzled over this question for many years．Now they're beginning to fill in the blanks．

　　Not long ago, experiments proved that birds depend on the sun to show them the way during daylight hours．But what about birds that mainly fly at night? Tests with man-made stars have shown that certain night-flying birds are able to follow the stars on their long-distance flights．

　　Once such bird-a warbler-had spent its lifetime in a cage and had never flown under a natural sky at night．Yet it showed an inborn ability to use the stars．The bird's cage was put under a man-made star-filled sky．The bird tried to fly in the same direction as its outdoor cousins．Any change in the position of the man-made stars caused a change in the direction of its flight．

　　Scientists think that warblers, when flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance．But stars are their main dependence of flying at night．What do they do when stars are hidden by clouds? They find their way by such landmarks as mountains, beaches and rivers．But when it's too dark to see these, the warblers circle helplessly, unable to get their directions．

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閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C、D)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

　　A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet．He held a sign which said, "I am blind．Please help me．"

　　There were only a few coins in the hat．A man was walking by．He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat．He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it．He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words．

　　Soon the hat began to fill up．A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy．That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were．The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write? "

　　The man said, "I only wrote the truth．I said what you said, but in a different way．"

　　What he had written was, "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it．"

　　Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

　　Of course both signs told people the boy was blind．But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat．The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind．

　　The first sign simply said the boy was blind．While the second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind．

　　There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story．

　　The first is：Treasure what you have．Someone else has less．Try your best to help those who need your help．

　　The second is：Be creative．Think differently．There is always a better way．

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閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C、D)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

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根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，選擇最佳答案。

　　Have you ever heard the song called "Is there anyone who told you"? It may be impossible for you not to know the song and its singer．It is sung by the famous "Happy Boy" Chen Chusheng, who appeared on Hunan Satellite TV．He caught everyone's attention．Before the competition he was just a farmer's son who had never got professional trainings of any kind．As a child, Chusheng wasn't a good student, but he was very interested in music．He liked to listen to and sing his favorite songs again and again．Like many other parents, his parents also wanted him to go to college, but he failed．Chusheng had no choice but to help his brother repair bicycles and motorbikes．In Sanya, a small city in Hainan Province, Chen worked during the daytime while singing in different bars in the evening．He lived like that until the year 2000．

　　In 2000, Chen went to Shenzhen．He never expected that his first job in this new place would be delivering food．He went on working in the daytime while singing in the evenings．His life was hard at that time．In the bar called Star-making Factories he met many famous local musicians．In the following several years, Chen, with his musical dream, attended many music contests throughout the country, winning prizes many times．Today, when we think about his success, we cannot help thinking that if one wants to be successful, he should work harder than others．

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根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，選擇最佳答案。

　　Two children stood outside the door with old coats．"Any old papers, Lady? " asked one of them．

　　I was busy．I wanted to say no, but I saw that their shoes were broken and wet．"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot tea．" They came in saying nothing．Their shoes left snow on the floor．

　　I gave them tea and bread to protect them against the cold outside．Then I went back to the kitchen and started my housework again．

　　The silence in the front room surprised me．I looked in．

　　The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it．The boy asked me in a low voice, "Lady…are you rich? "

　　"Am I rich? Oh, no! " I looked at my old things in the room．

　　The girl put her cup back in its saucer(茶碟)carefully．"Your cups match your saucers．"

　　They left then, holding their papers against the wind．They hadn't said thank you．They didn't need to．They had done more than that．The blue cups and saucers were simple．But they said that they matched．The potatoes and meat before me, a roof over our heads, my husband with a job-these things matched, too．

　　I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room．The prints of their small shoes were still wet upon my floor．I let them be．I wanted them there to remind me how rich I was．

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