英语阅读理解[1].doc

Passage 1You are unique. There are 6.5 billion people in the world but no other person is exactly like you. Besides people, there are millions of other living things. Every living thing is different from each other. Every living thing is a unique combination of characteristics. 你是独一无二的。世界上有65亿人，但没有一个人和你完全一样。除了人，还有成千上万的其他生物。每种生物相互都是不同的。每种生物都是个性的独特组合。Why is each living thing unique? Where do its characteristics come from? Do people receive characteristics from their mothers and fathers? How? The work of Gregor Mendel was especially important to help us to answer these questions. 为什么每种生物都是独一无二的？它的个性来自哪里？人类的个性是来自父母吗？又是怎样来的？格雷戈门德尔（奥地利遗传学家）所从事的工作对于我们回答这些问题尤其重要。Mendel studied plants, especially pea plants. In some way they were all the same. For example, they all had flowers. But some had red flowers, and others had white flowers. Some were tall, others were short. Mendel was especially interested in the differences. He wondered why each plant was of certain color, shape, size. He experimented with thousands of pea plants, with a careful record. And he discovered some interesting things. He mated different pea plants. First, he mated a red flower plant with a white flower plant. All of the offspring plants had red flowers. Mendel was curious about what happened to the white. Then he mated two of the offspring plants. Every time he did this, they produced three red plants and one white plant. There was the white again. So Mendel knew that even red plants somehow passed on whiteness. Mendel decided that pea plants carried factors, and the parents passed these factors onto their offspring. 门德尔研究植物，尤其是豆科植物。在某种程度上，植物都是一样的。例如，它们都有叶子。但有的开红花，有的却开白花。有的高有的矮。门德尔对这些差异尤其感兴趣。他想知道为什么每种植物都有特定的颜色、形状、大小。他对成千上万棵豆科植物进行实验，并做仔细记录。他发现了一些有趣的东西。他对不同的豆科植物进行嫁接。首先，他把一棵红花植物嫁接到白花植物上，它们的后代是开红花。白色哪里去了？门德尔感到很好奇。然后他把这种后代植物相互再嫁接。每次结果都是产生了三棵开红花的植物和一棵开白花的植物。又有白色的了。因此门德尔得出结论，即便开红花的植物也会遗传白色。门德尔断定豆科植物带有某些因子，父母将这些因子遗传给后代。Today we call these factors genes. Genes are tiny pieces of matter. They carry information from parents to offspring. Now we know that every person is unique and one reason for this is that every person is a unique combination of genes.今天我们将这些因子称为基因。基因是非常小的物质。它们把父母的信息传递给后代。现在我们知道，之所以每个人都是独一无二的，原因之一就是每个人都是基因的独特组合。Passage 2No other author in American literature is better known or more loved than Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Born in Missouri in 1835, he grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River and became a riverboat pilot. when he was 21 years old. So he adopted the pen name of Mark Twain, which was derived from a phrase meaning two fathoms deep used by the boatmen on the Mississippi as they measured the depth of the river. The river environment inspired the two novels which brought him his greatest fame: Tom Sawyer” and Huckleberry Finn. Another book, Life on the Mississippi, told of his adventures on the river boats of that period. 在美国文学史上没有哪个作家比塞缪尔朗赫恩克莱门斯更出名或更令人喜爱。他1835年生于密苏里州，他在密西西比河畔长大，21岁就成了河船领航员。因此他采用了笔名“马克吐温”，这是来自船员在密西西比河测量水深时所用的一个词，意为“水深两浔”。河边的环境激发他创作了两部小说：汤姆索亚历险记和哈克贝利费恩历险记，使他一夜成名。另一本书密西西比河上的生活讲述了那个时期他在船上的冒险经历。It was during the Civil War that Mark Twains life as a writer started. At that time he was working as a newspaper man in Nevada and California. His short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaberas County” was an immediate success and his new career began. A Million Pond Note written in 1893 was another well-known short story. 马克吐温作为作家的生涯是在美国内战期间开始的。当时他在内华达州和加利福尼亚当一名新闻记者。他的短篇小说卡拉维拉斯县驰名的跳蛙很快就取得了成功，他的新的生涯就此开始。1893年写的百万英镑钞票是另一著名的短篇小说。In 1870, Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon. He had fallen in love with her picture even before he met her. According to his biographer, his wife had a great influence on Twains later books. 1870年，马克吐温和欧丽维亚兰登结婚。他甚至在还未见过她时就爱上了她的照片。他的传记作者认为，他的妻子对他晚期的作品有很大的影响。Mark Twain was also a very successful lecturer. His travels around the country giving talks on a variety of subjects helped make him famous and increased the sale of his books. 马克吐温还是个非常成功的演讲家。他周游全国，作有关各种话题的演讲，这使他名声大扬，也增加了他书的销售量。Tom Sawyer and “Huckleberry Finn” are considered Twains best works. They are marked by humor and satire and provide his readers with an excellent picture of his era. His last book was completed in 1909, one year before his death. He was 74 years old. 汤姆索亚历险记和哈克贝利费恩历险记被认为是马克吐温最好的作品。他们的特点是幽默和讽刺，给读者提供了一副他那个时代的生动画面。他的最后一本书完成于1909年，即他去世的前一年，那年他74岁。Passage 3If you judge by the number of people who go to see the games and by the number of those who actually play it, basketball is probably the most popular sport in the United States today. It is mainly an indoor game, and the season extends from late autumn, through the winter, to early spring. There are many professional teams; but for the most part, basketball is a school sport. There is hardly a high school or college in the country that does not have its team. 如果你从看比赛的人数和参赛的人数去判断的话，那么篮球或许是当今美国最受欢迎的运动。它主要是室内项目，赛季可以从深秋到整个冬天到早春。虽然职业球队有很多，但是篮球多半还是一种学校运动。在这个国家几乎没有哪所中学或大学没有自己的球队。In spring and summer, the most popular sport is baseball. During the warm weather, you can see young men and boys playing this game in any part of the country. Radio and television bring the details of the big games to every corner of that land, and the activities of the professional teams are a subject of conversation for Americans everywhere. 春天和夏天，最受欢迎的运动就是篮球。在暖和的日子里，在这个国家的任何地方你都能看到小伙子们或男孩们在打篮球。广播和电视把重大比赛的详细情况带到这片土地的每个角落，对各个地方的美国人来说职业球队的活动情况是他们谈话的主题。In autumn, the most popular sport is football. As you know, this is not the same kind of game that is so popular in other parts of the world. Like basketball and baseball, it is typically American, and those who have never seen it before have difficulty in seeing any sense in it. But for most people the game itself is not so important as the music and the cheering that go with it. On a cool bright autumn afternoon, there is nothing so colorful and exciting as a football game.秋天最受欢迎的运动是足球。正如你所知道的，这和世界上其他地方所流行的足球是不一样的。就象篮球和棒球一样，它是美国人特有的，之前没有看过它的人很难看出它有多大的意义。但对大部分人来说，比赛本身并没有象伴随它的音乐和喝彩声那么重要。在一个凉爽明亮的秋天的下午，没有什么能象一场足球比赛这样丰富多彩和令人激动的。Passage 4Pat OBurke was a poor Irishman with a large family, and one morning, waking up very early from cold and hunger , he decided to go shooting in wood near his cottage. The wood belonged to Lord Northwood, a rich gentleman, and Pat had no right to go there, but in it there were swarms of rabbits and flocks of birds that were good to eat, and Pat determined to take the risk. Suddenly he saw the owner, with a group of friends, coming towards him in the wood. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwoods face as he caught sight of the gun in Pats hands. Pats heart sank with fear, but he saw there was no hope of escape, so he walked boldly up to the company and said to Lord Northwood, Good morning, sir, and what has brought you out so early this morning? Lord Northwood, rather surprised, said he and his friends were taking a little exercise to get an appetite for their breakfast. Then, looking at Pat with suspicion, he said, But why are you out so early in the morning? Well, sir, said Pat, I just came out to see if I could get a breakfast for my appetite. The whole crowd burst into laughter at Pats ready wit, and with a smile Lord Northwood walked on, leaving Pat to try his luck with the rabbits.Pat OBurke是一个贫穷的爱尔兰人，他有一个大家庭。一天早上一大早，他从又冷又饿中醒来，他决定到他小屋附近的树林去打猎。这片树林是属于富人Lord Northwood的，Pat没有权力去那里。但那里有成群的美味的野兔和鸟，Pat决定去冒险一下。突然他看到了主人和他的一群朋友正朝着树林里的他走来。当看到Pat手里的枪时Lord Northwood的脸上露出了愤怒的表情。Pat因害怕而感到沮丧，但他看到已没有逃跑的希望时，他便勇敢地朝这群人走来并对Lord Northwood说：“早上好，先生。今天早上你怎么这么早就出来了？” Lord Northwood感到非常惊讶，他说他和朋友正在稍稍活动一下以便早餐有个好胃口。然后，他怀疑地看着Pat说：“那么你今天为什么这么早？”“哎，先生，” Pat说，“我只是出来看看能否给我的胃找一顿早餐。” Pat的机敏让众人哄笑起来。Lord Northwood面带微笑继续往前走了，Pat能否打到野兔就看他的手气如何了。Passage 5I arrived in the United States on February 6, 1966, but I remember my first day here very clearly. My friend was waiting for me when my plane landed at Kennedy Airport at three oclock in the afternoon. The weather was very cold and it was snowing, but I was too excited to mind. From the airport, my friend and I took a taxi to my hotel. On the way, I saw the skyline of Manhattan for the first time and I stared in astonishment at the famous skyscrapers and their man-made beauty. My friend helped me unpack at the hotel and then left me because he had to go back to work. He promised to return the next day. 我是1966年2月6日到美国的，但我仍然非常清楚地记得第一天到那的情景。当下午3点我乘坐的飞机降落在肯尼迪机场时，我的朋友正在等我。天气非常冷而且在下雪，但我太激动了根本顾不上这些。我和朋友搭了一辆出租车从机场一直到我的宾馆。在路上，我第一次看到曼哈顿的轮廓，我惊奇的凝视着著名的摩天大楼和人工创造出来的美。到了宾馆，我朋友帮我卸下行李就走了，因为他要回去上班。他答应第二天再来。Shortly after my friend had left, I went to a restaurant near the hotel to get something to eat. Because I couldnt speak a word of English, I couldnt tell the waiter what I wanted. I was very upset and started to make some gestures, but the waiter didnt understand me. Finally, I ordered the same thing the man at the next table was eating. After dinner, I started to walk along Broadway until I came to Times Square with its movie theatres, neon lights, and huge crowds of people. I did not feel tired, so I continued to walk around the city. I wanted to see everything on my first day. I knew it was impossible, but I wanted to try. 我朋友走后不久，我到宾馆附近的一家餐馆去吃点东西。因为我不会说英语，所以我没能告诉服务生我想要什么。我非常郁闷并且开始做一些手势，但是服务生却不能理解我的意思。最后，我点了和隔壁桌正在吃的那个人一样的东西。吃完饭后，我开始沿着百老汇散步，一直到时代广场（也叫泰晤士广场），还有它的电影院、霓虹灯和一大群人。我一点也不觉得累，所以就继续在这座城市里散步。我想在第一天就把所有的东西看完。我知道这不可能，但是我要试一试。When I returned to the hotel, I was exhausted, but I couldnt sleep because I kept hearing the fire and police sirens during the night. I lay awake and thought about New York. It was a very big and interesting city with many tall buildings and big cars, and full of noise and busy people. I also decided right then that I had to learn to speak English.当我回到宾馆时，我非常疲劳，但是我却睡不着，因为我一整晚都听到火和警察的笛声。我醒着躺在床上回想着纽约。它是座非常大非常有趣的城市，有很多高楼和大汽车，满是噪音和忙碌的人们。现在，我决定我得学习英语了。Passage 6Just two months ago, Ana, a teenager, was preparing for an important exam. Winners would receive scholarships and be able to study in the United States. Ana knew her grades were excellent, but she realized that she must do well in the exams in order to qualify for the $3,000 stipend. Although Ana had worried about the interview part of the exam, she came through with flying colors. She spoke to the American interviewers about her family background and discussed her educational plans with them. Her hard work paid off, for she was one of the twenty awarded a four-year scholarship earlier this month. 就在两个月前，一个叫安娜的年轻人正在准备一场重要的考试。获胜者将获得奖学金并到美国学习。安娜知道她的成绩非常好，但她意识到她必须在考试中发挥出色以便能有资格获得3，000美元的奖学金。虽然安娜担心考试中的面试部分，结果还是马到成功。她和美国面试考官说起她的家庭背景，并和他们谈论她的教育计划。她的努力有了回报，因为在本月早些时候她就成为获得四年奖学金的二十人中的一个。Now Ana cant believe that she is sitting in a business management class at the University of California at Los Angeles. Although she has had seven years of English language classes, Ana is having difficulty with the text and lectures because there are so many new words and technical definitions to remember. Ana is finding it difficult to understand the professor. Now she must work twice as hard to maintain her high grades.现在安娜不敢相信她已坐在洛杉矶加州大学商业管理的课堂上。虽然她学过多年的英语，安娜对课本和听课还是有困难，因为有这么多的生词和专门的定义要记。安娜发现很难听懂教授的意思。现在她必须加倍努力以维持她的高分了。Passage 7When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores on certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or unsetting situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.当我们在谈到智力的时候，我们说的并不是在一些考试中得高分的能力，甚至不是指在学校表现的好。我们说的智力指的是一种生活和举止的方式，尤其是在陌生或者沮丧的情况下。如果我们想测试智力，我们应该研究人是怎么行动的，而不是他知道多少。For instance, when in a new situation, a person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isnt sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And if he cannot make things work out right, he doesnt feel ashamed that he fails, he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook on life, a special feeling about life, and how he fits into it.例如，在一个新的环境中，一个人考虑的是环境，而不是他自己或者他自己会发生什么事。他努力发现他能做的一切，然后迅速行动，尽力去做一些事情。他很可能不知道他的方法是否能行得通，但至少他尝试了。并且，如果他不能解决问题，他也不会因为失败而感到羞愧，而是从中吸取教训。一个非常聪明的人，甚至在他很小的时候，都对生活有一个特别的视野，对生活有一种特别的感受，并知道如何去适应它。If you look at children, youll see great difference that we call bright children and “not bright children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amount of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out about life he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream-world; he seems to have a wall between him and life in general.你去看看孩子们，就会发现人们说的“聪明的孩子”和“不聪明的孩子”之间的巨大差别。他们实际上是两种不同的人，而不只是智力不一样的同一种人。例如，一个聪明的孩子总是想发现生活，他努力和周围的一切建立联系。但一个不聪明的孩子更多的是局限于他自己和自己的梦想，大体来说，在他和他的生活之间有一道隔阂。Passage 8MySpace, the social networking website, is different from other websites which only provide stories about other people. MySpace is a place that allows you to broadcast your own stories and personal information to as many people as you like. Started two years ago, it is a big source of information for and about American kids. 在线社交网站“我的空间”和只提供别人故事的其他网站不同。“我的空间”允许你宣传你自己的故事和个人信息，想传给多少人都可以。该网站创建于两年前，它是有关美国小孩的最大的信息来源。Teenagers and their parents feel very differently about it. Teens are rushing to join the site, not sharing their parents worries. It signals yet another generation gap in the digital era.青少年和他们的父母对“我的空间”的看法很不同。青少年纷纷加入这个网站，不顾父母的担忧。它标明了数字时代的又一个代沟。For teenagers, it is a reliable network to keep in touch with their friends. They will often list their surnames, birthdays, after-school jobs, school clubs, hobbies and other personal information. 对青少年来说，这是一个可信赖的网络，他们可以和朋友保持联系。他们常常会列出他们的姓氏、生日、课外工作、学校俱乐部、爱好和其他个人信息。MySpace is an easy way to reach just about everyone. I dont have all the phone numbers of my acquaintances. But if I want to get in tough with one of them, I could just leave them a message on MySpace, said Abby Van Wassen. She is a 16-year-old student at Woodland Hills High of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.“我的空间是一种能联系到每个人的简单方法。我没有所有熟人的电话号码，但如果我想和其中的一个联系，我就可以在我的空间里给他们留个信息。” Abby Van Wassen说。她是宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡Woodland Hills 中学16岁的一个学生。Parents on the other hand are seriously concerned about the security problems of MySpace. 另一方面，父母非常担心“我的空间”的安全问题。Every time we hold a parents meeting, the first question is always about MySpace, said Kent Cates, who travels the country doing Internet safety seminars（研讨会）. The national Center for Missing and Exploited Children has received at least 288 MySpace-related complaints, according to Mary Beth Buchanan, a lawyer in Pittsburgh. “每次我们开家长会的时候第一个问题总是关于我的空间的。” Kent Cates说。他到全国各地召开网络安全的研讨会。据匹兹堡的一个律师Mary Beth Buchanan说，国家失踪与被剥削儿童中心至少接到了288个与“我的空间”相关的投诉。Your profile on MySpace shows all your personal information to anyone on the Web. And MySpace even lists this information by birthplace and age. Its like a free checklist for trouble-makers and it endangers children, Buchanan said.“你在我的空间里的简介把你所有的个人信息都透露给网上的任何人。我的空间甚至还含有出生地和年龄的信息。这就象是给麻烦制造者一个免费的清单，这样对孩子们来说是危险的。” Buchanan说。Passage 9One of our biggest social cripples is the fear of not measuring up. Perhaps you feel you wont impress others because they are more confident, successful, intelligent or attractive than you are. Such thinking is wrong-headed. The secret of doing well with others is accepting yourself.我们最大的社交无能之一就是害怕自己不符合标准。或许你觉得你不能给别人留下印象是因为他们比你更自信、更成功、更聪明或更有吸引力。这种想法是错误的。和别人相处好的秘密是要接受你自己。When I was a college student, I kept a journal filled with private memories. Some were painful memo