閱讀理解

　　Different weather makes people feel different．It influences health, intelligence(智力)and feelings．In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States．People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month．In the northeast and the middle west, it is very hot sometimes and very cold sometimes．People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March．

　　The weather can also influence intelligence．For example, in a 1983 study by scientists showed that the IQ of a group of students was very high when a very strong wind came, but after the strong wind, their IQ was 10％ lower．The wind can help people have more intelligence．Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower．Students in many schools of the United States often do worse on exams in the hot months of the year(July and August)．

　　Weather also has a strong influence on people’s feelings．Winter may be a bad time for thin people．They usually feel cold these months．They might feel unhappy during cold weather．But big people may have a hard time in hot summer．At about 18℃, people become stronger．

　　Low air pressure(氣壓)may make people forgetful．People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low-pressure days．There is“good weather”for work and health．People feel best at a temperature of about 18℃．

　　Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today?It may be the weather’s fault．

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　　As young students, you have many dreams．These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize; they can also be small, such as becoming one of the best students in your class．

　　Once you find a dream, what do you do with it?Do you ever try to make your dream real?

　　Andrew Matthews, an Australian writer, tells us that making your dreams real is life’s biggest challenge．You may think you’re not very good at some school subjects, or that it’s impossible for you to become a writer．Those kinds of ideas stop you from realizing your dream．

　　In fact, everyone can realize his dream．The first thing you must do is to remember what your dream is．Don’t let it leave your heart．Keep telling yourself what you want every day and then your dream will come true faster．You should know that a big dream is, in fact, made up of many small dreams．

　　You must also never give up your dream．There will be difficulties on the road to your dreams．But the biggest difficulty comes from yourself．You need to decide what is the most important．Studying instead of watching TV will help you to get better exam results, while saving five yuan instead of buying an ice cream means you can buy a new book．

　　As you get closer to your dream, it may change a little．This is good as you have the chance to learn something more useful and find new hobbies．

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　　Nick is twenty-three and works in a middle school．Two and a half years ago he was ill in hospital and there he knew a beautiful nurse named Rita．The girl took good care of him and he made friends with her．They loved each other．About six months later they married．

　　Nick likes reading．When he comes home, he always reads some newspaper or books．Rita begins to cook in the kitchen．And when the meat is roasted(烤), she always tells her husband to cut it in two．Then they begin to have supper together．After supper they go out for a walk, or they go to the cinema．And they enjoy themselves．

　　One day Nick planted trees with his students．They climbed up a mountain and worked hard．When he got home , he felt hungry．His wife roasted a piece of chicken that evening and told him to cut it．This time he chose a bigger piece of chicken for himself and gave her the smaller one．

　　“I remember, dear,”Rita said with a smile．“When we married, you always gave me the bigger part．Why do you give me the smaller one now?”

　　Nick felt shy and didn’t know what to say．He thought for a while and said,“You cook better now than before．”

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　　A few minutes ago, walking back from lunch, I started to cross the street when I heard the sound of a coin dropping．It wasn’t much but, as I turned, my eyes caught the heads of several other people turning too．A woman had dropped what seemed to be a dime(十美分硬幣)．

　　The sound of a coin dropping on the street catches everybody’s attention．Whatever the coin is, no one ignores(忽視)the sound of it．It got me thinking about sounds again．

　　There are so many sounds that catch the most attention．People in New York City seldom turn to look when they hear the siren(警報(bào))of a police car or an ambulance(救護(hù)車)．

　　When I’m in New York, I’m a New Yorker．I don’t turn either．I hardly hear a siren there．

　　At home in my little town in Connecticut, it’s different．The faraway high sound of a police car, an ambulance or a fire siren brings me to my feet if I’m sitting and brings me to the window if I’m in bed．

　　It’s the quietest sounds that catch our attention most easily, not the loudest．In the middle of the night, I can hear water dropping a hundred yards away through three closed doors．I’ve been hearing little creaking(吱嘎)noises and sounds in the middle of the night for twenty-five years in our house．Why do I never hear those sounds in the daytime?

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　　As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture．We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used．Let’s look at the words about animals and plants．Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example,“a homeless dog”,“a mad dog”,“a running dog”and“a dog catching a mouse”, have negative(消極的)meanings．But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans．In English, people use the dog to describe positive(積極的)actions．For example,“you are a lucky dog”means you are a lucky person．And“every dog has its day”means each person has good luck sometimes．To describe a person’s serious illness, they say“sick as a dog”．The word“dog-tired”means very tired．However, Chinese love cats very much．But in western culture,“cat”is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(冷酷的)．There are many other examples of how“cat”is used differently as well．

　　The rose is regarded as a symbol(象征)of love in both China and some western countries．People think the rose stands for(代表)love, peace(和平), courage and friendship．And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries．

　　The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures．We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used．

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　　A wise(有智慧的)woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a small river．The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food．The hungry traveller saw the precious stone in the wise woman’s bag, admired(羨慕)it, and asked the wise woman to give it to him．The wise woman did so happily．

　　The traveller left, excited with his good luck．He knew the stone was worth(值……)enough for him to live on for his whole life．

　　But a few days later he came back, searching for the wise woman．When he found her, he returned the stone and said,“I have been thinking．I know how valuable(有價(jià)值的)this stone is, but I give it back to you and hope that you can give me something much more precious．If you can, give me what you have within(在……里面)you that made you give me the stone．”

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　　Summer School trips are planned every Wednesday afternoon．Some may last to the evening when we will go on a theatre trip．Weekends are planned for all-day trips and activities．All the trips are designed(設(shè)計(jì))to introduce students to Scotland’s culture, exciting cities and beautiful scenery(風(fēng)景), while giving them a fun-filled break from timetabled classes．

　　On Wednesdays students can choose from：

　　●Glamis Castle(城堡)：Visit childhood home of Queen Elizabeth and one of Scotland’s most beautiful castles．

　　●Royal(皇家)research ship Discovery：Visit Captain Scott’s famous research ship Discovery．

　　●Elie Watersports：Go boating and sailing．

　　Saturday trips：

　　●Edinburgh：Visit Scotland’s beautiful capital．Discover Edinburgh Castle, walk along Princes Street, home to some of Edinburgh’s best shops, discover the city’s past．

　　●Glasgow：Experience Scotland’s city of culture and buildings, internationally famous for its Victorian buildings and wonderful museums．Visit Scotland’s best-loved museum．

　　Discover and experience Scotland：the best small country in the world．You will not be disappointed(失望)．

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　　A young lady was on holiday in Brighton．One day, she went into a bank to get some money．It had been sent there for her from the town where she lived．

　　The clerk(職員)in the Brighton bank did not know her, so he said,“What proof(證明)have you got that you are really the lady who should get this money?”

　　The young lady looked worried for a few moments and said,“I don’t think I’ve brought any proof with me,”but then she suddenly looked happy again．She opened her bag, took a photo of herself out of it and showed it to the clerk．“Here’s something,”she said．

　　The clerk looked at the photo carefully and then looked at the young lady．“Yes, that’s you,”he said, and paid the money to her without any more trouble．

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閱讀理解

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閱讀理解

　　There are many advantages of becoming a professional musician．The biggest advantage is being able to do something you love．You will have the chance to travel to many different places and meet a lot of different people．That will open up your eyes．

　　However, there are also disadvantages of being a professional musician．One of the biggest disadvantages for most musicians is that they don't always have enough money．Most of the time, you will be looking for jobs．Sometimes you won't be able to find a good job．Another disadvantage is the place you live in．If you want to be a musician, you usually have to move to an area that has a lot of jobs, such as New York City．The cost of living in these areas is usually very high．The third disadvantage is that you can't have a stable family life．Different jobs will take a musician to different places, so most musicians are unable to have a regular family．

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