閱讀理解

　　What's your dream vacation? Watching wildlife in Kenya? Boating down the Amazon? Sunbathing in Malaysia? New chances are opening up all the time to visit the world．So we visit travel companies, compare prices, and pay our money．

　　We know what our vacation costs us．But do we know what it might cost someone else? It's true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income．Unfortunately, though, tourism often harms the local(本地的)people more than it helps them．

　　It might cost their homes and lands．In Myanmar, 5,200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas(佛塔)in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas．

　　Tourism might also cost the local people their jobs and dignity(尊嚴(yán))．Local workers often find only low-paying jobs in the tourist industry．And most of the money do not help the local economy(經(jīng)濟(jì))．Instead, money return to the tour operators in richer countries, When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven from their lands, some moved to poor places of the city．Others now make a little money selling things or acting for photos．

　　Problems like these were noticed more than 20 years ago．But now tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them．Tourists, too, are putting on the pressure．

　　The result is “ethical(合乎職業(yè)道德的)tourism”．Ethical tourism has people at its heart．New international agreements and rules can help protect the people's lands, homes, economies and cultures．The beginnings are small, though, and the problems are complex(復(fù)雜的)．

　　But take heart．The good news is that everyone, including us, can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit．Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn the money they should get．

　　They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotel, restaurants and guide services．They can share some money to help the local economy．And they can help the local people plan and manage tourism．

　　What can tourists do? First, we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local people．We can then make our choices and tell them why．And while we're abroad, we can：

　　Buy local foods and products．

　　Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price．

　　Ask before taking photographs of people．

　　They are not just part of the scenery!

　　Let's enjoy our vacation and make sure others do, too．

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　　Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water．To be human is to think．But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it．Thinking about thinking is the key to critical(批判性的)thinking．When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes(過程)．Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others．Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education．

　　The word “critical” here has a special meaning．It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong．The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen--beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning．

　　Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity．If you are interested in life and want to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker．If you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker．

　　Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning(推理)are processes of deep and careful consideration．They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today’s world：fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film．If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure(尺度)of intelligence(智慧), you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein．The first time Banesh Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein．Hoffman was too nervous to speak．But Einstein immediately made Hoffman feel comfortable by saying, “Please go slowly．I don’t understand things quickly．”

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　　Tom arrived at the bus station quite early for Paris bus．The bus for Paris would not leave until five to twelve．He saw a lot of people waiting in the station．Some were standing in line, others were walking around．There was a group of schoolgirls．Their teacher was trying to keep them in line．Tom looked around but there was no place for him to sit．

　　He walked into the station cafe．He looked up at the clock there．It was only twenty to twelve．He found a seat and sat down before a large mirror on the wall．Just then, Mike, one of Tom’s workmates, came in and sat with Tom．

　　“What time is your bus?” asked Mike．

　　“There’s plenty of time yet,” answered Tom．

　　“Well, I’ll get you some more tea then,” said Mike．

　　They talked while drinking．Then Tom looked at the clock again．“Oh! It’s going backward(倒行)!” he cried．“A few minutes ago it was twenty to twelve and now it’s half past eleven．”

　　“You’re looking at the clock in the mirror．” said Mike．Tom was so sad．The next bus was not to leave for another hour．Since then Tom has never liked mirrors．

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Tom is a very popular young man．He has many friends．He has got four invitations．Here are his replies．

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　　Our spiritual intelligence quotient, SQ(精神智商)helps us understand ourselves and live fuller, happier lives．

　　While we’re all born with SQ, most of us even don’t know that we have it．Luckily, you don’t have to sign up for classes to learn how to enhance(加強(qiáng))your SQ．Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding：

　　Sit Quietly．The step of developing SQ begins in solitude(獨(dú)處)and silence．To tune in to its whisper, you have to keep away from your busy, noisy, complicated life and make yourself do nothing at all．At home, for example, shut the door of your bedroom, take a few deep breaths and let them out very, very slowly．

　　Step Outside．For many people, nature makes their spirit free．Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset．Follow the flight of a bird; watch clouds floating overhead．

　　Find An Activity You Enjoy．It’s important to find a hobby that helps you tune in to your spirit．Garden, walk or jog, arrange flowers, listen to music that touches your soul．

　　Ask Questions Of Yourself．Some people use their thoughtful time to focus on scriptures(經(jīng)文)．Others ask open-ended(無確定答案的)questions, such as “What am I feeling? What are my choices?” But don’t expect an answer to arrive through　some super-natural form of e-mail．Later that day you’ll suddenly find yourself thinking about a problem from a perspective(角度)you never considered before．

　　Trust Your Spirit．While most of us rely on gut feelings(直覺)to warn us of danger, SQ usually nudges(漸漸推動)us, not away from, but toward some action that will lead to a greater good．

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　　America is a mobile society．Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon．They don’t feel hurt．If the same two people meet again, even years later, they pick up the friendship．This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand．Friendships between us develop more slowly but may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸)deeply into both families．

　　There is another difficult point for us to understand．Although Americans treat friends warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to them if it requires a great deal of time．But in China, we are usually generous with our time．We, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend．We may take a day off from our work to act as guides to our friends．It is opposite in America．Americans cannot manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans．They will probably expect the visitors to get themselves from the airport to the hotels．And they expect the visitors will phone them from there．Once the visitors arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real．

　　For Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to restaurants, except for business matters．Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life．So accept their hospitality(好客)at home and enjoy your visit in America!

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　　Because earthquakes happen without warning, it’s important to take steps now to prepare．Because you don’t know where you will be when an earthquake happens, prepare some supplies for your home, workplace, and car．

　　1．Water．

　　A person needs at least 1/2 gallon of water daily just for drinking．Store at least1 gallon of water per person per day and be prepared for a 72-hour period．It’s suggested that you buy bottled water．Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open it until you need to use it．Also, do check the “use by” date．

　　2．Food．

　　It’s always a practical idea to keep a supply of non-perishable(不易腐爛的)food on hand．Have an enough supply of canned food, dried milk, dried fruits, non-salted nuts and canned juices for at least 72 hours．

　　3．Flashlights and spare batteries．

　　Keep a flashlight beside your bed, at your place of work, and in your car．Do not use matches or candles after an earthquake until you are sure that no gas leaks．

　　Prepare a battery－powered radio and spare batteries．Most telephones will be out of order, so radios will be your best source of information．

　　4．Clothes．

　　If you live in a cold place, you must think about warmth．You might not have heat after an earthquake．Think about your clothing and bedding supplies．

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　　Look at the paper in the picture carefully．Is there anything different from your notebook paper? This kind of paper feels as soft as your notebook paper．It’s also easy to write on．But do you know, this kind of paper is made from stone?

　　As we know, stone is easy to get on the earth, so it’s cheap．And the stone paper is about 20％ to 30％ cheaper than ordinary paper．The stone paper causes little pollution and helps protect the environment, because it makes tree and water free．The following table shows what is needed to make one ton of stone paper and one ton of ordinary paper．

　　Now in Beijing, some students begin to use stone paper to do their homework．And during the two sessions(兩會)in 2011, stone paper was also used．

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　　Do you know what the White House is? Perhaps some of you do，while others don't．

　　The White House is a house in Washington．The president of the U．S．A．lives in it．It's really white．But do you know why the White House is white? The story happened in 1812．That year England was at war with America．The British army got to Washington and set the president's house on fire．In 1814，in order to hide the marks of the fire，the stone walls of the president's house were painted white and it has been the “White House” ever since．

Choose the best answer from A, B or C according to what you read

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　　Leopards(豹)live in many parts of the world, from Siberia to Africa．They have a very beautiful yellow skin with large black spots．They live for about 15 years and eat small mammals such as zebras, monkeys, and antelopes(羚羊)．They sleep for about 12 hours a day．Leopards are very solitary(獨(dú)居的)animals．They spend most of their time alone in trees, where they wait until a small animal passes．They jump on the animal and then drag it up in to the tree, where they eat it．

　　Like many animals, leopards are disappearing because people hunt them．They kill them for their beautiful coats．The Sinai leopard, for example, from Egypt, is probably extinct．