閱讀理解

　　Accepting an award may seem like a simple task, but each year the Academy Awards(奧斯卡獎(jiǎng))proves there may be more to it than you might think．Oscar history has seen its fair share of memorable thank-you moments, good and bad．So the question remains：what makes a great acceptance speech? Here are three tips to keep in mind for your next shining moment：

　　1．Be thankful and simple．Make sure you thank the important people who helped you reach your goal．Don’t be too arrogant or full of yourself but don’t be so modest(謙遜的)that the audience(觀眾)thinks you are looking down upon the honor．It’s only natural to be a little excited, so use this to get on well with the audience．At this year’s Oscars, The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper told the story of how he only came to make the movie thanks to the help of his Australian mother, who was in the audience．

　　He showed grace and humility(謙卑)when he mentioned her：“So, with this tonight, I honor you and the key point of the story is, listen to your mother．”

　　2．Keep it short．Say as much as you can in as few words as possible．There’s no need to thank every single person you know．As Oscar producer Bruce Cohen warned people at the annual nominees luncheon(年度提名人午宴)before this year’s show, “Nothing is more dangerous than a winner reading a list of names．” Make each sentence meaningful and don’t get too carried away．

　　3．Finally, make the best use of your moment．Don’t be afraid to have a little fun and say something unforgettable Cleverness and humor will help your speech stand out in a good way and keep everyone entertained．Don’t make rude and unfit jokes, especially about others．Such jokes may get everyone talking, but you may be the only one laughing in the end．

　　This time, Melissa Leo’s use of the dirty word during her acceptance speech was the first in Oscar history．She said it before covering her mouth：“I really don’t mean to hurt the audience’s feelings．”

閱讀理解

　　We were on our tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got pulled over．A middle-aged policeman came up to the car and was really wanted to give us some trouble at first．Looking at us, he said, “You were speeding．Where are you going in such a hurry?” Our guitarist(吉他手), Tim, told him that we were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show．Then his way towards us totally changed．He asked, “Oh, so you boys are in a music group?” We told him that we were．

　　He then asked all the usual band questions about the type of the music we played, and how long we had been at it．Suddenly, he stopped and said, ” Tim, you want to get out of this ticket, don’t you?” Tim said, “Yes．” So the officer asked him to step out of the car．The rest of us, inside of the car, didn’t know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim．

　　Next thing we knew, the policeman was putting Tim in the back of the police car that he had parked in front of us．With that, he threw the car into reverse(倒車), stopping a few feet off our car．Now we suddenly felt nervous．We didn’t know if we were all going to prison, or if the policeman was going to sell Tim on the black market or something．All of a sudden, the policeman’s voice came over his loudspeaker．He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90．” Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver．The policeman enjoyed the performance(演出), and set us on our way without a ticket．

閱讀理解

　　Giraffes are the tallest animals of all．They have long legs and long necks．Father giraffes can grow to nearly five and a half meters tall, and a mother giraffe to nearly five meters tall．

　　Giraffe skin is blotched(皮膚上的斑)in patterns(樣式)of browns and yellows．No two have the same pattern．

　　They live in parts of Africa．Their necks are long so they can reach high into trees to eat the leaves．Leaves give giraffes most of the water they need so that they do not often have to drink water．A giraffe only drinks about once a day, Giraffes' long legs mean they take big steps when they walk or run．One step can be about 5 meters long．They can run very fast, A giraffe heart is the biggest of any animal's．Although giraffes are peaceful animals, they will protect themselves from lions．

閱讀理解

閱讀理解

　　Many strong and out-of-control emotions are recognized as an illness．People who are always very sad have depression(抑郁癥); those who worry a lot have anxiety．

　　But what about anger problems? Anger is largely viewed as a secondary emotion – one caused by other emotions．People are thought to be angry because they are sad, anxious or stressed．In the past, many doctors didn’t accept the idea that anger could be a problem all on its own．

　　Today, though, a growing number of mental health experts think that anger is a serious problem that needs its own treatment．

　　How to tell the difference between “normal” anger and “anger problem” is difficult．After all, everyone gets really mad from time to time．Experts point out a few ways．

　　Disordered anger, as it is sometimes called, tends to be of greater intensity(強(qiáng)度)．It takes very little to set off a person with an anger problem, and their responses(反應(yīng))are very strong．An example：While most people would get upset if a driver cut them off, someone with disordered anger might try to chase down the car and force it off the road．

　　And in cases of disordered anger, the person gets angry more frequently and his/her anger lasts longer．For most people, angry feelings disappear quickly．But people with anger problems often stay angry for days, weeks or even years; their feelings of anger don’t disappear over time．

　　Consequences are also important to consider：Disordered anger often damages people’s lives．“It interferes(干擾)with people’s relationships and their jobs,” says Raymond Chip Tafrate, a US psychologist．“Even their health is affected．”

　　Anger clearly increases the risk of certain health problems, as many studies have shown．“When a person is angry, their heart beats faster and their blood pressure goes up,” says Howard Kassinove, a professor at Hofstra University in New York．Over time, these changes take their toll on the body, he adds．

　　Experts suggest that people with an anger problem take anger-management programs．The programs teach people to control their responses to stressful situations through the use of relaxation techniques．The programs sometimes include life-skills training as well：increasing someone’s level of competence(競(jìng)爭(zhēng))– whether on the job or as a parent or partner – helps bring down stress and cut angry feelings．

閱讀理解

　　Never go into a supermarket hungry! This is a good piece of advice．If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to．Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn’t enough for shoppers these days．Modern shoppers need an education in how and how not to buy things at the store．First, you check the weekly newspaper ads．Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things．In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual! Second, never let “New and Improved!” or “All Natural” on the front of a package influence you．Instead, read the list of contents on the back．Third，compare prices：that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands(品牌)and different sizes of the same brand．

　　Another suggestion for shoppers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands．Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages．These products are cheaper because producers don’t spend much money on packing or advertising．However, they are still of high quality．In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands that are not famous．Shopping in discount clothing stores can help you save a lot of money．Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores．

　　Wise shoppers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials(商業(yè)廣告)，but they do this with one advantage：knowledge of the psychology behind the ads．In other words, will-informed shoppers watch for information and check for misinformation．They ask themselves questions：Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page?Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image?With the answers to these questions, shoppers can make a wise choice．

閱讀理解

　　It is said that another acre of the world’s forest will be destroyed forever．Why is this happening? There are two reasons－land and wood．In many countries the trees have been cut down because the land was needed for animals or crops．In other parts of the world the trees are cut down because their wood is wanted．This wood is used by local people for firewood or it is used for building．But many people don’t know that in most places the trees won’t be replaced．The soil in the forests is very thin, but it is protected by the trees．When the trees are cut down, the soil is washed away by the rain or blown away by the wind．Soon nothing can be grown on it．The forest becomes a desert．Then more land will be needed, and more trees will be cut down．

When the forest is destroyed, it isn’t only the trees that are lost－the homes of millions of animals and plants are destroyed, too．All kinds of animals are in danger－fish，reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, and shellfish － as well as thousands of plants．

　　Who is to blame for this? The answer is simple：all of us．There are just too many people in the world．The world’s population is now six billion．Of course, it’s very easy to blame the local people．We don’t cut down trees．They do．But the products are bought by people like you and me－wood houses, beds, tables, chairs, paper… Why are the forests being destroyed? Just look around．You are probably using it right now．

閱讀理解

Here is the timetable of science activities in the Children’s Palace．

閱讀理解

　　Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but many people don’t have it．Common reasons for not eating breakfast include shortage of time, not feeling hungry, traditional dislike for breakfast, and dieting(節(jié)食)．

　　Breakfast simply means “break the fast”．You eat nothing for at least 6 to 12 hours each night．Even though you have been sleeping, you have still been burning energy．And in the morning your body needs energy for the day’s work ahead．

　　A good breakfast should provide up to 1/3 of your total calories(卡路里)that your body needs for the day．Generally speaking, we eat 400 less calories for breakfast than for dinner．If breakfast doesn’t interest you in the morning, try eating a lighter dinner earlier in the evening or save half your dinner for breakfast in the morning．

　　If you still aren’t hungry in the morning, start with something small like juice or bread or have nutritious(有營(yíng)養(yǎng)的)mid-morning snack later when you are hungry．

　　So, you say you’re on a diet．Some people are afraid that eating breakfast will make them hungrier during the day and they will eat more．It is true that eating breakfast is likely to make you feel hungry throughout the day．That’s because your body is working correctly．Although you may feel as if you are eating more all day long, in fact you’re probably not．

　　Not eating breakfast may cause you to overeat, because a fall in blood sugar often makes you feel hungry later．To make things worse, since your body is in a slowed state, it will not be able to burn those extra calories well．If you feed your body healthy snacks and meals throughout the day, you may not become hungry so easily and eat too much when you have meals．

　　Since breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, your choice is important．The best breakfast foods are fruits, juice, lean meat, and grain products such as bread, rice, noodles and cereals．

閱讀理解

　　It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night．The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful：blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea．

　　My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him．I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same．I’m so glad I did．

　　Being on the boat, we found there was something meters away．When moving nearer, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby．We couldn’t believe it－there aren’t any whales along the coast．The storm must have driven them there, where the sea water was so dirty that nothing could live in it．

　　The little baby whale－actually as big as our boat－was stuck and could not move．The mother went down into the water and came up suddenly, making big waves．“She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side, ” my father said．At this point, my father moved our boat to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently．With our several gentle pushes the baby whale turned over and disappeared under water．Then it swam up right beside its mum．They made great efforts to swim towards the deep sea but failed and started heading in the wrong direction．We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them to the sea．Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe－and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes．Once they hit their first part of clean water from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the deep sea．

　　In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half．That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day．Today, I still look back to that golden day at sea．