出自:西南财经大学 大学英语2
All matter is made up of molecules. The molecules do not remain in the same position. They are not all moving at the (1) speed. When the molecules in matter are very close together and are (2) in a certain order, the matter is called a solid. When the molecules are close together, but can freely move, the matter is called (3) . When the molecules are not close together, and can fly (4) , the matter is called a gas. The form of matter can be changed by the increases or (5) of its temperature. (6) , water is liquid. But it can be changed into a solid or a gas. In winter, the temperature (7) below o ℃. The water turns into ice. When the ice is (8) into a warm room, it will be changed back into water. When (9) , water will be changed into vapor. Solids, liquids, and gas can be changed from one to another. These (10) are called Super Morph.
An old woman suddenly went blind. She gave a doctor a lot of money if he could make her (1) again. “If you fail,” she said, “You will get (2) .” The doctor agreed.The doctor soon discovered (3) was wrong with her eyes, but he decided not to cure her right away, (4) each time he visited, he secretly took some of her things. When he had taken everything, he was going to cure her blindness and set a large bill. Now when the old woman could see again, she noticed that all her things had gone and she (5) to pay the bill, so the doctor took her to a judge. “ (6) the doctor says is true,” she said to the judge, “but I am not well (7) because I still (8) any of the things in my house.” The old woman (9) the case and the doctor went angry unhappily (10) getting his pay.
Jules Verne’s most famous book is “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea”. (A “league” is an old word (1) about three miles.) In those days submarines (潜水艇) had not been (2) , but he describes an underwater ship very like a modern submarine. The captain of the submarine, Called Captain Nemo, and his men have many strange adventures and find many strange things (3) the bottom of the ocean. He was a very good (4) . His characters often did surprising and sometimes impossible things, but they always seemed (5) real people.
In another book, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, Jules Verne creates Mr. Fogg, the hero, (6) made a bet that he would travel around the world in eighty days. Nowadays this may seem (7) to you, but in those days there were no planes or even cars. Mr. Fogg and his servant traveled in many different (8) , even on an elephant at on time! If you want to know their result, you should read the book.
In all his books Jules Verne used his scientific knowledge (9) his imagination in describing future inventions. (10) he was wrong, of course, but often the accuracy of his descriptions is very clever.
Japan is a small country with few natural resources. （1）this, Japanese productivity, the rate at which goods are produced,（2） more than eleven times in the past thirty years . Many people in the West wonder how the Japanese do it. The key（3）Japan’s success can be discovered by looking at some basic differences between Japanese and Western attitudes towards works.People in the west generally view work（4）a necessary evil— one must give up part of one’s freedom to earn the money needed to live. To the Japanese, however, work is the central interest of one’s life; it’s（5）that a Japanese establishes his identity.A Japanese business firm is like a family, When an employee joins a company, he expects to work for that company for the rest of his working life; （6）is anyone dismissed. Promotion is based on the seniority system, the length of employment（7）one rank in the company, Those at the bottom do not（8）chances for promotion because those at the top retire at a certain age（9）others may have their turn. In addition, the difference between the lowest and the highest salaries is much less than（10）in the West
Until 1983, Tillson Lake had been a lovely weekend and vacation place for many families. Then everything changed. During the Fourth of July weekend, residents woke up one morning to find that the lake had disappeared.Some people didn.t believe what they were seeing. They looked again, but to their amazement they found they had been right the first time. The lake was simply no longer there. In its place was a muddy crater（坑）, 30 feet deep. It was as if the lake had been a giant bathtub（浴盆）and someone had pulled the plug. The lake.s owner, Joseph Unanue, did indeed pull the plug. That.s exactly what happened. The dam（水坝） that held back the water to form the lake was falling apart, so government officials ordered him to repair it. They issued him a permit to lower the dam level "five feet or more." He did much more. Mr. Unanue found repairs to the dam would cost $100,000. He didn.t want to spend that much, so he opened the dam and lowered the water level until the lake was completely drained. People living above the dam ended up with no lake. People living below the dam ended up with tons of mud and lots of dead fish. Everyone involved was angry with Mr. Unanue. Area residents believe Mr. Unanue acted out of spite（恶意）. They say he wanted to get back at them because the town wouldn.t let him develop an amusement park on the lakeshore. When he couldn.t build his park, he just went away and took his lake with him.
Dieting to lose weight has become very popular in recent years. People have become more health conscious and try to take better care of their bodies by eating more nutritiously and exercising more regularly to lose any unnecessary fat that they may have.Not only are people being more careful about what they eat, they are also concerned with how they eat and how their meals are prepared. People are taking more time for each meal. Many avoid the so-called "plastic" fast-food hamburgers and choose to eat a salad or a sandwich of more healthful ingredients in a quiet restaurant with a more leisurely at mo-sphere. At home, they also try to take enough time to eat a relaxed dinner without phone or TV interruptions. While dieting may be viewed as beneficial, it has also become a serious problem for Americans, particularly for young women. Dieting for them has actually become a psychological addiction. They eat so little that they can lose as much as fifty percent of their total body weight, and although they look like skeletons, they still insist that they are fat. The current wave of exercising, dieting and the problems produced have caused many organizations to begin educating the public. Many schools, hospitals, health organizations, news-papers and magazines, for example, are offering classes, printing booklet articles, etc. to inform the public of the way to exercise and diet, of the dangers of dieting too rapidly, and of the places people can go for medical help if they find themselves on the road to "diet addiction".
Because smoking is a form of addiction, 80 percent of smokers who quit usually experience some withdrawal symptoms. These may include headaches, light-headedness, and chest pains. Psychological symptoms, such as anxiety, short-term depression, and inability to concentrate, may also appear. The main psychological symptom is increased irritability. People become so irritable, in fact, that they say they feel “like killing somebody.” Yet there is no evidence that quitting smoking leads to physical violence.Some people seem to lose all their energy and drive, wanting only to sleep. Others react in exactly the opposite way, becoming so over-energized they can.t find enough activity to burn off their excess energy. For instance, one woman said she cleaned out all her closets completely and was ready to go next door to start on her neighbor.s. Both these extremes, however, eventually level off. The symptoms may be intense for two or three days, but within 10 to 14 days after quitting, most subside. The truth is that after people quit smoking, they have more energy, they generally will need less sleep, and feel better about themselves. Quitting smoking not only extends the ex-smoker.s life, but adds new happiness and meaning to one.s current life. Most smokers state that immediately after they quit smoking, they start noticing dramatic differences in their overall health and vitality. Quitting is beneficial at any age, no matter how long a person has been smoking. The death rate of an ex-smoker decreases after quitting. If the patient quits before a serious disease has developed, his/her body may eventually be able to restore itself almost completely.
In 1926, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist. So, he invented a very simple camerA.He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden. That was the first photo. The next important date in the history of photography was in 1837.That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room. He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his picture you could see everything clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called a Daguerreotype(银版照相).Soon other people began to use Daguerre’s way. Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the worlD.People took pictures of famous buildings, cities and mountains. In about 1840, photography was developeD.Then photographers could take picture of people and moving things. That was not simple. The photographers had to carry a lot of film and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the US worked so harD.Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many pictures of great people. The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike(栩栩如生的).Photography also became one kind of art by the end of the 19th century. Some photos were not just copies of the real worlD.They showed feelings, like other kinds of art.
On Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn’t have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow. If he didn’t, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn’t lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could — he huddled (蜷缩) in his cave and slept.The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn’t find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out again to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls’ survival show Man vs. Wild. That’s where he learned the tips that saved his life. In each episode (一期节目) of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.When Grylls heard about Nicholas’ amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.
Some people argue that the pressure on international sportsmen and sportswomen kills the essence (真谛) of sport —the pursuit of personal excellence. Children kick a football around for fun. When they get older and play for local school teams, they become competitive but they still enjoy playing. The individual representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself, he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for entire nation’s hopes, dreams and reputation.A good example is the football Word Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. Winning the World Cup is perhaps the summit of international sporting success. Mention Argentina (阿根廷) to someone and the chances are that he’ll think of football. In a sense, winning the World Cup put Argentina on the map. Sports fans and supporters get quite unreasonable about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won in 1966. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses, and spent all their money traveling to Argentina, where the finals were played. So, am I arguing that international competition kills the idea of sport? Certainly not! Do the Argentineans really believe that because eleven of their men proved the most skillful at football, their nation is in every way better than all others? Not really, But it’s nice to know that you won and that in one way at least your country is the best.