阅读理解

B

Inspiring young minds!

    TOKNOW Magazine is a big hit in the world of children's publishing, bringing a unique combination of challenging ideas and good fun to young fans every month.

    Sounds too good to be true?

    Take a look online—evidence shows that thousands of teachers and parents know a good thing when they see it and recommend TOKNOW to their friends.

    Happy Birthday All Year!

    What could be more fun than a gift that keeps coming through the letterbox every month? The first magazine with your gift message will arrive in time for the special day.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW

    □Annual Subscription

    Europe £55    Rest of World £65

    □Annual Subscription with Gift Pack

    Includes a Mammoth Map, a passport Puzzle Booklet, and Subscription

    Europe £60    Rest of World £70

    Refund Policy—the subscription can be cancelled within 28 days and you can get your money back.

    Before going outside in the morning, many of us check a window thermometer (温度计) for the temperature. This helps us decide what to wear.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. We want our food to be a certain coldness in the refrigerator. We want it a certain hotness in the oven. If we don't feel well, we use a thermometer to see if we have a fever. We keep our rooms a certain warmth in the winter and a certain coolness in the summer.

    Not all the thermometers use the same system to measure temperature. We use a system called the Fahrenheit scale. But most other countries use the Centigrade scale. Both systems use the freezing and boiling points of water as their guide. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    The most common kind of thermometer is made with mercury inside a clear glass tube. As mercury (or any other liquid) becomes hot, it expands. As it gets colder, it contracts. That is why on hot days the mercury line is high in the glass tube. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    First, take a clear glass juice bottle that has a cap; fill the bottle with colored water. Tap a hole in the center of the cap using a hammer and thick nail. Put the cap on the jar. Then stick a plastic straw through the nail hole.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Finally, place a white card on the outside of the bottle and behind the straw. Now you can see the water lever easily.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. As the temperature goes down, the water will contract, and the lever in the straw will come down. Perhaps you will want to keep a record of the water lever in the straw each morning for a week.

    Encouraging pupils to keep noise to a minimum should be a valuable part of all children's education, according to a new research.

    Dr. Helen Lees, from Stirling University's school of education, says that “enforced (强制的) silence” is seen as a punishment and often acts to suppress children's natural ability. But she says that teaching children about the benefits of “enforced silence” — deliberate stillness that gives them the opportunity to focus and reflect in a stress-free environment — can have a significant effect on pupils' concentration and behaviour.

    It is the latest in a string of researches to establish a link between the classroom environment and pupils' academic ability.

    A study almost a decade ago in London found that children's exam results were cut by as much as a third if they taught in noisy classrooms. Teaching unions have also called for a     limit of 26℃ to be put on classroom temperatures because teachers and pupils struggle to work in hot conditions and some educationalists claim that too much clutter(杂乱的东西) on classroom walls can prevent children from concentrating.

    Dr. Lees said: “When we take some research on school settings and put it all together, what we see is that education without silence does not make much sense. In areas of better learning outcomes, better self-confidence and well-being measures, enforced silence in a person's life and an individual's education is shown throughout the relevant research to be a benefit.”

    Dozens of schools across Britain already introduce periods of “reflective silence” into the timetable.

    Kevin Hogston, head of Sheringdale Primary, south London, has just introduced a minute's silence at the start of twice-weekly meetings in which children are taught breathing techniques and encouraged to reflect. The school plans to introduce it into classrooms every day.

    Our news is constantly filled with the reality of death and dying. And each of us, if we live long enough, experiences the loss of persons we loved. Children ages eight through ten were asked what they thought about death,and these are some of their answers:

    “When you die,God takes care of you like your mother did. When you were alive,only God doesn't yell at you all the time.''(Beth,9)

    “When you die,they bury you in the ground and your soul goes to heaven,but your body can't go to heaven because it's too crowded there already.” (Jimmy, 8)

    “Only the good people go to heaven. The other people go where it's hot all the time like in Florida. ” (Judy,9)

    “Doctors help you so you won't die until you pay their bills.”(Stephanie,9)

    I've observed that the loss of a loved one can be one of the most difficult things we humans can face. I've known friends of sick and dying people to sit by a bedside or in a hospital room for hours,even days, at a time. I've seen food in homes of people who are dying overflow from kitchen to dining room—food brought by comforting friends from church and con cerned neighbours. And I've observed friends just listen for as long as it takes.

    When U.S. Congressman Sam Rayburn (1882—1961) discovered that he was ill,he announced to the House of Representatives he was going home to Texas for medical tests. Some wondered why he did not stay in Washington where there were excellent medical facilities. His answer was a beautiful tribute (颂词) to friendship:"Bonham is a place where people know it when you're sick,and where they care when you die. ”

    No one wants to go through difficult times alone. So Rayburn traded the best of medical technology for the closeness of loving friends. He knew that good friends are good medicine. Often the best.

    As my dad unwrapped（打开）the new bicycle helmet（头盔）that I got him for his birthday, I realized that a number of people ride their bicycles every day without the protection of a helmet.

      Due to cold winters across the country, riding has become increasingly dangerous as many roads have holes and are torn-up（磨损的）. Not everyone realizes that there are laws requiring the wearing of helmets in many places.

    Where I live, there has been a law in place since October 1, 1992 stating that cyclists of all ages are required to wear helmets. Unfortunately, accidents can happen to the best of riders. My dad has been a cyclist for many years, and he often rides around my county and to Rockland Lake State Park.

    One afternoon, as he was just entering the park, he lost control of his bicycle and flew off and landed on a nearby patch of grass, breaking his helmet into pieces and losing consciousness（知觉）. When he was just awakening, a lovely couple found him and brought him back to our house, where he attempted to recall the events leading up to his fall. Later that day, a CAT scan showed that he had a concussion (脑震荡). That evening, while my dad was showing me the pieces of his broken helmet, we both came to a shocking realization.

    If he had not worn his helmet, he probably would have cracked his skull and perhaps died. Today, when my dad and I go out cycling, the wearing of our helmets is not even a question. Regardless of age, everyone should wear a helmet whenever they get on a bicycle.

    The idea of progress started to flower in the 17th century. At that time, many wise thinkers believed that man liberated（解放） by reason would rise to greater heights of achievement. The many expressions of human nature would be the engines of progress: language, business, science, and moral sensibility （道德感）. Unfortunately, most of those engines have failed to bring the desired human progress.

    The modern age has belonged to material progress and its main source has been science. Science gives people huge power to change the world. But can people be trusted to use it always for good? Think of biotechnology and information technology. And it is not just that scientific progress does not deliver the emotional good. People also fear that mankind is failing to manage science properly. The forests are disappearing; the ice is melting; privacy is leaking; life is becoming a depressing march in an ugly world.

    The point is not that science is harmful, but that scientific progress needs to be mapped tidily onto human progress. That relies on moral sensibility in its widest sense. This liberal force offers hope for a better future. The very idea of moral sensibility probably sounds out-of-date. Bur researchers find that people desire a sense of moral purpose which would give life dignity （尊严）. People want to determine how the world works, not always to be determined by it. Moral sensibility is why people will suffer from their beliefs, and why acts of noble self﹣sacrifice are so powerful.

    It is admitted that our moral ideals will never be realized completely. But sometimes, however imperfectly, we can make progress. Human dignity requires the love of ideals for their own sake, but nothing requires that the love be returned.

Human progress is neither guaranteed nor hopeless. Instead, it is up to us.