Food sometimes gets poisoned with harmful things. A person who eats such food can get an illness called food poisoning. Food poisoning is usually not serious, but some types are deadly. The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within hours of eating the poisoned food. Fever is one of the most common symptoms.

Certain microorganisms(微生物)cause most types of food poisoning. Bacteria and other microorganisms can poison eggs, meat, vegetables, and many other foods. After entering the body, these tiny living things release(释放)poisons that make people sick.

Some chemicals can also cause food poisoning. They are often added to food while it is being grown, processed, or prepared. For example, many farmers spray chemicals on crops to kill weeds and insects. Some people may have a bad reaction to those chemicals when they eat the crops.

Some plants and animals contain natural poisons that are harmful to people. These include certain kinds of seafood, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and mushrooms.

When people handle food properly, the risk of food poisoning is very small. Microorganisms multiply rapidly in dirty places and in warm temperatures. This means that people should never touch food with dirty hands or put food on unwashed surfaces. Food should be kept in a refrigerator to stop microorganisms from growing. Meat needs to be cooked thoroughly to kill any dangerous microorganisms. People should also wash food covered with chemicals before eating it. Finally, people should not eat wild mushrooms or other foods that grow in the wild. Some of these foods may contain natural materials that are poisonous to humans. In addition, some types of fish can be poisonous.

Most people recover from food poisoning after a few days of resting and drinking extra water. If people eat natural poisons, they must go to the hospital right away to have their stomachs emptied.

Venice, one of the cities in Italy, was founded in A.D.811 by the people of Malamocco, fleeing（逃跑）from the Franks. It was said that they were guided by pigeons carrying little crosses, and settled where now Venice lies.

Venice is built on 117 islands. It has 150 canals and 400 bridges. The narrow streets, with their historic names, are covered with stones, but have no footpaths. They are dotted with flowershop signs and lanterns. Shops and palaces stand by side. The brick bridges are high enough to allow boats to pass freely under them.

The center of public life is St. Mark’s Square where tourists and citizens sit in the famous Florian and Quadri cafes to listen to music, enjoying themselves. The Quadri is more popular but the Florian, founded in 1720, is the best-known cafe because it has received such great persons as Byron (an English poet) and Goethe (a German poet).

Unfortunately the special position of Venice is threatening（威胁）its own existence. The terrain（地势）on which it is built began to sink while the level of the surrounding waters is constantly rising. However, many measures have already been taken to prevent the city from sinking.

In the second paragraph, the author _______.

Which of the following shows the right relationship?（○=Italy; △=Venice; □=St. Mark’s Square）

Why is the Florian the famous cafe? Because _________.

From the article we can see that _______.

  The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the Americans from being discovered by the people of Europe.

       Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it. One idea was that it reached out to “the edge of the world.” Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth. Another idea was that at the equator（赤道）the ocean would be boiling hot.

       The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200km) wide.

       Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual. For so large an ocean it has very few islands. Also, it is the world’s saltiest ocean.

       There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers. It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. On the average the water is a little more than two miles (3.2km) deep, but in places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This “deep” measures 30,246 feet-almost six miles (9.6km).

       One of the longest mountain ranges of the world rises from the floor of the Atlantic. This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean. The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands.

       Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. In the days of sailing vessels（船）the crew were afraid they would be becalmed（停滞不前）here. Sometimes they were.

       Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs（冰山）float down from the Far North across the paths of ships.

       We now have such fast ways of traveling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from south America to Africa in four!

Teens and younger children are reading a lot less for fun, according to a Common Sense Media report published Monday.

While the decline over the past decade is steep for teen readers, some data in the report shows that reading remains a big part of many children’s lives, and indicates how parents might help encourage more reading.

According to the report’s key findings, “the proportion (比例) who say they ‘hardly ever’ read for fun has gone from 8 percent of 13-year-olds and 9 percent of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22 percent and 27 percent respectively today.”

The report data shows that pleasure reading levels for younger children, ages 2-8, remain largely the same. But the amount of time spent in reading each session has declined, from closer to an hour or more to closer to a half hour per session.

When it comes to technology and reading, the report does little to counsel (建议) parents looking for data about the effect of e-readers and tablets on reading. It does point out that many parents still limit electronic reading, mainly due to concerns about increased screen time.

The most hopeful data shared in the report shows clear evidence of parents serving as examples and important guides for their kids when it comes to reading. Data shows that kids and teens who do read frequently, compared to infrequent readers, have more books in the home, more books purchased for them, parents who read more often, and parents who set aside time for them to read.

As the end of school approaches, and school vacation reading lists loom (逼近) ahead, parents might take this chance to step in and make their own summer reading list and plan a family trip to the library or bookstore.

The Masai are a people who are constantly trying to preserve their own ways in an increasingly modem world. They live along the border of Kenya and Tanzania, moving their homes from time to time to follow their cattle, the source of their living.

The Masai have become known as a people of fighters, protecting their cattle against lions and other enemies. Only men are fighters. They wear long hair, which is colored red with clay. They can have more than one wife. Women build and take care of the home, fixing food and making clothing. Women and children keep their heads shaved. Women can also become elders, once they have given birth to four healthy children.

The Masai depend on their cattle for many parts of their life. They drink cow's milk and blood as a sacred drink. They use the cows' waste to cover and seal their homes. They don't kill their cattle for food, but if a cow is killed, then the horns (角) are used for containers; the hides are used to make shoes, clothing, ropes and bed coverings; and the bones are made into decorations.

The more cattle a man owns, the richer he is considered to be. A man who owns 50 or fewer cattle is considered poor. A "rich" man has a thousand or more. The cattle, though owned by the man, are considered to belong to the man's entire family. The family names the cattle and can recognize each animal's unique voice.

Masai houses are made from sticks and grass, but they are meant to be temporary, since the move of their cattle means that the Masai move as well.

Cities usually have a good reason for being where they are, like a nearby port or river. People settle in these places because they are easy to get to and naturally suited to communications and trade. New York City, for example, is near a large harbour at the mouth of the Hudson River. Over 300 years its population grew gradually from 800 people to 8 million. But not all cities develop slowly over a long period of time. Boom towns grow from nothing almost overnight. In 1896, Dawson, Canada, was unmapped wilderness(荒野). But gold was discovered there in 1897, and two years later, it was one of the largest cities in the West, with a population of 30,000.

Dawson did not have any of the natural conveniences of cities like London or Paris. People went there for gold. They travelled over snow-covered mountains and sailed hundreds of miles up icy rivers. The path to Dawson was covered with thirty feet of wet snow that could fall without warming. An avalanche(雪崩) once closed the path, killing 63 people. For many who made it to Dawson, however, the rewards were worth the difficult trip. Of the first 20,000 people who dug for gold, 4,000 got rich. About 100 of these stayed rich men for the rest of their lives.

But no matter how rich they were, Dawson was never comfortable. Necessities like food and wood were very expensive. But soon, the gold that Dawson depended on had all been found. The city was crowded with disappointed people with no interest in settling down, and when they heard there were new gold discoveries in Alaska, they left Dawson City as quickly as they had come. Today, people still come and go — to see where the Canadian gold rush happened. Tourism is now the chief industry of Dawson City — its present population is 762.

A book review tells not only what a book is about，but also how successful it is at what it is trying to do.Professors often assign book reviews as practice in careful analytical(分析的)reading.

As a reviewer，you bring together the two strands of accurate，analytical reading and strong，personal response when you indicate (指出)what the book is about and what it might mean to a reader (by explaining what it meant to you)．In other words，reviewers answer not only the WHAT but the SO WHAT question about a book.Thus，in writing a review，you combine the skills of describing what is on the page，analyzing how the book tried to achieve its purpose，and expressing your own reactions.

Most book reviews start with a heading that includes all the basic information about the book，like：

Title.

Author.

Place of publication，publisher，date of publication.

Number of pages.

Like most pieces of writing，the review usually begins with an introduction that lets your readers know what the review will say.The first paragraph usually includes the author and title again，so your readers donˈt have to look up to find this information.You should also include a very brief description of the contents of the book，the purpose or audience for the book，and your reaction and evaluation.

Then you move into a section of background information that helps place the book in context and discusses how to judge the book.Next，you should give a summary of the main points，quoting (引用)and explaining key phrases from the author.Finally，you get to the heart of your review—your evaluation of the book.In this section，you might discuss some of the following issues：

•How well the book has achieved its goal.

•What possibilities are suggested by the book.

•What the book has left out.

•How the book compares with others on the subject.

•What specific points are not convincing.

•What personal experiences youˈve had related to the subject.

It is important to use labels to carefully distinguish your views from the authorˈs，so that you donˈt confuse your reader.^①

Then，like other essays，you can end with a direct comment on the book，and tie together issues raised in the review in a conclusion.

There is，of course，no set form，but a general rule is that the first one-half to two-thirds of the review should summarize the authorˈs main ideas and at least one-third should evaluate the book.

In the 1760s， Mathurin Roze opened a series of shops that boasted（享有）a special meat soup called consommé． Although the main attraction was the soup， Roze's chain shops also set a new standard for dining out， which helped to establish Roze as the inventor of the modern restaurant．

    Today， scholars have generated large amounts of instructive research about restaurants． Take visual hints that influence what we eat： diners served themselves about 20 percent more pasta（意大利面食）when their plates matched their food．  When a dark﹣colored cake was served on a black plate rather than a white one， customers recognized it as sweeter and more tasty．

    Lighting matters， too． When Berlin restaurant customers ate in darkness， they couldn't tell how much they'd had： those given extra﹣large shares ate more than everyone else， but were none the wiser﹣they didn't feel fuller， and they were just as ready for dessert．

    Time is money， but that principle means different things for different types of restaurants． Unlike fast﹣food places． fine dining shops prefer customers to stay longer and spend． One way to encourage customers to stay and order that extra round： put on some Mozart（莫扎特）．When classical， rather than pop， music was playing， diners spent more． Fast music hurried diners out．

    Particular scents also have an effect： diners who got the scent of lavender（薰衣草）stayed longer and spent more than those who smelled lemon， or no scent．

    Meanwhile， things that you might expect to discourage spending﹣"bad" tables， crowding．high prices﹣don't necessarily． Diners at bad tables﹣next to the kitchen door， say﹣spent nearly as much as others but soon fled． It can be concluded that restaurant keepers need not "be overly concerned about ‘bad' tables，" given that they're profitable． As for crowds， a Hong Kong study found that they increased a restaurant's reputation， suggesting great food at fair prices． And doubling a buffet's price led customers to say that its pizza was 11 percent tastier．

Patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease often struggle to remember recently learned information, meaning they forget things like important appointments or where they left their keys. But it seems that these memories are not lost. They are still filed away in the brain somewhere; they just can’t be easily accessed.

Now, researchers at MIT have developed a means of getting back memories in mice suffering from Alzheimer’s. The method relies on a technique that uses light to control genetically modified neurons (转基因神经元). Currently it is too early to be used in human trials as it involves inserting light emitting (发光) equipment into the subjects’ brains, but the same principles still apply, the researchers said.

“The important point is that this is evidence of concept. That is, even if a memory seems to be gone, it is still there. It’s a matter of how to get it back,” said senior researcher Susumu Tonegawa.

The team took two groups of mice, one genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s and one healthy. They then placed them into a room and gave them a mild electric shock. All of the mice showed fear when put back in an hour later. When placed in the room a third time several days later, the Alzheimer’s mice acted normally. They had forgotten the shock.

The researchers were then able to bring back the memory of the shock by activating (激活) the cells in which the memories were stored. Even when the mice were put into an unfamiliar room, they showed fear when the cells associated with the shock were activated.

“Short-term memory seems to be normal, on the order of hours. But for long-term memory, these early-Alzheimer’s mice seem to be damaged,” said lead researcher Dheeraj Roy. “Directly activating the cells that we believe are holding the memory helps them get it back. This suggests that it is indeed an access problem to the information, not that they’re unable to learn or store this memory.”

Not since World War II have so many Americans spoken a foreign language at home. Today, one in seven U.S. residents speak a language other than English. Spanish is the leading tongue, spoken by 17 million Americans. All told, 31.8 million American residents speak 329 foreign languages in their households. This represents an increase of 34%in foreign language usage since 1980.

  Asian languages accounts for 14% of foreign language speakers, reflecting the new wave of immigration. European languages have declined the most, as the descendants of the old immigrants abandon such languages as German, Yiddish, Polish, and Italian.

  This list represents the 20 most common foreign language in use in the home and states with the highest percentage of speakers.

  Spanish      7,339,172     New Mexico    French       1,702,176    Marine

  German       1.547,099    North Dakota   Italian        1,308,648    New York

  Chinese       1,249,213    Hawaii        Tagalog 843,251 Hawaii

  Polish         723,483     Illinois         Korean       626,478     Hawaii

  Vietnamese     507,069    California       Portuguese    429,860     Rhode Island

  Japanese       427,657     Hawaii        Greek       388,260       Massachusetts 

  Arabic         355,150    Michigan       Hindi        331,484      New Jersey 

  Russian       241,798     New York      Yiddish       213,o64      New York

  Thai/Lao      206,266     California       Persian      201,865      California

  Creole        187,658     California       Armenian    149,694      California 

  Other languages spoken by more than 100,000 American residents and the states in which thay

are chiefly used are :Navajo (New Mexico), Hungarian (New Jersey), Hebrew(New York), Dutch

(Utah),Mon-Khmer(Rhode Island), and Gujarathi ( New Jersey)

  On the next part are the five states that have the most and the fewer foreign language speakers in the home.

Most Foreign Speakers Fewest Foreign Speakers

New Mexico 35.5% Kentucky 2.5%

Texas 25.4% Arkansas 2.8%

Hawaii 24.8% Alabama 2.9%

New York 23.3% Tennessee 2.9%