听力

Passage1AMidlifeCareerChangeWhatshouldapersondoorthinkabout£¬whencontemplatingamidlifecareerchange?First,clearlydefineyourpriorities.Next,haveabig-picturegoalforyourcareerandyourlifestyleinmind.Knowingthatyouwanttomakeachangeisthefirststepintheprocess,butbesurenottogetstuckthere.Takethenextstepbyidentifyingspecificallywhatyouwouldliketoseeinyournextcareer.Also,knowwhatyouarehopingtoachievethistimearoundthatisdifferentfromwhatyouhavealreadydoneuptothispoint.Passage2FeedingYourMindWhenyourmindishungry,itneverletsyouknow.However,hungerofthemindcanbeactuallysatisfiedthroughextensivereading.Onceyoureadabook,you'llhavetheinterestingpartofthebookstoredinyourmindasaseed.Nowthisseedisunknowinglyusedbyyouinyourfuturetodevelopnewideas.Thesameseedifusedmanytimes,canhelpyoulinkandrelatealotofthings,ofwhichyouwouldhaveneverthoughtofinyourwildestdreams!Passage3AmericanChildrenRaisingToAmericans,thegoalofparentsistohelpchildrenstandontheirowntwofeet.Frominfancy,eachchildmaygethisorherownroom.Aschildrengrow,theygainmorefreedomtomaketheirownchoices.Teenagerschoosetheirownformsofentertainmentandfriends.Whentheyreachyoungadulthood,theychoosetheirowncareersandmarriagepartners.Americanparentstrytotreattheirchildrenasindividuals.Theyallowthemtofulfilltheirowndreamsandpraiseandencouragetheirchildrentosucceed.Passage4Americans'PersonalityAmericansusuallyconsiderthemselvesafriendlypeople.Theirfriendships,however,tendtobeshorterandmorecasualthanfriendshipsamongpeoplefromothercultures.Besides,Americanstendtobeuncomfortablewithsilenceduringaconversation.Theywouldrathertalkabouttheweatherorthelatestsportsscores,forexample,thandealwithsilence.Ontheotherhand,don'texpectAmericanstobeknowledgeableaboutinternationalgeographyorworldaffairs,unlessthosesubjectsdirectlyinvolvetheUnitedStates.BecausesomeAmericanstendtoignoretherestoftheworld.Passage5DramaTherearemanytheoriesaboutthebeginningofdramainancientGreece.Theonemostwidelyacceptedtodayisbasedontheassumptionthatdramaevolvedfromritual.Inthebeginning,humanbeingsviewedthenaturalforcesoftheworldasunpredictable,andtheysoughtthroughvariousmeanstocontroltheseunknownandfearedpowers.Thosemeasureswerethenretainedandrepeateduntiltheywerehardenedintofixedrituals.Astimepassed,someritualswereabandoned,butthestories,latercalledmyths,persistedandprovidedmaterialfordrama.Passage6CartoonArtistInagoodcartoon,theartistcantellinafewlinesasmuchasawritercantellinhalfadozenparagraphs.Henotonlytellsastorybuthealsotriestopersuadethereadertohiswayofthinking.Aclevercartoonartistmaycauselaughterbecauseheoftenuseshumorinhisdrawings.Ifheissketchingafamousperson,hetakesaprominentfeatureandexaggeratesit,forinstance,lengtheninganalreadylongnoseandwideninganalreadybroadgrin.Passage7DrinktoYourHealthSincealllivingthingsneedit,anditmakesuptwo-thirdsofourbodies,itseemsobviousthatwaterisvitaltoourhealth.Aminorwaterdeficiencycanleadtoheadaches,sleepiness,andmoodiness,whilelosingalargeamountofwaterforalongtimecancausehighbloodpressureandotherseriousproblems.Drinkingwaterhelpsusgetridoftoxicsubstance,whichhelpsourkidneystodoabetterjob,andithelpspreventbladderinfections.Finally,watercangiveourskinahealthyglow.Passage8HappyFourthofJuly!TherearesomeofthetraditionsassociatedwithIndependenceDayintheUnitedStates.July4is,ofcourse,aholidayfromwork,andtheoccasionforall-daypicnicsinmostcommunities.Havingeatentheirfillofhotdogs,burgers,andpotatosalad,everyoneeagerlythrowsthemselvesintoaprogramofoftenstrangeactivitieslikethree-leggedracesandpie-eatingcontests.Thehighlightoftheday'scelebrationsisalocalorchestraplayingamelodyasonehundredandfiftythousandspectatorswatchfireworksburstoverBoston.Passage9ThanksgivingDayThanksgivingDayisalegalholidayobservedannuallyintheUnitedStatesonthefourthThursdayofNovember.TodayThanksgivingismainlyacelebrationofdomesticlife,centeredonthehomeandfamily.Inkeepingwiththeideaofcelebratingaplentifulharvest,preparingandeatingalargemealisacentralpartofmostThanksgivingcelebrations.Themealusuallyincludesthepumpkinpie,cornbread,roastedturkey,etc.ThesesimplefoodsrecalltheoldvirtuesofthePilgrims,emphasizingthenaturalgiftsthatgreetedearlysettlersintheiradoptedhomeland.Passage10CellPhoneDisturbanceNowadays,morepeoplewanttousetheircellphonewhiletravelingbyplane.However,theycannot.In1998,anEnglishmanwassenttoprisonforoneyearbecauseherefusedtoturnoffthecellphone.Lastmonth,aplanesuddenlybecamealarmedandwasforcedtoland.Investigatorsfoundacellphoneinapieceofluggagethathadbeenlefton.Althoughthereisnofactualevidencetoprovethis,cellphonedisturbancecanaffecttheplaneinsomecircumstances.Passage11NegativeEffectsofTelevisionSpendingtoomanyhourswatchingtelevisionwastestheprecioustimethatcanratherbespentonfruitfulandhealthyactivitieslikeexerciseorreading.Italsousesupthetimethatyoucanratherspendwithyourfamilyandfriends.Peoplewatchingtelevision,especiallychildrenandyoungsters,startidentifyingwithwhatisshownonTV.Theyrelatetotelevisionshowsandfilmstosuchanextentthattheygetboredoflivinganormalandsimplelife.Thismayleadtoahighamountofdissatisfactionw