Reading Comprehension

     People say that money cannot buy happiness. This was true for Howard Hughes. He was one of the richest and most powerful men of his time. He bad everything: good look success, power, and a lot of money. But he didn’t have lave or friendship because he couldn’t buy them. All his life he used his money to control everything and everyone around him. In the end, he lost control of everything, even himself.
     Howard Hughes was born in 1905 in Houston, Texas. His father started the Hughes Tool Company. He was a workaholic（工作狂）and made a lot of money. He bought everything he wanted. He even gave money to schools so Howard could get into them. From his father, Howard learned to be a successful but merciless businessman. Hughes’s mother, Allene also had a big influence on his life. Howard was her only child. She protected him and gave him everything. Unfortunately Allene had mental problems. She was afraid of germs and diseases. She was obsessed with Howard's health，and he became obsessed win it too.
     Allene died when Howard was 16 years old. Two years later his father died. Hughes inherited the Hughes Tool Company. Then he married Ella Rice. He and Ella moved to Los Angeles, California. It was there that Howard Hughes began to become a legend. Hughes began to invest his money in movies. He became an important producer soon after he moved to California. He worked hard, but he also played hard. He became obsessed with power and control. When he couldn’t get something legally, he gave money politicians and businessmen so they would help him. He owned a lot of businesses, including airplane companies, a movie studio, Las Vegas hotels, gold and silver mines, and radio and television stations. Once he bought a television studio so he could watch movies all night He also bought a hotel because he wanted to stay in his favorite room for one weekend.

Reading Comprehension

     Half of the world's coral reefs （珊瑚礁）have died in the last 30 years. Now scientists are racing to ensure that the rest survive. Even if global warning were to right now, scientists predict that more than 90% of corals will die by 2050. If no major steps are taken to address the problem, the reefs may be headed for total extinction（灭绝）.
     The planet’s health depends on the survival of coral reefs. They described as “the rainforests of the sea", because they provide shelter for a wide variety of sea life. In addition, the reefs serve as barriers that protect coastlines from the full force of powerful storms.
     Coral are used in medical research for cures to diseases. They are key to local economies as well, since the reefs attract tourists, the fishing industry, and other businesses, bringing in billions of dolllars.
     Corals are particular sensitive to changes in temperature. A rise of just 1 to 2 degrees can force the corals to drive out the algae（水藻）. Then the corals turn white in a process called “bleaching”. Corals can recover from short-term bleaching, but long-term bleaching can cause permanent damage. In 1998, when sea surface temperatures were the highest in recorded history, coral reefs around the world suffered the most severe bleaching. It is estimated that even under the best of conditions, many of these coral reefs will need decades to recover. 

     Although reefs face other threats from pollution, industrial activities, and overfishing, it is global climate change that most concerns scientists. Scientists remain hopeful that it’s not too late to save the reefs, and some are moving ahead on experiments to accomplish that goal. 

Reading Comprehension     

     It seems like every day there's some new research about whether our favorite drinks are good for us. (76) One day, science says a glass of red wine a day will help us live longer. The next day, maybe not. It seems journalists are pretty interested in wine research and the same might be said for coffee. Now, there's been a lot of research into whether coffee's good for our health. "The results have really been mixed, "admits Neal Freedman who led the coffee study and published his findings in medical journal recently. "There's been some evidence that coffee might increase the risk of certain diseases and there's also been maybe more recent evidence that coffee may protect against other diseases as well."
     Freedman and his colleagues undertook the biggest study yet to look at the relationship between coffee and health. They analyzed data collected from more than 400,000 Americans ages 50 to 71 participating in the study. "We found that the coffee drinkers had a modestly lower risk of death than then on-drinkers," he said. Here's what he means by "modestly": those who drank at least two or three cups a day were about 10 percent or 15 percent less likely to die for any reason during the 13 years of the study. When the researchers looked at specific causes of death, coffee drinking appeared to cut the risk of dying from heart disease, lung disease, injuries, accidents and infections.
     Now, Freedman stressed that the study doesn't prove coffee can make people live longer. A study like this can never prove a cause-and-effect relationship. (77) All it can really do is to point researchers in the right direction for further investigation. And even if it turns out that coffeeis really good for you, scientists have no idea why.

Reading Comprehension​

     Extensive new studies suggest that the world has made extraordinary progress in reducing poverty in recent decades. The research suggests that the pace of economic progress has been rapid and continued for decades, built on the foundations of relative political stability, rising trade, and economic liberalization (自由化) after two world wars. One new study, published recently by the Institute for International Economics in Washington, find that the proportion of the 6.1 billion people in the world who live on $1 a day or less shrank from 63 percent in 1950 to 35 percent in 1955and 12 percent in 1999. By some other measures, the progress has been more modest. Still, economists agree that poverty has plunged in key nations such as India and especially China, thanks to slowing population growth as well as economic freedom. "This is a huge success for the world as a whole," says Harvard University economist Richard Cooper. "We are doing something right. "
     The news comes as the World Bank is about to open its annual meeting in Washington an event that has been troubled in recent years by protests that the Bank and its sister Institution, the International Monetary Fund(IMF 国际货币组织） have done too little for the world’s poor. The new economic research will not put an end to that dispute. Vast populations remain poor, and many still question the wisdom of World Bank policies. Nonetheless, the research findings are helpful to understand what policies should be followed by those institutions and hundreds of other development groups working very hard to hasten the pace of world economic progress. If dramatic gains are under way, the present policies calling for open tharkets, free business activities, and tight monetary control are working and correct.
     But critics of IMF and World Bank policies maintain that such economic success stories as Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore are rooted in more than just "free" markets. These nation shave managed to grow rapidly, and thereby reduce poverty, by limiting imports when their domestic industries were young, pushing exports to rich nations, and putting controls on purely international financial flows. The have been open to foreign owned factories but have often insisted that those investors share the knowledge and skill on modern technologies.

Reading Comprehension

     The California lawmakers voted Thursday to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21. The measure is part of a larger package of laws aimed at reducing tobacco use. If Governor JerryBrown signs the bill, Calfornia will become the second state. after Hawail, to raise the age limit forbuying cigarettes and other tobacco products. More than 100 cities in the U. S.,including New Yorkand Boston, have already raised the age limit.
     A week ago, the California Assembly approved the measure, which—in addition to raising theage limit—treats electronic cigarettes the same as tobacco products, expands smoke-free areas, increases smoking bans and allows counties to collect higher taxes on cigarettes than the 87-cent perpack state tax. The Assemblys vote came a few days after the city of San Francisco increased the ageto buy tobacco products to 21.
     California lawmakers passed the bill despite lobbying （游说）from tobacco interests. The meas.ure also faced opposition from many Republicans, who said the state should not be involved in policing people's personal choices. "I don't smoke. I don 't encourage my chidren to, said Republican Assemblyman Donald Wagner. "But they're adults, and it 's our job to treat our citizens as adults."
     But supporters of the bill say raising the age to 21 moves legally purchased tobacco that much far.ther from younger kids. "This will save the medical system millions of dollars, " said Democratic Assemblvman Jim Wood. "It will save thousands of lives." A 2015 study by the Institute of Medicine "found that if the minimum legal age to buy tobacco were raised to 21 nationwide, tobacco use would drop by 12 percent by the time today's teens reached adulthood. In addition, there would be223,000 fewer premature (过早的) deaths and 50,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer.”

Reading Comprehension

     Normally a student must attend a certain number of courses in order to graduate, and each course which he attends gives him a credit (学分) which he may count towards a degree. In many American universities the total work for a degree consists of thirty-six courses each lasting for one semester (学期). A typical course consists of three classes per week for fifteen weeks; while attending a university a student will probably take four or five courses during each semester. Normally a student would expect to take four years attending two semesters each year. It is possible to spread the period of work for the degree over a longer period. It is also possible for a student to move between one university and another during his degree course, though this is not in fact done as a regular practice.
     For every course that he follows, a student is given a grade, which is recorded, and the record is available for the student to show to prospective(预期的) employers. All this imposes a constant pressure and strain of work, but in spite of this some students still find time for great activity in student affairs. Elections to positions in student organizations arouse much enthusiasm (热情). The effective work of maintaining discipline is usually performed by students who advise the academic authorities (权威). Any student who is thought to have broken rules, for example, by cheating has to appear before a student court. With the enormous numbers of students, the operation of the system does involve a certain amount of activity. A student who has held one of these positions of authority is much respected and it will be of benefit to him later in his career.

Reading Comprehension

     The annual campaign to make Singapore's three million people more polite ended yesterday and was immediately followed by another drive to get them to be punctual.
     Tardiness is not yet a criminal offence in the island republic, and the National Punctuality Work-ing Committee can only use gentle persuasion. "Being on time means being considerate," said com-mittee chairman Toh Weng Cheng. Previous drives made little headway in changing a deeply rootedhabit that seems oddly out of place in this otherwise efficient city-state. Tardiness at dinner parties isusually attributed to Chinese tradition, a belief that older and more important guests were expected tomake an entrance after the others.
     Meanwhile, officials will assess the results of the 15th annual courtesy (礼貌) campaign, a HK$ 2.4 million drive to persuade Singaporeans to mind their manners. Earlier courtesy campaigns usedposters, films, advertisements in newspapers and magazines to portray considerate behavior. The pub-licity this year stressed courtesy through examples of discourtesy. Few countries use elaborate publiccampaigns to change behavior and raise civic consciousness. It has been a way of life in Singapore formore than 30 years. Some, like the courtesy drive, deal with basic habits and culture. October wasfirst declared "Speak Mandarin Month" in 1978, an effort to wipe out regional Chinese dialects in fa-vor of the official tongue.
     Others focus on problems of the day. The police launched a drive in 1989 to stop abuse of theemergency phone number 999, because one call in five was of the nuisance or non-emergency variety.Some campaigns have been so successful that they have been reversed. Family planners urged parentsto "Stop at Two" in 1978. Birth rates dropped from 3.5 percent in 1960 to 1.2 percent in 1980, andfamilies who can afford it are now encouraged to "Have Three or More". By the early 1980s, thegrowth of campaigns inspired one exhausted newspaper columnist to suggest a "take your campaignsseriously campaign".

Reading Comprehension

     Newspapers are not nearly as popular today as they were in the past. There are not very manypeople who seriously read a newspaper every day. Most people read only the sports pages, the advice orthe gossip columns, the comics, and perhaps the classified advertisements. Most people dont take thetime to read the real news. Newspaper editors say that their readers are lazy. They say they have totrick people into reading the news. They attempt to catch the readers interest with pictures and excit-ing headlines. These techniques are used on the front page because it is the first thing you see whenyou pick up the paper. The first page attracts attention and encourages the reader to look through therest of the paper. This is why editors always look for a good first page story and headline to make themstop and look. If the headline is horrible enough or frightening enough or wild enough, perhaps theywill go on to read the front page. However, they may just read the headlines, but that is all, then theytttrn to the sports page, or comics, or advertisements. 

     It seems that people do not want the news from anewspaper anymore. They say they get the news on the television now. More people watch television news because it is easier and more interesting than reading a news-paper. What about you? Do you read news from a newspaper? Do you think it is easier to get the newsfx~m television? Or do you care about news at all? Would you mind if there was no news?

Reading Comprehension

       Television has opened windows in everybody’s life. Young men will never again go to war as they did in 1914. Millions of people now have seen the effects of a battle. And the result has been a general dislike of war, and perhaps more interest in helping those who suffer from all the terrible things that have been shown on the screen.
　　Television has also changed politics. The most distant areas can now follow state affairs, see and hear the politicians before an election. Better informed,people are more likely to vote, and so to make their opinion count.
　　Unfortunately, television’s influence has been extremely harmful to the young. Children do not have enough experience to realize that TV shows present an unreal world; that TV advertisements lie to sell products that are sometimes bad or useless.They believe that the violence they see is normal and acceptable. All educators agree that the “television generations” are more violent than their parents and grandparents.
　　Also, the young are less patient. Used to TV shows, where everything is quick and interesting, they do not have the patience to read an article without pictures; to read a book that requires thinking; to listen to a teacher who doesn’t do funny things like the people on children’s programs. And they expect all problems to be solved happily in ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes. That’s the time it takes on the screen.

Reading Comprehension

     Jarden Zinc Products, a large zinc plant a few miles outside Greeneville, Tennessee, has a special claim. Since 1982, it has been the only supplier of penny blanks for the U.S. Mint (铸币厂). It's a good business for Jarden-since 2000, the company has earned more than $ 800 million. But it may not be a good deal for the U.S.
     The value of the penny has been dropping for years. In 2006, it began to cost more than a penny to make a penny. It now costs 2 ￠ to produce a 1 ￠ coin. Many countries have stopped using pennies. Is it time for the U.S. to do the same? 

     Jarden and the zinc industry are fighting to keep the penny. Since 2006, Jarden has given $1.2 million to Americans for Common Cents (ACC). The group's mission is to keep the penny in use. Mark Weller is ACC's executive director. He argues that there are three main reasons for keeping the penny: Without it, we would become more reliant on the five-cent coin, which also has problems; charities that depend on penny drives would not be able to raise as much money; and a 2012 survey shows that 67% of Americans want to keep the penny. (77) Many people surveyed said they feared they would end up paying more for products.
     Many experts disagree with ACC, They point to the dozens of countries that have gotten rid of their lowest-value coins without raising prices for consumers. And charities don't seem too concerned either.
     President Barack Obama says the mint could explore using cheaper metals to make pennies. Steel is less expensive than zinc. Pennies are 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. But no matter what it is made of, the penny's days may be numbered. Most in-store purchases are now made with credit cards, not cash. Is it time for a change?

Reading Comprehension

     As the Titanic was sinking and women and children climbed into lifeboats, the musicians from the ship’s band stood and played. They died when the ship went down. Men stood on the deck and smoked cigarettes. They died, too. This behavior is puzzling to economists, who like to believe that people tend to act in their own self interest. “There was no pushing, ”says David Savage, an economist at Queensland University in Australia who has studied witness reports from the survivors. It was “very, very orderly behavior”.
     Savage has compared the behavior of the passengers on the Titanic with those on the Lusitania, another ship that also sank at about the same time. But when the Lusitania went down, the passengers panicked. There were a lot of similarities between these two events. These two ships were both luxury ones, they had a similar number of passengers and a similar number of survivors.
     The biggest difference, Savage concludes, was time. The Lusitania sank in less than 20 minutes. But for the Titanic, it was two-and-a-half hours. “If you’ve got an event that lasts two-and-a-half hours, social order will take over and everybody will behave in a social manner, ”Savage says. “If you’re going down in under 17 minutes, basically it’s instinctual. ”On the Titanic, social order ruled, and it was women and children first. On the Lusitania, instinct won out. The survivors were largely the people who could swim and get into the lifeboats.
     Yes, we’re self-interested, Savage says. But we’re also part of a society. Given time, social norms can beat our natural self-interest. A hundred years ago, women and children always went first. Men were stoic. On the Titanic, there was enough time for these norms to become forceful.

Reading Comprehension

     The old idea that child prodigies “burn themselves” or “overtax their brains” in the early years, therefore, suffer from failure and (at worst) mental illness is just a myth. As a matter of fact, the outstanding thing that happens to bright children is that they are very likely to grow into bright adults.
     To find this out, 1,500 gifted persons were followed up to their thirty-fifth years with these results:
     On adult intelligence tests, they scored as high as they did as children. They were, as a group, in good health, physically and mentally. Eighty-four percent of their group were married and seemed content with their life.
     About 70 percent had graduated from colleges, though only 30 percent had graduated with honors. A few had even flunked out (退学), but nearly half of these had returned to graduate.
     Of the men, 80 percent were in one of the professions or in business, managerial or semiprofessional jobs. The women who had remained single had offices, business, or professional occupations.
     The group had published 90 books and 1,500 articles in scientific, scholarly, and literary magazines and had collected more than 100 patents.
     In a material way they didn’t do badly either. Average income was considerably higher among the gifted people, especially the men, than for the country as a whole, despite their comparative youth when last surveyed.
     In fact, far from being strange, maladjusted (难以适应) people locked in an ivory tower, most of the gifted were turning their early promises into practical reality.

Reading Comprehension

     There is no doubt that adults, and even highly educated adults, vary greatly in the speed and efficiency of their reading. Some proceed very lowly throughout; others dash along too quickly and then have to regress. Poor readers in particular may lack the ability to vary their manner of reading according to the type of reading matter and to their intentions in reading it. A good reader can move at great speed through the text of a novel or similar light reading matter. He may be able to skim a page, picking up a word or two here and there, and gain a general idea of what the text is about without really reading it. In reading more difficult material, with the intention of taking in the whole of it, he will proceed more slowly, but even then he will vary his pace, concentrating on the key words and passages, perhaps re-reading them several times and pass more quickly over the remainder. A less efficient reader tends to maintain the same speed whatever the material he reads. Consequently, even light reading matter gives him little pleasure because he reads so slowly. But this pace may be too fast for really difficult material which requires special concentration at difficult points.
     A type of reading which necessitates careful attention to detail is proofreading, in which the reader, in order to detect misprints in a sample print, has to notice not so much the meaning of what he reads as the exact shape and order of letters and words in the text. This is extremely difficult for most people, since they are accustomed to overlooking such details. In fact, considerable practice is required to practise this task efficiently and it can be done only by reading very slowly, and by paying comparatively little attention to the general meaning of the text.

Reading Comprehension  

     How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses how long and how well you brush, and it lets you track your performance on your phone.
     The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection.
     The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right (don’t forget the insides of the teeth!) and make sure you’re brushing long enough. “It’s kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis,” says Thomas Serval, the French inventor.
     The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so developers could, for instance, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth. “We try to make it smart but also fun,” Several says.
     Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said “yes,” but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed.
     The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, for $99 to $199, developing on features. The U.S. is the first target market.
     Serval says that one day, it’ll be possible to replace the brush on the handle with a brushing unit that also has a camera. The camera can even examine holes in your teeth while you brush. 

Reading Comprehension

     Imagine a school that expected its students to become literate without any formal instruction. Most parents would be alarmed by such an approach, which would leave their children confused and with gaps in their understanding. This however has been the philosophy on character development in many of our schools. Why is the development of character seen as somehow different from the other skills that we teach?

     Of course there will always be learning by osmosis(耳濡目染) in any school, but as a teacher and primary school head I have found that a child’s moral literacy is strengthened when they acquire the building blocks of good character such as consideration, courage and honor: qualities which are commonly known as virtue. 

     I personally find that exploring a virtue over a two-week period provides a simple and effective program that allows for the creative input of both teacher and student and a chance for the virtue to embed itself. Once a lesson on a virtue such as honesty has been completed we need to allow time for children to practice this concept just as would be the case with fractions or verbs. Allowing children to role play a situation such as making up excuses to cover a mistake can be enormously interesting, and the drama can be frozen allowing the characters to be questioned about their feelings and motives. It’s also a safe way for children to experience for themselves how a lie usually goes out of control.

     Our role as educators is also to look for opportunities to help our students as they attempt to strengthen their characters. When something goes wrong we guide the young person to the virtue that will prevent it from happening again. For instance, when am student thoughtlessly disturbs the calm atmosphere of the library, instead of a response such as, "that was really disrespectful and selfish of you!" we draw out from them the required virtue: "When you’re walking through the library, what virtues do you need to use?"

Reading Comprehension

     The old idea that child prodigies “burn themselves” or “overtax their brains” in the early years, therefore, suffer from failure and (at worst) mental illness is just a myth. As a matter of fact, the outstanding thing that happens to bright children is that they are very likely to grow into bright adults.
     To find this out, 1,500 gifted persons were followed up to their thirty-fifth years with these results:
     On adult intelligence tests, they scored as high as they did as children. They were, as a group, in good health, physically and mentally. Eighty-four percent of their group were married and seemed content with their life.
     About 70 percent had graduated from colleges, though only 30 percent had graduated with honors. A few had even flunked out (退学), but nearly half of these had returned to graduate.
     Of the men, 80 percent were in one of the professions or in business, managerial or semiprofessional jobs. The women who had remained single had offices, business, or professional occupations.
     The group had published 90 books and 1,500 articles in scientific, scholarly, and literary magazines and had collected more than 100 patents.
     In a material way they didn’t do badly either. Average income was considerably higher among the gifted people, especially the men, than for the country as a whole, despite their comparative youth when last surveyed.
     In fact, far from being strange, maladjusted (难以适应) people locked in an ivory tower, most of the gifted were turning their early promises into practical reality.

Reading Comprehension

     Some psychologists maintain that mental acts such as thinking are not performed in the brain alone, but that one's muscles also participate. It may be said that we think with our muscles in somewhat the same way that we listen to music with our bodies.
     You surely are not surprised to be told that you usually listen to music not only with your ears but with your whole body. Few people can listen to music without moving their body or, more specifically, some part of their body. Often when one listens to a symphonic concert on the radio, he is attracted to direct the orchestra even though he knows there is a good conductor on the job.
     Strange as this behavior. may be, there is a very good reason for it. One cannot derive all possible enjoyment from music unless he participates, so to speak, in its performance. The listener "feels" himself into the music with more or less noticeable motions of his body.
     The muscles of the body actually participate in the mental process of thinking in the same way, but this participation is less obvious because it is less noticeable.

Reading Comprehension

     The top of the world is a wonderland. In winter, the temperature often fails to -30°F and the sun never rises. The ocean is surrounded by frozen ground. There are few people or trees, but to polar bears, the Arctic is home.
     Polar bears have thick fur, big paws and other features that make them well prepared for life in their tough environment. In fact, they need the Arctic sea ice for survival. But climate change is causing larger and larger areas of summer sea ice to melt. Experts say that if warming pat-terns continue, the Arctic could be free of summer sea ice by 2050. That may cause two-thirds of the word's 20,000 polar bears to be gone by then too.
     Polar bears can't survive for long on land. Seals are their main source of food. The only place where polar bears can hunt seals is on the ice. Although these bears are strong swimmers, they are no match for lighming swift seals in the water. A polar bear has brilliantly clever strategies to overcome this disadvantage. In winter the bear waits motionless beside a sea’ls breathing hole, which is a narrow tunnel through the ice. Often many hours pass before the seal comes up for air and the bear kills it with a powerful blow of its paw. In summer, the polar bears that live on land eat very little and wait for the sea ice to return.
     With the sea ice forming later in the year and melting earlier, polar bears do not have enough opportunity to hunt and eat. Less sea ice makes it harder for the bears to catch the seals. The bears must swim longer distances between ice packs, and they can't always make it.. The ice is also getting thinner. These conditions can cause polar-bear cubs to become separated :from their mothers, who provide them with food.
     Steven Amstrup is the chief scientist of Polar Bear International. The group aims to save the bears and their home. "The more people who see polar bears and understand their difficult situations, the better the chance we'll alter our warming path in time to save them," he says.

Reading Comprehension

     Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning,a middle,and an end-with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. "Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.""Drink Good Wet Root Beer.""Fill up with Pacific Gas."Only if you sleep,which is equal to turning the television set off,are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!"
     The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed-new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless or daring,the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane? After a while,of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
     The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat of course,has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed,with your hands in your lap,with your hands on the armrestseven with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at no more ways to sit.

Reading Comprehension

     No country in the world has more daily newspapers than the USA. There are almost 2,000 of them, as compared with 180 in Japan, 164 in Argentina and 111 in Britain. The quality of some American papers is extremely high and their views are quoted all over the world. Famous dailies like the Washington Post or the New York Times have a powerful influence all over the country. However, they are not national newspapers in the sense that The Times is in Britain or Le Monde is in France, since each American city has its own daily newspaper. The best of these present detailed description of national and international news, but many tend to limit themselves to state or city news. 

     Like the press in most other countries, American newspapers range from the “sensational” which feature crime and gossip, to the “serious”, which focus on factual news and the analysis of world events. But with few exceptions, American newspapers try to entertain as well as give information, for they have to compete with the attraction of television.
     Just as American newspapers satisfy all tastes, so do they also try to attract readers of all political parties. A few newspapers support extremist groups on the far right and on the far left, but most daily newspapers try to attract middle-of-the-road Americans who are moderate. Many of these papers print columns by well-known journalists of different political and social views, in order to present a balanced picture.
As in other countries, American newspapers can be either responsible or irresponsible, but it is generally accepted that the American press serves its country well and that it has more than once courageously exposed political scandals or crimes, for instance, the Watergate Affair. The Newspapers drew the attention of the public to the horrors of the Vietnam War.