引導語：下面小編給大家帶來BEC初級閱讀材料精選，謝謝您的閱讀，祝您閱讀愉快。
閱讀素材一
隨著各方吸引迅速增長的中國公司赴海外上市的爭奪戰愈演愈烈，納斯達克(Nasdaq)昨日成為最新一個在北京開設代表處的全球證交所。
Nasdaq yesterday became the latest global exchange to open a representative office in Beijing, as the battle to lure fast-growing Chinese companies to list on overseas markets intensifies.
中國政府最近修改了有關規定，允許國外證交所在中國內地設立營銷辦事處。側重科技行業的納斯達克以及紐約證交所(NYSE)率先抓住了這一機會。
The technology-focused US exchange and the New York Stock Exchange are the first foreign groups to exploit a recent change of rules that permits non-Chinese bourses to establish marketing offices on the mainland.
納斯達克副董事長、前美國國會議員邁克爾?奧克斯利(Michael Oxley)稱，通過北京代表處，納斯達克可以向那些希望進入這個“大聯盟”的中國企業宣傳美國的資本市場。
The office will allow Nasdaq to publicise US capital markets to Chinese companies wishing to enter the “big league”, according to Michael Oxley, the vice-chairman and a former US lawmaker.
近年來，已有幾百家中國企業蜂擁至香港上市。而今年，在上海和深圳上市的內地企業也越來越多。
In recent years, several hundred Chinese companies have flocked to list in Hong Kong. This year, an increasing number of mainland companies have listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
相比之下，國際證交所很難吸引到中國公司前往上市，尤其是美國的證交所，原因是很多公司高管認為，自己的公司會受到繁重的監管，還要面臨美國的訴訟環境。
International exchanges have, by comparison, struggled to attract Chinese issuers, with those in the US in particular hit by perceptions among business executives that their companies would be subject to onerous regulation as well as the country’s litigious environment.
奧克斯利否認，對過度監管的恐懼會損害納斯達克魅力攻勢。他是美國2002年頒佈的《薩班斯-奧克斯利法》(Sarbanes-Oxley Act)的聯合提案人。
Mr Oxley, co-author of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US in 2002, rebuffed concerns that fears of over-regulation would hurt Nasdaq’s charm offensive.
“你可以看到，自從實行《薩班斯-奧克斯利法》以來，全球的監管標準都有所提高，”他說道。“通過在美國上市，公司會達到最高監管標準。好的治理有益於公司。”
“You have seen an increase in regulatory standards worldwide since the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley,” he said. “By listing in the US, companies reach the highest regulatory standards. Good governance is good for business.”
納斯達克今年吸引了19家中國公司進行首次公開發行(IPO)，數目比去年提高一倍，也使得在納斯達克上市的中國企業總數達到52家。
Nasdaq has attracted 19 initial public offerings of Chinese companies this year, double that of last year, raising the total to 52.
以前，納斯達克吸引了相當一部分內地科技公司前去上市。不過，投資銀行家們認為，上個月，中國領先的“BtoB”電子商務網站阿里巴巴()在香港的上市取得了極大的成功，有助於香港吸引類似的，對這家美國證交所構成了挑戰。
It has traditionally at-tracted a significant proportion of mainland technology companies, although investment bankers believe last month’s hugely successful listing in Hong Kong of , China’s leading business-to-business website, could help the city attract similar IPOs at the expense of the US exchange.
閱讀素材二
Teamwork is a very important skill to have and be able to use in a modern working environment. Effective teamwork will make any company more efficient and profitable.
Each person has his or her own special skills. When you are selecting a team, it’s best to get people with different skills so that you can get as many different views as possible to find the best solution.
When you are working on a team project, you should not be afraid or embarrassed to offer your opinion of ideas. The group
will benefit from your ideas even if it doesn’t use them directly.
Teamwork does not mean that one person does all the work themselves and then the group takes the credit. Everyone in the team should do an equal share of the work.
在現代的工作環境中具有團隊工作精神是非常重要的。有效的團隊工作可以提高工作效率使公司獲得更多利潤。
每個人都有自己的特長。最好將不同才能的人選在一個團隊裡，這樣就可以儘可能多地得到不同的意見從而找到一個最佳的解決方案。
大家合作一個專案時，不要羞於提出自己的觀點。儘管你的觀點可能不被採用，整個團隊也能從中受益。團隊工作不是指一個人承擔所有的工作而由大家來居功。團隊中的每名成員應該共同分擔一項工作。
閱讀素材三
My music life
In the fifth grade at my school, we start to learn how to play instruments.
There are different instruments like the violin, cello (大提琴), trumpet (小號) and flute (長笛). I play the violin.
On Mondays, all the players go to a big music room to play with the whole band. On Tuesdays, students go to smaller classrooms to learn how to play their instruments.
I take good care of my violin. I never leave it out in the sun. I bring it back home when the day is over. I like playing the violin in my spare time. Now I’m with the California Youth Symphony (加州青年交響樂團). I play very well. I’m the concertmaster (首席小提琴手) of Junior strings (國小絃樂器組).
Learn it
take care of...照顧，照料
I have a pet rabbit. I take good care of her.
(我有一隻寵物兔。我把它照料得很好。)
閱讀素材四
History is a teacher
WHAT are teenagers nowadays crazy about? Popular songs? Harry Porter books? Sports or online games? For me, the answer is history.
History is a part of my leisure (空閒的) time. Since I was 10, I’ve been reading history books, collecting old maps and visiting museums. I always get excited when people around me talk about history.
I have learnt a lot from history. It’s helped me deal with (應付) the problems of growing up. History is precious (珍貴的) wealth.
History helps me become more mature (成熟的). I used to believe that life is simple to understand. Now I know that we shouldn’t make simple judgments (判斷). People aren’t "good" or "bad"; things aren’t "true" or "false".
History has also made me mentally (精神上) stronger. I’m more responsible now. I have learned useful things about myself from studying the rise and fall of kings and queens.
When I studied Chinese history between 1840 and 1949, I knew I must be a strong person and do my best for China.
Francis Bacon wrote, "Histories make men wise". I agree with that. If you know history you respect the past are confident about the future. History tells you where you come from, where you are and where you are going. That is the charm of history. Don’t you think so?
閱讀素材五
We need clean water
WEN Junhao is a college student from Liuyang, Hunan. The 22-year-old remembers that when he was young, he often went to his cousin’s home. There is a river nearby. He and his cousin swam or caught fish in the river.
But later a paper mill (造紙廠) was built beside the river. The factory put hot and foamy (泡沫的) wastewater in it. Soon, the river began to smell bad. The fish were gone, and you couldn’t swim in it anymore.
"Fortunately, the paper mill stopped working five years ago," said Wen. "The government said it polluted the river too much."
Wen’s hometown was lucky. But water pollution is still a serious problem in China. A recent report says that about 320 million people in China, most of them farmers, can’t get safe water.
The report says that 96 percent of villages use rivers as open sewers (下水道). And 89 percent of villages throw their trash into or around them.
The report also says that most pollution comes from factories. Many factories don’t want to spend money on green technology. They pollute rivers with dangerous chemicals (化學品).
The government says that laws about water protection will be passed at the end of this year.
The laws will call on all the companies to reuse wastewater. Those who don’t will be fined. In the past, the biggest fine was 200,000 yuan. But when the new laws are passed, polluters will be fined daily until they put the problem right.
閱讀素材六
COMPUTER companies keep competing to build smaller devices (裝置). They are finding new ways to put data (資料) into less space on a memory chip (記憶體晶片).
Computers have been made smaller to fit on to the desktop, smaller again to fit on our laps and again to fit into our shirt pockets (口袋).
Now, Stuart S. P. Parkin, an IBM researcher, is looking into a new idea in an IBM lab. If it proves successful, electronic devices could hold 10 to 100 times the data in the same amount of space.
That means the iPod that today can hold up to 200 hours of video could store every single TV program broadcast (播放) during a week on 120 channels.
Parkin thinks he is close to a breakthrough. This could increase the amount of data stored on a chip.
At present the flash drives (快閃記憶體卡) business is growing quickly. They are used in digital cameras, cellphones and PCs. Flash drives with multiple (多個) memory chips store up to 64gigabytes (十億位元組) of data. A single chip is expected to reach about 50 gigabytes in the next five years.
However, flash memory has a problem. Although it can read data quickly, it is very slow at storing it. That has led the industry on a hunt for new storage technologies.
Scientists say Parkin’s new computer memory, called "racetrack memory (賽道記憶體)", could begin to replace flash memory in three to five years.