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　　I often dreamed about Pisa when I was a boy．I read about the famous building called the Leaning Tower of Pisa．But when I read the word Pisa, I was thinking of pizza．I thought this tower was a place to buy pizza．It must be the best place to buy pizza in the world, I thought．

　　Many years later I finally saw the Leaning Tower．I knew then that it was Pisa and no pizza．But there was still something special about it for me．The tower got its name because it really did lean to one side．Some people want to try to fix it．They are afraid it may fall over and they don’t like it leans over the city．

　　I do not think it’s a good idea to try to fix it．The tower probably will not fall down．It is 600 years old．Why should anything happen to it now? And, if you ask me, I like what it looks like．To me it is a very human kind of leaning．Nothing is perfect．It seems to say．

　　And who cares? Why do people want things to be perfect? Imperfect things may be more interesting．Let’s take the tower in Pisa．Why is it so famous? There are many other older, more beautiful towers in Italy．But Pisa tower is the most famous．People come from all over the world to see it．

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　　Strange things happen to time when you travel because the earth is divided(划分)into twenty-four zones(时区), one hour apart(一个时区相差一个小时)．You can have days with more or fewer than twenty-fours, and weeks with more or fewer than seven days．

　　If you make a five-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean(大西洋), your ship enters a different time zone every day．As you enter each zone, the time changes one hour．Traveling west, you set your clock back, traveling east, you set it ahead．Each day of your trip has either twenty-five or twenty-three hours．

　　If you travel by ship across the Pacific Ocean(太平洋), you cross the International Date Line(国际日期变更线)．By agreement, this is the point where a new day begins．When you cross the line, you change your calendar one full day, backward or forward．Traveling east, today becomes yesterday．Traveling west, it is tomorrow．

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　　Some British and American people like to invite friends and colleagues for a meal at home．You should not be upset(心烦意乱)if your English friends don’t invite you home．It doesn’t mean they don’t like you．

　　Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p．m．, and end at about 11．Ask your hosts what time you should arrive．It’s polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a present．

　　Do you want to be extra(特别地)polite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall．But remember－not to ask how much things cost．

　　You’ll probably start the meal with soup, or something small as a “starter”(酵母), then you’ll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then a dessert(甜食), followed by coffee．It’s polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it．Some people eat bread with their meal, but not everyone does．

　　Before they take out their cigarettes after the meal, most people usually ask, “Do you mind if I smoke here?”

　　Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short “thank you” letter．Perhaps it seems funny to you, but British and American people say, “thank you, thank you, and thank you．” all the time．

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　　Are you carrying too much on your back at school? You’re not alone．Back experts in the United States are worried that young students are having back and neck problems as a result of carrying too much in their backpacks(schoolbags)．

　　“It hurts my back when I run,” said Oberlin Reyes, a student in Virginia．“It’s hard to get up the stairs with my backpack, because it’s too heavy．”

　　Oberlin is among students whose backpacks were weighed for a week in a recent study．

　　They had regular backpacks with two straps(带子)to carry them, but a number of students with heavy loads had switched to rolling backpacks(which have wheels and can roll on the ground)．

　　Shirley Park, whose backpack weighed 10 kilograms, said she changed to a rolling backpack because she was starting to have back pain．

　　How much is too much? Experts say students should carry no more than 10 to 15 percent of their own body weight．

　　A few students had one suggestion to lighten the load：less homework．

　　P．S．(附)Doctor’s suggestion：

　　① Lighten the load．Clean out binders(活页材料)and take home only the books you need that night．

　　② Wide straps are better．They send out the weight over your shoulders more evenly(均匀)．And be sure to wear both straps rather than hanging the pack over one shoulder．

　　③ Pack smart．The heavier things should be packed closed to the back．

　　④ Bend both knees when you pick up the pack, and don’t just bend over at the waist(腰)．

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　　Look at the instructions on the bottle of the medicine and then choose the right answers．

　　John is twelve years old．He had a bad cold and coughed day and night．He went to see a doctor．The doctor gave him some cough medicine．

　　Cough Medicine

　　Shake(摇动)it well before use．

　　Take it three times each day before meals．

　　Dose(药量)：

　　Age：over 14 2 teaspoonfuls(勺)

　　8－13 1 teaspoonful

　　4－7 1/2 teaspoonful

　　Not right for children below the age of three．Put it in a cold place．Use it before December 1st 2002．

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　　You will have a lot of reading to do in this grade this year．You can do more of it in less time if you learn to read rapidly．

　　Perhaps you have been told about some habits(习惯)which keep a person from reading fast and have been strongly asked to break those habits which you might have．

　　Do you still have any of these bad habits? Check yourself by answering “yes” or “no” to these questions．

　　(1)Do you move your lips(嘴唇)when reading silently?

　　(2)Do you point to words with your finger as you read?

　　(3)Do you move your head from side to side as you read?

　　(4)Do you read one word at a time?

　　If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, start at once to break the habit．If you move your lips, hold your fingers over them, or hold a piece of paper between your lips while you are reading．Then if your lips move, your will know it and can stop them．

　　If you point to words, hold the two sides of your book, one side with your left hand, the other side with your right hand．Then you won’t have a free finger to use in pointing while reading．If you move your head, place your chin(下巴)in one hand and hold your head still(静止不动的)．

　　If you read no more than one or two three words at a time, you need to work very hard in learning to take in(吸收)more words at each glance(一瞥)as your eyes travel across the lines of words．

　　Even if you do rather fast now, you can learn to read even faster．As you probably have been told, the se of fast reading is to take in whole groups of words at each glance．Read in thought groups and force(迫使)your eyes along the lines of words at fast as you can make them go．Anyone who practices doing these things will be able to read faster．

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　　The cost of medical care in the United States is very high．More time and money that doctors spend on their medical education is probably one reason for this problem．

　　A visit to a doctor’s office costs from 15 to 50 dollars．It is almost impossible for people to pay for the medical care they need．Many people in the United States think that doctors are overpaid．Most doctors, however, disagree．They say that they were required(要求)to study medicine for a long time．Tuition for many years of medical education costs a lot of money．Doctors say that it is necessary for most medical students to borrow money from bank to pay their tuition．Because their money must be repaid to the bank, young doctors need to receive a lot of money for their work．So, they charge(收费)people high prices for medical care．

　　Therefore, it is possible that the high cost of medical care in America is unnecessary, because high tuition is one cause of high costs．One way to lower costs would be to have medical schools that are free or have low tuition．

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　　Shanghai：Car rentals(出租)are becoming more and more popular as an inexpensive way of taking to roads．Business people, foreign and families alike are making good use of the growing industry(工业)．

　　The first car rental company opened in Shanghai in 1992 and now 12 car rental players are in the game, with more than 11,500 cars in their books．

　　The largest player-Shanghai Basher Tourism Car Rental Center offers a wide variety of choices－deluxe sedans, minivans, station wagons, coaches．Santana sedans are the big favorite．

　　Companies can attract(吸引)enough customers(消费者)for 70 percent of their cars every month．This figure(数字)shoots up during holiday seasons like National Day, Labor Day and New Year’s Day, with some recording 100 % rental．

　　The main market force rests in the growing population of white-collar employees(白领雇员), who can afford the new service, said Zhuang Yu, marketing manager of Shanghai Angel Car Rental Co．

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　　Most people have flown kites or have seen one or ride and dip in a strong spring wind．Not so many people know that kites were first made in China thousands of years ago．The ancient(古代的)Chinese were making and flying kites even before they were writing．

　　A long time ago, the Chinese made kites to use in wars．They would fly these war kites in the dark．The kites were fixed so that they made strange sounds．Men who were at war with them would hear these sounds and run away．The thought those sounds were made by gods in the sky．

　　The ancient Chinese also flew kites to bring good luck and to make their crops grow rich and tall．Sometimes they tied long strings(绳子)and hooks(钩)to their kites．Then they would fly the kites over water, letting the hooks hang down to catch fish．

　　The Chinese use sticks, strings and paper for their kites．Some of these kites look like animals or trees．Others look like birds or houses．

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　　In 1998, World Cup Football Match held in France took up a new rule．Instead of the usual black and white ball, a colorful ball was used in the game．The new ball was made up of 32 pieces of three colors：red, blue and white．Interestingly enough, the French national flag happened to be in three colors, too．Besides, 32 teams took part in the coming World Cup．But early football was made up of eight pieces of leather．As time went by, more pieces of leather were used, from 12 pieces to 18 to 26 and then to 32 now．

　　About three million such new footballs were made．And then some players were playing the new ball in their training．The makers have warned the goalkeeper that the new ball flies in a direct line at a fast speed．

　　After trying the ball for some time, a footballer said that the ball was quite different from the traditional(传统的)black and white one, and that the goalkeeper would find it harder to catch them．Another footballer said that there would be more goals．“For the player on the ground, the new ball is easier to control as it flies．A good player can shoot in more goals,” he said．

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