In the past, when people had problems, they went to their families or friends to get advice．Today, it is possible to get advice from radio shows, TV programs and telephone hot lines, too．A hot line is a telephone line that offers a direct way of getting in touch with advisers．Most hot lines are anonymous(匿名)－callers do not have to say their names or telephone numbers．Most hot lines are usually free, too．Callers do not have to pay for the advice or the phone calls－even if the calls are long distance(距离)．At some hot lines, the advisers are volunteers．Other hot lines pay their advisers for their work．Usually the advisers are professionals(专业人员)with years of education and experience, but sometimes, the advisers have taken a short class before starting to work on the hot line．All the advisers listen to people and help them settle their problems．

　　Today I read something about World Wild Fund(WWF)．Its goal is to protect the environment and animals and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature．Here are some actions WWF will take：

　　*Protect the world's biological(生物多样化)；

　　*Make sure that natural resources(资源)can be used again and again;

　　*Protect wild animals around the world．

　　And here are some natural facts that WWF has found out：

　　*As much as 20 percent of the world's species could be gone in the next 30 years;

　　* 1998 was the warmest year in history．In the past 120 years, there were 10 warmest years and they all occurred after 1981;

　　*In the last 50 years, more than 75,000 chemicals(化学物质)have been developed and introduced into the environment．

　　This organization is trying to solve these problems．It is also part of the United Nations．With such wonderful organizations like WWF, don't you think we can make the world a better place to live in?

　　It was over two months before Christmas when 9-year-old Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bike．Her old Barbi bike was just too old and it often needed repairs．As Christmas came nearer, her dream for a bike seemed to disappear, for she didn't mention it again．

　　Then much to our surprise, on December 24, she said that she really wanted a bike as the Christmas present more than anything else．Now we didn't know what to do．It was too late．We were busy with Christmas dinner and packing presents for our children, and also friends till midnight．So there was no time to buy the right bike for our girl．Thinking that we might in this way make our child unhappy at Christmas, we felt guilty and sad．

　　Suddenly my husband came up with an idea．“What if I make a little bike out of the clay and write a note that she could trade in the model bike for a real one after Christmas?”So he spent the next 5 hours working on a smallclay bike．On Christmas morning, we were very excited For Almie Rose to open the little box with the beautiful red and white bike and the note．She opened the box and read the note loudly．She looked at me and said,“Yes．”

　　Almie Rose had tears in her eyes when she replied,“I would never trade in this beautiful bike that Daddy made me．I prefer to keep it rather than get a real one．”At that moment, we thought we would have moved the God to buy her every bike on earth．

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　　Most, American students have said goodbye to fancy(漂亮的)fruits these days．In school canteens across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges have taken the place(取代)．“People are afraid to spend too much now,”said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store．“They don't know what the future will bring．”

　　During the financial crisis(金融危机), several of the country's biggest banks have been forced to sell or close．This has made lots of Americans afraid to buy expensive goods．Samira Marino, a restaurant owner in Miami, has found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals．In more than two-dozen interviews with The Associated Press across the country last month, Americans talked about their concerns from worries about small businesses to doubts about simply making a living．

　　The crisis began last year．Experts think it was because the US banks lent money too easily．Last year a lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, found themselves unable to pay it back．This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money．Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across the borders, the whole world was in trouble．

　　The US government agreed on a ＄700 billion plan to try to save the financial market．But no one was sure whether it would help or not．Top finance officials from 20 countries promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble．

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　　Different weather makes people feel different．It influences health, intelligence(智力)and feelings．

　　In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part：of the United States．People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month．In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot at some time and very cold at other time．People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March．

　　The weather can also influence intelligence．For example, in a 1983 report by scientists, IQ of a group of students was very high when a very strong wind came, but．after the strong wind, their IQ was 10％below．The wind can help people have more intelligence．Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower．Students in many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot months of the year－July and August．

　　Weather also has a strong influence on people's feelings．Winter may be a bad time for thin people．They usually feel cold during these months．They might feel unhappy during cold weather．But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer．At about 18℃, people become stronger．

　　Low air pressure(气压)may make people forgetful．People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low-pressure days．There is also“good weather”for work and health．People feel best at a temperature of about 18 centigrade．

　　Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today?It may be the weather's problem．

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　　Communication is a problem for parents and children of all ages．If it's hard for you to communicate with your parents, don't worry about it．Here is some advice for you to bridge the generation gap(代沟)．

　　Don't argue with your parents．Don't talk to your parents when you are angry．Your parents probably won't consider your ideas if you shout at them．And you can't express yourself well if you are angry．Go to some place to cool off．Make sure you understand why you are unhappy．Then think about what you want to say to your parents．If you don't think you can speak to them at the moment, try writing a letter．

　　Try to reach a compromise(妥协)．Perhaps you and your parents disagree on something．You can keep your disagreement and try your best to accept each other．Of course, your parents might refuse to compromise on something．If that happens, it is especially important to show love and respect(尊敬)to them．Showing respect will keep your relationship strong．

　　Talk about your values(价值观)．The values of your parents are probably different from those of your own．Tell your parents what you care about, and why．Understanding values might help them see your purpose in life．

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　　Having Fun“Growing”and“Stealing”?

　　Recently, an Internet game has become a new fashion among young office workers and students．People can“farm”on a piece of“land”and“grow”,“sell”or even“steal”“vegetables”．“flowers”and“fruits”on the Net．They can earn some e-money and buy more “seeds”,“pets”and even“houses”．

　　Joyce interviewed some young people．Here are their opinions．

　　Harold：I don't quite understand why they are so mad about the childish game．Maybe they aye just not confident enough to face the real world．

　　Allan：I enjoy putting some“bugs”in my friends'gardens and we've become closer because of the game．Having fun together is the most exciting thing about it．

　　Laura：You know, people in the city are longing for(渴望)the life in the countryside．It reduces my work pressure(压力)；besides, it gives me the exciting experience of being a“thief”．

　　Ivy：Well．it's just a waste of time．Teenagers playing the game spend so many hours on it that they can not focus on(专注于)their study．

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　　When he was a teenager, Hunter Adams was very unhappy, and he spent many years in the 1960s and 1970s in a special hospital for people with mental health problems．

　　When he left hospital, Adams decided to become a doctor, so he went to a medical school in Virginia, in America． But when he was there, he did things in different ways． For example, he didn't like the doctors' white coats, so he wore shins with flowers on them when he visited his patients, and he tried to make them laugh． The doctors at the medical school didn't like Adams very much because he was too different．

　　Adams believed that people in hospital need more than just medicine． He saw unhappy and lonely people, and he tried to help them, not just as patients, but as people too． He spent a lot of time with children in hospital, and often put a special red nose on his face so he looked like a clown(小丑)and made the children laugh．

　　When he finished medical school and became a doctor, Adams opened his own hospital, called The  Gesundheit  Institute, with some other doctors．They wanted it to be a place with a different way of working with sick people．

　　Hunter Adams became famous during the l980s, and in 1998, Universal Pictures made a film about his life． It was very successful．In the film, Robin Williams played Adams．Williams said。“said,”Hunter is a really warm person, who believes that patients need a doctor who's a  friend． I enjoyed playing him．”

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　　Buster Brown was a thief－and a good one, too, he thought．He'd never been caught by the police because he was always well prepared．He stood outside the house and read the sign on the front gate of the house．“Don't worry about the dog－be aware of the owner!”it said, Buster smiled and found his way in．

　　The house looked quite normal outside, but inside it was very unusual with beautiful and wonderful things．As he began putting them into his bag, a dog came into the room．It stopped when it saw Buster．and then went over to him, licking(舔)his open hand．“Good boy,”Buster whispered．“What a great guard dog you are－trying to lick me to death．”

　　Satisfied he'd made friends with the dog, Buster began to walk around the house, choosing things to put in his bag．His skilled eyes picked out only the best antiques(古董)．His new friend, the dog, sat and watched．

　　“Well, boy,”Buster whispered, finally．“That might do．Any more and I won't be able to carry it!”He moved the heavy bag onto his shoulders, just as the lights came on．He covered his eyes with his hand．

　　“You're a very silly person,”the man in the doorway said．As the man got closer, Buster could see he was well dressed．His face seemed familiar, but Buster couldn't remember where he had seen him before．

　　“You should have taken more notice of the sign outside,”the man shouted．“I knew about this attempted robbery last week and I also know you will end up behind bars for 20 years．How can you try to rob the house of a world famous fortune teller(算命者)!”

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