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　　The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past．The three-day event is not fixed to the same dates each year,but generally takes place in November or December．It is well attended by tourists,but even better attended by locals．

　　During the opening ceremonies,after the official greetings from the government leaders,people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands,and white camels transport their riders across the sands．Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship．One following another,groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture．Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs．On their knees in the sand,a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair:their long,dark,shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance．

　　The local and visiting Italian dogs are anxious to run after hares．The crowd is on its feet for the camel races．Camels and riders run far into the distance,and then return to the finish Line in front of the cheering people．

　　Towards the evening,there comes the grand finale of the opening day,an extremely exciting horserace．All the riders run very fast on horseback．Some riders hang off the side of their saddles．Some even ride upside down— their legs and feet straight up in the air— all at full speed．Others rush down the course together,men arm in arm,on different horses．On and on they went．So fast and so wonderful!

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　　Hi,everybody!

　　Welcome to our newly-opened Richards Cinema Bookstore!

　　Now let me introduce to you some of the new film books in our store．

　　Are you Chinese film fans?OK,here comes the latest 25 New Takes about Chinese films．It is a collection of 25 fresh readings of different Chinese films from the 1930s to the present．In recent years,Chinese films are very popular in theStates,such as Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon．Hero,and Flowers of Shanghai．

　　Do you like French films?Well,here is The French Cinema Book．It covers French films from the 1890s to the beginning of the 21st century．It is written for all lovers of French cinema：students and teachers,specialists and fans,and so on．

　　Maybe you are Indian film fans and star-chasers．Then here is Encyclopedia（百科全书）of Indian Cinema．The book is a complete introduction to all the best Indian films．It also offers a full list of names of the famous and successful film stars in the past ten years．You know,the Indian film industry is the largest in the world after our Hollywood．

　　If you like British films,we have The British Cinema Book．It is a good review of British cinema．This book contains a good many nice pictures．

　　In our bookstore．you can also find books about Mexican,Japanese,Australian,German and Italian films．

　　Well,please help yourselves to some coffee or tea,andhave a good time here!

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　Jane Austen,a famous English writer,was born at Steventon,Hampshire,on December 16,1775,and died on July 18,1817．She began writing early in life,although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously（匿名）．

　　But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors．She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806,Bath was her home．Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels,Northanger Abbey and Persuasion,which are largely set in Bath．The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it,keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels．Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced（增强）by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street．Here,in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city,you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work．

　　The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance ofmembers of the Jane Austen Society．After your visit to the Centre,you can look round the attractive shop,which offers ahuge collection of Jane Austen related books,cards and many specially designed gifts．Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy．

　　You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath,which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath．The tour lasts about one and a half hours．The experienced guides will takeyou to the places where Jane lived,walked and shopped．

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　　Ecopsychology is a new area of psychology(心理学)．Ecopsychologists study humans and their relationships to the environment(eco)．They feel that the environment is very important to our sense of well-being．In fact,they believe it iscentral to our happiness．If we are going to be happy,we needto connect more with nature．Children are born with this feeling of connection to nature．They often spend long periods of time with plants,trees,and insects．However,as we age,we often lose that sense of joy in nature．

　　Over the centuries,we have become more isolated（分离的）and disconnected from nature．This has hurt society．It has made us more violent,anxious,depressed,and lonely．Peoplewho are close to nature and have good relationships with animals have respect for life．They also have a better chance of being mentally healthy adults．When we understand our bond（联系）to nature-plants and animals— we will live together better as a society．

　　Being a society that is separate from nature has also hurt the environment．Vast areas of our natural world are disappearing．We are overdeveloping the earth and using its resources in an irresponsible（不负责任的）way．It's time to stop this destructive pattern．Therefore,rather than spending our days in concrete buildings and around asphalt streets,weneed to spend more time with nature．Activities such as sailing,gardening,mountain climbing,walking along a trail,orjust relaxing in the backyard can help us reconnect with thenatural world．

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　　American researchers say drinking tea may help strengthen the body's defense system against infection（感染）．Doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston,Massachusetts,did the study．The team studied a chemical found in black,green,oolong and pekoe tea．This chemical is an amino acid（氨基酸）called L-theanine．The scientists say it may increase the strength of gamma delta T cells．That's the letter T,not the drink．Gamma delta T cells are part of the body's defenses．

　　First,the researchers mixed some of these cells with antigens（抗原）found in the amino acid．Antigens help the body react to infection．Then the scienists added some bacteria（细菌）．Within twenty-four hours,the cells produced a lot of interferon,a substance that fights infection．Cells not mixed with the antigens did not produce interferon．

　　In the second part of the study,eleven people drank fiveto six cups of black tea everyday．Ten other people drank the same amount of instant coffee．That is dried coffee mixed with hot water．

　　Two weeks later,and again two weeks after that,the researchers tested the blood of all twenty-one people．They alsolooked at what happened when they added bacteria to the blood cells．They found that the tea drinkers produced five times more interferon after they started drinking tea．The coffee drinkers did not produce interferon．

　　Doctor Jack Bukowski led the study．He says the antigens added to the gamma delta T cells were responsible for the increased reaction to the bacteria．He says the study also showed that the cells were able to remember the bacteria and fight them again the next time．

　　Earlier research already has found that tea can help prevent heart disease and cancer．Doctor Bukowski says the new study must be repeated with more people．If the findings prove to be true,he says,then tea drinking might also help protect against bacterial infections．He says,the amino acid L-theanine could be removed from tea and used as a drug to strengthen the body's defenses．

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　　SYDNEY:As they sat sharing sweets beside a swimming pool in 1999,Shane Gould and Jessicah Schipper were simply getting along well,chatting about sport,life and“anything else that came up”．

　　Yet in Sydney next month,they will meet again by the pool,and for a short time the friends will race against each other in the 50-meter butterfly（蝶泳）in the Australian championships at Homebush Bay．

　　Gould,now a 47-year-old mother of four,has announcedshe will be making a return to elite competition（顶级赛事）to swim the one event,having set a qualifying（合格的）time of 30.32 seconds in winning gold at last year's United StatesMasters championships．Her comeback comes 32 years after she won three golds at the Munich Olympics．

　　Schipper,now a 17-year-old from Brisbane with a bright future of going to Athens for her first Olympics,yesterday recalled（回忆）her time with Gould five years ago．

　　“I was at a national youth camp on the Gold Coast and Shane had come along to talk to us and watch us train,”Schipper explained．“It seemed as if we had long been good friends．I don't know why．We just started talking and it went from there．”

　　“She had a lot to share with all of us at that camp．She told us stories about what it was like at big meet like the Olympics and what it's like to be on an Australian team．It was really interesting．”

　　Next time,things will be more serious．“I will still be swimming in the 50m butterfly at the nationals,so there is a chance that I could actually be competing against Shane Gould,”said Schipper,who burst into the scene at last year's national championships with second places in the 100m and200m butterfly．

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　　Monarch butterflies（黑脉金斑蝶）are a common summer sight in the northern United States and Canada．These large orange and black insects（昆虫）brighten parks and gardens asthey fly lightly among the flowers．What makes monarchs particularly interesting is that they migrate（迁飞） — all the way to California or Mexico and back．They are thought to be the only insect that does this．

　　Every year in the late summer monarchs begin their journey to the south．Those heading for Mexico go first for the Louisiana-Mississippi area,then fly across the Gulf of Mexico into Texas．Once in Mexico,they settle themselves in one of about fifteen places in a mountain forest filled with fir trees．Each place provides a winter home for millions of monarchs．The butterflies are so many that they often cover entire trees．When spring comes,they begin their long journey north．

　　The question is often asked whether every butterfly makes the round-trip journey every year．And the answer is no．The average monarch lives about nine months．So one flying north might lay eggs in Louisiana and then die．The eggs of that generation may be found in Kentucky;the eggs of the next generation may end up in Wisconsin or Michigan．The last generation of the season,about the fourth,will make their way back to Mexico and restart the journey．

　　Scientists learn about monarchs' migration by catching and making marks on the insects．By recatching a monarch with such a mark and noticing where it came from,the next scientist can get to know things like the butterfly's age and its routing（路线）．

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　　A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months．

　　The system,called Driver Alert,aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%～40% that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue．

　　Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband．The device,worn by drivers or pilots,gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel（方向盘）．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver's response．

　　Tiredness is directly related to a driver's response time．Usually,a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond,but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds,it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．

　　In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds,showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver's response continues to slow down,the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible．

　　The device has been delivered to the department's laboratories for testing．If these tests,scheduled for six months'time,are successful,the makers will bring the product tomarket within about a year．

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　　Use your American Express Card to enjoy one-day privileges at four of America's greatest museums．Note the participating museums,and their exciting special exhibitions thatyou will not want to miss,listed below．

　　Boston

　　Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

　　Chairs

　　February 11-May 8,2005

　　Italian furniture expert Fausto Calderai and Indian photographer Dayanita Singh present an exhibition of chairs from the museum's collection and“chair photographs”from around the world presented in a Venetian-style hall housing world-famous master— pieces．

　　For more information:www．gardnemuseum．org

　　New York

　　The Noguchi Museum

　　Noguchi and Craham

　　December 1,2004～May 1,2005

　　Noguchi's long-term collaboration with dancer Martha Graham is regarded by many as a high point in the history of both modern dance and art．The exhibition highlights nine of the sets created through this collaboration．

　　For more information:www．noguchi．org

　　Philadelphia

　　Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

　　In Full View:American Painting（1720～2005）

　　January ll～April 10,2005

　　Founded in 1805,the Pennsylvania Academy has beenhome to America's artists for 200 years．The Academy collects and exhibits the works of famous American artists,and iswell-known for training fine artists．2005 at the Academy begins with the largest exhibition of the Academy's distinguished American collection in the institution's history．

　　For more information:www．pals．org

　　Seattle

　　Seattle Museum of Glass

　　Murano：Class from the Olnick Spanu Collection

　　Through November 7,2004

　　This exhibition includes over 200 pieces of beautiful glass from Murano,the island of glassblowers near Venice,Italy．Watch live glass-blowing shows in the Hot Shop and see other modern glass exhibitions．

　　For more information:www．museumofglass．org

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　　Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains．These mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor．Lots of stores,hotels,and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds．Also,water,roads,and other service systems are part of the infrastructure（基础设施）that must be maintained．

　　Unfortunately,these systems are starting to break down．It's not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation．

　　Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin,a National Park Service worke．The park is not only old but worn out．Two or three times as many visitors come every year．That is too many visitors for the park to deal with．

　　Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon．The National Park Service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors．Last month pipes almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while．

　　Why hasn't the National Park Service kept up the park repairs?There is a lack of money．The United States has 378 monuments,parks,and wilderness areas．Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs．

　　Yosemite is one national park that does have money for repairs．It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses．When the park workers started widening the road,they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club．The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park．

　　A Sierra Club lawyer,Julia Olson,feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite．That way less pressure will be put on the already crowded park．

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