Twenty-five years ago, Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economics teacher, was visiting a village when he met a Woman who made bamboo stools．She couldn't afford to buy the bamboo to make the stools, so she had to borrow the money from the bamboo sellers and then pay them a large part of the profit(利润)from each one she sold．There was so little money left for her to keep that she couldn't afford to buy more bamboo, so she had to borrow more money．And so the cycle continued with no way out for her．She couldn't borrow money from friends or family because they were as poor as she was．She couldn't borrow from the bank because she had no collateral(property or land)to guarantee that she would pay back the loan．

　　Yunus went around the village and found forty-two people Who were in the same situation－trapped in a cycle of poverty with no escape．When he added up the amount of money that they needed to break free of the cycle, it came to just twenty-seven dollars．As Yunus says,“I felt ashamed of myself for being part of a society which could not provide even twenty-seven dollars to forty-two hardworking, skilled human beings．”

　　He lent them the money and told them to pay it back whenever they could．He got all of it back, so he went to other villages and did the same thing．He always got his money back．The official banks didn't want to get involved in what he was doing, so Yunus started his own bank．The Grameen bank was born, and with it a new approach to lending money-micro-credit．

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　　China is going green．In order to reduce air pollution and oil-shortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles(混合燃料汽车)for the Chinese market．Toyota's hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week．Let's have a look at the new car．

　　Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power．Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline．Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gasoline engines．They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising(巡航)．A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration is needed．

　　Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine．The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than a traditional car．At this point, the car's gasoline engine is dormant(休眠)．The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24 km/h．If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off．

　　The onboard(车载的)Computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two．If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal(油门)，you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go．

　　The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries．When driving at high speed, the-gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries．Any time you use the brake; the electric motor in the wheels, will work like a generator and produce electricity to recharge the batteries．As a consequence, the car's batteries will last for around 200,000 miles．

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　　I have been a primary-school teacher for over 30 years．I teach English in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to pupils who are members of racial minorities．Currently I work with Haitian immigrant children who do not speak English when they enter school．Their families come from a country where violence is all too common．Haitian schools are often closed; indeed, in the past ten years, there has not been a single complete school year．Grinding poverty results in a very low level of literacy．Parents seldom have founds for books, paper or pencils．When the children of such families arrive in the US, they are wholly unprepared to compete with their middle-class agemates．

　　How should we teachers help them to learn, especially to learn English?

　　We surround the child with spoken English, encouraging them to use any words they pick up and ignoring all mistakes．We read books aloud, ask questions and constantly encourage responses．A child may start with one word, for example“water”, but by day 3 he can say“Me water, and by day 5,“I want water”．Language grows from small beginnings as the teacher constantly prods the child to use single words and to make longer utterances as he learns．When the child is using English, we don't correct errors in pronunciation．We see such mistakes as the act of practicing a new skill．By trying out his new English skills, the pupil will improve on his own．If he is corrected each time, he will become reluctant to keep trying．

　　We do not teach English by having students memorize words．Instead we start by teaching phonics, which is the study of the sounds that letter make．Phonics provides children a code; pupils learn individual letter sounds and then learn how letters work in group．

　　Test results show that my students make from one to three years' progress within on school year．Our immigrant children, members of racial minorities, are beginning to close the enormous gap in achievement between minority and majority students．

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阅读理解。

　　One of the largest countries in Texas is named for Captain Erastus“Deaf”Smith－a deaf man．Captain Smith was the leader of General Sam Houston's scouts during the Texas Revolution, the war in which Texas won its freedom from Mexico．The county named in his honor is called Deaf Smith County．

　　A scout in the days of the Texas Revolution was much like what a spy is today．Captain“Deaf”Smith would find out where enemy troops were camped and how many men the enemy had, and he would report to Sam Houston．Even when other people could not see or hear any sign of people or animals, Captain Smith would know where they were．Sometimes he would guide Texas troops through enemy territory without the enemy even knowing they were there．

　　Erastus Smith was born in New York on April 19,1787; but went to live：in Mississippi when he was 11 years old．He went to Texas for a short time in 1817, and four years later returned to Texas to stay; He wandered over Texas as a surveyor(测量员)before he volunteered for army service after the start of the Texas Revolution．

　　Smith married a Mexican woman, and they had four children－three girls and one boy．He spent a lot of time learning the customs, manners, and language of the Mexican settlers．When the Texas Revolution began in 1835, Smith at first refused to take part in it out of respect for his family's heritage(传统)．However, after Mexican troops tried to stop him from going to San Antonio to visit his family, he volunteered for service with the Texans．He was made a captain．

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　　Mobile phones have a long and varied history that stretches back to the 1950s, with hand-held devices being available since 1983．Due to their low establishment costs and rapid development, mobile phone networks have since spread rapidly throughout the world．Such networks can often be economic, even with a small customer base, as mobile network costs are mostly call volume related, while fixed-line telephony has a much higher subscriber related cost component．

　　In most of Europe, wealthier parts of Asia, and Australasia, mobile phones are now virtually universal, with the majority of the adult, teenage, and even child population owning one．They are less common in the United States than elsewhere in the developed world．Reasons advanced for this include incomplete coverage, a mixture of incompatible technical standards, relatively high minimum monthly service charges(around 30), and the availability of relatively low-cost fixed-line networks(around 30 for unlimited local calling)．Prepaid or pay as you go services, common elsewhere, are far less common in the U．S．, and are much more expensive than comparable services in other countries．Furthermore, text messaging was not a standard feature in North America until recently, and unlike in most other countries, the ability to use international roaming is still rare．The shortage of telephone numbers in the North American Numbering Plan(NANP), and the lack of non-regional special telephone numbers for mobile services, means that the pricing system used elsewhere cannot be used, and as a result users pay to receive calls, discouraging cell phone use．The same technical issues affect mobile telephony in Canada, as it uses the same mix of incompatible standards as does the U．S．, and is also part of the NANP．

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　　Meetings are wonderful tools for generating ideas, expanding on thoughts and managing group activity．But this face-to-face contact with team members and colleagues can easily fail without adequate preparation and leadership．

　　Once a meeting time and place has been chosen, make yourself available for questions that may arise as participants prepare for the meeting．If you are the meeting leader, make a meeting agenda, complete with detailed notes．In these notes, outline the goal and proposed structure of the meeting, and share this with the participants．This will allow all involved to prepare and to come to the meeting ready to work together to meet the goals at hand．

　　Choosing the right participants is key to the success of any meeting．Make sure all participants can contribute and choose good decision-makers and problem-solvers．Make sure the people with the necessary information for the items listed in the meeting agenda are the ones that are invited．

　　If you are the leader, work diligently to ensure everyone's thoughts and ideas are heard by guiding the meeting so that there is a free flow of debate with no individual dominating and no extensive discussions between two people．When an agenda item is resolved or action is agreed upon, make it clear who in the meeting will be responsible for this．

　　Meetings are notorious for eating up people's time．Here are some ways of ensuring that time is not wasted in meetings．Start on time．Don't recap what you've covered if someone comes in late：doing so sends the message that it is OK to be late for meetings, and it wastes everyone else's valuable time．State a finish time for the meeting and don't over-run．To help stick to the stated finish time, arrange your agenda in order of importance so that if you have to omit or rush items at the end to make the finish time, you don't omit or skimp on important items．Finish the meeting before the stated finish time if you have achieved everything you need to．

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　　The United States Department of Agriculture says high demand for ethanol fuel made from corn will mean higher meat prices．In its monthly crop report on March ninth, the department said feed costs are rising for cows, pigs and poultry birds．Corn, or maize, is their main feed．

　　Corn has been selling at more than three dollars a bushel．Last year, the average was two dollars．

　　The government says ethanol is using twenty percent of the American corn crop from last year．With this year's harvests, the amount is expected to reach twenty-five percent．

　　In January, Tyson Foods, the world's biggest meat processor, reported its first profitable three-month period in a year．But the head of the Arkansas company warned that sharply higher corn prices have become a“major issue”for the food industry．Richard Bond says people will have to pay more for food because companies will be forced to pass along rising costs．

　　But Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner says demand for corn will probably get farmers to plant more corn．A University of Missouri Extension official says ethanol could bring the biggest change in American agriculture since farmers began planting soybeans．

　　Some economists have suggested that land from the Conservation Reserve Program should be used for additional corn production．But the Agriculture Department says only a limited area of land will be released for use over the next four years．The program supports the planting of things like native grasses or trees to reduce the loss of soil from croplands．

　　The department has appointed a committee to study the needs of bio-fuel producers．These are fuels like ethanol that are made from renewable resources．

　　On March ninth, the United States and Brazil signed a cooperation agreement on bio-fuels technology．The signing took place in Sao Paulo during the first stop on a trip by President Bush to Latin America．Seventy percent of the world's ethanol supply comes from the United States and Brazil．But while most American ethanol is made from corn, most Brazilian ethanol is from sugar cane．

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阅读理解。

　　Since earliest times we humans have been thrilled and chilled by things we can not understand－weather, death, the movement of stars and planets, even the darkness of night．

　　In order to cope with these great terrors, myths and legends were born－dragons and ghosts and winged beings from heavenly realms．

　　Even today, as we enter the new age, the old fears remain．Instead of dragons and ghosts and lost civilizations like Atlantis, however, modern terrors include UFOs, tropical plagues(瘟疫)and killer asteroids from the far reaches of space．

　　Anyone who thinks we have outgrown our old fears and fascination for the unknown need only visit a bookstore or tune in to cable television．Many of these popular books and programs deal with angels, ghosts, lost civilizations, UFOs, doomsday comets and other mysteries．

　　Wouldn't it be wonderful, I used to think deeply, if someone came along and did a book about the mysteries－a kind of no-nonsense summary that gives us a brief but thorough overview of the word's greatest mysteries of science, religion, folklore and history?

　　Fortunately, such a book has now appeared－E．Randall Floyd's startlingly clear and concise 100 of the World's Greatest Mysteries：Strange Secrets of the Past Revealed．From the Big Bang and rise of man to death-dealing asteroids and spontaneous human destruction by fire, this book covers them all, an amazing range of facts, figures and human drama, all told from a seasoned journalist's perspective．

　　Mr．Floyd, a former European correspondent for United Press International, professor of history, motion pictures screenwriter and author of more than a dozen-best-selling books, says the idea for the book originated with his nationally syndicated newspaper column, Strange Encounters．He spent five years researching and writing the book．

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　　A few weeks ago I was about to take my son to his ice hockey game when I noticed something unusual．He was fully dressed and ready to leave, except that one side of his shirt was tucked(塞)into his trousers while the other side remained hanging out．

　　“John, you look great, but you forgot to tuck in your shirt”, I said．

　　“Dad, you don't understand…”he replied,“I keep one side of my shirt out on purpose．It's for good luck．”

　　And then I understood．Superstitions(迷信)and sports go hand in hand．In fact, I would bet that superstitious behavior has been a part of sports since the beginning of organized games．

　　Perhaps you've noticed your own young athlete developing some unusual pre-game rituals(仪式)：putting on the same dirty undershirt game after game, wearing one sock up and one sock down, eating a particular pre-game meal, listening to the same song on the tape while riding to the game．

　　In fact, from my experience of observing even top professional athletes, superstitions are nothing more than patterns that many athletes go through, not so much to ensure good luck, but rather to help them relax and be comfortable．

　　It is unusual for six-or-seven-year-old children to have already developed some sports superstitions, but by the time they're 10 or 11, your kids might begin displaying some odd behavior before a game．As a parent, don't be overly concerned．

　　Of course, you'll want to respect your child's requests about wearing that special“lucky shirt”or making certain you feed him that“lucky breakfast”or whatever．Don't put down the ritual．However, you should point out to your child that while it's fine to develop a pre-game ritual to help him or her prepare for a contest, you'll also want to emphasize that one's success in sports is much more a function of hard work, practice and determination．After all, those are the real values you want to put into your child's mind．

　　Most superstitions last only as long as the athlete continues to experience“good luck”．Once that streak of good fortune runs out, he'll be glad to drop that undershirt into the washing machine．

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　　Most of us lead an unhealthy life：we spend far too much time sitting down．If in addition we are careless about our diets, our bodies soon become loose and fatty and our systems slow-moving．There are some aspects(方面)of our unhealthy lives that we cannot avoid．I am thinking of such features of modern city life as pollution, noise, rushed meals and stress．But keeping fit is a way to reduce the effects of these evils．The usual suggestion to a person who is looking for a way to keep fit is to take up some sport or other．While it is true that every weekend you will find people playing football and hockey in the local park, they are outnumbered a hundred to one by the people who are simply watching them．

　　For those who do not particularly enjoy competitive sports and it is especially difficult to do so if you are not good at them－there are such separate activities as cycling, walking, jogging and swimming．What often happens though is that you do them in such a leisurely way, so slowly, that it is doubtful if you are doing yourself much good, except for the fact that you have at least managed to get up out of your armchair．

　　Even after you have found a way for keeping in shape, through sport or gymnastics, you are still only half way to good health, because, according to the experts, you must also master the art of complete mental and physical relaxation．It has to do with deep breathing, emptying your mind of all thoughts, meditation, and so on．Yoga, as practiced in the West, is the most widely known and popular of the systems for achieving the necessary state of relaxation．It seems ironical(讽刺的)，though, that as ourselves have improved in a material sense we have found it increasingly necessary to go back to forms of activity－physical effort on the one hand and relaxation on the other－which were the natural way of life of our forefathers．

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