THE REST OF ELIAS’STORY

ELIAS’STORY

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　　Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 19, 1918, near Umtata, Transkei．A folk hero for South African blacks, Nelson Mandela led the armed struggle against their homeland’s segregationist(隔离主义者)policies．Disappointed by the failure of nonviolent(非暴力)resistance(抵抗), he was an outlaw for 18 months often wearing disguises(伪装)to outwit(以智取生)the authorities(当局)．Finally he became a world-wide symbol of victory against apartheid(种族隔离)when he was freed from a life sentence in prison．

　　To seek a political career, he refused to succeed(继承)his father as chief of the Tembutribe．He studied law．In 1944 he joined the African National Congress(ANC)and helped found its influential(具有影响力的)Youth League．His first prison sentence was for the ANC’s 1952 Defiance Against Unjust Law Campaign．

　　After the 1960 massacre(屠杀)of thousands of unarmed pass-law protesters, Mandela became a fugitive(逃亡者)．The security police caught him in 1962．In 1964 he was convicted(定罪)of acts of sabotage(破坏行为)while leading an underground wing of the banned(禁止的)ANC．As his legend grew, a campaign for his freedom intensified(加强)in the 1980s．Mandela was set free on February 11, 1990．He shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with South Africa’s President, F．W．de Klerk．

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　　Academy Awards The Academy Awards are the most prominent film award in the United States．The Awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences．Academy Awards are nicknamed “Oscars”, which is also the nickname of the statuette(小雕像)．The name is said to have been born when Margaret Herrick saw the statuette on a table and said, “It looks just like my uncle Oscar!”

　　Berlin Film Festival One of the “A” festivals in Europe．The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the “Berlinale”, is held annually in February and started in 1951 after an initiative of the American, who occupied part of the city after World War Ⅱ．The jury(专家评讲团)always placed special emphasis on representing films from all over the world, from the former Eastern Bloc(集团)Countries as well as from western countries．The awards are called Golden and Silver Bears(as the Bear is the symbol of Berlin)．

　　Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival takes place every year in late August/early September on the Lido in the historic Palazzo del Cinema, in Venice, Italy．Its main award is the “Leone d’Oro”(Golden Lion)．Recently, a new award has been added, the San Marco Award for the best film．

　　Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival is a famous international film festival．It has been held annually in Cannes, in the south of France, since 1946 with a few exceptions．Given massive media exposure, the Festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for movie producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe．

　　The most famous award given out at Cannes is the “Palme d’Or”(Golden Palm)for the best film; this is sometimes shared by multiple films in one year．

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　　HOLIDAY HOMES IN MALLORCA

　　Holiday houses in Mallorca sailing and fishing port－quiet even in summer season．Beautifully situated houses with sights of sea and mountains, yet near to shops and restaurants．Cars and bicycles for hire．Sailing and sports clubs nearby．

　　ITALY IN COMFORT

　　Luxury coach(carriage)trips of Italy, out of normal holiday season．21 days to visit five Italian cities starting from London 1st May, 1st September．The trips are guided by professor Martin Davis．Head of Italian Studies, London University．See the arts and culture of historic Italy．

　　KIBBUTZ HOLIDAYS IN ISRAEL(以色列)

　　Working holidays on a kibbutz(co-operative farm)in Israel．All nationalities welcome for one to three months, if prepared to work morning with kibbutz members．Accommodation(住宿), food and trips to historic sights all provided free－you pay only for the special low-cost return flight．

　　TWO WEEKS ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND

　　Two-week holidays in the Hotel Splendid, on a lovely beach with golden sands and deep-blue sea．Tennis, golf, sailing and all water sports, trips around the island arranged．Near to town of Castries with lively evening entertainment－dancing．

　　1st November-31st March＝￡720 per person

　　1st April-30th October＝￡850 per person

　　Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want to see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying．

　　Peter and Maria, university students, want to travel as far as possible on little money, and would like to get to know a country by working there for three months with other young people．

　　Michael, a young computer programmer, has been working hard and needs a holiday to relax in winter．He would like to go somewhere warmer and sunny, where he can swim in the sea, and he enjoys sports and dancing．

　　Herry and Kate, both teachers, and their two sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays．There must be plenty for the boys to do, although Harry and Kate just want to have beautiful scenery, good food, wine and peace．

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　　Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems．For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country．If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy．They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely．They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy．It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them．Tourism should help a country, keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists．Tourism should also increase the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants．

　　Too much tourism can be a problem．If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry．This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer．

　　On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs．Businesses can also lose money．It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads, and other support facilities(配套设施)needed by tourist attractions．For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build．If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money．

　　Building a hotel is just a beginning．There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water．All of these support facilities cost money．If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost．

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　　I have a rule for travel：Never carry a map．I prefer to ask for directions．

　　Foreign visitors are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don’t have names．In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names．For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner．Turn left at the big hotel and go pass a fruit market．The post office is across from the bus stop．”

　　In the countryside of the American Midwest, usually there are not many landmarks．There are no mountains, so the land is very flat(平坦的)．In many places there are no towns or buildings for miles．Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance．In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles．Turn east, and then go another mile．”

　　People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map：they measure distance by means of time, not miles．“How far away is the post office?” you ask．“Oh, ” they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here．” you say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know．

　　People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because visitors seldom understand the Greek language．Instead of giving you the direction, a Greek will often say, “Follow me．” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office．

　　Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question．What happens in this situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea．”But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers, “I don’t know．”People in Yucatan think that “I don’t know” is impolite．They usually give an answer, often a wrong one．A visitor can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

　　One thing will help you everywhere－in Japan, in the United States, in Greece, in Mexico, or in any other place．You might not understand a person’s words, but maybe you can understand his body language．He or she will usually turn and then point in the correct direction．Go in that direction, and you may find the post office!

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pavement人行道　swerve突然转向　insurance保险

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　　Safety on the highways is not totally out of our hands．Here are four ways we can protect ourselves when we travel．

　　1．When your parents said you were safer in a larger car, they were right．

　　People in small cars are injured more often and more severely than people traveling in large cars．Manufacturers of small cars are building in more safety, which helps．But the mix of large cars and small cars on the road is the crux of the problem．No matter how good the safety features on a small car are, it’s at a serious disadvantage in a crash with a vehicle that is a lot bigger and heavier．

　　2．Being slammed into shattering(突然破裂的)glass and metal car parts－or being thrown from the car－can really do damage to flesh and blood．

　　That’s why vehicle passengers and drivers should wear safety belts．The safety belts’ only purpose is to hold back you if your car has a sudden, violent hit with another vehicle or object－or if it rolls over．

　　How much do belts help? A lot．A lap-and-shoulder-belt combination can reduce the risk of fatal(致命的)injury by 45 percent and the chance of serious injury by 50 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA)．

　　3．Air bags are important．

　　More than half of all new cars sold have air bags, and for good reason．Air bags provide additional protection in frontal crashes－the type of crash that kills the most motorists－when passengers and drivers are also wearing lap and shoulder safety belts．Consumers are demanding air bags in the cars they buy．The protection provided by air bags is limited in side or back hits; effective as they are, they can’t take the place of properly fastened safety belts．

　　4．A vehicle’s head restraint(安全头枕)is not for relaxing your head while you wait at a traffic light．

　　The purpose of the head restraint is to protect your neck and head if a car pushes you violently from behind．Without protection, your head can be snapped back, breaking your neck(This is often known as “whiplash”)．The head restraints of a vehicle may or may not be adjustable．“There is a tendency with adjustable restraints to leave them in the lowest position, which protects only short people．If your head restraint is adjustable, it should be set so it can fully support your head and neck in a crash．

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　　The year 2005 has been a year of disasters, but the bad luck of the planet won’t end with the year．If scientists are right, planet earth is 31 years away from a major disaster．A small near-earth object with the potential to cause big damage has grabbed the attention of observers around the world．

　　Astronomers have been monitoring the progress of a 390-metre-wide asteroid(小行星)ever since it was discovered last June．They predicted that it could hit the earth, causing huge damage, in 2036．They are asking governments to develop a strategy for deflecting(使偏离)the asteroid, which was named Apophis after an ancient Egyptian demon．

　　NASA estimates that an impact by Apophis would release more than 100 000 times the energy of the nuclear blast(爆炸)that destroyed Hiroshima．The whole planet would see the effects of the dust released into the atmosphere．

　　An Apophis hit is the worst possible near-earth scenario in recorded history．The asteroid has a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the earth．

　　More than 30 years’warning of potential impact might seem like plenty of time．But scientists insist that there is actually little time left to decide what to do．It could take decades to design, test and build the technology to deflect the asteroid, they say．