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　　Full-time university students spend all their time studying．They don’t do other work．Their course usually lasts for three or four years．Medical students have to follow a course lasting for six or seven years．Then they graduate as doctor．In Britain, full-time university students have three terms of about ten weeks in each year．During these terms they go to lectures or they study by themselves．Their vacations are long, but of course they can use them to study at home．

　　Some universities, like Oxford and Cambridge in England, are residential．This means that during the university terms the students live in universities．

　　Other universities are non-residential．Some of the students at these universities can live in a university hotel, but many live at home or in lodgings and have to travel daily to their lectures．Large cities often have universities of this kind, sometimes the students have to spend a lot of time on their journeys．

　　Full-time students are also called internal students, because they spend all their times at universities．There are also external students who cannot attend the university full-time but who are studying for its examinations．They are part-time students．They have to do other work during the day, usually to earn their living, and they study in the evening．

　　External students are often older than full-time internal students．Sometimes they can attend lectures in the evening, but many of them have to study by correspondence(函授)．they write at home the work that is set by their tutors(指导教师)．Then have to pass their work to their tutors post corrections and advice back to them．

　　In some countries, “Universities of the Air” can now help students to receive degrees．After special lectures on radio or television, these students have to send set work for correction by correspondence．However, for a few weeks each year they can attend special vacation course at universities．

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　　You are what you eat and fats are a main food for Asia’s fast-food generation．Dr．Chwang, director of the Department of Food Nutrition, says children are consuming more meat and soft drinks．That is a thorough departure from the traditional diet of vegetables and rice and little meat．“They like big pieces of fried meat with a soft drink．So although they may eat the same volume of food, their calorie intake(卡路里摄入量)has increased．Now that 40 to 45 percent of their calories come from fat, ”says Chwang．

　　Although on the whole Asians tend to thinness, culture－namely Asians’ hospitality－is a reason for the fatness of today’s generation, according to Chwang．“Asian people love food, ”she says．“Eating and drinking are important social and family functions．”In the past, however, big meals were only hosted on special occasions, as people were more careful with money．In today’s climate of wealth and remarkable consumption, 10-course meals are no longer reserved for significant occasions．

　　“In the past, people had four or more children－now, they have one or two, so they tend to spoil them, ”says Chwang．“The earliest way is to give them quality food．Parents think feeding them well is showing their love．They feel bad when their children look thin．”

　　When describing the physical condition of most overweight Asian children, Chwang says：“there is a clear relation between fatness and indoor play．Children get fat because they don’t move, and eventually, they don’t want to move because they are fat．”

　　Thanks to technology, a growing army of children prefer video games to old outdoor sports．“What do children do when watching TV or sitting in front of the computer playing video games? They eat chocolate and drink Coke,” says Chwang．

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　　Richard Gray was a famous explorer．He was also a millionaire．He had visited every country in the world．He had crossed the Antarctic, flown across the Atlantic by balloon, and climbed Mount Everest．Last year he decided to walk across Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth．He walked for days over the hot desert sand．One night he found the camp where he had been the night before．Gray had walked in a circle．He was lost．

　　Two days later he had drunk all his water．He couldn’t walk．He crawled to the top of a sand dune, and there he saw a man．The man was wearing smart, clean trousers, a white shirt and a tie．Gray crawled over to him．

　　“Water…water…”he said．

　　“I’m terribly sorry, old boy, ”replied the man, “but I haven’t got any water with me．”

　　“Help me!” shouted Gary, “I’m a rich man…a millionaire…I’ll give you anything．”

　　“That’s very nice of you, old boy, ”said the man．“Look, I can’t give you any water, but would you like to buy my tie?”

　　“A tie? Of course not!” screamed Gray, and crawled away．He crawled slowly up the next sand dune．His mouth was full of sand．His lips were cracked and dry．He couldn’t breathe．He reached the top of the dune and there he saw a huge good hotel．Girls were swimming in the large swimming pool．Beautiful fountains were all around the hotel．

　　“Is it a mirage?” he thought．“Am I dying?” He stood up and staggered down the dune．

　　A waiter in a shining white uniform came out of the door．

　　“Water…water…a bath! Food!” screamed Gray．

　　“I’m sorry, you can’t come into this hotel, ”said the waiter．

　　“Why not? I’ve got plenty of money．I’m a millionaire．”

　　“Ah, ”replied the waiter, “but you aren’t wearing a tie,”

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　　While many teenagers may dream of meeting with pop star Jay Chou or NBA hero Yao Ming, Li Jing had a far more powerful person on her mind．The Senior 2 from Beijing No．35 High School dreamt of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin．

　　After more than a year of hard work and with a little good luck, Li fulfilled her dream．On October 11, 2004, the 16-year-old girl joined a team of Chinese journalists who went to the Kremlin, in Moscow, to interview Putin．

　　Li felt nervous before talking with Putin．“But his greeting and warm smile put me at ease, ”she said．

　　Li admires Putin very much, because of his strong will and style of leadership．“He looks very cool, ”Li said．During her interview, Li asked Putin whether he plans to educate his two teenage daughters to be officials in the future．Putin smiled and answered he hopes they can do whatever job suits their interests and personalities．

　　Although Li would only have several minutes, she started working on her interview questions last August after applying for the opportunity．“Journalists work is by no means easy．You need to do lots of homework on your interviewee, ”she said．She read many books about Putin and Russia in her spare time．

　　Li’s parents encouraged her to be a student journalist．“We fully support her, as long as it does not affect her studies, ”said her father．Previously in her job for a student magazine, Chinese Young Journalists, she wrote a letter to president Hu Jintao during the SARS epidemic．

　　Li has learnt a lot from her experience．She said learning to manage her time and develop the confidence to speak with important people were not things she could learn in class．

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　　Deep into the night, the bus pulled into a Howard Johnson’s restaurant and everybody got off the bus except Vinge．The young people began to wonder about him, trying to imagine his life：perhaps he was a sea captain; maybe he had run away from wife; he could be an old soldier going home．When they went to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself．After a long time, slowly and painfully, he began to tell his story．He had been in prison in New York for the last four years, and now he was going home．

　　“Well, when I was in prison I wrote to my wife．I said, Martha, I understand if you can’t stay married to me．I said I was going to be away a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, if it hurt her too much, well, she could just forget me．Get a new young man－she’s a wonderful woman－and forget all about me．I told her she didn’t have to write to me, and she didn’t, Not for the three and a half years．”

　　“Last week, when I was sure freedom was coming through, I wrote to her．I told her that if she had a new young man, I would understand．But if she didn’t, if she would take me back, she should let me know．We used to live in this town, Brunswick, and there’s a great big oak tree just as you come into the town．I told her if she would take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and if she didn’t want me, forgot me, no handkerchief and I’d keep going on through．”

　　Soon all the others were in it．When they were 20 miles from Brunswick, the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree．Vinge stopped looking, tightening his face into the ex-con’s mask．Then it was 10 miles, and then five, and the bus became very quiet．

　　Then suddenly all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying, doing small dances．All except Vinge．

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　　When Rikke Dausen in Denmark goes to get some milk from the fridge, she has trouble getting past the refrigerator door．But it’s not because of any physical obstruction(障碍)．It’s usually because the PC monitor in her refrigerator’s door has informed her that a new e-mail message has arrived．Rikke and her husband are taking part in a six-month test sponsored(赞助)by a Danish firm and two Swedish partners．They hope to show that computers can be put to much more practical daily use than most people think．Fifty families and singles were provided with a free model known as the “Screenfridge” for the period of the test．

　　“It’s really very clever, ”says Rikke．She can call up e-mail, news reports, sales items at the supermarket or addresses out of the endless ocean of Internet possibilities．“I’m not the type who wants to sit in front of the computer and wait 10 minutes for the modem to connect, ”she says．The creators of the Screenfridge aim at this type of buyer．They think that the machine should attract people who have limited time to solve technical problems or surf online．The PC that is built into the door is very small．It is only two centimeters wide, and completely silent．Everything moves quickly, as Rikke admits．Well, the whole thing is really just an amusement, she says．But when the thing is gone after the test, it will be a pain to have to go down in the basement again to download my e-mail．

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　　Kristy, 28, a cook in La Gross, often wondered what she’d do in a life threatening situation．On August 29, she got her answer．While she was driving on a road, a big truck hit its head on a pickup car．The pickup burst into flames．Kristy rushed out and ran to the pickup．Two farmers, Deam Bernhard, 51, and his brother Donald, 44, were inside．

　　When she got close, Kristy could see the unconscious driver．The other man was under the passenger seat．“The smells were sickening．I was afraid the truck would blow up and kill us all, ”said Kristy．

　　The driver of the big truck was struggling to open the passenger door, do Kristy rushed to the driver’s side．Finally they opened the door．She reached in, seized the driver and, to her horror, felt her hands sink into his chest．She quickly dragged the man to safety on the roadside, then hurried back．As Kristy started down the ditch(水沟)with the passenger, the pickup exploded．She jumped on top of him and they both rolled to safety．

　　Today, the two farmers, each the father of two children, are good friends with Kristy．To show their deep appreciation, they bought her a ring with nine diamonds－one for each member of their immediate families, and the ninth for her．

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　　For many in the USA．Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population．Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine, many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds．

　　Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800’s when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as “Amreeka”．

　　Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves．The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924．The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian, and some Egyptian immigrants．These new immigrants, who were mostly Christian, came to America in search of better opportunities．Even the doomed Titanic, which set sail for America in 1912, had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard．The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants; they are the third or more generation Americans．

　　The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ, caused by political unrest in the Middle East．This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims and continues to this day．

　　Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States, according to demographers．And quite different from popular belief, 64 percent of them are American-born．Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens．

　　Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income．Education is important among Arab-Americans; 82 percent have high school diplomas, 36 percent have bachelor’s degrees or higher, and 15 percent have graduate degrees．The median average income among Arab-Americans is ＄39 580, which is higher than the US average．

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　　For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in．The reason is obvious：the graying of America means jobs．Coupled with the aging of the baby-boom(生育高峰)generation, a longer life span means that the nation’s elderly population will expand greatly over the next 50 years．By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995．The change sets questions for governments and society, of course, But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions, and in law and business as well．“In addition to the doctors, we’re going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers, ”says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California’s(USC)School of Gerontology(老年学)．

　　Lawyers can specialize in “elder law”, which covers everything from trusts and estates(资产)to nursing-home abuse(虐待)and age discrimination(歧视)．Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees in human history．“Any students who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money, ”one professor says．

　　Margarite Santos is a 21-year old senior at USC．She began college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria”．So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she liked it．She says, “I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying．”

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　　The summer of 1936, the Olympic Games were being held in Berlin because Adolf Hitler childishly insisted that his performers were members of a “master race”．

　　I wasn’t too worried about this．I’d trained, sweated myself for six years, with the Games in mind．On my way there all I could think about was taking home one or two of those gold medals．I had my eyes especially on the running broad jump．A year before, as a sophomore(大二学生)．I’d set the world’s record of 26 feet 8.25 inches．Nearly everyone expected me to win this event．

　　I was in for a surprise．When the time came for the broad-jump trials, a tall German boy named Luz Long hit the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps! And Hitler hoped to win the jump with him, If Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis “master race” theory．After all, I am a Negro．Angry about Hitler’s ways, I determined to go and really show Der Fuhrer and his master race who was superior and who wasn’t．

　　An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes．I was no exception．On the first two of my three qualifying jumps, I fouled(犯规)twice．

　　Walking from the pit, I kicked angrily at the dirt．Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder．I turned to look into the friendly blue eyes of the tall German broad jumper, who had easily qualified for the finals on his first attempt．He offered me a firm handshake．

　　“Jesse Owens, I’m Luz Long．I don’t think we’ve met．”He spoke English well, though with a German twist to it．

　　“Glad to meet you, ”I said．Then, trying to hide my nervousness, I added, “How are you?”

　　“I’m fine．The question is：How are you?”

　　“What do you mean?” I asked．

　　“Something must be eating you, ”he said, “you should be able to qualify with your eyes closed．”

　　“Believe me, I know it．”I told him-and it felt good to say that to someone．