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　　Some building designers are thinking about building whole cities under glass domes(圆顶)in the desert．Of course, those heating and cooling systems(系统)will be necessary to control the climate in the domes．However, there will never be any rain or snow, and temperature will always be comfortable．

　　Perhaps everyone will live in high vertical(垂直)cities that are so large that they can contain all the necessities of life．Since vertical cities will use less land than horizontal(水平的)cities, and provide homes for people, they will be practical for small countries that have large population．

　　Another idea that will be helpful to small countries and islandcountries is the floating city．Monaco has already built homes, stores, and offices on the water of the Mediterranean Sea．And a Japanese designer has suggested a plan for constructing buildings on bridges over Tokyo Bay．

　　There are some people who think we will go back to living in caves．But the caves of future will be very different from the caves of the Stone Age．Computers will control light and climate．Farms and parks will be on the land over the cave city．When people want to go to the country or a park, a short ride in a lift will take them there．

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John Milton, the most learned poet, is the greatest writer of the seventeenth century and one of the giants(巨人)of English literature as a whole．He was greatly influenced(影响)by two historical movements of Renaissance(文艺复兴)and Reformation(宗教改革)．Like Spenser and Shakespeare, he was also one of the Renaissance giants not only in England but also in the whole world．Almost all later poets in English literature respected Milton highly．Milton towers over his age as Shakespeare towers over the Elizabethan age, and as Chaucer towers over the medieval period(中世纪)．John Milton was born in London in 1608．His education began at St．Paul's School, where he was very hard-working, where he showed wonderful gifts as a student of languages mastering Greek, Latin, Hebrew and many modern European languages．He also received very good home education under the influence of his father who was a Puritan(清教徒)and a lover of music and literature．He attended Christ's College, Cambridge University, where he was very popular because of his handsomeness and talent, where he explained the true aim of knowledge as making the spirit of man“reach out far and wide, until it fills the whole world and the space far beyond whth the expansion(扩大)of its greatness”, where he graduated with B．A．in 1629 and M．A．in 1632．

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　　A kaleidoscope(万花筒)is a very clever toy－it can create an unending display of patterns．

　　You will need shiny mirror board which you can buy from an art shop．Otherwise, you can make your own shiny board by sticking aluminum foil(铝箔)to a pieces of cardboard．

　　The kaleidoscope works best if the colored plastic pieces are thicker paper．You will need：scissors, sticky tape(胶带), glue, ruler and pencil．

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　　A recent British study examined the salaries(薪水)and jobs of people who spent time enjoying the arts when growing up．They found those who enjoyed the arts from an early age had better jobs and higher salaries than those who didn't．

　　What's the link(联系)?How could visiting a museum, enjoying a symphony(交响乐), or improving painting skills lead to career(事业)success?

　　Other studies have found that students who study the arts exercise their reasoning(推理)ability．This skill helps with problem-solving．Creative and critical-thinking abilities are also developed through art study．When faced with a real-life challenge(挑战), these skills can be put to good use．

　　The best kind of art excites our imagination and makes us think．Paintings aren't just pretty pictures．They tell stories about the experience of the painter．See Michelangelo's(米开朗基罗)art, and you will taste the power of his faith in God．Look at the world from Picasso's point of view, and you see everyday life in new ways．In Shakespeare's plays you'll find lessons about character and morality(人格及道义)．Chinese poet Li Bai brings the wonder of nature's beauty to every reader．

　　The arts show and explain the world beyond our own personal knowledge．When we look beyond ourselves, we can appreciate the experience of people from different walks of life．The arts help develop the ability to see things from many different points of view．These things will help us better communicate and cooperate with other people．

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　　My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died．As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him, but the more I tried, the more he pulled away．When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six failing grades for the year．At this rate he would never graduate．I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him．Nothing worked．

　　One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help, “Please God, I can't do anything more for my son．I'm at the end of my rope．I'm giving the whole thing up to you．” I was at work when I got a phone call．A man introduced himself as the headmaster．“I want to talk to you about Karl's absences．” Before the could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger．“I love my son but I just don't know what to do．I've tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked．It's out of my hands．” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line．The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time, ” and hung up．

　　Karl's next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades．Finally, he even made the honor roll．In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl．I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around．On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded．“That was me．I thought I'd play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you．That's when I knew I had to make you proud．”

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　　While Thais and Cambodians share the same branch of Buddhism(佛教), many linguistic(语言的)and cultural traits(特点), the neighbours have had many slight quarrels over the countries, many of which were lined to the Angkor Wat temple．

　　For 500 years, from the early ninth century, Angkor Wat, was the capital of Khmer(Cambodian)Empire that stretched over much of modern Indo-China．The Thais captured it in 1431 and Cambodia became a battleground sandwiched(夹入中间)between Siam, as Thailand was called, and Vietnam．

　　France officially declared Cambodia a colony in 1867 but allowed Thailand control of two provinces, including Siem Reap, the home Angkor Wat．Forty years later France regained the two provinces for Cambodia in a treaty with Bangkok．After Cambodia declared its independence in 1953, a bitter dispute broke out between the neighbours over possession of another temple, Preah Vihear, located on a border escarpment(悬崖)．The international court of justice at last sided with Cambodia in 1962．

　　During the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in 1975-1979, and after its overthrow, there was little formal contact between the countries．

　　Relations were not normalized until after the UK-sponsored election in 1993 restored democracy to Cambodia．But several borders still remain disputed(争议)．

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As a young man, Walt Disney was eager to be an artist．One day he took along some of his pictures and went to a newspaper office in order to find a job there．But they showed no interest in his pictures．His friends tried to encourage him．Disney did not lose heart．He kept on drawing pictures．His family was poor and he used to sit in the family garage and drew pictures there．One day a mouse came into the garage and played on the floor．Disney stopped drawing and watched the mouse．The mouse came towards him, so he gave it a piece of bread．Then the mouse came and sat on the table．Day after day the mouse came back and was given more bread．In this way, the artist and the mouse became good friends．

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　　Experts have put forward detailed plans tot a tunnel(隧道)to join Taiwan with the Chinese mainland．

　　The shortest proposed route would be 126 kilometers-more than twice the length of the English Channel Tunnel．And the longest proposed route would be 207 kilometers．

　　A recent conference in Xiamen, Fujian Province brought together more than 70 experts．The event was co-sponsored(共同发展)by universities from Taiwan and the Chinese mainland．

　　Fujian is the province where both proposed routes would begin．There is no direct passenger access(通道)between the mainland and Taiwan by air or sea at the moment．

　　Experts say that it is better to start research sooner rather than later, although there is a lack of government funding．There are no technical problems to build a Taiwan tunnel．But it will require an improved political relationship across the Straits．

　　A professor of Tsinghua university said, “A special feature of huge projects is that the period of preparation is longer than the period of construction．”

　　For example, he said, the English Channel Tunnel took 14 years of planning and had been discussed for two centuries．And preparations for the huge Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River began in the 1950s．

　　The Xiamen conference focused(集中)on the longest southern route, which would use the Taiwan-controlled islands of Jinmen and Penghu as stepping stones．

　　The first stage of the new project could be a bridge to cross the five kilometers between Xiamen and Jinmen．This would mean that travelling from Xiamen to Jinmen by car would only take five minutes．

　　The longest tunnel now being planned anywhere in the world is the 54-kilometer Land tunnel to link Lyon in France with Turin in Italy．The tunnel will not be completed until 2015-2020．

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　　I was a small boy, just three or four years old, when I first heard the cool and magnetic(有磁性的)voice of Peggy Lee．It floated lightly from my parents' radio, out across the sunny back garden where I was playing．The song was “On the Street Where You Live”．By and by, I came to pay attention to the expression of feelings, but could not always get a sensible meaning from them．“I have often walked down this street before, ” sang Lee．“But the way always stayed beneath my feet before．All at once I am several storeys high．Knowing I'm on the street where you live…” I was almost lost at it．

　　Within the small network of streets that formed for me, the entire known world, including the footpaths and houses, was unchangeable．Apart from father's description of life by telling various stories at my bedtime, still, the world Lee sang of seemed impossibly far off and pleasant, and, instantly, I loved the singer who delivered this puzzling singing to me．

　　In the early days of the Sixties, other fine voices would be heard on radio, performing the same song, those of Torme and Damone included．But no one else's version(翻唱)came close to Lee's．

　　As I grew, I continued to hear Lee's voice now and then from the radios．And, of course, I would come across her photos at the local record-store that I was after so obsessively(着迷地)．Always, one of her photos would be a studied subuject－the lips, offering the suggestion of a Mona Lisa-like smile, the hair, butter-yellow and carfully arranged, and the clothes, those of a movie star．More than once I was told that Peggy Lee's iconic(偶像化的)appearance was only her stage look．I could see why．Though quite attractive, it just offered those persons like Peggy Lee a necessary mask to hide herself behind．But, it never makes the singer less favorable to me．

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　　Picasso, the famous Spanish painter, was born in 1881．His father was an art teacher．Picasso began to paint very early．He was admitted to the Royal Academy of Art at the age of 15．After 1900, he spent much time in Paris, living there from 1904 to 1947, when he moved to the south of France．

　　Throughout his career, Picasso moved from style to style with ease．He practiced sculpture, illustrated books and also showed great interest in pottery design and other fields of art．

　　Picasso produced a great number of drawings during his lifetime．No later artist of the School of Paris has replaced international influence．

　　Picasso is generally considered to be the foremost figure in 20th century French art．His paintings are now exhibited in leading European and American galleries．

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