In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events．They found out that any major change can be stressful．Negative events like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but so were some positive life-changing events, like marriage．When you take the Holmes-Rahe test you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress－it only shows how much you have to deal with．And we now know that the way you deal with these events has a great effect on your chances of staying healthy．

　　By the early 1970s, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe．And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports．Somehow, the research got boiled down to a memorable message．Women’s magazines ran headlines like “Stress causes illnesses”．If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events．But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow．Even if stressful events are dangerous, many－like the death of a loved one－are impossible to avoid．Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription(处方)for staying away from opportunities as well as trouble．Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move．

　　The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of what we know about people．It is supposed that we’re all weak and passive in the face of difficulty．But many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before．We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom, and physical and mental damage．

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　　Experts say it is far easier to prevent a child from being taken than to find missing children．Their advice to parents．

　　(1)Tell your child your phone number, including area code, and your full address．

　　(2)Keep up-to-date photographs of your child on hand．

　　(3)Make a mental note of what your child is wearing every day．

　　(4)Be sure your child know what to do if you are separated from him or her．

　　(5)Keep records of your child as early as possible and keep them up-to-date．

　　(6)Have a set of your child’s fingerprints taken by the police and keep it at home．

　　(7)Make sure your child’s school will phone you if your child is absent．

　　For information of what you can do to help solve the missing-children problem at the national level, call 1-800KID-FIND or write：FIND THE CHILDREN!11811W．Olympic Blue．Low Angeles, call 90064．

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阅读理解

　　In most towns today, you can see teenagers standing over electronic machines with flashing lights, shooting at spaceships from other planets and dropping bombs on strange monsters(恶魔)．The machines have names like Space Warrior, Dark Invader and so on．It used to be believed that damage was done only to those strange visitors from outer space, but now it seems that they are striking back．

　　Many teenagers like electronic games so much that they can’t stop playing．They spend hours tightly holding the joystick controls and constantly pressing buttons marked “fire”．They develop pains on their fingers because of the constant pressure．They play and play so that the pains have no chance to cure properly．The rapid wrist movement required to guide the spaceship across the screen causes another problem：The muscles of the wrist and arm become so inflamed and swollen(充血红肿)that they press against the bones．This condition is what doctors now call “Space Warrior’s Wrist”．Other strange aches and pains also are likely to affect(影响)the elbows and shoulders．

　　Another even more alarming problem is shown by the case of a 17-year-old girl which was recently in the British Medical Journal．She had been playing all kinds of electronic games for more than two hours a day．Her father repaired games and machines and she could use the cassettes and systems in his workshop as often as she liked．One day, after playing a game called Dark Invader, she lost consciousness(晕倒) and fell to the floor．

　　Doctors who examined her found she was suffering from an unusual illness caused by lights flashing at a particular frequency．

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　　Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers．But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son, suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents．“The door to his room is always shut,” Joanna noted．

　　Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter．“She used to cuddle up(蜷伏)with me on the soft and talk,” said Mark．“Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something．Sometimes she wants to be treated like a young lady．The problem is figuring out which time is which．”

　　Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds．“In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers．“This completely changes during the teen years．” Riera explained．“They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last．”

　　Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them．To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them．And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young．Another thing parents should remember is that to be friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them．

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　　Common indoor plants may prove to be a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution．Those plants in your office or home are not only pretty, but NASA scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing possible harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings．

　　NASA have announced the finds of a 2-year study that suggested the common indoor plants may provide a natural way of helping fight against “Sick Building Syndrome(综合症)”．

　　Research into the use of biological processes as a means of solving environmental problems, both on Earth and in space habitats, has been carried out for many years by Dr．Bill Wloverton, a senior research scientist at NASA．

　　Based on preliminary evaluations(初步评估)of the use of common indoor plants for indoor air purification(净化)，NASA funded a study using about a dozen popular varieties of attractive plants to determine their effectiveness in removing several key pollutants linked with indoor air pollution．NASA research on indoor has found that living plants are so efficient at absorbing pollutants in the air that some will be launched into space as part of the biological life support system aboard future orbiting space stations．

　　While more research is needed, Wolverton says the study has shown that common indoor plants can remove certain pollutants from the indoor environment．“We feel that future results will provide an even stronger argument that common indoor plants can be a very effective part of a system used to provide pollution free homes and work places,” he concludes．

　　“Combining nature with technology can increase the effectiveness of plants in removing air pollutants,” he said．

　　NASA research has always shown that living, green and flowering plants can remove several poisonous chemicals from the air inside buildings．You can use plant in your home or office to improve the quality of the air to make it a more pleasant place to live and work－where people feel better, perform better, and enjoy life more．

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阅读理解

　　Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day．“I was a clothes addict(迷)，” he jokes．“I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled(皱的)．” Today David wears casual clothes－khaki pants and a sports shirt－to the office．He hardly ever wears a necktie．“I’m working harder than ever,” David says,“ and I need to feel comfortable．”

　　More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work．In the United States, the changes from formal to casual office wear have been slow．In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their workers to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday)．This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”．“What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for workers has really become an everyday thing,” said business adviser Maisly Jones．

　　Why have so many companies started allowing their workers to wear casual clothes?One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new workers if it has a casual dress code．“A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code．” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes．In a study made by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that casual dress has a side effect on work．Supporters of casual office wear also say that a casual dress code helps them save money．“Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said．“For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes．”

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　　Perhaps you will visit New York one day．You might be a student there．Here is some advice．

　　Get a good map of the city．It will also have subway and bus maps．Remember the directions－uptown, downtown, east and west．Feel the excitement of New York．Have fun!

　　NEW YORK CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

　　Address：90 East 42nd Street, N.Y.100017

　　Telephone：687　1300

　　TIMES SQUARE INFORMATION CENTER

　　Address：43rd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway

　　Telephone：593　8983

　　TRAVELERS’ AID SOCIETY

　　Address：204 ast 39th Street, N.Y.10016(central office)

　　Telephone：679　0200

　　TRAVEL INFORMATION：NEW YORK SUBWAYS AND BUSES

　　Telephone：330　1234

　　OTHER TELEPHONE NUMBERS

　　The weather：WE 6　1212．The time：ME 7　1212

　　Emergency(Police, Fire, or Ambulance)：911 or “0” for operator

　　A doctor：897　1000

　　USEFUL BOOK

　　Seeing New York; The official MTA Travel Guide, published by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority．

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　　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 of members of the Jane Austen Society．After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge 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 take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped．

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　　Ever since news of widespread food recalls caused by a carcinogenic dye broke, there has been confusion(混淆)over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever．

　　Sudan1 is a red industrial dye that has been found in some chilli powder, but was banned in food products across the European Union(EU)in July 2003．Since the ban was put in place, EU officials have been striving to remove some food products from the shelves．So far 580 products have been recalled．Last week Sudan’s Embassy in the United Kingdom asked the Food Standards Agency(FSA)for clarification of the origin of the dye’s name．

　　Omaima Mahmoud Al Sharief, a press official at Sudan’s Embassy in China, explained the purpose of the inquiry was to clear up any misunderstanding over links between the country and the poisonous dye．

　　“We want to keep an eye on every detail and avoid any misunderstanding there, ” she said．“Our embassy to Britain asked them how the dye got that name and whether the dye had something to do with our country．But they told us there was no relationship．”

　　The FSA, an independent food security watchdog in Britain, received a letter from the Sudanese embassy last week．

　　“They asked us why the dye is named Sudan, however, we also do not know how it got the name, ” she said．“People found the dye in 1883 and gave it the name．Nobody knows the reason, and we cannot give any explanation before we find out．”

　　Sudan dyes, which include Sudan 1 to 4, are red dyes used for coloring solvents(溶剂)，oils, waxes, petrol, shoe and floor polishes．They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer．

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　　The man who brings my milk used to knock for his money for the week’s milk while I was eating breakfast on Saturday morning．Just lately he has been arriving before I get up．Workforce shortages mean that four men are sharing five rounds, so he has to start earlier．

　　Delivering milk to people’s homes is hardly good business, especially when the customer may have a choice of two or three firms serving a single road．In spite of my local difficulties, however, labor troubles are not as great as a few years ago．There are enough men prepared to make an early morning start for the sake of an open-air job with a fair measure of freedom．If they did stop calling, women would find it hard work to collect all the milk they need from self-service stores．Dairies(乳品业)know that stopping deliveries in the United States resulted in falling sales．

　　Marketing ideas have included introducing extra lines, in addition to dairy products, which the milkmen can carry to increase business．One dairyman said, “It won’t be long before the milkman delivers more bread than milk．”Some milkmen deliver potatoes, and it seems as though variety will be limited only by the size of the trucks．

　　So the milkman is likely to remain a familiar figure, and the dairy products he sells are unlikely to change very much in this decade．Flavored(味道)milk is popular on the Continent．In Britain those who like it buy plain milk and add their own flavoring．Even the returnable bottle continues to be used．As long as it has a reasonable life－30 to 40 trips are usual－the cost of collection and cleaning is worthwhile．

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