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　　Join the thousands of professionals and international travelers who depend on Chanps-Elysees Schau ins Land, Puerta del Sol, and Acquerello italiano to help them stay in touch with the languages and cultures they love．Designed to help you greatly improve your listening, vocabulary, and cultural IQ, these unique European audio-magazines(有声杂志)are guaranteed(保证)to give you enthusiasm and determination to study the language-or your money back

　　Each audio-magazine consists of an hour-long programme on CD or DVD．You’ll hear interviews with well-known Europeans, passages covering current events and issues as well as feature stories on the culture you love．A small book which goes with CD or DVD, contains a complete set of printed materials, notes(background notes included)averaging 600 words and expression translated into English．The result you build fluency month in and month out．

　　To help you integrate language study into your busy life, we’ve made each audio-magazine convenient．Work on language fluency while driving to work, exercising, or cooking－anytime and anywhere you want

　　Best of alt each programme is put together by professional broadcasters journalists, and editors who have a strong interest in European languages and cultures．That enthusiasm comes through in every edition．From New York to London to Singapore?The users tell us no company produces a better product for language learners at all levels Ring for more information, or order at WWW．audiomagazine.com．We guarantee that you have nothing to lose if it’s not for you; let us know within 6 weeks and we will completely reimburse you．

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　　What comes into your mind when you think about robots?Do you imagine armies of evil metal monsters planning to take over the world?Or, perhaps of mechanical men who have been created as guards or soldiers by a mad genius?Or maybe you think of man-like robots who act, think, and look like human beings．In fact robots like these have more to do with science fiction films than with real life．In the real world robots are machines that do jobs which otherwise have to be done by people．Robots either operate by themselves or under the control of a person．

　　In a car factory, for example, robot machinery can put together and paint car bodies．On the sea bed remote controlled(遥控)underwater machines with mechanical arms can perform tasks too difficult for divers．Robot spacecraft can explore the solar system and send back information about planets and stars．

　　Many robots have computer brains．Some robots are fitted with cameras, sensors, and microphones which enable them to see, to feel, and to hear．And some robots can even produce electronic speech．

　　All this does not mean that a robot can think and behave like a human being．Present day robots have to be programmed with a good deal of information before they can carry out even simple tasks．

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　　With her beautiful looks, cheerful character and strong spirit, Karena Lam(林嘉欣)is making waves among Chinese movie fans and professionals(专业人士)．

　　The Canada-born actress won the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer awards(金马奖最佳女配角和最佳新人奖)for her role in “July Rhapsody”(《男人四十》)in Taiwan on November 16．She won the same titles at the Hong Kong Film Awards in April, 2002．

　　Lam played a willful(任性的)high school girl in the film and her idol(偶像) Jacky Cheung(张学友)played the girl 's middle-aged teacher．

　　Her awards have made her the person to watch in Hong Kong and Taiwan cinema．But the 24-year-old girl thinks the awards have put more pressure on her and given her new challenges(挑战)．

　　Besides Jacky Cheung, Lam has appeared alongside other top Hong Kong stars．Last year she starred with Leslie Cheung(张国荣)in“ Inner Senses ”(《异度空间》)and this year she acted with Nicholas Tse(谢霆锋)in“ Tiramisu”(《恋爱行星》)．Is there anything that can stop Lam's success?

　　“I have learnt that ff someone is trying to hurt you, the best revenge(报复)is to keep living happily and having a good life．That’s what I did, ” she said．

　　She is an optimist(乐天派)and determined to be successful．“I always have a way of finding my own happiness．I know what's going to make me smile, and I go for it, ”she said．

　　Two films－a comedy and a love-story are waiting for her and she plans to release(首次上演)her first Cantonese(粤语)album next summer．

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　　Eight days for just ￥12,000

　　Departs：May－October 2007

　　Includes：

　　●Return flights from 6 China’s airports to Naples

　　●Return airport to hotel transport

　　●Seven nights’ accommodation at the 3－star Hotel Nice

　　●Breakfast

　　●The service of guides

　　●Government taxes

　　Join us for a wonderful holiday in one of the Europe’s most wonderful corners－Naples in Italy if you want to have a nice time in a beautiful small quiet place．The ancient Romans called the city “happy land” with attractive coastline, colorful towns, splendid views and the warm Mediterranean Sea．Your best choice for a truly memorable holiday!

　　Choose between the peaceful traditional villages of Sant’Agata, set on a hillside six miles away from Sorrento, or the more lively and well-known international resort town of Sorrento, with wonderful views over the Bay of Naples．

　　Breathtaking scenery, famous sights and European restaurants everywhere．From the mysterious Isle of Capri to the hunting ruins of Pompeii, and from the unforgettable “Amalfi Drive” to the delightful resorts of Positano, Sorrento and Ravello, the area is a feast for the eyes!Join us, and you won’t be disappointed!

　　Price based on two tourists sharing a double room at the Hotel Nice．A single room, another ￥2,000．A group of ten college students, ￥10,000 for each．Like to know more?Telephone New market Air Holidays Ltd on：0845－226－7788(All calls charged at local rates)．

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　　A caring mother is the single most important factor in preventing teenagers from abusing(滥用)drugs and alcohol，researchers said on Friday．An international study showed that teenagers living with both parents are less likely to suffer from alcohol and drug problems，and a strong maternal bond is the most effective way to fight against them．

　　“These findings suggest that living with both parents may prevent drug use．” said Dr．McArdle of Newcastle University in northern England, who led the study．“They also suggest that attachment(感情眷念)，particularly to mothers，is a more effective factor and that this is truly across cultures and substances．”

　　The report, which is published in the journal Addiction, involved nearly 4,000 teenagers in England, Ireland, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands．They were questioned about their use of several kinds of drugs and alcohol．The teenagers also filled in questionnaires about their relationship with their parents and grandparents, how well they were supervised(监护)after school and whether they were allowed to meet friends at home．

　　“Both the quality of family relationships and the structure of families have significant influences on youth drug use,” McArdle said in a statement．But he added a strong maternal bond offered the greatest protection against developing drug habits．

　　The rate of drug abuse among teenagers living with both parents and who had a good relationship with their mother was 16.6 percent．If either factor was missing, the drug abuse rate rose to 32 percent．More than 42 percent of teenagers living in one parent families who did not have a strong bond with their mother used drugs．

　　Drug prevention campaigns in British schools and on television warn teenagers about the danger of drugs and alcohol but McArdle said no one is dealing with the problem of their parents’ responsibility．

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　　Most of us want to be greener, and all of us want to be richer．Although the only way to be an environment-friendly motorist is to change your car for a bike, if you are addicted to your wheels, going green could save you cash．As petrol prices rise, greener drivers can also be richer．

　　Petrol is unlikely to become any cheaper．Oil prices, already at record levels, were put under more pressure this week after President Morales of Bolivia nationalized his country’s oil and gas reserves．Turning to a more environmentally friendly car could make a big decline in motoring costs．About one in six drivers has considered following the example of Leonardo DiCaprio and David Cameron by turning to a hybrid car．

　　Hybrid cars run on petrol and batteries, making them more economical and less harmful to the environment than petrol-run vehicles．A driver who travels an average of 10,000 miles a year could save nearly￡300 a year on petrol by driving the Honda Civic Hybrid rather than the petrol-run version, and would release(释放)only about two thirds of the carbon dioxide．But those who are more interested in their wallet than the environment may be put off by the price：the Hybrid is about ￡3000 more expensive than its petrol counterpart(对应物)．

　　Andrew Davis, director at the Environmental Transport Association(ETA), a motor breakdown company, says that the key to cutting fuel costs is to reduce engine size．“Those who don’t want to go for a ‘green’ car can cut down on environmental effect and fuel costs by reducing the size of their car．” A Citroen C1 is not a hybrid car, but its low carbon dioxide releases rival(竞争)the Honda and Toyota hybrids．

　　Another way to cut costs is to change a car to run on liquid petroleum gas(LPG)．Ingram Legge, director of the Greenfuel Company, which changes cars to LPG, says that there has been a rise in the number of motorists changing their cars．

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　　It has been said before, but experiencing it myself has made me want to say it again：a smile can cross all language barriers．

　　I recently moved from Canada to a small city on the south coast of South Korea to work as an English teacher．My first few weeks in Chinhae were challenging．I knew only one fluent English speaker other than myself－my employer．So, having left my family and friends far away on a different continent and having moved to a city in which I was the only foreign English teacher, I felt a bit shaken．

　　At the grocery stores, I could not read the food packages and certainly did not know how to ask for help．________．Such little frustrations began to add up and I soon felt homesick and tired．I longed for some familiar food, familiar sounds, anything familiar!

　　One night, after a long day at work, I was feeling particularly weary－My legs were aching and I wasn’t looking forward to cooking dinner．Just as I was about to push the key into the door, the old woman who was the landlady called to me and signed me into her apartment．I didn’t understand a word she said, but I understood her smile．I followed her into her kitchen, which smelled like the wonderful Korean foods I was coming to love．After she had put many dishes of food on the table and had set me up with a glass of cola, she sat down across from me．We were both laughing the whole time at our complete inability to communicate in words．We did manage to have a small conversation, though．It went something like this：

　　“Canada?” She asked slowly, pointing at my chest．

　　“Yes,” I answered．

　　“Korea?” I said, pointing at her．We both laughed．

　　When it was time to leave, I said “thank you” in Korean, using some of the few words I had learned．I went home to my apartment feeling less alone than I had expected to feel that evening．Chinhae felt less like a strange and frightening place, and more like a home．I don’t think the old landlady knew how much her smile and her wonderful food meant to me that evening, but perhaps someday I will be able to tell her．

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　　The interview has been going on for about 20 minutes and everything seems to be going well．Then, suddenly, the interviewer asks an unexpected question, “Which is more important, law or love?”

　　Job applicants in the West increasingly find themselves asked strange questions like this．And the signs are that this is beginning to happen in China．

　　Employers want people who are skilled, enthusiastic and devoted．So these are the qualities that any reasonably intelligent job applicant will try to show no matter what his or her actual feelings are．In response, employers are increasingly using the questions which try and show the applicant’s true personality．

　　The question in the first paragraph comes from a test called the Kiersey Temperament Sorter．It is an attempt to discover how people solve problems, rather than what they know．This is often called aptitude(天资)test．

　　According to Mark Baldwin of Alliance, many job applicants in China are finding this type of questions difficult．“When a Chinese fills out an aptitude test, he or she will think there is a right answer but they may fail because they try to guess what the examiner wants to see．”

　　This is sometimes called the prisoner’s dilemma(窘境)．Applicants are trying to act cleverly in their own interest, but they fail because they don’t understand what the interviewer is looking for．Remember that in an aptitude test, the correct answer is the honest answer．

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　　The leaders of Russia and China vowed to support each other’s fight against Muslim separatists and urged peaceful solutions in Iraq, during a meeting in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on December 2, 2002．

　　Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Jiang Zemin signed a joint declaration calling for a “multipolar world”．

　　His two-day visit comes shortly after the conclusion of the 16th Patry Congress which elected the new CPC leadership．Putin said that Russia wants to “work hard” with the new generation of Chinese leaders．

　　The Treaty(条约)of Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation, signed in July last year, has provided a solid legal foundation for lasting friendship for generations to come, according to Jiang, “China and Russia will be good neighbors, friends and partners forever．”

　　The Russian Government, in return, said it would continue to give priority(优先权)to relations with China in its foreign policies．

　　Putin spoke on the morning of Dec．3rd at Peking University and took questions from students on his understanding of Chinese literature, Russian reform(改革)and NATO enlargement．

　　He said a growing number of young people in Russia are interested in Chinese literature and one of his daughters is learning Chinese．

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　　From poor beginnings to most expensive player

　　Zinedine Zidane, who dreams of leading France to its second World Cup title in a row next month, has always preferred to express himself with a football rather than with words．

　　Last Wednesday Zidane scored the decisive goal when Real Madrid of Spain won the Champions League final against Germany’s Leverkusen 2-1．

　　He became one of the world’s most expensive players when he joined Real Madrid from Italy’s Juventus for US ＄66 million．And he has been a national hero since he scored twice in the 3-0 defeat of Brazil in the 1998 World Cup Final．

　　But despite his success, Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground．He leads a quite family life, there is hardly any gossip about him and he avoids putting his wife and two children in the spotlight．

　　“Just because I’m a public figure it doesn’t mean I have to express myself on everything．I don’t like to discuss some personal matters publicly．”he said．

　　Even as a child playing football in the slum area of Marseille, France, where he was raised by his Algerian parents, Zidane was shy．

　　He loved football even as a little kid．“I realized football is a wonderful mixture of a sharp mind and hard training rather than just talking, ”he said．

　　Even when the match awards were just chocolate and bread, Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich．

　　Before he was 10 years old, it was obvious that he could become a great footballer．He was offered his first professional contract(合同)when he was just 20．Now, at the age of 29, he has already picked up two World Player of the year awards．

　　This quiet striker has not yet spoken of his hopes for the coming World Cup．But his fans across the world will be eagerly watching him to see what he’ll do this time．

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