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　　Many American presidents in the 19th century were born in poor families．They spent their childhood in little wooden rooms．They got little education．Washington and Lincoln, for example, never went to school and they taught themselves．Lincoln once did jobs for a worker, shop-keeper and post-master in his early years．

　　A large number of American presidents had experiences in the army．The two best known were Ulysses Grant and Dwight

　　D．Eisenhower．Grant was a general in the American Civil War and Eisenhower was hero in the Second World War．It happened that they graduated from the same school－West Point Military Academy(西点军校)．One may be surprised to learn that both of them didn’t do well in the school．Eisenhower, for example, was once fined(punished to pay money)because he broke the rules of the school．

　　The jobs of the U．S．presidents are tiring．He must keep an eye on anything important that happens both at home and abroad．Every day, a lot of work waits for him to do and he has to make many important decisions．When Franklin Roosevelt was a child, he was once brought to visit President Taft．The old president said to him, “When you grow up, you should not be president．It’s a tiring job．”

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　　Ice dancing developed from ballroom dancing, particularly the waltz, and was very popular in the early 1900s．It requires well-trained, exact footwork; conformity(协调)with one another’s steps; and a keen sense of timing and rhythm．Ice dancing differs from pairs skating in that ice dancers are restricted(限制)to lifts no higher than the man’s shoulders and there are no jumps．One skate must be on the ice at all times．

　　Ice dancing competitions are made up of three principal parts：compulsories, original dance, and free dance．In compulsories, partners must perform two dances selected by the ISU, for example, waltz, tango, or polka．Compulsories involve set patterns in which dancers perform and repeat steps at certain points around the arena(竞技场)．Although the steps are predetermined, dancers are encouraged to interpret(display)them for artistic charming．Each compulsory dance counts for 15 percent of a pair’s final score．

　　The original dance, formerly known as the original set pattern dance, requires skaters to design their own performance to their choice of music, set to a speed and rhythm previously announced by the ISU．It counts for 35 percent of the final score, and skaters receive marks for composition and presentation．In the free dance, the partners perform a dance to music of their choice．They are given marks for presentation and style as well as for technical value．This dance counts for 50 percent of the final score．

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　　She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever．But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa．

　　The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci(莱昂纳多·达·芬奇)in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum(罗浮宫博物馆)where it is housed．

　　“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said．Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy．Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current(现在的)chemical state．

　　Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile．“It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University．“It’s because direct vision(视觉)is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows．Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows．”

　　However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile．Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519．

　　In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat．He said he planned to return it to Italy．The painting was sent back to France two years later．

　　During World War Ⅱ, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces．

　　Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell．

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　　At the University of Kansas art museum, scientists tested the effect of different colored walls on two groups of visitors to an exhibit of paintings．For the first group the room was painted white; for the second, dark brown．Movement of each group was followed by electrical equipment under the carpet．The experiment showed that those who entered the dark brown walked more quickly, covered more area, and spent less time in the room than people in the white one．Dark brown made people more active, but the activity ended sooner．Not only the choice of colors but also the general appearance of a room affects those inside．Another experiment presented people with photographs of faces whose energy was to be commented．

　　Three groups of people were used; each was shown the same photos, but each group was in an ordinary room－a nice office．The third was in a tastefully designed living room with carpeting．Results showed that the people in the beautiful room tend to give higher marks to the faces than those in the ugly room did．Other studies that students do better on tests taken in comfortable room than in ordinary-looking or ugly rooms．

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To face the music

　　Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life of the people and develop in their own way．Our expression today is “to face the music”．

　　When someone says, “well, I guess I’ll have to face the music,” it does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert．It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn’t do this or that．Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced．At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children．We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you．”and only because we did not obey him．What an unpleasant business it was!

　　The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old．It is at least 100 years old．And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Looper．He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage．When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music．”And that was exactly what they did－facing the orchestra which was just below them．And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines．But he had to go out．If he did not, there would be no play．So the expression “to face the music” come to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice”．

　　Other explanations about the expression go back to the army．When the men faced an inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked．Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass the inspection? Still the men had to go out and face the music of the band as well as the inspection．What else could they do?

　　Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done．As, for example when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored．The band does not play．Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat．The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse．

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　　People have been painting pictures for at least 30 000 years．The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals．They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill．Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain．No one knows why they were painted there．Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals．Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures．

　　About 5000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing．They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language．The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet．

　　The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture writing and pictures together．When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried．Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories．It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip．But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power．So they did not try to make their way of writing simple．The ordinary people could not understand it．

　　By the year 1000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing．The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system．This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language．The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet．The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world．These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures．But we still need pictures of all kinds：drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams．We find them everywhere：in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work．

　　Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting．

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　　In the United States, it is not usual to telephone someone early in the morning．If you telephone early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and requires immediate attention．So it is with the telephone calls made after 11∶00 pm．If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he may think that it’s a matter of life and death．The time chosen for the call communicates its importance．

　　In social life, time plays a very important part．In the USA guests tend to feel they are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party reaches them only three or four days before the party date．But it is not true in all countries．In other areas of the world, it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans, which are made for a date more than a week away, tend to be forgotten．The meaning of time is not the same in different cultures that treat time differently; being on time is valued highly in American life, for example．If people are not on time, they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible．In the USA no one would think of keeping a business friend for an hour; it would be too impolite．A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to make a shout apology．If he is less than 5 minutes late, he will say a few words of explanation, though perhaps he will not complete the sentence．

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　　When many people are worried that there are no more heroes in the modern era, two university students who lost their lives to rescue drowning children have shown that heroes still exist(存在)．

　　According to the Inner Mongolia Morning Post, the tragedy(悲剧)occurred on the afternoon of December 14, 2002 when three school students skating on a frozen lake in Qingcheng Park in Hohhot fell through the ice into the freezing water．

　　More than 20 university students who happened to be near the spot immediately went to the rescue of the children．

　　Two children were quickly rescued, but the third died．The child’s body was not found for three hours．Two of the rescuers, Liu Ye and Hao Longbiao, also died of cold and exhaustion(筋疲力尽)．

　　The body of Hao who took the lead in jumping into the lake was not found until the next day．

　　A student who was unwilling to tell his name said he and his classmates from the local college were taking photos at the lake．When they heard the children’s cries for help, they went to the ice hole hand in hand to rescue the children．But the ice kept breaking, causing most of them to fall into the icy water．

　　Local residents held mourning ceremonies(祭奠仪式)at the lake．

　　Eight of the students were seriously affected by the freezing water and were being kept in hospital for further observation, but their lives were no longer in danger．

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　　Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations．Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves．

　　That’s because we group people by age．We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes．Why?

　　We live away from the old for many reasons：young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying．It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes．Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most．

　　Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old．And we have discovered that they often save the young．

　　A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people．At first her children were disappointed．But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver(分发)it and visit．Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．“My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said．

　　The young, in turn, save the old．Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby．She was immediately surrounded．People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair．Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure．

　　Grandparents are a special case．They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity．As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end．”

　　Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents．“My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said．A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents：they are quieter, calmer, more trusting．

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　　About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way．Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter．Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!

　　There are different forms of color blindness．In some cases a man cannot see deep red．He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades of green．Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green．In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green－a strange world indeed．

　　Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain．In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”．These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors．There are also millions of “rods” but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark．They show us shape but no color．

　　Some insects have favorite colors．Mosquitoes(蚊子)like blue but do not like yellow．Yellow light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will．In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors．Yet we are lucky．With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night．One day we may even learn more about the invisible(看不见的)colors around．

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