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　　Bamboo(竹子)is one of nature’s(自然)most surprising plants．Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass．

　　Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly．A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1.5 metres(4 feet)in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe．There are more than 1000 kinds of bamboo．

　　Not all bamboo looks the same．Some bamboo plants are very thin．They may only grow to be a few centimetres wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimetres(1 foot)across．This plant also comes in different colours, from yellow to black to green．

　　Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools(厨房用具)．Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings．

　　Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years．They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting(支撑)new buildings and bridges while they are being built．

　　In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to find water using bamboo．These African countries need cheap way to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water．Bamboo pipes(管子)help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending a lot of money．

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　　E-mail systems at thousands of companies and government offices around the world were attacked by a virus(病毒)called “Melissa” that disguises(伪装)itself as an “important message” from a friend．In spite of a weekend of warnings, more than 50 000 computers at about 100 places around the world have been attacked by the virus, computer security experts said on Monday．

　　The virus began to show up last Friday and spread rapidly on Monday by making computers fire off dozens of infected(被传染的)e-mails．Although the virus causes no serious damage to a computer, its effect was far reaching．

　　To make matters worse, a similar virus called“Papa”was discovered on Monday．Papa is programmed to send out even more infected e-mails than Melissa．

　　The Melissa virus comes in the form of an e-mail, usually containing the subject line “Important Message”．It appears to be from a friend．The body of the e-mail message says, “Here is that document you asked for．．．don’t show it to anyone else．”Attached(附)to the message is a document file．

　　Once the user opens that file, the virus digs into the user’s address book and sends infected documents to the first 50 addresses．E-mails from the Papa virus include an attached spreadsheet(电子数据文件)file．When the user opens that file, the virus sends 60 infected e-mails．

　　The reason why this is spreading so fast is that you are getting it from people you know．You should never open documents or attachments from people you don’t know．People who get an unexpected e-mail with the “important message” subject line should delete it immediately and not open the message．

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　　The storage of classified(分类的)research at all 24 labs run by the US Department of Energy was shut down this week after officials decided that the security(安全)problems recently found at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico might also exist elsewhere．

　　Several computer disks went missing at Los Alamos earlier this month, forcing Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to stop all work at the lab until the problems are found out．As of 26 July, two missing disks had still not been found, and 15 employees had been suspended in connection with the disappearance．

　　Now all energy labs will stop doing classified research that involves(需要)removable storage devices－such as computer disks－until all the devices are given explanation for and new procedures are in place for monitoring their handling by laboratory employees．

　　“While we have no evidence that the problems being investigated are present elsewhere, we have a responsibility to take all necessary action to prevent such problems, ”Abraham said on 23 July．

　　The shut-down isn’t quite as dramatic(惊人的)as it sounds, experts say．Only two labs will be seriously affected：Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California．Together with Los Alamos, these two labs conduct the most part of the country’s nuclearweapon programmes．At Livermore, 876 employees will be suspended during the storage of some 12 000 items of classified removable material．

　　At other labs, far fewer people will be affected．“The impact(影响)should be the smallest, ”says Martha Krebs, former director of the energy department’s science office．

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Study the illustration(插图)showing the cost and journey time of different ways of traveling from London to Manchester, and the notes below．Notes①Day return ticket－you must go and come back the same day②Period return ticket－you can go and come back up to 3 months later．③Luxury(豪华)buses have reclining seats, toilets, food and drink, hostesses, and films．④The cost of the car journey includes all the costs of running a car, not just petrol costs．⑤Students and children can get cheaper on trains but not on buses．

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　　Drinking small amount of hard Japanese rice wine apparently(显然)never hurt 114-year-old Kamato Hongo any．She is now the world’s oldest living person, according to Guinness World Records．

　　Hongo inherited(继承)the title Monday after the death of the previous record holder, Maud Farris-Luse, of Coldwater, Mich．, the record-keeping company said on its Web site．Farris-Luse was 115 years, 56 days old．

　　Hongo, born Sept．16, 1887, was raised on a farm and counts drinking Japanese rice wine among her favorite things－along with black salt, pork, sashimi(生鱼片), and green tea, according to Guinness．She also likes traditional Japanese dancing．

　　“The key is not storing up stress(压力),” said her 45-year-old grandson Tsuyoshi Kurauchi．“If you do that, you can eat or drink anything”．

　　Hongo mothered seven children, more than 20 grandchildren, and even outlived her eldest daughter, who died two years ago while in her 90s, according to Kurauchi, who described Hongo as a “warm, caring grandmother．”

　　She lives in a nursing home in Kagoshima, a city about 615 miles southwest of Tokyo on the island of Kyushu, which has reputation for record-breaking longevity among its residents．

　　Hongo was born in the nearby town of Isen, home to the late Shigechiyo Izumi, who also held the Guinness record as the world’s oldest person．He died in 1986 at the age of 120．

　　Recently, another Kyushu resident was regarded as the world’s oldest man．Retired silkworm farmer Yukichi Chuganji graduated into the spot Jan．4 with the death of his predecessor, Antonio Todde of Italy．Chuganji turns 113 on Saturday．

　　There are an estimated 15 000 Japanese over the age of 100, and women make up about 80 percent of the total．

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　　Pottery(陶器)is the name given to all kinds of useful or artistic objects made from clay．Pottery can be plates or water pots or baskets．Pottery can be large or small, fancy or plain．Pottery is part of the large family of ceramics(陶器)．Ceramics are synthetic materials．For example, bricks and tiles(瓦片)are both ceramics．

　　How is pottery made?First, a potter takes some clay．Clay is a soft, red material from the earth．It looks a little like red dirt, but it’s very different．Clay is thick and rich．Wet clay can be worked into any shape．When the clay dries, it will keep that shape．The potter takes some clay and pushes and squeezes(挤压)it until it is soft and smooth．After that, the clay can be shaped into anything．There are several ways to shape clay．Sometimes potters use their hands．Sometimes they use a special wheel．They place the clay in the center of a round, flat wheel．The wheel moves very fast, and the potter shapes the clay．

　　After the potter has shaped the clay, it can be decorated(装饰)．Potters use glaze(釉，覆罩的一层), which is a kind of paint, to decorate their work．Some glazes are very simple．Other glazes have beautiful colors and designs．The glaze is not just beautiful．It is also useful．The glaze makes the pottery smooth and waterproof．Potters also make some decorative lines and designs on the surface．After it is decorated, the clay must be baked, or fired, in a special oven．

　　Baking the clay at very high temperature makes it hard and strong．Firing also makes the glaze stick to the pottery．When the firing is over, the potter carefully removes the pottery from the oven and lets it cool slowly．If it cools too quickly, it could crack and break．

　　Since pottery is waterproof, it is very popular for dishes．You can find examples of pottery in almost any home．But pottery can also be found in museums．Some pieces of pottery are valuable and beautiful pieces of art．

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　　If you’re away for a week or two, whatever you do, pack light．

　　This especially applies if you are on a tour and are moving from place to place, when heavy luggage has to be loaded and unloaded from taxis, trains and planes．Unnecessary heavy luggage will spoil your mood before you’ve even arrived．Here are a few tips to keep your pack and your look light and carefree．

　　1．Use a medium-sized case, or, best of all, a good-sized carry-on case to prevent long waits at the luggage carousel(传送带)at the airport．

　　2．Lay out everything you think you’ll be needing on your trip, and then pack half of the items．Remember, less is more!Hardly will you require more than two pairs of shoes on any summer trip, one sweater, a couple of T-shirts or tops, two pairs of trousers－or even better for women, two of your dresses－a swimsuit and underwear．If you do take separates, make sure they are matching colors so that you can get maximum(最大限度的)use by mixing them．

　　3．Take only the necessities．Most hotels have such things as soap and shampoo now, so don’t trouble with a ton of toiletries unless you have sensitive skin．

　　4．Do you really need to take that hairdryer?If you don’t want to give your hair a rest, then don’t forget to pack an adapter(转接器)to make sure you’ll still be able to use your hairdryer．

　　5．Line the bottom of your suitcase with trousers, letting the legs hang over the outside edge．Then pack the rest of your travel gear(用具), with lighter materials on top．Wrap trouser legs over the pile．

　　6．Use the inside of shoes to save space：put underwear, your swimsuit and a rolled up belt in them．

　　7．Wrap anything that might break or leak in plastic bags to prevent accidents．

　　8．Relax－you’re on vacation!

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　　The management and staff are happy to welcome you and will do all they can to make your stay an enjoyable one．

　　MEAL TIME

　　Our overnight charge includes a continental-type breakfast．

　　Breakfast∶7∶30-9∶30 a. m．

　　Lunch∶12∶00-2∶00 p. m．

　　Afternoon tea∶4∶00-5∶30 p. m．

　　Dinner∶7∶00-9∶15 p. m．

　　Meals can be served in rooms at a small extra charge．

　　We regret that meals can not be served outside these time．

Light refreshments including tea, coffee, biscuits and sandwiches, can be served in rooms between 10∶00 a. m. and 11∶00 p. m. except during the meal time listed above．Cold drinks are available in the room refrigerator．

　　ROOM CLEANING

　　Please hand the appropriate sign on your door handle if you do not wish to be disturbed．It will be easier for the maids if you can leave the room temporarily at any time between 9∶00 a. m. and 4∶00 p. m．

　　VALUABLES

　　We are not responsible for the loss of money, jewellery, or other valuables unless they are kept in the safe and signed for by the manager．

　　DEPARTURES?

　　Please inform receptionists of your intended leaving before 9∶30 a. m. of the day concerned and leave the room by noon to allow for its preparation for incoming guests．If circumstances require, luggage can be left in the charge of the hall porter．

　　A SPECIAL REQUEST

　　We would respectfully suggest that in consideration of the comfort of other guests, the volume of radios and televisions should be turned down after 11∶00 p. m．

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　　In the old days, divers used to go down into the sea looking for ships that had sunk, because they hoped to find gold and jewels．Now divers still search for valuable things in sunken ships, but they also try to bring to the surface the ships themselves, or parts of them．The value of different kinds of metals has increased greatly over the last twenty or thirty years and even though a ship has been under the sea for many years, it may be worth a great deal．

　　One famous sunken ship is the “Lusitania”, which sank off the southern coast of Ireland in 1915 with a loss of nearly 1500 lives．It has four huge propellers(推进器)made of an expensive metal．Today each of those propellers is worth ＄300 000 or more．The ship, lying on the sea-bed has been brought by a man called John Light．He paid about ＄1 200 000 for the whole ship．He hopes to bring up those propellers and sell them．He also hopes to sell other parts of the ship, when he has brought them to the surface, for about ＄600 000．

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　　Solar(太阳的)energy for your home is coming．It can help you as a single home owner．It can help the whole country as well．Whether or not solar energy can save your money depends on many things．Where you live is one factor and the type of home you have is another．Things like insulation(绝缘材料), present energy costs, and the type of system you buy are added factors．

　　Using solar energy can help save our precious fuel(燃料)．As you know, our supplies of oil and gas are very limited．There is just not enough on hand to meet all our future energy needs．Sooner or later Mother Nature will say that’s all．The only way we can delay(推迟)hearing those words is by starting to save energy now and by using other sources, like the sun．

　　We won’t have to worry about the sun’s running out of energy for another several billion years or so．Besides, the sun doesn’t offer as many problems as other energy sources．For example, fossil fuel(矿物燃料)adds to already high pollution levels．With solar energy, we will still need sources of energy, but we won’t need as much．That means we can cut down on our pollution problems．

　　With all these good points, why don’t we use more solar power?There are many reasons for this．The biggest reason is money．Until now, it was just not practical for a home owner to put in a solar unit．There were cheaper sources of energy．

　　All that is changing now．Solar costs are starting to equal the costs of oil and electricity．Experts say that gas, oil and electricity prices will continue to rise．The demand for electricity is increasing rapidly．But new power plants will use more gas, oil or coal．Already in some places the supply of electricity is being rationed(限量供应)．Solar energy is now in its infancy(初期)．It could soon grown to become a major part of our nation’s energy supply．