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　　China on Sunday successfully tested a low-to-medium speed magnetic levitation train, the first domestically(国内)developed one in the country, in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province．

　　A maglev train drives into a terminal(终点)station in Shanghai March 14, 2006．A high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai and a maglev line between Shanghai and neighbouring Hangzhou have been approved by the State Council, China’s cabinet．

　　The test maglev train is 11.2 meters long, 2.6 meters wide and 3.3 meters high．It ran steadily on a 425-meter-long experimental line in the provincial capital of Chengdu．

　　“The successful test of the train shows that China has mastered the technology of low-to-medium speed maglev trains, ” said Zhang Kunlun, deputy director of the School of Electrical Engineering of the Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu．

　　The maglev train is developed by a maglev research team of the university, one of China’s key engineering universities．

　　The cost of this maglev train is low, and is suitable for urban traffic, Zhang said．

　　With a weight of 18 tons, the test train can hold 60 people．It can travel at a speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour, according to Zhang, also a maglev expert with the Ministry of Science and Technology．

　　China is expected to build a 175-kilometer-long maglev railway this year between Shanghai, the country’s largest metropolis, and Hangzhou, a famous tourist destination and capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province．

Different Countries, Different Schools

My New Teachers

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　　All of us have had one teacher who has been a source of great inspiration and who’s left lasting impression on our mind．

　　The power that a teacher has over the young is potent(有力的)．Sometimes it just takes one teacher to turn a life around, open one’s eyes and make a difference．Called second parents, the best teachers nurture(孕育)our dreams, develop our talents, and help a lot of us realise our ambitions and reach our goals．It’s no wonder that different countries around the globe dedicate(专门用)a day to honour one of the most noble professions of our times．

　　Here are a few interesting facts about Teacher’s Day：

　　Dr．Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is known by the world as a great intellectual, philosopher and educationist．It was in 1962, when Dr．Radhakrishnan became the President of India, that his birthday on the 5th of September came to be observed as Teacher’s Day all over India．It was a tribute to Dr．Radhakrishnan’s close link with the cause of teaching．Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was one of his closest friends, said about Dr．Radhakrishnan, “He has served his country in many capacities(才能)．But above all, he is a great teacher from whom all of us have learnt much and will continue to learn．”

　　The United Nations has declared October 5 as World Teacher’s Day．This special day was created to focus the world’s attention on the contributions and achievements of teachers．

　　In the United States of America, National Teacher’s Day is always the Tuesday of the first full week of May, so the actual date varies every year．The history of celebrating this day goes back to 1944．

　China celebrates Teacher’s Day on September 10．The tradition began in the 1980s in order to reverse(改变)the anti-intellectual sentiment(观点)created during the Cultural Revolution．However, it has yet to be established as a national holiday．

　　Teacher’s Day is celebrated in Brunei(文莱)on September 23 every year．

　　January 15 is Teacher’s Day in Venezuela(委内瑞拉)．

　　Korea celebrates Teacher’s Day on May 15．

　　September 28, is Confucius’(孔子)birthday and Taiwan celebrates this day as Teacher’s Day．

A Letter from a Senior High Student

My First Day at Senior High

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　　Schooling is compulsory for all English children from the age of 5 to 16．The academic year in England runs from September to July and is divided into 3 terms：

　　Autumn Term：

　　From the beginning of September to mid December．Also known as the Michaelmas Term(private sector)．

　　Spring Term：

　　From the beginning of January to mid/late March(depending on the date of Easter)．Also known as the Lent Term(private sector)．

　　Summer Term：

　　From early/mid April to mid July．

　　Each term is divided by a one-week break called half term, usually at the end of October, mid-February and the end of May．

　　There are 2 parallel(平行的)school systems in England, the state sector and the private sector．

　　The State Sector

　　Schools in the state sector are financed(资助)by the government and administered through local education authorities, although many schools now manage their own finance and are known as Grant Maintained Schools．No financial contribution to a child’s education is required of parents．Broadly speaking, secondary education(from age 11 onwards)is comprehensive(综合性的)i．e．schools accept children of all academic levels, and are, in the main, co-educational．However there are still some grammar schools which select only the more academically gifted children on the basis of an examination and these tend to be single sex schools．All schools in the state sector are day schools．

　　The Private Sector

　　Schools in the private sector are known as independent or public schools．They rely for finance only on fees charged parents．The majority are boarding schools, although there are some independent day schools, particularly in the London area．Children live at school during term time, only returning home at half term and during the main holidays(Christmas, Easter and Summer)．However children may also spend one or two weekends per term at home(or, in the case of children from overseas, with guardian families)－these weekend breaks are called exeats．Most schools have fixed dates for exeats, although some will allow children/parents to choose their own exeat weekends．

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　　Between 1977 and 1981, three groups of American women, numbering 27 in all, between the age of 35 and 65, were given month-long tests to determine how they would respond to conditions resembling those aboard the space shuttle．

　　Though carefully selected from among many applicants, the women were volunteers and the pay was barely above the minimum wage．They were not allowed to smoke or drink alcohol during the tests, and they were expected to accompany with each other for the entire period．Among other things they had to stand pressure three times the force of gravity and carry out both physical and mental tasks whole exhausted from strenuous physical exercise．At the end of ten days, they had to spend a further twenty days absolutely confined to bed, during which time they suffered backaches and other discomforts, and when they were finally allowed up, the more physically active women were especially subject to pain due to a slight calcium loss．

　　Results of the tests suggest that women will have significant advantages over man in space．They need less food and less oxygen and they stand up to radiation better．Men’s advantages in terms of strength and stamina, meanwhile, are virtually wiped out by the zero-gravity condition in space．

　　本文是说明文。但是文章大部分内容叙述了一次试验，所以前面部分也可以说是记叙文体。文章通过对27位年龄不等的妇女进行的模拟宇宙飞船上的试验得出结论：女性在太空比男性更有优越性。

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　　Somewhere on the South Coast

　　England

　　Dear Mum and Dad,

　　It was a great idea to send me over to Britain to learn English this summer! I’ve met so many students－from Sweden, France and all over the world．And there are lots of students from Germany here too．It’s just like being at home．What a relief to find normal people, even in England, and to speak in a normal language most of the time．

　　Of course, we do have English lessons in the day, and I have to talk to the family I stay with here．Do you know, some of my friends have said they won’t go out with us in the evening any more－they want to speak English and find English friends．I think they’re mad．

　　The family I live with are very nice．But they have some strange habits．They drink tea all day：at breakfast, in the afternoon and at bedtime．And they eat butter with salt in it! If I go out in the evening, I often eat fish and chips．The food is wrapped up in a newspaper; at least reading the paper takes your mind off the fish and chips! Here at the coast, we travel by bus．The buses are always late．I was knocked down by an old lady the other day because I didn’t stand in the queue．English people seem very quiet and reserved, so I was very surprised to see how violent they become about queues．Also, if you ask them directions, they suddenly become very chatty and go on for hours．

　　I’d like to come back here next year to see all my friends again－oh yes, and to learn some more English…

Your son,

Hans

　　本文是一封书信，是应用文的一种。信中叙述了作者在英国学习的情况和感受。他结识了许多来自其他国家的学生，他们都是来英国学习英语的。他介绍了他所寄宿的家庭和他们喝茶的习惯。他还讲述了他乘车没有站队的经历和体会。信的开头和结尾都表达了作者对这次来英国学习的喜爱。学习本文时还应注意信的格式。

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　　You got red with anger, green with envy, and white with fright．If you’re unhappy you’re blue, and if you’re a coward, you’re yellow．Whatever your feelings are you can find a color to describe them．

　　But colors not only describe feelings, they can also have a very strong effect upon us．Everybody has noticed how you feel colder in a blue room than a red room even though the rooms are at the same temperature．So colors can affect our moods．And it is also possible that our own choice of a favorite color can tell us something about ourselves．If green is your favorite color, you are strong-minded and determined．You do not wish to change, but you certainly wish to succeed and what’s more, you want other people to see you are successful．Red makes bulls charge and makes your blood pressure go up．You are fiercely competitive, very strong-minded and full of energy．If you choose blue, the color of calm seas and clear skies, you like peace and quiet and like to feel you belong to a group of trusted friends．Purple is a mixture of red and blue, and is a compromise between peaceful blue and aggressive red．You are romantic and tender and wish to charm and please others．

　　本文是说明文。文章说明了人们用颜色词表达思想的情况。不管你的感觉如何，你都可以用颜色来表达自己的心情。颜色本身对我们的感觉也有影响，它可以影响我们的心情。人们可以从你对颜色的偏爱了解你，因为你所喜爱的颜色表达了你的性格。