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　　Since my retirement(退休)from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist．I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him．In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes(风景画)much influenced(影响)by Krenkel and St．John for five years．

　　For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my ?favorite? artist．I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look．So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting．However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my paintings at a number of art exhibitions．

　　Art is now together with my piano playing and reading．There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do．As Confucious once said, “At seventy I can follow my heart’s desire．”

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　　Paris is the capital of the European nation of France．It is also one of the most beautiful and most famous cities in the world．

　　Paris is called the City of Light．It is also an international fashion(时装)center．What modern women are wearing in Paris will soon be worn by many women in other parts of the world．Paris is also a famous world center of education．For instance, the headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, is in Paris．

　　The Seine River divides the city into two parts．Thirty two bridges cross this scenic river．The oldest and perhaps most well known is the Pont Neuf, which was built in the sixteenth century．The Sorbonne, a famous university, is located(位于)on the Left Bank(south side)of the river．The beautiful white church Sacre Coeur lies on top of the hill called Montmartre on the Right Bank(north bank)of the Seine．

　　There are many other famous places in Paris, such as the famous museum Louver as well as the cathedral of Notre Dame．However, the most famous land mark in this city must be the Eiffel Tower．

　　Paris is named after a group of people called the Parisii．They built a small village on an island in the middle of the Seine River about two thousand years ago．This island, called the Hedela Cite, is where Notre Dame is located．Today around eight million people live in the Paris area．

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　　Some people take lots of exercise．Others keep to strict diets．But according to recent research, the best way to live a long and happy life is simple．

　　“We have known for many years that the company of a pet can increase well being in a number of ways, ”says Dr．Bonnie Beaver, an animal behavior specialist at Texas University．“For example, the survival rate of heart attack victims with pets are much greater than those of people without pets．”

　　According to Dr．Beaver, pet owners are less likely to need a doctor．They recover more quickly when they do get ill．They have lower blood pressure, take more exercise and are more socially active．

　　Above all, they are happier．Seventy percent of the families Dr．Beaver surveyed said that their family environment was happier after they get a pet．And this is what Dr．Beaver and other researchers are trying to achieve．They want to find a scientific link between human happiness and a long life．

　　There is no final answer to this question yet, but it seems to be something to do with emotional ties．People with someone or something to love live longer．“There are many forms of animal human relationship and some are very helpful,” says Dr．Beaver．It seems that the more lovely an animal is, the more it benefits our health．As the saying goes, “if you want to be loved, get a dog”．

　　Pet ownership benefits men and women equally．Other life experiences divide the sexes．“Women are more sensitive to bad marriages than their husbands because they work harder at their relationships, ” says Dr．Janice Glaser of Ohio State University．

　　The message seems to be that a woman is better off with a good dog than a bad husband．Yet in some ways, men are similar to dogs．They like getting dirty and making a mess．They forget birthdays．They can disappear for days on end．How can they be better trained?

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　　Pets are no strangers to the White House．Many of America’s Presidents have been animal lovers．In recent times, White House pets have been tame dogs and cats．Long ago, however, presidential pets, like our nation itself, were wilder!

　　In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson lived in the white House．Passersby often caught sight of his pet bears．Explorers had discovered these fierce bears, caught as pair of small ones, and sent them to Jefferson．While the President was excited about his bears, his enemies in Congress constantly laughed at his pets, calling the White House “The President’s Bear Garden”．

　　By 1825, the bears were long gone from the White House scene．Now the building was home to President John Quincy Adams and his crocodile．The green beast actually belonged to General Lafavette, a French hero who had helped the United States win the Revolutionary War．When Lafavette asked Adams to keep the crocodile for him, the President couldn’t refuse．While President Adams babysat the huge crocodile, First Lady Louisa Adams was busy raising thousands of silkworms．She used the silk from the silkworms to make cloth for her dresses．

　　When President Martin Van Buren moved into the White House in 1837, he brought his tigers with him．At least, Van Buren said the tigers were his．The Sultan of Oman had sent the tigers when Van Buren was elected, so Congress argued that the cats belonged to the American people．A fight over the tigers continued for months．In the end, Congress sent someone to seize the tigers and put them in a zoo．

　　Twenty years later, President James Buchanan received another valuable gift when he was in his first year in the White House．This time, the King of Siam sent several elephants! Buchanan had no desire to share his building with the big creatures, so he sent them to the zoo．Buchanan did, however, keep another gift－a pair of birds．They were a fitting symbol of presidential power．

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　　Mianzi(literally “face”)has long been observed by most Chinese．As a famous saying goes, “Men live for face as trees grow for bark．”

　　In a recent survey conducted by China Youth Daily, over 93 percent of the polled(接受测试的)people(1150)said they pay much attention to their mianzi, which concerns people’s decency, personality, and dignity．

　　When asked what the most humiliating(不光彩的)thing is, a heavy number accounting for 74.9 percent of the total chose public gaffes(失态)with the failed fulfillment of one’s promise coming in as second．More than a half of the people feel ashamed of being shown as ignorant before others．A total 47.5 percent of the polled considered it a loss of face to have no enough money on them when treating friends out to a dinner．

　　What would enhance one’s face then? In a ranking on this question, the survey revealed that doing what others cannot do topped the list, taking up a high proportion of 83.7 percent．Following at the second, with 53.9 percent, was being praised in public．Being outstandingly knowledgeable was third on the list for sharpening one’s mianzi, accounting for 51.7 percent．

　　According to the survey, face usually comes at a price．To pay or not to pay, it’s a problem．Deeply troubled with the face concept, many “fight” each other for the chance to foot the bill despite a barren pocket．Some 80.7 percent of those taking the poll thought it a tough life to always hold the face concept．Surprisingly, only 8.7 percent of the polled insisted that it tarnish(损害)a man’s authority and face in a family where the wife is the major breadwinner．

　　Armed to the teeth with the luxury name brand clothes, a limited 7.7 percent among all the polled prefer pricey cloths in order to gain more face．

　　Taking the social status into consideration, 82.9 percent of the polled nod at the opinion that those holding a superior position care far more than the general public about face．In another comparison, the manual labors pay less attention to face than brainworkers．The survey also revealed that men focus more on face than women and the senior more than the young．

　　While most people hold a neutral viewpoint about those who value mianzi a lot, nearly 80 percent of all the polled are willing to make friends with them．

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　　If you want to become a better reader, what should you know about speed or rate of reading?

　　Some people who read very rapidly may say, “I am a rapid reader．I can read an entire book in one evening．”Someone who reads slowly may say, “I read slowly, but I know what I read．I don’t miss a thing．”

　　The rapid reader may be a good reader when he reads story book for fun．But he may not be able to slow down enough to read directions carefully．He may read so rapidly that he does not take time to understand fully the ideas and information which it is important to remember．

　　The very slow reader may be good reader when he reads directions for making something．But he may take altogether too much time to read a simple story that is meant to be enjoyed but is not important enough to be remembered．

　　So you see, neither the reader who reads everything rapidly nor the one who reads everything slowly is really a good reader．

　　If you wish to become a better reader, here are four important things to remember about rate, or speed of reading．

　　1．Knowing why you are reading and what you are reading to find out will often help you to know whether to read rapidly or slowly．

　　2．Some things should be read slowly throughout．Examples are directions fox making or doing something; science and history books, which are full of importance．You must read such things slowly to remember each important step and understand each important idea．

　　3．Some things should be read rapidly throughout．Examples are simple stories meant for enjoyment; news, letters from friends, items or bits of news from local or home town papers, telling what is happening to friends and neighbors．

　　4．In some of your reading, you must change your speed fast to slow and slow to fast．As you go along．You will need to read certain pages rapidly and then slow down and do more careful reading when you come to important ideas, which must be remembered．

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　　Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas．I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend．While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台)，I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas．

　　I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car．I stopped and wondered what I should do．A car pulled up behind me．It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station．They said they would take me to my friend’s．We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card．

　　I wrote him and his wife a thank you note for helping me．Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them．Their note that came with it said helping me had made their holidays meaningful．

　　Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning．In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池)was dead．Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership－a shop selling cars－was right next door．I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom．

　　“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble．They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it．They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks．I received a letter back from one of the salesmen．No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said．

　　“Thank you”－two powerful words．They’re easy to say and mean so much．

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　　That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath．Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break．

　　The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 percent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day．

　　Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 percent higher risk at the beginning of the working week．Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day．

　　A study of 11 000 Italians proved 8 a. m. on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewest heart attacks in both countries．

　　The finding could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr．Stefan Willich of the Free University．“We know a lot about long term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol(胆固醇)but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them.” he said．

　　Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work．

　　“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal(荷尔蒙)changes in their bodies,” Willich explained．“All these things can have an unfavorable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot(血凝块)which will cause a heart attack．”

　　“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes．They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activities,” said Willich．

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　　LONDON(Reuters)－A French woman who had the world’s first partial face transplant has spoken of her amazement at seeing her new appearance, the Daily Mail newspaper said on Saturday．

　　The 38-year-old woman underwent the operation to give her a new nose, chin and mouth at a hospital in the northern French City of Amiens last month．

　　“When I looked at my new face, I knew straight away that it was me,” the paper quoted the woman, who was disfigured after her dog injured her badly, as saying．“It was simply amazing to see a nose and mouth on my face．”

　　The woman, who is recovering in a hospital in Lyon, told the paper that the dog attack had left her so disfigured that she had been forced to wear a dental mask．

　　People in the street would recoil from her in horror, she said, and even one of her own two daughters found her appearance unbearable．“Old people were the worst, they used to stop and stare at me all the time, ” she said, “ My elder daughter Lucie just didn’t want to see me I had to wear a mask．If I didn’t she refused to see me．”

　　Earlier this week the woman asked journalists to respect her privacy after her operation attracted the media．

　　The paper said the woman now wanted to live a normal life but was worried about what reaction there might be when she leaves hospital．

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　　A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how dangerous it is to get a lift from a teenage driver．Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers in three times as likely to have a serious accident as a teenager driving alone．

　　The author also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 pm, and especially after midnight．With passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a latenight accident．

　　Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience．“The basic problem, ”he says, “is that adults who are responsible for giving out licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is．”

　　Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate(使缓解)the problem is to have states set up so called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a process with several stages．A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself able to drive in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night of passenger restrictions before graduating to full driving rights．

　　Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies．