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　　Mr．King lived with six hundred wild animals on the Greek Island of Kyklos．Ever since he left school, he had traveled all over the world collecting animals for his own zoo．He hoped to collect two examples of every kind of animal on his island．But he was afraid that people would find him someday．

　　He wrote books about his travels and about his animals that he collected．The money from the books helped to pay for all the food that these animals ate．

　　One day, when Mr．King was out looking for drinking water, he found oil．He needed money for his travels and for his zoo, and a little oil would buy enough water for what he needed all his life, but he knew that if he told anyone else about it, it would be the end of his zoo and his life’s work．So he decided not to tell anyone else about what he had found, because oil and water couldn’t mix．

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　　The anger of PETA has now been turned on KFC, the fried-chicken chain．After two years of failed talks aimed at forcing KFC to introduce more humane practices into the raising and killing of chickens, PETA announced last week that it would start a worldwide “Kentucky Fried Cruelty” movement．

　　PETA wants KFC to kill its chickens using gas rather than cutting their throats, to increase their living space and to provide resting places for the birds．“KFC has got a lot from chickens but treated them badly, leaving us no choice but to turn up the heat, ” said Bruce Friedrich, PETA’s director of vegetarian(素食主义者)outreach．“McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s did something under the pressure; KFC would do well to follow their lead．”

　　One claim in the PETA movement is sure to catch the attention of anyone who has ever had close dealings with a chicken．“Chickens are interesting animals, ” the movement’s press release begins, “and are thought to be at least as intelligent(聪明的)as dogs or cats．” Mr．Friedrich of PETA insists that social relations among chickens are more developed than those among cats, and nearly as developed as those among dogs．“When Jesus was looking for a way to express God’s love for man, he used the example of a hen’s love for her young, ” he said．

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Recently my wife and I, along with a travel companion, were in the tiny town of Battambang in central Cambodia．We hired a guide to take us up the river to our next destination at Siem Reap．This was to be a six-hour trip followed by crossing Lake Sap, the largest lake in central Asia．Battambang is an extremely poor area, and our mode of transportation was a very small, old boat not much larger than the three of us．With six bags tied to the front part of the boat, four travelers, and the boatman, I figured we were overloaded by at least a ton．We frequently had seen four or five people on a single motorbike, so no one but us was concerned about our weight．We had been on the water only a few minutes when our pilot made for shore and jumped from our boat to another．Our guide said not to worry; he would only be a minute．He added, “We need to pick up live chickens for their legs．” My wife and I exchanged glances．We are pretty open-minded, especially when traveling in a third-world country．It was obvious there was little room in our tiny vessel for chickens．If we had to take them along, we were willing to hold them on our legs－there was no place else to put them．The thought even occurred to me that perhaps the chickens were needed if the boat’s tiny engine stopped in the middle of nowhere．I had a vision of us holding them over the side of the boat while their tiny legs paddled(划)away, guiding us to safety．After all, our guide had said we needed them for their legs．We continued to make many jokes about live chickens drawing us to shore if the boat turned over and we were about eating them if we were left on a wild island．Meanwhile our guide just gave us a puzzled look．Finally my wife turned to him and asked, “How many chickens are we taking?” At first he seemed totally surprised, and then a large smile spread over his face．He bent over and began to laugh uncontrollably．My wife turned to me and said, “I’m glad he finds the thought of us holding chickens on our legs for six hours so funny．”When he finished laughing, he looked at us and pronounced every word clearly and loudly, “No live chickens! I said, ‘We need life jackets for the lake!’” It took a moment for this to sink in, and then we all had a good laugh．In fact, for the next six hours he kept asking us if our “chickens” fit all right and then laughed wildly．“Americans, so funny!” he kept saying．

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　　Vancouver is a young city, even by North American standards．It was not yet a town when British Columbia became part of the Canadian confederation(联盟)in 1871．The city’s history, such as it is, remains visible to the naked eye：Periods of history are formed in a neat pile from east to west along the waterfront, from cobblestone late-Victorian Gastown to shiny postmodern glass cathedrals(大教堂)of commerce．

　　The Chinese, among the first to recognize the possibilities of Vancouver’s setting, came to British Columbia during the 1850s seeking the gold that inspired them to name the province Gum-shan, or Gold Mountain．As laborers, they built the Canadian Pacific Railway, giving Vancouver a purpose－one beyond natural scenery that Royal Navy captain George Vancouver admired during his lunchtime cruise(巡游)around its harbor on June 13, 1792．The Canadian transcontinental railway, along with the city’s Great White Fleet of ships, gave Vancouver a full week’s edge over the California ports in shipping tea and silk to New York at the end of the 19th century．

　　For its original people, the Coast Salish people, Vancouver was the sacred spot where the mythical(神话)Thunderbird and Killer Whale threw wind and rain all about the heavens during their brave battles．How else to explain the coast’s changeable weather? Devotees of a later religious(宗教)tradition might worship in the bushes of Stanley Park or Christ Church Cathedral, the city’s oldest church．

　　Vancouver, with a large population of about 2 million, is developing．The mild climate, beautiful natural scenery, and relaxed outdoor lifestyle is attracting many people to settle in British Columbia’s business center, and the number of visitors is increasing for the same reasons．Many people get their first sight of Vancouver when catching an Alaskan cruise, and many return at some point to spend more time here．

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Italian Lakes and Greek Islands(12 Days)

　　Prices starting from ＄1999

　　Your tour begins in Milan, Italy, and moves on to the pretty Italian Lake District and the attractive resort(胜地)of Stresa, your home for two nights．Collette Vacations has carefully chosen the Costa Victoria as your home away from home for your 7-night journey along the waterways of the Mediterranean．The cruise ship is filled with the warmth and culture of Italy and is richly designed with entertainment(娱乐)areas and very good living conditions．It will take you to the places of your dreams．

　　You’ll spend 4 days touring Greek cities you’ve always heard about．In Katakolon, you will have the only unguided tour to nearby Olympia on the whole journey．Then with a local guide you will visit the Greek islands of Santorini, which is often related to the story of the lost city of Atlantis, and Mykonos, a wonderful island with beautiful beaches．

　　Your journey ends in Verona, home of the love story Romeo and Juliet, with a fun-filled farewell dinner－a perfect ending to a pleasant journey．

　　12 Days, 25 Meals：10 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 9 Dinners

　　Day 1　　　　　　Overnight flight to Italy

　　Days 2-3　　　　　Regina Palace, Stresa, Italy

　　Days 4-10　　　　　Costa Victoria(Costa cruises)

　　Day 11　　　　　　Hotel Leopardi, Verona, Italy

　　Day 12　　　　　　Leave for home

　　Please Note：

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Exploring Antarctica

　　An important scientific expedition in 1958 took hundreds of scientists to Antarctica, which is a large continent at the southern tip of the earth, and surrounds the South Pole, and most of which is covered by snow and ice．The great ice sheet goes on and on．At some places in Antarctica the ice is more than three miles thick．The Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans ring the continent．

　　The expedition in 1958 was part of International Geographical year(IGY：地球物理年), which is the name given to a world-wide scientific research program, that more than 5 000 scientists took part in．Actually, the IGY lasted 18 months－not for just a year．A part of its research is still going on．

　　Geophysics is the science of the earth and atmosphere．“Geo” is earth and “physics” is the part of science that deals with matter and motion(运动)－not with plants and animals．

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Phillip Island Penguins(企鹅)

　　The Little Penguin has called Phillip Island home for untold generations．Get to Phillip Island in plenty of time to watch a summer sunset at Summerland Beach－the stage is attractively set to see the Little Penguin leave water and step onto land．

　　·Leave Melbourne 5∶30 pm for a direct journey to Phillip Island

　　●See the Gippsland area－Guinness Book of Records place for the world’s longest earthworm(蚯蚓)

　　●Journey along the coastal highway around the Bay with French Island and Churchill Island in the distance

　　●Cross the bridge at San Remo to enter Phillip Island－natural home for Little Penguins and many animals

　　●Take your place in special viewing stands(看台)to watch the daily evening performance of the wild Little Penguins

　　Ultimate Penguins(＋U)

　　Join a group of up to 15．This guided tour goes to an attractive, quiet beach to see Little Penguins．You can see penguins at night by wearing a special pair of glasses．

　　Adult(成人)＄60.00　　　Child ＄30.00

　　Viewing Platform Penguin Plus(＋V)

　　More personalized wildlife viewing limited to 130 people providing closer viewing of the penguin arrival than the main viewing stands．

　　Adult ＄25.00　　　Child ＄12.50

　　Penguin Skybox(＋S)

　　Join a group of only 5 in the comfort of a special, higher-up viewing tower．Gain an excellent overview of Summerland Beach．

　　Adult 16yrs＋＄50.00

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　　Getting paid to talk about the World Cup is a great job．I’m not a football commentator(评论员), though－just an English teacher in Japan．

　　I came to Japan two years ago, and didn’t think I would stay, but Japan has that effect on you．People often end up living here longer than they planned．I think it’s best to teach in a bigger city where there are other foreigners to mix with, rather than a small town where English teachers often complain of feeling like a goldfish in a bowl．Many people choose to live in Tokyo, of course, which is good for the nightlife factor．But I’d say that for general quality of living, cities of neither too large nor too small, like Sapporo where I live, are better choices．

　　I teach English privately, which means I’m my own boss．If you want to devote yourself to private teaching, it’s well worth doing a TEFL course first．Because your lessons will be much better for it．The problem with private teaching is finding students; it took me a year to build up a full schedule(日程表)of private lessons, so I started out teaching in schools part-time．

　　Most of my foreign friends here work full-time for big English conversation schools．The salary is fine to live on．But whether you can save money depends on how much going out and traveling you do here．

　　The schools are reluctant to take time off－even teachers with tickets for the England-Argentina game had trouble getting the day off．

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　　Zhu Jingya is a Junior 2 student at Beijing’s Fucheng Road Middle School．She has had a question for years：Why is there a scar on her mother’s belly?

　　No one ever told Zhu, and she never asked．

　　Last week, Zhu finally learned the answer when her class watched a film about Caesarean birth(剖宫产)．

　　“I found out my mother got it when I was born, ” Zhu said．“I saw how hard it was for her．I think my mother was so great to do that for me．”

　　Shi Xinlei is a Junior 2 boy at the school．He made the film．It is 17 minutes long, and it shows everything that happens during a Caesarean birth．

　　More than 2000 students at the school watched the film．

　　At first, most students were nervous and couldn’t watch．They were afraid to watch a knife cut a mother’s skin and to see blood run out．

　　But as the operation went on, they got more interested．Some even cried when the doctor slowly took the baby out of the mother’s body．

　　“It was so wonderful to see a new life begin, ” said Jia Fangcheng, a Junior 2 student．“I think mothers are so brave．They give so much to their babies．”

　　The film was Shi’s homework during last year’s summer holiday．He made it at a hospital in Shahe, Hebei．His father works as a doctor there．

　　“At first, I was too nervous to hold the camera, ” Shi said．

　　Shi’s teacher Fu Yueping helped him to edit the film．And Fu wants to use it to show students how great mothers are．

　　“By watching the film, students can learn to love and respect their mothers, ” Fu said．“They saw how hard it really is for a mother to have a child．”

　　After watching the film, students said they want their mothers to know how much they love them．

　　“I was really moved,” Zhu said．“When I went back home, I gave my mom a big hug．”

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　　One of the greatest mysteries of the world, for which scientists have so far been unable to find any satisfactory explanation, is the Bermuda Triangle(百慕大三角), sometimes called “The Graveyard(墓地)of the Atlantic．”

　　This is an area of the Western Atlantic between Bermuda and Florida, roughly triangular in shape, where since 1945 at least a hundred ships and planes and over a thousand people have disappeared．No wreckage(残骸)has been found, no bodies, life belts or any other evidence of disaster．It is as if these planes, ships and people had never existed．In some cases a routine radio message has been received from aircraft reporting everything in order a few minutes before all contact was lost, in others a weak S．O．S．message has been picked up and, in perfect weather, there is suddenly some fog．In the extraordinary case of five U．S．navy planes disappearing on a routine mission from Florida, the rescue plane sent to locate them vanished also．There have been references to the curious white light or haze(烟雾)which is a feature of the sea in part of the area, and it is interesting to note that not only was this light, or streaks(条纹)of light, observed by the astronauts(航天员)on their way to space, but was also noted by Columbus, five centuries ago．Whether this light has any connection with the mysterious disappearances is unknown－it is just another curious circumstance as yet unexplained．