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　　Nobody expected to find them there, outside the city walls．The broken bones of 30 or 40 bodies lay with one on top of the other．It looked bad．There was no sign of battle．Everyone wondered why all the people had died at the same moment．Men came day after day to dig and remove the earth．They worked with great care, like detectives．Each day something new was discovered．Every bone was studied．Soft brushes were used so that nothing was damaged．It all took a very long time, and there were many puzzles．

　　Deep in the ground they found an important secret．Below the bodies there was a building made of bricks．Inside it lay the body of a woman．There were many things of value in the building with her－gold for her head, neck and arms, and clothes covered with gold．It was clear that the woman had been a queen．This explains why the other bodies were there．The queen’s servants had killed themselves immediately after the queen had died．They wanted to be her servants in the next world, too．Usually we learn about the past from books．But man lived for hundreds of thousands of years before any books were written．Only archaeologists can find about our early history．

　　This story is an example of how archaeologists work．

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　　Tourism wasn’t as important as it is today．In the past, only people with a good deal of money could travel on holidays to other countries．More people travel today than in the past because there is a growing middle class in many parts of the world．That is to say, people now have more money for travel．Special plane fares(费用)for tourists make travel less expensive and more attractive than ever before．One person doesn’t travel for the same reason as another．But most people enjoy seeing countries that are different from their own．They also like to meet new people and to taste new food．

　　Tourism causes many changes in a country and in people’s lives．People build new hotels and restaurants and train native men and women as guides to show visitors interesting places．There are new night clubs and other amusements．International tourism is clearly a big business．

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　　Listening to music while you drive can improve your speed and ability to get away from accidents, according to Australian psychologists．But turning your car radio up to full volume could probably make you end up in an accident．The performance of difficult tasks can be affected if people are subjected to loud noise．The experience of pulling up at traffic lights alongside care with loud music made some psychologists in the University of Sydney look into whether loud music has something to do with driving．

　　The psychologists invited 60 men and women aged between 20 and 28 as subjects and tested them on almost the same driving tasks under three noise conditions：silence, rock music played at a gentle 55 decibels(分贝), and the same music at 85 decibels．

　　For 10 minutes, the subjects sat in front of a screen operating a simple machine like a car．They had to track a moving disk on screen, respond to traffic signals changing color, and brake(刹车)in response to arrows that appeared without warning．

　　On the tracking task, there was no difference in performance under the three noise conditions．But under both the loud and quiet music conditions, the performers “braked” at a red light about 50 milliseconds sooner than they did when there was no music at all．That could mean a reduction in braking distance of a couple of meters actually, the difference between life and death for a pedestrian(行人)．

　　When it came to the arrows that appeared across the visual field, the psychologists found that when the music was quiet, people responded faster to objects in their central field of sight by about 50 milliseconds．For the people listening at 85 decibels, response time dropped by a further 50 milliseconds－a whole tenth of second faster than those “driving” with no music．

　　“But there’s a trade-off, ” the psychologists told the European Congress of Psychology．“They lose the ability to look around the whole situation effectively．” In responding to objects that suddenly appeared, people subjected to 85-decibel rock music were around 100 milliseconds slower than both the other groups．Since some accidents, such as children running into the road, take place without any notice, drivers listening to loud music must be less safe as a result．

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　　Mrs．Smith’s husband went off on a business trip to Australia．He wanted to catch the 3∶30 plane to Darwin．She was very surprised when he telephoned her at 5 o’clock and said that he was still at the airport．

　　“What happened?” asked Mrs．Smith．

　　“Well,” said Mr．Smith, “everything was going fine．I got my ticket, checked my luggage and waited in line at the gate．I walked across the runway to the airplane and I saw my friend Jack Scott．Jack was an airplane engineer．I shouted to him and a policeman caught me．”

　　“Why did he catch you?”

　　“I don’t know,” said Mr．Smith．“All I said was ‘Hi, Jack’!”

　　The word “hijack” means “to take control of a plane by force(劫机)”．

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　　This is your chance to win a Breakaway weekend for two people at any of the 83 Breakaway hotels throughout Britain．

　　To win the Breakaway weekend for two, answer these four questions and send your entry, to arrive no later than 31 July 1999, to Team House, 24 Church Street, Ashford, Kent, TN255 BJ．

　　1．The St Vincent Rocks Hotel, Bristol is on the Avon Gorge which is crossed by the Clifton Bridge．Who designed the bridge?

　　2．The Aeroidrome Hotel, Croydon is next to the airfield from which England’s solo(单独的) pilot made her record flights in the 1930s．Who was she?

　3．The Talbot Hotel, Oundle, Northants is not far from the village of Fotheringgay and the castle where one of history’s most famous queens was imprisoned．Who was she?

　　4．The Larkfield Hotel, Maidstone is a few miles away from one of England’s top motor racing tracks．What is the name of the track?

　　The person whose correct entry is picked out first by a computer will win the prize．This decision is final．The winner will be sent an excellent value Breakaway booklet(小册子) giving details of the 83 hotels from which he/she can choose where to spend the prize weekend．

　　Every Breakaway hotel gives you the chance to see something different, while providing you with comfortable surroundings and good food．

　　A breakaway weekend includes a three-course dinner(三道菜的正餐), accommodation(房间) and a full English breakfast, for two nights．You also get Sunday lunch, either a traditional meal at your hotel, or, if you are planning to go sightseeing, the hotel will provide a packed lunch for you．Breakaway hotels are great places for families．Children can choose from their own special menu, and for those up to 12 years old accommodation is free of charge when sharing a room with their parents．

　　A splendid value Breakaway booklet will be sent to you if you dial this number：0252517517．

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　　WORSE　BUSH　FIRE　OF　CENTURY　PUTS　SOUTHERN　AUSTRALIAN　TOWNS　IN　DANGER

　　No one knows yet the number of lives which has been lost in this terrible fire．But reports suggest that already more than a hundred people have died．

　　Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes．The edge of the smoke cloud has already reached Melbourne．People are rushing excitedly into the streets．The police have warned them not to drive out of the city to see the fire, but many people are doing so．

　　The cause of the fire is unknown．But nobody is surprised．No rain has fallen in this part for three months．It is 38℃ at noon, and the hot northwest wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour．

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　　Probably you have seen photographs of the Grand Canyon(峡谷), the great valley in the desert country of Arizond．But you must go there yourself to feel its true size and beauty．The Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world．The Colorado River formed the Grand Canyon over millions of years．Slowly, the river cut down through hard rock．At the same time, the land was rising．Today, the Canyon is one and a half kilometers deep and 445 kilometers long．The width varies (changes) from about 200 meters to 29 kilometers across．The rim(边缘) or top of the Canyon is about 2300 meters above sea level on the South Rim, and about 3000 meters on the other side, the North Rim．As a result, there are different kinds of plants and animals on opposite side of the Canyon．The South Rim is a dry desert country．The North Rim has tall forests．

　　The Canyon looks different at different times of the day, and in different seasons and weather．At sunrise and sunset the red, gold, brown, and orange colors of the rocks are especially clear and bright．In winter, the Canyon is partly covered with snow．The view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the best．Most visitors come to the South Rim and stay in campgrounds or hotels．Every point along the Canyon’s edge offers a different view．

　　The North Rim of the Canyon is quieter．It takes all day to drive there from the South Rim because there is only one bridge across the Colorado River．On the way, you go through Navado Indian lands, and a colorful pink desert called “The Painted Desert”．

　　You can walk down into the Grand Canyon, or you can go down on the back of a mule．You can also take a boat trip down the Colorado River, and camp on the beaches at night．But whether you see the Grand Canyon from the top or the bottom, it will be an experience that you will never forget．

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　　Many people think that the exploration of space began when people first put on spacesuits and went up in rocket ships．But people started exploring space long before anyone could travel there．The first space explorers were the ancient Egyptians and Arabs．They studied the sky and passed along their knowledge to the ancient Greeks．The Greeks put these ideas together with new ideas of their own and created the science of astronomy．Astronomy is the study of the stars．The first important Greek astronomer, or space scientist, was Pythagoras．In 560 BC, when people thought that Earth was flat, Pythagoras thought that it was round．Another important Greek scientist was Aristarchus．In about 360 BC, he taught that Earth and all the other planets revolve, or move in a circle, around the sun．Now, of course, we know that he was right．A little more than five hundred years later, another Greek scientist named Ptolemy wrote a book in which he argued that the planets, the sun and everything else in the heavens revolve around Earth．For more than 1500 years, many people believed that he was right．

　　In 1543, the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus published a new book．Copernicus said that Earth and all the other planets revolve around the sun．This was an unpopular idea．People were used to believing that Earth was the centre of everything．This idea made them feel special．Powerful religious leaders had even made this part of church law．In 1609, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei learned of a new invention called the telescope, which could make distant objects appear closer and larger．Galileo built his own telescope to look at the sky．What he saw convinced him that．Earth revolved the sun．However, it was a long time before people finally decided that he was right．The great English scientist Sir Issac Newton also thought that Earth revolved around the sun．In 1668, Galileo invented a telescope that was better and stronger than the one Galileo had used．It allowed people to see much farther into space．Through the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s, scientists continued to use telescopes to explore space．They made many discoveries．They discovered the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto．They also observed comets．But this was not enough．In May 1926, a scientist from the USA dreamed of using a rocket to reach the moon．He designed a rocket that climbed forty feet into the air．That does not sound like a great distance, but it was farther than any liquid-fueled rocket had gone before．The age of space travel began．

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　　How should one invest a sum of money in these days of inflation(通货膨胀)?Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate．Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market．Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past．Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques．

　　I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life．“The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound．It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands．Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people’s wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control．This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves．”

　　Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time．Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of day according to the beating of their own hearts．They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout the time．So it seems that the first clocks were human beings．

　　However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time．They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun．They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour-glasses, and invented water-clocks．Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past．

　　Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home．After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in an antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?

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　　Aboriginal is a term used to describe the people and animals that lived in a place from the earliest known times or before Europeans arrived．Examples are the Maori in New Zealand, the Aborigines in Australia and the Indians in South America．

　　The Maori were the first people to go to New Zealand about 1000 years ago．They came from the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific．They brought dogs, rats and plants with them and settled mainly on the Northern Island．In 1769, Captain James Cook took possession of the Island, and from that time on British people started to settle．The Maori signed an agreement with these settlers, but in later years there were arguments and battles between them over land rights．

　　Native people of Australia came from somewhere in Asia more than 40000 years ago．They lived by hunting and gathering．Their contact with British settlers began in 1788．By the 1940s’ almost all of them were mixed into Australian society as low-paid workers．Their rights were limited．In 1976 and 1993 the Australian government passed laws that returned some land to the Aborigines and recognized their property rights．

　　Long before the Europeans came to America in the 16th and 17th century, the American Indians, or Native Americans, lived there．It is believed that they came from Asia．Christopher Columbus mistook the land for India and so called the people there Indians．The white settlers and American Indians lived in peace at the beginning, but conflicts finally arose and led to the Indian Wars(1866-1890)．After the war the Indians were driven to the west of the country．Not until 1924 did they gain the right to vote．