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　　Beth Marinelli is 29 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 350 pounds．She is not always able to fit herself into theater or restaurant seats, or into train or airplane seats．She has to go to specialty(特制品)stores to buy clothes．All of this makes Beth Marinelli very angry．But what angers her most is New Jersey’s mandatory(强制性的)seat belt law．

　　New Jersey drivers and front seat passengers are required by law to wear seat belts．The problem for Beth Marinelli is that car makers don’t make seat belts large enough for obese people．As a result, people with weight problems are not required to buckle up(扣上安全带)like everybody else．“Statistics(统计数字)show how much safer it is to be in an accident while wearing a seat belt, says Marinelli．“The lawmakers are saying that if you’re fat, you can be free from wearing a seat belt－that it’s OK to die in a car accident．”

　　Social discrimination against the very fat people is very strong．According to Marinelli, she left high school because of constant teasing about her weight．But the cruel jokes and comments didn’t end with her youth．She was forced to work as a cook at her brother’s fast food restaurant because her weight ?discourages? employers from hiring her．

　　One day Marinelli wants to write a book about her life．She’ll call it “Growing Up Fat in America．”She wants to warn young people who are overweight about what’s in store for them, and encourage them to lose weight．“If one 10-year-old fat kid listens to me and says,’I don’t want to go through that,’ then I’ve succeeded．”

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　　Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours．This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact, it is quite normal．For some people, though, loneliness can last for years．Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness．

　　The first kind of loneliness is temporary(暂时的)．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation, for example, family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place．Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year．

　　The third kind of loneliness is the most severe．Unlike the second type, chronic(长期的)usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others．Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition．

　　Psychologists agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person’s social contacts, e．g．friends, family members, co-workers, etc．we depend on various people for different reasons．For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities．However, psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social? contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more．They question their popularity．

　　Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons：they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease．While temporary and situational loneliness can be normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a sad, and sometimes dangerous condition．

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　　In the United States today, a large group of people want a college education．However, everyone is not able to attend a four-year college．Many four-year colleges are already too crowded．To give more people a chance to get a college education, some cities and towns have built junior colleges．

　　The junior college offers a two-year course of study in a wide range(范围)of subjects．It prepares some young people to go on to a four-year college．It trains others for jobs in business, government, or industry．

　　Because junior colleges are built in cities, they can serve many people who live in a large community．Many students can not afford to go to a four-year college．But they can save enough to go to a junior college．The entrance fee at a junior college is low．Students can also save money by living at home．

　　A junior college admits some high school graduates who would not be accepted at other schools．The four-year college turns down students whose high school grades are low．The junior college will often admit a student who might do well in taking a two-year course．

　　One of the goals of our country is to educate as many people as possible．The junior college is a school meant to serve many people．It puts a college education within the reach of a great number of people．Without these schools, many people would not be able to continue their education past high school．

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　　It had been a difficult decade(10年), the eighties．The constant economic crises(危机)had taken their toll(代价)．In 1987 the government had closed down(关闭)the public bus service and many railway lines, so that cars and trucks were coming into central London at the rate of 200,000 a day．

　　Early, in 1984, the government had stopped the construction of the Thames Flood Barrier and there was no money to maintain(维修)and check the flood warning alarms along the banks of the Thames．

　　It had been a lovely summer, the summer of 1989．The long, sun-soaked days seemed to go on forever．The autumn was good too, with the best grain harvest for 25 years．

　　Then winter came．It was the worst winter for 50 years．The snowstorm started in the middle of January and the snow fell continuously for over a month．At the beginning of March the snow began to melt．It rained non-stop for six days and people began to gather on the banks of the Thames as the level of the river grew higher and higher．

　　On the night of March 7, a northerly gale(大风)began to send huge waves of tidal water right into the mouth of the Thames just as the river was running high．

　　People of London were used to misfortune．They accepted the bad weather, and even the three-month-old railway strike．Good times, they said, must be just round the corner．

　　At 8∶50, the next morning, the Thames burst its banks．By 9∶00 a. m. water covered 9.5 square kilometers of central London．Twenty thousand people either drowned or were injured by falling buildings．By 9∶15 a. m．London was drowning．

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　　When I asked my daughter which item she would keep：the phone, the car, the cooker, the computer, the TV, or her boyfriend, she said “the phone”．Personally, I could do without the phone entirely, which makes me unusual．Because the telephone is changing our lives more than any other piece of technology．

　　Point 1　The telephone creates the need to communicate, in the same way that more roads create more traffic．My daughter comes home from school at 4∶00 p. m. and then spends an hour on the phone talking to the very people she has just been at school with all day．If the phone did not exist, would she have anything to talk about?

　　Point 2　The mobile phone means that we are never alone．“The mobile saved my life．”says Crystal Johnstone．She had an accident in her Volvo on the A45 between Otley and Skipton．Trapped inside, she managed to make the call that brought the ambulance(救护车)to her rescue．

　　Point 3　The mobile removes our secret．It allows Marketing Manager of Haba Deutsch, Carl Nicolaisen, to ring his sales staff all round the world at any time of the day to ask where they are, where they are going, and how their last meeting went．

　　Point 4　The telephone separates us．Antonella Bramante in Rome says,“We worked in separate offices but I could see him through the window．It was easy to get his number．We were so near－but we didn’t meet for the first two weeks!”

　　Point 5　The telephone allows us to reach out beyond our own lives．Today we can talk to several complete strangers simultaneously on chat line(at least my daughter does．I wouldn’t know what to talk about)．We can talk across the world．We can even talk to astronauts(if you know any)while they’re space-walking．And, with the phone line hooked up to the computer, we can access the Internet, the biggest library on Earth．

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　　Real policemen hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV．

　　The first difference is that a policeman’s real life revolved round criminal law．He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court．He has to know nearly as much law as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down a street after someone he wants to talk to．

　　Little of his time is spent in chatting．He will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilty of stupid crimes．

　　Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal：as soon as he’s arrested, the story is over．In real life, finding criminal is seldom much of a problem．Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks, little effort is spent on searching．

　　Having made an arrest, a detective really starts to work．He has to prove his case in court, and to do that, he often has to gather a lot of different evidence．

　　A third big difference between the drama detective and the real one is the unpleasant pressures：first, as members of a police force, they always have to behave absolutely in accordance with the law．Secondly, as expensive public servants, they have to get results．They can hardly ever do both．Most of the time, some of them have to break the rules in small ways．

　　If the detective has to deceive(欺骗)the world, the world often deceives him．Hardly anyone he meets tells him the truth．And this separation the detective feels between himself and the rest of the world is deepened by the simple-minded－as he see it－of citizens, social workers, doctors, law-makers, and judges, who, instead of eliminating crime, punish the criminals less severely in the hope that this will make them reform．The result, detective feel, is that nine-tenths of their work is re-catching people who should have stayed behind bars．This makes them rather cynical．

阅读理解

　　You are about to say something to your younger brother when he gestures that he’s got a phone message．

　　“But I didn’t hear the ring,” you say．

　　“Because you are too old．” your brother answers．

　　Don’t get mad．He’s just telling you the truth．

　　Teenagers in Britain and the US have a weapon against the older generation, especially parents and teachers．It’s a ring tone that many adults cannot hear．

　　According to a recent report from the New York Times，in some Manhattan schools，students have begun using the technology．Cellphone use is usually forbidden in class．But using the high-pitched(频率)ring tone，students can successfully exchange phone messages without being found by their teachers．

　　The technology relies on the fact that most adults gradually lose the ability to hear high-pitched sounds, It was developed in Britain but has recently spread to America by the Internet．

　　However，the technology was originally aimed at annoying teenagers, not the other way around．

　　Called the Mosquito, it was marketed last year by a Welsh security company．It is an ear-splitting 17-kilohertz buzzer(蜂鸣器)designed to help shopkeepers get rid of young people hanging around in front of their stores．Humans can hear sounds taking place in a frequency range between 200 and 20,000 hertz, as the research shows．But our hearing gradually becomes worse when we grow up．

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Working Wives

　　Last week, we published an article about modern marriage．A recent survey showed that in England 51 percent of married women go out to work．People were asked what they thought of “working wives”．The results were as follows：

　　We asked readers to write and tell us their opinions．Here are some of the hundreds of letters we received．?

　　I’m a(woman)photographer．I make plenty of money, travel a lot, and meet a lot of people．I enjoy my work, and would hate to stay at home．I would never marry a man who wanted me to give up my work．

　　O’Leary

　　At present there are over 1,000,000 unemployed men in Britain．If a woman gets a job, she puts one more man out of work．Perhaps that man has a wife and twelve children to support．Let women stay at home where they belong to．

　　Ted Stubbs

　　I am a mother of twelve children．When I go to work, my husband looks after the children．He is very good with the children and enjoys staying at home with them．And I enjoy my job as a bus driver．

　　Boot Battersea

　　We are twin sisters, who both got married recently．One of us(Doreen)kept her job．The other(Doris)gave up her jobs．But Doris gets bored staying at home, and Doreen gets bored going out to work．So now Doreen works for a week, while Doris stays at home．Then Doris does Doreen’s job for a week, while Doreen stays at home．At work, they never know if it’s Doreen who’s working today!

　　Doris & Doreen Bean Hendon

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　　Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Goodfellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10∶00．Free．

　　Forget your worries on Saturday morning．Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history．Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9∶30．Wear comfortable shoes!

　　Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theater．See Broken Window at 1∶30．The Workers will be at 3∶45．For further information, call 4987898．

　　Are you tired of eating the same food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world．Delicious and not expensive．Noon to 5∶00 p．m．

　　It’s October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year．Get your tickets at the gate．It might be cold．Don’t forget sweaters and jackets．

　　“The zoo,” a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US concert tomorrow night at 8∶00 at Rose Hall, City College．

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　　“I have a regular film camera but I just don’t use it much,” said Ms Lowery, 23, a computer programmer．“When I got married last year, I had all these pictures that didn’t come out right．With digital cameras, you aren’t spending money on film for wasted pictures,”she said．

　　There are plenty of models from which to choose：from simple ＄ 200 point-and-shoot snappers to ＄ 1000 wonders with all the qualities that any advanced amateur(业余爱好者)could want．The wide selection is a sure sign that in many buyers’ minds, digital cameras have risen from mere gadgets(小玩意)to must-have items．

　　Digital cameras offer more than just the instant previewing of pictures on small color screens．They can store dozens, sometimes hundreds, of pictures that can be printed easily at home or sent by e-mail．Although there are extra costs－the cost of memory cards for storage and the special paper for printing－many buyers have been willing to make the switch．

　　Although about 90 percent of American households still use film cameras, digital cameras are capturing a growing share of the market．And the number of digital-camera households, now at about 10 percent, is certain to grow, as producers introduce more and more cameras whose quality is as good as film cameras．Soon, even professionals will use them．

　　Salesmen expect digital cameras to be popular gifts this holiday season．“They are very hot this year,” said Yossi Fogel at B & H Photo in New York．“The prices have come down and the quality has gone up．Who wants to travel with 30 rolls of film? With a large memory card to store pictures, you can shoot and shoot and never have to worry about changing a roll．How many times have you missed a picture because you failed to reload the film?”