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　　Turning on the TV, a wonderful scene comes to your eyes－a group of men, tall, strong and handsome, and women, young, beautiful and attractive, too．Together they eat in the finest restaurants, traveling everywhere around the world by luxurious planes and pleasure ships．They are models．

　　Do you envy them? What sort of life are models leading? Is it a wonderful life for a young lady or a young man?

　　A few models are well-known actors or actresses who can make a lot of money only by showing themselves off in commercials．But the majority of them are just curious to see what it is like．They’d like to be models just because they are attracted by what they imagine－models earn a lot of money and lead a glorious life．This is true for those who are very successful．However, most models find it difficult to get work．Very few can earn enough to live on, and for all models their expenses are high．Their agents claim about 20％ of the earnings, and no model will get very far without a clever agent．Besides, they have to buy good clothing．They also have to pay to travel to interviews and reach the places where the work is to be done．

　　Interviews for a model job are known as cattle-markets in the modeling world, and not without a good reason．A top model can choose his or her work, demand and receive high fees and has his or her expenses paid．But for most models, the situation is quite different．And agent or employer inspects each model much as a farmer inspects cattle at a market．Intelligence, qualifications and personal characteristics count for little against good looks and tight figures．For all except the very few lucky ones, the life of a model is a continual search for work, trying to sell himself or herself in the face of fierce competition and, sometimes, not particularly moral standards on the part of some employers．

　　Immigration officials at airport look suspiciously at a girl whose passport shows her occupation as “Model”, and these are men and women of considerable experience of the world．It comes no surprise to find that some models prefer to put “Secretary” or “Businessman” as their jobs in their passports．

　　Modeling is a changeable world with great rewards for a tiny minority but not for the majority．

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　　The advantages and disadvantages of a large population have long been a subject of discussion among economics．It has been argued that the supply of good land is limited．To feed a large population, poor land must be cultivated and good land made full use of．Thus, each person produces less and this means a lower average income than could be obtained with a smaller population．Other economists have argued that a large population gives more opportunities for specialization such as ports, roads, and railways, which are not likely to be built unless there is a big demand to justify them．

　　One of the difficulties in carrying out a world-wide birth control program lies in the fact that official attitudes to population growth vary from country to country depending on the level of industrial development and the availability of food and raw materials．In a developing country where a vastly expanding population is pressing hard upon the limits of food, space and natural resources, it will be the first concern of the government to place a limit on the birthrate, whatever the consequences may be．In a highly industrialized society the problem may be more complex．A decreasing birthrate may lead to unemployment because it results in a declining market for products．When the pressure of the population on housing declines, prices also decline and the building industry is weakened．Faced with considerations such as these, the government of a developed country may well prefer to see a slowly increasing population, rather than one which is stable or in decline．

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　　The publication of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” gladdens booksellers across China．The British and American editions were No．1 and No．3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week．The book’s poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio．

　　Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of “Harry Potter”．Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms．But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world．On the other hand, one cannot help asking：where is our own “Harry Potter”?

　　The Chinese nation has a history of 5000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound．With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children．However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

　　There come two major reasons：Firstly, quite a number of children’s books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment．Children often have a feeling of being “educated”．No wonder they don’t like them．Secondly, children’s reading materials involving “idiom stories” and “Chinese talents’ stories”, though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized．One knows the ending as early as in the beginning．In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children’s requirements into consideration．

　　As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination．They long to understand the world and nature．Similarly they have their own choices．They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent．First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children’s language．

　　Market is a touchstone for products．The theory also holds true for cultural products．It is hoped that the authors of children’s books can learn something from the good market of “Harry Potter” and write out more and better books loved by children．

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　　When Johnny Cash sings, people listen．His big, deep voice rumbles out of radios and jukeboxes across North America．His records sell by the million．Country music fans everywhere know his big hits．They love songs like “Hey Porter” “Ring of Fire” and “Folsom Prison Blue”．

　　Johnny Cash sings about a hundred concerts a year．People like what they hear－and what they see, too．Rugged and big-shouldered, the singer stands six-two without his black boots on．He has a two-hundred-pound package of muscle and talent．And that scar(疤痕)on his cheek? It’s a bullet hole, of course!

　　In the minds of most people, Johnny Cash is “Mr．Tough(violent)Guy”．He’s an ex-drug addict(上瘾者)who was once put in prison．His grandmother was an Indian．To keep from starving, he once had to live on wild rabbits killed from forty feet away with a knife．Some people say he even killed a man．

　　In fact, most of the Johnny Cash story is just that－a story．True, years ago he had a “drug habit” for a short time．He “popped” pills．But he never used heroin or other “hard” drugs．Sometimes he’d go wild and get locked up for a few hours．But he never served a prison sentence．There’s no Indian blood in his veins．He’s been a killer only in song．As for the“ bullet hole”, it’s an old scar left by a doctor who opened a cyst(囊肿)．

　　People who know Johnny Cash well say he’s a“ gentle guy”, a “generous guy”－anything but a “tough guy”．How did the stories get started? Some of them, like the story about the “Indian grandmother”, he made up long ago to add excitement to his career．Others, like the“ bullet hole”, simply got started．Now there’s little the singer can do to change people’s minds．“They just want to believe it, ” he says．

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　　Banks view online banking as a powerful “value-added” tool to attract and keep new customers while helping to eliminate costly paper handling or teller interactions in an increasingly competitive banking environment．

　　Today, most large national banks, many local banks and credit unions offer some form of online banking, variously known as PC banking, home banking, electronic banking or Internet banking．Online banks are sometimes referred to as “brick-to-click” banks, both to tell them from “brick-to-mortar” banks that haven’t yet offered online banking, as well as from “virtual” banks that have no physical branches or tellers whatsoever．

　　The challenge for the banking industry has been to design this new service channel in such a way that its customers will readily learn to use and trust it．Most of the large banks can now offer fully safe, fully functional online banking for free or for a small cost．As more banks succeed online and more customers use their sites, fully functional online banking will likely become as common place as automated teller machines(ATM)．

　　Online banking has a lot of advantages．Unlike your corner bank, online banking sites never close; they’re at hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they’re a mouse click away．If you’re out of state or even out of the country when a money problem appears, you can log on instantly to your online bank and take care of business．Online bank sites generally carry out and confirm deals at or quicker than ATM processing speeds．Many online banking sites now offer fashionable tools to help you manage all of your valuable items more effectively．

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　　Children start out a natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them．Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there’s no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment．You only have to share your children’s curiosity．Firstly, listen to their questions．I once visited a seven-year-old classroom to talk about science as a job．The children asked me “textbook questions”about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job．When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence．Finally I said, “Now that we’ve finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”

　　After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, “Have you ever seen a grasshopper(蚱蜢)eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache．Why? ”

　　This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours．

　　Secondly, give them time to think．Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think．When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical, complete and creative answers．

　　Thirdly, watch your language．Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right” or “Very good”．These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior．But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over．Instead, keep things going by saying, “That’s interesting” or “I’d never thought of it that way before”, or coming up with more questions or ideas．

　　Never push a child to “think”．It doesn’t make sense．Children are always thinking, without your telling them to．What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance．The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement．

　　Lastly, show：don’t tell．Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or television program．Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass(放大镜), and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner．Rather than saying that water evaporates, set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop．

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　　The Peales were a famous family of American artists．Charles Willson Peale is best remembered for his portraits of leading figures of the American Revolution．He painted portraits of Franklin and Jefferson and over a dozen of George Washington．His life-size portrait of his sons Raphaelle and Titian was so realistic that George Washington reportedly once tipped his hat to the figures in the picture．

　　Charles Willson Peale gave up painting in his middle age and devoted his life to the Peale museum, which he founded in Philadelphia．The world’s first popular museum of art and natural science mainly covered paintings by Peale and his family as well as displays of animals in their natural settings．Peale found the animals himself and found a method to make the exhibits more lifelike．The museum’s most popular display was the skeleton of a huge, extinct elephant which Peale unearthed on a New York farm in 1801．

　　Three of Peale’s seventeen children were also famous artists．Paphaelle Peale often painted the still lives of flowers, fruit, and cheese．His brother Rembrandt studied under his father and painted portraits of many noted people, including one of George Washington．Another brother, Rubens Peale, painted mostly landscapes and portraits．

　　James Peale, the brother of Charles Willson Peale, specialized in miniatures(小画像)．His daughter Sarah Miriam Peale was probably the first professional female portrait painter in America．

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What’s Needed to Play Korfball

　　Teams：Each team has four boys and four girls．Two boys and two girls from each team play in each division(a part of the field)．

　　Ball：A Korfball measures 68 to 71 cm in circumference(周长)．If there is no Korfball, a number-four soccer ball or a netball can be used for children under the age of twelve and a number-five size for older player．It is not recommended that basketballs can be used．

　　How to Play Korfball

　　Beginning the game：The game begins with the toss of a coin．Play starts with a throw off．

　　Time of game：A game has two twenty-minute halves with a ten-minute stop．

　　Division changes：After two goals have been scored, or after about six minutes with young or new player, all players change divisions．Players also change divisions．Players also change direction at half time．

　　Scoring：A goal counts for one point and the winner is the team with the most goals．

　　Moving the ball：players are not allowed to run with the ball．If the ball is caught while running the player should pass it in a continuous movement．Dribbling(运球)the ball is not allowed and players cannot hand the ball to a teammate．

　　Infringements(违规)：an infringement is when you break the rules of the game．A free throw is awarded for general infringements or if the ball goes out of play．