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　　The well-mannered Englishman at table holds and keeps his knife in his right hand, his fork in his left, cuts his meat and presses his vegetables into his fork．The well-mannered American first cuts up all his meat, then places his knife down on the right of his plate, takes his fork in his right hand and with his fork lifts the food to his mouth．He will have coffee half way through his dinner before the pudding(布丁)．And, of course, Americans are coffee-drinkers rather than tea-drinkers．The English would be surprised at the American's idea of how tea should be made．

　　The popular method to make tea is to take a cup or a pot of hot water and drop into it a cotton bag with tea leaves in it．For a change they will sometimes put a can of water on the electric stove(炉)and they pour the mixture into a can．Then they pour it from there into a cup and drink it without turning a hair．

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Save the Animals

　　Animals are natural resources(资源)that people have wasted all through our history．

　　Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers(羽毛), for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way．Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever．Hundreds more are on the danger list today．About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger．

　　Why should people care?Because we need animals．And because once they are gone, there will never be any more．

　　Animals are more than just beautiful or interesting．They are more than just a source of food．Every animal has its place in the balance(平衡)of nature．Destroying one king of animal can create(产生)many problems．

　　For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(鹰), the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice．Why?Because hawks eat rats and mice．With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖)quickly．

　　Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals．Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem．And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger．

　　Quite a few countries have passed laws．These laws forbid(禁止)the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list．Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing．

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　　Like most July days, it was hot．I stepped into a tiny ice-cream shop to cool off with a chocolate ice-cream．It was an old-time store with little round tables and chairs．

　　As I entered, I found a very old woman bent over a table near the door．Her back was so badly twisted by some sadness that her face nearly touched the table top．I sat down facing her a couple of tables away．

　　“Poor woman,”I thought, “What does she get out of life?Why God let people live so long past their prime?”

　　As I thought, another aged lady entered the shop and sat down with her．Soon the two of them were talking about childhood days．They talked of how little the shop had changed in 70 years…In minutes, the two of them were trembling with laughter．

　　I looked again at the first woman, then in the mirror on a nearby wall, catching a picture of myself．

　　I was wearing a dirty shirt．

　　She was well dressed in white, her hands sparking with gold rings．

　　I was gloomy(愁闷的)．

　　She was laughing, smiling．

　　I was putting the pieces of my life together．

　　She had millions of wonderful memories to recall．

　　I sat alone．

　　She was sharing the day with a good friend．

　　I was secretly worried about getting old．

　　She was old, but it wasn't hurting her．

　　As I left the shop, I thought of my foolish question about God letting people live past their prime．Why, that woman was more alive, more sensitive(敏感的)to life than I was．Age has not bent her spirit．

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　　“Mark Twain”was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens when he wrote books．His father was a lawyer, but a poor one, who lived at Florida, Missouri．The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching．He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met．His father died when he was very young, and then there was even less money than before．

　　Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great River Mississippi, and he did this himself at one time．

　　Where did he find the name“Mark Twain”?It came from the great river itself．It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships．When a man called“By the mark twain!”it meant that the river was“two marks deep”there, that is to say, six feet deep(“Twain”is an old form of the word“Two”)．Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young, and he used them as a pen name all his life．

　　During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds, and this helped him a great deal when he started to write．But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861．Many of the great ships on the river stopped work．Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother, who was at that time Governor of Nevada．There was near the town of Carson．Samuel became a gold miner, but he never made much money at the time．He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him．He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada, and this seemed more hopeful．He found that he could write．

　　He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy．In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon, and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing．Among his books is his own story．

　　He is now always known as Mark Twain, and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens．He travelled in America and in England, and went to Oxford in 1907．He was one of the great American writers of the time, and could make his readers laugh－a thing which few writers can do．He died in 1910．

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　　“Robots can do almost everything,”said Jan Lindmark, president of ABB Engineering(Shanghai)Ltd．, a branch of the world's leading power and automation company in April, 2004．

　　ABB invented the world's first electric robot controled by microcomputer in 1974．Twenty years later, it introduced the technology into China．Since then, the company has been experiencing rapid development in the country．

　　“The industry grows very fast in China．”Lindmark said, “We have enjoyed strong growth over the past few years．We expect more this year．”

　　According to Lindmark, enterprises(企业)in China are paying more and more attention to the use of robots in the manufacturing process．“Before, we thought that the inexpensive labor in the country might be a disadvantage for our development,”he said, “However, we are glad to see that more and more enterprises here are realizing the importance of quality control．Compared with manual work, robots' work secures(使安全)quailty．”

　　Currently, the company controls about 30 to 35 percent of the country's robotics market．

　　“I'm proud of all the successful movements we have made here．”Lindmark said．“I have never experienced such great achievements elsewhere in my 21 years' working for ABB．”

　　Lindmark says ABB's localization strategy in China is one of the main reasons for its success in the country．

　　“We have very intelligent and skilled staff here．”he said．“I'm always trying to organize the company as a family．I feel the responsibility to take care of it and bring it up．”

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　　It is April in the United States, the time of year when most of our public schools have their Spring Breaks．Spring Break is a week's vacation during the second term of each school year．Students look forward to it as it is seen as a time of fun, a time for hanging out with your friends or taking a road trip．This is especially true for those whose time in school is nearing an end, that is, the seniors．After Spring Break, they will only have a month and a half or so of classes left before they finish this level of education and move on to the rest of their lives．This is an exciting and bitter time for these people．Spring Break is the beginning of saying good-bye to childhood and childhood friends, though few seniors would still consider themselves children．

　　Many seniors take a road trip for their last Spring Break．This means that they travel in a car with some friends and drive somewhere, often some where warm if they live in the north where it has been cold and snowy for some months．Florida is a popular place．During this time they will hang out with their friends, go to parties, and meet new people．It's a period of relaxation before the final push to finish their basic education．Then again, for some seniors, it marks something serious that teachers call“seniorities”．This is not a real disease, but it is a word that describes a group of problems seen in many seniors in their last days in school．The main problem is a lack of desire to do anything other than for fun．Schoolwork becomes less and less important．After Spring Break, there are a couple of their activities that occur for seniors only．At the high school I attended, we had a senior breakfast．This was a gathering of all the seniors in the school for a breakfast．Some teachers came too．At this event, we gave out awards on which the senior class had voted．These awards included“Best Smile”and“Most Likely to Succeed”, among others．

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　　Did you ever think someone was scary because they looked different or ate strange food?Well, they might think the same about you!One of the things we all need to do is to celebrate variety．We shouldn't think badly of people from other cultures because they are different from our own．

　　Sometimes we judge people from other countries unfairly, because one person from that culture did something bad．Well, has your class ever been punished just because a few kids were causing trouble?Has your whole family ever been blamed for something your little sister did?It doesn't seem fair, does it?It's just as unfair to blame a whole culture for what two or three people do．

　　So here are some things that you can do to help yourself understand other cultures：

　　1．Find common ground!Remember that even though some people look different on the outside, it doesn't change what they look on the inside．They still have the same feelings!

　　2．Don't blame everyone because of one!So let's say someone from another culture and you decide to avoid everyone from that culture．Well, think about it, Why are you blaming them for something they didn't have anything to do with?Put yourself in their shoes．How would you feel?Trying to understand how a person thinks can be a very good way to understand why they are acting that way．Remember, other people

may not think the same way．

　　3．Try to make friends with people from other cultures．You could ask them what they know about their culture, or what it was like in their country．Try foods from that culture, or ask them if they know any words in that language．You might be surprised at how pure other cultures can be!You can have great discussions and have lots of fun doing new things．

　　4．Know that people always judge other people．If you know what you are thinking then you can help make things easier．Pay attention to what you think about other people．It helps!

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　　Good health is the most valuable possession a person can have, but one can't take good health for granted．It is important to remember that the body needs proper care in order to be healthy．There are three things that a person can do to help stay in good shape：eat the right foods, get enough sleep and exercise regularly．

　　Proper nutrition is important for good health．Your body cannot function well unless it receives the proper kind of“fuel”．Avoid foods with lots of sugar and fat．Eat plenty of foods high in protein, like lean meat, fish, beans and nuts．Vegetables and fruit are especially important because they provide necessary vitamins and minerals．However, don't overeat．It is not healthful to be overweight．

　　Getting the proper amount of sleep is also important．If you don't get enough sleep, you feel tired and irritable(易怒的)．You have no energy．Over a long period of time a little amount of sleep may even result in a change of personality．Be sure to allow yourself from seven to nine hours of sleep each night．If you do, your body will feel strong and refreshed, and your mind will be sharp．

　　Finally, get plenty of exercise．Exercise firms the body, strengthens the muscles and prevents you from gaining weight．It also improves your heart and lungs．If you follow a regular exercise program, you will probably increase your lifespan(寿命)．Any kind of exercise is good．Most sports are excellent for keeping the body in good shape．Basketball, swimming, bicycling, gymnastics and running are all good examples．Sports are not only good for your body, but they are enjoyable and interesting, too．

　　If everybody were to eat the right foods and get plenty of sleep and exercise regularly, the world would be a happier and healthier place．We would all live to be much older and wiser．

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　　Over the past few years, people seem to have become tired of being told what they can't eat．They also have taken too much advice that doesn't seem effective．They want to hear messages about healthy food．They are understandably worried about some food industry practices and problems．

　　The food industry puts money-making first．Buyers and companies have been less informed on food safety than they should have been．The result is human cost has been high．

　　The food industry defends(保卫)itself．It says that it tries to provide as good a product as possible at low prices, as cost is a major consideration in buying food．It is the buyers who are to blame．They are waking up to the hidden costs of cheaper food．Chicken burgers, for example, may have only a little chicken in them．

　　The increasing organic(有机的)food market shows that people are prepared to pay more for fruits and vegetables that haven't been grown purely(纯的)for its outside look and money business．

　　There is now a new kind of food called functional food．It contains so-called beneficial(有益的)additives(添加剂), such as fruit drinks with added Vitamin C．It is believed that adding this makes a product healthier．In fact, this unnatural food will become a problem in the future．

　　If a mother-to-be wants to protect her unborn baby from illness, she needs to eat a special breakfast to which certain additives have been added．Yet she can get these things much more cheaply from other healthier foods, like orange juice or green vegetables．We shouldn't be led to believe that we need to eat these“special,”expensive products to be healthy when most of the good things we need are found in cheaper natural foods．

　　I buy as much fresh organic food as possible．I believe that future studies will show that eating organically will make us healthier．I also enjoy them more and feel strongly like supporting the organic farmer's cause．

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