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　　Renoir's radiant image of a young couple whirling to the music of an open-air dance hall captures a fleeting moment and makes it timeless．One of the goals of the Impressionist painters was to "be of one's own time", to paint the everyday activities and amusements of ordinary people．

　　Renoir(1841～1919), French painter, is originally associated with the Impressionist(印象画派)movement．Renoir's early works were typically Impressionist snapshots of real life, full of sparkling color and light．By the mid-1880s, however, he had broken with the movement to apply a more disciplined, formal technique to portraits and figure paintings, particularly of women(e.g., Bathers,《浴女们》1884－1887)．Renoir is perhaps the best-loved of all the Impressionists, for his subjects-pretty children, flowers, beautiful scenes, above all lovely women－have instant appeal(吸引力), and he communicated the joy he took in them with great directness．"Why shouldn't art be pretty?" he said, "There are enough unpleasant things in the world．"He was one of the great worshippers of the female form, and he said, "I never think I have finished a nude until I think I could pinch it．"

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　　The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him lose his mind．In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and children．

　　When he awakened from his "temporary insanity", Hercules was shocked and upset by what he'd done．He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders．

　　As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible．Fortunately, Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities(神性)who showed up when he really needed help．By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's greatest hero．

　　His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment(体现)of an idea the Greeks called pathos, the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering which would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality．

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　　Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do．There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare; there are weddings on mountaintops with guests barefooted; and there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests．But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs．

　　Before a couple is married, they become engaged．And then invitations are sent to friends and their relatives．When everything is ready, there comes the most exciting moment．

　　The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes．The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played．The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will give her away．The groom enter the church from a side door．When the wedding party gathers by the altar, the bride and groom exchange vows．It is traditional to use the words "To have and to hold from this day forward, for

better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part"．Following the vows, the couple exchange rings．Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom．

　　After the ceremony there is often a party, called a "reception" which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds．

　　The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons, streamers(彩色纸带)and shaving cream．The words "Just Married" are painted on the trunk or back window．The bride and groom run to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests．When the couple drives away from the church, friends often chase them in cars, honking and drawing attention to them．And then the couple goes on their honeymoon．

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　　Read the following humorous stories．

　　Story 1：

　　Kate：Mom, do you know what I'm going to give you for your birthday??

　　Mom：No, Honey, what?

　　Kate：A nice teapot．

　　Mom：But I've got a nice teapot．

　　Kate：No, you haven't．I've just dropped it．

　　Story 2：

　　One day, when snow was falling, the king of the Scythians(锡西厄国王)asked a man, who was braving it unclad(赤身裸体的), whether he felt cold．The man asked in return, whether his majesty felt cold in his face．"Certainly not!" said the king．"Then, "replied the man, "neither do I feel the cold, for I am all face．"

　　Story 3：

　　Mr．And Mrs．Shaw were on safari(旅行)in Africa．Walking through the jungle．Suddenly a huge lion

sprang out of the bushes and seized Mrs．Shaw, dragging her off．"Shoot!" she screamed to her husband,“Shoot!”“I can't!”he shouted back, "I've run out of film!"

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　　Play is the principal business of childhood, and more and more in recent years' research has shown the vital importance of play in the development of a human being．From earliest infancy, every child needs adequate(足够的)opportunity and the right material for play, and the main tools of play are toys．Their main function is to suggest, encourage and assist play．To succeed in this they must be good toys．Therefore it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of child's development．

　　In recent years research on infant development has shown the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life．Therefore a baby's ability to profit from the right play material should not be things to touch, things to listen to; things to watch．At no times in his life will a child develop as fast as now; in the first two years each month brings a change in what he can do and what he needs．A baby who is encouraged and stimulated, talked to, and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully．There is no doubt that the right play materials and opportunities are of the utmost importance．

　　The next stage, from three to five years old, is the heyday(喜欢)for toys, and at this stage curiosity knows no bounds．Every type of suitable toy should be made available to the child; bricks and jigsaws(拼图)and construction toys; painting and making things; sand and water play; toys for imaginative and pretending play．Children of this age are concerned and serious when they play, for to them play is a serious business, and through it they are learning about the world and growing up．

　　By the third stage of the play development－from five to seven or eight years－the child is at school．But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school．The right toy at this stage can sometimes lead to the choice of a career．

　　Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same thing to a child．But once reading has been mastered, then books and school become the main source of learning．Toys are still interesting and valuable, but their significance has changed－to a child of nine or ten years, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun．

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　　Shanghai：Car rentals are becoming more and more popular as an inexpensive way of taking to the roads．Business people, foreigners and families alike are making good use of the growing industry．

　　The first play－Shanghai Bashi Tourism Car Rental Centre offers a wide variety of choices－deluxe sedans(豪华轿车),minivans, station wagons, coaches．Santana sedans are the big favorite．

　　Firms can attract enough customers for 70 percent of their cars every month．This figure shoots up during holiday seasons like National Day, Labor Day and New Year's Day, with some recording 100 percent rental．

　　"The major market force rests in the growing population of white-collar employees, who can afford the new service," said Zhuang Yu, marketing manager of Shanghai Angel Car Rental Co．

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　　Most people have sometimes though："I should like to fly like a bird．" Many people have tried!We do not know about all the people who have tried to fly but we know about some of them．

　　In about 1020, for example, an Englishman, Oliver, tried to fly with wings like a bird's．He covered more than two hundred meters before he fell to the ground and broke both his arms and legs．But Oliver seemed quite pleased．He said he had made one little mistake．He had forgotten to wear a tail like a bird's．After that he never tried again．

　　In 1507,an Italian, named John Damain, tried to fly in Scotland．He wore a pair of wings made from hens' feathers, and jumped from the walls．He fell like a stone to the ground below and broke a leg．

　　Damain was very disappointed．He said, "I made a mistake．I used hens' feathers and hens do not often fly．I ought to have used the feathers of a bird that flies．Then I am sure I would have flown．" But when he was well again, Damain, like Oliver, never tried once again．

　　An Italian scientist, John Borelli, spent much time thinking about flying．Finally, in 1680, he wrote a book having a great many calculations．They proved that men would never be able to fly with wings strapped to their arms．Borelli worked out that a man's arms were not strong enough to support him in the air．

　　We know now that he was right but some people took no notice of what Borelli said．In 1742, a Frenchman, although he was an old man, tried to fly across the River Seine, in Paris, with wings strapped to his arms．He jumped from a house beside the river and fell down on to a boat below．He was fortunate and only broke a leg．

　　Today men can do much better, though they still cannot fly like birds．They use very light, strong wings called "hang-gliders"．One man landed safely after jumping from a balloon at 32,700 feet!Another stayed in the air for 19 hours 36 minutes!They still sometimes hurt themselves．

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The chart above shows Japanese direct investment(投资)in five Asian countries or areas(A, B, C, D and E)from 1951 till 1990．The value of Japanese investment in manufacturing(制造业)was roughly the same in Hong Kong and in China, but in commerce(商业)and services Hong Kong was over China by seven billion dollars(＝7,000million dollars)．In resources development, Japan didn't show great interest in Singapore and even smaller attention was paid to Taiwan which received exactly one third as much money as Singapore．In total the biggest investment by Japan was made in Indonesia．

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　　Alice always wanted to be a singer．Music was the most important thing in her life but, to tell you the truth, she took lessons for years, and practiced every day, but in spite of all this, practised every day, her voice didn't improve．Honestly, it didn't get better, it just got louder．

　　Her teacher finally gave up and stopped the lessons, but Alice refused to give in, and one day she decided to give a concert and invited her teacher to attend．

　　The teacher was very worried about what to say after the concert．She knew it would be terrible and it was．She didn't want to tell a lie, but she didn't want to hurt Alice's feelings either．Finally, she got an idea and went backstage to greet her pupil．

　　"Well," said Alice, "what did you think of my singing?"

　　"My dear," said the teacher, "you'll never be better than you were tonight．"

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　　If an animal is moved from its home in the tropics(热带)to a cold climate, it will die if it is not kept warm．And animals accustomed to cold climates will die if they are moved to the tropics．Many plants, too, die if they are removed from the place where they normally grow and are transplanted into an unfamiliar soil．Almost every species is adapted to life in a particular place by its organs and their functions and by its permanent habits．The specialized adaptation has great advantages, for it enables many organisms to survive under different conditions．It also has disadvantages, for it means that the life of most species is controlled by local conditions．

　　Living things are not scattered(分散的)over the earth at random; most species have definite habits for living places．Ecology is the study of how organisms live in their environment．This means finding out how an organism survives and reproduces in certain surroundings．By environment we mean not only the soil and the climate but the living things of the same species and other species, plant or animal．

　　Most living things are slaves to their environment．Some can alter(改变)certain features of their environment to suit themselves; a beaver(海狸), for example, can make ponds by building dams; many birds and insects can build elaborate nests to provide shelter for their young．But these skills are restricted and highly specialized．Most organisms must adapt their bodies to fit in with their surroundings, and since they can adapt only for particular surroundings, they are found only in place where they can live successfully with the least effort．

　　Plants find these favorable places by trail and errors．The wind carries their seeds and spores(孢子)great distances．If the seeds land in a favorable environment they grow and reproduce．If they are deposited in an unfavorable environment they die．Animals, on the other hand, search until they find a favorable environment．