Springtime in Paris

　　Paris in the springtime was, is and always will be something rather special．Why not experience it for yourself with his excellent break for four days?This attractive city had something to offer everyone and with price at just $129．

　　Your break begins with traveling bus transfer(中转)from regional pick-up points and travel to Paris is via cross-channel ferry(摆渡), arriving at your hotel in the evening．The Ibis is an excellent quality hotel with private facilities in all rooms：satellite TV, radio, telephone and alarm clock．It has a bar and restaurant and is situated about two miles south of Notre Dame, enabling you to explore Paris with ease．

　　The following day, after continental breakfast(included), the bus takes you on a sightseeing tour of the city, during which you’ll see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, in fact almost every famous landmark you will even have heard of．You then leave Paris and take a short drive to the magnificent Palace of Versailles, the home of Louis XIV．The tour ends mid-afternoon back in Paris where you will have the remainder of the day in your free time．In the evening there is a“Paris By Night”tour showing you the beautiful buildings with bright lights．

　　Day three takes you to Montmartre, perhaps the most picturesque quarter of Paris．In the afternoon you are free to explore this beautiful city as you wish, perhaps take a pleasure voyage on the River Seine or look through among the antique(古式的)shops．In the evening you will have the opportunity to visit the best night-club in the city, the splendid Le Paradis Latin．On the final day it’s back to the UK via channel ferry．

　　Included in the price of $129 per person：

　　◆Return bus and ferry travel to Paris

　　◆3 nights in hotel

　　◆Continental breakfast during your stay

　　◆Visit to Chateau of Versailles(admission not included)

　　◆Tour to Montmartre

　　◆Services of an experienced bilingual(两种语言的)tour guide at all times

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　　How would you like an easy way to earn $2500?All you have to is to sit around and wait for your meals．There is a catch however．You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week．There are no books or television or radio for amusement．You can’t leave until the week is up．And a camera will be recording your every move．

　　Two people actually took the job．The idea came from Rob Thompson, a video artist．He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated．His goal was to raise people’s awareness(意识)of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food．He decided to pay $5000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to live like chickens for a week．

　　To Rob’s surprise, quite a few people answered his advertisement．He had interviewed and selected Eric, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, and Para, a 24-year-old chemist．The plan was for them to spend seven days together in a chicken cage that was six feet long and three feet wide．A camera would record their experiences, which would take place in an art museum．

　　The week was long and difficult．They slept on a hard wooden floor．They couldn’t stand up without hanging their heads．They ate vegetables and drank water from a garden hosepipe．Their only privacy(独处)was a toilet surrounded by a curtain．There were no sinks, mirrors, or toothbrushes in the cage．Their only inspiration(鼓舞人的东西)was the two framed checks(号牌)that hung on the wall outside the cage．Visitors who came here were warned,“Do not feed the humans．”

　　Finally it was over, and Para and Eric appeared from their cage．They had survived the week, and they each had a $2500 check in their hands．When Rob Thompson opened the cage, Eric came out, changed into clean clothes, and ate a chocolate bar right away．“It’s great to be able to stand up,”he said．Para just changed her clothes and left．After a week of visitors and reporters watching her, she didn’t want to talk to anyone．

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　　Short people, studies have shown, are more likely to have a stroke(中风), suffer from high blood pressures and heart disease and be bullied in school．

　　Now, researchers report that short people－at least in the past－were also more likely to die at a younger age than their taller peers．

　　Their study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology(流行病学)and Community Health, found that short bones have something to do with short life for more than 1,000 years．The conclusion was based on 490 sets of adult skeletal(骨架的)remains from an archaeological site in northeastern England, dating from the 9th century to about 1850．

　　About 55% of men and 73% of women died before the age of 45, and 39% of men and 56% of women died before age 30．The risk of death before age 30 declined as bone length increased．

　　“This study provides evidence from an archaeological sample that long bone length is connected with age at death-those with smaller bones tend to die younger,”according to Dr.D.J.Gunnell of the university of Bristol in the UK and colleagues．

　　While it is not clear why short stature(身材)might be linked to earlier death, the researchers point out that height is an indicator of childhood nutrition, which may have long-lasting effect on health．

　　“Mechanism(身体结构)for height-mortality(死亡)associations in the past may differ from those today, for example, short stature may have increased the risk of death in childbirth and this may explain the higher risk of premature(未成熟的)mortality in women,”Gunnell and colleagues write．

　　“However, short bones, it would appear, have always been a marker of a short life,”the authors conclude．

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　　Where do pesticides(杀虫剂)fit into the picture of environmental disease?We have seen that they now pollute soil, water, and food, that they have the power to make our streams fishless and our gardens and woodlands silent and birdless．Man, however much he may like to pretend the contrary, is part of nature．Can he escape a pollution that is now so thoroughly distributed throughout our world?

　　We know that even single exposures to these chemicals, if the amount is large enough, can cause extremely severe poisoning．But this is not the major problem．The sudden illness or death of farmers, farm workers, and other exposed to sufficient quantities of pesticides are very sad and should not occur．For the population as a whole, we must be more concerned with the delayed effects of absorbing small amounts of the pesticides that invisibly pollute our world．

　　Responsible public health officials have pointed out that the biological effects of chemicals are cumulative(积累的)over long periods of time, and that the danger to the individual may depend on the sum of the exposure received throughout his lifetime．For these very reasons the danger is easily ignored．It is human nature to shake off what may seem to us a threat of future disaster．“Men are naturally most impressed by diseases which have obvious signs,”says a wise physician, Dr, Rene Doubos,“yet some of their worst enemies slowly approach them unnoticed．”

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　　Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch．But he is for an unwelcome surprise．The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer(锁止器), and a radio signal from a control center miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start is again．

　　The idea goes like this．A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cell phone, a microprocessor and memory, and a GPS(全球定位系统)satellite positioning receiver．If the car is stolen, a coded cell phone signal will tell the control center to block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted．

　　In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves．“The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,”says Martyn Randall, a security expert．He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools．But only if the car is more than 10 years old．

　　Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition(点火)key．In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997．

　　But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner's keys．Any key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system．

　　If the car travels 100 meters without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operation center that it has been stolen．The hundred meters minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal．

　　Staff at the center will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle's movements via the car's GPS unit．

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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 the 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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　　As De Witt Wallace lay in bed recovering from injuries that he unfortunately came by in World War I, he found there was a wealth of interesting information to read．Realizing few people would have the time to get through all this information, he knew exactly what to do．In 1920, this young American submitted a sample magazine containing shortened articles to publishers across America．However, all turned him down．

　　Undeterred, De Witt and his new bride Lila Bell Acheson published the first issue of Reader’s Digest in February 1922．Working from home, the Wallaces printed 5,000 copies, which were sold by mail to 1,500 people and priced at 25 cents．From these humble beginnings grew the world’s most widely–read magazine．

　　The magazine became popular and, by 1935, sales topped one million．In 1938, the first international edition was published in the United Kingdom．During World War Ⅱ, editions were published for the first time in Latin America and Sweden．After the war Reader’s Digest moved into Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland．In 1950, Reader’s Digest published its shortened Books(now known as Select Editions in Australia)．In 1959, music, the first non–print product line, was introduced．In 1962, Reader’s Digest revolutionized direct mail by introducing easy–to–enter Sweepstakes and a year later the first Reader’s Digest general book was published．In 1986, video was added to the Reader’s Digest product line．

　　In 1973, the Wallaces gave up active management of Reader’s Digest．De Witt died in 1981, aged 91：Lila in 1984, aged 94．With no heirs to the Wallace empire to take control, Reader’s Digest became a public company in the early 1990s and is now headed by a Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board．

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　　When people advise your children to“get an education”, they tell you only half the truth．What they really mean is to get just enough education to give manpower for your society．

　　Get a high school diploma, at least．Without that, you are occupationally dead, unless your name happens to be George Washington or Thomas Edison and you can successfully stop study in primary schools．

　　Get a college degree, if possible．With a BA, you should start to find a job．You have to put on the brakes now．If you do go for a master’s degree, make sure it is an MBA and only from a first–class university．Otherwise, the famous law of diminishing(报酬递减率)begins to work．

　　Do you know, for example, that long–distance truck drivers make more money a year than full professors?Yes, each driver was paid $28,000 in 1997 while a full professor managed to get $27,930．

　　A PhD is the highest degree you can get, but except in a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry, where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial aim, you are facing a not very bright future．There are more PhDs unemployed in this country than in any other part of the world by far．

　　If you became a PhD in English or history or political science or languages or–worst of all–in philosophy, you take the risk of becoming over–educated for our national demands．

　　Thousands of PhDs are selling shoes, driving taxis, waiting on tables and filling out applications month after month, and then may be taking a job in some high school or college with the pay much less than a door–keeper makes．

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　　Over time, the custom of kissing developed as a way for adults to express their love and affection for one another．The roots of this form of affection can be traced back to primitive times, when mothers fondled their children, much as mothers do today．

　　Much later, in the sixth century, society apparently accepted the custom of kissing between adults as expression of their affection．Not surprisingly, France first accepted kissing in courtship(求爱)．There, figure dancing was popular, and each dance was sealed with a kiss．

　　The custom of kissing swept from France through Europe to Russia, where Russian nobility loved to imitate the French．Eventually, the kiss was incorporated into marriage ceremonies, and today lip–locks couples into sweet matrimony．

　　The custom of kissing today, as well as in ancient times, serves to pay homage to another．For example, early Romans kissed each other on the mouth or on the eyes to greet one another in a manner they thought to be dignified(valued and respected)．One Roman emperor even ranked a person’s importance by the body part he was allowed to kiss．He allowed important nobles to kiss his lips, less important ones to kiss his hands, and the least important ones to kiss his feet．

　　In Russia, the highest sign of recognition from the Crown meant kiss from the Tsar himself．Today, natives of many African tribes pay homage to their Chief by kissing the ground over which he has walked．

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　　MySpace, the social networking website, is different from other websites which only provide stories about other people．MySpace is a place that allows you to broadcast your own stories and personal information to as many people as you like．Started two years ago, it is a big source of information for and about American kids．

　　Teenagers and their parents feel very differently about it．Teens are rushing to join the site, not sharing their parents’worries．It signals yet another generation gap in the digital era．

　　For teenagers, it is reliable network to keep in touch with their friends．They will often list their surnames, birthdays, after–school jobs, school clubs, hobbies and other personal information．

　　“MySpace is an easy way to reach just about everyone．I don’t have all the phone numbers of my acquaintances．But if I want to get in touch with one of them, I could just leave them a message on MySpace,”said Abby Van Wassen．She is a 16–year–old student at Woodland Hills High of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania．

　　Parents on the other hand are seriously concerned about the security problems of MySpace．

　　“Every time we hold a parents meeting, the first question is always about My Space,”said Kent Gates, who travels the country doing Internet safety seminars(研讨会)．The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has received at least 288 MySpace–related complaints, according to Mary Beth Buchanan, a lawyer in Pittsburgh．

　　“Your profile on MySpace shows all your personal information to anyone on the Web．And MySpace even lists this information by birthplace and age．It’s like a free checklist for trouble–makers and it endangers children,”Buchanan said．

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