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　　The girls in this sixth grade class in East Palo Alto, California, all have the same access to computers as boys．But researchers say, by the time they get to high school, they are victims(受害者)of what the researchers call a major new gender(性别)gap in technology．Janice Weinman of the American Association of University Women(AAUW)says,“Girls tend to be less comfortable than boys with the computer．They use it more for word processing rather than for problem solving, rather than to discover new ways in which to understand information．

　　After re-examining a thousand studies, the AAUW researchers found that girls make up only a small percentage of students in computer science classes．Girls rate themselves significantly lower than boys in their ability and confidence in using computers．And they use computers less often than boys outside the classroom．

　　An instructor of a computer lab says he's already noticed some difference．Charles Cheadle of Cesar Chavez School says,“Boys are not so afraid they might do something that will harm the computer, whereas girls are afraid they might break it somehow．”

　　Six years ago, the software company Purple Moon noticed that girls' computer usage was falling behind boys．Karen Gould with the company says,“The number one reason girls told us they don't like computer games is not that they're too violent, or too competitive．Girls just said they're unbelievably boring．”What girls want, Purple Moon found, is characters they can relate to and story lines relative to what's going on in their own lives．“What we definitely found from girls is(that there is no intrinsic)(内在的)reason why they wouldn't want to play on a computer; it was just a content thing,”says Karen Gould．

　　The sponsor of the study says it all boils down to this：the technology gender gap that separates the girls from the boys must be closed if women are to compete effectively with men in the 21st century．

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　　Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish?In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm．How surprised he must have been!

　　What caused this strange occurrence?This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish．The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm．

　　When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia．Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land．The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners(吸尘器), collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish．Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before vacuum dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people．

　　Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur frequently in Australia．When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked,“They look like millions of dead birds falling down．”His statement is not surprising．The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain．Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky．

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　　Your body, which has close relation(关系)with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own．So it needs proper treatment(对待)and proper nourishment(营养)．

　　The old saying“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”is not silly as some people think．The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C(维生素C)．Many people take extra(额外的)vitamins in the form of pills(药丸), believing that these will make them healthy．But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need．The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins．So why waste money on them?

　　In the modern western world many people are too busy to care about eating properly．They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly．The list of illness caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening．

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　　Most people in the United States speak only one language：English．They do not learn to speak a second language．High schools teach languages．But why?

　　First, most Americans never travel to other countries．The United States is a very large country．Americans can travel a long distance and not leave the United．Very few students learn to speak well．Why don't American speak other language．They do not need to learn a second language．

　　Second, one of the countries next to the United States is Canada．Most people in Canada speak English．Some Americans live near Canada．They travel there often．But they do not have to learn a new language．

　　Third, many people in other parts of the world speak English．If Americans travel to other countries, they can speak English there, too．

　　Some Americans think that it is a mistake to speak only English．They believe it is very important to learn a second language．Maybe someday other Americans will agree．Then more people will speak a second language in the United States．

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　　In China, more and more middle school students are getting shorter sleeping time than before．Most students sleep less than nine hours every night, because they have much homework to do．Some homework is given by their teachers, and some by their parents．Also, some students don't know how to save time．They are not careful enough while they do their homework, so it takes them a lot of time．Some students spend too much time watching TV or playing computer games．They stay up(熬夜)very late．Some students have to get up early every morning on weekdays to get to school n time by bus or by bike．It can be a long way from home to school．

　　Schools and parents should cut down some of the homework so that our children can enjoy more than nine hours of sleep every night for their health．For children, we should make best use of our time．When we have enough time for sleeping, we will find it much better for both our study and health．

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　　2.26-meter-tall Yao Ming made his NBA debut(初次登台)on October 23, 2002 and got 6 points for the Houston Rockets in the game．The next day, he got 13 points(得分)in another game．

　　Most people think that Yao Ming is a born basketball player．But Yao said, “When you watch it on TV, it looks very easy．But when you are playing in the NBA, it is really not so easy．”He said that joining the Houston Rockets was a new start and a new challenge．“I hope that through very hard work I can make everyone happy and help the Rockets win more games,”he said

　　Yao Ming speaks some English．Both he and his teammates can understand each other．They don't think there is a language problem．While Yao Ming faces this new challenge, the people of Houston have shown great interest in him and they hope Yao Ming will bring new energy(活力)to the Rockets．The team has started having lessons to learn more about China, and many people who work for the Rockets have learned to speak some Chinese．

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　　Mr Brown was the manager(经理)of an office in London．He lived in the country and came up to work by train．He liked walking from the station to his office unless it was raining, because it gave him some exercise．One morning he was walking along the street when a stranger stopped him and said to him．“You may not remember me, sir, but seven years ago I came to London without a penny in my pockets．I stopped you in the street and asked you to lend me some money, and you gave me five pounds, because you said that you were willing to take a chance so as to(为了)give a man start on the road to success．Mr Brown thought for a few minutes and then said,”Yes, I remember you．Go on with your story．

　　“Well,”answered the stranger,“are you still willing to take a chance?”

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　　Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own．My mom was one of those people．

　　My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen．While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life．We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love．Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life,“Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it．”

　　At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again．Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough．She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her．A year later, I returned to school－walking on my own!

　　When the Great Depression(大萧条)hit, my mom lost her job．Then I left school to support the both of us．At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again．

　　Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success．But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951．I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra ＄2 for each child．That was too expensive for the average American family．I told my wife that I was going to open a motel(汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children．There were plenty of doubters at that time．

　　Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters．She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style．As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges．But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed．Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world－Holiday Inn．In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of ＄1 billion a year．

　　You may not have started out life in the best situation．But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you．

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　　But I wonder about my Momma sometimes, and all the other Negro(blacks)mothers who got up at 6 a.m. to go to the white man’s house with sacks over their shoes because it was so wet and cold．I wonder how they made it．They worked very hard for the man, they made his breakfast and they scrubbed his floors and they took care of his babies．They didn’t have too much time for us．

　　I wonder about my Momma, who walked out of a white woman’s clean house at midnight and came back to her own where the lights had been out for three months, and the pipes were frozen and the wind came in through the holes in the wall．She’d have to make deals with the rats: leave some food out for them so the wouldn’t bite the doors or the babies．The roaches(蟑螂)?Oh, they were just like part of the family!

　　I wonder how she felt telling those white kids she took care of to brush their teeth after they ate, to wash their hands after they finish bathroom．She could never tell her own kids because there wasn’t soap or water back home．

　　I wonder how my Momma felt when we came home from school with a list of vitamins and pills the school nurse said we had to have．Momma would cry all night, and then go out and spend most of the rent money for pills．A week later, the white man would come for his eighteen dollars’ rent and Momma would beg him to wait until tomorrow．She had to lie to him that she had lost her wallet or the relief check was coming soon or the white people had some money for her．Tomorrow I’d be hiding in the closet because there was only supposed to be two kids in the flat, and I could hear the rent man shout at my Momma and call her a cheat．And when he finally went away, Momma put the sacks on her shoes and went off to the rich white man’s house to dress the rich white kids so their mother could take them to a special baby doctor．

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