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　　Australia has very strict laws relating to the importation and possession of certain goods．Food, plant material and animal products from overseas–including many common souvenirs－could introduce some of the world’s most serious pests and diseases into Australia．Failing to declare quarantine items(需要检疫的物品)on arrival could destroy our agriculture, tourism industries and special environment．

　　Every piece of luggage will be screened or x-rayed on arrival in Australia．So you must declare for inspection of all food, plant material and animal products to check that they are free of pests and diseases．

　　You must tick YES on the Incoming Passenger Card(IPC)to declare if you are carrying any food, plant material or animal products．In signing the IPC, passengers are making a legal declaration and failure to answer all questions truthfully can have serious consequences．

　　If you fail to declare or dispose of any quarantine items, or make a false declaration：

　　﹡you will get caught;

　　﹡you could be fined over a ＄200 on–the-spot; or

　　﹡you could be prosecuted and fined more than a ＄60,000 fine and risk up to 10 years imprisonment．

　　If you are not sure about the items you are carrying, ask a quarantine officer who will determine whether they are allowed into Australia．

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　　Lions are opportunists．They prefer to eat without having to do too much work．When resting in the shade, they are also watching the sky to see what is flying by, and even in the heat of the day they will suddenly start up and run a mile across the plains to find out what is going on．If another animal has made a kill, they will drive it off and take the kill for themselves．A grown lion can easily eat 60 pounds of meat at a single feeding．Often they eat until it seems painful for them to lie down．

　　The lionesses, being thinner and faster, are better hunters than the males．But the males don't mind．After the kill they move in and take the best share．

　　Most kills are made at night or just before daybreak．We have seen many, many daylight attempts but only ten kills．Roughly, it’s about twenty daytime attempts for one kill．

　　When lions are hiding for an attack by a water hole, they wait patiently and can charge at any second．The kill is the exciting moment in the day-to-day life of the lion, since these great animals spend most of their time, about 20 hours a day, sleeping and resting．

　　Lions are social cats, and when they are having a rest, they love to touch each other．After drinking at a water hole, a lioness rests her head on another’s back．When walking, young lions often touch faces with older ones, an act of close ties among members of the group．

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　　Many everyday American expressions are based on colors．Red is a hot color．Americans often use it to express heat．They may say they are red hot about something unfair．When they are red hot, they are very angry about something．

　　People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health．The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the 20^th century．It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health．

　　Blue is a cool color．The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music．Blues is slow and sad．Someone who is bule is very sad．

　　The color green is natural for trees and grass．But it is an unnatural color for humans．A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green．A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green．Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car．That person may say he is green with envy．Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks．Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the backside of the paper money．

　　People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day．The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day．Blackouts were coming during World War II．Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night．

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　　Japanese students work very hard but many are very unhappy．They feel great pressure from their parents to do well in school and in college．Most students are always being told by their parents to study harder so that they can have successful future．Although this may be good advice for those who are very bright, it can have very bad results for many students who are nto quick enough at learning．

　　Unfortunately, a number of students actually kill themselves．Others are after comfort in using drugs．Some students, however, do bad things with groups of bad people and turn to crime．Many of them have tried very hard at school but, in spite of all their tries, have failed in certain examinations and have disappointed their parents, Such students feel that they are less important than everyone else they meet and leave school before they finish their study．

　　It is surprising that although most Japanese parents are anxious for their children to do well at school, they do not help them in any way．Many parents feel that they are unable to help their children with their lessons and that it is the teachers’ job to help their children．

　　To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their children to special schools called jukucram schools．These schools are open during the evenings and on weekends, and their only purpose is to prepare students to pass exams; they do not try to educate students in any real sense of the world．Thus comes a shock to realize that almost three quarters of the junior high school students attend these cram schools．

　　Ordinary Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the length of students’ hair to their clothes and things in their school bags．Child psychologists now think that such strict rules often lead to a feeling of being unsafe and being unable to fit into society．They believe that no sense of moral values is developed and that students are given neither guidance nor training in becoming good citizens．

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　　Everyone’s at it, even my neighbors．I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn’t done an eBay deal．So I decided to try my hand at online auction(网上拍卖)．

　　Buying for beginners：Sign up on WWW．eBay．com Most items(e．g．tables, computers, and books)ready for autcion will come with a picture and a short description; others may be marked with“But It Now”and have a fixed price．You can buy these right away．

　　If the item is being auctioned, you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids(出价)for you．The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid, then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again．Auctions last up to 10 days and when they finish you get an email telling you whether you have won the item．

　　How to pay：Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a cheque or postal orders．The easiest way is through PayPal, an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card．

　　Selling made simple：If you plan to sell on eBay, it helps to include a picture of the item．I followed my friends’ advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction, starting on a Thursady．This way buyers had two weekends to bid．

　　The big things in life：It’s easy to post a small item, but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collected or sent by deliverymen．Check the ways of delivery before you bid．

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　　When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your anger．But forgiveness is possible and it can be surprisingly helpful to your physical and mental health．Indeed, research has shown that people who forgive report more energy, better appetite(胃口)and better sleep patterns．“People who forgive show less anger and more hopefulness,”says Dr Frederic Luskin, who wrote the book Forgive for Good“So it can help save on the wear and tear on, our system and allow people to feel more energetic”

　　So when someone has hurt you, calm yourself first．Take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure：a beautiful scene in nature, someone you love Don’t wait for an apology“Many times the person who hurt you may never think of apologizing”says Dr Luskin“They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don’t see things the same way．So if you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting a very long time．”Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean accepting the action of the person who upset you．Mentally going over your hurt gives power to the person who brought you pain．Instead, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you．Finally, try to see things from the other person’s perspective(视角)．You may realize that he or she－was acting out of ignorance(无知)，fear－even love．To gain perspective, you may want to write a letter to yourself from that person’s point of view．

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　　Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team．“Football, tennis, cricket－anything with a round ball, I was useless,”he says now with a laugh．But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England．

　　It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him．At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest．Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend．Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength．At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon．

　　The following year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure(冒险)in Scotland, where he learned about Ridgway’s cold－water exploits Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, then decided that this would be his future．

　　In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition(探险)towards the North Pole It took unbelievable energy He suffered frostbite(冻伤)，ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply loaded sled(雪橇)up and over rocky ice．

　　Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man．His old playmates would not believe the change．

　　Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2, 900-kilometre journey that has never been completed on skis．

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　　Lunar New Year－or Spring Festival as it is widely known－is a time for family reunion across China．An estimated 144 million people－equal to the population of Bangladesh－will take trains around these days to return home and visit their relatives Many Chinese eat dumplings in the New Year because their shape resembles traditional Chinese gold and silver ingots．

　　There are many Spring Festival taboos(禁忌)．Crying on New Year’s Day means you will cry for the rest of the year, and washing your hair or sweeping the floor signifies carrying away good luck．The word for“four”in Chinese is avoided, because it sound s like the word for“death”and using knives may“cut off”good fortune．

　　For some, the festival brings nostalgia(怀旧)，for the tradition is being swept away by fast development．“New Year isn’t as much fun as it used to be,”said some elderly people, whose childhood houses have been pulled down to make way for the skyscrapers．“Back then, we all lived in smaller houses and everyone knew everyone else．Now people live in apartments, rush off their feet and stay out of each other’s business．”

　　There are also some worries about New Year traditions．“It is being attacked by Western culture．More and more people especially the young, prefer to celebrate western holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day．But in fact if they had been told enough about the true meanings of our own festivals, they would value our own tradition more,”a university professor wrote in the official newspaper, in which he called a“declaration to protect Spring Festival”．

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　　The Golden Gate Bridge joins the beautiful city of San Francisco with the suburbs(郊区)to the north．Each day, about one hundred thousand cars cross the bridge, taking people to and from the city More than half of them cross the bridge during the morning and evening rush hours, as a result, the trip is not pleasant．

　　Now, however, there is at least one group of happy commuters(经常来往于市郊区者)．These are the people who travel under the bridge instead of on it．They go to work by boat and enjoy it so much that most of them say they will never go by car again．

　　The ferry(渡船)they take is the large, quiet, comfortable“Golden Gate”．Commuters can enjoy the sun on the boat．In the morning they can have breakfast in the coffee shop, and in the evening they can have a drink in the bar while they are looking at San Francisco’s famous scene and the nearby hills．

　　The trip takes only thirty minutes and is not expensive．But beat of all, being on a boat seems to make people feel more friendly towards each other．Two commuters who met on the“Golden Gate”have already got married．

　　Because the boat has been so successful, there are plans to use other, still larger boats．There is also a plan for a high-speed boat that will make the trip in only fifteen minutes．Not everyone is happy about that．“A lot of people don’t want to get the trip faster,”said one commuter“They feel that half an hour is just enough time to rest．”

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