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　　The campaign is over．The celebrations have ended．And the work for US president-elect Barack Obama has begun．

　　The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his stand against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix a weak economy．But what will the first 47-year-old African-American president do for race relations?

　　Obama’s victory appears to have given blacks and other minorities a true national role model．For years, many looked to athletes and musicians for inspiration．As Darius Turner, an African-American high school student in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times,“Kobe(the basketball player)doesn’t have to be everybody’s role model anymore．”

　　Recent polls(民意测验)also suggest that Obama’s victory has given Americans new optimism about race relations．For example, a USA Today poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe relations between blacks and whites“will finally be worked out”．This is the most hopeful response since the question was first asked during the civil rights revolution in 1963．

　　However, it’s still too early to tell whether Obama’s presidency will begin to solve many of the social problems facing low-income black communities．

　　Although blacks make up only 13 percent of the US population, 55 percent of all prisoners are African-American．Such numbers can be blamed on any number of factors on America’s racist past, a failure of government policy and the collapse(瓦解)of the family unit in black communities．

　　It is unlikely that Obama will be able to reverse(扭转)such trends overnight．However, Bill Bank, an expert of African-American Studies, says that eventually young blacks need to find role models in their own communities．“That’s not Martin Luther King, and not Barack Obama,”he told the Los Angeles Times．“It’s actually the people closest to them．Barack only has so much influence．”

　　In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama’s rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US．

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　　China could become the first country to view Internet addiction as a clinical(临床的)disease among growing concern over compulsive(上瘾的)Web use by millions of Chinese, Chinese media said on Monday, AFP reported．The health ministry is likely to adopt a new set of standards on Internet addiction next year that recognizes it as a condition similar to compulsive gambling(赌博)or alcohol(酒)addiction．

　　Users who spend six hours or more per day online, and show at least one symptom including difficulty in sleeping or concentrating, desiring to be online, and mental or physical suffering are regarded as meeting the definition of addiction．

　　The set of standards would be the first of its kind in the world if the health ministry officially approves it, said Tao Ran, a leading medical professional on addiction in China who also headed the project of the standards．

　　The ministry is highly likely to give the standards the green light next year, Tao said．China has the world's largest online population at 253 million people, according to official figures, and is growing rapidly as computer use rises along with income levels．But that has also caused growing concerns over compulsive Internet use．A top Chinese official said in August that about 10 percent of China's Web users under the age of 18, or four million people, were addicted to the Internet, mainly to“unhealthy”online games．

　　Recent research by Internet Media Company InterActiveCorp showed that 42 percent of Chinese youngsters surveyed felt“addicted”to the Web, compared to 18 percent in the United States．

　　China's government has tried various measures to control the rapidly developing online gaming market and limit Web use by teens．In 2006, it ordered all Chinese Internet game producers to use technology in their games that demands players give their real name and identification number．

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　　Do you believe that boys learn more from men and girls learn more from women?That’s the result of a study by Thomas Dee, a professor in America．

　　Although some support his idea, many leading education experts don’t agree with his conclusion．But Dee says his research supports his point that gender(性别)matters in learning．

　　However, Dee warns against drawing fast conclusions based on his work．He is not encouraging single-sex education, or any other policy．Rather, he hopes his work will bring more research into gender’s effect．

　　Dee’s study is based on a national investigation of nearly 25,000 eighth-graders that was made by the Education Department．He examined test scores．Dee found that having a female teacher instead of a male teacher raised the achievement of girls and lowered that of boys in science, social studies and English．It is also true the other way around．The study found changing teachers actually could narrow achievement gaps between boys and girls, but one gender would gain at the expense of the other．

　　Dee also thinks that gender influences attitudes．For instance, with a female teacher, boys were more likely to be seen as disruptive, while girls were less likely to be considered inattentive or disorderly．In a class taught by a man, girls were more likely to say the subject was not useful for their future．They were less likely to look forward to the class or to ask questions．

　　“The data, as he presents, is far from convincing．I don’t think there are many parents or students, looking back over their educational careers, who haven’t been inspired by a teacher of the opposite sex．”said Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, which works to advance the progress of women．

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　　My husband and children think they are very lucky that they are living and that it’s Christmas again．They can’t see that we live on a dirty street in a dirty house among people who aren’t much good．But Johnny and children can’t see this．What a pity it is that our neighbours have to make happiness out of all this dirt．I decided that my children must get out of this．The money that we’ve saved isn’t nearly enough．

　　The McGaritys have money but they are so proud．They look down upon the poor．The McGarity girl just yesterday stood out there in the street eating from a bag of candy while a ring of hungry children watched her．I saw those children looking at her and crying in their hearts; and when she couldn’t eat any more she threw the rest down the sewer(下水道)．Why, is it only because they have money?There is more to happiness than money in the world, isn’t there?

　　Miss Jackson who teaches at the Settlement House isn’t rich, but she knows things．She understands people．Her eyes look straight into yours when she talks with you．She can read your mind．I’d like to see the children be like Miss Jackson when they grow up．

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　　There is an English saying,“Laughter is the best medicine．”Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously．Now, however, doctors have begun to study laughter and the effects it has on the human body．They have found facts that laughter really can improve people's health．

　　Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body．People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles．It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise．It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing, it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet．If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial．

　　Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body．In one experiment doctors produce pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs．The group which put up with the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program．The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins in the brain．These are natural chemicals which diminish both stress and pain．

　　There are also some facts to suggest that laughter helps the body's immune(免疫的)system, that is, the system which fights infection．In all experiments, one group of students watched a funny video while another group of students served as the control group－namely, a group with which to compare the first group．Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their white blood cells, that is, the cells which fight infection．

　　As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists(精神病学家)in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh．

　　They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter．

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　　A ten-year-old girl breathed life into the body of her two-year-old sister．

　　Mary Anne Gilbert revived her sister Alice on Thursday while their mother tried to telephone a doctor and the police for help．

　　Mary Anne later remembered the fast way she saved her sister’s life．She had noticed that her sister, who was ill, had begun to strangle(窒息)．She quickly called her mother．After a useless effort to help Alice, Mrs．Gilbert handed the baby to Mary Anne and rushed to phone for help．The baby appeared to have stopped breathing．

　　Mary Anne suddenly decided to start breathing into the baby’s mouth．Later, Mary Anne explained that she remembered a newspaper story her mother once read to her about a life being saved by mouth-to-mouth breathing．“So I thought it might work with Alice”, she said．It did．

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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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　　The Red Cross is an international organization which cares for people who are in need of help．A man in a Paris hospital who needs blood, a woman in Mexico who was injured in an earthquake, and a family in India that lost their home in a storm may all be aided by the Red Cross．

　　The Red Cross exists in almost every country around the globe．The world Red Cross organizations are sometimes called the Red Crescent, the Red Mogen Daid, the Sun, and the Red Lion．All of these agencies share a common goal of trying to help people in need．

　　The idea of forming an organization to help the sick and wounded during a war started with Jean Henri Dunant．In 1859, he observed how people were suffering on a battlefield in Italy．He wanted to help all the wounded people regardless of which side they were fighting for．The most important result of his work was an international treaty called the Geneva Convention(协定)．It protects prisoners of war, the sick and wounded, and other citizens during a war．

　　The American Red Cross was set up by Clara Barton in 1881．Today the Red Cross in the United States provides a number of services for the public, such as helping people in need, teaching first aid and providing blood．

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