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　　Have you ever wondered what a Degree might be worth to you in your job or career?It means a lot of Americans with an Associate Degree average nearly ＄10,000 more in yearly earnings than those with just a High School Diploma．

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　　New York(Reuters)-Foods that fill you up without packing a ton of calories can help in the battle of obesity(肥胖), results of a new study suggest．

　　In the study, obese women who reduced the“energy density”of their diet by cutting their intake of fats and adding more fruits and vegetables lost more weight over a 12-month period, and felt less hungry, than those who simply reduced their fat intake．

　　“Adding low calorie-dense foods into the diet is an effective way of lowering calories and reducing hunger when you are trying to lose weight,”Dr Julia A Ello-Martin said．

　　One of the reasons people don't stick to a weight-loss diet is hunger．Ello-Martin and her colleagues guessed that a diet that controls hunger by encouraging dieters-to fill up on low energy-density foods may improve adherence(坚持), as well as increase weight loss．

　　For the study, 97 obese women were randomly assigned to a group that was advised to decrease their intake of fats or one that was told to decrease their fat intake and increase low energy-density foods, particularly fruits arid：vegetables．Twelve months later, weight had come off the women in both groups．The women in the fruit and vegetable group, however, lost 7.9kg, in comparison to 6.4kg among the others．

　　The women in the fruit and vegetable group also experienced less hunger than tile women who only reduced their fat intake, study findings show．

　　Although the study' lasted only one year, Ello-Martin guesses the dieters may be able to keep their weight loss and dietary changes over a longer period

　　“They are getting to eat foods that are helping them not feel hungry,”she said．“What's more, the study didn't have that hideous approach of having to count calories even day．”

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The Best Western New Englander

　　Location．It is located in Woburn, Mass．, seven miles from Harvard University and the Salem Witch Museum．Tufts University and the Stone Zoo are four miles away．Downtown Boston is nine miles from the hotel．The US Constitution Museum is 10 miles away．Faneuil Hall, Fenway Park, Freedom Trail and the New England Aquarium are within 12 miles．

　　Hotel Features．The Best Western New Englander offers complimentary breakfasts and suppers．The hotel includes 4,200 square feet of meeting and event space accommodating up to 200 people．The meeting rooms feature 11-foot ceilings, chandeliers and wall sconces．The front desk is open 24 hours a day．The hotel includes a business center and offers high-speed internet access．Complimentary newspapers are available．Parking in the hotel is complimentary．The fitness center features floor-to-ceiling windows, televisions and cardiovascular(心血管的)and weight training equipment．The fitness center is open 24 hours a day．After the free supper, the guests can also enjoy the hotel’s heated indoor pool．

　　Guestrooms．Guestrooms at the Best Western New Englander include coffeemakers and microfridges．Cable television is provided．Guestrooms include desks．Bathrooms feature granite(花岗岩)counters and vanities(梳妆台)．

　　Expert Tip．The Best Western New Englander sponsors(赞助)the snow leopard exhibit at the Stone Zoo．The snow leopard is the hotel’s mascot(吉祥物)．

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　　Sign has become a scientific hot button．Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique-a speech of the hand．They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy(争论)：whether language, completed with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a learned behavior．The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D．C．, the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people．

　　When Bill Stokoe went to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing．But Stokoe noticed something odd; among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher．

　　Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural(手势)code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English．At the time, American Sign Language(ASL)was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English(混杂英语)．But Stokoe believed the“hand talk”his students used looked richer．He wondered：Might deaf people actually have a genuine language?And could that language be unlike any other on Earth?It was 1955, when even deaf people dismissed their signing as“substandard”．Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy(异端邪说)．

　　It is 37 years later．Stokoe－now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture-is having lunch at a café near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution．For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese．They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation(调节)of sound．But sign language is based on the movements of hands, the modulation of space．“What I said,”Stokoe explains,“is that language is not mouth stuff(素材)-it’s brain stuff．”

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　　Can you understand the beginning of this essay?

　　“My smmr hols wr CWOT．B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, hisGf & 3 kds FTF．”

　　The Scottish teacher who received it in class had no idea what the girl who wrote it meant．The essay was written in a form of English used in cell phone text messages．Text messages(also called SMS)through cell phones became very popular in the late 1990s．At first, mobile phone companies thought that text measuring would be a good way to messages to customers, but customers quickly began to use the text messaging service to send messages to each other．Teenagers in particular enjoyed using text messaging, and they began to create a new language for messages called“texting．”

　　A text message is limited to 160 characters, including letters, spaces, and numbers, so messages must be kept short．In addition, typing on the small keypad of a cell phone is difficult, so it’s common to make words shorter．In texting, a single letter or number can represent a word, like“r”for“are”,“u”for“you”, and“2”for“to”．Several letters can also represent a phrase, like“lol”for“laughing out loud”．Another characteristic of texting is the leaving out of letters in a word, like spelling“please”as“pls”．

　　Some parents and teachers worry that texting will make children bad spellers and bad writers．The students who wrote the essay at the top of this page said writing that way was more comfortable for her．(The essay said,“My summer holidays were a complete waste of time．Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three kids face to face．”)

　　Not everyone agrees that texting is a bad thing．Some experts say languages always develop, and this is just another way in which English is changing．Other people believe texting will disappear soon．New technology for voice messages may soon make text messages a thing of the past．

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　　While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had an experience which occurred merely two feet away from me．

　　Trying to locate my friend among the passengers coming through the jet way, I noticed a man walking toward me carrying two light bags．He stopped right next to me to greet his family．

　　First he kissed his three children one by one and said,“It’s nice to see you．I missed you so much!”Then he hugged his wife,“I’ve saved the best for last!”giving her the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing．They stared at each other’s eyes, smiling at one another, while holding both hands．For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be．

　　Full of admiration, I asked,“Wow!How long have you two been married?”“Being together for fourteen years total, married twelve of those．”He replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face．“Well, then, how long have you been away?”I asked．“Two whole days!”“Two days?”I was astonished．By the intensity(热烈)of the greeting, I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks－if not months．I knew my expression betrayed me, so I turned away my eyes and said quietly,“I hope my marriage is still that passionate after so long!”

　　The man suddenly stopped smiling and looked at me straight in the eye．With forcefulness he told me something that left me a different person．“Don’t hope, friend…decide!”Then he smiled again, shook my hand and said,“God bless!”

　　With that, he and his family turned and walked away together．

　　I was still watching that man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked,“What are you looking at?”Without hesitation, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied,“My future!”

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　　Honesty is the best policy, as the English saying goes．Unfortunately, honesty often leaves us when no one is watching, British psychologists reported last week．

　　Researchers at UK’s Newcastle University set up an experiment in their psychology department’s coffee room．

　　They set a kettle, with tea, coffee and milk on the counter and hung up a sign listing the price for drinks．People helping themselves to a cup of tea were supposed to put a few cents in the box nearby．

　　The scientists hung a poster above the money box, and changed each week between pictures of gazing(注视的)eyes and pictures of flowers．The researchers found that staff paid 2.76 times more for their drinks when the image of the eyes was hung．

　　“We were shocked by the size of the effect,”said Gilbert Roberts, one of the researchers．

　　Eyes are known to be a powerful perceptual(知觉的)signal for humans, scientists say．

　　“Even though the eyes were not real, they still seemed to make people behave more honestly,”said Melissa Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study．

　　Researchers believe the effect throws light on our evolutionary past．It may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed when early humans formed social groups to strengthen their chances of survival．For social groups to work, individuals had to co-operate, rather than act selfishly．“There’s an argument that if nobody is watching us, it is in our interests to behave selfishly．But when we’re being watched we should behave better．So people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us,”Bateson said．

　　The new finding indicates that people have a striking response to eyes．That might be because eyes and faces send a strong biological signal we have evolved to respond to, Bateson said．

　　The finding could be put to practical use．For example, images of eyes could ensure ticket sales on public transport and improve surveillance(监视)systems to deter antisocial(反社会)behavior．

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