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　　If you need any help in planning your future, call in at the Education and Careers Expo(博览会), which opened at the City Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday．Expo gives you a unique opportunity to meet leading industrialists and educators．

　　I spoke to several young people at Expo, and they all agreed how useful it was to have so much information under one roof．

　　Duncan Kelly intends to take a university course in design after he leaves school．He was collecting some of the free literature when I spoke to him．“I'm not in a hurry to make a choice at the moment．I want to get all the information before I make up my mind．”

　　One feature of Expo is the careers seminars(研讨会), at which expert speakers outline their respective fields．Barbara Watts is already at university, in the second year of a law degree．She's decided to keep on studying after she graduates．She attended a seminar on international law．“The speaker was really good at getting across his message,”said Barbara．“It was very helpful．”

　　But Expo isn't just for people who are still in education．It also offers help to those in employment, and to people who are considering retraining or a change of career．

　　One advantage of Expo is that you can meet many prospective employers face to face, and talk to them frankly about your plans．As Charles Li told me,“Normally I wouldn't dare to go and talk to the manager of a company．But today I have talked to several managers．It's easy to meet them here, in a relaxed environment．”He left school after Junior High and went to work in a factory to earn a living．He's looking at changing his career and perhaps studying to be an accountant．

　　The organizers expect over 200,000 young people to visit Expo, and there's no doubt that it's a bit of a squash(拥挤)．But the opportunities available here certainly make up for any discomfort．So, if you need any help with your future, come along to Expo．You don'tneed a ticket．It's open today, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm, and entry is free to all．

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　　Today we have the second report explaining how to prepare fish by drying or smoking them．We talked last week about the first steps of cleaning and salting freshly caught fish．

　　To dry fish, you will need either a drying table or a place to hang them．If a table is used, it should have a top made of wire screen or thin pieces of wood with space between each piece．

　　Lay the cleaned and salted fish on the table．Be sure that air can flow around the fish from all sides．

　　For best results, put the drying table under a tree．Turn the fish over every other day．Small fish will dry in about three days if the air is dry．Large fish will take a week or ten days to dry．

　　After the fish have dried, place them in a basket．Cover them with clean paper or large leaves．Then put the basket in a cool, dry place off the ground．

　　Make sure as much of the saltwater as possible is removed before you smoke the fish．

　　The smoking can be done in a large, round metal container．Remove the top of the drum and cut a small opening on one side at the bottom．

　　Cover the top with a strong wire screen, where you put the fish．Build a small fire in the drum by reaching in through the opening at the bottom．

　　Wood from fruit trees makes good fuel for your fire．It will give the smoked fish good color and taste．One way to get a lot of smoke is to use green wood, not dried wood．

　　You should smoke the fish for five days or longer if you plan to store them for a long time．After that, wrap them in clean paper, put the fish in baskets and keep them in a cool, dry place off the ground．

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　　The modern mobile phone is a more complex version of the two-way radio, which was a very limited means of communication．As soon as the users moved out of range of each other's broadcast area, the signal was lost．In the 1940s, researchers began experimenting with the idea of using a number of radio masts(天线塔)standing around the countryside to pick up signals from two-way radios．

　　The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modern mobile handset．Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public．The streets of modern cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks．In Britain the mobile phone quickly became synonymous(等于)with the“yuppie”, the new breed of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols．Around this time many of us swore that we would never, ever own a mobile phone．

　　But in the mid-90s, something happened．Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone．And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had evolved into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags．Cities suddenly had a new, postmodern birdsong．

　　Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years．If he were around today, he might say：“That's gr8!But I'm v busy rite now．Will call U 2nite．”

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　　Almost one-fourth of all personal spending in the United States takes place during the holiday season．There are gifts to give this month for Christmas, Hanukkah and the African American celebration of Kwanzaa．The traditional shopping season began last Friday, after Thanksgiving Day．Personal spending represents two-thids of the economy, so holiday sales are especially important．

　　Reports on November results have just come out．Wal-Mart is the biggest seller in the world．The company had expected growth of two to four percent in November, fueled by sales on“Black Friday．”

　　The day after Thanksgiving is called that．Storekeepers used to record profits(利润)in black ink and losses in red ink．A day in the black means a return to profit．

　　The National Retail Federation estimated(估计)in September that holiday sales would increase four and one-half percent this year．Holiday sales increased five percent last year, after poor sales the year before．

　　The business group estimated that Americans will spend two hundred twenty thousand million dollars this season．It says they spent just over ten percent of that last weekend．

　　Also, it says more Americans for the first time this season plan to use a debit card than a credit card for purchases．A debit card, also called a check card, is linked to the money that a person has in a bank．In other words, users must have the money before they can spend it．

　　About thirty-five percent of shoppers said they would mainly use debit cards, compared to thirty percent for credit cards．Financial experts say this change might mean that more people want to keep to a budget this holiday season．

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　　International Studies(BA)

　　Key features

　　·Recognizes the“global community”(国际社会)

　　·Has close connections with practical research

　　·Much of the teaching is done in small discussion groups

　　About the course

　　The course gives you chances to know great power polities(政体)between nation states．It will provide more space to study particular issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of such international bodies as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the world Bank．

　　The course puts theories into the working of the international system with close attention to particular countries．You will also have a better knowledge of methods of solving the international problems．

　　Related(相关的)courses

　　BA(Hons)Community Management

　　BA(Hons)Public Policy and Management

　　Employment possibilities

　　International organizations

　　International business

　　Earth Science(USe)

　　Key features

　　·Based on key courses and the latest research findings

　　·Pays much attention to practical skills

　　·Offers chances for fieldwork(实地考察)

　　About the course

　　The demand for natural resources is becoming an increasingly serious problem for the future of mankind．Graduates in Earth Science will play an important role in meeting this demand, and in knowing the meaning of using the natural resources．

　　The course covers geography and geology．You will carry out fieldwork in the UK and possibly overseas, and a research in an area of interest to you in the final year．

　　Related courses

　　BSc(Hons)Geography

　　BSc(Hons)Geology

　　Employment possibilities

　　Mineral, oil, water or other related engineering industries

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　　A small piece of fish each day may keep the heart doctor away．That's the finding of a scientific study of Dutch men in which deaths from heart disease were more than 50 percent lower among those who consumed at least an ounce(盎司)of salt water fish per day than those who never ate fish．

　　The Dutch research is one of three human studies that hold the belief that eating fish can provide health benefits, particularly to the heart．

　　Heart disease is the number-one killer in the United States, with more than 550,000 deaths occurring from heart attacks each year．But researchers previously have noticed that the incidence(发生率)of heart disease is lower in cultures that consume more fish than Americans do．There are fewer heart disease deaths, for example, among the Eskimos of Greenland, who consume about 14 ounces of fish a day, and among the Japanese, whose daily fish consumption averages more than 3 ounces．

　　For 20 years, the Dutch study followed 852 middle-aged men, 20 percent of whom ate no fish．

　　At the start of the study, the average fish consumption was about two-thirds of an ounce each day with more men eating thin fish than fatty fish．

　　During the next two decades, 78 of the men died from heart disease．The fewest deaths were among the group who regularly ate fish, even at levels far lower than those of the Japanese or Eskimos．This relationship was true regardless of other factors such as age, high blood pressure, or blood cholesterol(胆固醇)levels．

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　　In a recent class I was asked“What is a short story?”My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought an illumination(启示)to the reader, sudden and golden like sunlight cracking through heavy cloud．I went on to say that in my opinion a“real”short story was closer to poetry than to the novel．

　　Here are some definitions(定义)of the short story．My favorite is Benet's：“something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime”．One writer said：“the theme of a novel won't fit into the framework of a short story; it's like trying to squeeze a large painting done on a wall into the frame of a miniature(微型画)．And as in a miniature painting, the details need to be sharp．”

　　The short story is an example of one aspect of human nature．Often a character undergoes some event, something that offers him or her change．This is why it's said that short stories usually“say something”, often a small something, but sometimes delivered with such accuracy that the effect is strongly felt, even a life-moment for some readers, something similar to a religious experience or to witnessing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature．

　　Ok, let's form a definition here：A short story is an account, rarely over 10,000 words or below 500 words－more commonly 1,500-5,000 words－a single-sitting read, but with enough time and weight to move the reader．It is narrow and focused to produce an effect through the story, most commonly through events affecting some change in an individual．

　　Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote：“Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you're done．Short stories are more difficult－they have to be perfect, complete in themselves．”

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　　Introductory Chemistry was taught at Duke University for many years by Professor Bonk．One year, two guys took the class and did pretty well on all the quizzes and mid-terms．They each had a solid A．These two friends were so confident in going into the final that the weekend before the final week, despite the Chemistry final being on Monday, they decided to go to the University of Virginia to party with some friends．

　　They had a great time there．However, with their hangovers(宿醉)and tiredness, they overslept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning．Rather than taking the final then, they found Professor Bonk after the final and explained to him how they missed the final．They told him they went up to the University of Virginia for the weekend and had planned to come back in time to study, but they had a flat tire on the way back and didn't have a spare．So they were late getting back to campus．

　　Bonk thought this over and agreed that they could take the final the following day．The two guys, happy and relieved, studied that night and went in the next day at the time that Bonk had told them．He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet．He told them to begin．

　　They looked at the first problem which was something simple about solution(溶解)．It was worth 5 points．“Cool,”they thought,“this is going to be an easy final”．They then turned the page．They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on it．The question contained only two words：(95 points)Which tire?

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　　Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee．And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea．The physical sensation(感觉)of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions－those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A．Bargh．

　　Psychologists have known that one person’s perception(感知)of another’s“warmth”is a powerful determiner in social relationships．Judging someone to be either“warm”or“cold”is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a“cold”person may be more capable．Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness．Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth“mother”rather than one made of wire, even when the wire“mother”carried a food bottle．Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills．

　　Feelings of“warmth”and“coldness”in social judgments appear to be universal．Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as“warm”or“cold”is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries．

　　To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students．A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses(假设), handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form：The drink was then handed back．After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of“Person A”based on a particular description．Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink．

　　“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,”says Bargh．

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　　Tens of thousands of theatre tickets will be given away to young people next year as part of a government campaign to inspire a lifelong love for theatre．

　　The plan to offer free seats to people aged between 18 to 26－funded with ￡2.5 million of taxpayers’ money－was announced yesterday by Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary．It received a cautious welcome from some in the arts world, who expressed concern that the tickets may not reach the most underprivileged．

　　The plan comes as West End theatres are enjoying record audiences, thanks largely to musicals teaming up with television talent shows．Attendances reached．13.6 million in 2007, up 10 percent on 2006, itself a record year．Total sales were up 18 percent on 2006 to almost ￡470 million．

　　One theatre source criticised the Government’s priorities(优先考虑的事)in funding free tickets when pensioners were struggling to buy food and fuel, saying：“I don’t know why the Government’s wasting money on this．The Yong Vic, as The Times reported today, offers excellent performances at cheap prices．”

　　There was praise for the Government’s plan from Dominic Cooke of the Royal Court Theatre, who said：“I support any move to get young people into theatre, and especially one that aims to do it all over England, not just in London．”

　　Ninety-five publicly funded theatres could apply for funding under the two-year plan．In return, they will offer free tickets on at least one day each week to 18 to 26-year-olds, first-come, first-served．It is likely to be on Mondays, traditionally a quiet night for the theatre．

　　Mr．Burnham said：“A young person attending the theatre can find it an exciting experience, and be inspired to explore a new world．But sometimes people miss out on it because they fear it’s ‘not for them’．It’s time to change this perception．”

　　Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said：“The real issue is not getting enthusiastic children into the theatre, but improving arts education so that more young people want to go in the first place．For too many children theatres are a no-go area．”

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