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　　Some experts feel that cars are certain to fall into disuse They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all cars will be deserted and made useless Other experts however think the car is here to stay They hold that the car will remain a leading means of city travel in the foreseeable future

　　The car will undoubtedly change greatly over the next 30 years It should become smaller safer and more practical and should not be powered by the gas engine The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types

　　Unless changes take place in the power system the car in the future will still be the main problem in city traffic jams One suggested solution to this essential problem is the automated(自动的)system which seems to hold water

　　When the car enters the highway system a small arm will drop from the car and connect with a rail which is similar to hose powering subway trains electrically Once joined to the rail the car will become electrically powered form the system and control of the car will pass to a central computer The computer will then monitor all of the car's movements

　　The driver will use the telephone to dial instructions about his position and the place he heads for into the system The computer will find the best way and reserve space for the car all the way to the correct exit from the highway The driver will be free to relax and wait for the call that will warn him of his coming exit It is believed that an automated highway will be able to deal with 10.000 cars per hour compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 cars can be carried by a present-day highway

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　　A historical change is taking place in middle-school education Teachers are being asked to answer as never before for how well they serve their students It has become as common in middle schools for students to grade teachers as for teachers to grade students In fact student ratings(评价)have become the most widely used and in many cases the only important in formation on teaching effectiveness In comparing three studies of the same 600 middle and high schools in more than thirty states it was found that the number of schools using student ratings to evaluate teachers had climbed from 29 percent to 68 percent to 86 percent No other method of evaluation got that degree of usage and other studies have found similar results

　　One reason that student evaluations of easy to put to wrong use If they are expected to throw meaningful light on teachers' performance the ratings must be sued in a way that shows at least some of what we've learnt about them from research and from experience

　　Research and experience have shown us for example that student ratings should never be the only basis for evaluating effectiveness There is much more to teaching than what is evaluated on student rating forms When ratings are used we know that students should not be expected to judge whether the materials used in a course are up to date or how well the teacher knows the subject matter of the course There judgments that require professional background are best left to the teacher's fellow workers On the other hand students should be asked to comment what they have learned in a course and to report in the classroom relationship with the students ability to develop interest in the subject and ways to encourage students to teach themselves

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　　Some houses are designed to be smart．Others have smart designs．An example of the second type of house won a Prize of Excellence from the American Club of Architects(建筑师)．

　　On the shore of Sullivan's Island off the coast of South Carolina, the prize－winning beach house was built to replace one destroyed to pieces by Hurricane Hugo 10 years ago．In September 1989．Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or pulling down 36, 000 homes in the state．

　　Before Hugo, many new house built along the shore were poorly constructed, and the instructions for building were not strict, according to architect Ray huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house．All new houses are required to follow stricter instructions after the terrible experience in Hugo．The new houses on he is land should be able to stand a terrible hurricane with the strongest win do 179to 209 kilometers per hour．

　　At first sight, the house on the island look anything but hurricane-proof．Its redwood roof makes it look like“a large bright ball”at night, according to one observer．But looks can be not true．The wooden formation of the house is supported with long steel sticks to give it huge strength．To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on wood pilings, part of which were buried in the sand．In fact, they are strong enough to bear the weight of the house．They also lift the house above the sea water brought by the hurricane．The pilings allow the sea water to run under the house instead of running into it．“These waves of water come ashore at treat speed and cause most of the damage done to the beach-front buildings,”said Huff．

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　　Brazil and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho has been named the 50^th European Footballer of Year at great party in Paris held towards the end of 2005．

　　Ronaldinho, 25 years old, became the third Brazilian to win the title after Ronaldo, who won it in 1997and 2002, and Rivaldo, who won it in 1999．

　　“To be here with all those great players is a dream．This gives me huge encouragement to keep working and try to do well．I have the chance to do for a living what I like most in my life, and that's playing football．I can make people happy and enjoy myself at the same time,”said Ronaldinho after receiving the golden cup at the party．

　　The was no way Ronaldinho cold not succeed, as he was always full of uncontrollable desire for football．He would play on the dirt, in the wood, even in his living–room-noting else staved in his mind．He began to shine on the international games when he was 17, helping Brazil win the Under－17 World Championship(锦标赛)．He was on his way to becoming one of the world's greatest players, with his role in Brazil's World Cup victory in 2002．With 22 goals in his first in Barcelona, he received football's most valuable honor in 2004：the FIFA World Player of the Year．

　　“He isn't only able to win games on his own, he keeps our spirits high because he is always in a good state of feelings,”says his captain．“You can challenge him, push him, trip him and even prevent him on purpose-nothing can stop him．And it shows in his games．He's not satisfied with moving the ball from one point to another, he has to dance it away．And with every match, Ronaldinho creates a new signature move．When noting seems possible, he can do．”

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　　Our town is in the eastern part of our country．Once a year, we elect a girl to show how beautiful and great our town is．All the girls are eager to get this position in an effort to become popular．

　　It was not an easy choice this years, since there were eight girls to choose from．The elder judge finally decided that either Sara or May would get the position．Both girls were beautiful with extraordinary appearance．Besides, they had a good education and cared about how pollution had a bad effect on the earth．Most important, both girls got up early to eat eggs at their breakfast．Eggs were important to people of the east because our economy depended mainly on the production of eggs．

　　“Either girl will win,”my father said,“But someone will cry in the end”

　　“Either will be fine,”I said,“They are both great girls．”

　　The final round was held at the east edge of our town．Sara lived nearby so she did not need to get up early to arrive．However, she was the first person there．“You know what they say about the early bird,”she said with a smile．

　　However, May arrived fifteen minutes late to the competition．“It's the taxi driver's fault,”she said．“I told him to head east, but he was in one ear and thought I said Bread Cheese．”You know, Bread Cheese was the name of our neighboring town．

　　I thought May would certainly lose because she was late, but to my surprise, she turned out to be this year's winner．The judges liked her answer to their last question,“If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?”Sara had replied,“World peace．”May, on the other hand, said,“Better market to have our eggs sell well”．

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　　Sometimes we hear things from those we love and trust, and what we've heard becomes a fact without question when it truly was a lie．It's worse when the lie was never intended as a lie, but as a true belief passed on as training．

　　Lie 1：We don't get anywhere in life without working hard．

　　Lie 2：The more we work, the more we make．

　　Lie 3：What we do is who we are．

　　Lie 4：There's no better way to kill time than work it to death．

　　We spend more time working than doing other activities．Most of us sleep less than 8 hours a night, yet we work more than 8 hours per day．Our most important relationship is with those who love us most at home．Yet we spend most of our time, with colleagues who love us less．Those at home get only the tired remains of the best self that we tried to be all day．

　　I was on the fast track in the newspaper business with a great job．As a young man, I had climbed much of the social ladder in a field that demanded 24-hour-a-day response．When the phone rang, no matter what time, I had to respond．No matter whether I was celebrating a holiday or a child's birthday, I was on call．But I had a good job．People respected me．I was providing for my family．I believed in all the four lies, though something had to change．I needed new answers．I had to throw out old rules．I had to discover what work was to me．

　　Answers came．Answer 1：The key to getting somewhere is knowing where you want to go．

　　Answer 2：Work smarter, not harder．

　　Answer 3：We are what we believe．No more, no less．

　　Answer 4：There's a much better way to kill time than just to work．Enjoy it．

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　　You've decided you need some kind of self defense device to protect yourself from possible crime situation．But with so many defense products on the market it's not an easy choice．Read on to find out the difference between self defense products, how they work and which one meets your needs most．There are two main categories of defense items：pepper sprays(胡椒雾剂)and stun guns(电晕枪)．

　　Pepper sprays：the content in pepper sprays is a natural, oily substance taken from hot peppers, the same peppers used to heat up spicy foods．Pepper sprays cause an almost immediate burning sensation of the skin and a burning, tearing, and swelling of the eyes．If spray is breathed in, it will result in short, shallow breaths．

　　Stun guns：the way a stun gun works is by interrupting the communication signals from the brain to the body．A stun gun does not harm a person permanently; it only disturbs the body functions for a limited time．A stun gun won't cause damage in the long run although the electricity shocks a person's body, because the charge(电荷)is not strong enough to cause any long term damage to the person．

　　So what to choose? Stun gun or pepper spray? For jogging, walking on the streets I'd say pepper spray, since it's smaller in size than a stun gun and easy to carry．Cell phone stun gun can be used if you don't want anyone to know you have a self defense device．If you are in a car, stun stick can be useful, since you can stick it out of the window into an attacker's face．Most crimes happen in the dark and in that case flashlight stun gun with alarm can be used．

　　At First Home Security, you can find different types of pepper sprays, stun guns and many more self-defense products at discounted prices．

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　　Escalators(自动扶梯)have long been a safety worry for children．New research shows the escalator is increasingly a danger to the elderly as well．

　　According to a report published this month in the public health journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, nearly 40 000 older adults were injured on escalators from 1991 to 2005．The average age of the injured was 80, and three out of four of the injured were women．The risk of escalator accidents among the elderly was about eight injuries per 100 000 people．Although most accidents were not deadly serious, about 3 000 people were taken to the emergency room．

　　Many of the accidents were the result of careless behavior by elderly escalator riders．One older rider fell because he tried to squeeze(硬挤)past a wheelchair user and his nurse, who shouldn't have been using the escalator in the first place．

　　“What really surprised us was the careless behavior of some older adults on escalators,” said the researcher Dr．Steele．“Obviously, the wheelchair should not have been on the moving stairs．And of course, the injured old man should not have attempted to force them down the stairs．”

　　Older adults who have difficulty walking or keeping balance should use elevators rather than escalators, the study authors warn．And when elderly people do ride escalators, they should use extra care when stepping on or off the moving steps．

　　“They should not try to walk up or down a moving escalator, carry large objects, or wear loose shoes or clothing while riding, since these appear to be associated with an increased risk of falling,” said the co-researcher Dr．O'Neil．“Injury should be viewed as a ‘medical illness’ alongside heart disease．We have to stop thinking of unexpected injuries as accidents．Escalator injuries, like auto crashes and many other so-called accidents, can be prevented．”

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　　Although Francisco, a 14-year-old freshman with fantastic hair and sunglasses, qualifies(有资格)for a free lunch at a high school here, he was not eating．He scanned the picnic table full of his friends in a school courtyard one day a few weeks ago, and said, “I'm not hungry．”

　　Today, the US Department of Agriculture spends ＄ 8.3 billion a year to provide free and reduced-priced lunches for 30.6 million children whose families are at or below the national poverty level．Most primary-school children like free lunches, but when they enter middle school, the problem of social status(地位)appears．And at lunchtime, as students choose with whom to associate, many students from poor families either pay cash or go hungry if they do not bring lunches from home．

　　“I know kids need to eat but they don't want to be identified with free food,” said Kenneth Block, a track coach and security guard who watches the lunch-time order．The National School Lunch Act forbids the segregating(隔离)of students or any obvious identification of any child．

　　Mr．Geist, the student president, does not qualify for a free meal．But he said he was struck by how many of his Spanish-speaking and African-American friends who could benefit from the program avoid it．“It is meant to help them,” Mr．Geist said．

　　But one group has fewer problems accepting free food：foreign-born students．Teenagers from Thailand, Hong Kong as well as American-Born Chinese said they appreciated the free lunch．A senior from India, said she felt no shame．“It doesn't really matter,” she said．“The food is good．” An official believed more eligible students would eat if all schools offered free meals to everyone, regardless of economic status, but that is too expensive．“Kids who wear nice shoes and nice clothes, ”said Mr．Geist, “don't want to be linked with food that says ‘I'm not able to provide for myself．’”

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　　It’s Friday morning in the year 2025, and you're running late．You get distracted(分心的)watching the music video that is playing in the corner of your bathroom mirror while you are brushing your teeth．How will you get to your office on time?

　　A quick check of your Internet-connected screen tells you your train which travels at a speed up to 400 kilometers an hour is a bit behind schedule, too．So you decide to drive your environmentally-friendly hydrogen fuel car instead－or rather, let your car drive you．It's programmed to know the way, and it will get you there without speeding, getting lost, or crashing．

　　Settling into your office chair, which changes color to match what you're wearing, you pick up yesterday's newspaper．Printed on reusable electronic paper, it instantly rewrites itself with today's headlines．Now it's time for your big meeting．Uh-oh! You've left your handwritten notes at home．No problem．The digital ink pen you used has stored an electronic copy of what you wrote．

　　Your wristwatch videophone suddenly rings．Your best friend's face turns up on the small screen, asking what you're doing this weekend．Will you wear your 3-dimensional contact lenses(三维隐形镜)and play soccer with the U．S．Olympic team? No, no, your friend replies．So you have to take the new nanotube(纳米的)elevator(which is made of materials many times stronger than steel)and travel 96 000 kilometers high into space．

　　Could this scene really take place in just a couple of decades? The researchers who are currently developing all this stuff think so．These devices may be as common in 20 years as cell phones and DVD players are today．

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