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　　People used to say,“The hand that rocks the cradle(摇篮)rules the world”and “Behind every successful man there's a woman．”Both of these sayings mean the same thing．Men rule the world, but their wives rule them．Most of the American women like making their husbands and sons successful, but some of them want more for themselves．They want good jobs．When they work, they want to be better paid．They want to be as successful as men．

　　The American women's liberation movement was started by women who don't want to stand behind successful men．They want to stand beside men, with the same chance for success．They don't want to be told that certain jobs or offices are closed to them．They refuse to work side by side with men who do the same work for a higher pay．

　　A liberated woman must be proud of being a woman and believe in herself．If somebody says to her,“You've come a long way, baby,”she'll smile and answer,“not nearly as far as I'm going to go, baby!”The movement is quite new, and many American women do not agree．But it has already made some important changes in women's lives and in men's lives, too．

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We are often asked to make a speech in life．Most of us are afraid of it and don't do a good job．Here are some simple steps to make your speech a successful one．First of all, find out everything you can about your subject and at the same time find out as much as you can about your audience．Who are they? What do they know about your subject? Put yourself in their shoes as you prepare your speech．Then try to arrange your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow．Use as many examples as possible．Never forget your audience．Don't talk over their heads or talk down to them．When you are giving your speech, speak slowly and clearly, look at your audience and pause for a few seconds from time to time to give your audience chances to think over what you've said．Just remember：be prepared, know your subject and your audience, say what you have to say and be yourself so that your ideas will bring you and your audience together．

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　　“How's the basketball coming on?”

　　I put down my drink and looked across at the next table．I was curious about that because both the man and the woman were at least 65．

　　“Oh, I'm not playing much basketball these days,”the woman replied．“But I'm getting much better at golf．”

　　What's this, I thought．I opened my packet of crisps, thoughtfully．“I'm still pretty hopeless at chess, I'm afraid,”the man said．“It beat me on level one this morning．”

　　The penny dropped．These two were the proud owners of computer games．

　　It's very likely that one of the results of the development of the silicon chip(硅片)will be that a lot of people will have more exciting ways to spend their leisure time．It already has．Space invader machines are now a familiar sight everywhere．A lot of people play them, and some, particularly school children, get remarkably high scores．How, one wonders, do they find the time(and money)to become so good?

　　If you have your own computers, the possibilities are endless．You can play any active sports without stepping out of your living room．

　　You can become an expert at chess or backgammon without ever playing with another human being．Indeed, human beings aren't needed at all．

　　So, what of the future? Will we see school children stealing or even robbing to feed space invader machines? Will football grounds lie empty as families sit at home playing video football, or watching the national video football championship? Perhaps, it won't go that far．But we won't have to wait long for the Video Olympics．I'm sure of that．

　　Back in the pub, I stood up, took out 20 pence, and went over to the space invader machine．I may not be much good at beating computers at backgammon, but any space invaders who arrive on Earth anywhere near me had better watch out．

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　　Are you afraid of sharks? You shouldn't be! Below we cleared up the main myths about one of the world's most perfectly formed creatures…

　　All sharks are the same．

　　This is absolutely not true．There are nearly four hundred species of sharks and they vary widely in habitat, size, features, diet and lifestyle．They range from the cigar shark, which is about 15 centimetres long, to the whale shark, which can be up to about nine meters long．More than 50 percent of sharks are less than a metre long and more than 90 percent are less than two metres long．And their habitat ranges from shallow to deep water and from the Arctic to the Tropic．

　　________

　　This is not true, either．In fact, many shark populations are decreasing．The chief reason for this is that hundreds of thousands of them are caught in fishing nets．Depending on where they are caught．They are either killed for their fins(鳍), which are used in shark's fin soup, or they are tossed back into the sea because they are unwanted．Almost all sharks which are discarded in this way die．Also, sharks mature late in life and produce very few young．If the current reduction in numbers continues, the ecological balance of the oceans will be severely threatened．

　　Sharks will always attack you

　　This is nonsense．The chances of being attacked by a shark are minimal．You are 250 times more likely to be killed by lightning than by a shark, and your chances of being killed by lightning are practically zero．

　　However, if you are planning to take a swim in shark territory, then follow these simple rules：

　　Avoid swimming at dawn or duck when visibility decreases．

　　Avoid areas where there are breaking waves．Turbulent(汹涌的)water makes it difficult for sharks to see and determine whether you are prey(猎物)．

　　Do not wear jewellery in the water．Sharks are attracted to shiny fishes, and jewellery may resemble their scales(鳞片)．

　　Do not swim near schools of small fish, which are the favorite food of some sharks．

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　　Most high schools have at least four sports they offer to their students．In many districts, there must be an equal amount of sports for boys and girls．Some schools even have sporting clubs．High school sports have been an important part of the high school curriculum(课程)for many years．However, not all parents fully realize the importance．Some children are not even allowed to participate in school sports, because of the cost, the time commitment(投入), or the possibility of injury．

　　The truth is that high school sports are more than just fun．They are great tools to help students learn about life．They can teach students teamwork, cooperation, and leadership, etc．Students can take these things into their everyday lives as well．When they build their confidence on the sporting field, students are also building confidence against the world．They will be able to work well with others in all other areas of their life．

　　High school sports are also the perfect way to keep teens away from drugs and other dangerous behaviors．Coaches are great role models that can often encourage players to be well behaved．Some schools even have limits on GPAs(grade point average)for their athletes．If a student athlete's grades fall below a certain point, they cannot play．Students who love sports will do anything to play, including studying more．They will also be less likely to try drugs or break the law in any other manner．So, allow your children to participate in school sports．Get involved and make friends with the parents of the other students．The whole family can have a great time and learn about sports together．

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　　By now there were several people standing around me, my mom, and the little broken bush(灌木丛)．

　　“Son, would you like me to call an ambulance?”some men said．

　　“No,”my mom yelled．“I'm fine．Please go away!”

　　“She's learning to ride,”I tried to explain to all those who were not going to go away．

　　“Oh, all right!”My mom sat up and brushed the grass and leaves off her sweater．Finally she stood up．Everyone began to clap(鼓掌), and my mom's face turned bright pink．

　　“Thank you very much, but as you can see, I'm just fine．”Mom took a few steps around to show them that she wasn't hiding a broken leg．Everyone clapped again and then went on their way．

　　“Enough for today?”I asked hopefully．

　　“No,”she said in a way that surprised me．“I almost had it, and then I let myself get scared．I know I can do it this time!”Now this sounded more like my mom, for I'd never known my mom to be afraid of anything before．I helped her pull the bike out of the bush and push it up the hill．

　　She didn't look quite so pale this time．She got on the bike again and went down the hill．I ran down the hill after her．She had ridden quite a way ahead of me when she looked back over her shoulder, smiling．Then she gave me a thumbs-up(翘拇指)sign．

　　“No, no!”I yelled．“Use both hands!”

　　But it was too late．Again．

　　“Mom! Are you hurt?”I ran up to her in the grass．

　　This time she was laughing．“Did you see me? I did it! I really did it!”Then she stopped and looked at me．“I mean,”she said,“we did it．”

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　　My father and I were very close．I loved pleasing him, and he was always proud of my success．If I won a spelling contest at school, he was on top of the world．Later in life whenever I got a promotion(升职), I'd call my father right away and he'd rush out to tell all his friends．In 1970, when I was named president of the Ford Motor Company, I don't know which of us was more excited．

　　Like many native Italians, my parents were very open with their feelings and their loves not lonely at home, but also in public．Most of my friends would never hug their fathers．But I hugged and kissed my dad at every opportunity．Nothing could have felt more natural．

　　He was a curious man who was always trying new things．He was the first person in Allentown to buy a motorcycle．Unfortunately, my father and his motorcycle didn't get along too well．He fell off it so often that he got rid of it just a month after buying it．As a result, he never again trusted any vehicle with less than four wheels．

　　Because of that motorcycle, I wasn't allowed to have a bicycle when I was growing up．Whenever I wanted to ride a bike, I had to borrow one from a friend．On the other hand, my father let me drive a car as soon as I turned sixteen．

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　　Middle school teachers in the United States are noticing a new generation of errors coming into their pupils'essays, Associated Press has reported．

　　An increasing number of students hand in classwork containing words that may confuse adults．For example, they wrote“I WUNT TUBAROXTR”for“I want to be a rock star”and“DLERES PCNU”for“delicious pumpkin”．Middle school theachers say they most frequently encounter“b/c”for“because”,“w/o”for“without”and “4-ever”for“forever”．

　　Those simple abbreviations(缩略词)and phonetic spellings are known as“instant messaging-speak”(即时消息式语言)or“IM-speak”．Today these words have become so common in children's social lives that they are finding their way into essays and other writing assignments．

　　However, the rise of informal communication through e-mail, Internet blogs and cell phone text messaging has not stopped school teachers from telling students the importance of spelling．

　　“We've got a strict policy so they can be penalized for that-we don't allow it．We talk about the four levels of the language：slang(俚语), colloquial(口语), informal and formal, which apply to both spoken and written language,”said Beverly Arnold, chairwoman of the English and language arts depart-ment at Owasso High School, Oklahoma．

　　“I think it's critically important-for both formal and informal communication．We teach kids that they need to learn to exist in a world outside their social networks, and that repuires them to use proper grammar and spelling when they speak and write,”said Marsha Edmonds, director of curriculum in the Tulsa Public Schools, Tulsa, Oklahoma．

　　Teachers use different strategies to teach spelling than they did 20 years ago, Edmonds explained．Instead of giving students random(随意的)lists of words to master, teachers now draw on vocabulary from the literature their classes are studying or subject matter being covered in science and social studies．

　　But some educators, like David Warlick, 54, of Raleigh, North Carolina, see the growing young band of instant messengers as a phenomenon that should be celebrated．Teachers should cradit their stuents with inventing a new language ideal for communicating in a high-tech world, said Warlick, who has written three books on technology in the classroom．

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　　Two University of Oklahoma scientists are starting research that they hope will someday lead to the development of a vaccine(疫苗)to fight against the HIV Virus, which causes AIDS．

　　The research, to be carried out by Mark Lang, an assistant professor at the OU Health Sciences Center, and microbiologist John West, will examine the basic aspects of the immune system, rather than the complex aspects of the virus．

　　They theorize that if a key function of the body's immune system can be found exactly, it could be the first step toward developing a vaccine．

　　“To develop a new vaccine, we realzed we first have to study and understand the immune system,”Lang said．

　　Lang said their work will focus on researching the basic antibody responses from Natural Killer－like T－cells．A potential vaccine would contain NKT cells and would improve the immune system's antibodies, which fight outside invaders such as HIV by preventing them from entering cells or giving the immune system enough of a boost to kill them．

　　NKT cells, which have been a part of research into cancer and other diseases, have not previously been the focus of HIV research, Lang said．

　　The research will last 18 months, with tests being performed on mice．The Oklahoma Center is giving ＄300,000 toward the research, and if the research proves promising, Lang and West will apply to the National Institutes of Health for more funding．

　　“If we are successful, we will have made an important contribution to the field, but we will still be several steps away from an effective vaccine,”Lang said．

　　Lang said that in a best –case scenario(最好的情况)their research could lead to a vaccine ready for use in about four years．

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　　In a survey of 1,500 European hotel managers, Americans were ranked second, behind the Japanese, as the world's best tourists．In the survey, conducted in April by the online travel site Expedia's German branch, Americans were seen as the most likely to try to speak a foreign language and the most interested in sampling local food．

　　Americans came in third, behind the Japanese and British, as the“most polite”tourists, and third, behind the Japanese and Germans, as“best behaved．”And-we're sure this has nothing to do with how the hotel managers view Americans-Americans were ranked far and away as the world's most generous tippers and biggest spenders．

　　On the other hand, Americans were seen as the shabbiest dressers, the most likely to complain and the second noisiest．Who's louder? Only the Italians．

　　Some of the other findings：Russians were seen as the least polite travelers, followed by the Israelis and French．The stingiest tippers：the Germans, followed by the French and Israelis．

　　Italians, by far, were ranked as the best dressers, followed by the French and Spanish．In terms of bad dressing, the British were a distant second to Americans, followed by the Germans．

　　Who's the most unwilling to try speaking in a foreign language? The French, the British and the Italians, in that order．

　　The Chinese are the most reluctant to sample foreign food, followed closely by-this is strange-the British, whose home cuisine is probably the world's most seriously laughed at(a little unfairly, perhaps．)

　　And, finally, the overall award for“worst tourists in the world”goes to the French, with the Indians and Chinese taking home the silver and bronze, respectively．

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