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　　My house is made out of wood, glass and stone．It is also made out of software．

　　If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in．Someone will give you an electronic PIN(个人身份号码)to wear．This PIN tells the house who and where you are．The house uses this information to give you what you need．When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them．Music moves with you too．If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it．The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music．If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings．

　　Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something．There is a home control console(控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you．

　　The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today．If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket．If I give you my car keys, you can use my car．The car works for you because you have the keys．My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console．

　　I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house．The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today．

　　I like to try new ideas．I know that some of my ideas will work better than others．But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?”

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　　Green is an important color in nature．It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees．It is also the color of most growing plants．

　　Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing．Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished．For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation．In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns(角)had not yet developed．A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle．By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today－a person who is new in a job．

　　Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb．The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds．A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well．You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died．

　　The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains．The new plants produced much larger crops．The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs．

　　Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒)．The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space．It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”．It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants．A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else．Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and she does not．

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　　What makes a person a scientist? Does he have ways or tools of learning that are different from those of others? The answer is “no”．It is not the tools a scientist uses but how he uses these tools that makes him a scientist．You will probably agree that knowing how to use a power is important to a carpenter．You will probably agree, too, that knowing how to investigate(调查),how to discover information, is important to everyone．The scientist, however, goes one step further, he must be sure that he has a reasonable answer to his questions and that his answer can be confirmed by other persons．He also works to fit the answers he gets to many questions into a large set of ideas about how the world works．

　　The scientist’s knowledge must be exact．There is no room for half right or right just half the time．He must be as nearly right as the conditions permit．What works under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other times．If the conditions are different, any changes the scientist observes in a demonstration must be explained by the changes in the conditions．This is one reason that investigations are important in science．Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of relativity, arrived at this theory through mathematics．The accuracy of his mathematics was later tested through investigations, Einstein’s ideas were shown to be correct．A scientist uses many tools for measurements．Then the measurements are used to make mathematical calculations that may test his investigations．

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　　Experts have long supposed that the Red Planet was once home to water some two billion years ago, but now a team of Canadian and US researchers say they've found hard evidence to support the theory-a discovery certain to heat up discussion on whether Mars once supported life．

　　The researchers' study says the“ragged, kilometer-high and undulating(起伏的)”features on the Martian surface are in fact shorelines of massive ancient oceans that once covered a third of the planet's surface．

　　“It shows that there were shorelines and…that Mars, at one time, had massive standing bodies of water that we would call oceans．It was a blue planet．It was a blue planet early in its history, and these were not small pools,”said Jerry Mitrovica, a University of Toronto geophysicist involved in the study．

　　Because the study did not clearly involve biological issues, neither scientist wished to speculate(推测)on the implications(暗示)their findings may have regarding the existence of life-ancient or current-on Mars．But the study's lead author, Taylor Perron of Harvard University acknowledged that“liquid water does seem to be a basic requirement for life as we know it on Earth．”

　　Perron said the study further shows it's mathematically impossible for the entire Martian water supply to have been lost to space, and much of it may still be underground．So the next step in terms of research will be to figure out where the water has gone．By pointing out where the bodies of water might have been located, it will give scientists a good“target”in terms of where to concentrate exploration efforts．

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Feb 28, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

　　It is no secret that we are in the midst of one of the worst economic times in recent state history．Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed ＄14 billion in cuts, which means cuts to parks, prisons, and yes, education．For our school district that figure translates to ＄12 million．We must have planned cuts in place before June 30．

　　We have been meeting with representatives of all the unions and management staff and a community-based budget committee to talk about ways of making budget cuts．We created a special link on the district website to provide information on budget cuts across the county．I've produced two videos, also placed on the special“Budget Update”link on the website．These videos have outlined what we're doing to look at all programs across the district in our efforts to save money．We're beginning a campaign where we're going to encourage all of our employees and parents to write, call, and email their legislators(立法委员)to spare education from big cuts．

　　Despite the efforts we made to keep the cuts as far away from classroom as possible, we know we will have some serious decisions to make．With 87％ of our budget going to employee salaries and benefits, we know these cuts may affect people．We're hoping that those thinking of retiring will tell us soon so that we can also place people in those positions, if possible．We're hoping that we can place people into open positions．

　　These conversations are not easy．I promise you, however, that we will be honest and open with you－that we will share with you all the information that was considered in making decisions．

　　Thank you for all you do for the students of our school district．

　　Sincerely, Jesus M Gandara, Ed．D．Superintendent

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　　It's one of the most frequently asked questions in an interview：Tell me about yourself．Your response to this request will set the tone for the rest of the interview．

　　Focus

　　List five strengths you have that are connected with this job．

　　Hong applied for computer programmer．When she answered this question to the interviewer Finance Manager, she said,“I've been successful in my career by making well-thought-out decisions based on careful analysis of all factors．I approach problems with logic and sounding reasoning．I would enjoy working with you in developing the appropriate systems and procedures to make our two departments function efficiently together．”

　　Scripting．

　　Prepare a script that includes the information you want to communicate．Begin by talking about past experiences and proven success：

　　“I have been in the customer service industry for the past five years．My most recent experience has been handling incoming calls in the high-tech industry．One reason I particularly enjoy this business, and the challenges that go along with it, is the opportunity to connect with people．In my last job, I formed some significant customer relationships resulting in a 30 percent increase in sales in a matter of months．”

　　Next, mention your strengths and abilities：

　　“My real strength is my attention to detail．I pride myself on my reputation for following through and meeting deadlines．If I commit to do something, I make sure it gets done on time．”

　　Conclude with a statement about your current situation：

　　“What I'm looking for now is a company that values customer relations, where I can join a strong team and have a positive impact(影响)on customer relation and sales．”

　　Practice

　　Practice with your script until you feel confident about what you want to emphasize in your statement．Your script should help you stay on track, but you shouldn't memorize it．

　　Even if you are not asked this type of question to begin the interview, this preparation will help you focus on what you have to offer．You'll also find that you can use the information in this exercise to assist you in answering other questions．The more you can talk about your product-you, the better chance you will have at selling it．

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　　A car needs gas to run and your body also needs food to work for you．Eating the right kind of food is very important．It can keep your body strong, so take care of what you eat．

　　There are four main food groups altogether．The dairy products group has food like milk, cheese and sour milk．The other three groups are the meat and fish group, the fruit and vegetable group, and the bread and rice group．Each meal should have at least one food from all the four main groups．With all these food together you will be given enough energy during the day．

　　It is easy to get into bad eating habits．You may eat your breakfast in a hurry to get to school on time．Or you may not have time for a good lunch．It may seem easy to finish your supper with fish and chips all the time．But you will find yourself tired during these days and you can not think quickly．

　　Watching what you eat will help keep your body healthy and strong．It is also good to take some exercise．It will help you eat more if you take a walk or play games in the open air．Having a good eating habit with some exercise is the key to your health．

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The Ice Hotel

　　Are you going into skiing? Is winter your favorite time of year? If you like snow and ice, maybe you should stay at Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada．But, you can only check in at this hotel during the winter．Why ? Because this hotel is built every December．It has 32 rooms and 80 people can stay there each night．The hotel even has a movie theatre, art gallery, and church．Of course, all of these parts of the hotel are made of ice．In fact, all the furniture, art, lights, and even plates and drinking glasses are made out of ice．

　　Because this hotel is so unusual, it is becoming very popular．People from all over the world come to the Ice Hotel to look at the fantastic ice art, drink and eat from designed ice dishes and experience the unique atmosphere(独特的气氛)．Some couples have even gotten married in the hotel's ice church．But all these guests keep their winter coats on! Because of all the ice, the temperature inside the hotel is always between-2℃and-5℃．Surprisingly, sleeping is not a problem in the freezing cold hotel rooms．Every guest gets a special cold-weather sleeping bag and some fur blankets．These keep the room cozy and warm until morning．

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