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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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　　Mr. Frank shot well and once he had come in fourth in a competition．

　　Then he went to a big city on business．There he joined the local rifle club．The club had a very good team, which used to take part in a lot of important shooting competitions．One of these took place while Frank was with them．But one of the members of the club's team suddenly fell ill just before the match．The captain had heard of Mr. Frank．He therefore invited Mr. Frank to take the sick man's place．

　　Mr. Frank felt greatly happy to be asked to shoot for such a good team, but he also felt very nervous, because he was afraid of making a fool of himself．

　　In fact, he was so nervous that he could not keep his hands from trembling while he was shooting, with the result that he did very badly in the competition．When he took his score card to his captain, he said：“After seeing my score, I want to go outside and shoot myself．”The captain looked at the card for a few seconds and then said,“Well, you'd better take two bullets with you if you want to do that．”

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A Father’s day is a day set aside for honouring fathers in church services and in the home．It’s celebrated in the U．S．in the third Sunday of June．This idea was begun by Mrs John Bruces Dodd, who in 1909 persuaded an organization in Washington to salute fathers with special church services．The idea was officially agreed to by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916．In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge suggested national celebration of the day to form closer relations between fathers and their children, and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their duties．The red or white rose is recognized as the official Father’s Day flower．

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　　What to do if a fire starts?

　　Imagine it’s late at night．You hear the smoke detectors go off．You smell smoke when you wake up．Do you know what to do?

　　If a fire starts in your home, remember your escape plan and leave as quickly as possible．Keep the following things in mind to make a safe escape．

　　●Call “Fire!” to warn everyone in your family．

　　●If you know where the fire is, close as many doors as possible between you and the fire．

　　●If you’re in bed, roll out of bed and onto the floor．Crawl on the floor next to a wall．Being near the ground makes it easier to breathe．If possible, cover your mouth and nose with a wet cloth．

　　●Feel the entire surface of a door before you open it．If the door is warm or hot, do not open it．The fire is probably right outside your room．Find another way to leave the room．If the door is cool, open it a little．

　　●Look out and try to see the fire．If it is safe, leave the room．Remember to stay on the floor．

　　●If your clothes catch fire, stop immediately．Drop to the ground and roll．Remember：Stop, drop and roll．

　　●Call the fire department from outside and wait for help to arrive．

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　　Young people and older people do not always agree．They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing．But in one special programme in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way．

　　Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group．Everyone works several hours each day．They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work．Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village．Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses．The adults teach them these skills．

　　There are several free hours each day．Weekends are free, too．During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo- taking or painting．Others sit around and talk or sing．Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time．

　　When people live together, rules are necessary．In this programme the teenagers and the adults make the rules together．If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group．They talk about it and ask,“Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”

　　One of the teenagers has this to say about the experience：“You stop thinking only about yourself．You learn how to think about the group．”

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　　Most animals have little connection with animals of a different kind, unless they hunt them for food．Sometimes, however, two kinds of animals come together in a partnership which does good to both of them．You may have noticed some birds sitting on the backs of sheep．This is not because they want a ride, but because they find easy food in the parasites(寄生虫)on sheep．The sheep allow the birds to do so because they remove the cause of discomfort．So although they can manage without each other, they do better together．

　　Sometimes an animal has a plant partner．The relationship develops until the two partners cannot manage without each other．This is so in the corals(珊瑚)of the sea．In their skins they have tiny plants which act as“dustman”, taking some of the waste products from the corals and giving in return oxygen which the animal needs to breathe．If the plants are killed, or are even prevented from light so that they cannot live normally, the corals will die．

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　　The BBC was founded in 1922, including radio and television services．It is based at Broadcasting House in London．

　　The BBC is controlled by some governors chosen by the government, but these people have complete freedom and government can’t interfere(干预)．That is, the BBC is not the mouthpiece(喉舌)of the government．It has to be as fair as possible in giving radio and television time to, for example, political parties and religious groups．

　　There is a kind of interesting services in Britain－rental(租借)services．Many people prefer to rent their television sets instead of buying them．The rent for a black and white set is about 80 pence a week．The rent of a color set is more than twice that of a black and white set．If the sets go wrong, people can have them repaired free of charge or replaced immediately．

　　Everyone who owns or rents a television set has to pay a yearly licence, there is no advertising on BBC radio or television．It is from the sale of licence that the BBC gets most of its money．A licence for a black and white set costs 8 pounds, and for a color set 18 pounds a year．

　　There are four specialized radio channels, which broadcast different kinds of programmes．Radio I is mainly pop music．Radio 2 deals with light music, sports and other programmes．Radio 3 broadcasts serious music, talks on serious subjects etc．News broadcasts are mainly given by Radio 4．

　　There are special programmes for Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and certain parts of England．It also broadcasts programmes about Britain - in many different languages as well as in English to all parts of the world．

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　　“I would almost rather see you dead,” Robert S．Cassatt, a leading banker of Philadelphia, shouted when his twenty-year-old eldest daughter announced that she wanted to become an artist．In the 19th century, playing at drawing or painting on dishes was all right for a young lady, but serious work in art was not．And when the young lady's family ranked among the best of Philadelphia's social families, such an idea could not even be considered．That was how Mary Cassatt, born in 1844, began her struggle as an artist．She did not tremble before her father's anger．Instead, she opposed(抗拒)him with courage and at last made him change his mind．

　　Mary Cassatt gave up her social position(社会地位)and all thought of a husband and a family, which in those times was unthinkable for a young lady．In the end, after long years of hard work and perseverance(坚持), she became America's most important woman artist and the internationally recognized leading woman painter of the time．

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　　The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before：changes for the better, changes for the worse; changes that brought a lot of benefits to human beings, changes that put man in danger．Many things caused the changes, but, in my opinion, the most important was the progress in science．

　　Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened our views．It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure of matter and of the universe; it has brought us a better understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous development．Technology－the application of science－has made big advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life．

　　The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century will result in even greater advantages to human beings：in pure science－a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning; in applied science－a more reasonable sharing of material benefits, and better protection of the environment．

　　Sadly, however, there is another side to the picture．The creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind．The application of science and technology to the development and production of weapons of mass destruction has created a real danger to the continued existence of the human race on this planet．We have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons, Although their actual use has so far occurred only the Second World War, the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for us was so large that if the weapons had actually been used, the result could have been the ruin of the human race, as well as of many kinds of animals．

　　William Shakespeare said, “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn(沙线), good and il together．”The above brief review of the application of only one part of human activities－science seems to prove what Shakespeare said．But does it have to be so? Must the ill always go together with the good? Are we biologically programmed for war?

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　　When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars．

　　A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected．It is a treasure we should protect．Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you’ll have disagreements．And the result can be what you don’t want an end to the relationship．

　　The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended．First, don’t let your pride get in your way．Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open．Second, apologize when you’re wrong－even if you’ve been wronged．Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes．Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes．When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit that he has been wrong．Third, see things from your friend’s point of view．And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change．Making friends can sometimes seem easy．The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships．My suggestion：Consider friendship an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养)．

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