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　　When I was sixteen years old, I made my first visit to the United States．It wasn't the first time I had been abroad．Like most English children, I learned French at school．And I had often been to France, so I was used to(习惯于)speaking a foreign language to people who didn't understand French．But when I went to America I was really looking forward to having a nice easy holiday without any language problem．

　　How wrong I was! The misunderstanding began at the airport．I was looking for a public telephone to give my American friend Danny a call and tell her that I had arrived．A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could help me．

　　“Yes”, I said,“I want to give my friend a ring．”

　　“Well, that's nice,”he said,“Are you getting married? But aren't you a bit young?”

　　“Who is talking about marriage?”I replied．“I only want to give my friend a ring to tell her I've arrived．Can you tell me where there is a phone box?”“Oh,”he said,“There is a phone downstairs．”When at last we met, Danny explained the misunderstanding to me．“Don't worry,”he said to me．“I had so many difficulties at first．There are lots of words which American use differently in meaning from British．You'll soon get used to all the funny things they say．Most of the time, British and American people understand each other!”

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　　Are you interested in the following course? Please read them and make a decision soon．

　　A．Understanding computers

　　This twelve-hour course is for people who do not know very much about computers but who need to learn about them．You will learn what computers are，what they can and can’t do，and how to use them．

　　Course fee：＄75 Jan．7，14，21，28 Sat．9∶00～11∶50a.m.

　　Equipment fee：＄10．

　　Joseph Saunders is a professor of computer science at New Urban University．He has over twelve years of experience in the computer field．

　　B．Stopping smoking

　　Do you want to stop smoking? Have you already tried to stop smoking using the latest methods? You can stop smoking and this special course will help you do it．

　　Course fee：＄30 Jan．4，11，18，25 Mon．4∶00～7∶00p.m.

　　Doctor John Coode is a practicing psychologist who has helped hundreds of people stop smoking．

　　C．Typing

　　This course is for these who want to learn to type，as well as those who want to make their typing better．The course is individualized．You are tested in the first class and begin practicing at one of the eight different skill levels．This allows you to learn at your own speed．Each program lasts 20 hours．Bring your own paper．

　　Course fee：＄125 Material fee：＄25

　　Two hours each evening for two weeks．This course is taught by a number of best business education teachers who have successfully taught typing course before．

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　　Isn't it astonishing how much time we spend talking about food? “Have you ever eaten…?” “What did you have for lunch?” and so on．And yet when you travel from one country to another, you will find that people have quite different feelings about food．People often feel that what they eat is normal(正常)and that what other people eat is strange or silly．In most parts of Asia, for example, no meal is complete without rice．In England, people eat potatoes every day．In the Middle East, bread is the main part of every meal．Eating like so many things we do, becomes a habit which is difficult to change．Americans like to drink a lot of orange juice and coffee．The English drink tea four or five times every day．Australians drink a great deal of beer, and the French drink wine every day．

　　The sort of meat people like to eat also differs from one country to another．Horse meat is thought to be delicious in France．In Hong Kong, some people enjoy eating snakes．New Zealander eat sheep, but they never eat goat meat．The Japanese don't like to eat sheep meat because of its smell, but they enjoy eating raw fish(生鱼)．

　　So it seems that although eating is a topic we can talk about for hours, there is very little common sense in what we say it．People everywhere enjoy eating what they have always eaten, and there is very little we can do to change our eating habits．

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　　People are so busy these days that many people have no time to cook．This becomes a problem, because most families love home cooking! The food tastes good and warm, and a family meal brings everyone together．In some families, meals are often the only times everyone sees one another at the same time．

　　Another reason why people enjoy home cooking is that it is often a way of showing love．A parent who makes some cookies(小甜饼)is not just satisfying a child’s sweet tooth．She or he is sending a message．The message says, “I care about you enough to spend an hour making cooking you will eat up in 15 minutes if I let you．”

　　There is also something about the smell of home cooking．The smell of home cooking pleases people of all ages．It makes most of us feel good and loved- even if we are the ones doing it．Next time you smell a cake making, stop for a moment and pay attention to your mood(心情)．

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On New Year’s Eve

　　At midnight on New Year’s Eve, people in Rome, Italy, throw out all the things they no longer want．The streets are filled with old chairs, beds, clothes and dishes．In Madrid, Spain, the new year comes in more quietly．People flock to the main square．Each holds a bag of grapes．As the clock strikes twelve, the people eat the grapes－one for each stroke．

　　In Tokyo people eat noodles on New Year’s Eve．This food is said to bring long life．Early the next morning, some Japanese families climb Mount Fuji．There they watch the first sunrise of the new year．

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　　Vitamin D is important for health and growth．It is used by the body to form strong bones and teeth．That is why growing children need it．

　　Vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin．It forms when the skin is bared to the sun．Long before people knew what Vitamin D was, they learned that sunshine was important．Poor children lived in crowded slums(贫民区)．And they were often ill with rickets(软骨病)．In England a tax was once placed on windows．Builders put few windows in houses．Rickets became so common that it was called the England disease．

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　　In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning．If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and requires immediate attention．The same meaning is attached to telephone calls made after 11∶00 p.m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he assumes(想当然地认为)it's a matter of life and death．The time chosen for the call communicates its importance．

　　In social life, time plays a very important part．In the U.S.A.．guests tend to feel they are not highly regarded if the attention to a dinner party is extended only three or four days before the party date．But it is not true in all countries．In other areas of the world, it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten．The meaning of time differs in different parts of the world．Thus, misunderstandings arise(产生) between people from cultures that treat time differently．Promptness is valued highly in American life, for example．If people are not prompt, they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible．In the U.S. no one would think if keeping a business associate waiting for an hour．It would be too impolite．A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to make a short apology．If he is less than 5 minutes late, he will say a few words of explanation, though perhaps he will not complete the sentence．

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　　Watercolor is the oldest paints known．It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the wall of caves by mixing the natural colors found in the earth with water．

　　Fresco(壁画), one of the greatest art forms, is done with watercolor, it is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster(灰泥)．Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelos' works in the Sistine Chapel, very few know they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolor painting in the world．

　　The invention of oil painting by the Glemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go downhill, and for the next several centuries watercolor was used mainly for doing sketches or as tool for study．It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolor as a serious art form．The English have widely-known love for the outdoors and also for small, private pictures．The softness of watercolor had a remarkably strong attraction for them．

　　The popularity of watercolor continued to grow until the twentieth century．The United States passed England a s the center of watercolor, producing such well-known watercolor artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth．

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★This Week’s Highlights

　　●Visit the new College of Engineering Alumni Web for career services．

　　●coming events, photo collections, and career services．

　　●Reunion Weekend 2004 is just around the corner, and we invite you back to BU to take part in all the fun．

★BU Breaking News

　　□Boston University Professor demands Napping at the Workplace in His Speech．(3/18)

　　□Boston University Hosts Discussion on Putin, U．S．-Russian ties for Future．(3/11)

　　□BU Physicist Receives Boltzmann Award For Excellent Work In Physics at the Conference．(3/8)

★Features

　　□Learn more about the Young Alumni Council, serving alumni up to 15 years out of BU．

　　□Offer students jobs for earning income to pay their taxes．

★Student Village will be the center of BU life．

　　□Four BU students share their home schooling experiences, and the lessons they learned．

　　□Scientists at the South End will study the world’s most dangerous microbes(微生物), and develop measures to bioterrorism．

　　The Alumni Magazine

　　Winter 2003

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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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