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Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave fast food waste in the street, an environment group called Keep Britain Tidy said the rodents(啮齿动物)were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were wandering in the streets, attracted by discarded burgers(夹饼), pizzas and crisps．“The rat population is on the rise and soon it’ll be as common to see a rodent on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson．The practice of dumping fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the trash－with young men the worst criminals－was behind the rise．According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain’s rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population．On average a rat can give birth every 24－28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a colony of 2,000 a year．Around 200 people a year get Weil’s Disease –an infection which can lead to liver or kidney(肝肾)failure and eventually death and which arrived in rat’s waste．To highlight the issue, Keep Britain Tidy launched a cinema ad entitled “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats –echoing the nightmare scene from James Herbert’s classic horror tale The Rats, in which mutant(突变异种)rodents begin to prey on(捕食)humans．

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　　OUR KIDS ARE AMAZING－especially compared with everybody else’s(who seem to cry all the time)．How do you show your love for your kids this holiday season? With toys that are smooth and colorful, interactive and exciting．And with ones that have educational value－because you are the boss．

1．FLAX ART HOSPITAL PUZZLE AND PLAY SET

　　Here is a toy that doesn’t need power－and the kids have to put it together themselves．This 50-piece puzzle set is made of soft-edged hardwood and makes a complete hospital, with an X-ray room．It also includes eight patients, a car and a driver．＄135; flaxart．com．

2．TINY LOVE ACTIVITY BALL

　　Sure, it’s cool, but this colorful baby toy also develops problem solving and motor skills．It has a head and legs, a magnetic(磁性的)hand and a tail．Suitable for little ones from 6 to 36 months．＄19.95; tinylove．com．

3．ROBOSAPIEN

　　This small, remote-control robot is really powerful．It performs 67 preprogrammed functions(功能), including throwing, kicking, picking up and dancing．You can even program your own function-which, sadly, does not include doing windows．＄99; robosapienonline．com．

4．MINI PEDAL CAR

　　Want a Mini Cooper but can’t fit the family inside? Get one for the kids．They can jump into this Mini car, which comes in hot orange with a single adjustable(可调的)seat, and ride away．But it could spoil them for that used car they’ll be driving when they turn 16．For ages 3 to 5．＄189; miniusa．com(click on “gear up,” then “Mini motoring gear”)．

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　　A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months．

　　The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20％－40％ that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30％of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue．

　　Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband．The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘)．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response．

　　Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time．Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．

　　In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible．

　　The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing．If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the markets will bring the product to market within about a year．

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　　The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper．Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的)when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree．Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said,“This is for you, Daddy．”

　　The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty．He yelled at her, stating,“Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?”The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried,“Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all．I blew kisses into the box．They're all for you, Daddy．”

　　The father was crushed．He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness．

　　Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child．It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there．

　　In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God．There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this．

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　　108 cities in China took part in World Car Free Day on Saturday to promote environmentally-friendly transport and ease increasingly grid-locked city streets．It’s a highlight of a nationwide urban public transport week．People were urged to take public transport, ride bikes or walk．

　　To help out, more than 200 new buses took to the streets．And the Beijing Subway laid on 10 more trains for rush hour．

　　A Beijing resident said, “Today is car free day, and I do find the traffic much better and the bus can go much faster．”

　　Another resident said, “I spent only half an hour to go to work．It took me twice as long before．Plus I can find seat on the bus today．”

　　But in some areas not signed up for traffic control, endless lines of cars can still be seen．

　　Some people say they just can’t do without their cars．

　　Another Beijing resident said, “Some people are willing to give up driving, but on certain days when I have to take my child to school or weekend classes, the public transport is so bad that I can’t do it without a car．”

　　But the concept of “green” traffic is catching on．People say they believe it’s the first and honest step in facing the serious traffic and environmental problems．

　　A driver said, “The car free day has a very important symbolic meaning．It does not mean that we must give up cars．It is to promote a concept, to encourage more people to contribute to the protection of the environment．”

　　The Ministry of Construction calculates “Car Free Day” will cut 3000 tons of emissions and save 33 million liters of gasoline．And it’s planning more frequent activities to raise public consciousness of energy conservation and environmental protection．

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　　Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family．The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room．Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement．As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it．When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem．”

　　The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable (好客的)farmer and his wife．After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest．When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears．Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field．

　　The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen? Why did you not watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused．“The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help．”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied．“When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall．Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal the wall so he couldn’t find it．Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife．I ask God if the angel could take the cow instead．Things aren’t always what they seem．”

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　　It doesn’t matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive．That’s what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin．Al Herpin, it was said, never slept．Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves．

　　Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey．They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind．So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made．But they were surprised．Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping．In fact, he did not even own a bed．He never needed one．

　　The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers．The doctors were puzzled by his strange continuous sleeplessness．They asked him a lot of questions, hoping to find an answer．They found only one answer that might explain this question．Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born．But that was all．Was this the real reason? No one could be sure．

　　Herpin died at the age of 94．

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　　Tug-of-war(拔河)is not only popular in China, but in many other countries．Their tug-of-war match is a little different from ours．They have eight players for each team, while we may have the match between two sides with equal men or women players．Of course, they are usually tall, strong and heavy．

　　For a tug-of-war match, we need a long thick rope．Each team stands at one end of the rope, holding it．Then they try to pull the center of the rope, marked in the ground towards each of their own sides．The team which succeeds in pulling the center of the rope away through a certain distance is the winner．

　　Many foreign sport experts think we don’t have to be tall, heavy and strong to play tug-of-war．We needn’t have endless energy, for a match lasts only a few minutes．The secret is good hands．The players must have big, strong and hard hands．Before they start the match, they put a mixture of oil and petrol on their hands so they can hold the rope better．

　　Many foreign experts say the best hands for tug-of-war belong to the sons of farmers．This is because they have to work hard when they are still very young．Farming is a good practice for this sport!

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