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　　The gray-haired lady can’t wait to leave the building to search for her dad．Unless watched, she will walk in the streets in an effort to find her father, who died 30 years ago．

　　Not all cases of Alzheimer’s disease look like this, but Alzheimer’s is a serious disease that is said to be the fourth or fifth leading cause of death for people over age 75．

　　It is said that about three percent of the U．S．population over age 65 have Alzheimer’s．In the early stages, people may show short term memory loss．Some may experience changes in personality, easy to be angry．As the disease progresses, patients might lose the ability to move and may be unable to speak or move at all．This progressive disease generally lasts 8 to 10 years before death occurs．

　　While no one is certain what causes these changes in the brain’s nerve fibers(神经纤维),their effect is certain．Alzheimer’s destroys not only the patients, but also spouses(配偶), friends and families．

　　What should you do if you notice progressive memory loss in yourself or a loved one?Have the person examined by a doctor who is a specialist in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease．Though many reasons other than Alzheimer’s disease may cause memory loss, its early symptoms and treatment may delay some of the most serious effects．

　　What feeling will you likely experience should a loved one suffer from Alzheimer’s disease?A person will often go through the various stages of sadness, shock, anger, and so on．If the spouse develops the disease, you may experience hurt and disappointment when he or she doesn’t remember you are married．

　　Life for the Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones will never be the same as the disease progresses, bringing a deep sorrow, loss and even anger towards God．No matter what feelings are present, facing them honestly will serve one better than burying them．

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　　Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers．But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son：suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents．“The door to his room is always shut．” Joanna noted．

　　Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter．“She used to cuddle up(蜷伏)with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark．“Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something．Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady．The problem is figuring out which time is which．”

　　Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds．“In fact, parents are first on the list．” said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers．“This completely changes during the teen years．” Riera explained．“They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last．”

　　Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them．To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them．And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young．Another thing parents should remember is that, to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them．

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　　What are you doing right now?Yes, you are reading this page．That also means you’re moving your eyes．You’re thinking．You’re breathing．You’re listening．Possibly you’re shifting(变换)positions．You’re also feeling things－this book, your chair, emotions．What lets you do all these things at the same time?Your brain．

　　Your brain is the control center of your body and mind．Without your brain you can’t do anything．Your brain has more than 100 billion nerve(神经)cells．Each nerve cell makes from 1,000 to 10,000 connections with other nerve cells．The nerve cells send impulses back and forth in your brain and to and from every part of your body．After you reach the age of 20, though, your brain cells start to die．This is common．However, if you suffer an illness, or injury, even more nerve cells die in your brain．When a nerve cell dies, the thousands of connections it made with other nerve cells are lost．

　　Until recently, scientists believed that the brain did not replace its dead cells．New studies, however, prove not．Scientists have found new nerve cells in a part of the brain called the hippocampus(海马区)．The hippocampus helps the brain form memories from new experiences．

　　The discovery of these new nerve cells is not a cure for anything yet．It gives hope, however, of a cure for brain damage from such things as epilepsy(癫痫病), Lou Gehrig’s disease, car accidents, and strokes．Someday scientists might be able to use the new cells to replace damaged brain cells．Such a cure, however, may take about ten years to develop．So at the same time, use your head-protect it!

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　　Bill Gates was born on October 28th, 1955．He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle．Their father, William H．Gates II, was a Seattle lawyer．Mary Gates, their late mother, was a school teacher．

　　Gates attended public elementary school before moving on to the private Lakeside School in North Seattle．It was at Lakeside that Gates began his career in personal computer soft- ware, programming computers at age 13．

　　In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, who is now Microsoft's president．While at Harvard, Gates developed a version(版本)of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer－the MITS Astair．In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen．Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desk-top and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers．

　　Gates' foresight has led to the success of Microsoft and the software industry．He plays an important role in the technical development of new products．Much of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in touch with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail．

　　In the dozen years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than ＄ 800 million to charities(慈善机构), including ＄ 200 million to the Gates Library Foundation to help libraries in North America make use of new technologies and the Information Age．

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　　Pet owners are being encouraged to take their animals to work, a move scientists say can be good for better work, workplace morale(士气), and the well-being of animals．

　　A study found that 25％ of Australian women would like to keep an office pet．Sue Chaseling of Pet-care Information Service said the practice of keeping office pets was good both for the people and the pets．“On the pets’ side, they are not left on their own and won’t feel lonely and unhappy,” she said．A study of major US companies showed that 73％ found office pets useful, while 27％ experienced a drop in absence．

　　Xarni Riggs has two cats walking around her Global Hair Salon in Paddington．“My customers love them．They are their favorites,” she said．“They are not troublesome．They know when to go and have a sleep in the sun．”

　　Little black BJ has spent nearly all his two years “working” at Punch Gallery in Balmain．Owner Iain Powell said he had had cats at the gallery for 15 years．“BJ often lies in the shop window and people walking past knock on the glass lightly,” he said．

　　Ms Chaseling said cats were popular in service industries because they could start a point of conversation．But she said owners had to make sure both their co-workers and the cats were comfortable．

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　　Tom arrived at the bus station quite early for a Paris bus．The bus for Paris would not leave until five to twelve．He saw a lot of people waiting in the station．Some were standing in line, and others were walking around．There was a group of schoolgirls．Their teacher was trying to keep them in line．Tom looked around, but there was no place for him to sit．

　　He walked into the station cafe．He looked up at the clock there．It was only twenty to twelve．He found a seat and sat down before a large mirror on the wall．Just then, Mike, one of Tom's workmates came in and sat with Tom．

　　"What time is your bus?" asked Mike．

　　"There's plenty of time yet," answered Tom．

　　"Well, I'll get you some more tea then," said Mike．

　　They talked while drinking．Then Tom looked at the clock again．"Oh!It's going backward!" he cried．"A few minutes ago it was twenty to twelve and now it's half past eleven．"

　　"You're looking at the clock in the mirror．" said Mike．Tom was so sad．The next bus was not to leave for another hour．Since then Tom has never liked mirrors．

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　　Polar bears depend on ice to hunt(猎取)for food in the Arctic Ocean．They climb up on the ice to look for seals and other animals．But scientists say sea ice is decreasing(减少)because of climate change．They say rising temperatures have reduces the area in which polar bears can hunt．

　　Recently, a number of studies found that future reductions(减少)of sea ice could result in a loss(消失)of many polar bears within fifty years．The studies found a direct link between sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and the health of polar bears．The scientists say the animals will disappear from the north coasts of Alaska and Russia in the next fifty years．The only polar bears to survive will be in Canada's far north and the west coast of Greenland．

　　The scientists found that almost two thirds of the world's nineteen polar bear populations will disappear from the earth by the middle of this century．The studies showed that three more groups of polar bears will disappear within seventy-five years．

　　Scientists say polar bears still can be saved．But they say the world must begin taking steps to reduce climate change to do this．The center for Biological Diversity says governments around the world need to reduce the release(释放)of pollution like CO₂ gas．

　　Scientists say one step toward this goal would be to include polar bears on America's list of endangered(有危险的)species．Then the government would be able to make sure that industrial activities do not threaten their survival．The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to examine the new findings when it considers whether polar bears should be included on the Endangered Species List．

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　　Most people know that the United States is made up of fifty states．However, few people know a lot about all fifty of them．Sufjan Stevens is a young American musician．He wants to change this situation．

　　Sufjan Stevens plans to make an album(专辑)about each of the fifty American states．During college, he played in several musical groups and recorded an album of his own music．However, he wanted to be a writer, not a musician．So after college he moved to New York City to study writing．

　　In New York, Stevens had trouble writing stories．He discovered that he missed music．He also discovered that most of his stories he did write were about his home state of Michigan．So, Sufjan Stevens decided to make an album of songs about Michigan．

　　Greetings from Michigan：the Great Lakes State was released(发行)three years ago．The album was a big success．Many young people and music critics liked it．Before long, Stevens announced that he wanted to make an album for every state．He called it his “fifty states project”．

　　Stevens chose Illinois as his next state．He read many books about Illinois．He studied police documents and old newspapers．He talked to people who live in the state．The CD Illinois was released last year．Critics loved the album．It won many awards．Illinois became popular at colleges throughout the United States．People said the CD sounded different from anything else they had ever heard．

　　Sufjan Stevens is keeping his next state a secret from reporters．People have said that he is writing about Oregon, Rhode Island, or Minnesota．However, no one but Stevens knows for sure．

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　　She is widely seen as proof(证据)that good looking can last forever．But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with Mona Lisa．

　　The health of the famous, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci(莱昂纳多·达芬奇)in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum．

　　“The thin wooden panel(嵌板)on which the Mona Lisa was painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said．Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world's most famous painting is not easy．Experts are not sure about the materials(材料)the Italian artist used and their chemical states．

　　Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile．“It is very interesting that when you're not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and when you look at her she stops,” said Professor Margaret Living Stone of Harvard University．“It's because direct vision is excellent at picking up details, but less suited to looking at shadows．Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows．”

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　　Dad was brought in the night．We heard every sound, but we pretended to be asleep．

　　Next morning he looked weak and thin, sitting in a chair by the kitchen fire．The light of the fire shone through his long empty sleeve．Everything went as usual．Grandma found something to do in the bedroom．Grandpa went out for some water．Mother, with her back to us, was getting the cakes ready for breakfast．

　　But nothing was right．When grandma came out of the bedroom, she walked on tiptoe(踮着脚)．When grandpa came back, he said nothing about the weather．At breakfast Mother passed us the fruit and said something, but her voice was too high．

　　At last my sister, Lou, pushed back her chair．“It's your turn to wash the dishes．” But I had washed the dishes the night before．I said nothing because it was not right to quarrel in front of Dad just home with the empty sleeve．

　　“It is your turn,” Lou said again．I looked at her in surprise．

　　“It is not,” I said because I suddenly remembered Mother had told us to go on as usual．

　　“Children, children,” Mother said in a quiet, glad kind of voice．

　　And Dad was smiling because he felt at home at last．