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　　Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young．They build their homes about 4.6 m above the river, an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young．It is called the hoatzin．

　　In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside．The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin．Its nearest relatives are the common bires, cuckoos．Its most striking feature, though is only found in the young．

　　Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip．Using these four claws, together with the beak(喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive bires must have done．When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lost their claws．the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20∶00, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two seven birds for producing purposes．

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　　EDGEWOOD-EVERY morning at Dixie Heights High School,customers pour into a special experiment;the district's first coffee run mostly by students with special learning needs．

　　Well before classes start,students and teachers order Lattes Sappuccinos and Hot Chocolates．Then,durning the first period teachers call in orders on their room phones,and students make deliveries．

　　By closing tome at 9.20 a. m．,the shop usually sells 90 drinks．

　　“Whoever made the chi tea, Ms．Schatzman says it was good,' Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher．

　　The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition．Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school．

　　They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with then affairs．They keep a umecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers．

　　Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia．

　　Not that it was easy．Chevaliver's first problem to overcome was product-related．Should school be selling coffee?What about sugar content?

　　Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped．She made sure all the drinks, which use non fat milk, fell within nutrition(营养)guidelines．

　　The whole school has joined in to help．

　　Teachers agreed to give up their lounge(休息室)in the mornings．Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall．Business students designed the paychecks．The basketball team helped pay for cups．

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Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare’s Word

　　Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and where he grew up．The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare's family until 1806．The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world, for over 250 years．

　　Enter through the Visitors' Centre and see the highlypraised exhibition Shakespeare's Word, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare．

　　Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up．

　　Discover esamples of furniture and needle work from Shakespeare's period．

　　Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden, planted with trees and flowers mentioned in poet's works．

　　The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map ;pearest is Windsor Street(3 minytes' walk)．

　　&The House may present difficulties but the Visitors' Centre, its exhibition, and the garden are accessible(可劲的)to wheelchair users．

　　The Shakespeare Coffee House(opposite the Birthplace)．

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　　The need to feed a growing population is putting much pressure on the world's supply of water．With 97％ of the world's water too salty to be drunk or used in agriculture, the worldwide supply of water needs careful management, especially in agriculture．Although the idea of a water shortage(短缺)seems strange to someone fortunate enough to live in a high rainfull country, many of the world's agricultural industries experience constant water shortages．

　　Although dams can be built to store water for agricultural use in dry areas and dry seaons, the costs of water redistribution(重新分配)are very high．Notonly is there the cost of the engineering itself, but there is also an environmental cost to be considered．Where valleys(山谷)are flooded to create dams, houses are lost and wildlife homes destroyed．Besides, water many flow easily through pipes to fields,but it cannot be transported from one side of the world to the other．Each country must therefore rely on the management of its own water to supply its farming requirements．

　　This is particularly troubling ro countries with agricultural industries in areas dependent on irrigation(灌溉)．In Texas, farmers' overuse of irrigation water be resulted in a 25％ redcution of the water stores．In the Central Valley area of south eastern USA, a huge water engineering project provided water for farming in dry vallege, but much of the water use has been poorly managed．

　　Saudi Arabia's attempts to grow wheat in desert areas have been the pumping of huge quantities of irrigation water from underground reserves．Because there is no rainfall in these areas, such reserves can only decrease, and it is believed that fifty years of pumping will see them run dry．

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　　My father was 44 and knew he wasn't going to male it to 45．He wrote me a letter and hoped that something in it would help me for the rest of my life．

　　Since the day 1 was 12 and first read his letter, some of his words have lived in my beart．One it aways times out．“Right now, you are pretending to be a time-killer．But I know that one hay, you will do something great that will set you among the very best．”Knowing that my dad believed in me gave me permission to believe in myself．“You will do something great．”He didn't know what that would be, and neither did I, but at times in my life when I've felt proud of myself, I remember his words and wish he were here so I could ask．“Is this what you were talking about, Dad?Should I keep going?”

　　A long way frim 12 now, I realize hew would have been proud when I made any progress．Lately, thongn．I've come to believe he'd want me to move on to winat com next: to be nrood of and believe in, somebody else．It's time to start writing my own letters to my children．Our children look to us with the same unanswered question we had．Our kids don't hold back because they're afraid to fail．They're only afraid of failing us．They don't worry about being disappointed．Their fear－as mine was until my father's letter－is of being a disappointment．

　　Give your chikdren permission to succeed．They're witing for you to believe in them．I always knew way parents loved me．But trust my That elic will be more comlece, that love will be more real, and their belief in the nelces whi be greater if you write the words on their hearts;“Don't worry; you'll do something great．”Not having that blessing from their parents may be the only thing holding them back．

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　　American cities are similar to other cities around the world; In every country．Cities reflect the values of the culture．American cities are changing, just as American society is changing．

　　After Wolld Wa Ⅱ,the population of most large American cities decreased; bowever．The populaton In omthe Sun Belt cities increased．Los Angeles and Houston are eitit where populatfon shife(转移)to and from the oity reflect the changing values of Amorican society．In the late 1940s and early 1950s,city residents(居民)became wealthier．They had more children so they needed more space, They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes．They bought houses in the suburbs(郊区)．

　　Now things are changing．The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults．Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities．They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest．Many young professionals are moving back into city．They prefer the city to the burbs because their jobs are there; or they jus enjoy the excitement and possibii that the city offers．

　　his people shift is bringing problems as well as benefits．Countless poot people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent．In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities．

　　Only a few years ago, people though that the older American cities were dying．Some city residents now see a bright, new fiture, Others see only problems and comfiels the thing is sure many dying cities are alive again．

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　　1．Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?

　　It can take five hours to go west-east from New York(NY)to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY．The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon know as the jet(喷射)stream．The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic．The planes movement a constams air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when the air moving with the wind than in the opposite direction．

　　2．What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?

　　Supposing we could magically turn off gravity．Would buildings and other structures float away?What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth．The Earth is moving at quite a speed moving at over a thousand miles per hour．If you turn something round your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the strong go of the string．Things not attacked to the Earth would fly off in a straight line．People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling．Most things would fly off into space．

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　　The engineer Camillo Olivetti was 40 years old when he started the company in 1908．At his factory in lvera, he designed and produced the first Italian typewriter．Today the company's head office is still in Ivrea, near Turin, but the company is much lareer than it was in those days and there are offices all around the world．

　　By 1930 there was a staff of 700 and the company turned out 13,000 machines a year．Some went to customers in Italy, but Olivetti exported more typewriters to other countries．

　　Camilllo's son, Adriano, started working for the company in 1924 and later he became the boss．He introduecd a standard speed for the production line and he employed technology and desion specialists．The company developed new and better typewriters and the calculators(计算器)．In 1959 it prodyced the ELLA computer system．This was the first mainframe(主机)computer designed and brade in Italy．

　　After Adriano died in 1960, the company had a period of financial problems．Other companies, especially the Janpanese, made faster progress in electronic technology than the Italian company．

　　In 1978, Carlo de Benedetti became the new boss．Olivetti increased its marking and service networks and made agreements with other companies to design and produce more advanced office equipment．Soon it became one, of the world's leading companies in informationg technology and communications．There are now five independent companies in the Olivetti group-one for personal computers,one for other office equipment, one for systerms and servicse, and two for telecommunications．

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　　Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts a few minutes or a few hours．This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact, it is quite normal．For some people, though, loneliness can last for years．Psychologists(心理学家)are studying this phenomenon in an attempt to better understand long-term loneliness．These researchers have already identified three different types of loneliness．

　　The first kind of loneliness is temporary．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation－for example, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place．Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year．Situational loneliness is easy to understand and to predict．

　　The third kind of loneliness is the most severe．Unlike the second type, chronic(慢性的)loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing．Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition．

　　Many researchers agree that the loneliest people are between the ages 18 and 25, so a group of psychologists decided to study a group of college students．They found that more than 50% of the students were situationally lonely at the beginning of the term as a result of their new circumstances, but had adjusted after a few months．Thirteen percent were still lonely after seven months due to shyness and fear．They felt very uncomfortable meeting strangers, even though they understood that their fear was not reasonable．The situationally lonely students overcame their loneliness by making new friends, but the chronically lonely remained unhappy because they were afraid to do so．

　　Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons．First of all, they are unhappy and unable to socialize．Secondly, researchers have found a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illnesses such as heart disease．While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, chronic loneliness can be a very sad, and sometimes dangerous, condition．

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　　When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station．When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street．But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University．And her amazing story has inspired a movie,“Homeless to Harvard：The Liz Murray Story”, shown in late April．

　　Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination．Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents．There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house．Liz was the only member of the family who had a job．Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old．The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life．Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it．

　　Liz went back to school．She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless．At night, she lived on the streets．“What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other way of being．I had only experienced a small part of the society,”she wrote in her book Breaking Night．

　　She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on．She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that“next to nothing could hold me down”．She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University．But Liz decided to leave her top university for a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS．“I love my parents so much．They are drug addicts．But I never forget that they love me all the time．”

　　Liz wants moviegoers(影迷)to come away with the idea that changing your life is“as simple as making a decision”．