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　　If you and your friends wish to share a secret, you can write it in code, and no one else will be able to read it．Codes are one way of writing in secret．Ciphers(暗码)are another．In a code, each word is written as a secret word or number．In a cipher each letter is changed．

　　Codes and ciphers have played an important role in the history of the world．Julius Caesar, the Roman ruler who defeated almost all the countries in Europe about 2,000 years ago, used a cipher when he sent secret messages to his troops．During the American Revolution, George Washington's spies used a kind of code to send him information about the enemy before his military(军事的)action．In World War II, the Americans“broke”, or“figured out”, Japan's most important navy codes and got enough information to destroy a powerful Japanese fleet．

　　Storekeepers use codes to mark their goods．The codes show how much was paid for the goods or when they were added to the stock(商品)．Businessmen use codes to hide plans from their business enemies．Sometimes personal letters or diaries are written in code．Many people enjoy figuring out codes and ciphers simply as a hobby．

　　In the 16^th century, codes and ciphers were very popular among scientists．They wrote messages to each other in this way, so that no one else would learn their secrets．Geronimo Gardano, an Italian astrologer(星相家), mathematician, and doctor, invented the trellis cipher．He took two sheets of paper and cut exactly the same holes in each one．Then he sent one sheet, which he called“a trellis”, to a friend and kept the other for himself．Whenever he wanted to write a message, he put his trellis over a clean sheet of paper and wrote the secret message through the holes．Then he removed the trellis and filled the rest of the paper with words that would make sense．When his friend received it, he put his trellis over the writing and read the secret message．

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　　There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown．They probably came about just to give children something to do．

　　In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with others．In societies where social roles are rigidly(严格地)determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers．This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world．

　　What is important about the history of toys is not how much they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same．The changes have been mostly in skilled workmanship and technology．It is the universality(普遍性)of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence(持久性)to the present that is surprising．In Egypt, America, China, Japan and among the Arctic peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared．Changes depended on local customs and ways of life because toys copy their surroundings．Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles．

　　Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have no technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use．The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of rise．The progress from a rattle(拨浪鼓)used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by a baby today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness．Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials．

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　　When a rather dirty, poorly dressed person kneels at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins, do you hurry on, not knowing what to do, or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money?What should our attitude to beggars be?There can be no question that the world is full of terribly sad stories．It must be terrible to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from, so it seems cruel not to give some money to beggars．

　　Certainly, most of the world's great religions order us to be open-hearted and share what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves．But has the world changed?Maybe what was morally right in the old days, when one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune and needed help, is no longer practiced by all the people．Quite a few people will not give to beggars．Let us look at their arguments．

　　Firstly, some believe that many city beggars dress up on purpose to look pitiable and actually make a good living from begging．Giving to beggars only encourages this sort of evil(恶行)．

　　Secondly, there is the worry that the money you give will be spent on beer, wine or drugs．

　　Thirdly, there is the opinion that there is no real excuse for begging．One might be poor, but that is not the reason for losing one's sense of pride and self-dependence．

　　Related to this is the opinion that the problem should be dealt with by the government rather than by ordinary people．Some people think beggars should go to the local government department and receive help．

　　It is hard to come to any final conclusion; there are various cases and we must deal with them differently．A few coins can save a life in some situations, and even if the money is wasted, that does not take away the moral goodness of the giver．

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　　Machines in the home have a short history．Sewing machines, washing machines and tumble dries are common enough today, but a hundred years ago, few people could even imagine such things．However, inventors have designed and built a wide range of household machines since then．In most cases the inventor tried to patent his machine, to stop anyone copying it．If the machine became popular, the inventor could make a lot of money．

　　In 1790 the first sewing machine was patented．The inventor was an Englishman called Thomas Saint．There was nothing to match his machine for forty years, and then someone built a similar device．He was a Frenchman, Bartelemy Thimonier．Neither of these early machines worked very well, however．It wasn't until 1846 that an inventor came up with a really efficient sewing machine．He was an American, Elias Howe and his machine was good enough to beat five skilled sewing women．He didn't make much money from it, however．The first commercially successful sewing machine was patented by Isaac Singer five years later．

　　Today, we take washing machines for granted, but there was none before 1869．The revolving drum(旋转桶)of that first machine set a pattern for the future, but it was crude by today's standards．The drum was turned by hand, and needed a lot of effort．Eight years passed before someone produced an electric washing machine．The world had to wait even longer for a machine to dry clothes．The first spin-drier was another American invention, patented in 1924; but it was 20 years before such machines were widely used．

　　It was yet another American, called Bissell, who introduced the carpet sweeper．He patented the original machine back in 1876．It didn't pick up dirt very well, but it was quicker than a dustpan and brush．Thirty-six years later, even the carpet sweeper was old-fashioned：modern homes now have a vacuum cleaner with an electric motor to suck the dust．

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　　“Colour”and“color”,“favourite”and“favorite”…Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a“u”?Is it because they are lazy?

　　Of course not．In fact, the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster(1758－1843)．He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger．Linguists(语言学家)celebrated his 250^th birthday on October 16^th．After the Revolutionary War(1775－1783), Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary, rather than rely on British versions(版本)．He dropped the British“u”in some words．And he changed“centre”into“center”and“theatre”into“theater”for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded．

　　Webster wasn't a bit shy about expressing his opinions．While in defining(定义)“preposterous”(unreasonable), he wrote：“A Republican government in the hands of females is preposterous．”

　　Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings．He also added local words．His dictionary was widely used in schools．Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom．

　　“He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity,”said Joshua Kendall, who is working on a biography(传记)about Webster．“He at last bonded(联合)us through our language．”

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　　Pulling heavy suitcases all day in the summer is hard work, especially when you're a thin 14-year-old．That was me in 1940－the youngest and smallest baggage boy at New York City's Pennsylvania Railway Station．

　　After just a few days on the job, I began noticing that the other fellows were overcharging passengers．I'd like to join them, thinking,“Everyone else is doing it．”

　　When I got home that night, I told my dad what I wanted to do．“You give an honest day's work,”he said, looking at me straight in the eye．“They're paying you．If they want to do that, you let them do that．”

　　I followed my dad's advice for the rest of that summer and have lived by his words ever since．

　　Of all the jobs I've had, it was my experience at Pennsylvania Railway Station that has stuck with me．Now I teach my players to have respect for other people and their possessions．Being a member of a team is a totally shared experience．If one person steals, it destroys trust and hurts everyone．I can put up with many things, but not with people who steal．If one of my players were caught stealing, he'd be gone．

　　Whether you're on a sports team, in an office or a member of a family, if you can't trust one another, there's going to be trouble．

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　　Shopping is not as simple as you may think!There are all sorts of tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand of product on the shelf．Colouring, for example, varies according to what the producers are trying to sell．Health foods are packaged(包装)in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colours．Ice cream packets are often blue and expensive goods, like chocolates, are gold or silver．

　　When some kind of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that the colours turned the customers off because they made the product look weak and ineffective．

　　Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package－blue because we think of it as safe, and white as calm．The size of a product can attract a shopper．But quite often a bottle doesn't contain as much as it appears to．

　　It is believed that the better-known companies spend, on average, 70 per cent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging!

　　The most successful producers know that it's not enough to have a good product．The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years has used pretty little girls to promote(推销)their goods, came to the conclusion：“Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius to sell it．”

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　　If the world were a village of 1,000 people it would include：

　　●584 Asians

　　●124 Africans

　　●95 Eastern and Western Europeans

　　●84 Latin Americans

　　●55 former Soviets(including Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, and other national groups)

　　●52 North Americans

　　●6 Australians and New Zealanders

　　The people of the village would speak：

　　●165 Mandarin

　　●86 English

　　●83 Hindu/Urdu

　　●64 Spanish

　　●58 Russian

　　●37 Arabic

　　The above list covers the mother tongues of only half the village．

　　One-third of the people in the village are children, and only 60 are over the age of 65．Just under half of the married women in the village have access to modem equipments．

　　This year 28 babies will be born．Ten people will die, 3 of them for lack of food, 1 from cancer．Two of the deaths will be of babies born within the year．With the 28 births and 10 deaths, the population of the village next year will be 1,018．

　　In this village of 1,000 persons, 200 people receive 75 percent of the income; another 200 receive only 2 percent of the income．

　　About one-third have access to clean, safe drinking water．

　　Of the 670 adults in the village, half can not read nor write．

　　The village has a total yearly budget, public and private, of over ＄3 million－＄3 ,000 per person if it is distributed evenly．Of the total ＄3 million：

　　＄181,000 goes to weapons and warfare

　　＄159,000 to education

　　＄132,000 to health care

　　These weapons are under the control of just 100 of the people．The other 900 are watching them with deep anxiety, wondering whether they can learn to get along together．

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　　I fell in love with England because it was quaint(古雅)－all those little houses, looking terribly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls' houses．I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London．I've slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it's an ugly town now．

　　Things have changed．For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good manners．The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners－people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing．

　　I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places．You're forced to live indoors．In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs．To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman．The cafes are not terribly nice．

　　As a woman, I feel unsafe here．I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p.m．I used to use it, but now I'm afraid．

　　The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England．My family is well united and that's typically French．In Middlesex I had a neighbour who is 82 now．His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone．