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　　What is your favourite colour?Ask famous persons like Cate Blanchett, Searlett Johansson and Bono, and maybe they will say“green．”That's not because these artists particularly like the colour green．Instead, they are interested in green fashion．

　　Green fashion is about making(and wearing)clothes that are good for humans, animals, and the Earth．In the past, green fashion made people think of hippies(嬉皮士)and ugly clothes．But today, green fashion is different．It is about looking good and caring about the Earth and other people．You can have interesting clothes and be green．

　　Around the world, green fashion is becoming popular．For example, the U．K．company People Tree sells men's and women's clothing and accessories(饰品)．They are made from natural fabrics(织物)like cotton and wool．Workers who make the clothes are from countries like Nepal, Kenya, and Bangladesh．People Tree pays the men and women good money for the clothes they create．

　　Singer Bono and his wife also started a clothing company called EDUN．When the clothes sell, EDUN uses most of the money to help people around the world．

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　　Driving to a friend's house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend's rooftops．I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it was that most city people?Myself included?Usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors．

　　My friend had also seen it．He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then．It had touched much of his life．

　　I know the feeling．Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends．We stayed in a forest rest-house with no electricity or running hot water．Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside．The moon grew to its fullest during our trip．Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys．Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard．It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence．And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply．

　　Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fibre-glass．We have televisions, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers．

　　Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought：before long, I would like to live in a small cottage．There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains And perhaps write, but not in anger．I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons．But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touch the moon．

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　　He had travelled thousands of miles in the hope of earning some money, but 18-year-old Lin Kongming never knew danger was waiting for him．

　　He and six other migrant workers from Fujian Province spent 36 hours in Iraq as international hostages(人质)．But luckily, they were set free last Tuesday morning, unharmed by the people who had taken them hostage．

　　After hard work by Chinese diplomats(外交官)in the region the Iraqi kidnappers(绑架者)agreed to hand them over to a local religious group．“The friendly relations between the Chinese and Iraqi peoples have played a key role in the release of the hostages,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan．China refused to join the US-led coalition(联军)in the Iraq war．

　　Since April 4, over 60 hostages from 12 countries, including America, Italy and Japan, have been taken in Iraq．Some have been released, others were killed．

　　The Iraqi resistance groups have started taking foreigners hostage in an attempt to force the US-led troops out of their country．As a result, many foreigners have left, fearing the situation will get worse．Some nations are also considering removing their troops from Iraq．Thailand has ordered its forces not to leave their camp and may bring them home before September as originally planned．New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is considering similar action．

　　But Dan Senor, spokesman for the US-led coalition in Baghdad, said that it would not negotiate(谈判)with “terrorists or kidnappers” to get hostages released．

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　　As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters．But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes(笔画)of each Chinese character when writing on paper．Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more．

　　Do you write by hand more or type more?In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school．And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students．Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer．

　　All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer．

　　It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer．And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education．But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear．

　　“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I'm familiar with it．”

　　“I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper．”

　　Many students don't feel this is something to worry about．Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

　　Many educators think differently．Shi Liwei , the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said“Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic(审美的)value．But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value．All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost．And handwriting contains the writer's emotion．Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality．Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them．”

　　To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand．

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　　Americans are proud of their variety-and individuality, yet they love and respect few things more than a uniform．whether it is the uniform of an elevator operator or the uniform of a five-star general．Why are uniforms so popular in the United States?

　　Among the arguments for uniforms, one of the first is that in the eyes of most people they look more professional than civilian(百姓的)clothes．People have become conditioned to expect superior quality from a man who wears a uniform．The television repairman who wears uniform tends to inspire more trust than one who appears in civilian clothes．Faith in the skill of a garage mechanic is increased by a uniform．What easier way is there for a nurse, a policeman, a barber, or a waiter to lose professional identity(身份)than to step out of uniform?

　　Uniforms also have many practical benefits．They save on other clothes．They save on laundry bills．They are tax-deductible(可减税的)．They are often more comfortable and more durable than civilian clothes．

　　Primary among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the consequent loss of individuality experienced by people who must wear them．Though there are many types of uniforms, the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it, without change, until retirement．When people look alike, they tend to think, speak, and act similarly, on the job at least．

　　Uniforms also give rise to some practical problems．Though they are long-lasting, often their initial expense is greater than the cost of civilian clothes．Some uniforms are also expensive to maintain, requiring professional dry cleaning rather than the home laundering possible with many types of civilian clothes．

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IS IT TIME TO GET－MP3

　　Your computer has been playing music for years, one CD at a time．Now hundreds of songs can be stored in your PC if they're in the MP3 format．

　　What is it?

　　MP3 compresses(压缩)music into small computer－friendly files．You access MP3 music several ways：Tunes can be downloaded from websites that have converted(转变)vast music libraries into MP3．Or you can prerecorded CDs into your PC and convert songs in minutes into MP3．Once MP3 music is on your PC's hard drive, you can play it through your computer's speakers,“burn”it onto blank CDs or swap(交换)MP3 files with friends using e－mail．

　　How much?

　　Software needed to play and convert MP3 music is often free．It is preinstalled(预先安装)on most new computers or can be downloaded from many websites, including MP3, com．Some MP3 sites are free．Just type at around ＄50 and can hold hundreds of songs．A blank CD on which you can record music costs about a dollar．

　　Advantages

　　MP3 turns your home PC into a jukebox(自动唱机)．Tiny MP3 players are the size of a deck of cards, making it easy to take hundreds of songs with you．

　　Disadvantages

　　You may find that music at many sites is limited．And some only allow you to listen rather than download offerings．Others let you download music that then can't be copied to MP3 players．And a growing number of new CDs make it impossible to copy songs to a computer．

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　　If you go to Brisbane, Australia, you can easily get a small book called Discover Brisbane free．Here is something about banks on page 49：

　　ANZ Banking Group

　　Cnr．Greek ＆ Queen Sts…………………………………………238 3228

　　Bank of New Zealand

　　410 Queen Street……………………………………………………221 0411

　　Bank of Queensland

　　229 Elizabeth Street…………………………………………………229 3122

　　Commonwealth Banking Group

　　240 Queen Street……………………………………………………237 3111

　　National Australia Bank Ltd

　　225 Adelaide Street…………………………………………………221 6422

　　Westpac Banking Corp

　　260 Queen Street……………………………………………………227 2666

　　Banking hours are Mon．－Thu．9∶30 am to 4 pm.Fri．9∶30 am to 5 pm.All banks close Sat．Sun．＆Public Holidays．

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　　We often think of future．We often wonder what the world would be like in a hundred years' time．

　　Think of space, perhaps a permanent(永久的)station on the moon will have been set up．Perhaps people will be able to visit the moon as tourists．Cheap rockets for space travel will have been developed, permitting long journeys throughout the solar system(太阳系)．When that time comes, people will be taking holidays in space and visiting other planets．Great progress will have been discovered for the most terrible of all diseases－cancer．Pollution is a problem we must solve．In a hundred years' time it will have been controlled．

　　All the world will have been developed－even Antarctica．There will be large cities in Antarctica．We already have supersonic(超音速的)flight, but in a hundred years' time we will have supersonic land travel as well．

　　We will have used up most of earth's land to build our cities, so floating cities will have been built．The Japanese already have plans for cities of this kind．And there will be cities under the sea．The first of these will have been completed．

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Dear Mr Perkins,

　　We would like to introduce ourselves．Our company was organized only two years ago, but we are one of the largest boat companies in California．As you know, your son bought a boat from us recently, and I think you know how pleased he is with our product．Also, John Webb, one of your son's friends, has bought a boat from us and, we understand, is very happy with his boat．We are always happy to know that our customers are satisfied．We are writing to you now because, as you know, your son has decided to buy a larger boat, and we need your signature on the loan(贷款)papers．The loan application(申请)has already been signed by Danny．As you will see, there is one form to fill out, and there are three contracts to sign．Danny's 26-foot boat was returned to our San Pedro Dock yesterday, and we are pleased to say that the new 36-foot“Challenger”will be delivered two weeks from today．It is being inspected by our manager right now．The auto-pilot(自动领航仪)has already been installed by our mechanic．It looks as though everything will be ready in time for delivery．All we need are the signed contracts from you．

　　Thank you．

Tony Valention

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Allan goes everywhere with Birgitta Anderson, a 54-year-old secretary．He moves around her office at work and goes shopping with her．‘Most people don't seem to mind Allan,' says Birgitta, who thinks he is wonderful．He's my fourth child,' she says．She may think of him and treat him that way, buying his food, paying his health bills and his taxes, but in fact Allan is a dog．Birgitta and Allan live in Sweden, a country where everyone is expected to lead an orderly life according to rules laid down by the government, which also provides(提供)a high level of care for its people．This level of care costs money．People in Sweden pay taxes on everything, so aren't surprised to find that owning a dog means yet more taxes．Some people are paying as much as 500 Swedish kronor in taxes a year for the right to keep their dog, money that is spent by the government on dog hospitals and sometimes medical treatment for a dog that falls ill．However, most such treatment is expensive, so owners often decide to pay health and even life insurance(保险)for their dog．In Sweden dog owners must pay for any damage(损坏)their dog does．A Swedish Kennel Club official explains what this means：if your dog runs out on the road and gets hit by a passing car you, as the owner, have to pay for any damage done to the car, even if your dog has been killed in the accident．