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　　A woman renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office was asked to state her occupation．She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself．

　　“What I mean is,”explained the recorder,“do you have a job, or are you just a…”

　　“Of course I have a job,”said Emily．“I'm a mother．”

　　“We don't list‘mother’as an occupation…‘housewife’covers it,”said the recorder．

　　One day I found myself in the same situation．The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title．“What is your occupation?”she asked．

　　The words simply popped out．“I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations．”

　　The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair．

　　I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire．

　　“Might I ask,”said the clerk with new interest,“Just what you do in this field?”

　　Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply,“I have a continuing program of research(what mother doesn't), in the lab and in the field(normally I would have said indoors and out)．Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities(any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day(24 is more like it)．But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money．”

　　There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out．

　　As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up(依托)by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants－ages 13, 7, and 3．

　　Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model(a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern．

　　I felt proud!I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable(不可缺少的)to mankind than“just another mother．”

　　Motherhood…What a glorious career!Especially when there's a title on the door．

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　　(Reuter, Jan.10,2006)China's power shortage eased in 2005, featuring a flourishing supply and demand, tight early in the year and afterward and experience a gradual alleviation, a senior official told a forum Saturday．

　　The country has been battling very great energy shortage as its economy roars ahead at full speed, seeing growth last year of 9.9 percent．

　　China consumed 2,468.9 gigawatt hours of electricity in 2005, up 13.45 percent over 2004 while the power supply hit 2474.7 gigawatt hours, up 12.8 percent over 2004, Wang yonggan, secretary-general of China Electricity Council(CEC), said．

　　He noted that the national and continuous power shortage in 2004 turned into regional, seasonal and temporary shortages in 2005．

　　Power-short provinces reduced from 26 in the beginning of 2005 to 11 in November．The country's then-most power-short was down by approximate 25 million kilowatts, according to official figures．

　　The growth rate of power consumption in 2005 declined by 1.73 percentage points than 2004, of which industry used 1,805.6 gigawatt hours of electricity, up 12.48 percent over 2004, while the growth rate went down 4.27 percentage points from the previous year, Wang said．

　　Output reduction of the high energy consuming industry contributed most to the alleviation, he said．The industry power consumption rate declined by 0.72 percentage points from 2004, 0.3 percentage points higher than in 2003, Wang said, adding that the industry power consumption hike was a lasting feature of China's industrialization．

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　　Who is the most charming man in the world?David Beckham, Brad Pit or Tom Cruise?Neither of them, at least in the eyes of a salesman surnamed Lin who claims to be the most attractive guy on the globe．

　　“Many people say that I am far more charming than the movie stars, say, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tse Ting Fung and I know this．I look young and mature．”“I believe no one can top me in appearance,”Lin said,“I am ten times more handsome than any one else．”“Handsome guys seldom brag about their outlooks, while the braggers are　anything but handsome,”Lin responded　to　those who may doubt that he is exaggerating about his appearance．

　　Lin, 165cm(5.4 feet)tall, called the news hotline of the Southern China Metropolis Daily earlier this month, asking the paper to help promote him into a celebrity．He offered to treat a dinner to anyone who can make him famous．“I'll be very grateful to my future patrons．They are ten times more important than my parents．I will pay back by inviting them to a meal,”Lin said．

　　Eager to become a star, Lin claimed that his face is more than enough to make him famous, though he was not gifted in arts and performing．When asked about the best-looking part on him, Lin alleged that each part is perfect and no defects can be found．“It's standard”was his reply to questions about his 165-cm stature．

　　Lin used to be a waiter and now working as a salesman at a market selling steel products．The 24-year-old man has never formally dated a girl though quite a number of women have shown interests in him, according to Lin．Whenever he is idle, he just looks into the mirror to enjoy his handsome appearance or posing for pictures, according to Lin．

　　“His illusion originates from narcissism,”a psychologist in Hainan University said, adding that narcissism can often make people feel too good about themselves．

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　　COMMUNITY EVENTS

　　Happy Living in Beijing

　　A special event for the whole family．There will be art works and musical performances by children from international schools, a speech on education planning＆income protection insurance by Tenbridge and an exhibition of original paintings and sculptures from the Beijing Central Art Gallery＆Cultural Venue．Staff from the Vista Clinic will give a talk on how to deal with medical emergencies．Free buffet, activities for children and lucky draws also．2 to 6 pm, February 25 at the Chateau Regalia Club House, Tianzhu, Shuiyi District．Please call 6585-9902-48 or email to keturah@bjcagallery.com．

　　Welsh Society Ball

　　For the growing number of Welsh people in Beijing, as well as people connected with Wales, the St David's Society(Welsh Society)Ball will be held at the Kerry Centre on March 4．Fifty singers from the Welsh Male Voice Choir will come all the way from the valleys to perform．Reserve your seats with Russell Probert at 6507-2617-12

　　Newcomers' network

　　Meet new friends and find useful information on living in Beijing through a cultural activity organized by the International Newcomers Network．30 yuan per person, including entrance, coffee and pastries．10 am, February 27 at the Athletic Club, 5/F Capital Mansions, 6 Xinyuan Nanlu, Chaoyang District．1355-2611-887 or email at innbeijing@hotmail.com

　　Guizhou tour

　　Follow the Chinese Culture Club to Guizhou, one of the best-kept regions in Southwest China．Unspoiled by tourism, Guizhou is famous for its stunning landscape such as limestone karst hills, jagged peaks and terraced rice paddies, as well as colorful ethnic minority cultures．This six-day tour will go into mountains and valleys of Yungui Plateau．Set off with Chinese Culture Club at 9 am, February 18 at CCC office, Kent Center, 29, Anjialou, Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District．6432-9341-29

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　　NEW YORK：Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez is using her starpower to rally support for a fellow Latina who is suffering from blood cancer．Lopez, 36, is urging Hispanics in New York City to donate blood marrow to help Janet Ovalles, a 29-year-old of Dominican descent(血统)who needs a transplant from a matching donor to survive．

　　“I am a young Hispanic woman, so is Janet．I could empathize with her situation so much,”Lopez said in a statement released Friday by DKMS, the bone marrow donor center that is organizing donor drives for Ovalles．

　　“These things just make you realize that we're all interconnected and depend on one another,”said Lopez, who is of Puerto Rican descent．

　　Doctors say that a bone marrow transplant is Ovalles' only chance for recovery－and the most suitable matches are from people of the same ethnic background．

　　But with Hispanics sharply underrepresented in the pool of registered donors, the prognosis is bleak．For Ovalles, there was no match in her family or among the 10 million registered donors worldwide．

　　“I am a walking time bomb,”Ovalles said in a recent interview．“If I don't find a donor, I will die．”

　　With Lopez calling attention to her cause, Ovalles hopes to find a matching donor at bone marrow drives．

　　“It's been very hard to recruit Hispanic bone marrow donors, but with Jennifer's help we really feel we can get the Hispanic community on board,”said Katharina Harf, head of DKMS．

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　　While many young celebrities, especially pretty women, are unwilling to talk about their humble origins, Lu Yan is never too shy to talk about her hometown a small village in northern Jiangxi Province．Surrounded by high mountains, silver stone mining is the major source of wealth in the town where she was born in 1981．When she goes home to visit, she has to take a train from the provincial capital Nanchang for more than an hour, then change to a bus for another hour and a half．

　　Lu is the eldest of three siblings．“We broke the family planning policy, because village people always want a son,”she said smiling．Lu wears clothes from big-name designers now, but when she was a child she often went several years without new clothes．“I grew tall so fast my mother thought buying new clothes was wasteful,”she said．She had no choice but to wear hand-me-downs from relatives．

　　Lu still remembers clearly her first“made to order”clothing．She picked cotton for a whole summer vacation and earned 90 yuan(US＄11)．She spent 6 yuan(US＄0.70)to take a bus to the county where she asked a tailor to make a coat according to a design in a magazine．“At that time, I thought it was a very modern design,”she said．It meant more to her than all the haute couture she owned later．

　　When she graduated from middle school, the 16-year-old Lu was 1.78 metres high．She left for Nanchang to study accounting．“My parents thought the major would help me find a job,”she said．She was self-conscious of her height and began walking hunched over．“I always bowed．As I grew up, I started to know that my posture was not good, so I attended a figure-building class,”she said．Little did she know that it would lead her to a bright future．

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　　When you visit America, you will see the word Motel on signs and notice boards．It is made up of“motor”and“hotel”and it is really a hotel for people who arrive by car(how-ever, you don't need a car to stay at one)．You have to pay when you arrive for your room, which usually has a bath．Meals are not provided, but there will certainly be a cafeteria(自助餐馆)．Americans eat a lot of salads and sandwiches．Along the main roads there are a lot of motels．Each tries to offer more than next．Some provide television in every bedroom; others have swimming pools; and so on．Motels are especially useful when you are in the country, far from a town or city．You will also find them in the big National Parks．

　　In these great National Parks, you may meet guests you don't expect to see．An American friend told me a little story．In the middle of a moonless night she heard strange noises outside her motel window in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming．Thinking it might be a thief, she jumped out of bed, opened the door and crept towards a dark shadow．As she got close, she saw the thief．She was dreadfully frightened：it wasn't a human thief－it was a big black bear．The bear was turning over some empty tins with its paw, looking for tasty bits of food．My friend decided to leave that particular thief alone!

　　There are also, of course, places called“rooming houses”, where they receive lodgers(房客)．You will see such signs as Tourists or Rooms Rent, and you could try one of these．A word of warning－looking for a room in New York during the tourist season is like looking for gold on the moon!

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　　There are many ways to find a job．It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board．Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide．Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses．

　　Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper．Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers．

　　Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet．For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job．Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month．

　　Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university．For example, students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job．Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do．For example, there is a book called“What Color is Your Parachute(降落伞)?”by Richard Bolles．This book has been helping people choose a career(职业)since it was first published in nineteen seventy．

　　Some experts also help people find jobs．Susan W.Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles．She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests．Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job．

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　　America is a mobile society．Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change．Neither side feels hurt by this．Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while－then no more．If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship．This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸)sometimes deeply into both families．

　　Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life．They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客)easily．

　　Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time．This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time．Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend．We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends．The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine．They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus．And they expect that we will phone them from there．Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real．We will find ourselves treated hospitably．

　　For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters．So accept their hospitality at home!

阅读理解

　　A few months ago I was at a bus stop in town in the evening．The bus came on time and I took the window seat．The bus route was by the seashore and I was enjoying the breeze(微风)while watching the sea waves．After a few minutes the bus made its next stop．A young boy and a girl got on．They were standing on my left when the bus pulled off．I looked at them curiously and realized that all the window seats were occupied(占据)．They could sit but not together．Suddenly a different wave passed through my body and my inner mind gave me the advice to get up．I got up and offered them my seat．The young lady smiled kindly and said thanks．I occupied another seat and we parted our ways．I don't remember whether I got off the bus before them or not．

　　Months passed by．Suddenly one day while I was standing at the same bus stop waiting some time for the bus to arrive I heard a voice．

　　“Excuse me, Uncle．”I looked in the direction of the voice．It was a beautiful young lady．

　　Puzzled, I said,“I do not recognize you．”

　　She said,“Do you remember you gave us your window seat?”

　　Puzzled, I said,“Maybe, but what is so great in that?”

　　She said,“If you had not given your seat that day, perhaps I would have not sat with my friend．By sitting together it helped us bridge a misunderstanding that had been between us forever．Do you know we are getting married next month?”

　　“Good!God bless both of you,”I replied．

　　The young lady again said thank you and went on her journey．I realized the importance of giving that day．