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　　They like using the Internet．They have lots of pocket money to spend．And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us．Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy－games, CDs and clothing－are easily sold on the Web．

　　But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards．Most have to use a parent's card．They want a facility that allows them to spend money．

　　That may come sooner than they think：new ways to take pocket money into cyber(网络的)space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic．If successful, these products can stimulate online sales．

　　In general, teenagers spend huge amounts：＄153bn(billion)in the US last year and ￡20bn annually in the UK．Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school－88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK．According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online－mainly CDs and books．

　　In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children．Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street．They are more likely to ask“Why?”if you ask to spend some money online．

　　One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cybercash is through prepaid cards such as InternetCash in the US and Smart cards in the UK．Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as ￡20 or ＄50 with a concealed 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account．

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　　A new generation addiction is quickly spreading all over the world．Weboholism, a twentieth century disease, affects people from different ages．They surf the net, use e-mail and speak in chat reoms．They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit．They cannot stop, and it affects their lives．

　　Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become Compulsive behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users．This obsessive behavior has affected teenagers and college students．They are likely to log on computers and spend long hours at different websites．

　　They become hooked on computers and gradually their social and school life is affected by this situation．They spend all free time surfing and don't concentrate on homework, so this addiction influences their grades, and success at schools．Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there．Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their soeial life．

　　They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends．The relation with their friends changes．The virtual life becomes more important than their real life．They have a new language that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society,

　　Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate themselves from the society and live with their virtual friends．They share their emotions and feelings with friends Who they have never met in their life．Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real life friends they have known all their fife．lt is a problem for the future．This addictive behavior is beginning to affect the whole world．

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　　Electric ears are dirty．In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins．

　　People in California love to talk about“zero-emissions vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from．Power plants mostly use fire to make it．Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators．Generators are fueled by something－usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants．There are a few wind farms and geothermal plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something．

　　In other words, those“zero-emissions”cars are likely coal-burning cars．It's just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean．It is not．It's as if the California Greens are．covering their eyes－“If I can't see it, it's not happening．”Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it．But when you take that gas(or another fuel)and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat－at the generator, through the transmission lines, etc．

　　A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles．But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won't get you nearly as far－so electric cars bum more fuel than gas-powered ones．If our electricity came mostly from nukes; or geothermal, or hydro, or solar, or wind, then an electric car truly would be clean．But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don't use much of those energy sources．

　　In addition, electric cars' batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill．And finally, When cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads．When it's a power plant, though, all the junk is in one place．Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot．

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　　After our early morning wake-up, we are still a couple of hours away from the overlooks．It is pitch black．I can feel the heavy humid fog left behind my last night's rain．This is why the tour memo listed“flashlight”．Unfortunately; the majority of our hiking party of nine must have missed the memo, so we have only four flashlights between us．

　　An hoar later, we are on the trail．It is dark, foggy, wet and the rocks are alippery．We alternate places between the flashlights“haves”and“have-nots”．As we march, the only voices heard are from the“haves”：“Step up, step down, watch out for the rock on your left．”

　　We reach Intipunku with only 15 minutes to spare．The view at sunrise is not what we were told in the travel brochures．Three feet in front of our faces is a white substance called“fog”．

　　As we walk towards the Machu Picchu ruins, my anticipation is mounting．When will the fog lift?Slowly, as if someone is cranking up a curtain, Huayna Picchu begins to appear, overlooking Machu Picchu．First there are fleeting glimpses, and then finally, there is, in its full splendor．

　　When I envisioned going to Machu Picchu, I always thought of mysterious ruins and the famous postcard picture looking toward Huayna Picchu．But there is more to this man-made/natural wonder of the World．It is the adventure of getting there．I knew I wanted to experience the feel of the Inca culture and the energy of this sacred valley, I also knew I didn't want to take the train, but needed to hike．Depending on your starting point, the Inca Trail is 25 to 33miles of semi-arid desert, breathless mountain passes and stunning tropical cloud forest．Our hike took us four nights and 25 miles to finish．

　　Our local guide MaurO keeps telling us“no worries, the hike is 90 percent mental and only 10 percent physical．”I am not convinced that the physical percentage is correct, but I definitely become more and more excited as we are now getting closer to Machu Picchu．By getting myself into good shape, running 20 miles and hiking a 500-foot-high hill five to seven times per week before I left for Peru, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the hike and not worry much about aching muscles and lungs．

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　　Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes(基因)decide．In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent．If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out．

　　But genes don't decide everything．For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力)．Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height．

　　No doubt(怀疑)you're wondering how fast you should grow．It depends．There's no perfect or right answer．Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches(6 centimeters)a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty(when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up)．

　　Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years．Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through．

　　Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time．Everyone has a growth spurt(高峰)during puberty．The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys．But it can be earlier or later——between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys．

　　You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty．

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　　As young students, you have many dreams．These dreams can be very big, such as winning the Nobel Prize; they can also be small, such as becoming one of the best students in your class．

　　Once you find a dream, what do you do with it?Do you ever try to make your dream real?

　　Andrew Matthews, an Australian writer, tells us that making your dreams real is life's biggest challenge．You may think you're not very good at some school subjects, or that it's impossible for you to become a writer．Those kinds of ideas stop you from realizing your dream．

　　In fact, everyone can realize his dream．The first thing you must do is to remember what your dream is．Don't let it leave your heart．Keep telling yourself what you want every day and then your dream will come true faster．You should know that a big dream is, in fact, made up of many small dreams．

　　You must also never give up your dream．There will be difficulties on the road to your dreams．But the biggest difficulty comes from yourself．You need to decide what is the most important．Studying instead of watching TV will help you to get better exam results, while saving five yuan instead of buying an ice cream means you can buy a new book．

　　As you get closer to your dream, it may change a little．This is good as you have the chance to learn something more useful and find new hobbies．

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　　Thousands of years ago, birthdays were considered special days．On birthdays, the bad spirits were able to harm you and change your life．It was believed that the only way to solve the problem was to have your friends and family around you, so that good wishes and presents would keep the bad spirits away．Also, noisemakers were thought to be used at parties as a way of scaring away the evil spirits．

　　The custom of lighting candles was created by people believing that the gods lived in the sky．By lighting candles and torches, they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods, so they could be answered．Blowing out the candles and making a wish were thought to be another way of sending a signal or a message．

　　This is how the way we celebrate our birthdays came about．But different cultures celebrate in different ways．

　　The birthday story in the Bible(圣经)that we know best is about the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem(地名：伯利恒)．For nearly 2000 years since that day, the Christian world has been honoring this birth．The day many Englishmen celebrate is, of course, Christmas．There are other references to birthday parties．King Pharaoh celebrated his birthday by making a feast for his court followers．That was over 4000 years ago．The story of King Herod tells that on his birthday he made a supper for his lords, high captains and other special friends in Galilee(地名：加利利)．

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　　Jack London is a famous American writer．His most widely known book is the Call of the Wild, the story of the adventure of a large dog in the frozen north．

　　Jack London was born on January 12, 1876, in San Francisco, California．His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money．He worked hard at many different jobs．

　　Later, Jack returned to school, but he didn't stay．He wrote,“Life and pocket book were both too short．”In 1897, he went to Alaska to find gold．Instead, he found ideas there for his book stories．He returned home and started to write．His writings were successful, and he became rich and famous in his twenties．

　　Jack London was not a happy man, however．In poor health, he took his own life in 1916．He was then only 40 years old．

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　　At a meeting, a well-known speaker lifted up a bill of 20 dollars before starting his speech．

　　Facing 200 people, he asked,“Who wants this 20-dollar bill?”A great many hands were put up．Then he continued to say,“I intended to give it to any one of you, but allow me to do a thing before giving it to you．”Suddenly he crumpled(揉)it into a round mass．Then he asked,“Who wants it?”Still some hands were lifted up．

　　He asked again,“Well, how could it be if I do it like this?”he threw the bill onto the ground, stepped on it and twisted it．As he picked it up, the bill had become not only dirty but wrinkled．

　　“Who still wants it?”Still a few people put up their hands．

　　“My dear friends, you have had a meaningful class．No matter how I treated this bill, you still want it, because it is worth 20 dollars．On your life road, you may be knocked down(击垮)or even broken into pieces by your determination or unfavorable situations．We may feel ourselves worth nothing, but, my darling, remember that whatever happens in the future, you should never lose your value(价值)in the God's heart．You're particular－never forget it．”