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　　Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare．He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today．

　　During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays．It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works．For example, in Shakespeare's play“The Comedy of Errors”Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus．For his play“Macbeth”, Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information．Shakespeare might have borrowed from other writers, but the intensity(强度)of his imagination and language made the plays his own．While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on．

　　Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him．He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays．His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city's tradesmen．Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear．His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people．

　　It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare's works have influenced the world culture．But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language．During his time, the English language was changing．Many new words from other languages were being added．Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones．For example, he created the noun forms of“critic”,“mountaineer”and“eyeball”．Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including“pomp and circumstance(装腔作势)”from“Othello”,“full circle(绕圈子地)”from“King Lear”, etc．The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless．From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented．Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world．

　　Shakespeare became a well-known writer during a golden age of theater．His years of hard work paid off．

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　　Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling．Recycling in the home is very important of course．however, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need．we are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place．

　　The total amount of packaging increased by 12％ between 1999 and 2005．It now makes up a third of a typical household's waste in the UK．In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard．

　　Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment．The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste．If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect．Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy．The solution is not to produce such items in the first place．Food waste is a serious problem, too．Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need．However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example．

　　But this is not just about supermarkets．It is about all of us．We have learned to associate packaging with quality．We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality．This is especially true of food．But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary．

　　There are signs of hope．As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collecting．We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb．

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　　Shakespeare, more perhaps than any other writer, make full use of greatest resources of the English Language．Most of us use about five thousand words in our normal employment of English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty-five thousand!There is probably no better way for a foreigner to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare uses it．Such a study is well worth the effort, even though some aspects of English usage ,and the meaning of many words ,have changed since Shakespeare's day．

　　However ,it is surprising that we should know comparatively little about the life of the greatest English author．We know that Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon ,and that he died there in 1616．He almost certainly attended the Grammer School in the town ,but of this we cannot be sure．We know he was married there in 1582 to Anne Hathaway and that he had three children．We know that he spent much of his life in London writing his masterpieces．But this is almost all that we do know．

　　However ,what is important about Shakespeare's life is not its incidental details but its products , the plays and the poems．For many years scholars have been trying to add a few facts about Shakespeare's life to the small number we already possess and for an equally long tine critics(批评)have been theorizing(理论化)about the plays．Sometimes ,indeed ,it seems that the poetry of Shakespeare will disappear under the great mass of comment that has been written upon it．

　　Fortunately this is not likely to happen．Shakespeare's people have long delighted not just the English but lovers of literature everywhere ,and will continue to do so after the scholars and critics and all their works have been forgotten．

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　　The 35 million inhabitants of Tokyo and its surroundings are getting prepared for enforced power cuts that could last until the end of April．The government says damage and closures at many of the country's power plants following Friday's massive earthquake means electricity supplies cannot keep up with demand．Meanwhile authorities are warning of the risk of large aftershocks in the coming days．

　　Most Monday evenings, Tokyo station is normally packed as millions of commuters head to the suburbs．

　　It appears many workers have heeded the Japanese government's call for people to stay home, in an effort to conserve power．

　　For those who did venture out-the sense of fear following Friday's massive earthquake is still present．

　　“It is very scary．I am scared of more earthquakes,”says this commuter．

　　“I was in my office on the 33rd floor when the earthquake struck on Friday．It swayed from side to side, everyone was so shocked,”says another traveler．

　　With electricity output slashed as power stations shut down, the government says it can only supply about three-quarters of normal demand．The cuts could last until the end of April-a big blow to one of the world's biggest financial hubs．

　　But the government warns the alternative is a devastating all-out blackout．And the danger is not over．

　　Japan's Meteorological Agency says there is a 70 percent chance of a magnitude-seven or stronger earthquake striking in the next three days-and a 50 percent chance in the three days after that．Any big aftershocks could present a danger for buildings already weakened by last Friday's quake．

　　State-of-the-art design meant Tokyo's countless skyscrapers withstood the huge tremors on Friday．

　　In this huge metropolitan area of 35 million inhabitants, there is a palpable nervousness over what the coming days may bring．

　　As Tokyo's workers head home-their thoughts are also with the tens of thousands of people a few hundred kilometers further north, whose homes and livelihoods have crumbled or been washed away．

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　　Violence often happens in sports．What is the relationship between violence and sports?Psychologists say that there are many reasons for violence at sports events．One is alcohol．Many fans drink a lot at games．When people drink, they are more likely to do abnormal things．Psychologist Denis Brock says,“Quiet people become loud．Normally nonviolent people become destructive．”

　　David Sampson, a sports sociologist, says,“These are often celebratory riots－a large number of very happy people mixed in with large amounts of alcohol．They don't often seem dangerous in the beginning, but things get violent quickly．”

　　Another reason for violence at sports events is the crowd．When individuals are in a large group of people, they can lose their sense of personal responsibility．Edward Hirt, a social Psychologist, says that research shows that people do things in crowds that they would never do alone．People in crowds feel anonymous－no one knows who they are．Crowds also make people feel powerful．They stop making personal decisions．They just follow the crowd．Social psychologists call this a“mob mentality．”

　　Dave Zarifis, head of public safety says,“Some people don't even come to celebrate．They want to drink hard and make trouble．Someone does something stupid, and it grows from there．You get a mob mentality．People think it's OK to do almost anything．They think,‘There are so many of us and not enough of them．’”

　　Social psychologist Dr．Sharon Kennedy says that there are some things officials can do to prevent violence．Making sure that an area is not overcrowded is very important．Officials should also think of games as“big parties．”Then they will prepare differently．Kennedy says that in Great Britain they are controlling the problem with cameras in all the stadiums．“When you know someone is watching, you are much less likely to behave badly．”

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　　At a primary school in a small town in the east of South Carolina, second-grade teachers Garneau and Lynne are convinced that separating elementary-age boys and girls produces immediate academic improvement in both genders(性别)．

　　David Chadwell, South Carolina's expert of single gender education says,“Boys and girls learn, hear and respond to their surroundings differently．We can teach boys and girls based on what we now know．”

　　Male and female eyes are not organized in the same way, he explains．The organization of the male eye makes it sensitive to motion and direction．“Boys understand the world as objects moving through space,”he says．

　　The male eye is also drawn to cooler colors like silver and black．It's no accident that boys tend to create pictures of moving objects instead of drawing the happy colorful family, like girls do in their class．

　　The female eye, on the other hand, is drawn to warmer colors like red, yellow and orange．To attract girls, Chadwell says, the teacher doesn't need to move as much as in boy's class．Using descriptive phrases and lots of colors in presentations or on the blackboard gets their attention．

　　Boys and girls also hear differently．“When someone speaks in a loud tone, girls understand it as yelling,”Chadwell says．“They think you're mad and can shut down．”Girls are more sensitive to sounds．He advises girls' teachers to watch the tone of their voices．Boys' teachers should sound more forceful, even excited．

　　A boy's nervous system causes him to be more cautious when he is standing, moving, and the room temperature is around 69 degrees Fahrenheit．Stress in boys, he says, tends to increase blood flow to their brains, a process that helps them stay focused．Girls are more focused when seated in a warmer room around 75 degrees Fahrenheit．Girls also respond to stress differently．When exposed to threat and conflict, blood goes to their guts(肠道), leaving them feeling nervous or anxious．

　　These differences can be applied in the classroom, Chadwell adds．“Single gender programs are about making the best use of the learning．”

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　　International Studies(BA)

　　Key features

　　●Recognizes the“global community”

　　●Has close connections with practical research

　　●Much of the teaching is done in small discussion groups

　　About the course

　　The course gives you chances to know great power polities between nation states．It will provide more space to study particular issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of such international bodies as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the World Bank．

　　The course puts theories into the working of the international system with close attention to particular countries．You will also have a better knowledge of methods of solving the international problems．

　　Related courses

　　BA(Hons)Community Management

　　BA(Hons)Public Policy and Management

　　Employment possibilities

　　International organizations

　　International business

　　Earth Science(BSc)

　　Key features

　　●Based on key courses and the latest research findings

　　●Pays much attention to practical skills

　　●Offers chances for fieldwork(实地考察)

　　About the course

　　The demand for natural resources is becoming an increasingly serious problem for the future of mankind．Graduates in Earth Science will play an important role in meeting this demand, and in knowing the meaning of using the natural resources．

　　The course covers geography and geology．You will carry out fieldwork in the UK and possibly overseas, and a research in an area of interest to you in the final year．

　　Related courses

　　BSc(Hons)Geograhpy

　　BSc(Hons)Geology

　　Employment possibilities

　　Mineral, oil, water or other related engineering industries

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　　Ever since news of widespread food recalls caused by a carcinogenic dye broke, there has been confusion(混淆)over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever．

　　Sudan 1 is a red industrial dye(颜料)that has been found in some chilli powder, but was banned in food products across the European Union(EU)in July 2003．

　　Since the ban was put in place, EU officials have been trying to remove some food products from the shelves．So far 580 products have been recalled．

　　Last week Sudan's Embassy in the United Kingdom asked the Food Standards Agency(FSA)for clarification(澄清)of the origin of the dye's name．

　　Omaima Mahmoud Al Sharief, a press official at Sudan's Embassy in China, explained the purpose of the inquiry was to clear up any misunderstanding over links between the country and the poisonous dye．

　　“We want to keep an eye on every detail and avoid any misunderstanding there,”she said．“Our embassy to Britain asked them how the dye got that name and whether the dye had something to do with our country．But they told us there was no relationship．”

　　The FSA, an independent food security watchdog in Britain, received a letter from the Sudanese embassy last week．

　　“They asked us why the dye is named Sudan, however, we also do not know how it got the name,”she said．“People found the dye in 1883 and gave it the name．Nobody knows the reason, and we cannot give any explanation before we find out．”

　　Sudan dyes, which include Sudan 1 to 4, are red dyesused for colouring oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes．They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer．

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　　A powerful earthquake struck the northeastern coast of Japan at two forty-six p.m.local time on March eleventh．2011．Japan's Meteorological Agency released its first tsunami(海啸)warnings just three minutes later．The country has one of the best earthquake early warning systems in the world．

　　There are more than four thousand Seismic Intensity Meters in place throughout Japan to measure earthquake activity．These meters provide information within two minutes of an earthquake happening．Information about the strength and the center of the earthquake can be learned within three minutes．

　　There are also concrete(混凝土)sea walls around much of the Japanese coastline．But these measures proved no match for the powerful earthquake and tsunami．

　　Costas Synolakis, a tsunami expert at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles said,“Japan is one of those most well-prepared countries on earth in terms of tsunami warning．They had a warning．I think what went wrong is that they had not expected the size of this event．”

　　He says there are two reasons for this．Japan has not had any event anywhere near as big as this one in the last one hundred fifty years．And scientists had not expected such a large earthquake happening off the coast of Japan．

　　The nine point zero magnitude earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded worldwide．It was also the worst earthquake ever to hit Japan．The tsunami waves that followed were reported to have reached as high as thirteen meters in some areas．

　　Costas Synolakis says Japan's concrete sea walls were not built to handle such high waves．

　　Experts say early warning systems will continue to be limited by these facts until earthquakes and tsunamis can be predicted．