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　　Impressed by the persuasive technical advice which Trent Eisenberg gave online computer powerhouse Compaq approached him about a job at the company's headquarters in Houston．But Compaq was forced to withdraw(收回)the offer when an important detail about Eisenherg was discovered：he was just 14．Two years later, Eisenberg now runs his own technical support company, F1 Computer,“I might be interested in getting a job in a few years, after college,”he says．“But this is just right for me now．”

　　Eisenberg is among an increasing number of teenagers who are running their own computer-related businesses－and, for the most part, being successful at it．“Many kids in suburban homes have grown up operating very powerful computers, so technology is second nature to them in a way that it's not to many adults,”says Gene Depose, president of a high tech research firm based in New York．

　　Danny Kalmick, the 14-year-old president of Kalmick ＆Co．Computing took his first step toward becoming a neighborhood computer expert at age 11, when he broke down his first PC(a 486/DX2)to inspect its motherboard(主板)．When neighbors called him for computer advice a year later, Kalmick saw a business opportunity．So he printed up business cards, and took out an ad in a neighborhood telephone book．He now has about 10 regular clients, works 6 to 10 hours a week, and earns ＄20 an hour solving tech problems．

　　Low prices are usually an advantage in the marketplace, but so is age．Many young business people argue：Kids aren't as frightening to work with as their more senior adults．“We're professional, of course, but we are just kids, and people feel like they can talk with us and ask us whatever they want without being embarrassed,”says Charles Ross, 18, vice president of a Web services company that develops marketing sites for local businesses．Ross runs the firm with his twin brother, James, and their friend Matthew Baylis, 17．“Beside, a lot of our clients tell us that they would rather work with us because we've grown up with the technology and have a solid handle on it．”

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　　Notting Hill Carnival(狂欢节)organizers are celebrating a bumper year, with crowds up and crime down by almost a third．

　　More than 1 million people who were having fun singing, dancing and so on in a noisy way were at the two day event in West London but there were only 64 arrests, compared with 94 last year．

　　Most arrests were for drug, theft or public order offences, police said last night．The number of crimes stood at 85, compared with 115 last year．

　　It was the 40th anniversary of the colorful celebration of Caribbean culture, which has become Europe's best-known street festival．

　　Sporadic(零星的)showers failed to dampen the crowd's spirits．Attendance last year fell to about 600,000, mainly because of bad weather．

　　Calypso music played loudly from sound systems along the parade route as thousands of

　　whistle-blowing people followed glittering floats(灿烂夺目的花车)．They were joined by dancers and drummers．

　　“The atmosphere is fantastic,”said Chief lnsp Wayne Mawson．“Crime is low, reported crime is low, and people are still enjoying themselves．”

　　One man was arrested for the crime of attacking someone yesterday after another was treated for an arm injury in Powis Square．Officers carried out a stop and search operation at Mile End Tube Station after reports that 60 youths planned to disrupt(使混乱)the event．There were eight arrests for possession of knives and body armour．

　　Security at the carnival has been high since two people were killed and several attacked violently in 2000 and a man suffered knife wounds to his forehead in 2001．

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　　The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party．The time printed on the invitation was 7∶30pm．Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song．

　　By 9∶45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared．Jane and David were restless．Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving．But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear．By 11∶00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads．Jane and David left hungry and angry．

　　Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer．Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently．Most of us would agree that 6∶30－8∶30pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8∶00pm or 8∶30pm means possible dinner, but 9∶30pm and any time thereafter means no food, oat beforehand, roll up late．

　　But this is not always the case．If asked to a students' party at 6∶30pm, it is normal for guests not to appear before midnight, if at all, and no one cares．Being the first to arrive－looking eager－is social death．When my mother is asked to a party for 6∶30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven．My age group(late thirties)falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we're young, we're probably closer to student-time than grown-up time．

　　The accepted custom at present is confusing(混乱的), sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lead every party that precious element(成分)of surprise．

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Two British men and their young sons were killed when their light aircraft crashed and burst into flames in the US．It occurred last night．Pilot Garry Megson, 38, died with his eight-year-old son Peter, family friend Stephen Aspden, 45, and his 12-year-old son, Jack．Police said Mr．Megson was attempting a tricky maneuver, called a touch-and-go landing, when the accident happened in the rented single-engine Piper Warrior．The move involves touching the wheels down on the landing strip before immediately taking off again．The aircraft failed to regain height and veered off the runway．It hit several ears and a hangar(飞机库房)before bursting into flames in Pennsylvania on Sunday．Mr．Megson who has 20 years' flying experience, moved to the US 11 months ago with his wife and son to work as a manager with drugs giant AstraZeneca．Secondary school teacher Mr．Aspden, 45, was on holiday, visiting with his family．His wife and ten year old daughter have since returned to Manchester, where they live．Christine Troy, a neighbour of Mr．Megson said it was“just so sad”the crash happened．She added：“He was the greatest guy．His son was just wonderful．”

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　　Snake dishes have become popular in recent years．Snake meat in various flavors(风味)is often seen in restaurant ads．It seems that eating snake is now in vogue(盛行), and if you haven't eaten snake yet, you are considered“out of date”．But I wonder whether all the trends are worth following．

　　Some people may defend themselves by saying that snake meat is nutritious(有营养的)．But these people don't realize that mice and worms often comprise a snake's diet, therefore, there are many parasites(寄生虫)found inside snakes．Thus, they may do harm to our health．Apart from this, I'm sorry to see that more and more snakes are being killed by man's cruel knife．

　　According to the English newspaper Shanghai Star about 1,000 tons of snakes are eaten every year in China．In Shenzhen of Guangdong Province, sometimes as many as 10 tons of snakes are served on dinner tables every day．

　　These figures alert us that if we still turn blind eyes to this continuous movement against snakes, a vicious cycle will be created．If more snakes are eaten by people, the number of snakes will drop, which will result in a decrease of crop output．This will make more people hungry．

　　Who will see such tragedy happen?

　　So let's start not to eat snakes any more because“to protect the snakes is to protect ourselves”．

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The following is a timetable in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport．

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　　A car needs gas to run and your body also needs food to work for you．Eating the right kinds of food is very important．It can help your body grow strong to take care of what you eat．

　　There are four main food groups altogether．The dairy group has food like milk, cheese and sour milk．The other three groups are the meat and fish group, the fruit and vegetable group, and the bread and rice group．Each meal should have at least one food from all four main groups．With all these food together, you will be given enough energy during the day．

　　It is easy to get into bad eating habits．You may eat your breakfast in a hurry to get to school on time．Or you may not have time for a good lunch．It may seem easy to finish your supper with fish and chips all the time．But you will find yourself tired in these days and you can not think quickly．

　　Watching what you eat will help keep your body healthy and strong．It is also good to take some exercise．It will help you eat more if you take a walk or play games in the open air．Having a good eating habit with some exercise is the key to your health．

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　　Family life in the United States is changing．Twenty-five years ago the housewife cleaned, cooked and cared for the children．She was the most important person in the home．The father earned the money for the family．He was usually out working all day．He came home tired in the evening and so did not see the children very much, except on weekends．His work at home was usually outside in the yard．The cooking and cleaning were for women only．

　　These days, however, many women work outside the home．They can't be at home with the children all day．They, too, come home tired in the evening．They do not want to spend the evening cooking dinner．They do not have time to clean the house or wash the clothes．So who is going to take care of the children?Who is going to do the housework?

　　For every family the answer to this question may be different．But usually the wife does not have to do all the work herself．Today she can get help．One kind of help is the day-care center．Mothers can leave their children at these centers during the day．Then they are free to go to work．Most children enjoy these centers．There are toys and games and other children to play with．

　　Another kind of help may come from the company a woman work．The company may allow her to work part-time．That way, she can earn some money, but she can also be with her children part of every day．

　　But the most important help a woman can get is from her husband．

　　Today, many men share the housework with their wives．In these families the men clean the kitchen and do the laundry(洗衣)．On some nights, the wife may cook dinner．On other nights it may be the husband．They may clean the house together．The husband may also spend more time at home with the children．

　　For some men there is a new word,“househusband”．In the United States more and more men are becoming househusbands every year．

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　　Students in one high school in central China's Zhengzhou City are finding a way to release(释放)stress by writing down what is on their mind on a wall made of paper．

　　Zhengzhou NO．5 High School set up a 25-meter-long wall which is made of paper, allowing students to express themselves in a safe and productive(富有成效的)way．

　　“We can write down what we feel on this wall to reduce our stress．At the same time, we can also encourage each other with our words,”said Zhang Ying, in her third year at school．

　　“This paper wall lets out students' true voices, deep in their hearts．Thus, it allows us to better help students who are suffering from mental stress,”said Li Jianfeng, the vice president(副校长)of the high school．

　　Sources of stress include heavy workloads, interpersonal relationships, poor communication with parents and other worries that trouble teenagers．

　　Teachers are required to visit the wall and figure out detailed plans to help the students find ways to solve their problems．The school has promised to keep the wall as a communication bridge between teachers and students．

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　　Shelly Nielsen sees students fall asleep in class at least twice a week．“When I see teens asleep in my class, I wonder if I am really that boring”, said Nielsen, a teacher．“I also wonder why they are so tired．”Neilson first tried to wake up sleeping students quietly．If the snoozing(呼噜声)continues, she may call a student's parents to find out how much sleep the students is getting at night and why．

　　According to a research, teens need at least nine hours of sleep to function properly during the day．And more than 90 percent of teens say they are sleeping less than that each night．

　　“The big problem is the social demand for homework, video games and friends．Teens don't understand how important sleep is．”said Dr．Carl Lawyer, a specialist．

　　Rebecca Lucas, another teacher agrees．“Teens are busy,”she said,“many activities force them to get home pretty late．When I see teens sleeping in my class, I feel sad．I also feel frustrated because I have so much to teach in such a short amount of time and teens sleeping in the class slows me down．”

　　Al Taylor, a teacher says sleeping is not allowed in his class．“When I see a teen sleeping in my class, I feel bad that they didn't get enough sleep but they need to correct it at home,”Taylor said．“I've raised teenage boys myself．Teenagers like to wait to the last minute to do their homework so that they often stay up late trying to finish it．”