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　　It is winter in many parts of the world．For some areas, that means snow．Maybe even lots of snow．If you don’t have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful．When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a “winter wonderland”．That is the name of a very popular song about winter．Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934．There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song．

　　But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time．It’s cold outside．You try hard to keep warm．The days are darker and shorter．The sun rarely shines．The leaves on the trees are brown．It isn’t surprising that some people are sad in winter．And some people dream about being somewhere else where it’s warm and pretty－like the state of California．The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song “California Dreaming”．

　　During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter．Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called “A Hazy Shade of Winter”．They sing about life and hope and possibilities．

　　In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter．They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in “Sometimes in Winter”．

　　In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called “Winter”．She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child．

　　Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003．They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town．Nothing unusual there．But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it．

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　　Cover price：＄30.00

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　　The best-selling Reader’s Digest travel book has 40％ new content including over 200 new sites, over 200 new full-color photographs, and all-new, up-to-date maps．It spotlights over 1, 000 of the United States’ most overlooked must-see destinations．

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　　A unique book contains 50 easy-to-follow container designs．Each design provides a simple numbered planting plan that shows exactly how to create each display, with an instruction of the finished planter and in-depth plant information．The plans are easy to follow and for any type of living space or garden．

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　　Choose from 80 unique ideas to create an extraordinary living space．The projects are practical, as well as attractive, and will improve your home and yard and can be made in a weekend．These 80 well-designed projects are presented in a clear, easy-to-follow style that addresses readers in an accessible, user-friendly tone．

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　　Plenty of health complaints can be handled at home．Each and every remedy will be tested by a doctor to make sure it is safe and sound．

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　　“Hurry, Mommy! Let’s go trick-or-treating!” My daughter waited by the door in her pink princess skirt while I prayed in the living room．Usually I liked taking her out on Halloween, but this year I was sad．I was worried about my mother, who was in China on vacation．I got a call that afternoon that she had slipped and fallen on the hard floor of her hotel and broken her leg．She was taken to a hospital in Beijing．Mom was nervous because she couldn’t understand any of the doctors．If only I could do something to help her!

　　I knew I couldn’t let my worries spoil my daughter’s fun．There was nothing I could do for Mom except pray, I thought．We left the house and went down the block．I was so upset that I hardly took notice of the kids around me．There came the man to whose son I’d once given piano lessons．“Hello there, ” I said, greeting him and the boy at his side．

　　“Hello, ” the father answered．“Having fun?” “I’m trying,” I said．“Why, what’s wrong?” he asked．I told him the whole story．“My mother, in China, broke her leg and didn’t understand any of the doctors．And I’m too far away to do anything!” I said．

　　He raised his eyebrows．“Beijing, you said?” he asked．I nodded．He smiled．“Believe it or not, my sister is a doctor at an English-speaking hospital there．If you want, I’ll make a call right away and we’ll try and get your mom transferred(转移)．”

　　A few days later I sat in the living room with my daughter as she finished the last of the candy．“Mommy, how far away is China?” she asked．“Not as far as I thought, ” I said．

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　　The Ice Hotel

　　Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden kind of hotel called the Ice Hotel is built．Each year, world-famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms．You’ll have your choice between hot or cold rooms, but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience．

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　　Old age may not sound exciting．But recent findings offer good news for older pepole and for people worried about getting older．

　　Researches found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty．In fact, they say by the age of eighty－five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old．

　　The findings came from a survey of more than 340, 000 adults in the United States．The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008．At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty－five．The searches asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry．They also asked about mental or emotional stress．

　　Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study．His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty－two and twenty－five．The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties．Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies．The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties．

　　The study also showed that men and women had similar emotional patterns as they grew older．Hower, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men．Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older．One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotion．They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences．

　　The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single．But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well－being related to age．

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　　Ask just about any college student you know, and he is likely to tell you that he is a member of facebook．com．Many students say they check their e-mail．It’s so popular “facelooking” has become a verb　“Everywhere everyone is doing it, ”college student Katie Silverman said, “It’s like everyone’s center of life．”

　　Facebook is an online social meeting place where students create profiles(简介)，share personal information, and meet other members．It is password protected and targeted to high school and college students; members must have an edu．email address to join．

　　Many students say it has changed their social lives, giving them an easy way to find and chat with classmates who share their interests．“Some people might be too shy to go to talk to someone they like in one of their classes, but on facebook it’s a lot easier to strike up a conversation, ”said Rahul Vanjani．

　　The website was founded by two Harward University students who wanted to meet more of their classmates．It became so popular that the website is at 2, 200 colleges and at 22, 000 high schools．It says that it has 6 million active users, two－thirds of whom are on it every day．Many of the facebook members said their parents had no idea they were on it．“No way．My parents certainly don’t know about it,” said a college senior who asked us not to use his name．

　　To keep it popular, Facebook says it stops students posting improper information．Some students have paid the price．At Fisher College in Boston, two students were kicked out for using facebook．com to do something that is against the law．At North Carolina State University, four students were punished for posting photos about drinking．

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　　You can't escape the message that smoking is bad for you．But what if one or both of your parents smoke? You might be worried about their health, sick of smelling the smoke, or even a little embarrassed(尴尬的)by it．You can't order your mom or dad to stop smoking , but you can encourage them to quit．There are lots of good reasons．Here are some you can mention：

　　*Smoking will hurt their health．

　　*Smoking creates secondhand smoke, which you don't like．

　　*Smoking will make it hard for them to keep up with you because they might run out of breath easily．

　　If you think it will help, you could print out articles like this one to give it to your mom or dad．But what if your parent gets angry with you for bringing up the topic of smoking? People don't like to be reminded that they are doing something unhealthy, so it's possible that your parents will be insulted or angry, especially if they're worried they won't be able to quit．Maybe they have tried before and failed．

　　Remember to be kind and respectful when you discuss smoking with your mom or dad．Also rememeber that it is difficult to quit．Some people try several times before they're able to quit for good．Instead of yelling at the them, tell them that you love them and want them to enjoy many healthy years ahead．In time, your mom or dad may realize you are right about smoking．And if they do agree to stop smoking, be their biggest supporter．Ask if there's anything you can do to help them when they feel the urge to smoke．Maybe you could go for a walk, do a puzzle, or listen to music together．As they reach milestones, such as a month without smoking, be sure to celebrate the achievement．Way to go, mom! Way to go, dad!

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　　When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep．His name was Mr．Basille．He wore a white cap and drove a white truck．As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt．He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer．

　　Of course, he delivered more than milk．There was cheese, eggs and so on．If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note－“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”－and place it in the box along with the empty bottles．And then, the buttermilk would magically(魔术般)appear．

　　All of this was about more than convenience．There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen．Mr．Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn't freeze．And I remember Mr．Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery．

　　There is sadly no home milk delivery today．Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete(竞争)．Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practiced to have a delivery service．

　　Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories．1 took it home and planted it on the back porch(门廊)．Every so often my son's friends will ask what it is．So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk．

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　　Social networking isn't only for the under 40s．More than 25 percent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research．

　　"The latest data tells us that more and more social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50 plus," said Kevin Donnellan, the chief communications officer at AARP, which released the report．

　　Nearly a quarter of older Americans are on Facebook and 73 percent said they use it to stay in touch with relatives, but not just their children and grandchildren．"They are using the Internet to keep up with the world and the people who are important to them," said Jean Koppen, the author of the report．She added that older adults are also on Facebook to stay connected, not only with their family, but with their friends and peers．Almost 50 percent of older adults were introduced to the social networking sites by a family member, mainly a child or grandchild．"Just under one-fifth of adults aged 50 and older say they do not use the Internet," according to the report．

　　The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,863 adults．In addition to keeping up on Facebook and Twitter older adults are also aware of the latest technology．Eighty-three percent had heard about the Apple iPad and 11 percent intended to buy one．

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　　In 1963,former Senator Gaylord Nelson began to worry about our planet (A senator is a person that the people of the United States have chosen to help make the laws．)．Senator Nelson knew that our world was getting dirty and that many of our plants and animals were dying．He wondered why most people weren't trying to solve these problems．He talked to other lawmakers and to the President．They decided that the President would go around the country and tell people about these concerns(关系重大之事)．He did, but still not enough people were working on the problem．

　　Then, in 1969, Senator Nelson had another idea．He decided to have a special day to teach everyone about the things that needed changing in our environment．He wrote letters to all of the colleges and put a special article in Scholastic Magazine to tell them about the special day he had planned (Most of the schools got this magazine) and he knew that kids would help him．

　　On April 22,1970, the first Earth Day was held．People all over the country made promises to help the environment．Everyone got involved and since then, Earth Day has spread all over the planet．People all over the world know that there are problems we need to work on and this is our special day to look at the planet and see what needs changing．Isn't it great?One person had an idea and kept working until everyone began working together to solve it．See what happens when people care about our world?

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