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　　Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy．After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy．

　　Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy．However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason．Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out 0f their territory

　　Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims(声称)as its own．Only he and his family are welcome there．No other families 0f the same species(物种)are welcome．Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome．If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout．Probably this would be enough to frighten him away．

　　If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him．A bird does the same thing。But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting(筑巢)season．So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away．

　　Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs．

　　You can see that birds have a language all their own．Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories．

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　　Footrace(竞走)is a popular activity in the United States．It is not only seen as a competitive sport, but also as a way to exercise, and to donate(捐赠)money to a good cause．Though serious runners may spend months training to compete, other runners and walkers might not train at all．Those not competing to win might run in an effort to beat their own time, or simply to enjoy the fun and exercise．People of all ages, from those less than one year old to those in their 80s, enter into this sport．The races are held on city streets, on college campuses，through parks, and in suburban areas, and commonly 5 to 10 kilometers in length．

　　The largest footrace in the world is the 12-kilometer Bay to Breakers race that is held in San Francisco every spring．This race begins on the east side of the city near San Francisco Bay and ends on the west side at the Pacific Ocean．In 1993 there were 80,000 people running in this race through the streets and hills of San Francisco．In the front are the serious runners who compete to win，and who might finish in as little as 34 minutes．Behind them are the thousands who take several hours to finish．In the back of the race are those who wear costumes just for fun．In 1993 there was a group of men all of whom dressed up like Elvis Priestly．There was a group of firefighters who were all tied in a long line and were carrying a fire-hose(水龙带)．One year there was a wedding party in which the bride dressed in a long white gown(长袍)and the groom wore a tuxedo(晚礼服)．They threw flowers to by-standers, and were actually married at some point along the route．

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　　We all dream although we remember only a few of our dreams．Some people train themselves to remember their dreams．As soon as they wake up, they record what their dreams were about．

　　Scientists believe that we have different kinds of sleep．One kind is called R．E．M．R．E．M．stands for rapid eye movement．During this kind of sleep our eyes move quickly, even though they are closed．Although we are asleep, there are a lot of brain activities．We probably have dreams at this time．

　　Sometimes people talk in their sleep．In these dreams the dreamer is usually unhappy or worried about something．The worst of the dreams are so frightening that we call them nightmares．In a nightmare we often dream that we are being closed or that we are trapped in some way．

　　Scientists or others have written books about the meanings of dreams．The most famous of these scientists was Sigmund Freud who wrote a hundred years ago．He suggested different meanings to certain kinds of dreams．It is possible, however, that every dream has a special meaning only for the person who dreams it, and that this dream about something is in that person’s life．

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　　Would you like to be a king or queen? To have people waiting on you hand and foot? Many Americans experience this royal treatment every day．How? By being customers．The American idea of customer service is to make each customer the center of attention．Need proof? Just listen to the commercials．Most of them sound like the McDonald’s ad, “We do it all for you．” Actually, not all stores in America roll out the red carpet for their customers．But wherever you go, good customer service means making customers feel special．

　　People going shopping in America can expect to be treated with respect from the very beginning．Most places don’t have a “furniture street” or a “computer road” which allow you to compare prices easily．Instead, people often “let their fingers do the walking” through the store hot lines．From the first “hello”, customers receive a satisfying response to their questions．This initial contact can help them decide where to shop．

　　When customers get to the store, they are treated as honored guests．Customers don’t usually find store clerks sitting around watching TV or playing cards．Instead, the clerks greet them warmly and offer to help them find what they want．In most stores, the clear signs that label each department make shopping an easy job．Customers usually don’t have to ask how much items cost, since prices are clearly marked．And unless they’re at a flea market or a yard sale, they don’t bother trying to bargain．

　　When customers are ready to check out, they find the nearest and shortest checkout lane．But as Murphy’s Law would have it, whichever lane they get in, all the other lanes will move faster．Good stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes get too long．Some even offer express lanes for customers with 10 items or less．After they pay for their purchases, customers receive a smile and a warm “thank you” from the clerk．Many stores even allow customers to take their shopping carts out to the parking lot．That way, they don’t have to carry heavy bags out to the car．

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　　When we ask students what they want to be, they often talk about unusual jobs, things like teachers and doctors．But if you think about it, many people don’t plan to do their jobs．They just start doing them by accident．We have talked to two people with unusual jobs．

　　Emily is a dentist(牙医)but she doesn’t work with people．She works with horses．After university she took care of animal’s health for several years, but she noticed that there were few people who could help horses’ teeth．She decided to go to college and study again．Then she had to buy special tools, but she is never out of work．She’s always very busy taking care of horses’ teeth．“I couldn’t be a dentist for people now,” Emily said, “because I really enjoy working with horses．”

　　As soon as David could read, he read books about robots, but the robots he built today don’t look like the strange robot people in his books．He builds robots for industry．Early one morning he made up his mind to study maths, science and computers so that he could break into the world of robot engineering．“Some of the maths is very difficult,” says David, “but you must study maths to be an engineer．” Fortunately he got top marks in all his math exams．

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　　There are some very good things about open education．This way of teaching allows the students to grow as people, and to develop their own interests in many subjects．Open education allows students to be responsible for their own education, as they are responsible for what they do in life．Some students do badly in a traditional classroom．The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning．Some students will be happier in an open education school．They will not have to worry about grades or rules．For students who worry about these things a lot, it is a good idea to be in an open classroom．

　　But many students will not do well in an open classroom．For some students, there are too few rules．These students will do little in school．They will not make good use of open education．Because open education is so different from traditional education, these students may have a problem getting used to making so many choices．For many students it is important to have some rules in the classroom．They worry about the rules even when there are no rules．Even a few rules will help this kind of students．The last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it．Many teachers do not believe in open education．Teachers who want to have an open classroom may have many problems at their schools．

　　You now know what open education is．Some of its good points and bad points have been explained．You may have your own opinion about open education．The writer thinks that open education is a good idea, but only in theory．In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school．The writer believes that most students, but of course not all students, want some structure in their classes．They want and need to have rules．In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects．Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting．They would not study those subjects if they did not have to．

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　　What's your dream vacation? Watching wildlife in Kenya? Boating down the Amazon? Sunbathing in Malaysia? New chances are opening up all the time to explore the world．So we visit travel agents, compare packages and prices, and pay our money．

　　We know what our vacation costs us．But do we know what it might cost someone else? It's true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income．Unfortunately, though, tourism often harms the local people more than it helps them．

　　It might cost their homes and lands．In Myanmar, 5,200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas(佛塔)in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas．

　　Tourism might also cost the local people their livelihood and dignity．Local workers often find only menial(卑微的)jobs in the tourist industry．And most of the profits do not help the local economy．Instead, profits return to the tour operators in wealthier countries, When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven from their lands, some moved to city slums．Others now make a little money selling souvenirs or posing for photos．

　　Problems like these were observed more than 20 years ago．But now some non-government organizations, tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them．Tourists, too, are putting on the pressure．

　　The result is responsible tourism, or “ethical tourism．” Ethical tourism has people at its heart．New international agreements and codes of conduct can help protect the people's lands, homes, economies and cultures．The beginnings are small, though, and the problems are complex．

　　But take heart．The good news is that everyone, including us, can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit．Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn reasonable wages．

　　They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotel, restaurants and guide services．They can share profits fairly to help the local economy．And they can involve the local people in planning and managing tourism．

　　What can tourists do? First, we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local citizens．We can then make our choices and tell them why．And while we're abroad, we can：

　　Buy local foods and products, not imported ones．

　　Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price．

　　Avoid flaunting wealth．

　　Ask before taking photographs of people．

　　They are not just part of the landscape!

　　Let's enjoy our vacation and make sure others do, too．

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　　Never go into a supermarket hungry! This is a good piece of advice．If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to．Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn’t enough for consumers these days．Modern shoppers need an education in how and how not to buy things at the store．First, you check the weekly newspaper ads．Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things．In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual! “New and Improved!” or “All Natural” on the front of a package influence you．Instead, read the list of ingredients(contents)on the back．Third, compare prices：that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands and different sizes of the same brand．

　　Another suggestion for consumers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands．Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages．These products are cheaper because producers don’t spend much money on packing or advertising．The quality, however, is usually as good as the quality of well-known name brands．In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands that are not famous．Shopping in discount clothing stores can help you save a lot of money．Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores．

　　Wise consumers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage：knowledge of the psychology behind the ads．In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation．They ask themselves questions：Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image? With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice．

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　　Increasingly, over the past ten years, people－especially young people－have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, particularly processed foods, is not good for the health．As a result, there has been a growing interest in natural foods：foods which do not contain chemical fertilizers, widely used in farming today．

　　Natural foods, for example, are vegetables, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic(有机的)matter．In simple terms, this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals．This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers, the main purpose of which is to increase the amount－but not the quality－of food grown in commercial farming areas．

　　Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy grassland for cattle．Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry(家禽)：there are battery farms, for example, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish．Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins．

　　There are other things of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet．Take, for example, the question of sugar．This is actually a non-essential food! Although another natural food, such as honey, can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary, we can in fact do without it．It is not that sugar is harmful in itself．But it does seem to be addictive：the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year!Yet all it does is provide us with energy, in the form of calories．There are no vitamins in it, no minerals, and no fibre．

　　It’s very important that nowadays fibre is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet．In white bread, for example, the fibre has been removed．But it is present in unrefined flour and of course in vegetables．It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetables, certain diseases are comparatively not often seen．For this reason, the importance is placed on the eating of wholemeal(没有去麸的面粉)bread and more vegetables by modern experts on “healthy eating”．

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　　I would like to tell you a story about my uncle Theo．He is my oldest uncle, a tall, thin, grey-haired man whose thoughts are always on learning and nothing else．He is quiet, gentle and absent-minded and with about as much sense as a child where money is concerned．Well, he applied a post in Camford University．It was a very good post and there were hundreds of candidates who applied for it, and about fifteen, including Theo, were asked to be interviewed．

　　Camford is a very small town; there is only one hotel in it, and it was so full that they had to put many of the candidates two in a room．Theo was one of these, and the man who shared the room with him was a self-confident fellow called Adams, about twenty years younger than Theo, with a loud voice, and a laugh that you could hear all over the hotel．But he was a clever fellow all the same and had a good post in Iscaiot College, Narkover．Well, the Dean, who was the head of the department of the University, and the committee interviewed all the candidates; and as a result of this interview, the number of the candidates was reduced to two, Uncle Theo and Adams．The committee couldn’t decide which of the two to take, so they decided to make their final choice after each of the candidates had given a public lecture in the college lecture-hall．The subject they had to speak on was “The Civilization of the Ancient Summerians”; and the lecture had to be given in three days’ time．

　　Well, for these three days Uncle Theo never left his room．He worked day and night at that lecture, writing it out and memorizing it, almost without eating or sleeping．Adams didn’t seem to do any preparation at all．You could hear his voice and his laughter where he had a crowd of people around him．He came to his room late at night, asked Uncle Theo how he was getting on with his lecture, and then told him how he had spent the evening playing bridge, or at the music hall．He ate like a horse and slept like a log; and Uncle Theo sat up working at his lecture．

　　The day of the lecture arrived．They all went into the lecture hall and Theo and Adams took their seats on the platform．And then, Theo discovered, to his horror, that typewritten copy of his speech had disappeared! The Dean said they would call on the candidates on the alphabetical order, Adams first; and the despair in his heart, Theo watched Adams calmly take the stolen speech out of pocket and read it to the professors who were gathered to hear it．And how well he read it! Even Uncle Theo had to admit he couldn’t have read it nearly so eloquently himself, and when Adams finished there was a great burst of applause．Adams bowed and smiled, and sat down．

　　Now, it was Theo’s turn．But what could he do? He had put everything he knew into the lecture．His mind was too much upset to put the same thoughts in another way．With a burning face he could only repeat, word for word, in a low, dull voice, the lecture that Adams had spoken so eloquently．There was hardly any applause when he sat down．

　　The Dean and the committee went out to decide who the successful candidate was, but everyone was sure what their decision would be．Adams leaned across to Theo and patted him on the back and said, smilingly, “Hard luck, old fellow, but after all, only one of us could win”

　　Then the Dean and the committee came back, “Gentlemen”, the Dean said, “the candidate we have chosen is Mr．Hob dell．” Uncle Theo had won! The audience were completely taken by surprise, and the Dean continued, “I think I ought to tell you how we arrived at the decision．We were all filled with admiration at the learning and eloquence of Mr．Adams．I was greatly impressed．But, you will remember, Mr．Adams read his lecture to us．When Mr．Hob dell’s turn came, he repeated that speech, word by word from memory, though, of course, he couldn’t have seen a line of it before．Now a fine memory is absolutely necessary for this post; and what a memory Mr．Hob dell must have! This is why we decided that Mr．Hob dell was exactly the man we wanted! ”

　　As they walked out of the room, the Dean came up to Uncle Theo, who was so confused but so happy that he hardly knew whether he was standing on his head or heels; and as he shook Theo’s hand he said, “Congratulations, Mr．Hob dell! But, my fellow, when you are on our staff, you must be more careful and not leave valuable papers lying about!”