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　　Instead of hitting the beach, fourteen high school students traded swimming suits for lab coats last summer and turned their attention to scientific experiments．

　　The High School Research Program offers high school students guidance with researchers in Texas A＆M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences．Jennifer Funkhouser, academic adviser for the Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, directs this four-week summer program designed to increase understanding of research and its career potential(潜能)．

　　Several considerations go into selecting students, including grades, school involvement and interest in science and agriculture．And many students come from poorer school districts, Funkhouser says．“This is their chance to learn techniques and do experiments they never would have a chance to do in high school．”

　　Warner Ervin of Houston is interested in animal science and learned how to tell male from female mosquitoes(蚊子)．His adviser, Craig Coates, studies the genes(基因)of mosquitoes that allow them to fight against malaria and yellow fever．Coates thought this experience would be fun and helpful to the high school students．

　　The agricultural research at A＆M differs from stereotypes(模式化，老一套)．It’s “molecular(分子)science on the cutting edge,” Funkhouser says．The program broadened students’ knowledge．Victor Garcia of Rio Grande City hopes to become a biology teacher and says he learned a lot about chemistry from the program．

　　At the end of the program, the students presented papers on their research．They’re also paid ＄ 600 for their work－another way this program differs from others, which often charge a fee．

　　Fourteen students got paid to learn that science is fun, that agriculture is a lot more than milking and plowing and that research can open many doors．

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　　An old gentleman came to see the doctor．The man was very ill．He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs．The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease．

　　He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest．He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks．In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule：“Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is．” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day．

　　Is there anything more important than health? I don't think so．“Health is the greatest wealth(财富),”wise people say．You can't be good at your studies or work well when you are ill．

　　If you have a headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you should go to the doctor．

　　The doctor will examine your throat, fell your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed．After that he will advise some treatment, or some medicine．The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice．

　　Speaking about doctor's adveice, I can't help telling you a funny story．

　　A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office．He looked cheerful and happy．He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man．

　　“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age．”

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　　A car needs gas to run and your body also needs food to work for you．Eating the right kind 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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　　You have heard of Webster Toys．Websters have made good safe and interesting toys for more than a hundred years．Now we sell them, and children play with them, in countries from New Zealand to Norway(挪威), and from Japan to Brazil(巴西)．We are looking for someone to sell our toys in the Far East．He(She)will be between the ages of thirty and forty．He will already have some years of selling in world markets behind him．He will speak good English and at least one other language of the Far East．

　　The person we are looking for will live in Singapore, and work in our office there but he will travel for up to six months in other countries in one year．He will know the Far East well．He should know how to sell in established(建立)markets and where to find new ones．He will know to make more money than ever, for himself and for Webster Toys．

　　Websters want someone who can stand on his own feet．If you think you are the person we are looking for, write to Mr．J．Sloman at our office．Webster Toys Company Church Mill Watford．

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　　When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”, My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her．One of us would walk her, another would feed her ,then there were baths, playing catch and many other games．Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us．One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them．We always felt better when she was around．

　　One days, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end．I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was Wrong．When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl．” She looked down at the ground and then went and hid．I saw a tear in her eyes．

　　Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet．She went everywhere with us．

　　People would stop and ask if they could pet her．Of course she'd let anyone pet her．She was justthe most lovable dog．There were many dines when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair．She never barked(吠)or tried to get away．Funny thing is she would smile．This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth．Far from the truth, she loved everyone．

　　Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age．I still miss the days when she was with us．

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　　It was a village in India．The people were poor．However, they were not unhappy．After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries．

　　Then one day．Some visitors from the city arrived．They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs．However, they did not have enough frogs of their own ,and so they wanted to buy frogs from other place．

　　This seemed like money for nothing．There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and　they were no use to the villagers．All they had to do was catch them．Agreement was reached ,and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs．Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money．For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future ,But the dream didn’t last long．

　　The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well．More worrying was that the children fell ill more ofen, and, there seeemed to be more insects around lately．

　　The vilagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak．They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂)and medicines．Soon there was no money left．

　　Then the people realized what was happening．It was the frog．They hadn’t been useless．They had been doing an important job－eating insects．Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly．They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases．

　　Now, the peaple are still poor．But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs．These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning．

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　　Come to Austrlia! Soll is a village in the mountains in western Austrlia, and the Hotel Post, opened by a local family, is clean and not expensive．From the hotel you can see the whole village, the forest and the mountains．Temperatures in summer are usually 20℃ to 25℃ in the daytime, but much cooler by evening．

　　Enjoy Thailand! When you visit Bangkok(泰国首都)in Thailand, don't miss the early morning river boat trip to the Floating Market just outside the city．There you will find many kinds of fruits and vegetables．There you can pay for them when you sit in your boat．Don't forget your hat：the sun can be strong and it may be as hot as 40℃ about midday!

　　Visit Hawaii! Maybe the most beautiful place in Hawaii is Kauai．You can visit its long, sandy beaches in the south and west of the island, and mountains and forests in the north, but be careful：there are many mosquitoes, and don't be surprised if it rains in the center of the island．Daytime temperatures there are usually around 24℃ to 26℃ by the sea, and only a little cooler by late evening．

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　　A student is learning to speak British English．He wonders：Can I communicate with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask：What are the differences between British and American English? How important are these differences?

　　Certainly! there are some differences between British and American English．‘There are a few differences in grammar．For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and “Have you a pen?” Americans say “in the hospital!” and “Do you have a pen?”．Pronunciation is sometimes different．Americans usually sound theirs in words like “bird” and “hurt”．Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words．There are differences between British and American English in spelling and vocabulary．For example, “colour” and “honour” are British, “color” and honor” are American．

　　These differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary are not important, however．For the most part, British and American English are the same language．

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　　A new study has found that the best way to make yourself feel happier is to think of something good that happened to you the day before．

　　Volunteers who were asked to remember a pleasant event from past 24 hours began to feel happier right away．Other activities such as saying “Thank you” and smiling also made volunteers feel happier, but not as much．

　　Professor Richard Wiseman of Hertfordshire University planned the study．He got 26,000 people to go online to try out a few different activities to make them feel happier．They were told to be nice, remember a pleasant event from the day before, give thanks or smile for 15 seconds twice a day．The volunteers did these activities for one week．

　　The result showed that thinking about one good thing that had happened the day before worked the best for making people happier．

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　　It’s 2035．You have a job, a family and you’re about 40 years old．Welcome to your future life．

　　Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror, “Turn red,” you say．Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red．Tiny preprogrammed electronic(智能电子元件)is rearranged in your shirt to change its color．Looking into the mirror, you find it hard to believe that you are 40．You look much younger．With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old．You’re not even middle-aged．

　　As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your breakfast cereal into a bowl, you hear：“To lose weight, you shouldn’t eat that,” from your shoes．They read the tiny electronic code(电 子源码)on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details．You decide to listen to your shoes．“Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast?” A list of possible food appears on the counter as kitchen checks its food supplies．

　　“Ready for your trip to space?” you ask your son and daughter．In 2005 only specially trained astronauts went into space－and very few of them．Today anyone can go to space for day trip or longer vacation．Your best friend even works in space．Handing your children three strawberries each, you add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel．” Thanks to medical advice, vaccination shots(防疫针)are a thing of the past．Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines．With the berries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door．

　　It’s time for you to go to work．Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors．“My office．Autopilot,” you command．Your car drives itself down the road and moves smoothly into traffic on the highway．You sit back and unroll your e-newspaper．The latest news downloads and fills the viewer．Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video films rather than read it．