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　　Ellis Island is located in New York Harbor．Ellis Island is open daily year-round from 9∶30am to 5∶00pm, with extended hours during summer．It is closed on December 25．There is no admission charge to Ellis Island; donations are gratefully accepted．

　　At Your Fingertips

　　Park information(212)363- 7620

　　Emergencies(212)363- 3260

　　Ferryboat information(212)269- 5755

　　Lost and found(212)344- 7620

　　Dining, gifts, & audio tour(212)344- 0996

　　Transportation

　　Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry：Boats leave from Battery Park, Manhattan, and from Liberty State Park, New Jersey．They run about every 30 to 45 minutes beginning at 9∶15 am．(ferry schedule subject to change)．

　　Hours：May vary; call the number below

　　Closed：December 25

　　Ferry fees(Includes Liberty and Ellis Islands)：adults, ＄ 7; senior citizens, ＄6; children(age 3 to 17), ＄ 3．(lower group rates are available for 25 or more adults)

　　Ticket & schedule information：(212)269- 5755

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　　The bus is a usable form of transportation all over the world because we can easily take it to go everywhere．Also, we do not need to worry about danger on a long-distance trip．Now, we have comfortable buses in London．I would like to describe how comfortable they are．First, the number of seats on a bus has been reduced from 44 to 19．The reason why the number of seats is now 19 is that the seats have been changed to big and comfortable sofas．

　　Originally, they changed the normal seats to airplane seats and took out ten seats from the buses．However, every customer wanted to have a more comfortable seat on the bus when they went on long-distance trips, so they changed them to sofas．Also, the owners of the bus companies wanted to make more money, so they tried to meet the passengers’ needs．They changed the airplane seats to sofas, so the number of seats is now 19．

　　As the new buses appear, the prices go up, too．The owners have many ideas, which you have probably never thought about before．Now they have bus attendants who serve water, snacks, newspapers, and towels．

　　Also, you can change the direction and the height of the sofa to make yourself more comfortable, and there is a service bell on each sofa．Moreover, some companies show movies on the buses．In addition, when you go on a long-distance trip, they have luxurious(豪华的)buses that have an LCD screen on each seat．That is not the only surprising thing on the bus．They also have different TV channels, movie channels, and seventy TV games for killing time while you are on the bus．

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　　Experience the newly opened Grand Canyon(大峡谷)West Skywalk in Colorado．Departing from Grand Canyon’s South Rim by Airplane to Grand Canyon’s West Rim, you will land and take a ground tour to the Skywalk! Walk on air for 70 feet over the edge of Grand Canyon West．

　　This Skywalk has been open since March 28, 2007．Daily visitorship to the Skywalk has been over 4,000 people．Please be patient to enjoy your moment on the Skywalk．

　　After you have experienced the one and only Grand Canyon Skywalk Glass Bridge, you will return to the Grand Canyon West Airport and take your Airplane for a flight back to the South Rim of the Canyon．This is a tour never to be forgotten as you will have walked on air over the Grand Canyon．

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　　Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way many North Americans interact(互动)these days．The term is “networked individualism”．This concept is not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings．How can we be individuals(个体)and be networked at the same time? You need other people for networks．

　　Here is what Professor Wellman means．Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail, our social networks included live interactions with relatives, neighbors, and friends．Some of the interaction was by phone, but it was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time．

　　A recent research study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced this person-to- person interaction．However, a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that’s a good thing．Why?

　　In the past, many people were worried that the Internet isolated(孤立)us and caused us to spend too much time in the imaginary world of the computer．But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true．The Internet connects us with more real people than expected－helpful people who can give advice on careers, medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college．About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions．

　　Thanks to the computer, we are able to be alone and together with other people－at the same time!

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Su Hua is studying at Cambridge, UK．She has bought a bicycle and is worried about security(安全)．Her friend, Kate, found this article and sent it to her．

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　　As we all know, most countries in the world drive on the right, but there are 75 countries that drive on the left, including the UK, Japan, Jamaica and others．Why is this?

　　In fact, some believe that ancient travellers on horseback generally rode on the left side of the road．As most people are right-handed, horsemen would thus be able to hold the reins(缰绳)with their left hand and keep their right hand free－to offer friendship to passing riders or to protect themselves with a sword(剑), if necessary．

　　The first law in Britain for traffic to remain on the left appeared in 1756, which was related to London Bridge．The Highway Act of 1773 contained a suggestion that horse traffic should remain on the left．The British had small wagons(马车), and the driver usually sat on the right side of the front seat．From there he could use his long whip(马鞭)in his right hand．In that position, on the right side of the wagon, the driver could make sure his wagon and the passing traffic were both safe by keeping to the left-hand side of the road．

　　Countries that became part of the British Empire followed the keep-left rule too, although there were some exceptions．In Canada, for example, Vancouver and other coastal provinces changed to the right in order to make border crossings to and from the United States easier．During World War II, American truck makers Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler built "Canadian Military Pattern" trucks for use throughout the British Empire and most trucks were right-hand-drive．

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The English are often considered as unfriendly people who don't talk to strangers, but not London taxi drivers．I once asked a cabbie to describe his life to me and he didn't stop talking until I arrived the hotel where I stayed half an hour later．He told me many interesting stories and this is one of them：“Some very strange things happen late at night．The other day I was taking a woman home from a party．She had a little dog with her．When we got to her house she found that she'd lost her key．So, I waited in the cab with the dog while she climbed up the window．” “I waited … and waited…After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on．I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb up the window．The next thing I knew was that the police came．They thought that I was trying to rob the house! Luckily, the woman came downstairs; she'd gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog．I was in such a hurry to get away that I forgot to ask her for the fare．”

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The "Thumbs-Up"

　　While Western culture has become used to the thumbs-up as a good signal(probably coming from World War II pilots using the signal to show that they were "good to go" with ground crews), there are cultures where a thumbs-up may land you in trouble．In West Africa, as well as Greece, Italy and Middle East, the thumbs-up is pretty much the biggest insult(侮辱)．

　　Rather more interesting is a thumbs-up in Germany and in parts of Japan－they just see it as the hand signal for the number one．

The "A-OK"

　　This sign is mainly used by divers(潜水员)to mean "OK"(to prevent being confused with the thumbs-up sign, which means "rise")．Basically the meaning comes out as "great", or "completely fine"．However, in a few countries in Europe, people may think you抮e telling them that you think they抮e a 'zero挘?/P>

The "V Sign"

　　The sign comes in two formats：one with the palm(手掌)faced outwards, and one with the palm inwards．In America they mean the same thing －"victory"．However, if the outside of your hand is facing your target(目标), you抮e giving somebody a long-built insult in Great Britain and many English-speaking countries such as Australia, Ireland and New Zealand．Winston Churchill famously used the "incorrect" version of the V sign during the early years of the war, turning the outside inside later．The V sign is also considered rude in Italy．

The "Corna"

　　The corna hand gesture has most recently been adopted by fans of rock and heavy metal music．Nowadays many Americans use the gesture simply to mean "rock on", or in support of the University of Texas in Austin(known as the "Hook抏m Horns")．Today it is still popular in Spain, Brazil and Slovakia．Historically, however, the symbol possibly dates back to Ancient Greece．

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　　Talking on a mobile phone is expensive, so a lot of people send text messages．Text messages are much cheaper than talking on a mobile phone, and you can make it cheaper by making the words shorter．You can do this by taking out “unimportant” letters in the words and using numbers instead of words(2＝to, 3＝free, 4＝for, 8＝ate, so h8＝hate, etc．)．You can also keep away from using punctuation(标点)．Here is an example：Do U wnt 2 g 2 th cnma tnite(Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?)

　　What do you think these text messages mean?

　　Whr hv U bn?

　　Im hm nw, why nt gv me a cll．

　　I gt a txt mssge frm my frnd．Shes hvng a prty on Strdy．

　　Phone users have developed a group of symbols(符号)to show how they feel．They are called emoticons, and there are some examples below．To read an emoticon, you have to look at it sideways．For example, if you say something in a text message that is a joke, you can follow it with a smiling face．Like this：

　　Why didt u call me? I’m so sad．(Here are some others．Can you think of text messages where you could use them?)laughing(sad＜really sadⅤ shouting |·|asleep：0 shocked 8·| surprised \·o bored