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　　Italian Lakes and Greek Islands(12Days)

　　Prices starting from ＄1，999

　　Your tour begins in Milan, Italy, and moves on to the pretty Italian Lake District and the attractive resort(胜地)of Stresa, your home for two nights．Collette Vacations has carefully chosen the Costa Victoria as your home away from home for your 7-night journey along the waterways of the Mediterranean．The cruise ship is filled with the warmth and culture of Italy and is richly designed with entertainment(娱乐)areas and very good living conditions．It will take you to the places of your dreams．

　　You'll spend 4 days touring Greek cities you've always heard about．In Katakolon, you will have the only unguided tour to nearby Olympia on the whole journey．Then with a local guide you will visit the Greek islands of Santorini, which is often related to the story of the lost city of Atlantis, and Mykonos, a wonderful island with beautiful beaches．

　　Your journey ends in Verona, home of the love story Romeo and Juliet, with a fun-filled farewell dinner-a perfect ending to a pleasant journey．

　　12Day, 25Meals：10Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 9Dinners

　　Day 1 Overnight flight to Italy

　　Day 2－3 Regina Palace, Stresa, Italy

　　Day 4－10 Costa Victoria(Costa cruises)

　　Day 11 Hotel Leopardi, Verona, Italy

　　Day 12 Leave for home

　　Please Note：

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　　Most dog owners feel that their dogs are their best friends．Almost everyone likes dogs because they try hard to please their owners．One of my favorite stories is about a dog who wanted his owner to please him．

　　One of my friends has a large German shepherd(牧羊狗)named Jack．Every Sunday afternoon, my friend takes Jack for a walk in the park．Jack likes these long walks very much．

　　One Sunday afternoon, a young man came to visit my friend．He stayed a long time, and he talked and talked．Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for his walk, but the visitor didn't leave．Jack became very worried about his walk in the park．He walked around the room several times and then sat down directly in front of the visitor and looked at him．But the visitor paid no attention．He continued talking．Finally, Jack couldn't stand it any longer．He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later．He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he held the man's hat in his mouth．

　　German shepherds aren't the only intelligent dogs．Another intelligent dog is a Seeing Eye dog．This is a special dog which helps blind people walk along the streets and do many other things．We call these dogs Seeing Eye dogs because they are the “eye” of the blind people and they help them to “see”．Seeing Eye dogs generally go to special schools for several years to learn to help blind people．

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　　The English, as a race, are very different in many ways from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, the Belgians and the Dutch．It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it．Whatever the reasons are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities．

　　Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well．In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems restrained, even embarrassed．You have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this．Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a corner, and no one speaks．In fact, to do so would seem most unusual．An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers．” Needless to say, he was not being serious．There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately suspected．

　　In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc, often accompanied by appropriate gesture．The Englishman is somewhat different．Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than anyone of a different nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less．This is reflected in his use of language．Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl．A more emotional man might describe her state “Oh, she is a goddess”, whereas an Englishman might just say “Oh, she's all right．” An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, “It's not bad you know”, or on seeing some very unusual scenery he might convey(表达)his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, very nice．” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement．Instead, he must realize that “all right,” “not bad,” and “nice,” very often have the sense of “first-class,” “excellent,” “beautiful”．This unique style of language use is particularly common in England, and is known as restrained statement．

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　　If you have to miss a meal a day, which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don't eat it? If you have to make a decision of this type, most people(especially very busy people)will choose to skip breakfast．

　　However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast(the meal which “break” you “fast”)to be the most important t meal of the day．If we eat a good breakfast, they say, we will have the energy and nutrients(营养)we need to begin our working day with vigor(活力)and stay hopeful with good honor．However, many people skip breakfast or substitute a cup of coffee for a well balanced meal．What happens if we ignore the importance of breakfast?

　　One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people．Participants included both males and females who ranged in age from 12 to 83．The results showed that if a person eats an adequate breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently and more productively than if he or she skips breakfast or eats a very poor breakfast．This fact appears to be especially true if a person's work involves mental(脑力的)activities．The study showed that if school-children eat fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, they will learn more quickly and will be able to concentrate(集中)on their lessons for a longer period of time than if their breakfast is inadequate．

　　The study also showed that contrary to what people believe, if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight．This is because people become so hungry if they skip breakfast that they eat too much for lunch and end up gaining weight instead of losing．So remember, if you want to lose weight, skipping breakfast will not help you．You will likely lose more weight if you decrease your other meals．

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　　Cancer researchers urged people on Wednesday to take more vitamin D to lower risk of cancer, saying studies showed a clear link．“Our suggestion is for people to increase their intake(吸入，摄入), through diet or a vitamin supplement,” Dr．Cedric Garland said in a telephone interview．

　　Garland's research team reviewed 63 studies, including several large long-term ones, on the relationship between vitamin D and certain types of cancer worldwide between 1966 and 2004．“There's nothing that has this ability to prevent cancer,” he said, urging governments and public health officials to do more to fortify(增强)foods with vitaminD．Garland is part of a University of California at San Diego Moores Cancer Center team that published its findings this week online in the American Journal of Public Health．Vitamin D is found in milk, as well as in some fortified orange juice, yogurt and cheeses, usually at around 100 international units(IU)a serving．“People might want to consider a vitamin supplement to raise their intake to 1000 IUs per day” Garland said, adding that it was well within the safety guidelines established by the National Academy of Sciences．

　　The authors said that taking more vitamin D could be especially important for people living in northern areas, which receive less vitamin D from sunshine．

　　“African Americans, who don't produce as much of the vitamin because of their skin colour, could also benefit significantly from a higher intake,” the authors said．

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　　February has long been a month of romance．With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines．

　　On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine's Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest(牧师)in the third century Rome．When the emperor(皇帝)decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn't allow marriage．

　　But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret．When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death．While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard．Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today．Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint(圣徒), as well as becoming one of history's most romantic characters．

　　Nowadays, Valentine's Day is also popular among Chinese young people．Some students are planning to make Valentine's cards for parents, teachers and friends．Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes．The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St．Valentine．

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　　Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives．For example, the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite．Some satellites have cameras which take photographs of the Earth to show how clouds are moving．Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls．

　　Computer connections of the World Wide Web and Internet also use satellites．Many of our TV programs come to US through satellites．Airplane pilots also sometimes use a satellite to help them find their exact location．

　　We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another．They are usually 35，880 kilometers above the equator．Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place．This is because it is moving around the world at 11,000 kilometers an hour－exactly the same speed that the earth rotates．A satellite must orbit the Earth with its antennae(天线)facing the earth．Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit，So there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position．This usually happens about every five or six days．

　　Space is not empty! Every week, more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit the Earth．A satellite usually works for about 10－12 years．Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to Earth to be repaired．Often，very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit the Earth for a very long time．This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other．

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　　Watching a parent die of a terminal disease is traumatic for any child, but families can take steps to help them through it．

　　Age makes a big difference in how children understand and react to a parent's illness, and children at different ages need very different types of support．

　　With 3- to 5-year-olds, one of the most important things is to consistently make sure that they are being taken care of during their parent's illness．Children of this age can make short visits to the hospital, and they should have a longer visit from time to time．They should have toys to play with, and some activities they can do with their sick parent．Families should also try to control their emotions around children, because crying may frighten them．

　　It's difficult for them to understand the meaning of illness, or that death is permanent．Families should expect that in the weeks after a parent dies, the child will repeatedly ask where his or her mother or father is．

　　Children between the ages of 6 and 8, on the other hand, understand death．They may become highly emotional and even blame themselves for their parent's illness．Families should repeatedly explain the basic nature of the parent's illness to children of this age．

　　With 9- to 11-year-old children, families ought to give detailed information about the parent's illness and treatment so that they can know what to expect．Children of this age even benefit from being able to help care their parent．

　　After a parent's death, it's best for children in all of these age groups to get back to school and their normal activities as soon as they can, which helps them continue with their normal lives．

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STUDY CENTER COURSES

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　　The common cold is the world's most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病)that flesh receives．

　　The most widespread mistake of all is that colds are caused by cold．They are not．They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person．You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one．If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever．But they do not．And in isolated Arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected(感染病菌的)people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes．

　　During the First World War, soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds．

　　In the Second World War, prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz Concentration Camp, naked(赤身裸体的)and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds．

　　At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long periods of time．After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room．Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion．Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose．

　　If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter?Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer．One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on．

　　No one has yet found a cure for the cold．There are drugs and pain suppressors such as aspirin, but all they do is to relieve the symptoms．