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　　One of Britain's leading fee-paying schools, Wellington College, is to offer classes on happiness to fight against the negative influences in society caused by materialism(功利主义)and celebrity obsession(名誉崇拜), its headteacher announced．

　　Wellington school was founded in 1853 and currently has 750 boys aged 13 to 18 and 50 girls aged 16 plus．Fees range from 6,132 pounds per term for day pupils to 7,665 pounds per term for boarders．

　　"We are introducing classes on happiness," said Anthony Seldon, master of Wellington College．"We have been focusing too much on academics(学术)and missing something far more important．"

　　A psychologist will oversee a pilot project teaching "happiness lessons" from the start of the next academic year．Pupils aged 14 to 16 will be given one lesson a week, learning skills such as how to manage relationships, physical and mental health, negative emotions and how to achieve one's ambitions．

　　The college's religious education staff will teach the course as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, usual religious education classes, said Seldon, who is also a political critic and author．

　　"To me, the most important job of any school is to turn out young men and women who are happy and secure(可靠的)．" explained Seldon．"Celebrity, money and possessions are too often the touchstones for teenagers and yet these are not where happiness lies．Our children need to know that as societies become richer, they don't become happier－a fact regularly shown by social science research．"

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　　Hey, all you Muggles, witches, and wizards－are you ready for the grand finale of the Harry Potter series? J．K．Rowling announced on Thursday the title for book seven－Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows．Book seven in the Harry Potter series will pick up where book six, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, left off．With the last chapter of book seven, the magical adventures of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and friends will come to an end．

　　“I am alternately delighted and worried,” says Rowling on her official Web site．She made the announcement of the book title on the Web site．Rowling is currently busy putting the finishing touches on the book．

　　“I’m now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more,” says Rowling．Rowling adds that she has been working very hard on this final installment in the series．With the title now set, she assured fans that she will indeed finish this book．

　　“I both want, and don’t want, to finish this book,” Rowling says．

　　It’s not too late to catch up on the rest of the series．You can also reread your favorite books while waiting for the last one．The publication date for book seven has not been set．To make the waiting a little easier, there’s always the next Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is scheduled for release in July 2007．

　　While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states－at least in getting people off welfare．It's estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994．

　　In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens Country have been cut in half．But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour．T'he result：The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent－twice the national average,

　　For advocates(代言人) for the poor, that's an indication much more needs to be done．

　　"More people are getting jobs, but it's not making their lives any better," says Kathy Lairn, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington．

　　A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down．

　　But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory．

　　"Welfare was a poison．It was a toxin(毒素) that was poisoning the family," says Robert Rector, a welfare-reform policy analyst．"The reform in changing the moral climate in low-income communities．It's beginning to rebuild the work ethic, which is much more important．"

　　Mr．Rector and others argued that once "the habit of dependency is cracked," then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards．

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISEMENTS

　　Parents, our first teachers, play a highly significant role in our lives．However, doesn't it seem that many of us come to have conflicts with them when we start high school? We're less likely to listen to them and take their suggestions－we even rebel against them．

　　Why? It may be the so-called "generation gap"．A generation gap appears when we begin to feel our parents

　　are ignoring us, don't understand us, and we feel we can no longer share our feelings with them．

　　The key reason is our desire for independence．In senior high school, we start to want to take responsibility for our own lives and make our own decisions．But parents resist this．They still want to control us and try to force us to do things they think we should do．Debate and discussion often come to nothing．Gradually, we talk with them less, and keep our feelings locked up inside．

　　Zhang Xiaoyun, 16, of Ningbo, Zhejiang, has talked less and less with her mother since she started senior high school．"She believes studies should be my priority, not my inner world," Zhang said．"Each day, she asks me the same old questions like, 'How was your last exam? or 'Have you made any progress in physics?" To Zhang, these questions are annoying and so she always tries to ignore them and answers perfunctorily．"Sometimes, when I get upset, I quarrel with her．After, she comes to apologize and comfort me．But I know, she doesn't completely understand me," Zhang said．Now, a home that was once full of laughter has fallen into gloom and silence．

　　The generation gap can be harmful．Because of the lack of communication, our parents no longer know what we are thinking about．There are quarrels, even over trivial things．When that happens, we may not be able to concentrate on our studies．Some of us even become afraid to go home after school－a very serious situation for the whole family．

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　　One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O．Henry．From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum．Visitors to Austin can see the house．It was saved from destruction(破坏)and turned into a museum in1934．The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer．

　　William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years．Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters．Others did not．An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here．It was taken there in the house about 1895．The piano there goes back to the 1860s．His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin．

　　Porter did not start his career as a successful writer．He worked at a farm, land office and bank．He also loved words and writing．The museum has a special proof of Porter’s love of language－his dictionary．It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary．

　　Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job．Because he was afraid of a trail(审判), he left the country secretly．But he returned because his wife was dying．After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal．He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio．

　　William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret．But there was one good thing about it．It provided him with time to write．By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O．Henry．

　　Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there．He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life．

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　　St．Benedicts Family Medical Center’s “Baby and me” classes, 11 a. m. to noon Tuesdays, at Jerome Public Library, 101 First Ave．E．

　　This week’s topic：story telling．The class is educational support for parents and babies．A baby scale is available each week．

　　Free; 324-6133

Infant(婴儿)care

　　Infant care class of St．Benedicts’ prepared childbirth series(系列), 7-9 p. m．Wednesday, at Jerome Public Library, 101 First Ave．E．

　　Topics：baby care and early parenting．The class is offered separately, or as part of the childbirth series．Mothers may register(登记)even if their babies will be born at a different hospital．

　　Cost is ＄5．Register：732-3148．

Self defense(自我保护)

　　College of Southern Idaho’s Community Education Center is offering a course “Self defense,” 7-8∶30 p. m．Thursdays, beginning this week to Dec．16, in room 304 in the College of Southern Idaho gym．Bryan Matsuoka and Gary Phelps will instruct．

　　Learn defensive skills and the coordination(协调)of mind and body．

　　Cost is ＄105．Register：732-6442 or communityed．csi．edu．

　　South Central Public Health District is observing Fall Prevention AWARENESS Week Sept．19-25 to raise awareness(意识)of falls and reduce fall risk in south central Idaho．

　　The health district will provide a Fit and Fall proof class leader training from 9 a. m. to 3∶30 p. m．Friday at 1020 Washington St．N．in Twin Fall．Training is for individuals interested in volunteering．Volunteers aren’t required to have a physical education degree but should have exercise experience．Register for the training by Wednesday：737-5988．

　　“To do for you” is a listing of health-related activities, events and education in the following Monday．

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　　I had about 10 minutes to exercise before I had to pick up my two older daughters from school yesterday．It was a busier day than usual for me with a couple of meetings besides my regular work．

　　Years ago, I would have put off my workout and would have left things for the next day．But since it was a busy day as well, I knew that I may not have all that much time either．So, I picked up my kettle-bell(哑铃)and went to town for 4 minutes．

　　See, 4 minutes, if that’s all you’ve got, is enough to give your body a great fat-burning exercise．How did I get a killer workout in 4 minutes? I used a training workout discovered 10 years ago by a Japanese Sports Scientist called a TABATA．

　　It includes 20-second periods of warm-up, followed by 10-second periods of rest and 4-minute straight exercise．How is a 4-minute exercise able to burn fat? It all depends on the quality of work you do．Not on the quantity．Here’s how I did it yesterday．

　　You should never forget your warm-up．A TABATA workout is 20 seconds of 2-arm Kettle-bell swings, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds push-ups, and 10 seconds rest．You should do those 4 rounds．That’s it．I was done in a total time of 8 minutes by the time and when I got to school my heart was still pumping pretty hard．

　　A healthy body is needed for studying and working, and efficiency(效率)is the key to building a great body in the least amount(数量)of time possible and you can’t get more efficient than a 4-minute workout．

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　　Scientist Florence Wambugu works with farmers in Kenya, a country in East Africa．She helps them grow bigger and better crops．Wambugu is especially interested in finding simple ways to produce more food．

　　In the past ten years, Wambugu has spent much of her time studying sweet potatoes, which are an important food in her part of Kenya．A virus(病毒)kept attacking the plants．It stopped the sweet potatoes from growing well．Because of the virus, some farmers lost three quarters of their crops．

　　Wambugu went to war against the virus．Her research for a way to save the sweet potatoes led to a lab in St．Louis, Missouri．

　　The lab mainly works on genes(基因), the chemical “computer programs” found in the cells of living things．Genes tell a plant to produce pink flowers or an animal to grow black hair．Now scientists have found ways to move genes from one living thing to another．That process is called genetic engineering．

　　Wambugu spent three years in the lab．As a result, she created a sweet potato plant that could fight off the virus．Wambugu tested her research in Kenya, and her plants produced wonderful sweet potatoes．

　　That’s just the beginning, Wambugu believes．Genetically modified(转基因的)foods, she thinks, could help farmers in poor countries grow badly needed crops, thus, fewer people will go hungry．

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　　When you are in Nanoko, be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel, whether you come on business or on holiday you will find everything as comfortable and convenient as you would expect in a first class international hotel．

　　Every bedroom has its own bathroom, telephone, and colorful modern materials and furniture in the local style．In the Mistu Restaurant, you can choose your meals from a lot of dishes, both Eastern and European, as you will find anywhere in the country．In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort, listen to the music of internationally known artists．Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name, or to the tables that surround the swimming pool．Throughout the motel, you will find the service is both friendly and efficient．

　　By day the pool is alive with the holiday spirit and the happy shouting of children and by night, soft light and music make it a perfect place for a party, or simply for an after-dinner drink and conversation．

　　The Garden Hotel has its own minibus service．Give us a ring and we will arrange to collect you at the airport or in the city center．

　　If you prefer, we can arrange for you to visit the wainiri Islands that lie just off the coast．Here you can swim in peace; or you can fish there．As it is well known, Wainiri is really a good place for people going fishing．The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes from Nanoko’s modern shopping center．Here you will find all that money can buy, at prices you can afford．