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　　I've been writing for most of my life．The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction(差别)and one practice that has helped my writing processes greatly．The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind．While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so．

　　Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us meet with．If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to seize a fleeting(稍纵即逝的)thought, the thought will die．If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand．You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is．

　　The practice that can help you pass your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls “free writing”．In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes．No stopping, no going back, no criticizing．The goal is to get the words flowing．As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen．

　　Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you've persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly．Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near．

　　Instead of staring at a blank screen start filling it with words no matter how bad．Halfway through your available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product．Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices．

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　　Millions of people are using cell phones today．In many places it is actually considered unusual not to use one．In many countries, cell phones are very popular with young people．They find that the phones are more than a means of communication－having a mobile phone shows that they are cool and connected．

　　The explosions around the world in mobile phone use make some health professional worried．Some doctors are concerned that in the future many people may suffer health problems from the use of mobile phones．In England, there has been a serious debate about this issue．Mobile phone companies are worried about the negative publicity of such ideas．They say that there is no proof that mobile phones are bad for your health．

　　On the other hand, why do some medical studies show changes in the brain cells of some people who use mobile phones? Signs of change in the issues of the brain and head can be detected with modern scanning(扫描)equipment．In one case, a traveling salesman had to retire at a young age because of serious memory loss．He couldn’t remember even simple tasks．He would often forget the name of his own son．This man used to talk on his mobile phone for about six hours a day, every day of his working week, for a couple of years．His family doctor blamed his mobile phone use, but his employer’s doctor didn’t agree．

　　What is it that makes mobile phones potentially harmful? The answer is radiation．High-tech machines can detect very small amounts of radiation from mobile phones．Mobile phone companies agree that there is some radiation, but they say the amount is too small to worry about．

　　As the discussion about their safety continues, it appears that it’s best to use mobile phones less often．Use your regular phone if you want to talk for a long time．Use your mobile phone only when you really need it．Mobile phones can be very useful and convenient, especially in emergencies．In the future, mobile phones may have a warning label that says they are bad for your health．So for now, it’s wise not to use your mobile phone too often

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　　Solomon Shereshevski was a man with an amazing memory．He was one of the world's most famous memorizers(记忆能手)．Born in Russia in about 1900．he spent much of his life performing memory skills that people found difficult to believe．He could memorize long lists of numbers after reading them through once，and he could then recite them forwards or back-wards．He could easily remember lists of names，dozens of playing cards or hundreds of cities．

　　Although he had a wonderful memory, he found some normal skills very difficult．For example，he found it difficult to learn to read．He also found it difficult to recognize patterns in words or numbers．When presented with a long list of numbers like t his：1234 4231 5678 8765 6789 9876 he could not see that there was a pattern．If he could see or hear a collection of numbers，he could remember it．However，this did not mean that he could understand what he was looking at．He could remember long complex mathematical formulas．but could not understand what the numbers meant．

　　Solomon suffered from a condition known as Synaesthesia．This meant that all of his senses were connected in a special way．In other words，when he heard a particular word he also experienced a unique taste，or saw a unique color．Each word that he heard brought a particular description into his mind．Each word for him was unique，because he remembered it as a taste，a smell，a color or a sound，or all of them together．

　　He was not a clever man except this ability and people found him rather stupid．He found it difficult to become friends with other people because his mind was so different．In a way，his memory was a curse(祸根)．He remembered everything，and that made it difficult for him to understand anything．

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　　●CAR HIRE

　　Hiring a self-drive car really adds to the enjoyment of your holiday．There are so many places of interest to visit, and if you enjoy more than just the city center, there’s no better way to explore than by car．

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　　The story of how the song "Happy Birthday to You" came to be, began as a sweet one, that later soured．Two sisters, Mildred Hill, a teacher at the Louisville, Kentucky Experimental Kindergarten, and Dr．Patty Hill, the headmaster of the same school, together wrote a song for the children, called "Good Morning to All．" When Mildred combined her musical talents, as the local expert on spiritual songs, and as the organist(风琴师)for her church, with her sister's expertise in the area of Kindergarten Education, "Good Morning to All" was sure to be a success．

　　The sisters published the song in a collection entitled "Song Stories of the Kind　　ergarten" in 1893．Thirty-one years later, after Dr．Patty Hill became the head of the Department of Kindergarten Education at Columbia University's Teacher College, a gentleman by the name of Robert H．Coleman published the song, without the sisters' permission．What is worse, he added a second verse(歌词), the familiar "Happy Birthday to You．"

　　Mr．Coleman's addition of the second verse made the song become well known and, gradually, the sisters' original first verse disappeared．"Happy Birthday to You," the one and only birthday song, had altogether replaced the sisters' original title, "Good Morning to All．"

　　After Mildred died in 1916, Patty, together with a third sister named Jessica, discussed the issue together and took Mr．Coleman to court．In court, they proved that they, indeed, owned the melody(曲调)．The court finally decided that the family legally owns the song, whenever it is sung for commercial purposes．

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　　College sports, especially football and basketball, are a big industry．Nationally rated teams and television broadcast rights can be worth millions of dollars．

　　This could be seen as a good deal all around．Colleges invest their players and, in return, the schools earn money and attention．The athletes often get free education, and they gain experience that might lead to a chance to play professionally．

　　But critics question the morality(道德)of a situation where college athletes may seem valued more as athletes than as college students．They say that some players who finish college never really learn anything except their sport．

　　The National Collegiate Athletic Association governs college sports in the United Strates．For the past few years, this organization has been increasing requirements for student athletes．That includes high school students who want to compete on division one teams-the top division college sports．

　　College athletes are required to make continual progress toward earning their degree．New reforms aim to punish division one schools that do not graduate enough of their athletes．

　　Yet finishing college is not always a goal for students who are good enough to play professionally．Is this short-team thinking? A sports career may not last very long, or lead to the wealth and fame that young players may dream of．

　　Funs of American football may remember the retired New York Jets player Joe Namath．Last weekend, he graduated from the University of Alabama．He left that school forty-two years ago to play for the Jets．Now he is sixty-four．But he went back--in part, he says, because he had promised his mother to finish his education．

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　　“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity,” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey．I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to．

　　Her point is that blind luck is very rare．You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you．If you’re a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump(树桩)for a rabbit to run out and break its neck．

　　A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier．It’s not about going to a temple to burn some incense(香)hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’s practical advice you can follow each day．

　　Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies．First he divided volunteers into two groups; those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not．He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside．On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds．Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting．There are 43 photographs in this newspaper,” was written in big letters．The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message．

　　It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper．They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity．People who are “lucky”, in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day．

　　I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do．Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year．Seven years later, and still here, I’ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines．I did not dream these would have been possible．I’ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police．Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’s studies I think not．

　　As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment．Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make．Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem．

　　Finally, try to turn bad luck into good．Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English．

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　　Women are on their way to holding more than half of all American jobs．The latest government report shows that their share of nonfarm jobs nearly reached fifty percent in September．

　　Not only have more and more women entered the labor market over the years, but the depression has been harder on men．In October the unemployment rate for men was almost eleven percent compared to eight percent for women．

　　Industries that traditionally use lots of men have suffered deep cuts．For example, manufacturing and building lost more jobs last month．But health care and temporary employment services have had job growth．Both of those industries employ high percentages of women．

　　Thirty years ago, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar that men earned．Now, for those who usually work full time, women earn about eighty percent of what men earn．And women hold fifty-one percent of good-paying management and professional jobs．

　　Yet a study released Thursday said men still hold about nine out of every ten top positions at the four hundred large companies in California．The results have remained largely unchanged in live years of studies from the University of California, Davis．

　　Also, a new research paper in the journal Sex Roles looks at the experiences of women who are the main earners in their family．Rebecca Meisenbach at the University of Missouri in Columbia interviewed fifteen women．She found they all valued their independence and many enjoyed having the power of control, though not all wanted it．

　　But they also felt pressure, worry and guilt．Partly that was because of cultural expectations that working women will still take care of the children．Also, men who are not the main earners may feel threatened．

　　The job market continues to suffer the effects of last year’s financial crash．Now, a judgment has been reached in the first case involving charges of criminal wrongdoing on Wall Street．

　　Last week, the government lost its case against two managers at Bear Stearns, the first investment bank to fail last year．A jury found Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin not guilty of lying to investors．

　　The hedge funds they supervised lost their value in two thousand seven．But jurors said there was no clear evidence that they meant to mislead investors．

　　The Justice Department continues to investigate other companies．

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　　A new report says only about half of all students in the main school systems of America’s largest cities finish high school．The report notes higher rates of graduation－over 70％－in areas surrounding the cities．Researchers studied high school graduation rates from the 2003, 2004 school year．They also identified the nation’s fifty largest cities．The largest, New York City, had a population of more than eight million．The smallest city was Wichita, Kansas．It had about three hundred and sixty thousand people．

　　Researchers used a system of measurement called the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates．School officials in many of the cities studied said the resulting numbers were too low．That is because different areas use different methods to find graduation rates．Critics say many methods do not give a true picture of the number of students who leave high school before finishing．

　　Other studies have put the national graduation rate at about 70％．But experts agree that too many students are not completing high school．They estimate the number at more than one million each year．The report was prepared for America’s Promise Alliance．The private group aims to help children receive services they need to succeed．

　　General Colin Powell was chairman of America’s Promise Alliance when it was formed in 1997．He attended the press conference Tuesday where the report was released．He said studies have shown that the US must do more to educate the leaders and work force of the future．

　　Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings also spoke．She said the government will propose that states use the same methods when reporting graduation rates．Alliance officials also announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates．It is to include a series of meetings to be held in every state over the next two years．The meetings will bring together elected leaders, business owners, students, parents and education officials．They will develop plans to increase the number of Americans who finish high school．

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　　Born in a fishing village in Japan, Fujiyama, 25, recalls a childhood dominated by health concerns．Doctors told his parents that he had a hole in his heart and “they didn’t think I had a lot longer to live”．But during a later visit to the doctor, his family learned the hole had closed．“Somehow I was cured and I became a normal kid,” Fujiyama says．“And I had a second chance．”

　　During his second year at the University of Mary Washington, he volunteered in Honduras with a campus group and was struck by the extreme poverty he saw－barefoot children collecting cans and sleeping in the streets．Fujiyama realized he could help give other children their own second chance．

　　Today, his organization, Students Helping Honduras, brings education and community projects to children and families in need．

　　He started by telling his friends about his experience and collecting spare change at his two campus jobs．“When I had my very first meeting, only two people showed up,” he says．“I knew I had to keep fighting．” He persuaded his younger sister, Cosmo, to join the cause．“She’s dynamite,．” He says．“When she talks in front of a crowd, she can move mountains．Knowing that she was behind it, I knew I could do anything．” Since 2006, the siblings’ organization has grown to 25 campuses and raised more than ＄750,000 to fund projects, including the construction of two schools and the establishment of scholarships to help young women attend college．

　　Fujiyama says students are deeply committed to the organization．They raise money and then travel to Honduras to help building houses．While Fujiyama spends his summers in Honduras working alongside volunteers, he spends a large portion of the year on the road visiting colleges to raise funds．Cosmo Fujiyama, 23, lives in Honduras full time to coordinate(协调)the group’s building efforts on the ground．

　　Students Helping Honduras is working with community members of Siete de Abril to build a new village．Many of the families lost their belongings in Hurricane Mitch in 1998．A lot of them didn’t have access to clean water or health care, and they didn’t have a school．Fujiyama’s group helped build 44 homes in the village named “Sunshine Village”．The organization is also raising funds to build a water tower, an eco-friendly sanitation system and a library．