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　　After Mom died, I began visiting Dad every morning before I went to work．He was frail and moved slowly, but he always had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on the kitchen table for me, along with an unsigned note reading, “Drink your juice．” Such a gesture, I knew, was as far as Dad had ever been able to go in expressing his love．In fact, I remember, as a kid I had questioned Mom “Why doesn’t Dad love me!” Mom frowned．“Who said he doesn’t love you!” “Well, he never tells me,” I complained．“He never tells me either,” she said, smiling．“But look how hard he works to take care of us, to buy us food and clothes, and to pay for this house．That’s how your father tells us he loves us．”

　　I nodded slowly．I understood in my head, but not in my heart．I still wanted my father to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me．Dad owned and operated a small scrap(片)metal business and after school I often hung around while he worked．I always hoped he’d ask me to help and then praise me for what I did．He never asked．His tasks were too dangerous for a young boy to attempt, and Mom was already worried enough that he’d hurt himself．Dad hand fed scrap steel into a device that chopped it as cleanly as a butcher chops a rack of ribs．The machine looked like a giant pair of scissors, with blades thicker than my father’s body．If he didn’t feed those terrifying blades just right, he risked serious injury．“Why don’t you hire someone to do that for you?” Mom asked Dad one night as she bent over him and rubbed his aching shoulders with a strong smelling liniment．“Why don’t you hire a cook?” Dad asked, giving her one of his rare smiles．

　　Many years later, during my first daily visit, after drinking the juice my father had squeezed for me, I walked over, hugged him and said, “I love you, Dad．” From then on I did this every morning．My father never told me how he felt about my hugs, and there was never any expression on his face when I gave them．

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　　People who show confidence really seem to have it made．They seize more rewarding careers, keep good relationships, and just seem to do everything with more style than the rest of us．

　　So what’s their self-confidence’s secret? There isn’t one．Self-confidence is a skill and habit that anyone can learn to develop．And although people who are raised in an encouraging environment with confident role models have a head start in self-confidence development, we all can learn to become more confident at any age．

　　Try these simple tips for practicing and increasing your confidence levels：

　　Dare to fail．Anybody who’s out there bravely performing is going to fail repeatedly．If you’re not failing, you’re not trying．So don’t take failure too hard or too personally．Just learn to roll with it and use its lessons to keep improving．

　　When in doubt, pretend you know what your are doing．Because if you are confident of your abilities, by the time you have done it, you will be experienced．

　　Dress for success．You don’t have to be beautiful to be confident．Make the most of your own unique physical characters and weaken your disadvantages so that you know you’re giving out your best image．

　　Listen to be yourself．You’re the only person who knows what’s right for you．Don’t put others’ opinions above your own inner voice．

　　Build a confident vocabulary．Stop putting yourself down and give up continually blaming your tiny weaknesses．Learn to show up your strong points and the world will learn to see and celebrate them with you．

　　Pass on praise．Praise others for their virtues and strength．This practice will not decrease your confidence, but help increase it．

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Travel is good for you

　　Americans think that travel is good for you．Some even think it can help solve one of the country’s worst problems－crime(犯罪)．

　　Crime worries a lot of people．Every year, the number of crimes goes up and up．And many criminals(罪犯)are young．Most of them－85 percent are boys．They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all．There are problems with alcohol and drugs．

　　There are many young criminals in prison．But prison doesn’t change them－60 to 70 percent will go back to crime when they come out of prison．

　　One man, Bob Burton, thought of a new idea．In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road．They learned to be strong and brave, and to help their friends in time of danger．This helped them to grow into men．So Bob Burton started “Vision Quest”．

　　He takes young criminals on a long, long journey with horses and wagons 3,000 miles through seven states．They are on the road for more than a year．

　　The young people on Vision Quest(boys and a few girls)all have bad problems．Most of them have already spent time in prison．This is their last chance．

　　It’s hard work on the road．The day starts before the sun comes up．The boys and girls have to feed the horses．Some of them have never loved anyone before．But they can love their horses．That love can help them to have a new life．

　　Not all young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them．30 or 40 percent will one day be in prison again．But that’s a lot better then 60 or 70 percent．Bob Burton is right．Travel can be good for you

　　Even today, Americans still say, “Go west, young men．”

阅读理解

While you’re in Shanghai, please come and take a walk round some of our interesting places．

阅读理解

　　In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by “small talk”．Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation．In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather：“Nice day, isn’t it?” “Terrible weather, isn’t it?” But there is something special about small talk．It must be about something which both people have the same opinion about．The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something．This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable．People usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk．But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk in English．The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place．At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching：“Great game, isn’t it?” At bus-stops, people may comment about the transport system：“The bus service is terrible, isn’t it?”

　　Greetings and small talk are an important part of conversation in any language．The way people greet each other and the things they talk about, however, may be different from one language to another．This shows that there is much more to learn when we learn a language than just the vocabulary and the grammar of the language．We also have to learn the social behavior of the people who speak it．

阅读理解

　　Many years ago, children who had good manners kept quiet if their parents were talking with other persons．Today, well-mannered children have more freedom．

　　Sometimes good manners in one place are bad manners in other place．

　　Suppose you are a visitor in the land of Mongolia．Some friends ask you to eat with them．What kind of manners do they want you to have? They want you to give a loud “burp(打嗝)” after you finish eating．Burping will show that you like your food．In some countries, if you give a loud burp, you are told to say, “Excuse me, please．”

　　In many places people like to eat together．But in some parts of Polynesia, it is bad manners to be seen eating at all．People show their good manners by turning their backs on others while they eat．

　　What are good manners like in an East Africa town? The people try not to see you．They are being polite．You may see a friend．He may not see you at all．If you’re polite, you will sit down beside him．You will wait until he finishes what he doing．Then he will talk to you．

　　Suppose you visit a friend in Arabia．You should walk behind the tents until you come to his tent．If you pass in front of the other tents, you will be asked into them．The people will ask you to eat with them．And it is bad manners if you say no．

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　　An idea came to me, and I turned off the lights in the studio．In the darkness, I took off my shirt and took up the cello(大提琴); it was the first time in my life I'd felt the instrument against my bare chest．I'd never thought about that; music scholars always talk about the resonating properties(共振)of various instruments, but surely the performer's own body must have some effect on the sound．As I dug into the notes I imagined that my own chest and lungs were extensions of the sound box; I seemed to be able to change the sound by the way I sat, and by varying the muscular tightness in my upper body．

　　After improvising for a while, I started playing, still in the darkness．I heard the music through my skin．For the first time I didn't think about how it would sound to anyone else, and slowly, joyfully, gratefully, I started to hear again．The notes sang out, first like a trickle：, then like a fountain of cool water bubbling up from a hole in the middle of a desert．After an hour or so I looked up, and in the darkness saw the outline of the cat sitting on the floor in front of me, cleaning her paws and purring loudly, I had an audience again, humble as it was．

　　So that's what I do now with my cello．At least once a clay I find time to tune it, close my eyes and listen．It's probably not going to lead to the kind of comeback I'd be thirsty for－years of playing badly have left scars on my technique－but I might eventually try giving a concert if I feel up to it．

　　Occasionally I feel a stab of longing, and I wish I could give just one more concert on a great stage before my lights blink off, but that longing passes more quickly now．I take comfort in the fact that, unlike the way I felt before, I can enjoy playing for myself now．I feel relaxed and expansive when I play, as if I could stretch out my arms and reach from one end of the apartment to the other．A feeling of completeness and dignity surrounds me and lifts me up．

阅读理解

　　The vitamins necessary for a healthy body are normally supplied by a good mixed diet, including a variety of fruits and green vegetables．It is only when people try to live on a very restricted diet, say that when trying to lose weight, that it is necessary to make special provisions to supply the missing vitamins．

　　An example of the dangers of a restricted diet may be seen in the disease known as "beri-beri", which used to make large numbers of Eastern people who lived mainly on rice suffer．In the early years of last century, a Dutch scientist named Eijkman was trying to discover the cause of beri-beri．At first he thought it was transmitted by a germ(病菌)．He was working in a Japanese hospital, where the patients were fed on polished rice which had had the outer coverings removed from the grain, it was thought this would be easier for weak and sick people to digest．

　　Eijkman thought his germ theory was proved when he noticed the chickens in the hospital yard, which were fed on remains from the patients' plates, were also showing signs of the disease．He then tried to separate the germ, which he thought was causing the disease, but his experiments were interrupted by a hospital official, who ordered that the rice without coverings, even though left over by the patients, was too good for chickens．It should be recooked for the patients, and the chickens should be fed on cheap, rough rice with the outer coverings still on the grain．

　　Eijkman noticed that the chickens began to recover on the new diet．He began to consider the possibility that eating unmilled rice(糙米)somehow prevented or cured beri-beri--even that a lack of some ingredient(成分)in the coverings may be the cause of the disease．Indeed this was the case．The element needed to prevent beri-beri was shortly afterwards separated from rice coverings and is now known as vitamin B．The milled rice, though more expensive, was in fact causing the disease the hospital was trying to cure．Nowadays, this terrible disease is much less common thanks to our knowledge of vitamins．

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The Booking Notes of the Play "the Age of Innocence"

Price：＄10

BOOKING

　　There are four easy ways to book seats fur performance：

　　－in person

　　The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.－8 p.m．

　　－by telephone

　　Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card(Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted)

　　－by post

　　Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office．

　　－on line

　　Complete the on-line booking form at www．Satanfiedtheatre．com

DICOUNTS：

　　Saver：＄2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday．Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students．

　　Supersaver：half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion．It is advisable to book in advance．There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show．

　　Standby：best available seats are on sale for ＄6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible(suitable)for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers．

　　Group Bookings：there is a ten per cent discount for parties of twelve or more．

　　School：school parties of ten or more can book ＄6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free．

　　Please note：we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances．

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　　British potato farmers were angry and wanted the expression “couch potato” to be taken out of the dictionary because it harmed the vegetable's image．

　　The British Potato Council wants the Oxford English Dictionary to replace the expression with the term “couch slouch”, with protests being outside Parliament in London and the offices of Oxford University Press．

　　Kathryn Race, head of marketing at the Council, which represents some 4,000 planters and processors, said the group had complained in writing to the OED but had yet to receive a response．

　　“We are trying to get rid of the image that potatoes are bad for you,” she said on Monday．

　　“The potato has had its knocks in the past．Of course it is not the Oxford English Dictionary's fault but we want to use another term instead of “couch potato” because potatoes are naturally healthy．”

　　The OED says that “couch potato” began as American slang, meaning “a person who spends his or her leisure time sitting around, especially watching television or video tapes．”

　　The Potato Council says its campaign is backed by dieticians(饮食学家)who say the vegetable is low in fat and high in vitamin C．

　　Supporting the campaign, famous cook Antony Worrall Thompson said the vegetable was one of Britain's favorite foods．

　　“Not only are they healthy, they are also convenient and yummy(美味)．Life without potato is like a sandwich without a filling,” he said．

　　John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, said the dictionary first included the term “couch potato” in 1993 and said “dictionaries just reflect the words that society uses．”

　　Simpson said words were never taken out of the full-length dictionary, which includes some 650,000 words in 20 volumes．

　　But little-used words can be removed from the smaller dictionaries to make way for newer ones．

　　“If society stops using words then they get taken out of the smaller dictionaries,” he added．

　　The first known recorded use of the expression “couch potato” was in an article in Los Angeles Times, in 1979, Simpson said．

　　Nigel Evans, a member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley in Lancashire, has made a motion in support of the campaign, highlighting the nutritional value of the British potato．