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　　Tracy Caulkings is known as the first American to set an American record and win an American title in each of four swimming strokes：breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, freestyle．

　　Tracy Caulkins was born in Minnesota and lived in Iowa until she was six．She began swimming when she was eight, after the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee．While unwilling at first to swim in cold water or get her face wet, she began to train in earnest(认真地)as her talent became clear．Though her father worked for the public schools, the family sent her to a private school when the public schools could not accommodate(适应)her training schedule．

　　At age 13, Tracy Caulkins took part in the trials for the 1976 Olympics, but did not make the team．She continued to win national and international titles, and was disappointed in 1980 when the U．S．didn’t attend the Moscow Olympics．She continued to train and compete．

　　In 1981,Tracy Caulkins began college, graduating in 1985．In college, she continued competing and training, though she had slowed down from her peak(顶峰)years．

　　Caulkins trained especially hard for the 1984 Olympics, and not only made the team, but was captain of the swim team, and at Los Angeles, won three gold medals and was named Sportswoman of the Year by the U．S．Olympic Committee．After that she retired from swimming, and was a commentator(解说员)for swimming events as well as taking advantage of her fame to do business．

　　Tracy Caulkins married Australian swimmer, Mark Stockwell, in 1991, their romance having begun at the 1984 Olympics when he jumped into a warm-up pool to introduce himself．They married in Nashville and moved to Australia, where they had three children who have dual citizenship．Caulkins continued to be professionally involved in sports．

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　　The spread of worsening international financial crisis(金融危机)has seriously affected world economic growth and stability．The ongoing financial crisis is rarely seen in history．Countries and organizations have taken measures in response, and we hope theses measures will produce the desired results soon．Countries in Asia and Europe are an important force for international financial stability and world economic growth．I suggest that we make greater efforts in the following aspects：

　　First, countries should run their own affairs well．In the face of the crisis, it is important for leaders to act in the fundamental(根本的)and long-term interests of the people and use necessary monetary(货币，金融)and regulatory tools to regain market confidence as soon as possible and maintain economic growth．

　　Second, set up coordination(调和)and cooperation among governments．The financial departments, central banks and financial regulators around the world should closely follow the department of the crisis and study its trend and impact(作用，影响)．

　　Third, strengthen regional financial dialogue and cooperation．Members of the Eurozone have reached agreement on the basic principles to tackle(处理，解决)the financial crisis．We in Asia are also exploring the possibility of expanding the size of bilateral currency swap(互惠外汇信贷)arrangements under the 10＋3 framework(机制，结构)．

　　Fourth, push forward the reform of the international monetary and financial systems．The present crisis has exposed the weakness in the existing international financial system and governance structure．It is important to do three things in this regard：first, increase the say and representation of developing countries in international financial organizations; second, expand the space of the regulation of the international financial system, and third, establish a reasonable global financial rescue mechanism(机制)．

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　　In so many ways, cyberspace(网络空间)mirrors(反映)the real world．People ask for information, play games, and share hobby tips．Others buy and sell products．Still others look for friendship, or even love．

　　Unlike the real world, however, your knowledge about a person is limited to words on a computer screen．Identity(身份)and appearance mean very little in cyberspace．Rather, a person's thoughts or at least the thoughts they type are what really counts．So even the shyest person can become a chat-room star．

　　Usually, this “ faceless” communication doesn't create problems．Identity doesn't really matter when you are in a chat-room discussing politics or hobbies．In fact, this emphasis on the idea themselves makes the Internet a great place for exciting conversation．Where else can so many people come together to chat?

　　Some Internet users want more than just someone to chat with．They are looking for serious love relationships．Is cyberspace a good place to find love?That answer depends on whom you ask．Some of these relationships actually succeed．Others end in tears．Supporters of online relationships claim that the Internet allows couples to know how intelligent they are first．Personal appearance doesn't get in the way．

　　But critics(批评者)of online relationships argue that no one can truly know another person in cyberspace．Why?Because the Internet gives users a lot of control over how others view them．Internet users can carefully choose their words to fit whatever image they want to give．And they don't have to worry about what their non-verbal communication is doing for their image．In a sense, they're not really themselves．All of this may be fine if the relationship stays in cyberspace．But not knowing a person is a big problem in a love relationship．With so many unknowns, it's easy to let one's imagination “fall in the blanks”．This surely leads to disappointment when couples meet in person．How someone imagines an online friend is often quite different from the real person．

　　So before looking for love in cyberspace, remember the advice of Internet pioneer Clifford Stoll, “Life in the real world is far richer than anything you'll find on a computer screen．”

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　　When my father was dying, I traveled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days．It was far more heartbreaking than I'd expected, one of the most difficult and painful times in my life．After he passed away I stayed alone in his apartment．There were so many things to deal with．It all seemed endless．I was lonely．I hated the silence of the apartment．

　　But one evening the silence was broken：I heard crying outside．I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps．He was thin and poor．He looked the way I felt．I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish．He ate it and then almost immediately fell sleep．

　　The next morning I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been abandoned by his owner who'd moved out．So the little cat was there all alone, just like I was．As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what to do with him．Having something else to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed．But as soon as I opened the apartment door he came running and jumped into my arms．It was clear from that moment that he had no intention of going anywhere．I started calling him Willis, in honor of my father's best friend．

　　From then on, things grew easier．With Willis in my lap time seemed to pass much more quickly．When the time finally came for me to return home I had to decide what to do about Willis．There was absolutely no way I would leave without him．

　　It's now been five years since my father died．Over the years, several people commented on how nice it was of me to rescue the cat．But I know that we rescued each other．I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater．

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　　In America, when the eighth graders leave the middle school, they are often worried about moving to the high school．It is a hard time for them, but it can be an exciting one as well．To make it easier, students need to get familiar(熟悉)with their school．

　　Even though they've done this already in the middle school, it's still important to find where their classrooms are．Most schools take students to the high school for a visit at the end of their eighth grade year．And, most schools also have a freshman(新生)speech for parents and students before the first year begins．Sometimes the main office will give away a map of the school．This can help students and parents to find different places in the school．

　　One way to know your high school more and make new friends is to join a club or play a sport．Schools often offer chances to join different clubs and sports．Fall activities begin in August before the first day of school．If you are not interested in sports, there are clubs for any interest, such as drama, dance, chess, photography, community service, etc．These clubs allow students from different grades．By joining in an activity, students can find new friendships and improve their chances in future college applications(申请)．The school office will have a list of activities offered at the school and information on how to join in them．

　　What's more, to have a great start to a high school year, students can write down some of their worries, and ask for help from teachers and school workers．

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　　I was standing in the post office, addressing an envelope when I saw a woman approach the postal clerk．“I found this lying on the floor by my box,” she said, “and I would like to hand it in．”

　　The postal clerk laughed and said, “I have never had anyone hand in money before, but I will put it in an envelope．Please write your name and telephone number on the front．If no one claims(认领)the money, we will call you．”

　　The lady explained, “I have lost money before and it was never turned in．I remember how I felt．I don't want to make someone else feel that way．” Then she left the post office．At almost the same time a very young man rushed in．He approached the postal clerk and asked, “Has anyone turned in any money recently?”

　　He told the clerk the amount, and the clerk laughed again．“As a matter of fact, yes!” she responded．“It was turned in just a couple of minutes ago．”

　　The look of relief(宽慰)on the young man's face is a memory I will have for a long time．He said he thought the money was safe in his coat pocket when he walked in to check his mailbox．Only when he arrived home did he realize that it was no longer there．

　　I finally finished preparing the package to be mailed, but I was the one who had a very special surprise in the post office．

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　　The Maldives(马尔代夫)consists of l,196 islands，with 26 distinct coral atolls(环状珊瑚岛)．This amazing place has been hardly touched by human hands．Its clear waters and white washed beaches are an attractive sight．

　　The Maldives is located just southwest of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean．On the world map they make just tiny points compared to other countries．You will need your glasses to pick out these amazing islands．

　　The Maldives, with its tropical views and coral reefs, give everybody the chance to relax and get the opportunity to live the dream on a desert island．Its all year round sunshine and perfect diving sites are just two reasons for getting over here for comfortable holiday．Besides, it doesn't take long to settle in, as the people of the Maldives always make their guests' visit as pleasant as possible．

　　Male is the capital of the Maldives．The contrast(差别)between Male and the other islands is obvious as Male makes up a third of the population．

　　With the first tourist resort opening in 1972, the Maldives holidays have become so popular that there are now around 80 resorts and cruise ships(游艇)in and around the area．Its main holiday makers are made up of Europeans, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy．The number of tourists is steadily on the increase from other countries as more and more people learn about the amazing Maldives islands．

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　　Forty-two of the fifty American states offered some kind of public online learning this past school year．One state, Michigan, now requires all students to have an online learning experience before they finish high school．Even the idea of a school has changed since the rise of the Internet in the 1990s．

　　A new report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University says eighteen states have full-time virtual schools．There are no buildings．All classes are online．

　　Florida started the first statewide public virtual school in the United States in 1997．Today, the Florida Virtual School offers more man ninety courses．56,000 students were enrolled as of December．Almost sixty percent were female．The school's website says each student was enrolled

　　in an average of two classes．

　　Florida Virtual School has now opened the Florida Virtual Global School．Students in other countries pay for classes．Janet Heiking teaches an English class．She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana．Her students live as far away as Africa and Japan．She says they are taking her Advanced Placement class to prepare for attending an American college．They can earn college credits by passing the AP test．

　　So how good are virtual schools? Studies have shown mixed results, as a new report from Indiana University notes．For example, students at Florida Virtual School earned higher grades than those taking the same courses the traditional way．And they scored higher on a statewide test．But virtual school students in Kansas and Colorado had lower test scores or performed at a lower level than traditional learners．Studies also find that virtual schools may not save much in operating costs．

　　Education experts say the mixed results suggest the need for more research to find the best ways to teach in virtual schools．A1so, they say schools of education need to train more teachers to work in both real and virtual classrooms．

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　　Who cares if money can't buy you love? But it can still be your best friend forever．That's one of the surprising findings in a new research paper, “The Power of Money”, published in me journal Psychological Science．

　　Like any best friend forever, money demonstrated to researchers its ability to soothe us, reduce our sense of social exclusion and even reduce life's painful moments．

　　“I was surprised” says Katherine Vohs, one of the researchers and professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management．“The findings were surprising because no one had connected the meaning of money to pain．The money wasn't buying the subjects more friends；it was only psychologically helpful．”

　　In the research, students were told they would be participating in a test of finger dexterity(敏捷度)．One group was given some paper money to count, while the other group was given blank pieces of paper．Once the counting was complete, all the test subjects were asked to dip their fingers into bowls of water heated to 122 degrees－roughly the temperature of a very hot bath．

　　Result? Those who had been counting money reported less pain than those who had not．Subjects also were asked about their feelings．Those who handled actual money reported feeling stronger even 10 minutes after they put down the cash．

　　Combined with previous experiments, the findings confirmed what researchers have long doubted, that money acts as a general panacea(万能药)in the brain, giving us social self-confidence and reducing physical pain without having to spend a dime on aspirin．

　　But can we get the same effect by using credit cards? “No, credit cards do not have the same effect, ” Vohs says．“They are scary for most people, and they in fact represent debt m many ways．”The findings could have an interesting effect in the business world, where recent trends have been to issue non-monetary rewards and bonuses instead of what was thought of as “cold, hard cash”．