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　　Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have．A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate(模仿)the British accent of a BBC news reader?

　　Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent．Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex! Let’s listen to what they have to say．

　　A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it．Whether it’s Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy(时髦)．A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood．Her Texan twang(鼻音)had all the boys here on their knees within seconds of meeting her．

　　To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people．

　　From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men．Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style．

　　Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent．For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak．

　　The English accent seems almost like art．

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　　The first English week at our school started on May 4th, 2009．The whole school was filled with an English learning atmosphere．A series of activities was held．There were handwriting activities, story writing, English songs, role playing in English, and so on, all the teachers and students were very happy．They spoke English, sang English songs and enjoyed all the activities．

　　Handwriting was for the students in lower grades．Although most of them couldn’t write so well, they were all very careful about it．In the show window, there were a lot of colorful handwritten papers．They copied some articles from books or newspapers．And then they decorated them with pictures in different colors, and some even put their own photos on them．How cute and lovely they looked!

　　Story writing was for students in Grade 7 and Grade 8．These students are always fond of cartoons, so they got interested in this activity．Reading the stories they made up, all the visitors couldn’t help speaking highly of them．

　　The most important event was the English show on the last day．The students and teachers presented(上演)a lot of English songs and English operas．Each program won storms of applause．

　　One week is not very long, but all the students and teachers learned a lot．Just as the headmaster said, “It is a helpful week．It will certainly lead us to enjoy and learn more from our English studies．”

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　　Watching 3D films such as Avatar could give some viewers headaches, experts have warned．

　　The success of James Cameron's science-fiction blockbuster(卖座的大片), which has already taken more than ＄1 billion(￡600 million)at the box office, is fuelling a surge in popularity for three-dimensional movies and new 3D television sets．

　　But prolonged viewing may result in an aching head, according to Dr Michael Rosenberg, an ophthalmology(眼科学)professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago．

　　He said："There are a lot of people walking around with very minor eye problems, for example a minor muscle imbalance, which under normal circumstances the brain deals with naturally．"

　　Watching a 3D movie confronts viewers with an entirely new sensory experience．"That translates into greater mental effort, making it easier to get a headache," he said．

　　Dr Deborah Friedman, a professor of ophthalmology and neurology(神经学)at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, said："If your eyes are a little off to begin with then it's really throwing a whole degree of effort that your brain now needs to exert．This disparity for some people will give them a headache．"

　　Experts say there are no studies tracking how common it is to get a headache after watching a 3D film．

　　Rick Heineman, a spokesman for RealD, which provides 3D equipment to cinemas, said headaches and nausea were the main reasons 3D technology never took off before．

　　But he said new digital technology addresses many of the problems that had previously caused sore heads．

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　　Healthy knees aren’t the main consideration in choosing high heels, but new research says chunky heels are just as bad for the knees as spindly stilettos(细高跟鞋)．“It takes a long time to feel the effects of knee osteoarthritis(骨关节炎)－and once you do, it is too late,” said Dr．Casey Kerrigan, leading researcher of the study and associate professor at Harvard Medical School’s department of physical medicine．“I compare it to smoking --- one cigarette is not painful, but over a lifetime it is．Wide-heeled shoes feel comfortable, so women wear them all day long, “Kerrigan said．“They are better for your feet than stiletto heels, but just as bad for your knees．”

　　In the study, researchers had twenty women wear two pairs of shoes with three-inch heels, one with a narrow heel and the other with a thick one．The scientists compared how much pressure was put on the women’s knees by both types of shoes．The women also walked barefoot to test normal pressure．The scientists found that both types of shoes applied equal amounts of pressure to the knees．Compared with walking barefoot, the heels increased pressure on the inside of the knee by 26 percent．Increased pressure on the knee eventually leads to arthritis(关节炎), experts say．

　　The idea that high heels are bad for your health isn’t new－scientists have warned women for years that they contribute to problems ranging from corns to hammer toes, tendonitis, knee pain, sprained(扭伤)ankles and back problems．But in 1998, Kerdgan and a team of Harvard researchers were the first to link high heels and knee osteoarthritis, a painful joint disease that destroys cartilage(软骨)surrounding the knee．The first study looked only at stiletto heels, and Kerrigan said she wanted to study the chunky high-heeled shoes she noticed many women wearing．“This study confirms what we all intuitively(直觉地)know that high-heeled shoes of any kind are not good for our health,” said Dr．Glenn Pfeifer, a San Francisco doctor and member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons who was not connected to the study．

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　　A friend of mine, in response to a conversation we were having about the injustices of life, asked me the question, “Who said life was going to be fair, or that it was even meant to be fair?” Her question was a good one．It reminded me of something I was taught as a youngster：Life isn’t fair．It’s disappointing, but it’s absolutely true．One of the mistakes many of us make is that we feel sorry for ourselves, or for others, thinking that life should be fair, or that someday it will be．It’s not and it won’t．

　　One of the nice things about surrendering(屈从)to the fact that life isn’t fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have．We know it’s not “life’s job” to make everything perfect, it’s our own challenge．Surrendering to this fact also keeps us from feeling sorry for others because we are reminded that everyone is dealt a different hand; everyone has unique strengths and problems in the process of growing up, facing the reality and making decisions; and everyone has those times that they feel victimized or unfairly treated．

　　The fact that life isn’t fair doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to improve our own lives or the world as a whole．To the contrary, it suggests that we should．When we don’t recognize or admit that life isn’t fair, we tend to feel pity for others and for ourselves．Pity, of course, is a self-defeating emotion that does nothing for anyone, except to make everyone feel worse than they already do．When we do recognize that life isn’t fair, however, we feel compassion(热情)for others and for ourselves．And compassion is a heartfelt emotion that delivers loving-kindness to everyone it touches．The next time you find yourself thinking about the injustices of the world, try reminding yourself of this very basic fact．You may be surprised that it can persuade you out of self-pity and into helpful action．

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　　It’s great fun to explore(探索)new places－it feels like an adventure, even when you know you’re not the first to have been there．But make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles．

　　●Do the map reading if you’re being driven somewhere．It’ll be easier if you keep turning the map so it follows the direction you’re traveling in．Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn or you’ll have to move to the back seat．

　　●Get a group of friends together and go exploring．You'll need a good map, a compass(指南针), a raincoat, a cell phone to call for help in case you get lost, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies(应急现金)．Tell someone where you’re going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back．The test is in not getting lost, not in seeing how fast you can go, so always stick together，waiting for slower friends to catch up．

　　●See if your school or a club organizes orienteering activities, in which you need a map and a compass to find your way．This can be done as a sport, with teams trying to find the way from A to B(and B to C, etc．)in the fastest time, or simply as a spare-time activity．Either way, it’s not only good fun, but a great way to keep fit．

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　　I was doing a diploma(文凭)course．When it ended, job hunting started．The first company I tried turned me down．I started thinking I was worthless．I felt so sad that I found myself crying unconsciously, unable to hold back my tears．When my roommate came, she consoled me, said many words to encourage me, and pointed out the mistakes I had made in the interview so that I would do better the next day．She made me gather strength for the next interview that would come the next day．

　　That night, I kept saying to myself, “Tomorrow is MY day．I will get myself selected tomorrow．” I kept on saying it the whole night, probably in my sleep too, and in the morning until I faced my interview．I went OK．I believed so．

　　I went through the last part of the selection process, which also went quite well．In the evening the result were announced and I was not selected．I went home thinking that this was not possible．I was not in the mood to prepare for another interview the next day, but I still did so．

　　Next morning, I sat for another written exam for a third company, still thinking about what had happened the day before．When I came out of the room, a student told me that our teacher was searching for me．I went to him and he congratulated me by saying, “You have been selected by the company that came yesterday．” “I knew this had to happen,” my heart said to me．“See! I told you．You could do it．Just believe in yourself!”

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　　How do you address(称呼)people in English when you want to talk to them? The following may be some simple rules the beginners should follow．

　　1．When talking to strangers there is often no special form of address in English．Usually, if you want to catch the attention of a stranger it is necessary to use such phrases as “Excuse me”．

　　2．In British English “Sir” and “Madam” are considered to be too formal(正式)for most situations．They are used mostly to customers(顾客)in shops or restaurants．While in American English “Sir” and “Madam” are not so formal and are commonly used between strangers, especially with older people whose names you don’t know．

　　3．When you talk to some people you know, you can use their names．If you are friends, use their first names; if your relationship is more formal, use “Mr．”, “Mrs．”, “Ms”, etc, before their family names．

　　4．There are many other forms of address which can be used between friends and strangers．However, many of these are limited in use．For example, “pal” and “mate” can be used between strangers, but are usually only used by men talking to other men．

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　　America is a mobile society．Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change．Neither side feels hurt by this．Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while－then no more．If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship．This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸)sometimes deeply into both families．

　　Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life．They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客)easily．

　　Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time．This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time．Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend．We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends．The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine．They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus．And they expect that we will phone them from there．Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real．We will find ourselves treated hospitably．

　　For the Americans, it is often considered friendlier to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters．So accept their hospitality at home!

阅读理解

　　Students in many countries are learning English．Some of these students are small children．Others are teen-agers．Many are adults．Some learn at school, others by themselves．A few learn English by learning the language over the radio, on TV, or in film．One must work hard to learn another language．

　　Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer this question．Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects required for study．They study their own language and maths and English：Some people learn it because it is useful for their work．Many people learn English for their work．Many people learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English．Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English．