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　　A beautiful and very successful actress(女演员)was the star for a new musical show．Her home was in the countryside, but she did not want to go back there every night, so she bought an expensive house in the centre of the city, got some beautiful furniture and got a man to paint the rooms in new colors．

　　It was very difficult to get tickets for her show, because everybody wanted to see it．So she decided to give the painter two of the best seats．She hopes that this would make him work better for her．He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill(账单)．At the bottom of it were these words：“Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance：3 pounds,”with this note：“A after 5p. m, I get 15 shillings(先令)an hour instead of 10 shillings．”

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　　Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare．He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today．

　　During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays．It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works．For example, in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors"(《错误的喜剧》)Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus．For his play "Macbeth"(《麦克白》), Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information．Shakespeare might have borrowed from other writers, but the intensity(强度)of his imagination and language made the plays his own．While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on．

　　Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him．He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays．His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city's tradesmen．Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear．His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people．

　　It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare's works have influenced the world culture．But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language．During his time, the English language was changing．Many new words from other languages were being added．Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones．For example, he created the noun forms of "critic", "mountaineer” and "eyeball"．Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including "pomp and circumstance(装腔作势)"from "Othello"(《奥赛罗》), "full circle(绕圈子地)" from "King Lear"(《李尔王》), etc．The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless．From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented．Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world．

　　Shakespeare became a well-known writer during a golden age of theater．His years of hard work paid off．

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Have you got any wonderful plans for your coming winter vacation? Here are some wonderful films for you to kill time．

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　　Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor．Whenever I speak to a Chinese student they always say, “My spoken English is poor．” However, their spoken English does not have to remain “poor”! I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English．

　　Second, they are afraid of making mistakes．Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous．Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY．Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly．However, in speaking your aim is fluency．You want to get your message across, to talk to someone in English, as quickly and as well sa you can, even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or these, but it doesn't matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances(留出余地，体谅)for any mistakes he hears．

　　The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening．You have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing was necessary for you to start speaking．

　　Fourth, most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive language learners．Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor．If you have this proactive outlook, then you will see English opportunities wherever you go．

　　If you do not use your English beyond the classroom you will forget what English you know．Remember：USE IT OR LOSE IT! You can learn how to speak English better by speaking English more．

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UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

　　(Board of Graduate Studies Admissions Office)

　　2708 Fltrp Wai

　　Yan She Da Sha

　　19# Xi Shan

　　Huan Bei Lu

　　Beijing 100089

　　China

　　Dear Li Hua,

　　I am very pleased to make you a conditional offer of admission as a Graduate Student at the University of Cambridge．This offer replaces any previous offer we may have made for this course and term of admission．Please read this letter and the explanation given in the accompanying booklet “An Explanation of Your Offer and Its Conditions” carefully．This letter and the booklet form a single document．

　　Your offer details are in two parts：the course we are offering you, and the conditions you must satisfy before we will admit you．The booklet tells you what each means and what you need to do to respond to the offer．

　　Qualification：Master of Philosophy(Only)

　　Subject：Modern Society＋Global Trans

　　Admission date：1 October, 2010

　　Supervisor：To be appointed．

　　Fee status：Overseas student．

　　Your Conditions

　　Finance：The YEARLY cost of your course is ￡18,002．

　　College：A condition of your admission is that one of the Cambridge Colleges offers your membership．The University is now seeking College membership for you, and will notify you when a College makes you an offer of membership．

　　Academic：You must graduate from your Bachelor’s degree with a final overall average of at least 90％．

　　…con’td

　　Use our online self-service to check the progress and much more about your application：

　　Http：//www．admin．cam．ac．uk/offices/gradstud/admissions/selfservice/

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　　For decades, Morocco, the only North African nation without large quantities of oil, combed the surrounding desert in search of fossil fuels．But roughly a year and a half ago, the country turned to a resource that exists in abundance across the region：the sun．

　　Now Europe－long dependent on Middle Eastern oil Russian natural gas－has begun to look toward the heat of the Sahara for some of its long-term energy needs．By 2050, roughly 15 percent of European energy could be produced by wind and solar-thermal(太阳能热)power in North Africa and parts of the Middle East, according to Dii, widely known as Desertec, a group of mostly Europen companies such as Siemens that are developing clean-energy technology in the region．Although the effort－expected to cost ＄510 billion－is still in the early stage of development, analysts say Morocco has far more aggressive investment plans than its regional rivels(竞争对手)and is well positioned to become North Africa's leading provider of renewable energy, especially solar-thermal．

　　In 2008, when global oil prices hit record highs, Morocco－which imports most of its power－saw energy costs nearly double, to roughly ＄9 billion annually．Soon after, King Mohamed VI issued a royal command making the development of alternative energy a top priority．He also put a legal framework in place to encourager European investment and has managed to limit instability in a region known for political confusion．

　　Another advantage for Morocco：geography．The sun over the Sahara is far stronger than it is in Europe．But what distinguishes the country from its neighbors is that it is close to Spain．The two countries are separated by less than 16 km at some points, and they’re connected by an energy transmission line．Currently the line sends energy from Spain to Morocco, but it could work both ways, and analysts say the line’s existence gives Morocco an advantage over its neighbors for access to the European market．

　　Getting a position in that market may take some time, however, due to a shortage of funding．By 2020, Morocco hopes to invest several billion dollars in solar-thermal power and use to technology to greatly increase its energy production．But unlike, say, wind power, which is economically competitive with fossil fuels, solar-thermal often is not, despite financial support from various international institutions．Analysts say the costs of solar-thermal will come down, eventually．

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　　The future of agriculture must achieve several goals at the same time．

　　First, it now appears that we will have to double world food production in the next 40 years due to population growth, increasing meat consumption and pressure from biofuels(生物燃料)．We will also have to reduce the environmental impacts from our farming practices, which have caused widespread damage to soils, ecosystems, waters and even the atmosphere．In fact, agriculture’s impacts are as bad as climate change as an environmental concern．Besides, we will have to improve food security for the world’s poor．While the Green Revolution of the 1960s made it possible to feed hundreds of millions more people than in earlier eras, the number of the under-nourished in the world has started to rise again．Finally, we will have to increase the recovering ability of agriculture from shocks．Today, our high-efficiency, globalized world has many benefits, but it is vulnerable(易受伤的)to destruction, whether from droughts, diseases or sudden price rises．We must start building better food systems to better keep us away from future shocks．

　　Currently, there are two models of agriculture：local and organic agriculture vs．globalized and industrialized agriculture．Each has been strongly supported and severely criticized, but neither of these models, standing alone, can fully meet our needs．

　　Organic agriculture teaches us important lessons about soils, nutrition and pest management．Unfortunately, organic food provides less than 1％ of the world’s calories, mostly to the wealthy．It is hard to imagine organic farming developing to feed 9 billion．Globalized and industrialized agriculture has benefits of high output and low labor demands．Without it, billions of people would have starved．However, it has come with enormous environmental and social costs, which cannot be sustained．

　　Rather than voting for just one solution, we need a third way to solve the crisis．Let’s take ideas from both sides, creating new, hybrid solutions that increase production, save resources and build a more sustainable agriculture．

　　There are many promising avenues to pursue．A new “third way” for agriculture is not only possible but also necessary．Our problems are huge, and they will require everyone at the table, working together toward solutions．

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　　It was a hot summer day．My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy one．

　　I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day．I ran into my parents' room to find Dad．When I saw him on the phone, he was crying．I'd never seen my dad cry before．My heart sank．What possibly could have happened?

　　"Max, I'm so sorry," I heard him say．That's when it hit me．I knew that Suzie had died．Max has been my dad's best friend for years．Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body．Her brain was OK．She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different from other kids．Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body．Yet although she couldn't live a normal life, she was still happy．

　　When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together．As we grew up, we grew apart．She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest．When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia．About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end．Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life．She wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate．In a way, she lived through me．

　　After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral．When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me．I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket(棺材)．

　　Her funeral was very different from any funeral I'd ever been to．After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her．I remember crying so hard, I felt weak．My cheeks burned from the tears．My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I'm glad I did it．

　　When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong．I learned so much from her．She gave me more than I could ever give to her．I will never forget her or the talks we had．I now know that I must never take anything for granted especially my health and the gift of life．

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　　In November of 2007, NBC Universal launched its first official Green Week．Throughout the week, NBC Universal presented over 150 hours of environmentally themed content across multiple platforms．

　　Now, NBC Universal is proud to present Green Week 2009．With a new theme and message of "Green Your Routine," Here at NBC and NBC．com we celebrate our talent in the "The More You Know" PSA campaign, presenting green-themed tips in several of our daytime life, among several other features here on the "Green Your Routine" site．

　　Throw a clothes swap party! Dying for that sweater your friend wore the other day? Well, maybe she'll trade for that old T-shirt you have．Here's a website that helps you organize a swap party(www．swapstyle．com), or just plan your own!

　　Go natural with organic make-up．Applying unnatural products directly on your skin wasn't exactly what nature intended．Try switching to a line of organic make-up and cosmetics for a different way to bring out your natural beauty．

　　Drop a brick in your toilet tank! Literally! According to the EPA, flushing(冲洗)makes up 30 percent of a household's water use(about three to six gallons per flush)．By placing a brick in your toilet tank, you can help to conserve the amount of water used during each flush．

　　Print smarter．Printing and copying can be one of the most costly operations in any office．To save on ink and paper costs, print double-sided and try to fit more than one page on a sheet．More printing tips can be found here：lifehacker．com

　　Turn off your computer．Do you leave your computer on overnight? If so, you're using up a good amount of electricity．When you can, try turning off your computer and the power strip it's connected to．If you can't, at least shut off your monitor．

　　Organize a carpool．There are many benefits to carpooling(拼车)．You save on gas, reduce wear and tear on your car, and you get to ride in the HOV lanes．Get connected with your neighbors and co-workers to start sharing rides and check out this website for more tips：www．erideshare．com．

　　Lose the car, get a bike．If you live close to where you work, try taking a bike instead of driving．You'll keep in shape and save on gas!

　　Every small step and effort makes a difference! Be sure to GREEN YOUR ROUTINE!