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　　The campaign is over．The celebrations have ended．And the work for US president-elect Barack Obama has begun．

　　The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his stand against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix a weak economy．But what will the first 47-year-old African-American president do for race relations?

　　Obama’s victory appears to have given blacks and other minorities a true national role model．For years, many looked to athletes and musicians for inspiration．As Darius Turner, an African-American high school student in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times, “Kobe doesn’t have to be everybody’s role model anymore．”

　　Recent polls(民意测验)also suggest that Obama’s victory has given Americans new optimism about race relations．For example, a USA Today poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe relations between blacks and whites “will finally be worked out”．This is the most hopeful response since the question was first asked during the civil rights revolution in 1963．

　　However, it’s still too early to tell whether Obama’s presidency will begin to solve many of the social problems facing low-income black communities．

　　Although blacks make up only 13 percent of the US population, 55 percent of all prisoners are African-American．Such numbers can be blamed on any number of factors on America’s racist past, a failure of government policy and the collapse(瓦解)of the family unit in black communities．

　　It is unlikely that Obama will be able to reverse(扭转)such trends overnight．However, Bill Bank, an expert of African-American Studies, says that eventually young blacks need to find role models in their own communities．“That’s not Martin Luther King, and not Barack Obama,” he told the Los Angeles Times．“It’s actually the people closest to them．Barack only has so much influence．”

　　In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama’s rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US．

　　“When the G8 meets, the four most important people in the room will be the president of China, the prime minister of India, the prime minister of Japan and Barak Obama,” he told London’s The Times newspaper．“It will be the first time we’ve seen that on our television screens．That will be a huge psychological shift(心理转变)for both the white people and the colored ones in the world．”

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　　In our life, we have rarely expressed our gratitude to the one who’d lived those years with us．In fact, we don’t have to wait for anniversaries to thank the ones close to us－the ones so easily overlooked．If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is this：give it now! While your feeling of appreciation is alive and sincere, act on it．Saying thanks is such an easy way to add to the world’s happiness．

　　Saying thanks not only brightens someone else’s world, but it also brightens yours．If you’re feeling left out, unloved or unappreciated, try reaching out to others．It may be just the medicine you need．

　　Of course, there are times when you can’t express gratitude immediately．In that case don’t let embarrassment sink you into silence－speak up the first time you have the chance．

　　Once a young minister, Mark Brian, was sent to a remote parish of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia．He had been told that the Indians did not have a word for thank you．But Brian soon found that these people had exceptional generosity．Instead of saying thanks, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own, and every kindness with an equal or superior kindness．They do their thanks．

　　I wonder if we had no words in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? Would we be more responsive, more sensitive and more caring?

　　Thankfulness sets in motion a chain of reaction that transforms people all around us－including ourselves, for no one ever misunderstands the melody of a grateful heart．

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　　Competition between international universities is heating up, as China grows as one of the largest exporters of students aiming to study abroad．“Lots of universities are becoming more and more aggressive to attract Chinese students．Every day I receive contacts from universities in the US expressing the desire to come to China to recruit students,” said Frank Joseph, a commercial officer from embassy of the United States．

　　One key reason why more Chinese students are able to study abroad is the economy：With China’s boom within the past decade, more families have the financial wherewithal(资金)to send their children to international universities．There will be a total of 200,000 family-funded Chinese students studying overseas in 2011, up 20 percent from last year, said Wu Zaofeng, deputy secretary general of China Education Association for International Exchange．

　　International institutions, Joseph said, are also facing increasingly tough financial situation with a shortage of domestic students and a drop in government subsidies(补贴)．Students, especially in the US are paying high tuition fees and living expenses．Chinese students with money to spend, according to experts, can fill up the gap．Students on average spend 150,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan every year studying in US, according to statistics from the US Institute of International Education．During 2009-2010, there were approximately 81,000 Chinese students studying in the US, up 19.8 percent from 2008．

　　Representatives from approximately 60 universities from the United States are planning to arrive in Beijing this weekend to attract more Chinese students at this year’s fair．Besides the US, many other countries are also vying(竞争)to enroll Chinese students．

　　Post-study work visa put out by British government allows all international students completing a UK degree qualification to apply for a visa to stay on and look for work in UK for up to 2 years．Being the third most popular destination for international students next to the US and the UK, France has set up two types of scholarships and has handed out an increase of 26 percent in scholarship funds to Chinese students in recent years．

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　　I was waiting for a phone call from my agent．He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled．I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later．So I waited and waited, but there was still no call．Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient．I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me．I was overcome with that thought．I started to shout at the phone,“ Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”

　　At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on．Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket．

　　I stood watching her, speechless．What on earth?

　　She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room－if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”

　　Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control．” With that, she left the room．

　　After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed．I was laughing．How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things．Twenty minutes later my agent did call．I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly．

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　　Robert is nine years old and Joanna is seven．They live at Mount Ebenezer．Their father has a big property(财产)．In Australia they call a farm a property．

　　Robert and Joanna like school very much．At school they can talk to their friends but Robert and Joanna cannot see their friends．They live 100, perhaps 300, miles away and like Robert and Joanna, they all go to school by radio．

　　Mount Ebenezer is in the centre of Australia．Not many people live in “The Centre”．There are no schools with desks and blackboards and no teachers in “The Centre”．School is a room at home with a two-way radio．The teacher also has a two-way radio．Every morning she calls each student on the radio．When all students answer, lessons begin… Think of your teacher 300 miles away!

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　　Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side．

　　Most people know this joke．But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road．

　　“Millions of animals die each year on U．S．roads,” the Federal Highway Administration reports．In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U．S．today．The main reason? Roadkill．

　　“Eco-passages” may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars．They are paths both over and under roads．“These eco-passages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents,” said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society．

　　But do animals actually use the eco-passages? The answer is yes．Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an eco-passage that went under a highway．This showed that the lions used the passage．

　　Builders of eco-passages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them．Animals seem to be catching on．Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses．

　　The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around．You might see an animal overpass!

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　　Everyone who has eaten instant noodles(方便面)before knows how it looks like．It is very easy to cook it instantly by putting the noodles into the boiling water and add in those MSG(味精)packets, together with your other food like eggs or vegetables．However, have you ever wondered whether this is the correct way of cooking it? When you first took out the noodles from the packaging, you will notice that the noodles are joined together nicely as a piece．In order to make the noodles joined together nicely side by side it needs some form of wax coating(石蜡涂层)in order to show an attractive instant noodles in front of us．Many people who enjoy eating instant noodles frequently do not really think too much of it as it seems very normal to everyone to have it nicely shown in front of us．However, researches have shown that the wax coating on the noodles is quite harmful to our body and we should not eat it too frequently．It is advisable to have a break of 2-3 days before we start to eat another packet of instant noodles as our body need about 3 days to clear that layer of wax coating away from our body system．Do you know the danger of having too much wax coating stored in our stomach? It will lead to CANCER if it is stored in our body system for a long period of time．

　　There are 2 key points to take note while preparing instant noodles：

　　1)Wash the instant noodles with warm water first, stir it and pour away the water containing the wax coating．

　　2)Repeat Step 1 and try to stir the noodles again to wash away the wax coating on the noodles before cooking it in a new pot of water．

　　Hope this article will let more people have self-awareness of the hidden danger of instant noodles and thus eat safely and stay healthy．

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　　The Taj Mahal(泰姬陵)is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Indian architecture(建筑)．It is at Agra in northern India．It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools．

　　The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor(皇帝)Shah Jehan, who ruled India in the seventeenth century．It is in memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631．The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638, was designed by a local Muslim architect(建筑师), Ustad Ahmad Lahori．The whole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643．The Taj Mahal stands at one end of the garden tomb with marble(大理石)path．The room is softly lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls．The building now is kept in good condition．

　　The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build．Shah Jehan planned a similar building, but in black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river．But before it could be built, Shah Jehan was imprisoned(监禁)by his son and buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal．

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　　A professor I have worked pretty closely with has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer．It has been devastating(悲惨的)for his family and heartbreaking for his students．

　　What made him extraordinary was not only that he was a rising star．He had only recently collected the highest honors for young researchers at the White House．We truly admire him－as someone put it, ‘He always has a smile and a kind word for everyone．” It is very hard to find someone who is extremely intelligent should be so nice a human being．

　　I decided that we needed him to know our attitude and also how we are all praying for his recovery．I bought him a simple card which read, ‘Healing thoughts and wishes coming your way．” I met all the students he worked closely with and got them to sign on it．Each student in his laboratory signed and also added a message．‘We love you so much”, ‘We miss you! We need you back here－recover soon”…These were some of the messages that were written．Most of the students were really glad we were doing this and said it was a very good idea to give it to him．

　　He is still undergoing intense treatment, and along with his family is trying his best to stay optimistic and hopeful．I didn’t see a trace of self-pity or sadness when I met him last week．Instead, he paid attention to every word of my presentation and asked me several questions related to my work．I was amazed at how much he gave his 100％ on that day in spite of being in pain because of chemotherapy(化疗)，he did not know if he even had another month to live．“I am trying to focus on staying positive, hoping to be back this summer,” he said．

　　Needless to say, I saw an expression of joy and hope on his face as he opened the card．He said he was truly touched to see the messages from the students he worked closely with．

　　There is one thing I learnt from last week：It is so important to tell people how much they mean to us and what an inspiration they are before it becomes too late．My professor, in spite of being too sick to teach classes, has managed to continue being a great teacher, introducing his last valuable message to us．

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　　The city of Rome has passed a new law to prevent cruelty to animals．All goldfish bowls are no longer allowed and dog owners must walk their dogs．

　　This comes after a national law was passed to give prison sentences to people who desert cats or dogs．

　　“The civilization of a city can be measured by this,” said Monica Carina, the councilor behind the new law．

　　The newspaper reported that round bowls don’t give enough oxygen for fish and may make them go blind．

　　“Rome has tried to protect fish more than anywhere else in the world．It stands out for recognizing that fish are interesting animals that deserve over respect and pity every bit as much as dogs and cats and other animals,” said Karin Robertson, a director of the People for the Ethical treatment of Animals．

　　Lat year a law was passed in Italy that gives people who desert pets big fines and prison sentences．Since then local governments have added their own animal protection rules．

　　The northern city of Turin passed a law in April to give pet owners fines of up to ＄598 if they do not walk their dogs three times a day．

　　The new law in Rome also says that owners mustn’t leave their dogs in hot cars or cut their dogs’ tail to make them look lovelier．The law also gives legal recognition to the “cat ladies” who feed homeless cats．The cats live all over the city from ancient ruins to modern office car parks．