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　　Hilton English Language Center

　　Information for New Students

　　CLASS TIME：9∶00a. m.－10∶30a. m., 11∶00a. m.－12∶30p. m., 1∶30p. m.－3∶00p. m.．The Language Center is open from Monday to Friday．Each class has one afternoon free per week．On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable．

　　SELF-ACCESS：The language laboratory(Room 1110)is open Monday to Friday from 3∶15p. m. to 5∶00p. m. for all full-time students．

　　You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing(文字处理)．There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English．Go in and ask the teacher to show you．If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation(听写)and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with．There are cloze exercises on the computers．Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays．Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days．

　　ATTENDANCE(出勤)：All students are expected to attend classes regularly．Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS．Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates(证书)when they finish their courses．It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa．

　　BOOKS：If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility．If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it．

　　If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books(Room 3520)．

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　　Have you ever stayed up late? If so, you know that not getting enough sleep can leave you tired and grumpy．Not sleeping enough can also make it harder to think clearly the next day．

　　Sleep experts have long known that getting a good night’s sleep is important．

　　It helps kids perform their best during the day．A recent study shows that sleep helps improve problem－solving skills and creative thinking．

　　For the study, two groups of volunteers answered a math problem．The group that slept for eight hours solved the problem correctly more often than the group that did not get enough sleep．

　　While you sleep, your brain is busy doing its “homework”．It sorts out information from your day．Getting enough sleep each night can boost your brainpower．That will help you do your best in school．Experts say that, in return, can lead to better grades．

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Healthy Diet

　　“An apple a day keeps the doctor away．” Similarly, if we drink a little more water ever day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often．A healthy diet is made up of water and a great many different kinds of foods．We know that healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and fish, are important as they provide us with energy and fibre, without giving us too much fat and sugar．But why is water important?

　　The human body needs water to survive．Water is important as it carries poisons and waste out of our bodies．However, doctors advise us to drink plenty of water, much more than the small amount we need to stay alive．

　　Some doctors believe that water is important for our health in all kinds of ways．They believe that a great many illnesses and health problems stars as a result of dehydration－a lack(缺少)of water in the body．Most people are dehydrated at least some of time, although they probably don’t know it．It is surprising to learn that if we feel thirsty, we are already in the first stages of dehydration．In fact, we are advised to drink water before we feel thirsty．

　　These doctors think that health problems such as headaches, high blood pressure and asthma could be helped if people drink more water．They also believe that drinking more water can help people who are overweight．Water contains no calories so it will not make us put on weight．If we drink water, we will probably drink less sugary soft drinks such as Coca-cola．Doctors also believe that drinking more water may stop people from overeating．They say that many people think that they are hungry when they are, in fact, thirsty．Doctors suggest, therefore, that we eat less food and drink more water．

　　There are still many health problems that cannot be solved by drinking water, so we should not stop going to seeing the doctor completely．However, if we make a decision to drink water every day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often．

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　　On a small farm in Mexico, there are no schools．A bus is the school! The driver of the bus is the teacher! It is a school bus, but it doesn't take children to school．It just goes round from place to place, and sometimes it comes to this farm．The bus will stay here for three months．The farmers call it a school on wheels(车轮)．

　　Every time the bus comes, the farmers come running to it, shouting and laughing．They warmly welcome the school bus!

　　When the bus is on the farm, in the morning, the teacher teaches the small children．In the afternoon, the bigger children come to have their lessons because they must work in the morning．At night, the fathers and mothers come to school．They want to learn, too．How the farmers hope that some day they can have a real school on their farm!

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　　Commodities(日用品)are basic materials that are used and traded worldwide．The price of commodities helps determine how much a business can charge for a product and the profit it can make．Commodity prices have reached a two-year high since falling sharply during the world financial crisis．

　　Hard commodities are materials like iron ore, oil and gold．Agricultural products are soft commodities．These include wheat, cotton and rice．

　　Economic measures show the world economy is recovering．China and India, for example, have reported strong growth in manufacturing(制造业)．Developed nations have had slower growth．John James, a business professor at Pace University, says demand in developing economics can push up prices for commodities like oil and iron are used for making steel．But, he says, changing currency values can also influence prices．

　　Gold prices have reached record levels in recent months．That means gold dealers must pay more for the commodity now than they did only a year ago．That affects current prices．

　　Not surprisingly, manufacturers want some control over the prices they pay for commodities．Futures(期货)contracts are agreements between a buyer and a seller to exchange something at a set price at some time in the future．These contracts let buyers lock in a price for basic materials．But some traders in futures markets only want to make a profit．They buy or sell contracts depending on the direction they believe prices will go．These speculators(投机者)get condemned when prices rise, or fall, too quickly．The United States, Germany and France are looking into ways to limit this kind of trading．

　　Some experts say exporting commodities is not a good path to long-term economic growth．The United Nations recently reported that the least developed countries must change their economics to provide good incomes for their citizens．A UN official says the least developed countries need to cut dependence on commodities and manufacture products for export．He says only this will let them gain from world trade．

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　　The word “conservation” has a thrifty meaning．To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such a good condition that others may also share the enjoyment．Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials：most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and could “last forever”．Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others．

　　Fifty years ago, nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; wood was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today．

　　For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about correcting the mistakes of our forefathers．Conservation should be made part of everybody’s daily life．To know about the water table in the ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic math formulas．We need to know why all watersheds(上游集水区)need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to give their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea．We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them．We need to know the importance of big, grown trees, because living space for most of man’s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic(立方体的)volume above the earth．In a word, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can．

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　　The secret of carrier pigeons’ unbelievable ability to find their way home has been discovered by scientists; the feathered navigators follow the roads just like we do．

　　Scientists now believe the phrase “as the crow flies” no longer means the shortest most direct route between two points．They say it is likely that crows and other birds also choose AA－suggested routes, even though it makes their journeys longer．

　　Scientists at Oxford University spent 10 years studying homing pigeons using global positioning satellite(GPS)and got a surprising result．The birds often don’t use the sun to decide their directions．

　　Instead they fly along motorways, turn at crossing and even go around roundabouts(绕道), adding miles to their journeys．

　　“It really has knocked our research team sideways to find that after a decade-long international study, pigeons appear to ignore their inbuilt directional instincts(本能)and follow the road system,” said Prof Tim Guilford, reader in animal behavior at Oxford University’s Department of Zoology．

　　Guilford said pigeons use their own navigational system(导航系统)when doing long distance trips or when a bird does a journey for the first time．

　　“But once homing pigeons have flown a journey more than once, they can fly home on a habitual route, much as we do when we are driving or walking home from work,” said Guilford．

　　“In short, it looks like it is mentally easier for a bird to fly down a road．They are just making their journey as simple as possible．”

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　　When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．

　　After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test-even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadow land of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

　　One day Alex got a call, “We need an assistant, and we’re paying ＄6,000 a year．” ＄6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex’s head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer－full time．“Thanks, but no,” Alex said firmly and swiftly, “I’m going to stick it out and write．”

　　After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had：two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself, “There’s everything you’ve made of yourself so far．I’m not sure I ever felt so low．”

　　Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．

　　Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course(持续到底)in the shadow land．

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　　In the early days of the Internet, the idea that it represented an entirely new and separate field distinct from the real world was seized upon by both supporters and critics of the new technology．Supporters liked the idea that the virtual(虚拟的)world was a placeless datasphere, liberated from constraints and restrictions of the real world, and an opportunity for a fresh start．For instance, John Perry Barlow, an internet activist, issued the "Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace" in February 1996．He thundered, "Governments of the industrial world, I come from cyberspace, the new home of mind．Cyberspace does not lie within your borders．We are creating a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth．

　　Where Mr．Barlow found the separation between the real and virtual worlds exciting, however, critics regarded it as a cause for concern．They worried that people were spending too much time online, communicating with people they had never even met in person in chat rooms, virtual game worlds and, more recently, on social - networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook．A study carried out by the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society in 2000, for example, found that heavy internet users spent less time talking to friends and family, and warned that the Internet could be "the ultimate isolating(隔离)technology"．

　　Both groups were wrong, of course．The Internet has not turned out to be a thing apart．Unpleasant aspects of the real world, such as taxes, crime and cheating are now characteristics of the virtual world, too．C'amers who make real money selling swords, gold and other things in virtual game worlds may now find that the tax man wants to know about it．Designers of virtual objects in Second Life, an online virtual world, are seeking to real -world lawsuits(诉讼)in order to protect their intellectual property．

　　At the same time, however, some of the most exciting uses of the Internet rely on combining it with the real world．Social networking allows people to stay in touch with their friends online, and plan social activities in the real world．The distinction between online and offline chatters does not matter any more．

　　All these approaches treat the Internet as an extension or an attachment to the physical world, not a separate space．Rather than seeing the real and virtual fields as distinct and conflicting, in short, it makes sense to see them as complementary and connected．

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Western New Bridge Library Announcement

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