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　　While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight．It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage．

　　The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks．For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified．That left only one to complete．It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important．

　　I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong．I'm not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality．When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold－his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle．The crowd started to laugh．Clearly this man was not a medal competitor．

　　I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time．Finally he made his turn to start back．It was pitiful．He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out．

　　But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed．

　　No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer．Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did．

　　A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race．The crowd went wild．You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have．Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors．

　　Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race．His country had been invited to Sydney．

　　In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog．

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　　One day, my friend Jimmy told me a story．Farmer Joe was in his cart when he was hit by a truck．He decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company(which caused the accident)to court．In court the trucking company's lawyer was questioning Farmer Joe．“Didn't you say, at the same scene of the accident, ‘I'm fine'?” said the lawyer．

　　Farmer Joe responded, “Well, I will tell you what happened．I had just loaded my favorite mule(骡子)Bessie into the…” “I didn't ask for any details,” the lawyer interrupted, “Just answer the question．Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I'm fine? '”

　　Farmer Joe said, “Well, I had just got Bessie into the cart and I was driving down the road…”

　　The lawyer interrupted again and said, “Judge, I am trying to make clear the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the police on the scene that he was just fine．Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to cover the fact．I believe he is telling lies．Please tell him to simply answer the question．”

　　By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe's answer and said to the lawyer, “I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie．”

　　Joe thanked the Judge and went on, “Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the cart and was driving her down the road when this huge truck ran into the stop sign and pushed my cart right in the side．I was thrown into one side and Bessie was thrown into the other．”

　　“I was hurt so badly that I didn't want to move．However, I could hear old Bessie breathing loudly and groaning(呻吟)．I knew she was in great pain．Shortly after the accident a traffic policeman came to the scene．He could hear Bessie groaning so he went over to her．After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes．Then the patrolman came across the road with his gun and looked at me．He said, “Your mule was in such pain that I had to shoot her．How are you feeling?”

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　　“If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you're a woman．” Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster．

　　The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male．

　　Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth．Her voice was the most “inspiring” for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species．The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener．

　　Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained．He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch and tone which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant．“Sound waves are an environmental effect just like rain or light ,”said Mr Grosbie．

　　The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey．Scientists started with open auditions(听力)for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream and Darwin's The Origin of Species．

　　Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month．Each plant had headphones connected to it．Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants．It was discovered that plants that “listened” to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices．

　　Miss Darwin said, “I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London．”

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　　Don't you think your schoolbag is too heavy to bear? The e-schoolbag will free you from the weight．

　　It is said that e-schoolbags are going to be brought into use in Chinese middle schools soon．An experiment with several hundred e-schoolbags will begin in seven cities：Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang．And the e-schoolbags are going to cover all over China if the experiment shows to be successful．In fact, the e-schoolbag should perhaps be called an e-notebook．It is a small hand-held computers for school students．

　　Heavy schoolbags have long been a serious problem for school students．The average schoolbag of middle school students weighs up to 5 kilos．But the e-schoolbag will change everything．It is much lighter than a usual schoolbag, weighing under 1 kilo．

　　Also, it is no bigger than a usual book, but it can still hold all the things for study, such as a textbook, a notebook and exercise book．They could be made into chips that are as small as a stamp．The students can read the text page by page on the screen．They can still take notes using a special electronic pen．If they want to know the meaning or the pronunciation of a new word, or even e-mail their teachers, it's just a press of a button．

　　In some foreign countries, it is becoming common．But it is hard to tell when people will receive this new form of study．Some say that e-textbooks can easily be broken, some say that it is not good to students' eyesight to look at the screen for long．But only time will tell．

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　　Ladies and Gentlemen, some strange, wild and wonderful stories colored the news in 2010, you may like them．

　　★A Copenhagen bus company has put "love seats" on 103 of its buses for people looking for a partner．"Even love at first sight is possible on the bus," said a spokesman for the company to explain the two seats on each bus that are covered in red cloth and a "love seat" sign．

　　★Shoppers at an international luxury fair in Italy, found a cell-phone-equipped golden coffin among the items on display．The phones will help "the dead" contact relatives if they have been buried alive by mistake．

　　★A man in New York came up with a disarming(手无寸铁的)way to perform his latest bank heist, approaching the clerk's window with a large bunch of flowers and handing over a note saying “give me the money!”

　　★An Englishman who lost all his legs and arms in an electrical accident successfully swam across the Channel, a challenge he had been preparing for two years．The whole cost is 400 dollars．

　　★A set of artificial teeth(假牙)made for Britain's war-time prime minister Winston Churchill known as "the teeth that saved the world" sold for nearly 18,000 pounds(21,500 euros, 24,000 dollars)at auction(拍卖)．

　　★A British woman caused an Internet hate campaign after she was caught on camera dumping(抛弃)a cat in a rubbish bin．She was fined 250 pounds(400 dollars, 280 euros)after pleading guilty．

　　★The BBC apologized completely and without any doubts after a radio presenter jokingly announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died．

　　★Two Australian men needed surgery(手术)after shooting each other in the bottoms during a drinking session to see if it would hurt and they were charged 400 dollars separately．

　　★A Kuwaiti MP(议员)suggested state-aid for male citizens to take second wives, in an effort to reduce the large number of unmarried women in the oil-rich state．

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　　I still remember my first day at school in London and I was half-excited and half-frightened．On my way to school I wondered what sort of questions the other boys would ask me and practiced all the answers：“I am nine years old．I was born here but I haven't lived here since I was two．I was living in Farley．It's about thirty miles away．I came back to London two months ago．” I also wondered if it was the custom for boys to fight strangers like me, but I was tall for my age．I hoped they would decide not to risk it．

　　No one took any notice of me before school．I stood in the center of the playground, expecting someone to say “hello”, but no one spoke to me．When a teacher called my name and told me where my classroom was, one or two boys looked at me but that was all．

　　My teacher was called Mr．Jones．There were 42 boys in the class, so I didn't stand out there, either, until the first lesson of the afternoon．Mr．Jones was very fond of Charles Dickens and he had decided to read aloud to us from David Copperfield, but first he asked several boys if they knew Dickens' birthplace, but no one guessed right．A boy called Brian, the biggest in the class, said：“Timbuktu”, and Mr．Jones went red in the face．Then he asked me．I said：“Portsmouth”, and everyone stared at me because Mr．Jones said I was right．This didn't make me very popular, of course．

　　“He thinks he's clever,” I heard Brian say．

　　After that, we went out to the playground to play football．I was in Brian's team, and he obviously had Dickens in mind because he told me to go in goal．No one ever wanted to be the goalkeeper．

　　“He's big enough and useless enough．” Brian said when someone asked him why he had chosen me．

　　I suppose Mr．Jones, who served as the judge, remembered Dickens, too, because when the game was nearly over, Brian pushed one of the players on the other team, and he gave them a penalty(惩罚)．As the boy kicked the ball to my right, I threw myself down instinctively(本能地)and saved it．All my team crowded round me．My bare knees were injured and bleeding．Brian took out a handkerchief and offered it to me．

　　“Do you want to join my gang(帮派)?” he said．

　　At the end of the day, I was no longer a stranger．

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　　Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband, Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside．They often talked of opening their own store one day．

　　When Mary was hospitalized with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious．Richard, who worked for a business company, was eager(渴望的)to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her demanding(很费力的)job．

　　They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry．“We knew it had to be a specialty store because we couldn't match the big chains dollar for dollar,” says Mary．One figure(数字)caught her attention：She'd read somewhere that about 20 percent of books sold were mysteries(推理小说), and many buyers spent more than ＄300 a year on books．She and Richard were themselves mystery readers．

　　On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and Café near their home．With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family's money to start a shop．To cover the ＄100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from relatives(亲戚)and from a bank．

　　The store merely broke even in its first year, with only ＄120,000 in sales．But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract customers(吸引顾客)．The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and served dinners for book clubs that met in the store．She also invited dozens of writers to discuss their stories．

　　Today Mystery Lovers makes sales of about ＄420,000 a year．After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales clerks(店员), Richard and Mary together earn(赚)about ＄34,000．

　　“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income,” says Richard．“This has always been about an enjoyable life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money．”

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　　Newsmagazine of science devoted to the wonders and stories of modern science, written for the educated general reader．Published(出版)by Disney Magazine Publishing Co．, Discover tells many of the same stories professionals(专业人员)read in Scientific American．A truly delightful family science magazine, each issue(每期)brings to light new and newsworthy topics to make dinnertime and water-cooler conversations interesting．

　　Cover Price：＄59.88

　　Price：＄19.95(＄1.66/issue)

　　You Save：＄39.93(67％)

　　Issues：12 issues/12 months

　　Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc．, Self is a handbook devoted to women's overall physical(身体的)and mental(精神的)health．Every issue contains usable articles(文章)such as “Style Lab”, in which wearable clothes are mixed and matched(混合搭配)on non-models and the “Eat-right Road Map”, with tips on how to eat properly．

　　Cover Price：＄35.86

　　Price：＄15.00(＄2.5/issue)

　　You Save：＄20.86(58％)

　　Issues：6 issues/12 months

　　InStyle is a guide(手册)to the lives and lifestyles(生活方式)of the world's famous people．The magazine covers the choices people make about their homes, their clothes and their free time activities．With photos and articles, it opens the door to these people's homes, families, parties and weddings, offering ideas about beauty, fitness and in general, lifestyles．Publisher：The Time Inc．Magazine Company．

　　Cover Price：＄47.88

　　Price：＄23．88(＄2.38/issue)

　　You Save：＄24.00(50％)

　　Issues：10 issues/12 months

　　This magazine is designed for leaders in the field of information engineering including top managers and professionals in the computer, business, design and education industries．Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc．, Wired often carries articles on how technology changes people's lives．

　　Cover Price：＄59.40

　P　rice：＄10.00(＄1.00/issue)

　　You Save：＄49.40(83％)

　　Issues：10 issues/12 months

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　　The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States．In a recent Hollywood comedy(喜剧), that is exactly what happens．

　　Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs．He leads a typical(典型的)American way of life, except for one thing－he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell．In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation's leader is that he is very nice!

　　The president has started using look-alikes during some public appearances．Dave is offered a chance to “serve his country” by becoming one．However, things go wrong．The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever(永远)．

　　Director(导演)Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government．Instead, Dave is an attractive(吸引人的)comedy about an ordinary(平凡的)man in extraordinary(非凡的)situations．Kevin Kline gives a double performance(表演)as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady．The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic(经典)．

　　The film is 100％ American．However, if you've ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you'll enjoy Dave!

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　　Say you are a 17th century construction(建筑)worker who's worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor(皇帝)．

　　Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one．Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world．And the tale(传说)behind the construction is just as impressive(印象深刻的)as the building itself．

　　First, there's the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World．In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal．Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years．But then sadness came．As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out．It was a sign of death．And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial(纪念物)to celebrate their love．

　　When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife's death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white．

　　Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife's dying wish carried out(执行)．More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction．In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz's remains in the center under the building．

　　And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father．Hehan lived the rest of his days－eight years, to be exact－imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal．Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance(从远处)．But never again would he be allowed to visit it－until he was buried next to his wife．

　　Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day．Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded(使想起)of the happiness that inspired(激发……的灵感)its construction．

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