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　　Daniel Defoe(about 1660～1731)was an important novelist in the English literature．When he was young, he served as a soldier and had been to Spain, Italy, France and Germany．At the same time, he went in for politics．He cared much about the development of capitalism(资本主义)．He had written a lot of articles against it and he was put into prison twice for that．It was not until　he was nearly sixty that he began to write the famous novel “Robinson Crusoe”, which was published in May, 1709．It spread so rapidly that the story was known to every household soon．

　　“Robinson Crusoe” can be divided into three parts．The first part is about Crusoe's three voyages, the second part about his hunting, hiding in caves farming and his hard struggles against nature on a small island, the third about the things which happened after his return from the island．The second part is the body of the novel, in which Robinson's characters are clearly shown．

　　Defoe wrote his novel in a simple style and his language is easy to understand．His novel writing set a milestone of the modern English novel．In his later part of life, He was in poor health and lived very poorly．He died on April 24, 1731．

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　　Cooks around the globe like it; housewives have used it for centuries to add flavor to their cooking and grandmothers have always had some doubt about what our science has found out about it．Chinese garlic(大蒜)is a wonder drug．

　　Garlic is one of the most effective and common medicines for the common cold．The best way to eat it is in hot soup, but another interesting way is to put some slices of raw garlic over bread．It helps clear up the nose as well as decongesting(解除充血)the chest．In fact, a slice of raw garlic eaten every day keeps almost all illness away．But most of us are quite afraid of its strong smell so we do not take this seriously．

　　There is a word of caution, however．Since it is a warming and drying herb, people with a hot body should use it carefully．For some people, garlic may cause stomach pains or some other problems．Also in many cases, garlic has been known to make conditions like sleeplessness even worse．It can affect the mind and concentration, so garlic is best avoided for people performing activities that require concentration．People who easily get angry or have a red face should use garlic carefully．

　　In many cases, garlic may cause heat in the body．Also, because it has such strong chemical elements, some people simply cannot stand it．

　　Another point of caution is that since it is a blood-thinning agent, patients are advised to consult their doctors before they start taking garlic in regular quantities．In a healthy person, its intake can keep a person free of all kinds of physical discomfort over a long period of time．

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　　Dyslexia is a term used to describe a marked difficulty in learning to read despite normal intelligence and vision．The problem is universal, but research suggests it doesn't affect every culture or language group equally．On China's mainland and in Japan, for example, dyslexia rates are estimated at less than 5 percent compared to 10 percent to 20 percent in the U．S．There are intriguing theories as to why, and Japan has produced some important clues．

　　Japanese children first learn to read and write in parallel phonetic alphabets, hiragana(平假名)and katakana(片假名), each containing 46 characters relating to 46 different sounds．After conquering them, the student starts to learning Chinese characters．According to Uno, who works for Japan's National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, just 1 percent of Japanese students have dyslexic problems with Chinese characters．The numbers jump a bit when it comes to writing－2 percent for hiragana, 3．8 percent for katakana and 5 percent for ideograms－but they're still low by American standards．

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　　China and India have roughly the same population, but when it comes to mobile phones, there is no comparison between the two．In India, seven years after the launch of mobile-phone services, there are only 10 million users．In China, half that number signs up as new subscribers every month．

　　Geography and culture explain some of the differences．The concentration of economic activity in China's eastern coastal region gave its mobile operators big economics of scale, allowing lower prices．In China, telephones quickly came to be regarded as fashion items, something that has only recently happened to India．

　　But the main difference is regulation．India chose a licensing policy that divided the country into 22 regions, each with two licenses to operate mobile networks．Bidding in multiple regions was restricted．This aimed to promote competition, but led to a fragmented(零散的，破碎的)market with an array(一大批)of puzzled operators, none of which has economics of scale．Limited range also hurts service quality．

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　　Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends “pets” because the word is insulting, leading academics claim．

　　Domestic dogs, cats or hamsters(仓鼠)should be renamed as “companion animals” while owners should be known as “human carers”, they insist．Even words such as wildlife are dismissed as insulting to the animals concerned－who should instead be known as “free-living”, the academics including an Oxford professor suggest．

　　The call comes from the editors of Journal of Animal Ethics, a new academic publication devoted to the issue．In its first editorial, the journal disapproves the use of words such as “critters(动物)” and “beasts”．It argues that “derogatory” language about animals can affect the way that they are treated．

　　“Despite its popularity, ‘pets' is surely a derogatory word both of the animals concerned and their human carers,” the editorial claims．“Again the word ‘owners', though technically correct in law, goes back to a previous age when animals were regarded just as property, machines or things to use．”

　　It goes on：“We invite authors to use the words ‘free-living' or ‘free-roaming' rather than ‘wild animals'．For most, ‘wildness' is very closely associated with uncivilized, rough existence．There is an obvious prejudice here that should be avoided．”

　　The editors also hope to see some of the more colorful words in the English language stamped out．Phrases such as “sly(狡猾的)as a fox”, “eat like a pig” or “drunk as a skunk(臭鼬)” are all unfair to animals, they claim．“We shall not be able to think clearly unless we discipline ourselves to use less than partial adjectives in our exploration of animals and our moral relations with them,” they say．

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　　The Americans have been voted the world's “funniest nationality”－the one “best at making people laugh”－in a global poll(民意调查), which also names the Germans the “least funny” nationality and the British “not as funny as they think”．

　　30,000 people across 15 countries were asked to name both the “funniest” and “least funny” nationality in a poll conducted by Badoo．com, the world's largest social network for meeting new people, with 119 million users worldwide．

　　The Americans were voted the funniest nationality, ahead of the Spanish－the funniest Europeans－in second, Italians in third and British in seventh．

　　The voting for the “least funny” nationality confirmed the view of America's Mark Twain that “a German joke is no laughing matter”．The Germans won, ahead of the Russians and Turks．The stereotype of German humourlessness is believed to derive from their reputation for efficiency, punctuality and rationality(理性)．Examples of German jokes include：“Yesterday, I met my friend Horst at the hospital．He'd swallowed a sponge．He says it doesn't hurt but he's always thirsty．”

　　“When we meet someone new, one of the first things we notice is whether they make us laugh”, says Lloyd Price, Badoo's Marketing Director．“America is a worthy poll winner”, says Price．“It's the world's only comedy superpower．”

　　The British pride themselves on their humour but learn from the poll that they're not as funny as they think．They placed just seventh of 15－behind the Brazilians, French and Mexicans．

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　　As prices and building costs keep rising, the do-it-yourself(DIY)trend(趋势)in the U．S．continues to grow．

　　“We needed furniture(家具)for our living room,” says John Ross, “And we just didn't have enough money to buy it．So we decide to try making a few tables and chairs．” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high．The Rosses took a 2-week course for ＄280 at a night school．Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house．

　　Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died．He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory．Last month, he received a car repair bill for ＄420．“I was deeply upset about it．Now I've finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself．”

　　John and Jim are not unusual people．Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living．If you want to become a “do-it -yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes．And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself．

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　　I would like to talk to you about one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen．I was born and raised there and now I visit it from time to time．My family moved to the city, so I only go back to see friends or to camp and fish．

　　I grew up in a small town called Antonito Co．It is surrounded by mountains．So camping is a big source of happiness in the valley．There are so many beautiful places to hike．

　　The town itself is very small．It is said that if you blink when you're going through it, you'll miss it．This has some truth in it considering the size of the town．We have one grocery store, a tiny post office , and a tiny bank．There are also a few gas stations , bars, some excellent restaurants , a small hospital and of course several schools．However , for clothing and shoes , you have to drive thirty miles to Alamosa to shop there．

　　Everyone in the town is nice and we all know each other．The crime rate is zero unless you count some weekend fights that break out because some people drink too much．The classes in school are small , so you get a lot of attention from the teacher．

　　You're probably wondering why I don't live there．Well, I can't get a job there．A lot of the businesses are family-owned．And they never fire their employees．So the employees work there usually until they retire．Most people have to go to other places to get a job．

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　　My boss's daughter was studying in the Philippines．He asked me if my husband and I could take care of her．He thought his daughter would be able to improve her English communication skills in this way．

　　After days of thinking, we agreed．He then brought her here and left after 3 days．I thought that my boss's daughter was well-mannered, but that was wrong．

　　After a month of staying in the Philippines, she started to show her true colors．When my husband asked her what she wanted for breakfast, she answered him in a rude way．From then on, we experienced fights at home．There was a time when we didn't talk to her for a week as a punishment of not being good to us．What I hated most was that she didn't care about other people's feelings．She ate ahead of us when we were still working and didn't leave anything for us．So we had to separate her food from ours to avoid such a problem．

　　The worst thing about her was that she shouted at us．I was wondering if she did this to her parents．We told this to her parents , but unfortunately I didn't think that solved the problem．This situation lasted for almost 8 months．Our patience was tested during that time．

　　We tried to teach her everything we could to make her a better person, but I guess 8 months may not to be enough．We even tried to understand her and adjust for her, but it didn't work…I just hope that she learned something from us and from other Filipinos．

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　　Mouth bacteria grow fast in airless conditions．Oxygen rich saliva(唾液)keeps their numbers down．When we sleep, for example, the saliva stream slows, and sulfur(硫)producing bacteria gains the upper hand, producing classic “morning breath”．

　　Alcohol drinking, too much talking, breathing through the mouth during exercise, anything that dries the mouth produces bad breath．So can stress, though it's not understood why．Some people's breath turns sour every time they go on a job interview．

　　Saliva flow gradually slows with age, which explains why the elderly have more bad breath trouble than younger people do．Babies, however, who make plenty of saliva and whose mouths contain relatively few bacteria have characteristically sweet breath．

　　For most of us, the simple, dry mouth variety of bad breath is easily cured．Eating or drinking starts saliva and sweeps away many of the bacteria．Breakfast often stops morning breath．

　　Those with constant dry mouth find that it helps to keep gum, hard candy, or a bottle of water or juice around．Brushing the teeth wipes out dry mouth bad breath because it clears away many of the offending bacteria．

Surprisingly, one thing that rarely works is mouthwash．The liquid can mask bad breath smell with its own smell, but the effect lasts no more than an hour．Some mouthwashes claim to kill the bacteria responsible for bad breath．The trouble is, they don't necessarily reach all offending germs．Most bacteria are well protected from mouthwash under thick layers of mucus(粘液)．If the mouthwash contains alcohol－as most do－it can worsen the problem by drying out the mouth．

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