The man who brings my milk used to knock for his money for the week’s milk while I was eating breakfast on Saturday morning．Just lately he has been arriving before I get up．Workforce shortages mean that four men are sharing five rounds, so he has to start earlier．

　　Delivering milk to people’s homes is hardly good business, especially when the customer may have a choice of two or three firms serving a single road．In spite of my local difficulties, however, labor troubles are not as great as a few years ago．There are enough men prepared to make an early morning start for the sake of an open-air job with a fair measure of freedom．If they did stop calling, women would find it hard work to collect all the milk they need from self-service stores．Dairies(乳品业)know that stopping deliveries in the United States resulted in falling sales．

　　Marketing ideas have included introducing extra lines, in addition to dairy products, which the milkmen can carry to increase business．One dairyman said, “It won’t be long before the milkman delivers more bread than milk．”Some milkmen deliver potatoes, and it seems as though variety will be limited only by the size of the trucks．

　　So the milkman is likely to remain a familiar figure, and the dairy products he sells are unlikely to change very much in this decade．Flavored(味道)milk is popular on the Continent．In Britain those who like it buy plain milk and add their own flavoring．Even the returnable bottle continues to be used．As long as it has a reasonable life－30 to 40 trips are usual－the cost of collection and cleaning is worthwhile．

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阅读理解

　　It’s eleven o’clock, and Mr．Sims has just asked the class to pay attention for the fiftieth time while he explained a math problem．Carson Webster is sitting over by the window trying to listen to the teacher, but his mind is not on the problem Mr．Sims is discussing．Carson’s mind is on a little mouse named Millie that is busily moving around in his pocket．Millie is not very happy．At breakfast, she had climbed into Carson’s pocket and gone to sleep while Carson ate two pieces of bread and read the newspaper．Carson had forgotten Millie was there until he was halfway in class．Now that Millie’s morning sleep was over, she was ready to exercise．Lucky for Carson, Millie was in a pocket with a button or he might be in serious trouble．

　　“Carson?” Mr．Sims, who was usually rather strict with his students, was suddenly looking at Carson with his eyes wide open, rolling his stick in his hand．Carson had to pay attention．

　　“Could you please repeat the question?” said Carson, feeling his pocket．

　　“I asked if you would agree with the statement,” said Mr．Sims pleasantly．

　　“Well, I’m not really attentive at the moment,” said Carson．“I think I would need to give it more consideration．” Carson did not have the slightest idea as to what Mr．Sims was talking about．

　　“I see,” said Mr．Sims seriously, “Then I guess you’re uncertain about whether the product of zero by any other number is always zero?”

　　“Oh, I know that,” said Carson, who could feel himself turning red as a couple of kids including Bob began to laugh．He knew his punishment would come soon．To his surprise, however, the teacher didn’t seem angry．

　　“I’m so glad,” said Mr．Sims, turning back to the blackboard．“Oh, and by the way, Carson,”he continued, “I think a cage would be a healthier place for your little friend．Would you agree with that statement?” Just at that time, Millie let out a weak but clear cry and stuck her head out of Carson’s pocket．

　　“Yes,”Carson said with a smile．“I would totally agree with that statement!”

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　　The modern Olympic Games were founded with the intention of improving health and education, promoting world peace, and encouraging fair and equal competition．But over the years, the Olympic saying, “faster, higher, stronger”, has pushed scientists as well as athletes to do everything possible to reach new levels．

　　Doctors, engineers and coaches all use everything science has to offer to achieve that little bit extra in competition．The reason modern technology has become part of sport is very simple：winning is just as important as it was 2, 500 years ago at the Olympics of ancient Greece．Developments in technology have often been reflected in the methods of training and performance at the Olympics through history．This technology falls into two main groups：improving an athlete’s performance in competition, and allowing results to be measured more accurately．

　　One of the creations that has drawn the most attention is the new high-tech swimsuit from Speedo, which was used by many US swimmers in Athens．Until Sydney 2000, it was thought that the smaller the swimsuit, the faster the swimmer would travel．

　　“However, the fact that at the Sydney Olympics, 28 of the 33 gold medalists were wearing the body covering Fastskin suit proved the theory was out of date,” said Andy Thomas, vice-president of Speedo．

　　The company’s full body suit is supposed to make swimmers 3 to 4 percent faster, particularly when turning or diving into the water．It is believed that the suit creates less water resistance as it moves, behaving more like a shark skin than a human skin．

　　The introduction of high-tech equipment means that athletes in all sports, from the 100-metre sprint to the pole vault, can now train more effectively．

　　Meanwhile, scientific development also means performances can be measured and studied more accurately．Not only are winning times more accurately recorded, but cheating athletes are easier to catch out．Athens 2004 organizers promised to use only the very latest equipment to measure distance and speed．

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　　Nine years ago, after Leo had died, people said to me, “I never knew he was your stepfather．” You see, I never called him that．At first, he was no one special in my life．Then he became my friend．In time, I felt he was also my father．

　　Leo married my mother when I was eleven．Two years later we moved into a house in a new suburban(郊区的)development, where we put down roots．At first our lawn(草坪) was just a pile of mud with wild grass, but Leo saw bright possibilities．“We’ll plant trees there to give us shade as well as some flowers,” he said．And just these little touches made our house different from all the others．More important, a real family was forming within this house, with its own special traditions．Leo was becoming a fulltime parent, and I was learning what it meant to have a father．

　　Weekday mornings when the weather was bad, Leo often drove me to school．Having a father drop you off may have been something my classmates took for granted, but I always thought it was wonderful．Saturday mornings, we went to the hardware(五金)shop, then stepped into the five and ten, buying a sports magazine or something else．Some people might think that doing shopping together is nothing special, but I, who had ever before spent my childhood watching other families do their everyday activities, experienced them now with extreme delight．Looking back, I realized that Leo gave me what I needed most, the experience of doing ordinary things together as a family．

　　Soon after we moved to the suburbs, one of our new neighbors introduced herself to me．She had already met my mother and Leo．“You know,” she said, “you look just like your father．” I knew she was just making conversation but even so…“Thank you”, I said．Why tell her anything different?

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　　The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card(信用卡)fraud．Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal Web site(网站)．Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care．On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they bought．The thieves then go shopping with your card number－or sell the information over the Internet．

　　Computers hackers(黑客)have broken down security(安全)systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information．Several months ago, 25 000 customers of CD Universe, an on-line music retailer(批发商)，were not lucky．Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US ＄157 828 to get back the information．

　　Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud．MasterCard is working on plans for Web-only credit card, with a lower credit limit．The card could be used only for shopping on-line．

　　However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated．Ask about your credit-card firm’s on-line rules：Under British law, cardholders are responsible(对……负有责任的)for the first US ＄78 of any fraudulent spending．

　　And shop only at secure sites：Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers-advanced secure system．

　　If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen．The Web site address may also start with https：//－the extra “s” stands for secure．If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone．

　　Keep your password safe：Most online sites require a user name and password before placing an order．Treat your passwords with care．

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　　We can make mistakes at any age．Some mistakes we make are about money, but most mistakes are about people．“Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” “When I got that great job, did Jim, as a friend, really feel good about it?Or did he envy my luck?” “And was Paul friendly just because I had a car?” When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad．

　　But when we look back, it is too late．

　　Why do we go wrong about our friends, or our enemies?Sometimes what people say hides their real meanings．And if we do not really listen, we miss the feeling behind the words．Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog!”(你真幸运！)Is he really on your side?If he says, “You’re a lucky guy(人,家伙)！”, that is being friendly．But “a lucky dog”, there is a bit of envy in those words．What he may be saying is that he does not think you deserve your luck．

　　“Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for” is another phrase that says one thing means another．It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem．But this phrase contains the thought that your problem is not at all important．

　　How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words?One way is to take a good look at the person talking．Do his words fit the way he looks?Is what he says shown by the tone of voice?The look in his eyes?Stop and think．The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save your another mistake．

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　　PALO ALTO, California－“Switching off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter－even if they do not change their diet or increase the amount they exercise, ”US researchers said last week．

　　A study of 192 third and fourth graders, generally aged eight and nine, found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television gained nearly two pounds(0.9 kg)less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet．

　　“The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television viewing and not any other activity,” said Thomas Robinson, a pediatrician(儿科专家)at Stanford University．

　　“American children spend an average of more than four hours per day watching television and videos or playing video games, and rates of childhood being very fat have doubled ?over the past 20 years,” Robinson said．

　　In the study, presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies’ annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one-third．

　　Children watching fewer hours of television showed a significantly smaller increase in waist size and had less body fat than other students who continued their normal television viewing, even though neither group ate a special diet or took part in any extra exercise．

　　“One explanation for the weight loss could be that the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around more and burning off calories,” Robinson said．

　　“Another reason might be due to eating fewer meals in front of the television．Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more,” Robinson said．

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　　If you’ve been joining in chat room conversations, or trading e-mail with Web pals, you have become one of the millions who write in a peculiarly short form of English．

　　And you’ve got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF(＝sense of humor failure)to describe Internet newcomers who don’t understand you．

　　Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are “talking” online－many of them are talking at the same time．

　　It’s fast：try talking to six people at once．It’s brief：three or four words per exchange．It takes wit, concentration, and quick fingers．

　　And it requires tremendous linguistic economy．There’s neither time nor space for explanations．Why consume precious key-strokes telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB(＝be right back)will do?Want to enter a conversation?Just type PMFJI(＝pardon me for jumping in)．Interested in whom you’re talking to?Type A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal’s age, sex and location．You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal．

　　If something makes you laugh, say you’re OTF(＝on the floor),or LOL(＝laughing out loud),or combine the two into ROTFL(＝rolling on the floor laughing)．

　　And when it’s time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG(＝got to go)or TTYL(talk to you later)．

　　People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can．Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing emotion, as it takes more time to hold down the “shift” key and capitals．Punctuation is going, too．

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　　Methods of training animals have changed greatly in recent years．Zoo keepers have always had problems getting the animals to leave their cages in order for the cages to be cleaned, and also training them to move indoors when appropriate．Another problem was that many of the large animals became listless and bored．In the last twenty years, scientists have done research on dolphins and whales, training them to obey commands．The scientists found they could get animals to obey by rewarding them with food and affection when they responded correctly．

　　Proper training allows the animals to receive the care they need．It was very difficult to get untrained animals, especially the larger ones, to stay still when they needed medical attention．Now they can be trained, on command, to remain still and even to allow blood samples to be taken and shots administered．All this is accomplished through positive reinforcement, without the use of any force．Affection training, as this process is called, has been used with great success on a wide variety of zoo animals．Animal behavior experts have taught zoo keepers to train bears, tigers, monkeys, and many other species to behave in a way that provides for better animal-keeper interaction．This training also keeps the animals from becoming bored and inactive．

　　Although some people proclaim(谴责)that this training is inhumane and cruel to animals, results have shown that captive(猎获的)animals who previously were not doing well flourish under the new training procedures．

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　　A weather map is an important tool for geographers．A succession of three or four maps presents a continuous picture of weather changes．Weather forecasters are able to determine the speed of air masses and fronts．They are also able to determine whether an air mass is retaining its original characteristics or taking on those of the surface over which it is moving．Thus, a most significant function of the map is to reveal an synoptic picture(气象图)of conditions in the atmosphere at a given time．

　　All students of geography should to interpret a weather map accurately．Weather maps contain an enormous amount of information about weather conditions existing at the time of observation over a large geographical area．They reveal in a few minutes what otherwise would take hours to describe．The United States Weather Bureau issues information about approaching storms, floods, frosts, droughts and all climate conditions in general．Twice a month it issues a 30-day “outlook” which is a rough guide to weather conditions likely to occur over broad areas of the United States．These outlooks are based on an analysis of the upper air levels．

　　With the use of electronic instruments and satellites, enormous gains have taken place recently in identifying and tracking storms over regions which have but few meteorological stations(气象站)．Experiments are also in progress for weather modification studies, although few successful results such as artificial rainmaking have been achieved so far．

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