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　　A man went to an insurance(保险)office to have his life insured．The manager of the office asked him how old his parents were when they died．

　　“Mother had a bad heart and died at the age of thirty．Father died of tuberculosis(肺结核)when he was thirty-five．”

　　“I’m very sorry,” said the manager, “we cannot insure your life as your parents were not healthy．”As the man was leaving the office, sad, he met a clerk who had overheard the conversation．

　　“You must not be so frank(坦率),”said the clerk, “no office will insure your life if you speak like that．Use your imagination a little．”The man went to another office and was shown into the manager’s room．

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　　I love this healthy diet program because it helps you lose weight, lose inches, feel healthy and look beautiful．This healthy diet is an 8-week program which is unlike other diet regimens(食物疗法)．It focuses on proper nutrition(营养)first and weight loss second．Your body must have proper levels of minerals, vitamins, and protein(蛋白质)in order to work well．It provides a simple lifestyle change to give you more energy and improve your health most greatly．It offers control over stomach and continuing hunger with a calorie dense diet allowing 1700 to(2000 calories a day．If a person has a weight problem, his body probably is not working at proper levels of basic nutrients．We invite you to follow this program so you can be the slim person who lives inside you．You too, can love dieting, especially if you are losing weight and losing inches! Do you want to feel better?

　　Look!

　　To get slim just Click Here．

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　　Time talks．It speaks more plainly(明白地)than words．Time communicates in many ways．

　　Consider the different parts of the day, for example．The time of the day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event．Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work．

　　In the United States, it is not customary(通常的，习惯的)to telephone someone very early in the morning．If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving(刮脸)or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent(紧急的)and requires immediate attention．It is the same with telephone calls made after 11∶00 p.m．If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death．The time chosen for the call communicates its importance．

　　The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world．Thus, misunderstanding arises(出现)between people from cultures that treat time differently．In the United States, people tend(趋向于)to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one can not escape．As a rule, Americans think of time as a road into the future, along which one progresses．The road has many sections(段), which are to be kept separate…“one thing at a time”．Thus, an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment(约会)with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time．

　　Americans look ahead and are concerned(与……有关系)almost entirely with the future．The American idea of the future is limited, however．It is the foreseeable future and not the future of involving(牵连)many centuries．

　　Since time has much different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult．We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind．

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　　Email has brought the art of letter writing back to life, but some experts think the resulting spread of bad English does more harm than good．

　　Email is a form of communication that is changing, for the worse, the way we write and use language, say some communication researchers．It is also changing the way we interact(交流)and build relationship．These are a few of recently recognized features of email, say experts, that should cause individual and organizations to rethink the way they use email．

　　“Email has increased the spread of careless writing habits,”says Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University．She says the poor spelling, grammar, punctuation(标点符号)and sentence structure of emails reflect a growing unconcern to the way we write．

　　Baron argues that we should not forgive and forget the poor writing often shown in emails．“The more we use email and its tasteless writing, the more it becomes the normal way of writing,”the professor says．

　　Others say that despite its poor prose(文字), email has finished what several generations of English teachers couldn't：it has made writing fashionable again．

　　“Email is a critical new communication technology,”says Ian Lancashire, a University of Toronto professor of English．“It fills the gap between spoken language and the formal methods of writing that existed before email．It is the purest form of written speech．”

　　Lancashire says email has the mysterious ability to get people who are scared by writing to get their thoughts flowing easily onto a blank screen．He says this is because of email's close similarity to speech．“It's like a circle of four or five people around a campfire,”he says．

　　Still, he accepts that this new-found freedom to express themselves often gets people into trouble．“Almost everyday I get emails that apologies of previous emails,”he reports．

　　In the US, the number of emails sent in a day exceeds(超过)the number of letters mailed in a year．But more people are recognizing the content of a typical email message is not often exact．

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　　Norah had a cottage on a cliff above a big bay．In winter it could be very nasty because of strong winds and sea spray．In fact, when a gale was blowing, Norah and her husband got used to sleeping in a small room downstairs, because their bedroom upstairs, which faced the gales, had a very big window, and they were afraid that an extra violent gust might break it and blow pieces of broken glass over them．

　　Also, the salt spray from the sea put an end to many of the colourful plants Norah planted in her garden．She tried putting up a fence to protect them, but the wind just hit it, went up over the top and then down the other side, so in the end she filled the garden with trees and bushes that liked salt．

　　But most of the summer Norah enjoyed her cottage and garden very much．At weekends she could sit out of doors in the sun, looking at the beautiful view, with interesting ships and boats passing by, and she could very easily cycle down to the sea for a swim．

　　Now, Norah and her husband had plenty of friends and relations．In the summer lots of them used to come to enjoy the beautiful place, and in the end it really became quite annoying for Norah and her husband．When they were at home, they found friends and relations arriving, expecting to be given unlimited drinks and meals, and to sit in the sun for hours, talking as if Norah and her husband had nothing else to do but entertain and listen to them．

　　This went on for several years．Norah did not wish to appear rude by refusing to let her friends and relations in, but on the other hand, she was getting tired every summer．

　　Then one day Norah was complaining about this to her hairdresser while she was doing her hair．“You're disturbed by too many uninvited guests, are you?”said the hairdresser．“Why don't you try my way of escaping?”

　　“What's that?”asked Norah．

　　“Well,”the hairdresser answered,“when the bell rings, I put on my coat and take my shopping bag．If it's someone I don't want to see, I say innocently, 'I'm sorry, but I've got to go out．'But…”

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　　Among various programmes, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television．And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style(风格)．But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows．

　　Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of“rubbish talk”．The contents on his show are as surprising as can be．For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles? of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level．Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people's lives．

　　Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction．The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality(质量)of life．Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors．

　　Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society．Jerry ends every show with a“final word”．He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show．Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable．

　　Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone．The show's main viewers are middle-class Americans．Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life's tougher problems．Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society．These are 18-to-21-year-old whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug．They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show's exploitation．

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　　This summer, join the International Conservation Scouts on a fun-filled holiday with a difference．Year after year, young people from all around the world get together at one of our sixteen conservation(环境保护)camp．Their shared aim? To help protect the countryside and its wildlife．

　　Many animals and plants are in danger of disappearing forever．The dormouse, a kind of mouse, for example, needs woodland plants for food and trees to stay in．Its habitat(栖息地)is being destroyed by man and it needs our help to survive．

　　On a conservation camp holiday you will learn all about nature and how to protect it．Our trained leaders will accompany you and tell you everything you need to know．Because of this you don't need any experience, just energy and enthusiasm．You will explore the countryside and work to ensure the survival of hundreds of animals and plants and still have plenty of time to enjoy the camp's excellent sports facilities and organized nature paths through beautiful scenery．

　　The International Conservation Scouts is a worldwide organization, so there must be a camp near you, You can spend a splendid holiday at any of the camps for as little as ￡60 including accommodation and food．

　　For more information send for a free conservation camps handbook today．

　　THE KEY TO SAVING WILDLIFE IS TO

　　PROTECT NATURAL HABITATS：YOUR WORK

　　WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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　　Here is a poster on a middle school web site．

　　Going, Going, Gone!

　　The Haynes Middle School Parent-teacher Organization invites you to attend our latest money-raising event．

　　The Fourth Annual(每年一次的)Haynes School Auction(拍卖)!

　　Saturday, May 10, 6∶00 p.m.－11∶00 p.m. in the school hall．

　　6∶00 p.m.－6∶30 p.m．All items(物品)for auction are previewed．

　　6∶30 p.m.－7∶00 p.m．Silent auction begins．

　　7∶00 a.m.－7∶30 p.m．Highest bidders⑥ from silent auction are determined．

　　7∶30 p.m.－11∶00 p.m．Main auction begins．

　　Items up for bid in the silent auction range⑦ in value from ＄5.00 to ＄30.00．

　　Items up for the bid in main auction include the following：

　　●Airline tickets to a place of your choice

　　●Weekend get-away at first-class hotels

　　●Season tickets to the Chicago Bears football game

　　●＄50 gift tickets to local gift shops, restaurants, and salons

　　●Theater tickets to the Merchant of Venice

　　Don't miss the boat! Book your tickets today．

　　Last year, tickets were sold out in five days!

　　Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis．

　　＄15.00 per person

　　All the money from the auction will be given to the Haynes School computer lab．

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　　The girls in this sixth grade class in East Palo Alto, California, all have the same chance to use computers as boys, but researchers say, by the time girls get to high school, they maybe victims(牺牲品)of what researchers call“a major new gap in technology”．

　　“Girls are likely to be less comfortable than boys with the computers．They use it more for word processing rather than for problem solving rather than to discover new ways in which to understand information．”

　　After reexamine a thousand studies, the American Association of University Women Researchers found that girls make up only a small percentage of students in computer science classes．Girls usually consider themselves significantly lower than boys in their ability and confidence in using computers．And they use computers less often than boys outside the classroom．

　　Six years ago, the software company Purple Moon noticed girl's computer usage was falling behind boys．The number one reason girls told us they don't like traditional computer games is not that they're too violent or too much competitive．Girls would say they're boring．

　　Purple moon says it found what girls want, characters they can relate to and story lines relative to what's going on in their own lives．“But we found from girls that there's no intrinsic⑤ reason why they wouldn't want to play on the computer．It was just a content thing．”The sponsor(发起人)of the study says．“The technology gap that separates girls from boys must be closed if women are to compete effectively with men in the Twenty First Century．”

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　　Recently, several thousand computers in the United States were attacked by a virus(病毒)．The computers were slowed or shut down．But no information was lost．A computer virus is similar to a biological virus that can harm the human body．A computer virus is series of electronic commands that can harm a computer or the information in the computer．It infects(传染)the equipment secretly．It tells the computer to do something the computer's owner does not want it to do．A computers virus attacked computers across the United States several months ago．The computer affected by the viru were mostly in universities, government and some companies．They were part of a United States Defense Department system．They were linked(连接)by telephones．The computer sent the virus commands to other computers through the linked telephone lines．

　　The virus told each computer to make many copies of itself．The computer could do no other work．It finally slowed down greatly, or simply stopped working．Computer experts spend many days trying to destroy the virus in the computer system．

　　The experts agree the virus could have been much worse．They say it could have sent orders to destroy huge amount of electronic information．

　　Many experts believe, the recent computer virus showed the need for better computer security．But that is a problem．The affected system provides a free exchange of ideas and information among universities, private companies and government offices．Increasing security too much would destroy this exchange．It would slow progress on many research projects．

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