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Read the advertisements carefully．Then answer the questions that follow．

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　　I saw Superman Returns in a shop on sale for ＄4, and I thought it was really cheap at that time．I was so excited to finally be able to watch it．It was said that this was really a great movie, so I just had to watch it．

　　However, after I watch it, I regretted wasting that ＄4．Firstly, the film was surprisingly boring．I just wanted to skip forward to get to a good point in the film．But I knew that if I did that, I would miss something that would make me completely puzzled, and then I would have to watch it all over again!I hate the fact that we had to watch Lex Luther plan his scheme throughout the movie．In a film like this, I like to be given the chance to try to guess what his scheme is going to be, as it adds to the excitement of the film．In this film, you could guess almost everything that was going to happen．I admit that the acting from Routh was good, but I didn't really believe the relationship between Superman and Lois Lane．I wanted more secret passion towards the end．And I don't mean to be rude about the young man who played her son, but I found his performance a bit wooden．I was really disappointed．

　　To conclude, Superman Returns is a basically a waste of ＄4, but the special effects are wonderful, and the idea behind it is really good．I just wish they had done it differently．

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　　What will man be like in the future－in 5000 or even 50, 000 years from now?We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time．

　　Let us take an obvious example．Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today．Now, on average, men are about three inches taller．Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller．Again, in the modem world we use our brains a great deal．Even so, we still make use of only about 20％ of the brain's capacity．As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones!This is likely to bring about a physical change too：the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger．Nowadays our eyes are in constant use．In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses．But over a very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger．

　　On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs．These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker．At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life．

　　But what about hair?This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer．In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald(光秃的)．

　　Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at!This may well be true．All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us．He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own．

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　　As children enter their teens, they usually begin to pay more attention to their peers(同龄人)or friends．Peer pressure can be direct or indirect, but is almost always present．Learning to deal with peer pressure(压力)makes a teen mature(成熟的), and be able to get along well with others．

　　Bad peer pressure is when teens feel pressured to do something that they know is wrong, such as smoking, drinking, or using drugs(毒品), which can remain with them into adulthood．This is the main reason teens have to learn how to deal with it．

　　Some of the things you can do to deal with peer pressure include：

　　●Choose friends who share your values．Good friends use positive peer pressure to help you be your best self．

　　●Keep away from situations where people are doing things you don't want to do．

　　●Think about your reasons for doing things．Are they good reasons?Are you being true to yourself and your values?

　　●Practice ways of saying no, giving excuses if necessary．

　　●Talk to your parents, or other trusted adults, about the kinds of peer pressure you face, and listen to their advice．

　　●Let the adults know when you need help to get out of a bad situation, and don't know what to do about it．Remember that if just one teen stands up to peer pressure, usually others will join him or her．Learning to deal with peer pressure will make you confident and mature．

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　　After World War Two, America faced the fact that people moved from the cities to the suburbs．Never before did the country experience such a transition(转折)．That is why some problems appeared for the new settlers(定居者)．

　　Some people think that children living in the suburbs are given worse services because they can't go to sports centers and cinemas so often as children in the cities．The children in the suburbs depend on their parents much more than those who live in the cities．Even when they become adults, this dependence does not disappear．

　　However, there is said to be a solution －to buy a car when a child turns sixteen．But actually it even worsens the worries．In most cases of teenage deaths, the cause is a traffic accident．They do not have enough experience in driving．Suburban children usually unite in small groups．

　　The cities have more chances, more job offerings．And as the whole world becomes more and more urbanized(城市化), sometimes living in the suburbs may limit the development of kids．Those who live in the suburbs think of the city as some kind of dangerous place．It may sound strange, but it is right sometimes．When you move to the city, you realize how different people are there．And it might be very difficult to get used to the rhythm(节奏)．The city is the center of culture and all kinds of opportunities．Probably the suburbs will become cities in the future．But something should be changed．Suburban people shouldn't feel that they are living so far away．

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　　12-year-old John Thomas Robertson is a born train fan．"I've liked trains probably from the day I was born," he told Good Morning America．"When I was very little," he said, "my grandpa got me a train model．I would just watch it go round for hours and hours．"

　　When Robertson finally had the opportunity to ride on a train, he felt great．His journey was so mind-blowing that he couldn't keep it to himself：he decided to take all his classmates to go on a ride with him．When he found that some of his classmates couldn't pay the fare, he collected cans(罐子)and bottles and raised more than ＄1,000 for them．

　　That trip was such a happy one that he made it a yearly action．"It never gets boring for some reason; it's just fun," he said．"It really lets people get away from their busy life and have fun．"

　　Every October, Robertson takes a new group of children to ride on the train －but now, he has a problem．Several disabled children were refused because the train was not accessible(可用的)to disabled people．"He was angry to think that children of his own age couldn't ride a train," his mother said．

　　But he wouldn't say no：he recently sent a letter to the train office for help．To his surprise, the leader, Ty Pennington, accepted the letter in person．He said that he and his workers would work on making a train accessible to disabled people．

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　　“I grew up on Jackson’s music and I still have all his stuff on my iPod．

　　I think that Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers．His brilliance as a performance also was paired with a tragic and in many ways, sad personal life．”

——Barack Obama

　　Michael Jackson was a singer, songwriter, dancer and celebrity icon with a vast catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit．Beyond that, he had transfixed(使惊呆)the world like few entertainers before or since．As a solo performer, he had enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and　Frank Sinatra．

　　Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the 80s’, and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time．

　　Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958．The fifth and youngest son of steelworker Joe Jackson, Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age．His father began to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons in 1962, and Michael joined them the following year, quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer．Dubbed the Jackson 5, the group signed to Motown in 1968 and issued their debut single in October 1969, when Michael was just 11 years old．I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save and I’ll Be There all hit number one in 1970, making the Jackson 5 the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts．Later in 1972, Jackson had his first number one solo single, Ben．In 1977, he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time．With Jones producing, Jackson recorded his first solo album as an adult, Off the Wall．

　　Released in 1982, the Quincy Jones produced Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall：the dance and rock tracks were more driving, the pop tunes and ballads softer and more soulful, and all of it was recognizably Michael．There was no surprise that Thriller was a hit; what was a surprise was its staying power．Jackson’s duet with McCartney, The Girl Is Mine, was a natural single choice, and it peaked at number two; then Billie Jean and the Van Halen track Beat It both hit number one, for seven and three weeks respectively．

　　Michael Jackson died from heart disease on June 25 at age 50．

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　　The Ministry of Health has called for more awareness from the public on the mental health of the young, as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day．

　　More than 15 percent of the Chinese youth have been found with mental problems, and about 30 million young people under 17 are suffering from depression, the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily reported．

　　The World Health Organization predicted that before 2020, the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent, and mental problems will become a major factor behind death and illness in the young worldwide．

　　Deng Xiaohong, the spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, said rapid social change is one of the reasons behind the rising number of youngsters with psychological problems．If these mental diseases are not addressed on time, occurrence of crime, drugtaking and other dangerous behavior is expected to rise．

　　Experts said mental disease could be caused by many factors, such as the inability to handle interpersonal relations well, unstable(不稳定的)emotions and pressure from the overload of study．A number of experts have also said the one-child policy is another reason leading to poor mental health in the young．

　　Children were said to be too “spoiled” and “selfish” in one-child families．Schools in many cities were reported rolling out measures to help students maintain(保持)their mental wellbeing．Yin Jingmiao, a teacher of the Beijing No．105 Middle School, told China Daily that the school invites psychologists to provide counseling(咨询)to students three times a month．“Students can be arranged to have 40 minute counseling lessons,” Yin said．The school also gives lectures on mental health to senior grade students before they take the national college entrance exams, to help ease any anxiety arising from the tests．

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　　A linguist, an expert on languages, is always listening, never off-duty．I invited a group of friends round to my house, telling them that I was going to record their speech．I said I was interested in their regional accents, and that it would take just a few minutes．Thus, one evening, three people came to my house and were shown into my front room．In front of each chair there was a microphone at head height, connected to a recorder in the middle of the floor．They sat down, rather nervously, and I explained that all I wanted was for them to count from one to twenty．Then we could relax and have a drink．

　　I turned on the recorder and each in turn counted from one to twenty in their best accents．When it was over, I turned the recorder off and brought round the drinks．I joined them in talking and joking freely．Then I left them for a telephone call which lasted some time．The rest of the evening seemed to be spent in total relaxation．

　　Or at least that is how it would appear, for, of course, the microphones were not connected to the recorder in the middle of the room at all but to another one in the bedroom．My friends, having seen the recorder before them turned off, paid no more attention to the microphones a few inches from their mouths, thus giving excellent sound quality．

　　I should add, perhaps, that I did tell my friends what had happened to them, after the recording was over, and asked them whether it should be destroyed．None of them wanted to-but for some years after that, it always seemed that when it came to buying drinks, it was I who paid for them．Linguistic research can be a very expensive business．

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