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Good morning, class!

　　We know that there are too many net bars around us．The Internet is popular and it makes our lives colorful．Many of us like going online very much because we can learn how to use the computer and get more information from the Internet．We can learn English．We can read some good newspapers and magazines．It can make us clever in playing computer games．We can send E-mails to our friends quickly．We can chat(聊天)freely online with our friends．It can help us get in touch with people from all over the world．

　　But some students spend too much time in playing computer game and some stay in the net bars all day and all night．Teenagers even get to have boyfriends or girlfriends online．They write too many letters to each other．It takes them to much time to chat online so they do worse and worse in their lessons and they don’t study well any more．I think we mustn’t get online when it is time for us to study．We can do it in summer or winter holidays．We should get online with adults(成人)－our teacher or parents．

　　At the same time, if we have lots of free time, we can do some out-of-class activities at school．We usually have activities from 4∶50 to 5∶50 in the afternoon．We have different kinds of activities．If you are interested in sports, you can play basketball or football．We can go to the English Corner．We can practice talking in English there．We hope we can spend more time on our subjects or on such activities that we can learn a lot from and less time on the Internet．

　　Thank you for listening to me．That’s all．

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　　Joan worked in a hospital as a nurse．One evening there was a big dance at the hospital．Most of the doctors and nurses would be there, but of course somebody had to be left to look after the sick children, and Joan was not of the lucky ones．She liked dancing very much, so when she had to start work that evening while her friends were getting ready to go to the dance, she felt very sorry for herself．

　　She went to each sick child one after another and said good night, until she came to one little boy, Dicky．He was eleven years old, but he was already able to talk like an adult．Poor Dicky had a very serious illness, and now he was hardly able to move any part of his body except his hands．Joan knew he would never get any better, but he was always happy and always thinking about other people instead of about himself．

　　Dicky knew that Joan loved dancing, so now when she came to say good night to him, he greeted her with the words, “I’m very sorry that you have to miss the dance because of us．But we are going to have a party for you．If you look in my drawer(抽屜)，you’ll find a piece of cake．I saved it from my supper today, so it’s quite fresh．And there is also a dollar there, You can buy something to drink with that．And I’d get up and dance with you myself if I was able to”, he added．

　　Suddenly the hospital dance seemed very far away and not at all important to Joan．

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Hello Sandy,

　　We have just returned from our holiday．We went with our friends Edward Smith and his wife Tina to the Yorkshire Moors．This is a beautiful place．It is a natural park．There are lots of places to walk on the tops of the hills, miles of grassland with no people, just sheep and birds．

　　Edward, who had just come out of hospital, could not walk as far as he used to．However this meant that we walked in the mornings, and then stopped at a cafe for lunch each day, before returning to the place we live．Edward and I slept in front of the fire all afternoon, while the ladies went for another walk．Very pleasant!

　　I have taken lots of photos from the place we live, across the valley(峽谷)below us, of the morning sunrise, and the mist in the valley．Also, in England, the old steam powered trains(蒸汽火車)are very popular．I have taken many photos of the train and from it．

　　Yesterday we had the first snow of this winter．It is very early(we usually expect snow in January)．It rained all day, and then snowed in the evening．Today we have bright sunshine!

　　Both Jenny and I are well．I don’t know if I told you, in the last E-mail, that Jenny is now working in a hotel．Although she has to work hard, people there are nice and she is enjoying the work．

　　Please write to us to tell us your news．

Yours,

Victor

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Stress Level Tied to Education Level

　　People with less education suffer fewer stressful days, according to a report in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior．

　　However, the study also found that when less-educated people did suffer stress it was more severe and had a larger impact on their health．

　　From this, researchers have concluded that the day-to-day factors that cause stress are not random．Where you are in society determines the kinds of problems that you have each day, and how well you will cope with them．

　　The research team interviewed a national sample of 1,031 adults daily for eight days about their stress level and health．People without a high school diploma(畢業(yè)文憑)reported stress on 30 percent of the study days, people with a high school degree reported stress 38 percent of the time, and people with college degrees reported stress 44 percent to the time．

　　“Less advantaged people are less healthy on a daily basis and are more likely to have downward turns in their health,” lead researcher Dr．Joseph Grzywacz, of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said in a prepared statement．“The downward turns in health were connected with daily stressors and the effect of daily stressors on their health is much more devastating(毀滅性的)for the less advantaged．”Grzywacz suggested follow-up research to determine why less-educated people report fewer days of stress when it is known their stress in more acute and chronic．

　　“If something happens every day, maybe it’s not seen as a stressor” Grzywacz says．“Maybe it is just life．”

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　　Wives, children and parents left behind in the countryside by migrant workers need special assistance, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference said yesterday．

　　Adult males moving to work in cities, is causing a challenge to the traditional function of bringing up children and supporting the elderly, said Shen Shuji, who is also an official with the All-China Women’s Federation．

　　Shen recommended certain measures, including a special policy to guarantee educational opportunities for such children, accelerating(加速)the establishment of pension(養(yǎng)老金)and medical care systems in rural areas, and encouraging enterprises and non-governmental organizations to help such families．

　　The rights and welfare of migrant workers themselves have called much attention in recent years．The government has made policies to protect their rights．

　　The number of children aged between 6 and 16 in this situation is more than 20 million nationwide, accounting for more than half of the country’s total．Some of the children have both their parents in cities and have to be taken care of by grandparents or other family relatives．

　　Without enough care from parents, many of them become problem children, Shen said．Wives left at home by their husband have to face hard work, loneliness and a lack of a sense of security．In many cases long-term separation ends up with divorce．

　　There is still no pension system in China’s countryside．Traditionally, the elderly in rural areas are supported by their children with low incomes．

　　But the exodus of their children has left many old people in a difficult situation．They have to continue to work in farms while taking care of their grandchildren, Shen said．

　　The country should gradually scrap(消除)the decades-old bi-polar system separating rural and urban areas, which prevent farmers from enjoying the equal rights．

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　　My-Space, the social networking website, is different from other websites which only provide stories about other people．My-Space is a place that allows you to broadcast your own stories and personal information to as many people as you like．Started two years ago, it is a big source of information for and about American kids．

　　Teenagers and their parents feel very differently about it．Teens are rushing to join the site, not sharing their parents’ worries．It signals yet another generation gap in the digital era．

　　For teenagers, it is a reliable network to keep in touch with their friends．They will often list their surnames, birthdays, after-school jobs, school clubs, hobbies and other personal information．

　　“My-Space is an easy way to reach just about everyone．I don’t have all the phone numbers of my acquaintances．But if I want to get in touch with one of them, I could just leave them a message on My-Space,” said Abby Van Wassen．She is a 16-year-old student at Woodland Hills High of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania．

　　Parents on the other hand are seriously concerned about the security problems of My-Space．

　　“Every time we hold a parents meeting, the first question is always about My-Space, ”said Kent Cates, who travels the country doing Internet safety seminars(研討會)．The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has received at least 288My-Space-related complaints, according to Mary Beth Buchanan, a lawyer in Pittsburgh．

　　“Your profile on My-Space shows all your personal information to anyone on the Web．And My-Space even lists this information by birthplace and age．It’s like a free checklist for trouble-makers and it endangers children,” Buchanan said．

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　　You feel happiest when you create a healthy balance between giving and receiving．If you give and give without making time to fill your own needs, then it’s likely you will burn out, or feel upset．When you take and take without giving anything back, you never feel fulfilled, so you are always searching for ways to fill the void in your life．

　　The way to create a healthy balance between giving and receiving is to know and then live by your values．I break values up into two groups which I call being and having values．Your being values are the character traits of the ideal person you would like to be．I suggest to my clients that they choose three being values that they are willing to make a commitment to live by．An example of some being values are：kind, loving, generous, inspirational, peaceful, wise and even powerful．By acting on these values you give to others through your actions and you inspire others by being a positive role model．Mastering being these character traits becomes your life purpose．

　　Your having values are the feelings you need to create in order to be happy．These could be companionship, achievement, support, being valued or financial security．This is what you receive．You take responsibility for filling your own needs by taking steps to create these feelings and conditions in your life．

　　When you make a commitment to live by your being values, it becomes easier to make conscious choices rather than reactionary ones．If your usual pattern is to talk about your problems, you could choose to think and act like a calm person．A calm person might go for a walk, meditate(沉思)，or set a time limit before responding．If your usual pattern is to worry, you could choose to act like a responsible or wise person．In other words, you would act like the person you choose to be－this is the key to personal power．

　　When you choose to act on your values, you not only feel good about yourself, you reinforce(加強)your chosen beliefs．Over time acting in this way changes how you see the world, and in turn the way other people think of you．

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　　My grandfather grew up in war-torn Europe．When German soldiers occupied his hometown, the thriving city of Tarow, Poland, he refused to obey them and eventually joined the Soviet army to fight for his country’s freedom．“Stand straight, stand tall,” he told himself．

　　After the war, in 1947, he boarded a boat for Manhattan．He was hungry and suffering from seasickness．All alone in a new country, he was frightened about his future．Still, he marched head-on into the hustle and bustle of the streets of New York．Soon he met other European immigrants, each of them trying to find his or her own way．If they could do it, why couldn’t he?“Stand straight, stand tall,” he would remind himself．

　　Thanks to the help of a loyal and trusting friend, my grandfather gained a jewelry booth on Canal Street, New York City．He once told me how nervous he was on that first day of work．He was not only trying to learn this tough new business, but also a new language．

　　To his surprise, the men in neighboring booths－who could have taken advantage of him－offered their help and advice．Within months, my grandfather was commanding his spot behind the counter, selling diamonds and cultured pearls as if he’d been doing it his whole life．

　　Stand straight and stand tall．

　　In later years, my grandfather would take both my mother and her sister down the aisle at their weddings．As he stood with each of them, he thought about their new beginnings, and of the adventures and journeys they would experience together．He also thought about the children who would one day carry on his family name．

　　I am so proud to be one of those children．Listening to my grandfather’s remarkable experiences has changed the way I view my own life．

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　　As we know, it is not easy to build a satellite．Building a traditional satellite normally takes years．The costs can be as high as $ 250 million or more．Most members of the design teams have worked in the field for a long time．They hold advanced degrees in math, science, or engineering．

　　But things are changing．High costs, unusual educational requirements and long start-up times are no longer an obstacle to space exploration．The scientists at Stanford University have developed a new type of tiny, inexpensive earth-orbiting satellites that go from ideas to launch(發(fā)射)in a year．

　　So far, college students have built and launched several cube-shaped satellites, or Cubesats．At least 15 more are ready to go．Those already in orbit(軌道)take pictures, collect information and send it back to the earth, just as regular satellites do．

　　But you might not even have to wait until you get to college to start designing and building your own satellite．A new program called KatySat aims to get teenagers to take part．Once kids understand what satellites can do, says Ben Yuan, an engineer at Lockheed Martin in Menlo Park, Calif, the kinds of applications they’ll come up with may be countless．

　　“We’d like to put this technology(技術(shù))in your hands,” he tells kids．“We’re going to teach you how to operate a satellite．Then we want to turn it over to you as a sandbox for you to play in．We want you to take the technology into new directions that we haven’t thought of yet．”

　　Education isn’t the only goal of CubeSats．Because these tiny, technology-filled boxes are relatively inexpensive to build and can be put together quickly, they’re perfect for testing new technologies that might one day be used on major space tasks．

　　The biggest challenge now is to find ways to bring the satellites back to the earth after a year or two．Otherwise, major highways of space junk could gradually increase as CubeSats become more common．

　　Nowdays challenge and high school students are getting a chance to learn what it takes to explore in space．Someday－perhaps a lot sooner than you imagine－you might get to design, build and launch your own satellite．If you do, you’re sure to have fun．And you might also get crazy about science for life．

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　　Lijiang, Yunnan, Dec．17(Xinhuanet)－A film directed by the famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou, made its domestic debut(國內(nèi)首映式)in Lijiang, where the film was shot, in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, on Friday night．

　　The film, titled Riding Along for Thousands of Miles, was played by the Japanese actor TakakuraKen．It tells a story that Takada, a Japanese fisherman, fulfills(完成)the last wish of his dying son by traveling thousands of miles to China’s Yunnan Province to search for the secret behind a local opera play, called Riding Along for Thousands of Miles．

　　Zhang Yimou, who has been Takakura’s admirer for almost 30 years, made the film just for

　　fulfilling his own wish of working with Takakura Ken．

　　The film made its global(全球的)bedut at the opening session of the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival on Oct．22．

　　Takakura, one of the best-known actors in Japan, has played roles in 204 films－including

　　Zhang’s－and won world recognition(認可)after starting in the 1975 Sydney Pollack hit The Yakuza(71)and in Ridley Scott’s 1989 work Black Rain．

　　Invested by the Beijing New Picture Edko Films, Riding Along for Thousands of Miles was

　　made at a cost of 60 million yuan(about 7.3 million US dollars), much less than Zhang’s two previous films, Hero and House of Flying Daggers, both had been nominates(提名)for best foreign film Oscars．

　　The film will be formally released in China on Dec．22．

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