1) Shortly after starting university, I joined some new friends on a trip to Vancouver. It was the first time I’d left the United States. At the border, a guard asked how long we would stay in Canada. Knowing it would be after midnight when we returned, I asked, “How late will we be able to cross the border?” “Any time, ma’am,” the guard replied. “We never close Canada.” (2) Living near a prestigious medical school, I’m used to being around well-to-do doctors and medical types. I didn’t realize how jaded ‘d become until I was walking with my son and passed by a shiny new BMW. The license plate read SNOBDR. “Isn’t that just like those guys up there at the hospital to have a vanity plate that reads ‘Snob doctor’ ? ” I said. My son quickly brought me back to earth. “Dad,” he told me, “ the owner’s snowboarder.” (3) After bumping his head on our stereo cabinet, my 11-year-old son, Seth, required stitches. While the doctor was administering a local anesthetic to Seth’s head, I started to feel faint, so the nurse offered me a chair. My son winced with every stitch, and the nurse told him it was OK to cry. On the way home, my husband asked Seth if he had heard the nurse tell him it was OK to cry. “I hear her,” Seth replied, “but I thought she was talking to Mum.” (4) Whenever I have to leave a phone message, I become flustered. So I carefully rehearsed what I had to say to a contractor, then dialed the phone, took a deep breath and spoke slowly and clearly. There! I thought as I hung up, I did it ! But then I recalled the last line of my message:” Please call me after six. Thank you very much. Amen.” (5) Software for free There’s no such thing as a free lunch Software, that’s a different story. Linux programs, including web browsers and word processors, are developed from openly available computer codes and have long been available online, no charge. Is it time to switch over the save? “á quick answer would be that Linux is not quite right for the average user just yet,” says William Ku, who owns Mynasoft, a Singapore Linux-solutions firm. It all comes down to how computer-savvy you are. You have to install Linux products into new computers yourself, and most Linux software is less user-friendly than commercial versions. But the effort can pay off, Ku says. “Once you have worked out the technology, you have access to free software for life !” Linux support groups such as linuxusers org are plentiful on the Web. (6) Putting the home in homework We want our children to do their homework, but are we going enough to help ? “Parents shouldn’t just tell kids to do homework ,” says William Corey, headmaster of the Brent International School in Subic Bay Philippines. “They should also provide the right atmosphere.” Some ways to help your kids get their schoolwork done : ● Set up a quiet comfortable study area away from the television, loud music and telephones. ● Pay attention to what your children are doing. Even if they don’t need help with homework, they don’t need help with homework, they will appreciate knowing that you are interested. Praise them for a job well done. ● Never use homework as punishment, or refer to it in negative terms. Make it one of the most interesting parts of the day. ● If your child has a heavy workload, break it up into smaller tasks, giving praise and rest time between each assignment. ● Keep in contact with teachers to make sure that all homework is being brought home and done properly. (7) Healthy ways to manage your anger Put it in writing --- The process of writing forces you to organize your thoughts , to think clearly, to use your head rather than lose it. In addition, if the incident that set you off occurred at work, “you develop a businesslike way to handle the issue,” says Mary McLaughlin, president of Emotional Education Services in Syracuse, New York. If things come to a head , you’ll have a paper trail. Do a cost-benefit analysis --- “Ask yourself, “Is getting angry going to buy me anything ?” says McLaughlin. You may have to let it go, which is not the same as suppressing the anger, she adds. “ You’re taking a moment to make an intelligent choice about how you will behave.” (8) All in a Day’s Work ● When our firm received an order from a furniture dealer for 100 pillows, we checked our records and discovered that the dealer had an overdue account. We notified the client that the order would not be processed until the overdue payment was taken are of. The reply we received was “Please cancel order. Can’t wait that long.” ● I’m the MANAGER of a fitness equipment shop. An old man came in one day and wanted to try one of our elliptical machines. I was concerned he might fall , so I said, “Put your foot on the lower pedal and get on it like a horse.” “A horse ,” he quipped, “would never get on one of these.” ● Shortly after I had my car repaired, the mechanic who fixed it asked me to bring back. I watched as he opened the bonnet and removed a tool he had left behind. In a conspiratorial voice I said, “If you were a surgeon, I’d sue for malpractice.” “Yeah, but if I was a surgeon,” he replied, “I’d charge you for having to go back in.” ● When we worked for the security department of a large retail store, my duties included responding to fire and burglar alarms. A side door of the building was wired with a security alarm because it was not supposed to be used by customers. Nevertheless, they found the convenience of the exit tempting. Even a sign with “Alarm will sound if opened” in large red letter failed to keep people from using it. One day , after attending to a number of shrieking alarms, I placed a small handmade sign on the door that totally eliminated the problem: “Wet Paint.” (9) A newspaper is a medium that tells the news of the day and other things. There are good newspapers and bad newspapers. You can know more and be more interesting. If you read a good newspaper each day. A good newspaper should have well-trained and reliable people working for it. One of the important people on the newspaper staff is the reporter. It’s the reporter’s job to be sure that the facts are checked before they are printed. Some reporters do not always bother to do this. A newspaper should give current news as it happens. It should report the facts of this news as reliably as it can. A newspaper may also give some comments on the news, which can help you work out the news of the day may affect you. Not all newspapers, however, do what they are meant to do. (10) Keeping fit is an important thing of our life. A fit person who has good health is definitely more efficient in carrying his task either as a student in a school, a worker in an office or even a housewife at home. There are different ways to keep fit. It is necessary to observe a well-balanced diet daily. Different kinds of food has different functions in building up and maintaining our bodies. Other ways to keep fit is by exercising regularly. Learning how to relax our bodies is certainly an effected way to keep fit. (11) The Internet The spread of information over the Internet --- the World Wide Web – has happened only recently, and a new vocabulary is developing to describe technological developments. A special vocabulary is needed for the Internet. It falls into two main groups: new words and phrases created especially for the Internet , and old words being used in a new way. (12) Little Information Obtained from the Internet Only 2% of the survey say the Internet is their main source for science and technology information compared with 53 % in America. Currently only 21 million Chinese people have the access to the Internet.The first reason may be that computers remain a luxury item for most Chinese. Secondly, many people lack the necessary skills to find information using a computer, for example, the ability to write using pinyin or the often complex input methods for Chinese character. Lastly, some people consider computers not to be a worthwhile investment, in terms of financial returns. (13) The World Trade Organization (WTO), founded on January 1, 1995, aims to encourage international trade to flow as freely as possible, making sure that trade agreements are respected and that any disputes can be settled. In the five years since its founding, the WTO has become well-known as one of the world’s most powerful economic organizations, taking its place alongside the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The WTO, with its head office in Geneva, has 135 members with 30 more waiting to join. (14) France General information France is bordered on the north by Belgium and Dutchy of Luxembourg; on the east by the Federal Republic of Germany ; on the southeast by Switzerland, Italy, and Monaco ; and on the south by Spain. In the west and north, winters are generally cool and summers are mild. Southern France and Corsica have a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters. Precipitation is frequent all year ; most areas record 20 to 40 inches (50-100 cm) average rainfall in late autumn or early winter. Clothing needs are similar to those in Washington, D.C. (15) Switzerland Switzerland is located in central Europe. Neither Bern nor Zurich has great extreme of hot or cold weather. Rain is common in winter and summer, and snowfalls are frequent in winter. Humidity is high during spring and fall. Average summer temperature in Bern is 60F(16C), winter 33F (1C). Zurich temperature are usually a few degrees lower. (16) Very frequently people like to make others believe or do something against their will. Even a baby also tries to have adults’ attention to what he wants although he/she may not be able to follow what the adults want him/ he
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