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　　In Western countries, Christmas is usually a time for families to get together, have a big dinner and exchange(交換)presents．In Kirkwall, the capital town of the Orkney Islands in the north of Scotland, Christmas Day is also when about 200 men have a fight over a small ball．They call it a game!

　　The ball is called the "Ba"．It is made of leather and cork．There are two teams, the "Uppies" and the "Doonies"．The Uppies try to get the Ba to touch a wall up the town．The Doonies try to get the Ba down to the sea．This game has been played for more than 150 years and is getting more popular．Whether you are an Uppie or Doonie generally depends on family traditions(傳統(tǒng))．Male(Men)tourists can choose any team．The two teams start in the middle of the town．A guest is asked to throw up the Ba at one o’clock in the afternoon．

　　The Ba moves either by one team pushing the other or by someone putting it under their jersey(sweater)and running with it．You can kick or throw it but it's too heavy to go far．There is no time limit．The shortest ever game was only a few minutes．However, the longest ever was more than six hours．

　　There are no rules and the Ba can go anywhere．The Ba and all its players sometimes pass through somebody's house．Because of this, many shops and homes are protected by barricades．Surprisingly, few people get hurt．There are mostly tourists who get caught in the game when it suddenly moves quickly．There is no referee but the players control each other．If someone is too rough(粗暴), they are told to leave．

　　After the game, the winning team chooses a person to keep the Ba．This can often result in arguments and even fights within the same team．When the winner has been decided, many people go to his house for a big celebration afterwards．

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　　Sometimes the most difficult thing about feelings is sharing them with others．Sharing your feelings helps you both when your feelings are good and when they aren’t so good．Sharing also helps you to get closer to people you care about and who care about you．

　　Before you can share your feelings with someone, you have to know what feelings you have．Making a list of your feelings can help．You can do this in your head or by writing them out on a piece of paper or even by drawing pictures．

　　If you're feeling sad, worried, or upset, you'd better tell someone．If you keep such feelings locked inside, they can even make you feel sick! So if you talk with someone who cares for you, like your mom or dad, you will start to feel better．/But what if you don't want to talk with your mom or dad? Then find another trusted(可信賴的)adult．Maybe this person can help you talk what you mean, try explaining it in a different way．Is there anything you think could be done to make things better? If so, say it．

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　　People keep dogs and cats because they enjoy their friendship．Fish cannot be friendly, but they have beautiful shapes and colours．They are pleasure to watch as they swim in their tanks(水槽)．

　　First of all, the fish need a suitable(合適的)tank, and you must fill the tank with suitable water．It is also good for them to have a few water plants in the tank to keep the water pure(純凈)．A few snails(蝸牛)in the tank are good idea, too．They will keep the water clean．

　　There are many kinds of fish food that you can get in pet shops．Most are suitable for all kinds of fish．You should feed your fish once a day only．It is important not to give them too much food．Just give them as much as they can eat in about 15 minutes．This will keep them healthy．

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Yu Cai Foreign Language School

West Hill Farm

Li Dong Teacher of English

Zhang Hui Farmer

Yingfeng Street, Jinan China

Shangping village, Zhejiang

Tel：0531-6082819

Tel：0745-6828916

1373098488(mobile phone)

E-mail：lidong@sina．com

BP：1270804778

BP：1240822018

Zip code：419100

Zip code：250011

Fax：0531-6082822

E-mail：winnerhao @ 263．net

BP：1998830168

E-mail：hztt@ yahoo, com

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　　She was only about five feet tall and probably never weighed more than 110 pounds, but Miss Bessie was a towering presence in the classroom．She was the only woman tough enough to make me read Beowulf and think for a few stupid days that I liked it．From 1938 to 1942, she taught me English, history－and a lot more than I realized．

　　I shall never forget the day she scolded(批評(píng))me into reading Beowulf．“But Miss Bessie, ” I complained, “I ain’t much interested in it．”

　　Her large brown eyes became sharp．“Boy, ” she said, “how dare you say ‘a(chǎn)in’t’ to me! I’ve taught you better than that．”

　　“Miss Bessie, ” I said, “I’m trying to join the football team, and if I go around saying ‘it isn’t’ and ‘they aren’t, ’ the guys are gonna laugh me off the team．”

　　“Boy,” she replied, “you’ll play football because you have guts(勇氣)．But do you know what really takes guts? Refusing to lower your standards to those of the crowd．It takes guts to say you’ve got to live and be somebody fifty years after all the football games are over．”

　　I started saying “it isn’t” and “they aren’t, ” and I still joined the team without losing my friends’ respect．

　　Negroes, as we were called then, were not allowed in the town library, except to sweep floors or clean tables．But with the help of some nice whites, Miss Bessie kept getting books out of the white library．That is how she introduced me to the Bront?s, Byron and Keats．“If you don’t read, you can’t write, and if you can’t write, you might as well stop dreaming, ” Miss Bessie once told me．

　　So I read whatever Miss Bessie told me to, and tried to remember the things she insisted that I store away．It could be embarrassing to be unprepared when Miss Bessie said, “Get up and tell the class who Frances Perkins is and what you think about her．” Forty-five years later, I can still recite her “truths to live by”．

　　Miss Bessie noticed things that had nothing to do with schoolwork, but were essential to a youngster’s development．Once a few classmates made fun of my worn-out hand-me-down overcoat．As I was leaving school, Miss Bessie patted me on the back of that old overcoat and said, “Carl, never worry about what you don’t have．Just make the most of what you do have － a brain．”

　　No child can get all the necessary support at home, and millions of poor children get no support at all．This is what makes a wise, educated, warm-hearted teacher like Miss Bessie so essential to the minds, hearts and souls of this country’s children．

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　　Hueco Tanks State Historical Park is home to thousands of Native American paintings and drawings．Ancient works of rock art dating back thousands of years lie within caves hidden in the hills．The paintings at Hueco Tanks have lasted for centuries．

　　The walls tell stories of many people and many times for at least 10, 000 years．Several different groups of people have traveled through and lived in the area．These groups often left their mark with rock paintings and drawings．Scientists have studied these ancient works of art to learn more about the people who made them．Scientists believe that around 6, 000 BC a group now known as the Desert Archaic people occupied(占有)the area．The earliest of their drawings are simple wavy and straight lines．Later drawings show scenes of people holding spears(矛)while deer and other animals run around them．

　　Around 1, 000 AD the Mogollon people lived in the area．The Mogollon were farmers．More than most farmers, the Mogollon valued water．For them water held great meaning．This group of farmers painted many pictures of water flowing over the land and rain with lightning．

　　The Mescalero Apaches created some of the most recent rock art at Hueco Tanks．They stayed in the area for a short time around 1, 600 AD．Spanish explorers had arrived in North America by this time．Many of the cave paintings from this period show Spanish soldiers on horses．

　　In 1849 the California Gold Rush was well under way．Some people traveled through hot, dry West Texas as they made their way to California’s goldfields．Hueco Tanks provided water and shade(陰涼處)for these travelers．Many of these travelers put their names and dates on the rocks at Hueco Tanks．These writings are still found on the rocks today．

　　In May 1970 Hueco Tanks was made a state park, giving the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department control of the area．

　　The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is using technology to help take care of the rock art．By studying these works of art, visitors and scientists can learn much about the lives of some early Native Americans．

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More Than a Zoo

　　Popcorn Park is not like most zoos．It is a very special place．Workers at the zoo care for hurt or sick animals．They return some of these animals to their natural homes．Those animals that cannot live on their own stay at Popcorn Park Zoo．

　　At first this unusual place was not a zoo．It was called the Forked River Animal Care Center．The workers there took care of lost or unwanted cats and dogs．

　　The change to the center began in 1977 when a raccoon needed help．The workers cared for the animal．Finally it was better, but it could not care for itself．The raccoon was allowed to live at the center．

　　Once people heard about the wonderful work being done at the center, they began taking all kinds of hurt or homeless animals there．Soon the center was no longer just a home for cats and dogs．So many animals were living at the center that it became more like a zoo．It was time for a new name．

　　Popcorn Park Zoo got its funny name because many of the animals there like to eat popcorn(爆米花)made without oil or salt．Also the popcorn is sold at the zoo to help make money to care for the animals．People buy the popcorn to feed the animals as a treat．

　　Popcorn Park Zoo now takes care of more than 200 kinds of animals．All the animals at the zoo get lots of care and love．

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　　Kindle is our bestseller．It enables you to download books anytime, anywhere, while on the go．while on the go．

　　Kindle’s screen reads like real paper．Read as easily in bright sunlight as in your sitting room．

　　At only 8.5 ounces．It’s a third the weight of the iPad．

　　Kindle can carry up to 3, 500 books．

　　Unlike a computer, Kindle never gets hot so you can read comfortably as long as you like．

　　AMAZING!!! By Luigi

　　The screen is wonderful! It’s better than paper! This is too cool!

　　Very satisfied customer By Milou

　　My hurt hands were making reading large books painful(疼痛的)．The kindle is so light I can carry it easily．

　　Love my Kindle By Bonnie

　　I received my Kindle as a gift for my birthday．I love it!

　　Easy to carry By Justine

　　Just put it in a handbag either large or small．

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　　Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s?Normally the women’s brain weighs 10％ less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent(聰明的)than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain is made up of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the white matter, the amount(數(shù)量)of “thinking” brain is almost the same in both men and women．

　　It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls may learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of different information at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．

　　There are other important differences between two sexes(性別)．As white matter is the key to spatial(空間的)tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries：why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

　　The differences begin when fetuses(胎兒)are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children when they are very young．A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would ask for help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．

閱讀理解

　　The rising costs of health care have become a problem for many countries in the world．To deal with this problem, it is reported that a big part of the government’s health budge(預(yù)算)has been used for health education and disease prevention instead of treatment．Actually, many kinds of diseases are preventable in many ways and preventing a disease is usually much cheaper than treating it．For example, people could avoid catching a cold if they dressed warmly when the weather starts getting cold．But many people get sick because they fail to do so, and have to spend money seeing a doctor．

　　Daily habits like eating more healthy food would have kept millions of families from becoming bankrupt(破產(chǎn))if the patients had taken ways for early prevention．For example, keeping a balanced diet(均衡飲食), such as not consuming too much animal fat and trying to have enough vegetables and fruits, seems to be quite important．

　　One very effective and costless way of prevention is regular(定期的)exercise, which is necessary for a healthy mind and body．Regular exercise, such as running, walking, and playing sports is a good way to make people feel better．

　　In addition, health education plays a key role in improving people’s health．By giving people more information about health, countries could help people understand the importance of disease prevention and ways to achieve it．For example, knowing one’s family medical history is an effective way to help keep healthy．Information about health problems among close relatives will make them aware of what they should do to prevent certain diseases through lifestyle changes, which will work before it is too late．

　　However, paying more attention to disease prevention does not mean medical treatment is unimportant．After all, prevention and treatment are just two different means toward the same effect．In conclusion, we could save money on health care and treat patients more successfully if our country spends more money on health prevention and education．