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　　In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day．Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game．This can be the most important thing of the year except graduation or commencement(颁授学位典礼)day．Students plan Homecoming Day for many weeks before the day．

　　Several days before Homecoming, students start to decorate(装饰)the school．There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the students．Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after they leave school．

　　During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago．Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school．

　　Everyone soon comes to watch the football game．When the game is half over, the band(乐队)comes onto the field and plays school songs．Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears．All the students vote a most popular student Homecoming Queen or King．It is a great honor to be chosen．

　　Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game．Even if the team loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming．Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party．For everyone it is a day worth remembering．

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　　History experts say Halloween goes back more than two thousand years to the Celts(凯尔特人)of ancient Britain．October 31 was the Celtic Day of the autumn feast(宗教节日)．On that day, priests(牧师)of the Celtic religion(宗教)prayed that the spirits of the dead would return to their homes for a few hours．The Celts built huge fires to frighten away evil spirits released with the dead on that night．

　　Hundreds of years later, the Roman Catholic(天主教的)Church made November first a day to honor Christian Saints．It was called All Saints Day or All Hallows Day．The day before was called Hallow Eve or Halloween．The name came from the church．But the traditions were closer to the old Celtic beliefs．

　　People from Scotland and Ireland brought these traditions to America．Many people still believed spirits played tricks on people on the last night of October．

　　In the late 19th century, American boys helped the spirits with tricks of their own．On Halloween, they would do things like change street signs or put a wagon on top of a house．

　　American children continue to celebrate Halloween today．Many adults enjoy the holiday as well．They go to holiday parties dressed as ghosts, monsters or famous people from history．

　　Children continue these Halloween traditions by going out to “Trick or Treat”．They dress as frightening creatures or characters from popular movies．They go from house to house asking for candy．They may also ask for money for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund(联合国国际儿童急救基金会)．They send the money to UNICEF to help needy children around the world．

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　　He wishes the holiday season would end already．His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit, his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours－and still the kids keep coming and coming, like ants at a picnic．As Christmas becomes more commercialized(商业化)across the U．S．and Canada, so must Santas．As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen．

　　The questions from children these days are harder than ever．Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable．For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”

　　Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued(指控)．A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story：A Santa had a girl on his knee, and he commented, “You have nice eyes and nice hair．”The girl later said it was sexual harassment(骚扰)．When a Santa feels anxious, he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do：The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended．Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again．

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　　The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past．The three-day event is not fixed to the same dates each year, but generally takes place in November or December．It is well attended by tourists, but even better attended by locals．

　　During the opening ceremonies, after the official greetings from the government leaders,

　　people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels transport their riders across the sands．Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship．One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture．Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs．On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair：their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance．

　　The local and visiting Italian dogs are anxious to run after hares．The crowd is on its feet for the camel races．Camels and riders run far into the distance, and then return to the finish line in front of the cheering people．

　　Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely exciting horserace．All the riders run very fast on horseback．Some riders hang off the side of their saddles．

　　Some even ride upside down－their legs and feet straight up in the air－all at full speed．Others rush down the course together, men arm in arm, on different horses．On and on they went．So fast and so wonderful!

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　　Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine’s Day．One legend dates as far back as the days of the Roman Empire．According to the story, Claudius, the Emperor of Rome,

　　wanted to increase the size of his army．He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join．Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army．

　　A priest(牧师)named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people．Finally, Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14．

　　After his death, Valentine was made a saint(圣人), and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine’s Day．It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day．Now Saint Valentine’s Day is a time for people to send one another greeting of many kinds．

　　February 14, Valentine’s Day, is sweethearts’ day, on which people in love with each other express their tender(温柔的)emotions．

　　People sometimes put their love message in a heartshaped box of chocolates, or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons(带子)．Words of letters may be written on the flower covered card, or something else．Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same：“Will you be my Valentine?”

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　　When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars．

　　A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected．It is a treasure we should protect．Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you’ll have disagreements．And the result can be what you don’t want－an end to the relationship．

　　The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended．First, don’t let your pride get in your way．Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open．

　　Second, apologize when you’re wrong－even if you’ve been wronged．Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes．Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes．When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit that he has been wrong．Third, see things from your friend’s point of view(观点)．And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyles(生活方式)change．Making friends can sometimes seem easy．The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships．My suggestion：Consider friendship an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养)．

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　　When we were young, we had dreams and expectations．We imagine things, we keep thinking about what we want to be, what we want to do, what makes us proud and happy and what we will become．

　　We grew up, and everything seemed like having its own way．We accept our success or failures and we move on．The change, the need to do the important things, the jobs, the pressures and the failures, all kill part of our dreams．

　　Things have changed, but they cannot really take away the dreams．We still have to dream on, to realize our desires, our wants, our future, even when we are considered too old for such things．Cornel Sanders started his business when he was sixty, and started the whole successful KFC business．The main thing is not the age－whether being too old, or too young, but it is the desire to dream on, and the courage to realize it．

　　Having a dream, taking it to sleep, thinking about it, planning it, and adding all the fun to our dreams will make us a bit closer to the realization of our dreams．

　　Businessmen start with a dream, a simple wish of small restaurant operation, or a huge business of real－estate(房地产)development, or a training center for English education, or just any other self－employed money earning fun．

　　The ability to dream on is one of the fine qualities of human race that other animals do not have．So dream on, and put a deadline：make it a giant dream, a small one, an old one, a newfound one, a hobby related one, a change of life one, a religious one, a stupid one, or just whatever．．．just continue to dream on．．．Then, Just Go and Do It!

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　　Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player．He was one of the most honored musicians in the world, an international cultural ambassador．And he was also a teacher and activist．For more than sixty years, Mr．Stern performed excellent music．He performed in concerts around the world and on recordings．

　　Isaac Stern was born in 1920 in Ukraine．His parents moved to California the following year．He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument．Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory(旧金山音乐学院)．He progressed quickly．When he was sixteen, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra．The next year, he performed in New York and was praised by music critics．

　　Isaac Stern became one of the busiest musicians of his day．He played more than one hundred concerts a year．He also became one of the most recorded musicians in history．Isaac Stern also supported artistic development and freedom．

　　In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China．He met with Chinese musicians and students．He taught them about classical Western music．His visit was made into a film．It is called From Mao to Mozart：Isaac Stern in China．It won an Academy Award for best documentary film．

　　In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music．He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life．He said music is an important part of a civilized life．He said people need music as much as they need bread．

　　Isaac Stern died in 2001 at the age of eighty－one．He was a major influence on music in the twentieth century．He leaves the world richer with his many recordings．

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　　Every people has their own way of saying things, their own special expressions．Many everyday American expressions are based on colors．

　　Red is a hot color．Americans often use it to express heat．They may say they are red hot about something unfair．When they are red hot they are very angry about something．The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery(炽热的, 暴躁的)taste．Fast loud music is popular with many people．They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz．

　　Pink is a lighter kind of red．People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health．The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century．It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health．

　　Blue is a cool color．The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music．Blues is slow, sad and soulful．Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song－Mood Indigo－about the deep blue color, indigo．In the words of the song：“You aren’t blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo．”Someone who is blue is very sad．

　　The color green is natural for trees and grass．But it is an unnatural color for humans．A person who has a sick feeling in stomach may say she feels a little green．A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green．

　　Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car．That person may say he is green with envy．Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks．Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money．

　　The color black is used often in expressions．People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day．The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day．A blacklist is illegal now．But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations．

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　　Few people would question the value of taking part in sports for young people．With proper training, supervision, protective equipment and techniques, and a proper emphasis on winning, sports can develop a healthy body and spirit and a life－long interest in being active and fit．Without such measures, childhood sports can lead to injuries and even paralysis or death．

　　Even in the best conditions, no activity can be risk－free．But most serious hazards are preventable．Cyclists and football players can reduce their risks by wearing helmets；hockey players by wearing masks；basketball and tennis players by wearing eye guards；baseball players by wearing batting helmets．

　　Besides, risks to individual players can often be found, and thus prevented, through a properly performed medical exam before a child plays．For accidents that may not be preventable, having an emergency plan and first－aid equipment, and someone trained to use the equipment, can be lifesaving．

　　Still, each year, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, more than 775,000 children under 14 are treated in emergency rooms for sports injuries, nearly half of them preventable．An estimated 300,000 athletes experience exercise－related head illnesses each year, and almost all of them should have been avoided．

　　Further, from half to three－fourths of sports－related concussions(脑震荡)are never even diagnosed；the injured are often sent back to play too soon and put at risk of another more serious brain－damaging concussion．To help reduce these risks, the National Center for Sports Safety, with the National Athletic Trainers’Association, offers a three－hour online safety course for coaches for ＄ 28 at www．SportsSafety．org．