I was 9 years old when I found out my father was ill．It was 1994, but I can remember my mother’s words as if it were yesterday：“Kerrel, I don’t want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS．Be very careful when you are around him．”

　　AIDS wasn’t something we talked about in my country when I was growing up．From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret．My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone．For a while, he could take care of himself．But when I was 12, his condition worsened．My father’s other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him．

　　We couldn’t afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn’t even buy food for dinner．I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher’s words muffled as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage．

　　I did not share my burden(负担)with anyone．I had seen how people reacted to AIDS．Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease．And even adults could be cruel．When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was too weak to feed himself．

　　I had known that he was going to die, but after so many years of keeping his condition a secret．I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days．Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit National AIDS Support．That day, she kept me on the phone for hours．I was so lucky to find someone who cared．She saved my life．

　　I was 15 when my father died．He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me．He didn’t want to call attention to AIDS．I do．

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　　Join the thousands of professionals and international travelers who depend on Chanps-Elysees Schau ins Land, Puerta del Sol, and Acquerello italiano to help them stay in touch with the languages and cultures they love．Designed to help you greatly improve your listening, vocabulary, and cultural IQ, these unique European audio-magazines(有声杂志)are guaranteed(保证)to give you enthusiasm and determination to study the language-or your money back

　　Each audio-magazine consists of an hour-long programme on CD or DVD．You’ll hear interviews with well-known Europeans, passages covering current events and issues as well as feature stories on the culture you love．A small book which goes with CD or DVD, contains a complete set of printed materials, notes (background notes included)averaging 600 words and expression translated into English．The result you build fluency month in and month out．

　　To help you integrate language study into your busy life, we’ve made each audio-magazine convenient．Work on language fluency while driving to work, exercising, or cooking－anytime and anywhere you want

　　Best of alt each programme is put together by professional broadcasters journalists, and editors who have a strong interest in European languages and cultures．That enthusiasm comes through in every edition．From New York to London to Singapore?The users tell us no company produces a better product for language learners at all levels Ring for more information, or order at WWW.Audiomagazine.com．We guarantee that you have nothing to lose if it’s not for you; let us know within 6 weeks and we will completely reimburse you．

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　　In the last few years our communications network has been growing at a very fast pace．The old fixed－line telephone has been replaced by mobile phones, Short Message Service(SMS), e－mail and instant messaging(IM)．And there are other new ways of communicating related to the Internet, such as blogs．

　　A recent study in Switzerland shows the different roles that communication methods can play．Stefana Broadbent is a scientist at Swisscom, Switzerland’s largest telecoms company．She studied several hundred consumers and their reactions to telecommunications．She found people are very good at choosing the best technology for each situation．

　　“IM is used to tell you I miss you; e-mail is to organize our dinner; voice mail is to say, I’m late; and SMS to continue our talk on the way,” says Broadbent, joking a little．

　　Landline phones are an open channel．That means people use them to talk about non-private things．That’s because other family members or colleagues have access to the phone．Mobile phones are more for adding last-minute information．SMS is used for close friends to keep in touch．It is very efficient and private．The messages are often related to personal secrets．People often use e-mail for online communication with bigger social groups．That includes ordinary friends．Or it is used for exchanging pictures, music, and other content among a social network．IM, such as MSN and QQ, is a continuous channel．Users open an instant messaging channel for the day．Then they just keep it open while they do other activities．Managing a blog is like creating your own independent club on the Internet for friends to visit．It is often the centre of a small group of friends who share the same hobbies．

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　　WHAT is the top hit single of 20067 It’s “Don’t Wanna Grow Up”!

　　Taiwan girl band S.H.E took home the gold hit award at the 2006 Hong Kong TVB8 Top Chart Awards(金曲榜)last week, with “Don’t Wanna Grow Up” from their eighth album “Once Upon A Time”．

　　It’s the first time S.H.E has won the award．The three members, Selina．Hebe and Ella were all very excited about it．They not only performed the song at the award ceremony．but also offered exaggerated(夸张的)hugs when giving awards to other artists．

　　“Don’t Wanna Grow Up” is a song with light tunes(旋律)and easy lyrics．Its music writer Zuo Anan used the tunes from Mozart’s Symphony N0 40 as the refrain(副歌)．That gives the song a very classical feeling．The song has a similar theme to that of Peter Pan, the boy who doesn’t grow up．“I don’t wanna grow up．When I grow up there won’t be fairy tales in the world．I don’t wanna grow up．I’d rather be ignorant and foolish．”In the song, S.H.E expresses young people’s common fear of the adult world and the desire to stay young forever．

　　The song has been quite popular among high school students since it came out．Xiao Xue, a Senior l student from Shanghai, said that she often hums(哼歌)the refrain part herself．

　　“I like the lyrics too, ”she said．“I often wish that I could go back to my childhood, when I had enough time to play and didn’t have to worry about all the exams．”

　　S.H.E said that the song also expresses their true feelings．Their rocking Success in the past six years has led to the three young girls heavy workloads(工作量) and forced them to grow up very quickly．“When we first started singing．we were quite carefree and we had our own musical dreams, ”said S.H.E．“‘Don’t Wanna Grow Up’ reminds us of those happy times and of our original dreams．”

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　　BUY A JOINT TICKET AND VISIT THE OTHER HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES

　　THE TOWER OF

　　LONDON

　　Royal(皇家的)palace and fortress(要塞)for over 900 years, scene of mystery, murder and home to the Crown Jewels．

　　KENSINGTON PALACE

　　Birthplace of Queen Victoria, this royal retreat is home to magnificent State Apartments and the stunning Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, which includes dresses worn by HM Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales．

　　HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES

　　Hampton Court Palace is part of Historic Royal Palaces, a registered charity(N 1068852)that receives no public funding(资金)．We rely on the income from admission tickets to the palaces to pay for vital protection work, necessary for the preservation(保护)of these national monuments and collections for future generations．Please ask at the ticket office for more information or visit www.hrp.org.uk．

　　VISITOR INFORMATION

　　CARRIAGE RIDES

　　Take a trip around Home Park in a horse-drawn carriage．Rides begin and end in Home Park at the entrance by the East Front Gardens．Available all day．20 minute duration．￡10.00 per carriage．Subject to weather and ground conditions．

　　ENQUIRIES

　　For details of admission charges, group rates, the Friends of Hampton Court Palace and facilities for disabled visitors, call 0870 752 7777 or visit www．Hampton-court-palace.org.uk

　　RESTAURANTS ＆SHOPS

　　Choose from the Tiltyard Tea-rooms or the Privy Kitchen Coffee Shop．There are also a number of ice-cream kiosks open in the summer．The palace shops offer a wide range of gifts and souvenirs．

　　AUDIO GUIDES

　　Audio guides are included in the palace ticket and are available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese．

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　　I am a good mother to three children．I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent．

　　I no longer consider myself the center of the universe．I show up．I listen．I try to laugh．I am a good friend to my husband．I have tried to make marriage vows(誓约)mean what they say．I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me．Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today．

　　So here’s what I wanted to tell you today：Get a life．A real life, not a desire of the next promotion(提升)，the bigger paycheck, the larger house．

　　Get a life in which you are not alone．Find people you love, and who love you．And remember that love is not leisure(休闲)，it is work．Pick up the phone．Send an e-mail．Write a letter．And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted．

　　It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes．It is so easy to exist instead of to live．I learned to live many years ago．Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all．And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all：

　　I learned to love the journey, not the destination．I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally．And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned．

　　By telling them this：Read in the backyard with the sun on your face．Learn to be happy．And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion(激情)as it ought to be lived．

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　　There are some special traditions in Hawaii．People are very friendly and always welcome visitors．They give visitors a lei, a long necklace(项链)of beautiful fresh flowers．Men wear bright flowered shirts, and women often wear long flowered dresses．There are traditional Chinese, Japanese and Philippines holidays and all the holidays from the United States．They call Hawaii the Aloha State．Aloha means both hello and goodbye．It also means I love you．

　　Usually when people from different countries, races and traditions live together, there are serious problems．There are a few problems in Hawaii, but, in general, people have learned to live together in peace．

　　Hawaiians get most of their money from visitors, and most of the visitors come from the mainland and from Japan．There are so many people living in Hawaii now that there are residential(居住的)areas where there used to be farms．Some of the big sugar and apple companies have moved to the Philippines, where they do not have to pay workers as much money．The families of the first people who came from the U．S．mainland own the important banks and companies．Japanese are also buying or starting business．

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　　Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted．Careless methods of production and lack of consumer demand for environment friendly products have contributed to the pollution problem．One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastic, and metal containers are produced, and these are difficult to get rid of．

　　However, today, more and more consumers are choosing “green” and demanding that the products they buy should be safe for the environment．Before they buy a product, they ask questions like these：“Will this shampoo damage the environment?” “Can this metal container be reused or can it only be used once?”

　　A recent study showed that two out of five adults now consider the environmental safety of a product before they buy it．This means that companies must now change the way they make and sell their products to make sure that they are “green”, that is, friendly to the environment．

　　Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets, but now there are hundreds．Some supermarket products carry labels to show that the product is green．Some companies have made the manufacturing(生产)of clean and safe products their main selling point and emphasize it in their advertising．

　　The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business．No longer will the public accept the old attitude of “Buy it, use it, throw it away, and forget it”．The public pressure is on, and gradually business is cleaning up its act．

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　　I remember the way the light touched her hair．She turned her head, and our eyes met, a momentary awareness in that noisy fifth grade classroom．I felt as though I’d been stuck a blow under the heart．Thus began my first love affair．

　　Her name was Rachel, and I mooned my way through the grade and high school, stricken at the mere sight of her, tongue-tied in her presence．Does anyone, anymore, wander in the shadows of evening, drawn by the pale light of a window-her window-like some unlucky summer insect?

　　Her beauty made me awkward(笨拙的)and my voice crack(沙哑)is like some impossible dream now．I would catch sight of her, walking down an aisle of trees to or from, and I’d be-come a fool．She always seemed so charming．

　　At home, I’d relive each meeting between us, suffering at the thought of my shortcoming．We eventually got to know as we entered our adolescence, she knew I had a case on her, and I sensed her emotional tolerance for me．“Going steady” implied a maturity we still lacked．Her Orthodox Jewish upbringing and my own Catholic belief made even kissing a distant prospect(前景)，however strongly desired．

　　At any rate, my love for Rachel remained without result．We graduated from high school, she went on to college, and I joined the Army．When World War II broke out, l was sent overseas．For a time we wrote, and her letters were the highlight of those terrible endless years．

　　I mentioned the possibility of marriage in my nest letter, and almost immediately her replies became less frequent, less personal．Her Dear John letter finally caught up with me while I was awaiting discharge．She gently explained the impossibility of a marriage between us．

　　Looking back on it, I must have recovered rather quickly, although for the first few months I believed I didn’t want to live．Like Rachel, I found someone else, whom I learned to love with a deep and permanent commitment that has lasted to this day．

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　　Everybody likes a winner, and there are always people ready to cheer for a good winner．But who has ever heard a song for the man who comes in second?So this is in praise of the almost winner, the nearly champion, the next to the biggest, the second best．This is the song of Mister Two．

　　You hear unflattering names for Mister Two．“Alsoran”, they call him, and “runner-up”．Names that make you think of a fellow who couldn’t quite make it．Don’t let that fool you．Ask the winner of any race how good a man Mister Two is．He will tell you it’s Mister Two who made him run so fast, Mister Two is pressing hard at his heels threatening always to overtake and pass him．

　　Ask the salesman who won the contest and what kept him plugging after hours, looking for extra order．Ask the directors of the big company why they keep changing their product, seeking the new equipment, the added advantage．What drives them?What keeps them hopping?It’s the salesman with nearly as many orders．It is the company with the product almost as good．It’s Mister Two．

　　In this country, we’re proud of the quality of our champions．Our big men come very big．Our fast men run very fast．Our wise men are the wisest and our greatest men are the greatest that a country could hope to be blessed with．And why is that?Couldn’t it be because great Mister Two’s growing naturally in a land where the race is always open and everybody can run?So this is for you, Mister Two．This is your song．This is for all the days you tried for first, and came in second．It’s for the nights when you wonder if you ought to go on trying, since nobody seems to notice…

　　We notice, Mister Two．We know the score．Winner or not, you’re a natural champion．There couldn’t be a race without you, Mister Two．

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